Chennai l saturday l november 16, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION PCB’s PoK CT Trophy tour: BCCI protests, ICC puts it on hold ICC on Friday put on hold Champions Trophy tour of disputed Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) following BCCI’s strong objection Photo: Twitter BCCI takes up issue with international body PCB had tweeted that they would take the trophy to PoK. “Get ready, Pakistan! The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour kicks off in Islamabad on 16 November, also visiting scenic travel destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad,” it tweeted. BCCI secretary Jay Shah reportedly protested with the ICC quite strongly ■ 1996 ‘discussions on’ over trophy tour ■ ■ The tournament, last held in 2017, is already in a limbo after BCCI refused to send its team to Pakistan for the tournament PCB announced the tour without prior knowledge of all stakeholders PCB is saying that discussion between the PCB and the ICC are going on the Trophy tour | P15 Last global men’s event in pak was when they co-hosted World cup 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 The name is Bond... for top RNG award Lifetime achievement award goes to Ruskin Bond, Non-fiction award to Neerja Chowdhury, Fiction award to Aishwarya Jha journos must be daring, says chinmaya mission head M u ke s h R a nj a n @ New Delhi Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman awardees Ruskin Bond (represented by granddaughter Srishti), who was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award (4th from L), Non-fiction award winner Neerja Chowdhury (6th from L) and Fiction award winner Aishwarya Jha (3rd from L) with (from L) TNIE CEO Lakshmi Menon, TNIE CMD Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, Chinmaya Mission global head Swami Swaroopanandaji, TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, and TNIE Editor Santwana Bhattacharya, in New Delhi on Friday | Shekhar Yadav P r a c h i S at r a w a l @ New Delhi “Words steer the mind and heart, revealing the truth that uplifts and transforms,” said Swami Swaroopanandaji, Global Head, Chinmaya Mission, as he inaugurated the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman 2024 at Bharat Mandapam on Friday . An evening dedicated to celebrating the enduring power of storytelling, the awards brought together luminaries from India’s literary and journalistic circles to honour exceptional voices in fiction, non-fiction, and lifetime achievement. The Sahithya Samman, instituted in memory of Ramnath Goenka, the visionary founder of The New Indian Express group, pays tribute to the trans- Finance talks on at a snail’s pace S V Krishna Chaitanya EXPRESS IN BAKU The climate finance talks at COP29 are going on at a snail’s pace with no significant headway although five days have passed. Yalchin Rafiyev, COP29 lead negotiator, on Friday called upon the parties to use the precious time wisely. “...talk to each other and take ownership of building bridging solutions. We must be honest. We believe that the pace of their work is currently too slow. We cannot afford to leave too much work to be covered later in the summit at t h e p o l i t i c a l level.” At a high-level ministerial, India on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) made a statement reiterating its demand from the developed countries for $1.3 trillion annually until 2030. “We are at a crucial juncture in our fight against climate change. What we decide here will enable all of us, particularly those in the Global South, to not only take ambitious mitigation action but also adapt to climate change. This COP is historic in this context,” lead negotiator Naresh Pal Gangwar said.  Continued on: P13 formative force of literature. Speaking at the event, Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Sonthalia described the awards as “a powerful testimony to the resilience, complexity , and beauty of the human experience.” He added, “Today, we honour authors whose works have risen above the ordinary to touch the extraordinary .” Elaborating on the significance of the awards, Editor Santwana Bhattacharya said: “An entity so utterly mundane, familiar, and yet also a stranger— this is what the word is. It was iconised by our founder Ramnath Goenka. Imagine a blank editorial, a silence that echoes through the ages; such aware- ness would not be out of place in a poet. It is fitting, therefore, to have a literary award instituted in his honour.” One of the highlights was the Lifetime Achievement Award to celebrated author Ruskin Bond, represented by his granddaughter Srishti Bond. In a heartfelt video message, the 90-year-old author expressed his gratitude: “This is a happy moment for me... I only wish I could be with you. I am sending my beloved granddaughter Srishti to receive it.” The