tadepalligudem l friday l october 23, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Trump Says Google’s Pichai Rejected Atlantic Ocean Rename President Trump says he called Google CEO Sundar Pichai about renaming Atlantic Ocean as Trump Ocean, but Pichai shot down his idea oceans are different: pichai’s pushback not without name change precedents President Trump said this at at a South Carolina rally on October 21. Trump floated the concept, saying he spoke to Pichai about the proposal. “And I said, Sundar, I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean. Can you handle it?” Trump recalled asking. Pichai replied: “No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it. Oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover a lot of countries” ■ ■ President Trump said he will “probably pass” on the idea after Pichai’s pushback to renaming the Atlantic Ocean The comments follow his administration’s earlier renaming efforts. Shortly after taking office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America Aug 2026 was when the u.s. renamed lake ontario as lake america 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 India condemns Pilot project to make India’s 3 crore continued hits undergraduates ready for job market on Saudi infra S LALITHA @ New Delhi Religious edu curriculum for minorities in U’khand n a r en d r a s e t h i @ Dehradun UTTARAKHAND is poised to become the first state to introduce a formal religious education curriculum that combines lessons on faith with Indian history, culture and nationalism. The syllabus has been drafted and is awaiting approval from the state education department. The curriculum is intended for children from minority communities and has been prepared under the state’s minority education framework. Along with religious teachings and beliefs, it will cover India’s cultural heritage, the freedom struggle and contributions of prominent figures to nationbuilding. The curriculum is designed to link religious learning with wider themes of India’s past and identity . The syllabus for Classes 1 to 8 has already been prepared, a top source said. A draft for Classes 9 to 12 has also been completed and will be submitted to the education department for approval. Professor Surjeet Singh Gandhi, chairperson of the Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority, said the body was awaiting the state’s approval. A source at the minorities commission said religious education under the proposed system would be optional. Students would be free to choose whether to attend the classes, which schools may offer before or after re gular academic lessons. Indian killed in Houthi attack; PM call for dialogue and diplomacy in talks with Bibi J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India on Thursday strongly condemned continued attacks by Houthi rebels on civilian and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam that killed an Indian national. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated New Delhi’s call for dialogue and diplomacy during a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they exchanged views on recent developments in West Asia and the urgent need to restore peace and stability in the region. The External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said the attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure were “completely unacceptable and must cease immediately”, while expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia and calling for the early restoration of peace and normalcy in West Asia. “We strongly condemn the continued attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield in the Eastern Province on October 21,” the MEA said in a statement. The attack on Dammam airport late Wednesday killed two persons, including an Indian national, and injured eight others, among them two Indians. Separately Modi spoke to Netanyahu and dis, cussed bilateral ties and the escalating situation in West Asia. The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral ties and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the Special Strategic Partnership. “Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s call for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. The government parallelly stepped up efforts to facilitate the return of Umrah pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia following flight disruptions triggered by the regional escalation. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Indian missions in Riyadh and Jeddah were working with airlines and tour operators to arrange their return. “Over the past week, about 3,000 stranded Umrah pilgrims have travelled from Saudi Arabia back to India on available flights,” Jaiswal said. More than 10,000 other Umrah pilgrims who had booked available flights had also returned during the same period. “Arrangements are being discussed to facilitate the return of other Umrah pilgrims at the earliest,” Jaiswal said, adding that 24-hour control rooms had been established to assist Indian nationals. