Focus

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Deck cadet Ann Tessa Joseph, one of the 17 Indian crew members on board a cargo ship seized by Iran, returned home on Thursday with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantee works not just within the country but also outside.

Joseph, who is from Kerala's Thrissur, landed safely at the Cochin International Airport on Thursday afternoon and was received by the Regional Passport Officer.

Insisting that her return was made possible due to the concerted efforts made by the Indian Mission in Tehran and the Iranian Government, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it remains in touch with the authorities in the Iranian capital to ensure the well-being and safe return of remaining crew members of seized container vessel MSC Aries.

"Indian Mission in Tehran remains seized of the matter and is in touch with the remaining 16 Indian crew members of the container vessel. The crew members are in good health and in contact with their family members in India. It is also in touch with the Iranian authorities in ensuring the well-being of the remaining crew members of MSC Aries," the MEA said in a statement.

External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar had spoken to his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian on the matter, earlier this week.

@Great work, @India_in_Iran. Glad that Ms. Ann Tessa Joseph has reached home. #ModiKiGuarantee always delivers, at home or abroad," Jaishankar posted on X after Joseph's return on Thursday.

--IANS

as/uk

Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday lodged a complaint against the ruling MahaYuti ally Shiv Sena for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by using some 1,000 Maharashtra state transport buses for a poll campaign, here.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe has written to the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) pointing out the unauthorised use of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC)'s buses for displaying publicity material of the ruling MahaYuti alliance.

"The banners have a huge picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the Bow and Arrow symbol of the Shiv Sena and photos of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. As per the Election Commission of India's letter no. 437/6/INST/2015-CCS dated 29.12.2015, the use of government and PSUs properties is banned for electoral campaigning. Despite this ban, the ST officials have allowed the illegal use of over 1,000 buses for the election campaign of Shiv Sena candidates," said Londhe's letter.

He called upon the CEO to take immediate and decisive action to address these violations, and cancel the candidature of all the LS candidates of Shiv Sena plus initiate appropriate disciplinary measures against the Shinde-led party.

Londhe also demanded action should also be taken against the senior officials of the Planning and Commercial Department of MSRTC for violation of Model Code of Conduct and ECI instructions in this regard to ensure the integrity of the election process.

--IANS

qn/svn

Bengaluru, April 18 (IANS) IT software giant Infosys on Thursday declared a 30 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 7,969 crore for the January-March quarter of 2023-24, up from Rs 6,128 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

The company reported a revenue of Rs 37,923 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, according to a stock exchange filing.

Infosys also declared a final dividend of Rs 20 per equity share and a one-time dividend of Rs 8 per share.

India’s second-largest IT services company also announced the acquisition of In-Tech Holding GmbH, an engineering, research and development services provider.

Infosys share price went up 0.34 per cent on Thursday to settle at Rs 1,419.25, ahead of the fourth quarter results.

--IANS

sps/vd

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Former SAI coach Ajit Singh on Thursday said that Anshu Malik (57kg) has a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics in women's category, whereas, Vinesh Phogat (50kg) will "struggle" at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek, starting from April 19 to 21.

Vinesh usually competes in the women’s 53kg but has dropped down to the 50kg category since Antim Phangal has already secured a quota in the category.

Speaking to IANS, Ajit Singh said in the men's category, Aman Sehrawat (57kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) are strong contenders. However, he has no hope from the Greco-Roman wrestlers at the tournament.

“I have no hope from Greco-Roman, to be honest. In the women's category, Anshu can make it to the podium. While in men’s, Aman and Deepak Punia, I feel, can get quotas for India. Vinesh Phogat, I don’t think so, she will struggle,” said Ajit.

There will be a total of 36 Paris 2024 quotas on offer in 18 weight divisions in Bishkek. India has fielded seventeen wrestlers.

This qualifier will be the penultimate opportunity for Indian grapplers to secure a quota for the Summer Games. The World Qualification Tournament in Turkey, scheduled in May, will be the final wrestling qualifiers.

Indian squad:

Men’s Greco-Roman: Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil (87kg), Nitesh (97kg), Naveen (130kg)

Women’s freestyle: Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Mansi (62kg), Nisha (68kg), Reetika Hooda (76kg)

Men’s freestyle: Aman Sehrawat (57kg), Sujeet (65kg), Jaideep (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Deepak (97kg), Sumit (125kg)

Where to watch: Live streaming on the United World Wrestling’s (UWW) official website (10:00 AM onwards).

