Kannur l thursday l august 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Indian refinery ships diesel to China for first time since 2021 Indian refiner Nayara Energy, backed by Russian oil giant Rosneft, has shipped diesel to China amid European Union sanctions over its Russia link Cargo loaded from Vadinar, Gujarat India-China relations on the mend? According to reports, Nayara Energy loaded the cargo at Vadinar terminal on July 18 and the shipment departed hours before the European Union announced new restrictions on the refinery. The vessel was initially bound for Malaysia but made a U-turn in the Strait of Malacca and was anchored for 12 days. It has since updated its destination to Zhoushan, China ■ ■ After facing backlash from the US and European Union, India has taken various steps toward re-engagement with China. It has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals after a five-year suspension, and is set to resume direct flights between the two countries soon For its part, China has eased curbs on urea shipments to India | P10 4,96,000 Barrels Of ultra-low sulfur diesel in Nayara’s cargo bound for China 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 100 STREET DOGS relocated: MCD The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it has picked up 100 stray dogs so far and converted 20 animal birth control centres into shelters Amid pushback, spl bench to hear stray dogs issue Matter to be heard today; CJI B R Gavai acts after uproar against two-judge bench order S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi CHIEF Justice of India B R Gavai on Wednesday evening constituted a special bench comprising justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria to hear the stray dogs issue, after a two-judge bench’s order for blanket removal of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR led to a nationwide uproar. The larger, three-judge bench will hear the matter on Thursday . Earlier in the day the , CJI said he would look into it after a pending Special Leave Petition that also dealth with the stray dogs issue was mentioned before him by lawyer Nanita Sharma. Referring to a May 2024 order passed by an SC bench relegating petitions relating to stray dogs to the respective high courts, the laywer said the stray dogs issue needs clarity because two benches of the apex court passed conflicting orders in the matter. “There is an earlier judgment of this court, of a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol, which says there cannot be indiscriminate killing of canines and that compassion for all living beings has to be there,” Sharma, appearing for the Conference for Human Rights (India), told the CJI-led bench, also comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran. The lawyer brought to the court’s attention the overlapping nature of these matters and the possibility of conflicting directions. The recent order to permanently relocate all stray from streets to shelters was passed by a bench comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan on August 11 on a suo-motu case. The order said dog shelters would have to be augmented over time and directed civic authorities in Delhi and NCR to start with creating shelters of around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks. The two-judge bench also warned of strict action against individuals and organisations that may try to create any obstruction in the relocation drive. It said contempt proceedings would be initiated against those concerned, in case of any such move. Relationship with India, Pakistan unchanged: US J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi AMID its deepening strategic salience with Pakistan, the US on Wednesday said there is no change in its relationship with either India or Pakistan. “Our relationship with both nations remains unchanged, and our diplomats are committed to both countries,” said US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce while responding to questions about the growing US-Pakistan security engagement. The com- ments came in the wake of Pak Army chief Asim Munir’s recent visit to the US and concerns over his reported nuclear rhetoric during closed-door meetings. Munir’s trip, his second in less than two months—featured a series of high-level meetings with senior US military and political officials. It followed a private luncheon with President Donald Trump in June and reflects growing US-Pakistan security alignment, particularly in counter-terrorism. commonwealth games set for india return ioa approves 2030 bid IOA general body was required because IOA is the governing body of the Commonwealth Games Association in India with IOA president PT Usha as its chief. As reported by this newspaper in March, the CGA president had sent a formal letter of intent s h o w c a s i n g I n d i a ’s strong ancient cultural and historical heritage and technology-driven future to reimagine the Games for a new generation. The expression of interest was supported by letters from various ministries of the Gujarat government. in d raneel d as @ Chennai Twenty years after 2010, India is set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030. The Indian Olympic Association formally approved the bid during its Special General Meeting on Wednesday . With Canada, the other contender, backing out, the possibility of India hosting the event brightens. This will also help elevate its image as a capable host for multi-discipline events and improve its chances of hosting Olympic Games in 2036. The nod from the Ignore guv’s ‘partition day’ directive: Govt to colleges E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @T’Puram Signalling another showdown with Governor Rajendra