visakhapatnam l sunday l september 06, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Putin, Zelenskyy agree to pause strikes during talks with U.S. The pause on strikes on Kyiv and Moscow from Saturday was tied to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s (pics ) visit to Moscow and Kyiv russia says ‘no talk of new ideas’ Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed, in a clip from Tass News, that Kushner and Witkoff would meet Putin during their Moscow visit on Saturday, but said there was “no talk of new ideas” to end the conflict. The envoys’ trip comes as both Ukraine and Russia escalate aerial attacks, some 4.5 years after the Kremlin’s invasion of its neighbour ■ 53 u.s. push to stop war loses momentum ■ Washington’s push to end the fighting, now in its fifth year, has lost momentum as US attention has been focused for the past six months on its war with Iran and a protracted engagement in the Gulf | P9 The two US envoys were received in Moscow by envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who shared photos cap tioned “Welcome to Moscow Peacemakers” drones of ukraine shot down by russia on friday night 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 all 10 guilty in Naxal attack that wiped out C’garh Cong leadership Awaiting punishment E J A Z KAIS E R @ Raipur Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with a boy in Delhi Metro en route to the Shri Ram College of Commerce for its centenary celebrations on Saturday | PTI WITH THIS ISSUE PM taps Gen Z idiom, calls SRCC alumni the OGs will meet two kinds of people. One kind consists of people PRIME Minister Narendra who positively transform the Modi struck a distinctly Gen Z strength of society into the note as he addressed students strength of the nation. The secat Shri Ram College of Com- ond kind is made up of people merce (SRCC) in Delhi on the who become the naraz fufa occasion of Teachers’ Day on whenever any work is started. Saturday, using contemporary Their favourite thing is to opphrases like “OG (original pose everything?” he said. gangster)” and invok“ W h e n we we re ing popular culture building the world’s while returning to the tallest statue, the fufa campus 13 years after said, ‘What is the need Those who saw the for this?’ When we his 2013 visit. glass as half Setting the tone earstarted working on the empty in 2013, ly in his speech, Modi high-speed train, the referred to SRCC’s when I had visited fufa again said, ‘What the SRCC, still alumni as trendsetters choose to see it the is the need for this? in their own right. “If When we introduced same way today I say it in Gen Z lanUPI, these same fufas Narendra Modi, guage, they are OG,” asked, ‘Why UPI.’ PM at SRCC he said, pointing to When we built the new their contributions Parliament building, across fields. He added, they again said, ‘What is the “Dhurandhar na ho, lekin need for this?’” Modi said. dhoom toh machayi hai.” Reflecting on SRCC’s legacy, Modi also took aim at critics Modi drew from his personal of the government’s develop- interactions with alumni ment initiatives during his ad- across sectors. “Our Arun Jaitdress, calling them “naraz fufa ley studied here. Currently my , (aggrieved uncle)” who oppose team includes Sanjeev Sanyal, all projects by asking why they who also studied here. In other are needed. He told students, words, SRCC members have “Outside this campus, you will made a name for themselves in encounter a new world. You every field,” he said. I f r a h M u f t i @ New Delhi Squeezed PLUS in the12 PAGES Middle PLUS 12 P AGES express read Act fast in SC/ST cases: CM to officials Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to expedite the investigation of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act cases to ensure punishment to the guilty at the earliest | P4 Vizag zoo gets four new animal species Visakhapatnam: Indira Gandhi Zoological Park has received four species from the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, Moti Khavdi, Gujarat, as part of an animal exchange programme | P4 A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Jagdalpur on Saturday convicted all 10 surviving Maoist insurgents, including three women, on trial for their alleged role in the ghastly 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre in south Chhattisgarh, known as one of India’s most politically catastrophic terror strikes. The court of special judge Ajay Singh Rajput found all the accused guilty of terror and mass murder, and will announce the quantum of punishment on September 16. The accused are lodged in Jagdalpur Central Jail in Bastar. The prosecution examined as many as 101 witnesses in the The convicts were identified as Pramila Modiyam, Chaitu Lekam, Sumitra Punem Modiyam, Mukka Mandavi, Kosa Kavasi, Aayata Markam, Madkami Deva, Joga Madkami, Banjami Sanna and Mahadev Nag. Kosa Kavasi’s brother Guddu claimed that Kosa and Mukka Mandavi had been falsely implicated