BHUBANESWAR l thursday l september 10, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Apple launches its first foldable iPhone, India price starts at `3 lakh The US tech giant on Wednesday night unveiled its first-ever foldable smartphone iPhone Duo—the most expensive mobile phone from the firm’s stable Available from Oct 23, booking starts on 16 iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro max unveiled The foldable iPhone will be available in India from October 23. iPhone Duo is available in star white and night sky, with prices starting at `2,99,900. “Customers in more than 70 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India... will be able to pre-order iPhone Duo beginning October 16, with availability beginning October 23,” it said ■ ■ Apple also announced the new edition of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which will be available in India from September 18 at starting price of `1,64,900 and `1,79,900, respectively The pre-booking of iPhone 18 series will start from September 12 across 65 countries including India, a company statement said $10 billion Apple’s estimated revenue in India from record iPhone sales in FY26 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 Crude tops $100 as US-Iran war gets nastier Majhi courts UAE Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps extends ‘restricted zone’, adding parts of Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi in a major escalation in the West Asia war, Iran on Wednesday attacked several oil tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz besides US military targets in the region, sending alarm bells across the region and beyond and pushing oil prices past $100 a barrel. Iran claimed that it attacked 20 ships and US military targets in Jordan in retaliation to the sinking of five Iranian crude oil carriers by the US military on Tuesday. Tehran also extended the ‘restricted zone’ beyond the Strait of Hormuz into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, warning that any passing vessels could be ‘sanctioned’. British maritime agency confirmed Iran’s claim, saying several vessels in the Gulf region were on fire. “Reports indicate Combo videograbs of US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces firing missiles to blow up an Iranian crude oil carrier | CENTCOM 1 2 3 The CENTCOM attack came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles The US warship successfully evaded the IRGC’s attacks twice over two days. It then destroyed five of IRGC’s crude oil carriers The destroyed carriers were M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in Gulf of Oman and M/T Derya near Kharg the vessels were subject to disabling fire as part of ongoing military activity it said. ,” The US said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers in response to Iran’s missile attacks on a US Navy warship. On Tuesday, Iran-backed Houthi rebels had attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Following the fresh escalation, the international Brent crude benchmark breached $100 a barrel for the first time since July It also pushed the In. dian crude basket, comprising Sweet grade (Brent Dated) and Sour grade (Oman & Dubai average) crude oil to $108.91 per barrel on September 8. For India, which imports more than 88% of its crude oil requirement, any rise in international prices is bad news. The war has already inflated India’s import bill for crude and gas, which touched $63.37 billion during April-July—a 56% increase on a year-on-year basis. For context, crude imports accounted for over 50% of the total oil import bill during the period. According to reports, a $1 increase in crude prices for a year may lead to `18,000 crore rise in the total import bill. Prashant Vasisht, senior vice-president at ICRA, warns that crude oil prices could rise further if the current geo-political situation persists. He said several countries including China were tapping their strategic reserves for consumption and their return to the market could increase demand and, therefore, prices. Modi, Xi to hold bilatarel Black SUV’s midnight trail scent in on the sidelines of BRICS Balasore’s orangutan whodunnit Summit on Saturday E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Balasore J ayan t h J a c o b @ New Delhi 350+ meets Under India’s chairship this year, over 350 meetings and engagements have been held to strengthen BRICS grouping Bangladesh no-show? Bangladesh is unlikely to send a representative to the BRICS Summit, sources said. India has invited PM Tarique Rahman to attend the summit in his capacity as chair of BIMSTEC Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral meeting on September 12 in the second half of the day, sources said. Xi will arrive in India on September 12, according to sources, as New Delhi hosts the BRICS Leaders’ Summit 2026. Prime Minister Modi will host a gala dinner for leaders of BRICS member countries on Saturday evening at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, as India hosts the two-day summit. The dinner, scheduled for 7.30 pm on September 12, will be part of a packed first day of the summit, which will bring together leaders of BRICS member countries for discussions on strengthening multilateralism and promoting more inclusive global governance. The