--IANS

cs/

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged in a Delhi court on Thursday that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is deliberately eating mangoes and other high-carb food in Tihar Jail to raise his blood sugar level to build a case for bail.

Arguing the matter before Special Judge Rakesh Syal of the Rouse Avenue Court, special counsel Zoheb Hossain appearing for the ED said on the one hand CM Kejriwal is claiming high sugar levels, and at the same time he is eating mangoes, sweets, etc. in jail.

The Delhi Chief Minister is in judicial custody till April 23 for his alleged involvement in the excise policy case.

The ED has alleged that CM Kejriwal is consciously consuming items like tea with sugar, banana, sweets (1/2 pieces), poori, aloo sabji, etc. on a regular basis, despite being a Type 2 diabetes patient, “knowing very well that consumption of such items results in an increase in sugar levels”.

The agency also said that this is being done to create a medical emergency “to obtain sympathetic treatment from the court on medical grounds".

“Further, the jail authorities on Wednesday asked AIIMS to prescribe a diet chart for the Chief Minister after considering his sugar records and the fact that he is a Type 2 diabetes patient with chronic constipation and cough (chronic bronchitis), who is under regular treatment,” the ED counsel said.

However, advocate Vivek Jain, appearing for CM Kejriwal, opposed the federal agency’s submission saying the ED counsel is playing by the gallery and making statements for the media.

After a brief hearing, the court sought a medical report from Tihar Jail authorities on the CM’s diet and listed the matter for hearing on Friday.

While the ED’s allegations were made in court on Thursday, the issue has been doing the rounds on social media since Wednesday.

According to a post on X, one of the netizen's sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) revealed that CM Kejriwal is taking high-sugar food deliberately to increase his sugar level so that he can use it as a reason to get bail.

“He is not only forcing the jail authorities to give him sugar-laden high glycemic index drinks and food early in the morning, but his family is also sending him sugar and carb-laden food so that his blood sugar rises,” the post read.

CM Kejriwal’s lawyers had gone at length detailing his health conditions earlier, saying he was diabetic when he was sent to judicial custody.

Kejriwal's counsel had informed the court that his blood sugar level dropped to 46 and argued that in such circumstances, he should be allowed to consult his doctor three times a week via video conferencing.

However, special public prosecutor (ED) Simon Benjamin had contended that jail facilities are equipped to conduct medical examinations, suggesting that CM Kejriwal could be examined there, expressing his intent to file a reply on the application.

Meanwhile, another user posted: “Every day Kejru asks for high sugar food like juice, banana etc. and he gets high carb food! The plan is to show high sugar and get out of jail. This has been told by your top sources. Whether this is true will be known in a few days!”

Last week, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar claimed in a press statement that Kejriwal is fooling the people with news of losing weight and falling sick.

“Everyone should know that he is luxuriously enjoying his salads and palak paneer,” claimed Chandrashekhar, who is also behind bars in a money laundering case.

--IANS

spr/arm

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Over 16.63 crore voters in 1.87 lakh polling stations across the country will decide the fate of 1,625 candidates in the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Friday.

Deploying over 18 lakh polling officials, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said that it has taken a "slew of decisive measures" for the peaceful and smooth conduct of the elections as Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu gave final touches to poll preparations at noon on Thursday.

While the remaining six phases of polls will continue till June 1 with around 97 crore voters lined up to exercise their right to franchise - the counting is scheduled for June 4.

Here are some facts detailed by the ECI about the first phase of polling:

- Polling for Phase-I of the General Elections 2024 will be held on April 19 for 102 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) in 21 States/UTs and 92 Assembly Constituencies in the State Assembly elections in Arunachal and Sikkim. It has the highest number of parliamentary constituencies among all phases.

- Voting begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. (closure of poll timings may differ PC-wise).

- Over 16.63 crore voters include 8.4 crore male; 8.23 crore female and 11,371 third-gender.

- 35.67 lakh first-time voters are registered to exercise their right to franchise. Additionally, there are 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.

- 41 helicopters, 84 special trains and nearly 1 lakh vehicles have been deployed to ferry polling and security personnel.

- Webcasting will be done in more than 50 per cent of the polling stations along with the deployment of micro observers in all polling stations.

- 361 observers have already reached their constituencies, days before the polls. They serve as the eyes and ears of the ECI to exercise utmost vigilance.

