Commonwealth sports delegate satisfied with amdavad venues KOllam l saturday l april 11, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION A threemember CS team led by its president Donald Rukare visited all the sporting infrastructure to assess preparation Chief Rukare satisfied with preparations CS chief Rukare said that all the venues were inspected and was satisfied with preparation for 2030 Games. Venues include Narendra Modi Stadium, Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Mahatma Mandir and IIT Gandhinagar. The delegation undertook a comprehensive multi-city visit from April 8 to 10 across Amdavad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara and Ekta Nagar 16-17 number of sports that may be included in the Games roster 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 Tehran hardens Marco Rubio to come calling in May stance ahead of talks with Vance J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Demands ceasefire in Lebanon; Vance flies to Islamabad; Iranian delegation yet to arrive A g e n c e i s @ Washington/Islamabad AS the Pakistan-brokered limited ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared to hold for the fourth day on Friday, US Vice President J D Vance left for Islamabad to hold talks with Iranian negotiators on Saturday morning local time. US President Donald Trump’s sonin-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff are part of the US team. Iran’s delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad day Bagher Ghalibaf was expected to reach Islamabad on Friday evening, but has not. Indicating the possibility that Tehran could pull out of the talks, Ghalibaf said a ceasefire must take hold in Lebanon before talks can begin. The US, Iran and Pakistan have given conflicting accounts of whether Israel’s strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon are part of the ceasefire agreed on April 7. Iran and Pakistan claim Lebanon is part of the deal; US says it is not. Even if the talks take place as scheduled, no immediate breakthrough is expected on 42 Day 1. Negotiations with Iran are known to be time-consuming and complex. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has indicated that the talks could continue for 15 days, which means the 15-day ceasefire would be extended. The truce pact is already facing pressure with both the US and Iran flagging violations of the ceasefire agreement. Israel has stepped up its attack on Lebanon. As for Iran, it continues to control the Strait of Hormuz and has not been allowing free movement of vessels through it, drilling holes in Trump’s claim that he got Iran to open up the vital passage. Taking to his social media platform Truth Social to vent his angst, Trump said Iran was doing “a very poor job” in freeing the Strait of Hormuz. “That is not the agreement we have!” he rued. Before leaving for Pakistan, Vance warned Iran not to try to “play” the US unless it wants bad results. Curiously the US and Iranian , teams won’t sit across the table during the meet; they will sit in separate rooms with Pakistani officials going from one room to the other to pass on messages. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India in May, the United States announced, signaling renewed momentum in ties between New Delhi and Washington after recent strains over trade issues. The visit comes as both sides are preparing to revive negotiations aimed at sealing an interim trade agreement, indicating a shared push to their economic engagement. The announcement followed a “productive meeting” between Rubio and express read 10 killed as boat capsizes in Vrindavan Lucknow: At least 10 lives were lost and 24 others rescued when a boat carrying a group of pilgrims from Punjab capsized at the Keshi Ghat along the river Yamuna in Vrindavan in Mathura district on Friday afternoon. Based on accounts provided by witnesses, it seems that the boat crashed into the pontoon bridge, leading to the accident. P8 Monalisa’s marriage to Farmaan in legal trouble Bhopal: Monalisa, who shot to fame during the Mahakumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj, is at the centre of a legal controversy — a month after her marriage to Farmaan Khan, a UP native, at a temple in Kerala. A probe by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has found that she was a minor at the time of marriage on March 11, 2026. P8 Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at the White House, where both sides reviewed key pillars of the bilateral relationship, including trade, critical minerals, defence cooperation, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who attended the meeting, confirmed the upcoming visit in a post on X. “Secretary Rubio looks forward to visiting India next month,” Gor said. They envoy said that dis- cussions with Misri focused on strengthening cooperation across strategic sectors. During his three-day visit to Washington, Misri also met US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. According to the State Department, the two sides “reaffirmed the close partnership” and exchanged views on global and regional developments, including the situation in the Persian Gulf. Separately , US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker emphasized expanding cooperation in security and economic domains. “We are finding practical ways to make both Americans and Indians safer and more prosperous, including through the Quad,” Hooker said. The Indian Embassy in Washington said that discussions also reviewed progress since the last Foreign Office Consultations in December and covered recent developments in West Asia and other areas of mutual interest. 3 days on, missing Palakkad girl found dead in Chikkamagaluru T h i p p e r u d r a p pa B @ Chikkamagaluru Three days after she went missing, Srinanda, a 15-yearold from Palakkad, was found dead about 2,000 ft below the Manikyadhara waterfalls in the Chandradrona Hill ranges in Karnataka on Friday . Srinanda, Class 10 student of Kadampazhipuram High School, was part of a 40-member tourist group that had visited Datta Peeta and Manikyadhara falls in Chikkamagaluru district on the evening of April 7. She reportedly got separated from her family and went missing the same day . Srinanda’s body was traced after a joint effort by the Karnataka forest department, fire and emergency services, police and SDRF personnel. The operation had continued for three days, with teams using thermal drones and combing the difficult terrain. As news of her death reached the family, scenes of grief unfolded at the site. Her relatives broke down before the media, struggling to come to terms with the loss. Her mother, Rohini, inconsolable, questioned the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death. Rohini said she could not believe her daughter had slipped accidentally near the falls. She alleged the possibility of foul play, claiming that someone might have taken advantage of the girl being alone and abducted her after administering drugs. “A detailed probe must be conducted to find out whether it is a murder or an accidental fall,” she said. Earlier, the girl’s uncle, Sasikumar, had filed a missing complaint with the police. Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Dayama said it was too early to conclude whether the death was due to a fall or suicide. “It is yet to be ascertained whether it was a slip or a jump. The case has been registered, and investigation will be carried out from all possible angles,” he said, adding that the exact cause of death would be known after the postmortem report is received. The postmortem was conducted at Mallegowda General Hospital and the body was handed over to the family members. Post-poll punch: Father-son duo takes on Church E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @Kottayam A day after polling, BJP’s father-son duo P C George and Shone George launched a scathing attack on the Catholic Church, accusing it — and its official mouthpiece, Deepika daily — of working against the N DA i n t h e a s s e m b l y elections. “If the Church doesn’t want us, we don’t want them either,” Shone said on Friday . Claiming that Christian leaders in the BJP had effectively intervened in issues affecting the Church, including the controversial FCRA Bill, he asked, “What will I tell Amit Shah if he asks me what the Church has done for us in return?” However, he later softened his stance, saying he would raise a complaint with the bishops over what he described as biased coverage targeting the BJP . BJP state vice-president Shone is the NDA candidate in Pala and P C George in neighbouring Poonjar. “We intervened in the FCRA issue after taking the concerns of the bishops and the Church seriously Subsequently parlia. , ment postponed the bill. The BJP and the Union government have already assured discussions to address these concerns. Despite this, attempts were made from various quarters to deliberately harm the BJP. I strongly condemn the campaigns carried out by the Deepika daily on election day,” he ● More on P4 said.