summit programme will begin on Saturday afternoon with the arrival of BRICS leaders at Bharat Mandapam. The leaders will then participate in a closed session on “Inclusive Global Gover nance and Strengthening Multilateralism” at 2.35 pm. The session is expected to focus on ways to strengthen multilateral institutions and make global governance more representative and inclusive, amid discussions on the evolving international order. Following the closed-door session, the leaders will visit the ‘Bharat Innovates Exhibition’, which will showcase India’s innovation, technology and development capabilities. The leaders are also scheduled to participate in a family photograph and a joint tree plantation programme at the summit venue, adding ceremonial engagements to the first day’s proceedings. Lanka Won’t let its soil be used against India Lankan Prez Dissanayake assured defence minister Rajnath Singh that his country would “never allow its territory to be used for any activities inimical to India’s security” | P7 A black Thar seen moving along the Bichitrapur casuarina forest road late Monday night, hours before five abandoned baby orangutans were found in the protected area, has emerged a big lead in the investigation into how the critically endangered, non-native species reached the coastal jungle in Balasore district. The vehicle was captured by a CCTV camera of a shop in the forest fringe village of Badapai, while local residents also reported seeing it near the forest at around 11.25 pm on Monday night. Forest officials have collected the footage and are examining the evidence. “The vehicle owner is being identified and will be questioned on the basis of the CCTV footage. The Forest department has intensified patrolling near the protected forest The vehicle owner is being identified and will be questioned on the basis of the CCTV footage. Patrolling is intensified near the forest and its adjoining locations Pratik Indalkar, Balasore DFO and its adjoining locations,” said Balasore DFO Pratik Indalkar. Meanwhile, the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police has begun probing how the babies reached the state. An STF team comprising three SP rank officers visited Badapai village, where the abandoned orangutans were found. The team conducted a field-level investiga- tion and interacted with local residents to gather clues. STF IG Himanshu Lal told TNIE that multiple teams had been formed to establish how the great apes ended up in the Balasore forest. “Strict action will be taken against those found involved in the illegal wildlife trade,” he said. On the other hand, acting on a request from the state government, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has also constituted a team to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rescue and ascertain whether an organised wildlife trafficking network was involved. The orangutans, which were transported to Nandankanan Z o o l o g i c a l Pa rk i n B h u baneswar on Tuesday night, have been kept in quarantine. Gender identification showed that three of the infants are male and two are female, offiContinued on P5 cials said.  investors, `2.1L cr deal inked on Day 1 Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi with the MoU signed with International Holding Company (IHC) and Adani Group at Abu Dhabi, in UAE on Wednesday The chief minister held a roundtable with senior executives from IHC and its business Chief Minister Mohan Cha- verticals, including IHC CEO ran Majhi on Wednesday Syed Basar Shueb, Adani Ports stepped up his investment out- and SEZ managing director Kareach in UAE, with the Odisha ran Adani and Adani Green Endelegation, International Hold- ergy executive director Sagar ing Company (IHC) and Adani Adani. Discussions also adGroup signing an agreement to vanced the proposed integrated explore 14 projects with an in- aluminium project with land dicative investment of `2.1 lakh identified for an alumina refincrore and employment poten- ery in Kalyansinghpur tehsil tial for about 8.68 lakh people. of Rayagada district and an The agreement is the key out- aluminium smelter in Sadar come of the first day tehsil of Sundargarh of substantive engagedistrict. ments led by Majhi as Majhi held a sepahe sought to deepen rate meeting with Borpartnership with ouge CEO Hazeem The proposed projects with IHC UAE-based investors Sultan Al Suwaidi and and Adani cover across metal, critical invited the UAE-based metal minerals, petrochemipetrochemical major downstream, cals, renewable enerto explore setting up a critical minerals gy, healthcare and inlarge-scale chemicals and rare earth, frastructure sectors. downstream complex chemicals and The proposed in Odisha, potentially petrochemical projects with IHC and linked to feedstock derivatives, Adani cover metal renewable energy from Indian Oil Corequipment, etc downstream indusporation’s proposed tries, slurry pipelines, naphtha cracker at officials critical minerals and Paradip. rare earth, chemicals The state also signed and petrochemical derivatives, a memorandum of cooperation renewable energy equipment, with the Indian Business and healthcare, industrial infra- Professional Group (IBPG) to structure, tourism, skill devel- promote bilateral trade and inopment and s p o r t s vestment. Discussions covered infrastructure. exports of Odisha products The agreement follows the such as turmeric, ginger and earlier MoU signed on July 2, seafood, contract manufactur2026 and expands the partner- ing for UAE brands and opporship beyond the proposed inte- tunities for highly-skilled grated aluminium project. manpower.  