HYDERABAD l Monday l December 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Global airlines body warns of rising GPS interference Rising incidents of flights experiencing GPS spoofing and jamming is a safety concern, warns International Air Transport Association (IATA) pilots need to be more vigilant: IATA chief IATA Director General Willie Walsh said incidents of GPS spoofing and jamming require pilots to be more vigilant in terms of operation, because the increase has been very significant. Data from IATA showed the GPS loss rate measured as the number of GPS loss events per 1,000 flights is estimated to be at 59 in 2025 compared to 31 in 2022 navigation system with false signals, potentially causing it to be misrouted and come dangerously close to other aircraft ■ There has been a rise in instances of GPS spoofing and interference at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports 1,951 rise in cases at major Indian airports ■ GPS spoofing and jamming involves manipulating an aircraft’s cases of GPS interference reported in India since November 2023 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 12 killed, 29 injured as two gunmen open fire at Jewish event in Sydney It’s an act of evil antisemitism & terrorism, says Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese A G ENCIES AT least 12 people were shot dead and 29 others, including two police officers, were injured as two gunmen opened fire at a crowd during a Jewish festival in Sydney Australia on , Sunday evening. One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second was in a critical condition, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters. He added that police were looking into whether a third gunman was involved in the shooting. Police said the incident happened when over 1,000 people gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach for a Menorah lighting, which marks the beginning of the Jewish festival Hanukkah. As gunfire erupted, crowds fled from the beach. Video footage showed two gunmen with long guns firing from a footbridge leading to the beach. One clip broadcast on Australian television showed a civilian tackle one gunman by snatching his rifle. Police said investigators were examining a number of Express read Kyiv open to dropping NATO bid, rejects cession Berlin: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the US push for ceding territory to Russia as he held talks with US envoys on ending the war. Zelenskyy sat down with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner | P9 2 Indian-origin youths shot dead in Canada Chandigarh: Two Indian-origin youth hailing from Punjab were shot dead in southeast Edmonton, Canada by unidentified persons early on Friday. The deceased youth have been identified as Gurdeep Singh of Bareh village and Ranbir Singh of Uddat Saidewala village near Budhlada in Punjab. The duo were reportedly on their way to attend a friend’s birthday party when unidentified persons fire on them | P8 High alert in India Emergency workers evacuate a victim at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Inset: Videograb of a civilian tackling and disarming a gunman | AP suspicious items recovered from the premises, including several improvised explosive devices found in one of the suspect’s cars. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack an act of evil antisemitism and terrorism. “This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy a celebration of , faith,” he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack. In a post on X, Modi said, “Strongly condemn the ghastly terrorist attack carried out today at Bondi Beach, Australia, targeting people celebrating the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.” Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, in Australia for The Ashes, wrote on X that he was “locked in a restaurant” at the Bondi beach when the gunmen started firing. He escaped unhurt.  P9 Survivor in actor assault case breaks silence A week after a Kerala trial court acquitted actor Dileep in the 2017 abduction and sexual assault case, the survivor in the case broke her silence on Sunday expressing anguish and questioning whether law delivers equal justice | P8 antisemitic attacks on rise Mass shootings are rare in Australia, considered one of the world’s safest countries. Sunday’s attack was the worst such incident since 1996, when 35 people were shot dead in the state of Tasmania. The Bondi shootout is the most serious in a string of attacks in Australia since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023 Bangladesh summons Indian envoy over Hasina’s comments J aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi Bangladesh summoned the Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Sunday to convey its concerns over what it described as “incendiary statements” by fugitive political figures, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who are currently in India. The interim government expressed “serious concern” over Hasina’s continued public statements, alleging that these were encouraging her supporters