THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l monday l september 07, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION U.S. peace envoys make first Kyiv visit eyeing end to Ukraine war Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv on Sunday in their first official visit to Ukraine, hoping to end Russia’s invasion ukraine trip follows meeting with putin Had meaningful discussion, says witkoff Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv. The trip by the Americans follows a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. Washington’s push to end the war has lost momentum, with US focused for the past six months on the Iran war ■ ■ Following two rounds of discussion with the US officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the goal was a “just, fair peace” “We’ve had very meaningful discussion,” Witkoff said. A Ukrainian official said anonymously much of the discussion focused on “how to get through the winter and what can be done before then” | P9 1,250km long frontline in ukraine where troops are fighting russians 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 Cong rallies behind Satheesan after India backs UN, Samastha asks him to mind his words draws red line Pooja N a i r @Kozhikode On a day when a harshly worded editorial in ‘Suprabhatham’, the mouthpiece of the EK faction of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, lambasted Chief Minister V D Satheesan for criticising Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks on women’s participation in public events, the state Congress rallied behind the CM, defending his stand on the issue. Titled “Mind your words”, the editorial published in the Sunday edition questions Satheesan’s interpretation of the issue, while also revisiting several of his earlier political positions. While acknowledging that Satheesan has every express read Scuffle involving MLA: 2 suspended T’Puram: Following an inquiry into differences within Thiruvananthapuram unit of Congress and the scuffle involving MLA Ramya Haridas, KPCC president Sunny Joseph has suspended the legislator’s staff member Palayam Pradeep and local leader S Sajad from the party’s primary membership. P4 Keralam set to draw up health policy T’Puram: The state is preparing to formulate a comprehensive health policy focusing on Keralam’s specific challenges, including a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, ageing population, climate change, and palliative care. P4 right to disagree with Kanthapuram, the editorial argues that the CM’s interpretation of the remarks stems from an inadequate understanding of the Islamic perspective on women. Satheesan’s response, it said, reflected only a partial understanding of the issue, akin to the parable of “blind man touching an elephant”, shaped by inputs from certain sections within the Muslim community rather than a broader engagement with Islamic teachings and history . Meanwhile, extending support to Satheesan, several Congress leaders maintained that there would be no retreat from the position he has taken in de- fence of women’s equality and freedom. State Congress president and Electricity Minister S u n ny Jo s e p h d e s c r i b e d Satheesan’s disagreement with Kanthapuram as legitimate. Sunny told TNIE that the Congress, as a secular political organisation, respected the freedom of individuals and communities to practise their faith, but that freedom did not prevent political leaders from questioning views they considered contrary to equality and social progress. He stressed that women’s empowerment remained an important component of the Congress tradition, pointing to Net gains for Satwik and Chirag in China Indian doubles duo displays grit and experience to beat He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in three games to clinch China Masters title in Shenzhen. Hard-fought victory women’s representation in local governments as evidence of the party’s approach. He cited the presence of women presidents in all six panchayats in the Peravoor constituency as one example. Health Minister K Muraleedharan also endorsed Satheesan’s position, making it clear that neither the government nor the Congress intends to change their stand. He said freedom of expression was not under threat but maintained that freedom could not be used to justify treating women as inferior. However, the ‘Suprabhatham’ editorial has not received an open endorsement from the IUML, which had earlier sought to downplay Kanthapuram’s ● More on P4 remarks. Third time is the charm Shot in the arm before Asian games The Indians had finished runners-up on two occasions (2023 and 2025) in the recent years. They finally broke the jinx to get over the line on Sunday. Given that this was just their second tournament since their return from injury, it’s a massive shot in the arm for the doubles pair. Now, they will be looking to build on this performance and defend their crown in the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. Like their previous three ties in the competition, the World No 5 pair was thoroughly tested but they kept their calm in key moments to come out on top. When the score was 17-17 in the final game, the Indians reeled off five straight points to seal the deal. 2 This is SatChi’s second title of the season. It feels