chennai l sunday l august 30, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION deal with Venezuela to take control of oil reserves: don President Donald Trump said the US has entered a deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels oil reserves of the country 9 months after maduro’s capture Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The announcement of the deal comes nearly nine months after the US armed forces captured Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro ■ 1% will lower gas prices in u.s.: rubio ■ Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil. That’s about 17 per cent of the world’s supply, according to the US Energy Administration Rubio said on X the agreement would usher in $100 billion in private investment into Venezuela and lead to lower gas prices in US of world’s oil output comes off venezuela despite vast reserves CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI HDFC Bank boss on way out, won’t seek reappointment B enn K o c h u v ee d an @ Mumbai Residents carry their belongings salvaged from their flood-hit homes in Nepal’s Devighat area on Saturday | AP Toll 675, India steps up rescue, forensic support WITH THIS ISSUE Private 88 Indians rescued in Nepal so far; 128 PIOs reported missing Eye E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi India on Saturday stepped up rescue and relief assistance to Nepal following the devastating flash floods, with 88 Indian nationals rescued so far while 287 remained uncontactable. Four Indian nationals were rescued from a hydropower project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and are expected to reach Kathmandu shortly , the External Affairs Ministry said. Besides, 128 persons of Indian origin (PIOs) are missing. As many as 120 Indian nationals crossed into Nepal from China on Saturday the , MEA said. India is also deploying specialised expertise to support Nepal’s search and identification efforts. Six forensic expert teams from India are expected to reach Kathmandu to assist Nepalese authorities in analysing DNA samples and identifying mortal remains. “Forensic expert teams from India (six) are expected to reach Kathmandu today to assist in analysis of DNA samples for identification of mortal remains,” the MEA said. India has also moved to bolster tunnel-rescue operations in the floodhit areas. An Indian technical team for tunnel-rescue reconnaissance reached Kathmandu on Friday Based . on its assessment, a specialised tunnel-rescue team equipped with necessary equipment is in Nepal. The Indian assistance comes as Nepal m o u n t s a m a s s ive search and rescue operation across the worst-affected districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Relief supplies being Dhading and Chitwan. delivered by drone at Nepal Foreign Minis- Devighat in Nepal | PTI ter Shisir Khanal said the government had mobilised all available resources following the August 26 flash floods. “Our immediate priority remains clear: to save lives, locate missing persons, rescue them, provide urgent relief to survivors,” Khanal said. So far, 675 bodies — 246 from Chitawan, 165 from Nawalparasi East, 63 from Nawalparasi West, 57 from Gorkha, 45 from Dhading, 51 from Nuwakot, 35 from Tanahu and 13 from Rasuwa district — have been recovered and around 2,400 people remain uncontactable, while more than 4,450 people, including over 187 foreign nationals, have been rescued. Khanal said the figures could change as search and verification operations continue. PLUS 12 P AGES express read 219 Tamils safe in Nepal, says min Chennai: The state government has so far identified 319 Tamils who were in Nepal when severe floods struck the country, of whom around 219 have been traced and are safe, School Education Minister A Rajmohan said on Saturday | P3 Stalin’s security cover down to Z Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Police has reduced former chief minister M K Stalin’s security cover from ‘Z+’ to ‘Z’ following a periodic security review, officials said. Security for VIPs and VVIPs is reviewed every six months based on threat perception and protection needs | P5 Malnutrition tied to crib deaths? Kolkata: As many as 89 newborns have died, including 10 in a day, at the Malda Medical College and Hospital in Bengal since August 1. A govt-appointed panel said malnutrition could be the main factor behind the deaths | P10 Airport axed, anxiety remains in Parandur dustries, environmental groups strongly criticise the move. The Tamil Nadu government’s They argue that cancelling the cancellation of the Parandur airport project ostensibly to airport project has left several protect fertile wetlands and villagers in Kancheepuram in livelihood of farmers and then limbo, with unanswered ques- introducing alternative industions regarding the fate of the trial projects in the same site compensations paid and the will be contradicto1,802 acres of land ry. Any new indusalready actrial proposal will quired. While severely disrupt the state prothe region’s sensiposes repurtive hydrological Parandur posing the acsystems and river land of MS a quired land for basins, they say  . oken drea br eco-friendly in