to engage in violent acts aimed at disrupting the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for February next year. It urg ed India to take immediate steps to stop such activities and extradite those allegedly involved. It also sought India’s cooperation in preventing suspects linked to the recent attempted assassination of Sharif Osman Student leader critical The Indian envoy was summoned two days after Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the student leaders from the July-August 2024 protests, was shot in the head. He is critical. Hadi leads the right-wing Inquilab Mancha Hadi, an independent candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency from fleeing to Indian ter, ritory. Dhaka requested that, should any of the suspects enter India, they be apprehended and extradited without delay . Stating that India is a close CEC working for BJP, alleges Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Congress on Sunday mounted a major show of strength at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground, accusing the Modi government of “vote chori” and vowing to unseat the Modi–RSS regime. Addressing the party’s ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ rally, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of bias. He alleged that CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi aligned with BJP | P7 In view of the terror attack in Sydney, security agencies in India have sounded high alert across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and other metro cities warning of imminent threat during the festival period of Hanukkah. Sources said agencies have beefed up security and deployed additional manpower to Jewish establishments neighbour, the Bangladeshi foreign ministry said it expected New Delhi to support the people of Bangladesh in upholding justice and protecting democratic processes. New Delhi rejected the allegations and reiterated that India has never permitted its territory to be used for anti-Bangladesh activities. “We have consistently reiterated our position in favour of free, fair, inclusive and credible elections being held in Bangladesh in a peaceful atmosphere,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. “India has never allowed its territory to be used for activities inimical to the interests of the friendly people of Bangladesh,” it added. The Awami League has rejected the elections saying the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus will not be able to hold the polls in a free and normal environment. 2,063 candidates backed by congress bag sarpanch posts | p4 World Champions at home In their first-ever final appearance, India went on to win the Squash World Cup in Chennai on Sunday. A look... Dominant run to the final In their route to the final, India saw off Switzerland, Brazil in the group stages, South Africa in the quarterfinals — all without a scratch. Their semi-final tie against Egypt, was the most gruelling tie for the hosts but once they reached the final there was no stopping them Fulfilling destiny In the summit clash against Hong Kong, veteran Joshna Chinappa stunned world No. 37 Lee Ka Yi 3-1 (7-3, 2-7, 7-5, 7-1) to give India a perfect start. Abhay Singh outplayed Alex Lau 3-0 (7-1, 7-4, 7-4) before Anahat Singh blanked Tomato Ho 3-0 (7-2, 7-2, 7-5) to seal the title. Third time is the charm Since 2011, Chennai has hosted this event twice and on both occasions Egypt won (2011 and 2023). India’s best finish, before Sunday’s victory, was a shared third-place finish with Japan in 2023. In 2011, India finished outside the podium positions. Nabin BJP’s new nat’l working president RA J ESH KUMAR THAKUR & R a m a s h a n k a r @ New Delhi/Patna FOLLOWING NDA’s landslide win in the Bihar assembly election, the BJP on Sunday appointed five-term Bihar MLA and minister Nitin Nabin (45) as its National Executive (Working) president, elevating a lowkey, next-generation leader amid preparations for elections in key states. BJP national general secretary Arun Singh issued the notification which said Nabin’s elevation was approved by the party’s Parliamentary Board, and is effective immediately. The decision, announced hours after Pankaj Chaudhary’s election as Uttar Pradesh BJP president, underscores the party’s thrust on young, disciplined workers from Bihar. Nabin, who belongs to the Kayastha caste, currently serves as Bihar’s road construction minister and BJP in-charge for Chhattisgarh, where his boothlevel strategies fuelled a victory. Nabin won the Assembly election from Patna’s Bankipur constituency (previously Patna West), defeating Rekha Kumari of the RJD by over 51,000 votes. Born on May 23, 1980, Nabin entered politics in 2006 through a bypoll after his father, veteran BJP leader late Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha died of a heart attack. Starting with the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) as national general secretary and Bihar Industrial park coming up in CM’s constituency M a n da Rav i n d e r R e d dy @ Hyderabad A multipurpose industrial park is expected to come