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 ■ ■ A police official keeps vigil outside Bharat Mandapam as security arrangements were beefed up for the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI KANNUR l sunday l september 13, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION The existing pyramid of privilege structure in global governance must give way to a platform of partnership where every country has a voice, every member has a stake — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister BRICS countries should... oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, reject violations of other countries’ sovereignty and interference in their internal affairs — Xi Jinping, Chinese President Let us establish instruments to manage national currency risks and reciprocal settlements in the bloc since current financial system is vulnerable to political shocks — Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian President We express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full IAEA safeguards, in violation of international law — New Delhi Declaration India bridges Iran-UAE differences on West Asia conflict after marathon negotiations till 4 am; declaration calls for restraint while not assigning responsibility BRICS adopts landmark Delhi Declaration J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi BRICS countries on Saturday adopted the New Delhi Declaration after marathon negotiations that continued until 4 am, overcoming sharp differences over the language in the West Asia conflict, particularly between Iran and the UAE. The adoption marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough for India, the host of 18th BRICS Summit, with New Delhi playing a key role in bridging competing positions among members and ensuring that differences over West Asia did not derail the summit outcome. The declaration, while not assigning responsibility for the conflict, calls for restraint, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and respect for the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States”. “We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/ West Asia and, recalling our respective national positions, call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravat e t h e s i t u at i o n , ” t h e declaration said. It also called for greater use of “dialogue and diplomacy” towards a longterm understanding that can contribute to peace, security and stability in the region. The final declaration adopted broader language, expressing “serious concern” over deliber- on p7 ate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full IAEA safeguards, and stressing that nuclear safeguards, safety and security must be upheld even during armed conflicts. Tehran had sought an explicit reference to what it described as a unilateral attack on Iran and a violation of the UN Charter. A “clear direction from our leadership” and sustained engagement at multiple levels helped India overcome differences, India’s BRICS Sherpa Sudhakar Dalela said. Dalela said negotiations involved extensive consultations. “Engagement at various levels” eventually enabled the grouping to arrive at a consensus. “Tehran’s concern was that the reference to the unilateral attack and the alleged violation of the UN Charter should not be diluted or ‘subsumed into a generic formulation’,” a source familiar with the negotiations said. On Gaza, BRICS expressed deep concern over continued violence despite the October 2025 ceasefire and called for its maintenance and full, unhindered humanitarian access. The declaration opposed policies aimed at the forced displacement of Palestinians and reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination, the right of return and full UN membership in the context of the two-state solution. turn Global South into a rule-shaper, urges Modi Serious concern over rise of unilateral tariff Declaration condemns 1 New Delhitariffs, calls carbon border unilateral adjustment mechanisms protectionist, demands fairer global trade rules 2 Condemns Pahalgam terror attack, calls for zero tolerance on cross-border terrorism 3 Call for immediate restoration of fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system 4 Bloc-wide grain trading platform and four new farmer-focused initiatives covering seeds, agro-inputs, agro-ecology and digital agriculture endorsed 5 Declaration urges the developed world to provide finance for biodiversity conservation 6 Resolves to remain committed to aims of the Paris Agreement Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bharat Innovates Exposition | PTI Cautious thaw in China ties on a steadier footing J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sought to put the cautious thaw in IndiaChina ties on a steadier footing, stressing the need to prevent differences from becoming disputes and to preserve peace along the border. Iran President, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince hold talks But the border remains a critical test of the normalisation process. PM Modi emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remain an “essential basis” for continued development of bilateral relations, the MEA said. Xi said China sees India as a “cooperation partner rather than a rival” and that the devel- opment of one country should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat for the other. Describing the recent improvement in ties as a shift from a “new start” to a “new elevation,” Xi said: “This situation has not come easily and is worth cherishing,” a readout quoted by Chinese state media said. India, UAE seek to expand strategic ties in def, space The two leaders met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, nearly a year after their previous meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. PM Modi said the relationship should be guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest” while reiterating that “differences should not become disputes.” MEA: unified payment, not BRICS currency on table Xi laid out a four-point framework for better ties. He called for an objective assessment of the relationship, economic cooperation, political wisdom in managing differences and stronger coordination on regional and global issues. The two leaders also agreed to deepen coordination through BRICS, the UN, SCO and G20. a feast of Indian flavours at gala dinner for leaders Less full-timers & more impressive Mandatory listing only faces: CPM gets ready for reforms Heart Break option for Tata Sons Copper-cabana! Metal rides price wave on supply & US tariff fears RBI blow to Noel tata WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 P AGES A n i l S @ Kozhikode B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai IN a major setback for Tata Sons Chairman Noel Tata, the Reserve Bank of India is learnt to have rejected its application seeking to deregister as a non-banking financial company nearly 30 months after it was filed. The , RBI has now directed Tata Sons to comply with norms applicable to an NBFC in the upper layer, paving the way for its mandatory listing. In a letter to Saurabh Agarwal, CFO of Tata Sons, RBI advised the company to take actions to ensure full compliance with its guidelines and instructions. Request for