visakhapatnam l wednesday l march 26, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION U.S. embarrassed as secret plan to attack Yemen leaked to media ‘Highly damaging’ situation barely avoided The plan was leaked to The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to a Signal app chat with top officials like VP J D Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The leak could have been highly damaging if the enemy somehow accessed to the plan A journalist was accidentally included in a group chat where top US officials were discussing upcoming strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels Why was signal, a commercial app, used? ■ ■ Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X on Tuesday that “no ‘war plans’ were discussed” and “no classified material was sent” But top Democrats condemned the breach, saying it was illegal and calling for an investigation to find out why officials were using a commercially available app for sensitive discussions | P9 2 days before the actual airstrike was when Goldberg was added 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 Mega DSC notification in April 1st week Frosty ties Intent, ability in India to interfere with polls: Canada J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India has the ‘intent and capability’ to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes, a media report said quoting Vanessa Lloyd, the deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Lloyd claimed that China, Russia and Pakistan, too, could interfere in the federal election campaign. She was addressing a media briefing on Monday on efforts to protect the integrity of the general election, voting for which takes place on April 28. Lloyd added that “hostile state actors” were increasingly leveraging AI to meddle in the polls announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday . Under a federal protocol int ro d u c e d i n 2019, the news channel CTV News said, a panel of bureaucrats had the power to warn the public if it decided one or more incidents threaten Canada’s ability to hold a free and fair vote. Most threat actors ‘likely have adapted their tradecraft to conceal foreign interference activity, making it even more challenging to detect’, Lloyd mentioned, adding that it was ‘highly likely’ China would use social media to promote narratives favourable to its interests and target Chinese ethnic, cultural and religious communities in Canada using “clandestine and deceptive” means. The Ministry of External Affairs has so far not responded to these charges. But in January the nation rejected “insinu, ations” levelled by a Canadian commission report of interference in the 2022 election of Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party leader. E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada Himachal Pradesh HC Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia, a member of the panel set up by the SC, arrives at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence, in New Delhi on Tuesday | pti SC panel begins ‘currency stash’ probe, visits site Committee inspects Justice Varma’s house where burnt cash was allegedly discovered allegations of corruption following the discovery of cash at his home following a fire incithe Supreme Court-appointed dent on the night of March 14. committee on Tuesday began Justice Varma, who has since its probe into the discovery of been de-rostered by the Delhi cash from the residence of Del- High Court, has denied the alhi High Court judge Yashwant legations against him terming Varma, even as the Allahabad the whole affair a conspiracy . High Court Bar Association The SC Collegium on Monstarted an indefinite strike in day confirmed that it had recprotest against the proposed ommended Justice Varma’s transfer of the tainted judge to transfer to the Allahabad HC, the Allahabad HC. triggering fiery proT he probe panel tests from the bar assomembers—Justice ciation, which urged Sheel Nagu, Chief Jus- There have been the Central gover ntice of the High Court ment not to clear the attempts to of Punjab and Harya- cover up... Until a Collegium’s decision. na; Justice G S SandhaBar association chief resolution is walia, Chief Justice of reached, we Anil Tiwari said the won’t resume the High Cour t of protest is not against Himachal Pradesh; and work, no matter any court but against consequences Anu Sivaraman, Judge those who betrayed the of the High Court of judicial system. Allahabad HC Karnataka—reached Meanwhile, Rajya Bar Association Justice Varma’s official Sabha Chairman Jagresidence at 30, Tughlak Cres- deep Dhankhar on Tuesday cent, in Delhi at 1 pm. They held a meeting of floor leaders spent around 45 minutes there to discuss judicial accountabiland examined the room where ity in the wake of the developthe stash of cash was allegedly ments. The meeting came a day found, sources said. after Dhankhar interacted with It was not immediately Leader of the House J P Nadda known whether Justice Varma and Leader of Opposition Malwas at his residence when the likarjun Kharge, and referred inquiry panel visited. to the mechanism for judicial The panel’s findings will be appointments after the passage crucial in deciding the fate of of the NJAC Act in 2014, which Justice Varma, who is facing the SC