Non-fiction award went to veteran journalist Neerja Chowdhury for How Prime Ministers Decide, a meticulous exploration of pivotal decisions by six Indian Prime Ministers. “To receive a literary award in Ramnath Goenka’s name is an honour,” she said. Jury chair, author and former diplomat Pavan Varma shed light on the rigorous selection process: “Each work presented a unique lens on India. The sheer depth of research and narrative scope in Neerja Chowdhury’s book set a new benchmark for contemporary non-fiction.” In the Fiction category debut , author Aishwarya Jha received the award for The Scent of Fallen Stars, a poignant tale of love and longing. Quoting V S Naipaul in her acceptance speech, Jha said, “Fiction reveals... I feel honoured to receive this award that celebrates India’s diversity and beauty  .” P9 Hailing the doyen of the Indian media, Ramnath Goenka, as a “great independent thinker”, Swami Swaroopanandaji, the global head of Chinmaya Mission, on Friday said responsible journalists have to be daring and courageous and should write facts without prejudice to convey the truth. The Swami was the chief guest at the 2nd edition of the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman ceremony in Delhi. Swaroopanandaji in his address said writers “are those who protect and spread the knowledge to the world”. Reminding people about the timeless impact of epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata on the lives of the people, SwarooResponsible panandaji dwelt on the journalism role of Sanjaya, advisor should be of the blind King Dhricourageous, tarashtra in the Mahabfearless and harata. “Sanjaya narindependent. rated the developments The wellbeing of society in the Kurukshetra war should be at as it unfolded to his the core of blind king without prejresponsible udice and with a lot of journalism clarity he said. ,” The spiritual leader Swami cautioned that when Swaroopanandaji fact and truth are muddled and falsehood is spread as fact, the situation becomes very harmful for the society . Noting that he did not see any difference in the various forms of writing – fiction, non-fiction or media reporting, he said, “In either form, if a writer is able to bring out the better self of people to think independently, the work should be considered a great success.” Talking about the difference between fact and truth, he said, “When fact is told without prejudice it becomes truth.” Authors of books, he added, “should lead us with their writings to allow us to live in unity and harmony. Such writings benefit the society forever.” Massive fire in UP hospital, 10 newborns dead N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow Ten newborn babies died of burn injuries and suffocation after a massive fire broke out at the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) of Rani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh late on Friday night. Jhansi Range DIG Kalanidhi Naithani said the ward had 54 children in all and 44 were rescued after the accident, which occurred around 10.45 pm. Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said a short circuit in the NICU was believed to have caused the fire. “A committee has been formed under Jhansi Divisional Commissioner to probe the incident. It will submit a report to the CM,” he added. The fire led to a stampede-like situation with people trying to flee. Doctors and medical staff were seen evacuating patients by breaking the windows of the ward filled with smoke and doors blocked by flames. Panic and screams of parents of victims gripped the medical college where the incident occurred. Parents were seen pleading with authorities to save the lives of their children. The fire brigade rushed to the site soon after the incident and the district administration also called in the Army to help out. The bodies of 10 newborn babies were recovered. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. He also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured. The CM directed officials and doctors to reach the spot immediately for relief work. Yogi has sought a report on the incident from Jhansi divisional commissioner and DIG within 12 hours. Row over PM’s plane snag Sinhalese-majority alliance as Rahul’s chopper delayed captures Tamil fort on its own MU K E SH RA N J A N @ Ranchi the special IAF aircraft carrying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday developed a snag, stranding him in Jharkhand’s Deoghar airport for over two hours till a replacement plane came from Delhi. The incident caused a ripple effect with Congress leader Rahul’s Gandhi’s helicopter being denied permission to take off from Godda, due to the airspace restrictions in the region for the PM’s visit. Officials said Modi waited inside the grounded IAF aircraft for 2 hours and 15 minutes till the alternative plane arrived. Modi