The RBI first classified Tata Sons as an surrender of the Upper Layer NBFC in September 2022, with Certificate of such entities required to list within three Registration to years. The original listing deadline for Tata be classified as Sons was September 30, 2025. It had around an unregistered core investment `22,000 crore of public debt when it applied Company cannot to surrender its NBFC licence. The company be acceded to became net debt-free by March 2023. RBI’s current framework sets the threshold for inRBI letter clusion in the upper layer at `1 trillion in assets. Tata Sons had standalone assets under management of about `1.75 trillion as of March 2026. The new development is significant for Tata Group’s largest outside shareholder, the SP Group, which holds an 18.6% stake in Tata Sons and has been seeking a public listing of the holding company The group has substantial debt obliga. tions and an IPO could provide an avenue for raising funds. Limiting the number of party full-timers so as to let them pursue other means of employment too, highlighting impressive faces to give the party a literal facelift, and streamlining cadre are among the key organisational reforms on the cards as the CPM gears up for its first-ever extended state committee meeting. A slew of unprecedented steps, hitherto unheard of in the CPM, are in the making, if sources are to be believed. Among the refor ms that would bring in greater flexibility for the rank and file, while ensuring better connect with the masses, is a move to allow CPM extended state committee from today The three-day CPM extended state committee meeting beginning in Kozhikode on Sunday is expected to set in motion a major course correction. However, the big questions remain — Will it discuss leadership change, and will it be overshadowed by the ED-Pinarayi tussle? P4 party functionaries take up employment or engage in revenueearning professions. “We have many professionals, especially advocates, serving as party functionaries and hence are unable to pursue their profession. A suggestion has come up that they should be allowed to engage in a career path — preferably part time or self employment — even while continuing with party work. Hence, the party will not have to provide them whole-timer allowance. It would bring in better transparency and help connect with the masses too,” said a senior leader. Currently, the CPM has 6,129 whole-timers in Kerala. The figure comes to 10,473 nationally . Another proposal doing the rounds is to win the masses through ‘new faces with clean image’. At a time when the party is at the receiving end of public criticism — especially for arrogant posturing and unfriendly approach — this could bring in a major change, felt ● More on P4 leaders.  E x p r e s s Re a d New power policy in October, says CM S Arabia shuts Red Sea oil pipeline Kochi: We do not view the ongoing severe power crisis as a setback, but as a golden opportunity to formulate a comprehensive power policy and power management system, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said on Saturday. He said the government will roll out a new power policy in October. P5 Riyadh: Saudi Arabia said drones launched from Iraq led to the temporary closure of it East-West pipeline, used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. On a day Brent crude surpassed $104 a barrel, analysts said the rupture of the critical Hormuz-bypass line could strangle oil supplies for a lot of countries | P9 asian games Engineer, marketing exec, content editor India’s teqball crew g o m e s h s @ Chennai The name doesn’t ring a bell at all nor there are any trailblazing tales. Teqball it is. And the game is part of the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. The sport and its sportpersons are shrouded in a veil of mystery They come . from obscure and varied backgrounds. If one is a digital marketing planner, the other is a content manager and one is an engineer — a motley crew that will represent India in Nagoya. They are part-time professionals and part-time players. Juggling their work and game, the found their way into Asiad. Teqball, founded in Hungary around 2014, is a fast-growing sport that combines the agility of football and nuances of table tennis. Played on a curved TT table with a football, each match is decided by a best-of-three sets, with the first to get to 12 points (From left) Quimcy Dsouza, Anas Baig and Declan Gonsalves | special arrangement winning the set. Much like table tennis, it is played in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles categories. And similar to football, the players are not allowed to use their arm or hand. The sport first came to India around 201819, but in the last few years te- qball has started to take wings, and a late addition to the Asian Games meant India will take part in three categories. The players are Anas Baig, Declan Gonsalves and Quimcy Dsouza. “We started this sport back in 2022,” Quimcy tells this daily. “We started this sport when nobody knew it, honestly For the . last four years, we haven’t been seen. We are doing this for the love of the game,” she adds.  Full story: newindianexpress.com. M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram The forgotten nilavilakku, uruli, chembu kudam and other metal utensils in your attic could now be worth a fortune, thanks to American President Donald Trump. Fears over a possible new tax on copper imports to the United States, coupled with a supply crunch, have pushed up copper, brass and bronze prices across the world. In Keralam, the concurrent scrap prices of these metals were up 40-45% in just eight months. This is the sharpest rise in at least five years, official data show. The price of copper on the London Metal Exchang e (LME), the main benchmark, touched $14,700 a tonne this month. It crossed $12,000 for the first time last December. In Keralam, scrap copper price, the average across districts, rose from `720/kg in November 2025 to `1,010 by July, 2026. The prices of brass and bronze, both with high copper content, too, have risen sharply The price of brass rose from . `477 a kg to `672 a kg and bronze from `475 a kg to `687 a kg during the period. An analysis of the annual ‘Price Statistics’ reports of the economics and statistics department shows that scrap copper price has more than doubled in five years. In July 2021, it went for around `481/ kg. Between 2021 and 2025, copper prices grew steadily, by Scrap metal prices in Kerala (Rs/kg) Metal Nov July Change 2025 2026 Copper 720 1,010 +40% Brass 477 672 +41% Bronze 475 687 +45% Aluminium 172 208 +20% Iron 25 27 +5% Steel 40 42 +5% 6-17% annually Market watch. ers attribute the rise to different factors, mostly the worry over a possible tariff hike on refined copper by the US next year. “The proposal for a 15% import tariff on refined copper has forced US traders to stockpile the metal, resulting in shortages elsewhere. Along with copper, prices of the alloys brass and bronze, too, have gone up. Other reasons include growing demand from the electric vehicle and artificial intelligence industries, China’s export curbs and a supply crunch due to mining sector interruptions,” Prof C Veeramani, director of the Centre for Development Stud● More on P4 ies, pointed out.