in the case case. Defence counsel Arvind Choudhary said his team will appeal against the verdict in higher courts. The 10 individuals convicted for orchestrating and executing the bloodshed hailed from the Bastar region. On May 25, 2013, ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, a convoy of the Congress’ ‘Parivartan Yatra’ returning from a rally in Sukma was ambushed by heavily-armed Maoists in the dense forests of Jhiram valley between Darbha and Tongpal. The ambush wiped out virtually the entire top-tier leadership of the state Congress. Among the 31 killed were then- Woman, 60, trapped in flood slush at home, rescued after 10 days in Nepal S V KRISH N A CHAITA N YA @ Kathmandu Rescue teams on Saturday pulled a Chinese national alive from a tunnel at the Upper T r i s h u l i - 1 H yd ro e l e c t r i c Project, nearly two weeks after the devastating flood that swept through Nepal’s northern districts, while rescuers separately saved a 60-year-old woman trapped inside a debris-buried house in Nuwakot. In the rescue operation in Betrawati, Nuwakot, an Armed Police Force team led by Inspector Suman B K rescued Chandika Shrestha from the top floor of a four-storey house owned by her husband, Anand Shrestha. The house had been buried under debris following the devastating floods. Shrestha was brought out alive from a window on the top floor. She had passed out when rescuers spotted her but gradually regained Death toll crosses 1,300, including 85 children The death toll from the flash floods in Nepal reached 1,344 on Saturday as more bodies were recovered. They included 85 children, while 501 were found with body parts missing, officials said. As many as 1,030 bodies have been temporarily buried after DNA collection The woman rescued from her house in Betrawati, Nuwakot | Express consciousness. Her family had performed symbolic last rites assuming she was dead, after they could not find her for several days following the flash floods. At the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project, the Chinese national, identified as Luhaitao, was rescued from about 225 metres inside the tunnel by a joint team involving the Nepali Army and foreign personnel. Further search and rescue operations at the hydropower project are continuing. The rescue comes a day after two Nepali workers, Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan, were pulled alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli-3A Hydroelectric Project after being trapped for nine days. The two rescues have raised hopes that more people could still be alive inside underground structures across the flood-hit hydropower projects. CM agrees to set up 12th PRC, release two DAs S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Stating that employees are an integral part of the government, and the government is committed to their welfare, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has agreed to constitute the 12th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) and release two pending Dearness Allowances (DAs). The Chief Minister held a meeting with leaders of employee associations representing the Joint Staff Council at his camp office in Undavalli on Saturday . Explaining the financial stringency of the State, he placed the revenue and expenditure figures before the employ- Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu with leaders of employee associations | Express ee association leaders. Despite the financial challenges, the government is committed to addressing employees’ issues, he said. Naidu agreed to release the pending DAs due from July 1, Three more DSCs will be held before 2029: Lokesh E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Participating in the Teachers’ Day celebrations in Vijayawada on Saturday HRD and IT , Minister Nara Lokesh announced that three more DSCs would be conducted before 2029 to recruit enough number of teachers for gover nment schools. He promised to fill long-pending professor, associate professor and assistant professor vacancies in universities by April next year. Mentioning that criticism is inevitable for those who work, Lokesh remarked that people who do not even know the difference between APPSC and DSC, were making allegations against him. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also slammed the YSRCP for trying to stall the process of Mega DSC initially, and later making baseless allegations on the recruitment process. Naidu said despite more than 350 petitions filed by YSRCP leaders in courts to obstruct the Mega DSC, the government successfully conducted the teacher recruitment. 