was supposed to return to Delhi after addressing a poll rally in Bihar’s Jamui, around 80 km from Deoghar. As a precautionary measure, the region’s airspace was declared a no-fly zone. Around this time, Rahul was caught in a similar situation with his helicopter being grounde d f o r t wo h o u r s , prompting protests from the Congress. The Congress and JMM wrote to the Election Commission demanding a level-playing field for all parties, saying the PM’s poll campaign can’t take precedence over others’. pon vasanth Express @ Sri Lanka Parliamentary polls Nuwara Eliya While everyone expected the National People’s Power (NPP) to win the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections, the party’s spectacular scale of victory in the results declared on Friday has surprised many . For the first time after the introduction of the new Constitution in 1978, which brought in the unicameral parliament, a single pre-poll alliance has won more than High Commissioner of India to SL Santosh Jha congratulates SL Prez Anura in Colombo on Friday | pti two-thirds majority . NPP has secured 159 of 225 seats (141 elected members and 18 through the national list based on proportional above board Hugs, kisses of teens sweet nothings, not crime: HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Madurai Observing that it is natural for two teenage people in love to hug and kiss each other, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently quashed a sexual harassment case registered against a 20-year-old man for rejecting the marriage proposal of his girlfriend despite hugging and kissing her. Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the order on a petition filed by the man seeking to quash the FIR re gistered against him by the Thoothukudi police in 2022. The prosecution’s case was that the petitioner and the complainant, who were then 20 and 19 years old, respectively had been in , a relationship since 2020. On November 13, 2022, at 9 pm, the petitioner had al- legedly invited the complainant to a secluded spot. They were involved in conversation till midnight and the petitioner had also allegedly hugged and kissed the complainant. Following this, the complainant had informed her parents about their relationship. She had also asked the petitioner to marry her. However, the petitioner rejected her proposal and started avoiding her, the woman said. Due to this, she lodged a police complaint and an FIR was registered against the petitioner. Justice Venkatesh noted that though a notice was issued, the complainant did not appear before the court. “To constitute an offence under Section 354-A (1) (i) of the IPC, a man must commit physical contact and make advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures,” he said. P7 representation) in the parliament in the elections held on Thursday . However, more importantly this is the first time in the , country’s history that a Sinhalese-majority formation, without the support of any established Tamil entity has , emerged as the leading party in regions with predominantly ethnic minority population. The sole exception was Batticaloa, where the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), the largest Tamil party, won three of the five seats while NPP and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won one each. P7 express read CM lays foundation for `1,000-cr footwear unit Ariyalur: CM M K Stalin on Friday laid the foundation stone for a new manufacturing unit of Dean Shoes, a Taiwanese non-leather company, at Mahimaipuram SIPCOT near Jayankondam in Ariyalur. The firm will invest `1,000 crore and the project is expected to generate 15K jobs | P4 DMK, AIADMK keen on just trading charges: HC Chennai: Justice P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court on Friday commented that DMK and AIADMK are interested more in trading charges than in people’s welfare. They are indulging in such acts probably for their existence, he said | P2 Fuel spill sparks blaze at funeral home; woman dies, three injured E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Coimbatore A 53-year-old schoolteacher died and three others sustained burns in a fire that broke out during the funeral arrangement of her mother-in-law at her house at KRG Nagar in Ganapathy in Coimbatore on Friday afternoon. Police said two of the three survivors suffered over 60% burn injuries and are critical. According to sources, the fire broke out after the petrol spilled while refuelling a portable generator, kept for operating the freezer box, hit a nearby earthen lamp. According to sources, B Ramalakshmi (83) from KRG Nagar died of age-related illness on Thursday evening. She was living with her son Murugasubramanian (60) and her daughterin-law Padmavathi (53), who was working as a Tamil teacher at a school in Ram Nagar in Coimbatore. P7