Full report on P2 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Max 0 Min 36 C 0 27 C ast Er WEaTh y Sunda 02 30 08 l l Forec Cloudy Sunrise Sunset 06:02 am 06:26 pm Moonrise Moonset 07:53 pm 08:28 am nature one walk with seeks In every than he far more receive s John Muir and of the villages were Aerial view landscap e that r ral agricultu propose d Parandu in part of the airport projectExpRESS ld greenfie puram district | Kanchee 2026 re vello kaM Mbak GunaGara in the ed by Dalits title the be irrigat ues to the divide amongvillage. the state, contin hting workers in ed a sharp , highlig region and the farm t had trigger once sold s ed airpor Parcels that g nearly holder prices. fetchin ing The propos local landa cent were `3,000, accord rise in ng `250 the for about some touchi broker. with land had not been The t. a local `2,500, t rpakkaM Edaya raM valaThur akkaMapu anGalaM dEviM Maha aM Ekanapur i SinGilipad Wetland body Water nt resettleme site ayS runW ed as has son told ,” he said, may ultima he port ter C . quiver land. My money unsure why - nal sale bargain. the land boom @ Chennai the Minis Nelvoy ive entire gly se of KumAR govern Chief calm in suspi- sold sted the lation “The nd lucrat is becau e. Since him, seemin That the cancel prices is an uneasy ers with ed exhau beside to strang ers. my husba into revers nced rs say land heRe rs eye strang are guard being not put — sitting ns rs gone Vijay annou village parcels now n should speak t, Village rsatio was speak Joseph l village decisio conve reluctant to t projec some cion, ainty that ment’s e,” she says. are by severa. Their imthe airpor ived, with`1,000 a cent. s is also s after d troubl is shared on record to the comand many of the uncert village gov- in the farmer ental ion have nose-dat aroun facing more fundam that her worry to speak happens a reflect over theKazhagam t is no ed ing quoted ainty land by a on is what if the airpor seek has settledga Vettri sed Parandur who declin The uncert unded will farm the ment te questi y paid compo govern the Tamilathe propo media on: who young ed ion alread Will the s in questi s? r, said built. pensat nt nt scrapp y 13 village an being relucta 5,746 remain , a local farme ernme project. longer nearly back? Mel eri, Seeral t t the roughl Kumar are increasingly his son airpor t where slated for airpor lture. is among the money ouring fafor the ally Nelvoy eepuram distric t who er people ue in agricu In neighb five acres rs were effecup Vijay t land. I was origin Kanch contin Class 10 studen govto the airpor as the had given said village I sold the ed l, a of land TVK leader villed the ana t. he Raghu questioned visited their acres little choice for Chenhave exhaust projec ition. ment has canceler S Keerth t, has left with d its plan were told the entire money. mously he has not acres acquis t protes n is ries Minist the 1,802 up tively nt pursue t. “We worth 3.5 by the The govern that my questio s to as to why the airpor dad’s profes l Thodur airpor ernme cted project t, but Industrecently used for setting during it what happen up his Raghu nsation collect Impa projec Assembly sation lage be to take the actor, nai’s second compe or jobs. While that compen to take no plans told the ed land could to create want the t value ed by d. If we the already propoSed ian. Now lly either ries amount airport the marke we oppose nsation sion. Inspir a politict is officia of acquir indust and ally CPM to farmif the times to be CM endly s court paid if compe being the land govwants eco-fri rt projecto meet the from the court, the he said. `3 is no longer the tion partie to return se from the airpo ur to wants opposi ment 2.5 times,”ed about built. Will seek the went l respon ed, he tion in ent aTTupuTh be only TVK governno officia is ally receiv money “I governm back? scrapp him. a visible generasters would ed the nh to thank is also ers, there yet. young tram. he eventu the money ai nt galuru varcha left and There villages. Many and invest Chenn ernme ai-ben Sungu i, a villager crore the Chenn s in nearbythe fields. Sigaman plots in cents of land he said. gap in career ,” three P RAJKUMAR tilling want to a few GRAPHIC: village to esd to pursue ng lives They still havein Mel eri a tree wante than spendi bikes. work in flashy not want to a house sitting under joked about ed his rather want heat ers do an defend ren ing Villag Tamil blister “Child cities. They as Seeral SAHu said. in ition trend in es cape the windfall, pRASAd acquis as work Kumar a broader hectar pIC: SHIbA of s, ied his sudden sell. rked for n to classif and the fields,” is part lost 1.617 million decade earma f decisio 5,746 acres 2 acres are d-a-hal its geoThe shift state has land The Of the t, 2,682.6 agricultural been acover four-an land in to 36%, Nadu. airpor 48% sown area of net sown and for the ds, including1,802 acres have of net ission ed from the share So far, in ekana puramresistwetlan ral ng Comm has declin while odies. to stiff cal area State Planninon-ag ricultu in waterb No land ed due es a graphi d. acquir under ing to 6, nd hectar quire accord study. Land their land rs. alam was thousa es in 2015-1 lvillage ruing that those