Continued on P5 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar US dept suspends Cognizant’s green-card filings Three die of PA D M I N I D H R U V A R A J @ Bengaluru What’s PERM? THE US Department of Labor has suspended IT services company Cognizant’s permanent labour certification, or PERM, filings, as part of a probe into alleged misuse of employmentvisa programmes. Announcing the decision through social media platform X late on Tuesday night, US Labour Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito wrote: “Cognizant’s PERM filings are suspended… Threats to American workers will NOT be tolerated.” In a separate post, he said: “We’re following facts, fraud and finances. Handcuffs await.” US authorities have not dis- PERM is a key step towards employment-based green-card sponsorship. Before hiring a foreign worker, an employer has to state that there are no qualified and available US workers and the hiring will not affect US workers in any way closed the specific allegations against Cognizant, how many cases are affected, or how long the suspension will last. Cognizant, founded in Chennai, has not publicly commented on the suspension but sources said the action does not mean the green-card applications of the firm’s employees have been rejected. Curiously, the suspension came a day after Cognizant announced that it would hire 1,500 US college graduates this year. CEO Ravi Kumar S said: “We are hiring American graduates, standing up new American job categories for the AI era, and putting Cognizant’s capital and leadership behind a national coalition built to make sure this transition works for workers.” Cognizant has historically used the system extensively. Records show 589 Cognizant PERM cases were certified in fiscal 2023 and 741 in fiscal 2024. The development could be a cause of concern for Indian technology professionals, who already face some of the longest employment-based immigration queues in the US. Cognizant is also a major US employer of H-1B workers. US Citizenship and Immigration Services data shows 3,510 approved H-1B petitions for Cognizant as of June 30, 2026, compared with 9,413 in 2020. S C su g g e s t i o n 3rd language: Consider exempting Class 6 students this year, CBSE told S U C H ITR A K A LYA N M O H A N TY @ New Delhi T h e S u p re m e C o u r t o n Wednesday asked the Central Board of Secondary Education to consider a one-time exemption for Class 6 students from the three-language policy . A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joym- alya Bagchi and V Mohana said implementation from the next academic year is fine, but the current Class 6 batch could be exempted. “Consider Class 6 for this year... If they can be given some accommodation,” the court told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The court made the observations after hearing a batch of petitions challenging the English question: Govt has an issue with it, says SG Responding to a mention on English as a non-native language, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “That we have an issue with.” Justice Bagchi had on August 20 expressed reservations about treating English as a “non-native language”, adding it requires a constitutional analysis CBSE’s May 20, 2025 circular on implementing the three-language formula for Classes 6-10 under the National Education Policy 2020. As per the circular, all the CBSE students must learn three languages, at least two of them Indian languages. Class 6 students who studied only two languages till Class 5 now need to take a third language. Multiple petitioners from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka said any mid-session change would cause huge chaos and a lot of difficulties. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that textbooks had been purchased, sections allotted, but teachers were unavailable. The SG, appearing for the Union, told the bench that he would consult the concerned officials on extending the existing accommodation to Class 6 students. The court asked CBSE to file a comprehensive affidavit by September 16 on the exemption. asphyxiation in septic tank E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Berhampur Two masons and a labourer died of suspected asphyxiation after being exposed to toxic gases inside a newly-constructed septic tank at Tarpaguda village under Guluguda panchayat in Rayagada’s Padmapur area on Wednesday . The deceased were identified as Harishchandra Bir (55) and Prakash Lima (43), both masons, besides dailywage labourer Alok Karad (33). All three were residents of Jibajagatpur village under Padmapur block. Locals said the mishap took place while work was underway to remove the centring and clean the newly-constructed septic tank at the house of one Biswanath Barik. According to preliminary information, Alok first entered the tank to carry out the cleaning and centring-removal work. However, he reportedly became unconscious after being exposed to toxic gases accumulated inside the confined Continued on P5 space.