saturdAY 23 november, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard imran khan ‘trouble began after Saudi visit’ Counting day today in Maha, J’khand Former Pakistan Prime Minister’s wife Bushra Bibi’s remarks triggered a row on Friday for apparently criticising a friendly country. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 3 women among 10 Maoists shot dead in Sukma E ja z K a i s e r @ Raipur Ten Maoists, three of them women, were gunned down in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Friday . The gunfight broke out in a forest near Bhandarpadar village, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Maoist operation, said Sundarraj P IG (Bastar range). , “Personnel of the District Res e r ve G u a rd a n d C R P F launched the operation based on a tip-off about the presence of Maoists from Konta and Kistaram area committees,” Sundarraj said. Sundarraj said that bodies of 10 Maoists, including three women, have been recovered from the spot and six have been identified so far. Three automatic weapons — AK-47, assault rifle INSAS, self-loading rifle — and a cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the encounter area, about 500 km south of Raipur. “There has been no report of any security personnel sustaining injuries in the gun battle. Reinforcements have been sent to the area and the search operation has been intensified,” the IG said. l New Delhi Two fishermen were reported missing after their fishing vessel collided with a Indian Navy submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast. Eleven of the 13 crew on board fishing vessel Marthoma were rescued. “Search and rescue efforts were immediately launched by the Indian Navy with six ships and aircraft. 11 crew have been rescued so far,” Navy officials said. serious concern Experts say that water supply has possibly been compromised, due to sewage contamination, leading to an alarming rise in the disease and a heavy footfall in hospitals Y ESHI SELI @ New Delhi THE Justin Trudeau-led government on Friday sought to set the record straight as it trashed a Canadian media report, which claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the loop about the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. On Wednesday, The Globe and Mail had put out a report quoting an anonymous Canadian security official linking Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada. “The Gover nment of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate,” read the statement issued by Nathalie G Drouin, national security and intelligence advi- A coordinated search and rescue effort for the remaining two crew is on. Additional naval assets, including from the Coast Guard, have been diverted to the area to augment the search efforts. Sources said the submarine was moving from one port to the other on the western coast when the accident happened on Thursday night. “After the collision, it continued to its next port of call,” they added. The extent of damage to the 50% of patients reporting liver issues test positive for Hepatitis A Many patients suffer acute liver failures eventually requiring transplants, according to AIIMS doctor Alarm after sharp rise in Hepatitis A cases, water contamination suspected ASHISH SRIVASTAVA @ New Delhi Hospitals across the city are witnessing a disturbing rise in Hepatitis A cases, with both young children and adults suffering from severe liver damage — some patients are as young as two years old. This surge in infections, combined with liver failures, signals a potential public health crisis. “We are seeing a huge uptick in Hepatitis A cases where many patients suffered liver failures, eventually requiring transplants. The most affected are the young adults,” said Dr Shalimar, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, AIIMS. The doctors are calling it an “outbreak” since nearly 50% of patients reporting liver issues test positive for Hepatitis A. “Our microbiology department found 70 of 145 samples testing positive for Hepatitis A be- J8.00 l PAGES 12 FOREX RESERVES tank $18 BillioN, rupee takes a hit No proof of Modi link to Nijjar plot, clarifies Canada sor to the Canadian PM. Canada’s denial of the newspaper report came after External Affairs Ministry called it out as a smear campaign. “Such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” India’s foreign ministry had said. Meanwhile, the diplomatic stalemate between India and Canada continues. The Indian Consulate in Toronto has issued a statement saying it had to cancel several consular camps as the Canadian authorities refused to provide adequate security . “Due to continued inability conveyed by security agencies to provide minimum security against heightened threats, the Consulate has had to cancel some consular camps. Most of them were not at any places of worship, including one at a police facility,” the Indian consulate in Toronto said. Vessel collides with sub, 2 missing M AYAN K SIN G H @ New Delhi l tween October and November. The situation has escalated so rapidly that in just one week, four patients required liver transplants due to acute liver damage — a number typically we see over a year,” Dr Ushast Dhir, Director of Liver Transplant Department, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said. Dr Sharad Malhotra, Head of Gastroenterology at Aakash Healthcare, noted a three-fold rise in jaundice cases compared to the previous year, with a shift in symptom patterns. Experts say water