of Thand funded ile agricu are from 1,501.6 hectar rom the ChEnnai parandur bas, projec land marke to Barna airport villagers ed the SIPCOT indusr But the that reshap da furthe has left the money .A if had notifie the polls, only force project ment a dip. y beforeover land values unsure airport lakh govern nearb d `1.03 of the land are s have seen back trial park expectations aroun Seeralan at g up ellation sold their price push pushin being quoted scrapped, lakh per . Land also facing `1 got The canc ers who of cent was project got at least ment Farm the from them stries is govern have of land airanxious.clawed back 45 cents his lips before should accusing the Yet, with the “I dly indu dered ed and s the origi“I said. he said, landowners. surren a will be set up eco-frien believe cent,” cheated ani had hands trembl back tears. have been he also Sigam have having scrapped, tely prove to led to hold do so. I lakh. his Plan to now me to for `30 he strugg his wife now AM EEpUr KAnCh y nElvo parandur I L tA M U n A D 13 villages podavur puraM Mada & Elevated e roads surfac galuru ai-ben Chenn highway Express r Paranadu ce ct at glan proje mes A C SHIV T 10 bodies from Nepal recovered in UP’s Gandak N am i ta B aj pa i @ Lucknow SASHIdhar Jagdishan, chief executive and managing director of HDFC Bank, who was handpicked by the bank’s founding CEO Aditya Puri to succeed him in 2020, has decided not to seek reappointment when his current term ends in October, bringing to an end his nearly three-decade career with the country’s largest private sector bank. “Despite persuasion, Jagdishan reiterated his decision to not seek reappointment when his term ends on October 26, 2026. The board deeply appreciates his commitment, leadership, contribution to the growth and stability of the bank and his role in the successful completion of one of the Difference of opinion Several people familiar with the matter of resignation of non-executive chairman Atanu Chakraborty’s decision attributed it to ‘differences’ with Jagdishan over the extent of the chairman’s role in the bank’s functioning. largest mergers in corporate India,” the bank informed the stock exchanges on Saturday . The board has now fasttracked the process of finding his successor, it added. Jagdishan’s biggest achievement at the bank was arguably the merger of parent Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) with HDFC Bank in July 2023. Valued at around $44 billion, the trans- action was one of the largest M&A deals in corporate India. However, the merger also brought a host of challenges, particularly on the asset-liability and margin fronts. The bank also faced several other issues during Jagdishan’s tenure, the most significant of which was in March 2026 when non-executive chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned citing concerns over the bank’s functioning. The bank also faced allegations of mis-selling low-investment-grade bonds to NRIs through its Dubai branch, with customers allegedly promised higher returns that were not received. In a separate case involving the alleged mis-selling of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds issued by failed Swiss lender Credit Suisse, American investors reportedly threatened to initiate a class-action lawsuit against the bank. 3 students die Cong fires Kerala leader in car crash who blocked CM’s convoy due to flat tyre public altercation E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E The Congress on Saturday expelled Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee leader Anil Kumar alias Chenthi Ani from the party’s primary membership, hours after he was booked for blocking Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s motorcade. On Saturday mor ning, Sreekaryam Police arrested Ani for blocking the CM’s convoy and misbehaving with him for refusing to attend the Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi celebrations at Chenthi the previous night. Satheesan was on his way to Chempazhanthy to attend the event. On the way a , group of people organising another Sree Narayana Guru event at Chenthi signalled the CM’s vehicle to stop, police said. Satheesan stepped out of the vehicle following their request and was seen in television visuals arguing with Ani. After a few minutes at the spot, Satheesan returned to his vehicle and left, police said. Police said no event at Chenthi was listed in the CM’s sched- Three students of a private university in Pallavaram died, and four others were injured after their car overturned due to a tyre burst and crashed into the road median on the Chennai-Tiruchy highway on Friday night. Police said the students were retur ning to Chennai from Puducherry after a trip when the accident occurred. According to police, the seven students left for Puducherry in an SUV on Thursday with Harikrishnan (19) driving. Around 8.45 pm on Friday during their return journey, they reached Hotel Highway Inn near Maduranthakam when one of the car’s rear tyres allegedly went flat. Harikrishnan lost control of the vehicle, causing it to swerve across the road and overturn before hitting the central median. The impact of the crash killed two students — Deepakraj (19) of Vadalur in Cuddalore district and Beautrin Stalinijo (22) of Kanniyakumari — due to fatal head injuries. Raj Prasad (19) of Karur was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Deepakraj was a third-year arts student, Stalinijo was a final-year law student, and Prasad was a third-year BCom CA student. The four injured students were identified as Logeswaran (18) of Karur, Ram Prasad (19) of Pasupathipalaiyam in Karur, Anishwaran (18) of Cuddalore, and Harikrishnan of Chennai.  