villupuram l wednesday l august 28, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Modi speaks to Putin, shares insights from his Ukraine visit The telephone conversation comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Joe Biden about his visit to Ukraine File Photo Seeks end to Russia-Ukraine conflict Moots practical engagement for peace In a post on X, Modi said: “Spoke with President Putin today... Exchanged perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and my insights from the recent visit to Ukraine. Reiterated India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict.” The Ministry of External Affairs said the two leaders reviewed progress on a number of bilateral issues ■ ■ Modi also underlined “the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to achieve an abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict" | P11 Modi’s August 23 trip to Kyiv was the first by an Indian PM since Ukraine’s independence in 1991. He offered India’s help to facilitate return of peace 1,200 sq km Russian area taken over by Ukraine after its incursion into Kursk region 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 SC raps HC judge, grants bail to Kavitha S u chitra K a lyan M o hanty @ New Delhi RAF personnel lathi-charge a protest march by students, during the Nabanna Abhijan rally in Howrah on Tuesday | PTI Large-scale Violence at Secretariat rally S u l a g na S en g u p ta @ Kolkata Parts of the city on Tuesday resembled a warzone as a Nabanna (State Secretariat) Abhiyan rally called by students against the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, turned violent. Protesters fought pitched battles with the Kolkata Police as they unsuccessfully attempted to break the barricades and enter the Nabanna around 1.30 pm to demand Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation. Similar clashes and largescale violence were reported in different parts of Kolkata and Howrah as well. The police used teargas and water cannons to push back the protesters. It also sought to block the roads leading to Nabanna by parking many trucks HC stalls resort demolition in Nilgiris, seeks TN govt’s reply S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai The first bench of the Madras High Court has given twoweek interim relief to 35 resorts in the Nilgiris facing demolition for being located inside the notified Sigur elephant corridor. On August 16, executive officers of Sholur and Masinagudi town panchayats had issued demolition notices to resort owners, directing them to raze the buildings within 15 days, failing which the government will demolish them and recover the costs from them. The demolition notices were issued based on the order from the Supreme Courtappointed three-member Sigur Plateau Elephant Inquiry Committee. In response, a few resort owners filed a writ petition challenging the order and demolition notices, claiming the inquiry committee went beyond its scope, from conducting inquiry into allegations of arbitrary variance in the acreage of the elephant corridor to declaring the property title of the resort owners as void under the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forest Act (TNPPF) 1949. When the matter came up for hearing, the high court sought clarification from the Tamil Nadu government as to whether it can act upon the inquiry committee’s report or should the report be placed before the SC or should the government pass appropriate orders adopting the report. P7 besides the usual barricades. The protesters retaliated with brickbats. Some of the agitators also dragged away barricades, prompting the police to respond with caning. The situation came under control around 5 pm. Over 200 people were arrested in connection with the rally Fifteen per. sonnel of the Kolkata Police and 14 from the state police force were injured, police said. Supratim Sarkar, Inspector General (South Bengal) said, “The situation could have been worse had we not made preventive arrests.” In protest against what it called was police torture, the BJP called a 12-hour general strike across West Bengal on Wednesday. However, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, chief advisor to the chief minister, said: “All state government offices will remain open tomorrow. Salaries of absentees will be deducted. The state government will provide transportation.” BJP leaders and workers, including West Bengal BJP president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar sat in protest outside the Kolkata Police (Headquarters) in Lal Bazar demanding the release of the detained students. Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition, said:“Both protesters and policemen have been injured. State government is responsible for this.” However, the TMC on X said, “this isn’t a protest for justice, it’s chaos orchestrated by @ BJP4India — hired goons running amok, smashing barricades and attacking on-duty Police officers. This is a deliberate plot to incite unrest and destabilise Bengal!” A policeman injured in the violence during the rally, in Kolkata | PTI CBI to consult AIIMS experts The CBI will consult experts from the AIIMS, Delhi on the DNA and other forensic reports related to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, officials said Tuesday Let not the power of the state be unleashed on peaceful protesters, the SC had said. Democracy cannot have a silenced majority CV Ananda Bose, governor In a major relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted her bail. It described as perverse the observations made by the Delhi High Court that the first proviso to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act won’t apply to her since she was well-educated and a politically accomplished woman. The proviso states, “Provided that a person, who, is under the age of sixteen years, or is a woman or is sick or infirm, [or is accused either on his own or along with other coaccused of moneylaundering a sum of less than one crore