Arlekar, the state government has instructed colleges not to implement the Raj Bhavan’s directive to observe ‘Partition Horror Day’ on August 14. Higher Education Minister R Bindu told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday that the state government was against observance of ‘Partition Horror Day’ on campuses across the state on the eve of Independence Day as it would Min: Move will lead to communal polarisation’ Minister R Bindu said government was against observance of ‘Partition Horror Day’ on campuses on the eve of Independence Day as it would lead to “communal polarisation”. lead to “communal polarisation”. Bindu said the government has instructed the Direc- Poll rolls bound to be revised periodically, says Supreme Court S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the electoral rolls cannot be static and were bound to be revised periodically, disagreeing with the submission of a petitioner that it had no basis in law, while hearing challenges to the validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, in his submission, said the Election Commission of India (ECI) had surprisingly invented a new document requirement for eight crore voters. “Even if I’m in jail, I can’t be removed from the roll without due process. Here, 65 lakh removed voters were not disqualified on any such grounds. The ECI has carried out mass exclusions. Who gave the ECI the authority to do this?” he asked. A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, said, “But the electoral list cannot remain static. A one-time exercise is only for preparing the original list and it must be revised.” Sankaranarayanan added that the ECI has begun the process in West Bengal, too, without consultation. “I appear for the state and for main petitioner ADR. Four constitutional provisions on electoral rolls haven’t been addressed yet. The right to be on the roll is sacrosanct.” To this, the court observed that the expansion of the number of documents by the ECI is voterfriendly . Global plastics treaty India backs ‘weak’ plastic treaty draft with no cap on production TNIE in Switzerland S V Krishna Chaitanya @ geneva O n the eve of the penultimate day of negotiations for a legally binding global plastics treaty, talks are in deadlock — and India has thrown its weight behind the petrochemical-producing Like-Minded Countries (LMC), accepting a weakened draft text that drops production caps and chemical controls as merely a “starting point” for talks. “We have some serious concerns Usha confirmed the news after the meeting at the IOA Bhavan in New Delhi and said the house approved the bid unanimously at the SGM which met after the CEO’s appointment was ratified last month. However, unlike the letter of intent that said Ahmedabad would be the host city she said there are , places like Bhubaneswar and Delhi. August 31 is another deadline by which India should submit various documents for bidding. IOA CEO Raghuram Iyer said that SGM was very cordial and decision unanimous. on the text proposed by you, as we see many fundamental elements (scope) missing from the text,” said Naresh Pal Gangwar, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and head of India’s delegation. “Having said this, we consider this as a good enough starting point to further our work… We also urge other member states to have trust in your leadership and express their concern during the consultation process.” The new draft, released by Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso, ahead of THE scheduled plenary on Wednesday, retains voluntary measures on product redesign, recycling, and waste management but deletes a previous article on production limits and omits all reference to chemicals of concern. The only nod to production appears in the preamble — a symbolic gesture far from the binding commitments sought by more than 100 countries. India’s alignment with the LMC, led by Kuwait and including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Malaysia, places it firmly in the camp resisting upstream measures that target the root cause of plastic pollution — the sheer volume of plastic being produced. The bloc has consistently opposed any global phase-out list, production caps, or trade restrictions on plastic products. tor of Collegiate Education and the Director of Technical Education under the Higher Education department to convey the government’s decision to colleges under their respective jurisdiction. In a circular issued by the Raj Bhavan last week, universities were asked to organise seminars and commemorative events, including street plays and dramas that highlight the “trauma” of India’s partition. It also directed vice-chancellors to submit action plans for the observance. The govern- ment’s intervention came after a few universities, such as APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University issued directions to , its affiliated colleges to conduct the programmes as directed by the governor. Meanwhile, Raj Bhavan sources chose not to react to the government’s directive. “We have never mentioned that the observance of the event is compulsory,” said a source. However, the Raj Bhavan had sent a reminder to the VCs about the programme, highlighting its ● More on P4 importance.  E X PRESS RE A D SC to constitute search panel for V-C selection New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would itself constitute a search committee to facilitate the appointment of regular vice-chancellors for APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology. The court said this after being apprised that the state government and the governor, in his capacity as chancellor of the universities, had failed to reach a consensus on the process. P5