P7 @ Thiruvananthapuram At least 10 bodies have been recovered from river Gandak in eastern UP in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts over the past two days, with authorities yet to identify the deceased or trace their families. Originating from Nepal, Gandak flows into India. Official sources said all 10 were natives of Nepal and were adults. The bodies were bloated and in an advanced state of decomposition. They were taken to mortuaries in Maharajganj and Kushinagar, where they would be kept for 72 hours, said the district administration River brings in authorities. vehicles, drums The details of jewelGandak is also lery and other belongbringing other items, ings found on the bodincluding vehicles, ies were recorded along household goods, with distinctive physigas cylinders, cal features such as tatdrums, toos and other identifyfurniture, logs ing marks. Photographs and other of the deceased have debris also been circulated in apparently nearby areas. from Nepal. According ADM MaVillagers were seen harajganj, four of the gathering along the bodies — three women river to retrieve the and a young man — articles being washed had been found in the ashore district. “If no one comes forward during the next 72-hour period, further action will be taken in accordance with government guidelines,” Kumar said. In Kushinagar, six bodies — three men and three women— were recovered from Gandak. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and the flood battalion of the Provincial Armed Constabulary are working alongside the district administration and police in the affected areas of Maharajganj and Kushinagar. However, as per official sources, immediate flood threat has eased as water levels has receded. However, residents were advised to stay away from rivers and low-lying areas for now. @ Chennai Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC) leader Anil Kumar alias Chenthi Ani | ANI ule, and filed an FIR against Ani. “The accused confronted the CM in an aggressive manner. When asked to refrain from being aggressive, the accused allegedly threatened, ‘What will you do if I get angry?’, insulting the CM and obstructing the official duties of police personnel accompanying the convoy the FIR said. ,” A court sent Ani to 14 days in custody Police said he had been . accused earlier in multiple cases of attacking people at Sreekaryam, Thumba and Medical College. KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the party’s stance is clear through the disciplinary action. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to address diaspora at Madison Square The event titled ‘Universal Oneness Celebrations’, is an invite-based gathering which will have more than 5,000 attendees Hat-trick honour: TN weaver’s three sons clear NEET THINAKARAN RAJAMANI Seats under 7.5% quota Three sons of a weaver, all students of Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) in their native Vellanguli village, will soon become doctors as they have secured MBBS and BDS seats after clearing NEET this year. While the elder brother, R Venkata Sri, appeared for the test for the fourth time, his twin younger brothers, R Arun and R Tharan, have realised their dream in their second attempt. Arun and Tharan will join the Tirunelveli Government Medical College and a pri- Twins R Arun and R Tharan will join the Tirunelveli Government Medical College and a private medical college in Coimbatore, respectively. Elder brother Venkata Sri will join a private dental college in Kanniyakumari. They have secured the seats under the 7.5% quota for government school students @ Tirunelveli The brothers R Arun, R Tharan and R Venkata Sri | Express vate medical college in Coimbatore, respectively. Venkata Sri will join a private dental college in Kanniyakumari district. All three have secured their seats under the 7.5% reservation for government-school students. Speaking to TNIE, the trio expressed happiness at securing medical seats with the support of their teachers and parents. “Becoming doctors has been our childhood dream. Our elder brother Venkata Sri’s persever- ance encouraged us. He had been attempting to clear NEET after completing Plus Two at our village school in 2022-23. We also decided to follow in his footsteps after completing our schooling last year. It’s exciting for us to have secured medical seats the same year,” said the twins. Their father, S Ramkumar, said that he had pledged to support his children financially despite the hardship of running his family on a meagre income. “I only have to pay the government-prescribed fee as my sons have secured seats under the government quota,” he added.  P7