25102023-TTB-01.qxd 10/24/2023 11:58 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 295 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA PUTIN HEALTHY, SAYS KREMLIN AFTER ILLNESS RUMOURS WORLD /thetribunechd ONLY 10 LOCAL YOUTHS JOINED MILITANCY THIS YEAR, SAYS DGP J&K TOYOTA LOBBIES INDIA HINDUTVA IDEOLOGUES TO REDUCE TAXES ON MUST SHOW RESTRAINT: HYBRID CARS BUSINESS RSS CHIEF BACK PAGE wednesday | 25 october 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com US military advisers rush to Israel as offensive escalates French President proposes coalition to fight Hamas ‘Went through hell’, says one of two hostages set free Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 24 Israel stepped up bombardment ahead of an expected ground invasion amid the rising death toll and the collapse of health services in the Gaza Strip. Fears of a wider war increased after the US beefed up its ground troops and sent two top military advisers to Israel. With the well-being of hostages emerging as a key factor, Israel could delay a ground invasion of Gaza for a few days to enable their release by Hamas. The release of two Israeli women on Monday preceded by the release of two US women earlier has led to western leaders wanting to get hostages out of Gaza before a ground assault. On the 18th day of the war, the number of civilian fatalities in Gaza crossed 5,500. The UN said only 54 aid trucks had entered the Gaza Strip in the past few days. It said it constituted only a fraction of the aid required in Gaza. “My colleagues told me that in one of the shipments over the last couple of days, we received Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron greet each other at a press conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday. REUTERS BLINKEN DRAWS PARALLEL TO MUMBAI ATTACK Drawing a parallel between terrorist attacks by LeT in Mumbai and by Hamas in Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said all acts of terrorism were “unlawful and unjustifiable”. RELENTLESS BOMBARDMENT ALARMING: UN CHIEF Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed deep alarm over the “relentless bombardment” of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip by Israeli forces. boxes of rice and lentils. But for people to cook lentils and rice, they need water and gas,” said a UN official. The Pentagon is actively assisting Israel in its planning by IN BRIEF Judges, though unelected, play a vital role: CJI NEW DELHI: CJI DY Chandrachud has said judges, though unelected, had a key role to play because judiciary had a “stabilising influence” in evolution of societies, changing rapidly with technology. BACK PAGE IIT aspirant getting coaching in Kota ends life BALLIA (UP): A 20-year-old student, Roshan Verma, preparing for IIT in Rajasthan’s Kota allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his native place here, the police said. PTI 2 Myanmar ultras nabbed in strife-torn Manipur IMPHAL: Two cadres of a Myanmar-based militant group, Chin Kuki Liberation Army, were arrested in Manipur’s Churachandpur district along with a cache of arms and ammunition, the police said. PTI Canada Sikh societies want visa service resumed NEW DELHI: Khalsa Diwan Society, Vancouver, along with other Sikh societies of British Columbia has written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking resumption of visa services. BACK PAGE sending military advisers and sophisticated air defence systems ahead of a ground assault into Gaza by Israel’s military. Forty years after the continued on page 9 New Delhi, October 24 Hamas released two more hostages, Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, both from Israel, late on Monday. Speaking to mediapersons, Lifshitz (85) said she was beaten up by militants when she was abducted and taken to Gaza on October 7, but was then treated well during her two-week captivity in the Palestinian enclave. “I have been through hell,” Lifshitz told reporters in Tel Aviv. Lifshitz said the hostages and captors ate only one meal a day of cheese and cucumber. Lifshitz’s husband, however, remains a hostage with about 220 others. Asked why she shook a Hamas militant’s hand while leaving, Lifshitz said, “Because they treated us very nicely.” Giving an insight into Hamas infrastructure, she said once in Gaza, they walked several kilometres to reach a network of tunnels that looked like a “spider web”. — TNS ‘Missing’for2mths,China Defence Minister sacked Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 24 China on Tuesday formally sacked Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has been missing from public view for the past two months, from the Cabinet as well as his position as a state councillor, reported the state media. No replacement has been announced. Former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who