really special. Going into the Asiad, winning a title is definitely a huge boost. It feels whatever we are working for, we are in the right direction. — Chirag Shetty Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after their win on Sunday | badminton photo | P11 on J&K, Ladakh Says proposed world map must depict the 2 UTs in line with India’s official map J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi india has drawn a clear line on the depiction of its territory stressing that Jammu , and Kashmir and Ladakh must be shown in accordance with the country’s official map after it backed a United Nations General Assembly resolution seeking to correct distortions including the relative size of the African continent on commonly used world maps. The External Affairs Ministry on Sunday clarified that India’s vote in favour of the United Nations General Assembly resolution did not amount to an endorsement of any particular map, projection or representation of national boundaries. “Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable. Our position on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The clarification assumes significance because the UN initiative has prompted a discussion over how the world is represented on maps, including the relative size of continents and the way territories and boundaries are depicted. India stressed that the resolution does not seek to settle questions of political cartography . “The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any particular world map, nor does it address political cartography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names,” the MEA said. It added that India’s vote “does not constitute endorsement of any specific map, projection, or depiction of national boundaries.” New Delhi’s position follows its explanation of vote at the UN General Assembly earlier, when it supported the broader principle of using equal-area map projections but explicitly distanced itself from endorsing the equal earth projection. Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said, “The resolution should be understood as supporting the broader use and consideration of equal-area map projections and not as endorsing the Equal Earth projection, or any other specific map projection.” India’s sovereign territory, including Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map Randhir Jaiswal 164 nations support UN resolution The resolution titled ‘Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa’ was sponsored by Togo and adopted by the UN General Assembly with overwhelming support. A total of 164 countries voted in favour, while the US voted against Body parts of woman, Five dead as 50-year-old Delhi hostel collapses girl found in 3 sacks in river at Attappadi UD AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi S hya m P V @Palakkad Body parts believed to be those of a woman and a girl were found stuffed in three sacks in Bhavani river at Attappadi in Palakkad district on Sunday afternoon, prompting the Pudur police to register a murder case and launch an investigation. The sacks, found floating in the river near Cheerakkadavu about 9km away from Agali, were spotted by people who had gone to graze cattle around 2.30 pm. A strong stench from the sacks raised a suspicion, following which they alerted the police. “ Po l i ce personnel who reached the spot — near the Thavalam-Mulli stretch— found the body parts of the girl in the first sack. The second sack contained the severed head portions of two deceased, while a third sack containing body parts believed to be those of the woman was found about 1km downstream,” said a senior officer with the Pudur station. The woman is assumed to be aged over 30, while the age of the girl is yet to be ascertained. Police said the remains appear to be at least five days old and were in an advanced stage of decomposition, making identification difficult. “The bodies do not bear any Police examining the sacks stuffed with body parts found in Bhavani river, Attappadi, on Sunday The bodies do not bear any obvious identifying clues. There are no distinctive clothes or ornaments, and the advanced decomposition has made identification difficult Santhosh CR, Additional SP, Palakkad obvious identifying clues. There are no distinctive clothes or ornaments, and the advanced decomposition has made identification difficult. No missingperson cases have been reported at the nearby police stations so far. A dog squad and forensic experts, besides senior police officers, reached the spot and are assisting the investigation,” Santhosh CR, additional SP, Palakkad, told TNIE. “From the preliminary examination, it is almost certain that the deceased are not members of the tribal communities in the area,” he said. ● More on P4 A 50-year-old five-storey building collapsed in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan area in the vicinity of Delhi University’s south campus on Sunday afternoon, leaving five persons dead and several injured. The structure, which was being used as a paying guest accommodation, collapsed at around 1.30 pm. Officials said 10 people were rescued so far. Local residents claimed 50 people could still be trapped under the debris. Prior to the collapse, repair work was underway in the basement of the structure, police said.Victims