later struck down. P8 S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y & N a m i ta B a j pa i @ New Delhi / Lucknow Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced that the Mega DSC notification to fill vacant teacher posts will be issued in the first week of April. “A structured approach will be followed to ensure a smooth recruitment process, filling 16,347 teacher posts. I put my first signature on the DSC file after assuming office. The recruitment will be completed before the commencement of new academic year.” he said. Addressing the 3rd District Collectors’ Conference at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, the Chief Minister reiterated that the Thalliki Vandanam Scheme will be implemented from May, and Annadata Sukhibhava will be implemented in three phases along with the Centre. He reaffirmed his commit- S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada TDP cadre took strong exception to the presence of Ippala Ravindra Reddy, Territory Sales Manager, Public Sector Business of Cisco, who made objectional social media posts against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and other party leaders earlier, during the exchange of MoU signed between Cisco and the State government on Tuesday . Expressing their ire as it happened in the presence of HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh, the TDP cadre reposted the social media postings of Ippala using objectionable language against Naidu and other leaders. Considering the strong objection raised by the TDP cadre for allowing Ippala, along with the Cisco delegation, Lokesh expressed ire at his staff, sourc- ‘Keep him away’ The HRD Minister’s Peshi has written a letter to the management of Cisco, urging it not to involve Ippala Ravindra Reddy in the projects to be taken up by it in Andhra Pradesh es said. Taking immediate corrective measures, the HRD Minister’s Peshi wrote a letter to the management of Cisco, urging it not to involve Ippala in the projects to be taken up by it in Andhra Pradesh. While lauding the collaboration between Cisco and the G o ve r n m e n t o f A n d h r a Pradesh, the Peshi reportedly infor med the management about its concern pertaining to Ippala’s association with the project, who coordinated to- day’s meeting. “While we respect personal political affiliations, Ippala’s public statements on social media (attached for reference) reveal a pattern of demeaning language and character attacks against our leadership and party. His views and expressions go beyond political alignment, and raise concerns about his ability to maintain neutrality and professionalism while engaging in projects related to the State. Given the nature of our collaboration, and the need for an unbiased and constructive working relationship, we request that Mr Ippala be kept away from all Cisco-led projects in Andhra Pradesh. We believe this step will help foster a more conducive and professional environment for our partnership,” the letter (in circulation on social media) read. Kamra Defies Summons, refuses to apologise Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh government has launched the Innovation and Startup Policy (4.0) for 2024-29, aiming to foster entrepreneurship and industrial development by establishing 20,000 startups, and generating one lakh jobs in the next five years | P2 S u d h i r S u r yawa n s h i @ Mumbai Develop innovative policing model: Naidu natural cola Young girls relish tender coconut water on a hot sunny day in Visakhapatnam | G Satyanarayana Will meet revenue targets despite tax relief: FM THE government could ‘realistically’ achieve personal income tax collection targets despite offering huge tax relief, Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman said on Tuesday while responding to the debate on Budget in the Lok Sabha. The House passed the Finance Bill 2025— the piece of legislation that gives legal backing to the tax proposals and other fiscal meas- previous destructive governance, and ensure both welfare and development reach the people. “Welfare benefits should be efficiently delivered to the people. Every government initiative should reach the grassroots. Welfare benefits should Free Speech Fury Govt unveils Innovation and Startup Policy 4.0 E x p r ess n e ws se r v i c e @ New Delhi ment to rebuilding and developing Andhra Pradesh, mentioning that his government has worked tirelessly over the past nine months to put the State back on the path of growth. Naidu urged the Collector to work with sincerity to overcome the setback caused by the Ippala’s presence at signing of MoU with Cisco irks TDP cadre express read Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has directed the Police Department to develop a nation-leading AI-driven policing model, pledging full government support to fund innovative solutions that redefine law enforcement in India | P4 Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu being welcomed by Revenue Minister A Satya Prasad and Finance Minister P Keshav at the District Collectors’ Conference | Express ures announced in the Budget—with 35 amendments. “The Finance Bill provides unprecedented tax relief to honour taxpayers. We have recognised their contribution,” Sitharaman said. In the FY26 Budget, the government increased the