tirupati l friday l august 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Indian-origin astronaut Anil Menon conducts spacewalk NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir began a spacewalk on Thursday to carry out modifications for a future power upgrade at ISS Duo performs ISS power system upgrades menon’s first spacewalk, Meir’s sixth The spacewalkers spent hours in the vacuum of space, carrying out necessary modifications for future installation of Roll-Out Solar Arrays on the International Space Station. The arrays are expected to provide additional power to support critical station operations, NASA said. This was the 281st spacewalk in support of ISS maintenance and upgrades ■ ■ Menon was born in Minnesota in 1976 to Indian and Ukrainian immigrants. This will be Menon’s first and Meir’s sixth spacewalk Menon was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch its first humans to space during the Demo-2 mission. He joined NASA in 2014 as a space surgeon and began a two-year astronaut training in 2022 6 pm IST When the two astronauts stepped outside THE iss to carry out tasks 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 HC hands 10-yr RI to Tejpal in 2013 rape case Gives ex-editor 4 weeks to surrender, terms trial court’s decision to acquit him ‘perverse’ SUDHIR SURYAWA N SHI @ Mumbai The case dates back to 2013, when Tejpal was accused of five years after a trial court sexually assaulting a junior acquitted journalist Tarun Te- colleague in an elevator of a jpal in a 2013 sexual assault high-end hotel in Goa during case, the Bombay High Court an event organised by the magon Thursday set aside the deci- azine. The Goa Police regission and sentenced the former tered an FIR against Tejpal for editor to 10 years of rigorous various offences, including imprisonment. The HC also im- rape. He was arrested in Noposed a fine of `10.21 lakh on vember 2013 and released on the former editor of Tehelka bail in July 2014. magazine and said the money The trial commenced in 2017. would go the survivor. The judgment was pronounced A division bench of in May 2021 by Addijustices Neela Gokhational Sessions Judge le and Amit JamsandKshama Joshi, who ekar pronounced the acquitted Tejpal. verdict on the appeal During the hearing filed by state of Goa in HC, Solicitor Genin 2022 against the eral Tushar Mehta, trial court verdict. appearing for the “We have set aside the state of Goa, argued judgment and order that the trial court Tejpal to and convicted Tejpal. wrongly focused on move SC We have convicted the complainant’s Tarun Tejpal him under Sections character instead of called himself a 376(2)(f) and (k), 354A, the conduct of the ac“political victim” 354B of Indian Penal cused. He said the and pleaded for Code (IPC),” it said. trial court incorrectly leniency, saying While handing relied on the comhe was 62 years down the minimum plainant’s lifestyle, old and the sentence of 10 years’ WhatsApp chats, and father of two rigorous imprison‘nor mative’ behavgirls. He said he ment, the bench noted iour to infer consent. would approach that the incident took Senior advocate AaSC to challenge place 13 years ago and bad Ponda, representhis conviction Tejpal had not coming Tejpal, argued mitted any other that the acquittal was criminal offence. The maxi- correct because the complainmum punishment for rape is ant’s account was inconsistent life imprisonment. with objective evidence includThe court gave Tejpal four ing the lift mechanics and weeks to surrender. CCTV footage. He further arDuring the hearing, the gued that the victim’s behavbench termed the trial court’s iour and conversation on text judgment “perverse” and col- messages did not suggest deliboured by prejudice against the e r a t e c o n c e a l m e n t o r survivor. coaching. E x p r e s s Re a d SCoR targets 100-km Kavach rollout by Dec Visakhapatnam: The newly formed South Coast Railway (SCoR), which currently has no commissioned section equipped with Kavach, is targeting the rollout of the indigenous automatic train protection system on nearly 100 km of its High Density Network (HDN) routes by December 2026, marking its first major step towards tech-led safety enhancement. Vijayawada Division will have the first section to be covered under the programme, said SCoR GM Sandeep Mathur | P3 Jagan creating political unrest in State: Anitha Moscow pact to drive Vizag’s smart transport Vijayawada: Reiterating that the TDP-led NDA government is committed to development and good governance, Home Minister V Anitha on Thursday accused YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of creating political unrest during his public visits under the guise of expressing solidarity with affected groups | P4 Visakhapatnam: From AI-powered traffic monitoring and electric public transport to digital civic services and sustainable planning, Vizag is taking up a series of initiatives aimed at improving mobility. The pact between the GVMC and the Government of Moscow is expected to facilitate tech exchange for growth | P4 FCRA bill to have prospective effect, Gen Z outreach Protests lawful form debate on Aug 12: Shah to Mizo CM of dialogue: RSS head M UK E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi The controversial Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, will be taken up for discussion and passage in Parliament on August 12, but its provisions will not apply retrospectively Mizo, ram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on Thursday after meeting Union home minister Amit Shah. Lalduhoma, accompanied by a delegation of church leaders from Mizoram, met Shah in Parliament to press for changes to several contentious provisions of the bill, which seeks to tighten oversight of foreignfunded organisations. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lalduhoma said: “We raised six issues. He assured us that this bill will not have retrospective effect. On the remaining concerns, he said he would respond in writing.” Passage by Aug 13 Lalduhoma said Shah informed the delegation that the bill would be debated in Parliament on August 12. The government is expected to seek its passage before the Monsoon session concludes on August 13 At a separate meeting with Shah, a delegation of church functionaries led by DMK MP P Wilson submitted a memorandum seeking withdrawal of the FCRA Amendment Bill 2026 in entirety . Alternatively, the memorandum demanded “the reference of the FCRA Amendment Bill 2026, together with a comprehensive review of the work- E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Rajamahendravaram A medico sustained critical head injuries when a car allegedly driven by an inebriated youth hit her two-wheeler at a multiplex in the city on August 3. However, the incident came to light on Thursday . Prakash Nagar CI Bajilal said Priyanka, the victim who is an MD student, went to watch a movie at Prasads Multiplex. Cabinet gives nod to withdrawal of Disha Bill, 2019 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Thursday approved a series of major poli, cy decisions, including the withdrawal of the Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019, a new Pedestrian Safety and Universal Accessibility Policy, 2026, and extension of electricity tariff subsidies for aquaculture farmers. Briefing the media after the meeting, Minister for Information and Public Relations Kolusu Parthasarathy informed that the Cabinet approved the withdrawal of the AP Disha Bill Criminal Law (AP Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill, which had been sent to the President for assent, was reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which sought clarifications on several provisions, and advised the State to withdraw the existing legislation, and submit a revised Bill incorporating the Centre’s recommendations. The State government noted that the enactment of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which came into force on July 1, 2024, had already strengthened legal provisions relating to crimes against women. Based on the recommendations of the DGP and the Law Department, the Cabinet decided to withdraw the Disha Bill. The AP Pedestrian Safety and Universal Accessibility Policy 2026 seeks to eliminate pedestrian , fatalities by adopting a zero-tolerance approach towards unsafe road conditions, removing encroachments from footpaths, which was approved P4 by the Cabinet.  Indian Air Force gets its first woman fighter combat leader Bhawana Kanth Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth has become the first woman to clear the Fighter Combat Leader (FCL), the toughest course for fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. She successfully completed FCL at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) in Gwalior last week. FCL is among the most prestigious badges for fighter pilots. Only a small fraction of IAF’s aircrew, about 1%, get picked for the five-month rigorous programme, which trains the selected pilots in advanced air combat tactics and turns S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday described protests as a form of dialogue that should be used to evolve consensus rather than creating divisions in society. Addressing a gathering of about 2,000 students here, he said Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most honest of generations. He said people of his generation, when they were young, follow the directions of elders, but today’s generation has strong opinions and needs logical answers. Addressing a wide array of questions, Bhagwat said if people’s voice is not heard in a democracy, they could use protest as a medium to talk to power. “Protest is a way of dialogue. In a democracy, there are many ways to arrive at a consensus. It is true that there is a need to do a lot of reform in Indian education. If there is no dialogue, then protests happen. I will not say Gen Z should not protest, but there are ways to protest. If Gen Z is upset, then we need to pay attention. The recent agitation took place because of lack of attention. Their issues can be sorted out through dialogue,” Bhagwat said. He also emphasised that Gen Z is not anti-national; instead they are the future of the country . Medico injured in hit-and-run, two engineering students held Top gun J AVARIA RA N A @ New Delhi ing of the Principal Act, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee and the repeal of the existing Section 15 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, so that no provision for the vesting of foreign contribution or of assets survives in any form”. Introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 25, the bill proposes sweeping changes to the FCRA, which governs the receipt and utilisation of foreign donations by individuals, associations and companies. The most contentious provision of the bill empowers a government-designated authority to take custody of foreign funds and assets created through such contributions if the FCRA registration and organisation is cancelled, surrendered or ceases to exist. them into the specialists who set the template for how frontline squadrons fight. Graduates return to their units as in-house authorities on weapons employment. Reaching that level closes a loop Sqn Ldr Kanth helped open a decade ago. In June 2016, Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi, and Mohana Singh, were commissioned as the IAF’s first women fighter pilots, after the government opened the combat stream to women on an experimental basis. In May 2019, Kanth became the first Indian woman cleared to fly fighter combat missions by day , then on the MiG-21 Bison, before converting to the Su-30 MKI. She has since featured in a Republic Day parade tableau and was conferred Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2020. Sqn Ldr Kanth, who hails from Darbhanga in Bihar and has trained as an engineer before joining IAF, is part of a cohort that keeps posting firsts. Sqn Ldr Mohana Singh, commissioned alongside her, went on to become the first woman to fly the Tejas in a frontline squadron. Suravarapu Dusvant (24) and Desabhatula Andrew Joseph (23) also went to the multiplex in a car after consuming liquor. Security personnel prevented them from entering the multiplex, and the duo left the place. Their car allegedly rammed Priyanka’s Scooty, while she was returning to her hostel along with her friend after watching the movie. The duo, who are said to be engineering students, fled the scene after the mishap. The injured Priyanka, who was admitted to a local hospital, was later shifted to Hyderabad for advanced medical treatment. Police took the duo into custody. A case was registered.