Rescue work on near the structure in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday | parveen negi were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre where some were in critical condition. According to sources, the building was vacated around a year ago over safety concerns. However, a few months back, PG accommodation was start- ed in the building. According to police, a PCR call was received at South Campus police station at 1.34 pm on the collapse of ‘Hostel Daze’ near Nanakpura Gurdwara. “This was a 40- or 50-year-old building, comprising a basement and five upper floors, and it was used as a PG accommodation,” a police official said. Locals claimed that the collection of water over days of rain in the basement had weakened the building’s foundation, leading to its eventual collapse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah expressed condolences and shock at the tragedy . `11,639-crore govt push to develop 2,616 border villages R A J E S H K UM A R T H A K UR & S UMI T K UM A R S I N G H @ New Delhi ONCE known for being neglected and cut off from the rest of the country, India’s border villages are fast turning into thriving hubs of economic activity One of the major drivers . of the change is the Centre’s decision to turn paramilitary outposts along international borders into buyers of local produce. The move is part of a `11,639 crore push to keep villages populated along sensitive frontiers under the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP). Overall, 2,616 villages situated along the international borders are covered under VVP in , two phases. These include 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh, 75 in HP 51 in Uttarakhand, 46 , in Sikkim, and 35 in Ladakh. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which guards the Himalayan frontier with China, has been directed to procure all daily need items from these model villages. Be it procuring milk, vegetables, eggs and grains, they have to buy directly from the villages. The government’s aim it to make border posts of army and paramilitary a local market wherein the troops deployed will buy every day essentials for local farms and reduce the economic isolation that has driven migration away from frontier areas. The paramilitary forces have started the process, the Centre stated on Sunday. The Border Security Force has also started the process. The Centre is now looking for other forces taking similar steps. According to sources, the move has had a positive impact with residents returning to villages they had earlier left in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kumey Dibang Valley and Shi, Yomi districts. The Centre is now planning to revamp schools in these villages and also setting up hospitals and colleges in these clusters, said a senior government official adding that it will be taken in later phase. ISRO rejects reports of privatisation ISRO has rejected reports claiming that it would be privatised. “ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished,” the space agency said ed probe Paying cash at toll booths? You could be funding a scam Lens on toll collection entities India S u m i t K u m a r S i n g h @ New Delhi IF your FASTag fails to scan and you pay cash at a highway toll plaza, that money may never reach the National Highways Authority of India. The Enforcement Directorate has found it can disappear into a parallel network of fake receipts and private accounts. On Sunday the ED said toll op, erators used unauthorised mobile apps, including “Mobdata” and “Any to generate counter,” feit receipts for cash-paying vehicles. The collections never entered NHAI’s official books. The ED probe began after a complaint from Lucknow related to largescale fraudulent toll collection at Atraila Toll Plaza, Mirzapur, and various other toll plazas across the nation. ED officials found that illegal apps used to generate fake receipts and conceal collections from NHAI’s official system. The probe found involvement of intermediaries and toll collection entities, entrusted by NHAI, in the scam The practice, investigators found, was systematic across plazas in several states.The scam largely hits drivers of older vehicles, trucks and commercial fleets yet to shift fully to FASTag. Even motorists with valid tags are sometimes forced to pay cash when barri- ers or scanners fail, with the cash diverted. ED teams raided locations in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan on September 2 as part of a money-laundering probe. The case began with a complaint from Lucknow and an FIR dated January 1, 2025. An Enforcement Case Information Report followed on May 19 last year. The investigation centres on large-scale fraudulent collection at Atraila toll plaza in Mirzapur and other plazas nationwide. In January 2025, Uttar Pradesh Police had already exposed the use of an illegal app at the Atraila Shiv Gulam plaza to collect tolls from vehicles without sufficient FASTag balance and conceal the money from NHAI. Forensic examination of seized devices showed the unauthorised apps were deployed at around 100 plazas. Digital records pointed to unauthorised receipts running into crores. Intermediaries and some NHAI-entrusted toll operators are under the scanner. Searches have so far recovered about ` 1.03 crore in cash.