- A total of 4,627 flying squads, 5,208 statistics surveillance teams, 2,028 video surveillance teams and 1,255 video viewing teams are deployed to strictly and swiftly deal with any form of inducement of voters.

- A total of 1,374 inter-state and 162 international border checkposts are keeping a strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash and freebies. Strict vigil is being maintained at sea and air route.

- There are over 14.14 lakh registered voters aged 85 plus and 13.89 lakh Persons with disabilities (PwD) in 102 PCs who have been provided the option to vote from the comfort of their homes. The optional Home Voting facility is already receiving tremendous appreciation and response.

- Those aged 85 plus and PwD voters, who decide to come to polling stations, will be provided with all facilities like pick and drop, signages, braille signage on EVM, volunteers. PwD voters can also book wheelchair facilities via ECI's Saksham App.

- Assured minimum facilities like water, shed, toilets, ramps, volunteers, wheelchairs, and electricity are in place to ensure that every voter, including the elderly and PwD, can cast their vote with ease.

- Model polling stations are being set up across the 102 PCs with local themes. More than 5,000 polling stations will be completely managed by women including security staff at over 1,000 polling stations by PwDs.

- The ECI has also provided 12 alternative documents other than Electors Photo Identification Card (EPIC) for identity verification at polling stations. If a voter is registered in the electoral roll, voting can be done by showing any of these documents.

--IANS

as/svn

Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) Kannada star Rishab Shetty, who scooped praise for his rooted film ‘Kantara’, met the Malayalam superstar Mohanlal recently.

The actor took to his Instagram on Thursday, and shared pictures from his meet-up with the Malayalam cinema legend.

In the photos, Rishab, accompanied by his wife Pragathi Shetty, is seen posing with Mohanlal, all three smiling for the camera.

He wrote in the caption: "An honour and a pleasure to meet the legendary @mohanlal sir.”

Mohanlal wore a grey shirt paired with a mundu, while the ‘Kantara’ director-actor opted for a white shirt, complemented by a plain white mundu. Pragathi was spotted in a pink suit.

The pictures of Rishab and Mohanlal drew the attention of the fans and the audience.

Netizens took to the comments section and praised both actors.

One user wrote: “The complete actor, mohanlal lalettan.”

A second user wrote: “Thanks Rishabh. We look forward seeing him performing under your direction too, love from Keralam (sic).”

A third wrote, “G.O.A.T.”.

Meanwhile, Rishab is currently focused on the prequel, 'Kantara: Chapter 1'. The film, produced by Hombale Films, is currently in production. He is also in discussions for a project with Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowariker.

--IANS

aa/prw

Bengaluru, April 18 (IANS) Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Union Minister K. Rahman Khan and the sole Muslim candidate not only from the Congress but from any major party in Karnataka in the coming Lok Sabha polls, has been fielded from Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency where he faces the challenging task of wresting the seat regarded as a BJP stronghold.

While sitting BJP member P.C. Mohan has won the seat in the last three elections, the Congress, which won five out of eight Assembly constituencies that comprise the parliamentary constituency in the 2023 elections, is hopeful this time.

Making it more of a prestige issue is the fact that out of the five seats it holds are those won by Power Minister K.J. George, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, and Housing and Wakf Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan.

The Congress has tasked the ministers to ensure the victory of Mansoor Ali Khan but infighting hampered his campaign in the initial stages, including the absence of top leaders of the Congress at the time of filing of nomination.

Congress MLA from Shanthinagar Assembly constituency N.A. Haris was lobbying for the ticket for the seat for his son Mohammed Nalpad while Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Naseer Ahmed was also an aspirant, and both remained aloof from the campaign earlier.

Apart from them, the three ministers also remained absent during the nomination, but cite the change of dates for filing of nomination as the reason.

Sources within Congress say that the leaders are not happy with the choice of the candidate.

However, Mansoor Ali Khan is well educated and the trustee of KK Educational and Charitable Trust, established by his father, which has made significant contributions in the field of education.

Taking up intensified campaigning in the constituency, he has been claiming that there has been no development there for 15 years now.

On the other hand, BJP candidate P.C. Mohan, seeking his fourth consecutive term, is confident of retaining the seat due to his people connection, simple nature, and availability to the public.

Mohan had defeated Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad by 70,968 votes in the 2019 polls and by 1.37 lakh votes in 2014. However, in 2009, he won against Congress' H.T. Sangliana by around 35,000 votes. He was elected from Bengaluru's Chickpet Assembly constituency twice - in 1999 and 2004.

