vijayawada l thursday l march 12, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION IPL 2026: Bengaluru to face Hyderabad in season opener The BCCI on Wednesday announced the first set of schedule for the upcoming season, which will begin on March 28. A look First set of ties announced amid state polls With dates for Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam state elections yet to be confirmed, the BCCI has announced the fixtures of the tournament till April 12. In this announced set of fixtures, Guwahati and Kolkata will host three matches while Chennai will host two. The schedule for the rest of the season is expected once the election dates are made public ■ 20 Chinnaswamy awaits committee nod ■ While defending champs Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to face Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the opener, the venue is yet to get final approval to host matches As things stand, all matches in Bengaluru are subject to clearance by expert committee which will be decided on Friday tHe BCCI has announced fixtures for first 20 matches 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 P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi After nearly 10 hours of acrimonious exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday rejected a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla through a voice vote. The motion, moved by several Opposition parties accusing the Speaker of conducting House proceedings in a partisan manner, was declared defeated by the Chair amid loud protests and sloganeering by the Opposition over remarks made by Union home minister Amit Shah about Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Responding to the two-day debate on the motion, Shah launched a sharp attack on Rahul, making critical remarks about his conduct in Parliament. His comments triggered strong protests from Opposition members, who trooped into the Well of the House demanding an apology from the home minister. Amid the uproar, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding over the proceedings, announced that the no-confidence motion was defeated by a voice vote. The government was ex- West Asia tensions won’t impact seafood exports: Govt E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Amid rising concerns among aquaculture farmers over the ongoing tensions in the Gulf region, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Wednesday assured that India’s seafood exports are continuing without major disruption and there is no need for panic harvesting. Chairing a review meeting in Vijayawada, the minister interacted with officials of the Andhra Pradesh State Aquaculture Development Authority, members of the Aquaculture Advisory Committee and other stakeholders to assess the possible impact of global developments on the aquaculture sector. He said concer ns had emerged among some shrimp farmers following media reports about tensions in the Middle East. However, he advised farmers not to resort to premature harvesting, warning that panic harvesting could lead to oversupply in the market and a fall in prices, causing financial P4 losses.  Amit Shah Om Birla Cong given 157 hours to speak in LS: Shah In the 17th Lok Sabha, the Congress with just 52 MPs was allotted 157 hours and 55 minutes. In comparison, the BJP with 303 MPs was given 349 hours and 8 minutes. “Thus, the Speaker has ensured that the Congress received six times more time than the BJP,” Amit Shah said pected to defeat the motion comfortably with the NDA’s 293 , MPs in the House against the Opposition’s 238. Defending Birla, Shah said the Lok Sabha Speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition, and asserted that the House will be run by its own rules and not by the rules of a party . Shah accused Rahul of frequently skipping key parliamentary sessions including debates on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, the Union Budget, and important Bills, alleging that the Congress leader often travels abroad during such proceedings. “You can’t complain about the Speaker not allowing time as you are always on foreign trips during the session,” Shah said. Responding to the the criticism about not filling the post of Deputy Speaker for the past seven years, he said: “The previous Congress governments always appointed their own persons for the post. And you are accusing us? We have at least kept it vacant for you.” Earlier in the day, Rahul interjected during the debate saying that he was stopped from speaking in the House on multiple occasions. Responding to BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, who cited Parliamentary procedures to say that LoP should measure his words while speaking on national security, Rahul said the House does not belong to any party but the entire country . In a first, SC allows passive euthanasia for man in coma for 13 yrs SUCHITRA K A LYA N MOHA N TY @ New Delhi the S u p r e m e C o u r t o n Wednesday allowed the withdrawal of artificial life support to Harish Rana, 32, who has remained a vegetative state for the past 13 years. The ruling by a bench of justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan marks the first ever passive euthanasia in the country . Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient, who has remained in a vegetative state for a long period of time and has no chance of recovery, to die by withdrawing or withholding the life support. Rana, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad pursuing his B Tech degree in Chandigarh, suffered a brain injury in August 2013 after falling from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation. He has since remained in a permanent vegetative state. The bench directed AIIMSDelhi to carry out the exercise of withdrawing life support system while ensuring his dignity is maintained. The court passed the order after considering various factors including doctors’ opinion and medical board reports that ruled out chances of a revival. The order allowing passive euthanasia is in line with the SC’s 2018 Common Cause judgment, modified in 2023, recognising the fundamental right to die with dignity . The court also noted that Rana’s family cared for him all these years and never left his side. “To love someone is to care for them not just in times of joy, but in their saddest and darkest hours,” the bench said while hailing Harish Rana’s parents for their selfless love towards their son. Before reserving the order on January 15, the bench had heard the detailed submissions of ASG Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, and advocate Rashmi Nandakumar, representing the patient’s father Ashok Rana. India-bound ship bombed in Hormuz Israel, US keep up Iran offensive; global energy crisis balloons One Majesty reliance to invest in first u.s. oil refinery Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries will partner in building the first new oil refinery in the US in 50 years, US President Donald Trump said, calling it the “biggest in US history”. The new refinery will be located in Brownsville, Texas, and will run entirely on shale oil | P12 IRAN Strait of Hormuz India DUBAI Star Gwyneth saudi arabia Oman From DUBAI to Kandla PORT Three Ships targeted Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree bound for India was targeted and damaged approximately 11 nautical miles north of Oman iran will not be part of fifa world cup Iran’s sports minister said their men’s football team is not likely to participate in the 2026 World Cup. “Given that this corrupt government has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances do we have appropriate conditions to participate in the World Cup.” Ahmad Donyamali said Pakistan Gujarat LS rejects Oppn’s no-trust motion against Speaker Earlier, the Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile Star Gwyneth, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai Mayuree Naree D ay ’ s d e v e l o p m e n t s Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not spoken or been seen in public since his appointment during the weekend, had a fractured foot and facial lacerations from the first day of war In the backdrop of rising crude prices, the 32 members of the International Energy Agency agreed to their largest-ever release of oil reserves, in an effort to calm markets The Paris-based organisation said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members’ emergency reserves. India is not a member of IEA, so it can’t tap into the new source of energy. However, if oil prices cool, it would benefit all. Besides, India already has a deal with Russia 400 million barrels of oil translates to what the world consumes in just four days. That is also the volume of oil that normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz in 20 days U.S. behemoth Citi and UK’s Deloitte evacuated offices in Dubai, while PwC, another British consultancy, closed offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait after IraN said American financial institutions and banks in the gulf are targets US President Donald Trump signalled there could be a swift ending to the war, saying there is little left in Iran for US forces to attack a g en c i e s @ Tehran / Tel Aviv / Dubai / Washington IRAN attacked its neighbours and commercial ships on a whim and fancy on Wednesday across the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and targeted Gulf-allies of the US, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted while US-Israeli airstrikes pummelled the Islamic Republic. The Iranian military said it regarded any ships in the Strait of Hormuz belonging to the US, Israel or their allies as “legitimate targets”. To this, US President Donald Trump warned that doing so will only escalate the US-Israel war effort. Earlier in the day an Iranian projectile hit a Thai cargo ship off , the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze. It was on its way to Kandla in India. Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy The ship, which was hit after depart. ing Khalifa port in the UAE. Iran, late on Wednesday warned it was ready for a long war of , attrition that would “destroy” the world economy. This came hours after Trump said the war is nearing its end. Iran also announced it would target financial institutions in West Asia. That would put Dubai at risk as it is home to many international financial institutions, as well as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Several fintech behemoths like PwC, Deloitte and Citi began to shutter operations in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, beginning Wednesday for at least a week, AFP reported. The UN Security Council was to vote later Wednesday on a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council demanding Iran stop attacking its Arab neighbours. Israel and the US said they had launched a new “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran and Lebanon. Kuwait said its defences downed eight Iranian drones and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five heading toward the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field. World oil prices rose, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude jumping more than five per cent in early trade before gains eased, while world markets traded mixed. The US also warned Iranians it considers civilian ports in the Strait of Hormuz to be legitimate targets, alleging Tehran was using them for military operations. “Civilian ports used for military purposes lose protected status and become targets under