up shortly in Kodangal Assembly constituency being represented by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy . The Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TGIIC) has prepared the required plans and readied all documentation for the project, and the government is currently in the process of obtaining statutory clearances. According to the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR), accessed by TNIE, the proposed industrial park will be developed over 849.6 acres across Hakeempet, Polepally and Lagcherla villages in Dudyal mandal of Vikarabad district. The project is slated for completion within one to two years from the date of receipt of all statutory clearances from the departments concerned. TGIIC will develop infrastructure such as roads, water and power supply systems, wastewater treatment plants and other facilities at an estimated cost of `210 crore. The proposed park will host various industries such as AAC bricks and block manufacturing, non-alcoholic beverage units, automobile manufacturing, lead-acid battery units, ceramics, glass and pottery units, tile manufacturing, and synthetic detergent and soap production. It will also accommodate units manufacturing glue and gelatin, an integrated unit for ammonia production using hydrogen generated through pyrolysis or gasification, milk processing and dairy product units, and integrated facilities for reprocessing waste textile fabric, yar n or textile materials. In addition, the park will host pharmaceutical units, wire president, Nabin built a reputation as a top strategist with strong RSS roots, focusing on outreach among the youth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him on X, praising Nabin as a “hardworking karyakarta” with “rich organisational experience.” Party sources see Nabin’s elevation as something bigger than what meets the eye, potentially paving Nabin’s path to full national president by mid-2026Nabin’s rise stresses on BJP’s onus on its trust in silent performers over mass appeal. Incumbent national president J P Nadda’s term had ended in 2024, but BJP extended his tenure for the Bihar poll. Land breakup for proposed project 631.57 acres (74.34%) 79.5 acres (9.36%) 85.19 acres Open Space Plotted area Roads (10.03%) n Common facilities 21.3 acres (2.51%) n Social infrastructure 22.8 acres (2.68%) n Utilities 7.25 acres (0.85%) HT line 1.99 acres (0.23%) 849.6acres (100%) Net layout area drawing and wire netting industries, metal surface treatment units, MS ingot or billet manufacturing units, steel rerolling mills, utensil manufacturing units, industries producing industrial carbon including electrodes and graphite blocks, activated carbon, carbon black, and other allied industries. continued on p4 meeting of gods Football legend Lionel Messi along with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar during an event at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Tendulkar presented Messi with his signed ODI jersey on the occasion in front of packed stands | Pti Staff shortage plagues minority residential schools M e g h n a N at h @ Hyderabad Serious concerns have once again surfaced over the functioning of the Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS) with most of them reportedly operating without adequate wardens, regular teachers, junior lecturers, counsellors, record assistants, cooks and other essential staff, leading to multiple safety and welfare concerns, including food poisoning and snakebite cases. Infor mation obtained through the Right to Information Act reveals that more than 2,669 teaching and non-teaching posts are lying vacant across 205 institutions in the state. According to the RTI data, vacancies include 72 principal posts, a large number of junior lecturer positions in subjects such as Zoology Urdu, Telugu, , Physics and Mathematics, along with posts in vocational courses. Several school-level teaching posts in Bio-Science, English and Telugu also remain unfilled. In addition, 82 physical directors, 69 women physical teachers, 19 staff nurses, 12 typists, 75 contingent staff and 30 cooks are among the posts lying vacant. Key positions such as wardens, librarians and staff nurses have remained unfilled at several institutions for the past three years. The staff shortage has reportedly led to a rise in food poisoning cases over the past year, while student dropouts have also increased in the current academic year. RTI activist Kareem Ansari, who filed the RTI on TMREIS, said the replies point to serious lapses in the functioning of minority residential institutions. He questioned the state government’s delay in filling vacancies and urged immediate recruitment, stating that thousands of students from economically weaker minority families depend on TMREIS for quality education. Meanwhile, teachers working in the minority educational institutions say the prolonged recruitment delay has forced existing staff to handle multiple responsibilities. They noted that the last recruitment drive was held in 2023, and mounting work pressure has led several staff members to leave their jobs.