threshold for income tax rebate to `12 lakh per from `7 lakh earlier. For salaried taxpayers, this threshold jumped to `12.75 lakh per year after taking into account `75,000 standard deduction. The government also tweaked the tax slabs to benefit a large section of taxpayers. New income tax bill in monsoon session Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the new Income Tax Bill, which has been referred to a standing committee of Parliament, would most likely be taken up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament The changes would lead to loss of tax revenue of `1 lakh crore. However, the government has increased the personal income tax collection target for FY26 by 14.14%. “The projected tax collections for FY26 are based on solid data,” Sitharaman said. With the passage of the Finance Bill 2025, the Lok Sabha completed its part of the Budgetary approval process. The Budget process for FY26 will be complete after the Rajya Sabha also approves it. The Mumbai Police on Monday summoned stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for questioning the next day over a case registered against him for lampooning Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a recent performance in Mumbai. However, Kamra refused to appear immediately, citing death threats and concerns for his safety He reportedly request. ed a week’s time to comply Kamra also took . to social media and said he had no reason to apologise since he had only repeated what deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar had already said. The police, investigating whether Kamra was compensated to mock Shinde, have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and are examining his phone and call records. The controversy erupted after Kamra’s performance, in which he parodied the song Bholi Si Surat to call Shinde a gaddar (traitor), referencing his 2022 rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray. Following the video’s release, Shiv Sena workers vandalised a comedy club and demanded its closure. Eleven workers were arrested and later granted bail. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also demolished part of the club. Kamra defended the comedy club, saying a venue is not responsible for a comedian’s words. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut defended Kunal Kamra saying he had not said anything new. “...Kamra has spoken and repeated the truth and fact only,” Raut said. I do not fear the mob. I wouldn’t go under my bed waiting for the controversy to die down Kunal Kamra Kamra trolls BMC Addressing trolls, Kunal Kamra left a voicemail featuring his song, Hum Honge Kangaal (we shall be bankrupt) and mocked BMC by saying that his next show be held at place which needs to be razed be distributed with a sense of dignity rather than as mere handouts,” he stressed. Mentioning that the Swarnandhra @2047 Vision document includes 10 key principles, Naidu said planning should be extended from the State level to districts, constituencies, mandals and village secretariats. District Collectors should serve as vision execution chairpersons, while MLAs will chair the programme at the constituency level. Infrastructure projects worth `55,000 crore, including national highways, are currently in progress, and should be completed within two years. Collectors should proactively get environmental and other approvals for major projects, he said. The TDP-led NDA government has completed nine months in office, and this marks the third Collectors’ Conference, the Chief Minister P4 noted.  Anantapur dist ahead of K’seema in per capita income E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu made insightful observations on the shifting trends in per capita income of districts at the Collectors Conference at the State Secretariat on Tuesday . He said the per capita income of Sri Sathya Sai district stood at `2,19,234 for the financial year 2022-23, while that of Anantapur and Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema was `2,33,521 and `1,93,763 respectively . Generally Anantapur is con, sidered as a drought-prone and backward district, while the fertile Konaseema is expected to have a higher per capita income. However, a significant growth in the horticulture sector has propelled Anantapur forward, demonstrating the potential of strategic sectoral focus in driving economic progress, he observed. Naidu underlined the need for replicating the best practices of high-performing districts in those which are lagging behind in growth. The conference also highlighted the paradigm shift in Gross Value Added (GVA) projections for the financial year 2025-26. Contrary to general assumption, livestock and horticulture sectors are poised to contribute more to the State’s GVA than manufacturing, agriculture and services. The livestock sector is expected to contribute 11.41% to GVA, followed by horticulture with 10.36%, and manufacturing with 10.29%. Recognising this trend, the Chief Minister emphasised the need for a renewed focus on these high-growth sectors. SAMSUNG SLAPPED WITH $601 MN TAX CLAIM The government has ordered Samsung and its executives to pay $601 million in back taxes and penalities for evading tariffs on imported telecom equipment. It is one of the biggest tax demands in recent years | P10