rupees] may be released on bail, if the Special Court so directs.” A two-judge bench comprising justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said, when the statute specifically provides special treatment for a category of accused, the court will have to come to a specific reasoning for denying the benefit. We find that the single judge (of the Delhi HC) has totally misdirected herself in applying the proviso,” the court said in its order. The bench also questioned the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate over the fairness of their probe and asking if they were free to pick and choose an accused. The court said Kavitha’s custody was no longer required as both the CBI and the ED had completed their probe against her. Since 493 witnesses were to be examined and 50,000 pages of documents to be considered in the two cases, there was no likelihood of the trial being concluded in the near future, the bench observed. Stalin hints at cabinet reshuffle, says change is the only constant E x p ress N e w s S ervice @ Chennai 2ramnad fishing missing boat capsizes Of the four-member crew, two were rescued by the Lankan Navy and handed over to the Indian embassy, while the Indian Navy and coast guard have deployed helicopters and patrol units in search of the two missing fishermen | P4 Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday indicated a possible Cabinet reshuffle after returning from the US trip he is undertaking to bring investments to the state. The CM spoke to reporters at the Chennai airport an hour before his departure to the United States. Responding to a question from a reporter on whether there would be a Cabinet reshuffle after his return from the trip, the CM, who is also the president of the rul- ing DMK, after a smile and a thoughtful pause that lasted for nearly 10 seconds, said, “Maatr a m o n d re m a a r at h at h u (change is the only constant). Wait and see.” Speculations were rife for the past many weeks that, ahead of the CM’s US visit, there would be a Cabinet reshuffle, which would include Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s elevation to the post of Deputy CM. The chief minister had thus far maintained that it was unlikely. His remarks on Tuesday were the first instance of the CM indicating that a reshuffle is likely P7 . white paper on mous? Questioned about the possibility of releasing a white paper on the MoUs signed, the CM said, “There is no convention to release such a white paper since there is competition among states to get investments” big shift Jay Shah elected as ICC chairperson g o m esh s @ Chennai For a cricket body that holds has a strong hold in international cricket with its financial clout, this only seems a natural progression. What was being whispered in the power corridors of cricket, has become a reality when Jay Shah was nominated as the next International Cricket Council’s Independent Chair. He will take charge on December 1, 2024. At 35, Jay becomes the youngest chairperson of the ICC. Though Jay’s ascendancy as global body head was doing the rounds in the cricketing circles, things became clear when the current chair Greg Barclay, who took charge as the Chair in November 2020, announced last week that he will not be seeking a third term. With the deadline for nomination closing on Tuesday the BCCI secretary was the , only person to be nominated by all ICC directors and hence would be elected unopposed. “I am humbled by the nomination as the Chair of the International Cricket Council,” Shah said in a statement released by the global cricketing body. “While we will build on the valuable lessons learned, we must also embrace fresh thinking and innovation to elevate the love for cricket worldwide...” Son of Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, Jay became joint secretary of Gujarat Cricket Association in 2013. After six years, he assumed the role of BCCI secretary of the BCCI in 2019 and was re-elected in 2022. His term will end next year, but will have to resign from the BCCI job before assuming office at the ICC headquarters in Dubai. Jay who is currently heading , the ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee, and Asian Cricket Council, will hold the top post from December and can only act as ex-officio in all the ICC committees from December. He is eligible to continue at the post for six years, three two-year terms. The inclusion of our sport in the Olympics at LA 2028 represents a significant inflection point for the growth of cricket, and I am confident that it will drive the sport forward. —Jay Shah Mohanlal quits as AMMA prez E x p ress N e w s S ervice @ Kochi AMID the controversies raging in the Malayalam film industry following the release of the Hema Committee report, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) executive committee was dissolved after its president Mohanlal and other executive committee members resigned during an online meeting on Tuesday. Mohanlal, a celebrated actor, reportedly grew emotional in the meeting and proposed that the entire executive committee step down, prompting a mass resignation. “In light of the sexual accusations against some office-bearers, the current committee resigns assuming moral responsibility A new executive commit. tee will be elected within two months, following a general body meeting... Thanks for criticising and correcting,” a statement from AMMA read. The 16-member executive committee, elected just two months ago, was facing intense criticism over its handling of sexual harassment allegations against some of its office-bearers and members. Jayan Cherthala, former vice-president, said fresh elections will be held within two months as per the bylaws. Meanwhile, an actor who accused several actors, including Jayasurya and actor-politician Mukesh of sexual harassment, on Tuesday lodged a formal complaint with the SIT. Mukesh, now a CPI(M) MLA, has rejected the charges.
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