international law,” the US military said. ‘No LPG crisis in State’, CM forms GoM to review supply E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Amid escalation of the West Asia conflict, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed LPG stocks and cylinder supply in the state during the Collectors Conference held at the State Secretariat on Wednesday. Explaining the status of LPG reserves, Secretary (Civil Supplies) Saurabh Gaur informed that there is no crisis at present. He said there are 1.61 lakh domestic and 10 lakh commercial gas connections in the state. HPCL, IOCL, BPCL and other companies supply LPG. While there is a demand for 4,000 metric tonnes of gas a day in the state, 21,505 metric tonnes of gas reserves are available now. The Chief Minister constituted a Group of Ministers comprising Nadendla Manohar (Civil Supplies), K Atchannaidu (Agriculture) and Payyavula Keshav (Finance) to review market conditions of LPG and horticultural products. The Chief Minister directed officials to continuously monitor the situation through RTGS and submit reports to the government. He said there should be no interruption in supply of LPG to schools and hospitals. Though there is no shortage anywhere at present, the Centre should be consulted to avoid any problems, he said, adding that immediate corrective measures should be taken in case of any difficulties arising due to the impact of the West Asia conflict. District Collectors were told to explore alternative markets for products such as eggs and bananas. The Chief Minister asserted that strict vigilance should be maintained to prevent LPG cylinders from being diverted to the black market. LPG Panic buying hits AP Fears, a possible LPG shortage triggered panic bookings and a rush at gas agencies across parts of AP. Consumers in NTR, Krishna and Visakhapatnam districts scrambled to secure refills, causing temporary delays in confirmations | P4 SC orders expert legal panel to vet NCERT books High Court backs State’s IT policy, sees no issue with land allotment S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi T he S u p r e m e C o u r t o n Wednesday directed the Centre to constitute a committee of domain experts within a week to finalise the curriculum related to legal studies in NCERT textbooks amid row over a chapter on judiciary in the Class VIII social sciences textbook. The Centre informed the court it had directed the NCERT to review textbooks for all classes. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi told the government that instead of asking the NCERT to do this, it would have appreciated if the Centre con- stitutes an expert panel to review the curriculum. The bench suggested that the panel should preferably include a former senior judge, an eminent academic and a renowned legal practitioner. The court also recommended that the National Judicial Academy be associated with the review process for sections dealing with the judiciary . The court observed that the issue of judicial graft in a Class 8 textbook had triggered irresponsible commentary online. It took note of the hostile and abusive reactions on social media following the controversy “We have noticed the man. ner in which some elements on social media have reacted irresponsibly. The law must take its own course against such rumour mongers,” it added. The court had on February 26 imposed a “complete blanket ban” on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of NCERT’s Class 8 social science book as it contains “offending” contents on corruption in the judiciary . The court was on Wednesday informed that NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani had filed an affidavit tendering an unconditional and unqualified apology in person and on behalf of the institution for the inclusion of the contentious material in the textbook. The affidavit said that the chapter in question was drafted by a textbook development team chaired by historian Michel Danino and comprising Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar. It directed that the three individuals be disassociated forthwith from universities, public institutions or any academic bodies receiving government funds and not be assigned any kind of responsibilities funded wholly or partly from the public exchequer. The court said the order was not intended to prevent any healthy and objective criticism of the institutional function of the judiciary . E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday heard the Public Interest Litigation filed by Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumurthy and observed that the State government is well within its policy domain to frame measures aimed at promoting industrialisation and strengthening the Information Technology sector. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Challa Gunaranjan remarked that in the present competitive global en- vironment, attracting investments requires the State to offer appropriate incentives, noting that companies may otherwise prefer more favourable destinations in other states or countries. The bench pointed out that if the government insists on allocating land strictly at market value, potential investors may shift to regions that offer better incentives. To remain competitive with neighbouring states and ensure economic growth, the State must encourage large-scale investments and industrial development, the court observed. It also noted that a significant proportion of professionals working in the global IT sect o r a re Te l u g u - s p e a k i n g individuals who have settled across various parts of the country and abroad. In this context, the government may have formulated policies relating to IT development and land allotment with the objective of transforming the State into a major IT hub. P4