contamination, particularly after the monsoon, is a likely source of the outbreak. Dr Aniket Sirohi, MCD epidemiologist, said the civic body is yet to receive input from the state’s health surveillance unit to find the cause behind the spurt. No response was received from the surveillance unit despite repeated attempts. submarine will be ascertained once it touches the port, possibly by Friday night, the source said. The cause of the collision is being investigated. Fishermen getting curious about a surfaced periscope amid pitch darkness and trying to figure out the ripples it was creating, has happened a few times in the past. In 2015, INS Sindhughosh collided with a fishing vessel off the western coast, which resulted in minor damage to its periscope. B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai Bumrah magic After India got all out for 150 in the first innings, Jasprit Bumrah rose to the occasion, taking 4/17 on day one of the first Test in Perth. Australia were 67/7 at stumps on Friday | afp | P11 express read Aman Arora new Must ensure public Punjab AAP chief safety: Shah to cops Renewable Energy Minister Aman Arora was on Friday appointed as president of Punjab AAP, replacing CM Bhagwant Mann, and Amansher Singh named working president. Arora won 2022 Punjab assembly polls with the highest margin. From one port to another The submarine was going from one port to the other on the western coast when the collision took place on Thursday night. The Navy said that 11 of 13 crew of the fishing vessel Marthoma were rescued SC seeks strict vigil at 113 checkpoints to monitor truck entry 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 Friday flagged the Delhi government’s failure in enforcing anti- pollution GRAP-4 restrictions relating to entry of trucks in the national capital and directed immediate setting up of check posts at 113 entry points. A two-judge bench, led by Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih passed the order after it was apprised by the authorities that there are 113 entry points and the vigil is maintained primarily at 13 of them. The SC was hearing a case, especially a plea filed by environmentalist MC Mehta, about air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The bench will further hear the case on November 25 over whether GRAP-4 (Graded Response Action Plan) restrictions should continue. The court appointed 13 members as court commissioners to visit the entry points and ensure that trucks are stopped. Expressing its displeasure, the SC said despite its orders, the Delhi government and police have failed to comply with clauses under GRAP-4. “So far as compliance is concerned, we are not satisfied. The government has not stated clearly at how many entry points officers are present to comply with GRAP-4 measures,” it said. | P4 The counting of votes for the crucial assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand will begin at 8 am on Saturday. The Jharkhand election was conducted in two phases on November 13 and 20. Votes polled in the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala will also be counted simultaneously | PTI | P8 AQI back to ‘severe’ 1 Of 35 monitoring stations, 22 reported ‘severe’ air quality, with AQI exceeding 400, compared to six on Thursday 2 Feasibility of cloud seeding limited, says Central Pollution Control Board citing inadequate moisture 3 Centre against SC proposal to form a panel of ex-apex court judges to oversee steps to curb farm fires Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday visited the Delhi Police headquarters and reviewed the law & order situation and emphasised the government’s commitment to “zero tolerance” policy towards crime. P4 INDIA’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves have seen the sharpest weekly dip on record, losing $17.76 billion for the week ended November 15 as the dollar continued to rally leading to immense pressure on the rupee, which forced the Reserve Bank of India to sell the greenback to stem the slide. Forex reserves have slipped nearly $30 billion in the past seven weeks. The reserves are down $47 billion from the record high of $704.89 billion reported on September 27. Traders said RBI intervention in the forex market repeatedly to save the rupee. According to analysts, there was a revaluation loss estimated at $10.4 billion for the reporting week, and RBI may have sold dollars worth $7.2 billion in the week ended November 15. Dilip Parmar, a senior currency research analyst at HDFC Securities, said that dollar demand from importers and continuing foreign funds outflows weigh on the rupee. “The central bank has aggressively supplied the dollar to meet the demand and outflows to control volatility There has been huge . dollar demand from precious metal importers post-Diwali. The value of non-dollar assets also declined in the same period,” he said. “Despite the seven weeks of decline, we believe the forex reserves remain robust in terms of all external adequacy requirements with the import cover comfortably placed at over 11-months,” said Aditi Gupta, an economist at Bank of Baroda, in a note. RBI has aggressively supplied dollar to meet demand and outflows to control volatility Dilip Parmar rUPEE AT 84.41/$ The rupee opened at 84.48 and touched an intraday low of 84.50 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 84.41, an increase of 9 paise over its previous close. Traders said the RBI intervened in the forex market repeatedly to save the rupee