The BJP cadres are looking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengaluru on April 20 and are confident that this will give them a boost. The BJP, which holds the C.V. Ramannagar, Rajajinagar, and Mahadevapura assembly segments, is also hopeful that the alliance with the JD-S will fetch them more votes.

--IANS

mka/vd

Ponte Vedra (US), March 16 (IANS) Indian-American Sahith Theegala dropped one bogey against six birdies to card a 5-under 67 as he jumped up to 7-under and to Tied-10th, up from over T-37 at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Theegala, who has come close to picking a win this season, is seven shots behind the leader, Wyndham Clark, the reigning US Open champion. Clark shot identical 65-65 to be 14-under and four ahead of Xander Schauffele (69) and Canadian Nick Taylor at 10-under at PGA TOUR’s flagship event.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and American Maverick McNealy share fourth place at 9-under while defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Canadian Corey Conners and course-record holder Tom Hoge are six shots off the pace at 8-under.

Scheffler had a scare in the morning when he needed ongoing physiotherapy treatment on a neck complaint during his round. Yet, the world No. 1 managed to post 69.

Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan feeling sore in his left wrist is making a bold run at The Players Championship. The one-time PGA Tour winner made a huge par save on his last hole at The Stadium Course to post a 4-under 68 for tied 10th place on 7-under.

Asia’s challenge was also being carried by Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama who fought back from a slow start for the second straight day and signed for a successive 69 to sit on 6-under in the US$25 million showpiece.

Korea’s Si Woo Kim, the 2017 Players champion, will enter the weekend on 3-under after a 71 while compatriot Sungjae Im shot a 72 to lie on 2-under.

World No. 5 Clark is one of the hottest golfers after winning three times in the span of 10 months, including February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. With a second successive 65 at TPC Sawgrass, he became the first player in The Players history to open with two consecutive rounds of 65 or better.

Rory McIlroy hit his third water ball of the tournament at the par-4 12th hole and signed for a 1-over 73 and is now 6-under par going into the weekend, eight shots behind leader Clark.

Will Zalatoris (71-74) and Justin Thomas (73-75) missed the cut and were the biggest names to make an early exit.

Also heading home early are PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Eric Cole (72-74), Farmers Insurance Open champion Matthieu Pavon (70-77) and The American Express champion Nick Dunlap (77-70).

Korea’s Byeong-Hun An, who entered the week ranked fifth in the FedExCup, shot 69-80 for a double-digit swing between the first and Michael Kim shot 68-80 to miss the cut.

Past Players champions Webb Simpson (2018) and Matt Kuchar (2012) also missed the cut.

Justin Rose was on the cut line when he came to the 17th and then hit two shots into the water and had a quadruple-bogey 7 to miss the cut.

Ryan Fox also missed the cut a day after making Players history.

On Thursday he became the first player in Players history to make consecutive eagles – an eagle and an ace. He shot 69-76.

The second round was suspended due to darkness with two players left to complete the round and will resume on Saturday.

--IANS

hs/

Sharjah, March 16 (IANS) Rashid Khan etched his name into the record books, claiming the best figures by an Afghanistan captain in T20Is, a feat previously held by Nawroz Mangal for over 14 years during the opening T20I clash between Afghanistan and Ireland.

Rashid's spell of 3 wickets for just 19 runs in four overs showcased his mastery with the ball and underlined his pivotal role in Afghanistan's bowling arsenal. With crucial dismissals of Ireland's key batsmen, including Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher, and Gareth Delany, Rashid spearheaded Afghanistan's efforts to contain the opposition, limiting Ireland to a modest total of 149 for 6 in their 20 overs.

Despite Rashid's heroics, Afghanistan faced a setback in their pursuit of victory, succumbing to a 38-run defeat at the hands of a resilient Irish side.

While Mohammad Ishaq showcased promise with a spirited knock of 32 runs off 22 balls, the Afghan batting lineup faltered against Ireland's formidable bowling attack, with Ben White emerging as the chief destroyer with four crucial scalps. Despite contributions from veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, Afghanistan failed to overcome Ireland's relentless pressure, ultimately falling short of the target.

As the series unfolds, Afghanistan will be eager to regroup and bounce back in the second T20I showdown scheduled for Sunday, March 17.

--IANS

hs/