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi had urged the Centre to intervene, claiming that thousands of Indian pilgrims remained stranded in Makkah and Madina and calling for additional flights to bring them home. Randhir Jaiswal We stand in solidarity with the people and the government of Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, and hope that peace and normalcy would return to the region at the earliest MEA statement Invite to Modi Netanyahu invited Modi to light a torch alongside Indian pilot Smit Machchhar on Israel’s Independence Day, praising the pilot for his role in foiling an attempt to hijack a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai flight Anti-terror fight “Modi thanked me for the invitation and said that, on the ground and in the air, India and Israel are fighting together against terrorism,” Netanyahu added in posts in Hindi and Hebrew 4 Bhavani devotees run over by SUV E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kakinada In a devastating road accident, four devotees travelling to Vijayawada as part of their Bhavani Deeksha were killed, and three others critically injured when a speeding SUV hit them on the National Highway 16 near Kattipudi junction in Kakinada district on Thursday . The fatal mishap occurred around 5.40 am at Ravikampadu Centre, where a private bus carrying nearly 40 pilgrims from Denkada village in Vizianagaram district halted for a tea break. The devotees were on their way to fulfil their religious vows at the Durga temple in Vijayawada upon completing their Bhavani Deeksha. When a few passengers alighted from the bus, and crossed the highway toward a roadside tea stall, a speeding Mahindra Scorpio travelling from the Visakhapatnam direction mowed them down. Three devotees—Chirigidi Yerrayya (38), Lingala Seetharam (45), and Bonela Ramana Sathibabu (40)—died on the spot, while Thatipudi Siva Prasad (40) succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to the Kakinada Gover nment P4 General Hospital.  UNION education ministry’s Review Committee on National Education Policy is on a mission to equip college students with the requisite job skills that will make them stand out in the job market. This will be done by arranging tie-ups with companies and other large employers to provide students industry experience and a taste of real-work pressures, the panel’s chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said on Thursday . Speaking to this newspaper, the former UGC chairman said the NEP review panel’s primary focus is on the nearly 3 crore undergraduates of BA, BSc and BCom courses. “A pilot project is underway press clusive NEP review panel Jagadesh Kumar was roped in as chairman of the NEP review panel in January. Its members include the higher education secretary and vice-chancellors of multiple universities. Its objective is to keep track of the progress made by the state govts in implementing NEP in 30 universities. The All India Survey on National Education 2023-2024 states that there are 4.5 crore students in higher education and 76.8% of them are undergraduates. Our focus is on BA, BCom and BSc students, who constitute the majority The programme will be . extended across all states. The response from workplaces as well as colleges and universities has been encouraging,” said Kumar, who is also the chairperson of the Board of Governors at IIM Calcutta. The Apprentice Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP) permits undergraduate students to spend up to 18 months to gain live industry experience. “It helps SEC reschedules polling for all 100 Urban Local Bodies to November 1 S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada In compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court, the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday decided to allow , fresh nominations for specific sensitive wards where obstruction was legally established in four Urban Local Bodies—Kadapa Municipal Corporation, Rajampet and Mydukur Municipalities in Kadapa district, and Tirupati Municipal Corporation in Tirupati district. The fresh filing of nominations in these ULBs will be allowed on October 23 and 24, 2026, between 11 am and 3 pm. Considering the revised dates for nominations in these ULBs, polling for all 100 ULBs has been rescheduled to November 1, with vote counting set for November 3, 2026. This major electoral intervention comes as a direct result of petitions filed by the YSRCP in the Supreme Court, challenging widespread violence, physical attacks, intimidation, and forcible obstruction of opposition candidates during the initial nomination phase held from October 16 to 18, 2026. After reviewing extensive field reports, video footage, and electronic evidence submitted by aggrieved parties under apex court directions, the SEC established that prospective candidates in select sensitive wards had been wrongfully prevented from filing their papers. In strict compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders on October 21, the SEC halted the ongoing election process on October 21 to provide aggrieved aspirants a fair opportunity to contest. To ensure a secure environment and prevent any recurrence of law and order disruptions, the SEC has expanded the filing infrastructure for the extended window. In addition to the previously notified Returning Officer centres, nomination papers will also be received within the secure premises of respective district collectorates as specified by the district election authorities. them apply their knowledge to real problems. Students who only want to pursue their degree academically are at liberty to do so,” Kumar said. Under AEDP, students will likely be provided apprenticeships at their place of residence