similarly slipped out of public view earlier, was stripped of his state council position. He has already been replaced by his predecessor Rajnath meets troops along LAC in Arunachal, reviews readiness New Delhi, October 24 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited forward posts of the Indian Army along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh and carried out first-hand onground assessment of the operational preparedness of the armed forces today. Tawang and western parts of Arunachal are operationally under the 4 Corps, headquartered at Tezpur in Assam. “The minister was briefed on the infrastructure development along the LAC and the employment of cutting-edge military equipment and technology to enhance the operational efficiency of the troops deployed in the frontline,” a statement of the Ministry of Defence said. The minister started his day Holds ‘Shastra Puja’ in Tawang, visits war memorial POWER LOAD OF ACs TO SURGE 9-FOLD BY 2050 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performs ‘Shastra Puja’ on the occasion of Vijayadashami at a forward post in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang. PTI by visiting Bum La, 37 km north of Tawang, along the LAC. He interacted with the troops deployed on the frontline and celebrated Dasehra with them. He returned to Tawang, where he performed traditional ‘Shastra Puja’ with the troops. At the Tawang War continued on page 9 Indian economy to be 3rd largest by 2030: S&P New Delhi, October 24 India, the world’s fifth largest economy, may overtake Japan by 2030 to become the world’s third-largest economy, says S&P Global Market Intelligence. Currently, Japan is the third biggest economy with a GDP of $4.2 trillion, followed by Germany with GDP of $4 trillion. The US’ GDP is $25.5 trillion and that of China is about $18 FIFTH BEHIND JAPAN, GERMANY CURRENTLY Nation Present GDP Likely by 2030 US $25.5 tn $28 tn China $18 tn $43 tn India $3.5 tn $7.3 tn trillion. After two years of rapid economic growth in 2021 and 2022, the Indian economy has continued to show sustained strong growth during the 2023 calendar year. If this trend endures, India will have a GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030. There will, however, be a huge gap with the first two economies. China by 2030 is projected to have a GDP of $43 trillion to become the biggest economy and the US’ economic size will be about $28 trillion. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to FINAL FAREWELL Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 24 The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved a policy to issue free tourist visas to travellers from India and six other countries, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on Tuesday. 2 MORE MINISTERS OUSTED Science Minister Wang Zhigang and Finance Minister Liu Kun also removed from their posts. Aim to rebuild tourism sector to clear huge debt Former Indian cricket team captain Bishan Singh Bedi’s wife Anju Inderjit Bedi, son Angad and daughter-in-law Neha Dhupia pay last respects to him in New Delhi on Tuesday. Former cricketers Kapil Dev and Madan Lal are also seen. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MANAS RANJAN BHUI QUINTON’S 70 farm fires on Dasehra in Haryana Illegal paragliding schools DECISIVE told to shut shop in Bir Billing Nitish Sharma KNOCK A brutal innings by Quinton de Kock (pic), 174 off 140 balls, powered South Africa to a mammoth 382/5. Bangladesh were bundled out for 233, despite all-rounder Mahmudullah’s 111 off as many balls. CRICKET WORLD CUP S Africa: 382/5 (50); B’desh: 233 (46.4) TODAY’S TIE TEAMS VENUE TIME Australia vs Netherlands Delhi 2pm Tribune News Service Ambala, October 24 Despite various measures being adopted by the Haryana Government to curb stubble burning, there appears to be no end to the menace as 99 cases were reported in the state over the past two days alone, taking the tally this season to 813. Of the 99 cases, 70 were reported on October 24 alone. The situation, however, is better compared to last year when 250 cases were reported on October 24, which took the tally till then to 1,360. According to data gathered by the Haryana Space Applica- BAN UP IN SMOKE DISTRICT Fatehabad Kaithal Ambala Jind Kurukshetra Karnal Yamunanagar Sonepat Hisar CASES DISTRICT 123 107 106 102 91 53 51 47 47 CASES Palwal Panipat Sirsa Rohtak Jhajjar Bhiwani Faridabad Panchkula TOTAL 42 17 11 7 4 2 2 1 813 tions Centre, Fatehabad district has reported the maximum 123 cases so far, followed grow 6.2-6.3 per cent in the fiscal year ending in March 2024, making it the fastest-growing major economy this fiscal year. India grew by 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter. “The near-term economic outlook is for continued rapid expansion during the remainder of 2023 and for 2024, underpinned by strong growth in domestic demand,” said S&P continued on page 9 Free Lanka visa to tourists from India, 6 other countries Foreign Minister was similarly removed earlier Wang Yi. Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang and Finance Minister Liu Kun have also been removed from their posts. They have been replaced by Yin Hejun and Lan Fo’an. The fall from grace of Li and Qin is seen as an error on the continued on page 9 New Delhi: India's demand for electricity for running household ACs is estimated to expand ninefold by 2050 and will exceed total power consumption in the whole of Africa today, the International Energy Agency said. BACK PAGE by Kaithal (107), Ambala (106), Jind (102), Kurukshetra (91), Karnal (53), Yamunanagar (51), Sonepat (47), Hisar (47), Palwal (42), Panipat (17), Sirsa (11), Rohtak (seven), Jhajjar (four), Bhiwani (two), Faridabad (two) and Panchkula (one). Deputy Director of Agriculture (Ambala) Jasvinder Saini said, “Over 80 per cent of harvesting has been completed in the district and we are expecting the cases to witness a downtrend from here. The field staff has been continuously making efforts to motivate the farmers. The department officials from blocks continued on page 9 edit: Delhi’s toxic air Ravinder Sood Palampur, October 24 The Himachal Tourism Department today ordered the closure of all paragliding training schools at Bir Billing that were functioning illegally. The orders were issued by the District Tourism Development Officer in Kangra, Vinay Dhiman. In his order, Dhiman stated that no paragliding training schools would be allowed to function in Bir Billing without prior approval of the Tourism Department. The owners of these schools were Search on for missing paraglider from Poland directed to close their websites immediately so that no one was misguided. The Tribune had, only two days ago, highlighted the issue following the death of Abhiuday, a trainee from Lucknow who lost his life after his glider crashed near Billing. He was being trained by a local instructor. In the past, more than 10 paragliding mishaps have been reported in Bir Billing, leaving around continued on page 9 The move is expected to aid Sri Lanka’s efforts to rebuild the tourism sector to pay off the huge accumulated debt. The Sri Lanka cabinet has approved the proposal to grant with immediate effect free visas to travellers from India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand. Surprisingly, no European country is on the list and neither is the US. Started as a pilot project, it will continue till March 31 when it will presumably be reviewed. More visitors from these seven countries are expected to increase tourist arrivals to over 50 lakh in the coming years, said the Sri Lankan Tourism Ministry. This year, when Sri Lanka is climbing out of an economic trough and the aftereffects of the pandemic, tourism arrivals are expected to marginally cross 15 lakh. Punjab Police hit a tonne, seize record 1,090 kg heroin in over 9 months Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 24 Amid drug overdose deaths and a rise in addiction among women, the Punjab Police have for the first time seized more than one tonne (1,000 kg) of heroin, also known as ‘chitta’, in a calendar year. The record seizure — 1,090 kg — has been made in less than 10 months (till October 21) this year. The previous highest recovery of heroin was 759.82 kg in 2020. In these 10 months, the police have registered 9,571 cases and arrested 13,197 persons. The police claimed nearly 3,000 of them were “big fish”. Compared to heroin, the police have confiscated 778.36 kg of opium, 32,883.04 kg of ANNUAL DRUG HAUL 2002 2.32 kg 2017 196.72 kg 2018 423.87 kg 2019 460.49 kg 2020 2021 2022 2023 759.82 kg 571.47 kg 593.68 kg 1,090 kg* *TILL OCTOBER 21 poppy husk, 55.44 kg of charas and 0.07 kg of cocaine.Taking stringent action, the police c m y b 1,090 KG 9,571 13,197 HEROIN CASES PERSONS CONFISCATED REGISTERED ARRESTED have attached properties of 111 drugs smugglers. This year’s record seizure is attributed to increase in attempts by Pakistan-based smugglers to push in drugs in Punjab during the monsoon season. The police also noticed a new trend of attempts to push heavy quantity of drugs — 30 kg and above — in one go from across the border through the riverine areas. Apart from the Special Task Force on drugs and the district police, the Special Services Operation Cell, which deals in counter-Intelligence, played a key role in checking drug smuggling. Inspector General of Police and police spokesperson Sukhchain Gill said chargesheets had already been filed in over 70 per cent of cases. “We aim to achieve 100 per cent filing of chargesheets in continued on page 9