2024 and January 1, 2025. These two DAs will be paid with effect from October 1, 2026. He also gave consent to credit the surrender leave dues pertaining to 2022 to employees’ accounts by the coming Sankranti. The Chief Minister expressed willingness to provide one additional surrender leave to police personnel during the ensuing Dasara. The government has also decided to restore the Additional Quantum of Pension for pensioners, which had been cancelled by the previous government, from January next year. Under the decision, pensioners aged above 70 years will receive an additional 10%, while those above 75 years will get an additional 15%. Naidu directed officials to streamline the Employees’ Health Scheme (EHS), and make monthly payments to the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust from P4 next month onwards.  @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered the reconstitution of 28 Zilla Praja Parishads (ZPPs) in line with the State’s 28-district administrative setup, replacing the existing 13 ZPPs from September 25, 2026. The decision comes as the tenure of the present elected ZPP bodies is scheduled to end on September 24. The Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department issued orders on Saturday for the formation of a ZPP for each of the 28 districts. A district-wise list of Mandal Praja Parishads (MPPs) forming part of each ZPP has been notified as part of the reorganisation. Andhra Pradesh had 13 districts when the existing ZPPs were constituted. The State was subsequently reorganised into 26 districts with effect from April 4, 2022. Later, Markapuram and Polavaram were constituted as additional revenue districts through Gazette Noti- Essel group founder booked by CBI The CBI has registered an FIR against Subhash Chandra for allegedly inflating his net worth to avail loans from LICHFL and defaulting on repayment | P7 JLR to slash headcount by 4K in UK as US levy bites eX p r e s s ne w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi india spin a web Shafali Verma (L) celebrates the wicket of Muneeba Ali with Richa Ghosh (R) as Pakistan collapsed from 27/0 to 55 all out against India in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup on Saturday. India chased the total in 8.4 overs to win by seven wickets | bcci 28 ZPPs to come into effect in State on Sept 25 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh Patel, former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla, senior Congress leader and Salwa Judum architect Mahendra Karma, and former MLA Uday Mudliyar, alongside several party workers. The then Raman Singh-led BJP government handed over the probe to the NIA within two days of the attack. NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet on September 28, 2015, following arrest of two more suspects. In January 2019, the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the attack, alleging NIA had not investigated the larger conspiracy behind the attack. fications issued on November 27, 2025, taking the total number of districts in the State to 28. The elected bodies of the present ZPPs assumed office on September 25, 2021, and their five-year term will end on September 24, 2026. The government has now decided to bring the Zilla Praja Parishads structure in line with the present district administration for effective local self governance. The 28 Zilla Praja Parishads in the State include Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anakapalli, Anantapur, Annamayya, Bapatla, Chittoor, BR Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, Eluru, Guntur, Kakinada, Krishna, Kurnool, Markapuram, Nandya l , NTR , P a l n a d u , P a rvathipuram Manyam, Polavaram, Prakasam, Nellore, Sri Sathya Sai, Srikakulam, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, West Godavari and Kadapa. Alongside the reconstitution, the government has sanctioned 30 additional posts to strengthen the executive machinery of the newly constituted Zilla PraP4 ja Parishads.  TATA Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is preparing to cut around 4,000 jobs in the United Kingdom (UK) over the next two years amid a drop in sales and rising costs. The luxury carmaker has taken a hit after the US slapped import duty on imports from the UK and a cyberattack in 2025 that led to a complete halt in operations. The planned job cut, reported by The Times, is part of JLR’s effort to deliver 1.7 billion British pounds (`21,700 crore) in savings and reduce its breakeven point to 300,000 vehicles. The carmaker has already told employees and trade union partners that it is opening a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management staff. JLR employs around 34,000 people directly in the UK across three sites in the West Midlands and another in Halewood, Merseyside. “Today we informed our col, leagues and trade union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business. We will share further information with our colleagues first,” the company added. JLR’s profits fell by 10% in the quarter to June 2026, while pre-tax profit dropped by more than two-thirds to £109 million. US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 10% tariff on cars imported from UK hit its operations in its biggest market. North America accounts for 29% of JLR’s sales.