so that “they do not have to migrate for the purpose of work and it boosts the local economy too,” he added. Some companies pay the students while others only offer hands-on training. “If it is a government apprenticeship scheme, students get financially compensated,” Kumar said. The panel also plans to take the assistance of local district magistrates who have a thorough understanding of a specific area and can offer invaluable guidance. E x p r e s s Re a d Ensure grounding of investment pacts: CM Vijayawada: Chairing the 22nd State Investment Promotion Board meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to focus on converting investment pacts signed with industrialists into actual investments, and ensuring that projects become operational at the earliest | P4 27.54 lakh children screened under RBSK Vijayawada: Under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), authorities have conducted the free health screening for 27.54 lakh children across the State over the past three months. As mays as 27,039 children with specific health defects are currently receiving specialised treatment in major hospitals | P3 AP pomegranate arils exported to New Zealand dian agricultural and horticultural produce. APEDA has been facilitating agricultural exports by connecting Indian producers and exporters with international markets. The export is expected to highlight the potential of value-added horticultural products from AP in global markets. GVK Naidu, Managing Director of Sam Agri Tech Limited, Nageshwar Rao, Technical Director, G Satish, Deputy Director and District Horticulture Officer, Chittoor, and Vijay Balaji Yadav KV Assistant , Manager, APEDA Regional Office, Visakhapatnam, attended the event. Joint Director of Horticulture MG Deva Muni Reddy, Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade Sunkara Palani Phani Kiran, and APEDA Assistant General Manager RP Naidu participated in the ceremony virtually . E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chittoor The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand, which came into force on October 20, 2026, has provided an opportunity to export horticultural produce from Chittoor district. The first export consignment of 500 kg of pomegranate arils from Chittoor was sent to New Zealand on Thursday. Sam Agri Tech Limited at Srini Food Park in Mogili village of Bangarupalem mandal had exported the Bhagwa variety of pomegranate arils worth $8,260 (around `7 lakh) to New Zealand. The consignment was dispatched to the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for shipment to New Zealand. The flag-off ceremony was organised by the Agricultural The flag-off ceremony of the first consignment of pomegranate arils from Chittoor to New Zealand | Express and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Regional Office. The initiative is aimed at expanding market access for In- images of protest Forced to remove ‘political’ photos from solo show, Raihan Vadra says art is political S r e s t h a S a r k a r @ New Delhi Some of the solo photo exibits that were taken down; and (inset) Raihan Vadra | Special arrangement A day after 75 out of 105 photographs by Raihan Vadra, son of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were taken down from Bikaner House, the artist said art knows no political boundary His family backed him while . the venue, owned by the Rajasthan government, claimed the “photographs breached guidelines” and were against policy . Raihan told TNIE on Thursday that he’d asked what the venue’s policy was but had not received a “logical enough” response. On his mother’s social media post, he said, “My family has been very supportive about the entire issue and asked me to continue my work despite such a fiasco.” In the post addressed to Raihan, the MP said, “When someone with power becomes afraid of the expression of another, he doesn’t know it, but he has already lost the very power he is trying to protect.” Meanwhile, Raihan was looking for a place to display the entire solo show, ‘No Idea Is Fi- No blank frames either Raihan said the team replaced the “political” photos with blank frames but was told that too was unacceptable. “They left one photo of the Tricolour in place but ... removed the other photo of the Indian flag themselves,” he said nal’, with Travancore Palace emerging as an option. Refuting BJP’s charges that he was being positioned for a political role, Raihan said, “This art is my politics... I have no plans to join any party... and anyway, art is political.” Bikaner House in a statement on Thursday said certain of Raihan’s works were found to be inconsistent with its policy, and their removal was requested. The team didn’t clarify what the guidelines were. Raihan said the venue’s management asked him to remove photographs of recent youth movements in India, citing their “political nature”, five hours before the show was to open on Wednesday He said his . proposal, approved on June 30, 2025 by the venue, had said the show would feature images exploring themes of “choice, control and unity”. Raihan said he was contacted by the management at 6 pm on Tuesday and asked to remove the protest pictures. He was subsequently told to remove all works considered “political” by 3.30 pm Wednesday, failing which the exhibition would be cancelled. He added the works had since been removed to allow the show to continue until October 25.