03112023-TTC-01.qxd 11/3/2023 12:29 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 304 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 PITCHED BATTLES BEGIN AS GAZA DEATH TOLL CROSSES 9,000 WORLD /thetribunechd RUBAIYA ABDUCTION ACCUSED IDENTIFIED IN COURT J&K NOW, RBI TO EXCHANGE ~2,000 NOTES BY POST BUSINESS PAKISTAN GOES TO THE POLLS ON FEB 8 BACK PAGE friday | 3 november 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Blinken, Austin to reach India AQI tops 450 in Delhi areas; GRAP-IIIkicks in next week for 2+2 dialogue Samad Hoque Tribune News Service Visit indicates Nijjar issue hiccups have been overcome Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service SPELLBOUND Fifer by Mohd Shami and half-centuries by Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer see India through against Lanka. PTI India in semis with 302-run Lanka rout rohit mahajan CRICKET Tribune News Service Mumbai, November 2 India’s seventh consecutive victory guaranteed the team a spot in the semifinals of the World Cup, but the contest was the sort of farcical mismatches that leave the partisans elated and the purists disappointed. The pitch was, in the words of Shreyas Iyer, playing beautifully, and India racked up a staggering 357/8 on it. But the Sri Lankans, seemingly batting on quite another surface, were fearful and tentative, and their worst nightmares seemed to have come alive in WORLD CUP New Delhi, November 2 India and the US will hold the 2+2 meeting of their Foreign and Defence Ministers here next week, the US State Department announced on Thursday. The 2+2 will be part of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s week-long tour that will take him to several hotspots, including Tel Aviv and Jordan (Israel- S Jaishankar Rajnath Singh Antony Blinken Lloyd Austin BILATERAL TIES, INDO-PACIFIC ON AGENDA ■ USSecy of State Antony Blinken & Defence Secy Lloyd Austin will meet counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh ■ Will discuss bilateral and Hamas conflict), and Tokyo and Seoul (Asia-Pacific), besides New Delhi. global concerns and developments in the Indo-Pacific ■ The exact date for the 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Delhi is yet to be announced This indicates that the two sides have compartmentalised the Nijjar murder issue while seeking to continue advancing their ties in the strategic domain. Though expressing sympathy with Ottawa on the Nijjar issue, the UK has also not followed Canada’s example of suspending trade talks. An enduring theme of Blinken’s tour will be to inform other countries about the steadfast US support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism, said the State Department. In Israel and Jordan, he will discuss efforts to secure the release of hostages and prevent the continued on page 10 Moitra, Oppn MPs walk out of panel meet ‘CASH-FOR-QUERY’ Netherlands vs Afghan Lucknow 2 pm ‘Summonspolitically motivated’: Kejriwal skipsEDquestioning New Delhi, November 2 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in response to summons issued to him for questioning in the alleged excise policy scam and instead held a roadshow in Assembly poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. continued on page 10 Shubhadeep Choudhury Alleging unethical and biased behaviour by ethics panel chief Vinod Sonkar, Moitra in a letter to LS Speaker claimed she was subjected to ‘proverbial vastraharan’. Sonkar, however, claimed the TMC MP got angry and used ‘unparliamentary language’. Punjab farm fire surge sets alarm bells ringing PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NATIONAL CAPITAL SHUT FOR TWO DAYS The decision was taken at a review meeting of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for developing strategies to counter pollution. While scientists warned of a spike in pollution levels over the next two weeks owing to continued on page 10 Women wear masks amid rising pollution in New Delhi. MR BHUI WORST AFFECTED LOCALITY Mundka Bawana Anand Vihar AQI 460 452 450 ‘UNETHICAL, BIASED’ the pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah — the three picked up nine wickets for 42 runs. The Sri Lankan top-5 aggregated two runs and the team folded up for 55 in 19.4 overs. Sri Lanka exhausted their best for the day with the second ball of continued on page 10 New Delhi, November 2 With a thick layer of haze engulfing Delhi-NCR today and the air pollution level entering ‘severe’ category for the first time this season, the Centre implemented stage-III guidelines of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), banning all non-essential construction activities. India: 357/8 (50); Sri Lanka: 55 (19.4) TODAY’S TIE TEAMS VENUE TIME Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 2 High drama prevailed during a hearing by the Lok Sabha Committee on Ethics today on the cash-for-query allegations against TMC member Mahua Moitra as Opposition MPs, including the West Bengal MP walked , out of the meeting claiming TMC MP Mahua Moitra reacts to a media query after meet. PTI “personal” questions were asked by panel chairman Kumar Sonkar of the BJP . An MP present at the meet- c m y b ing told The Tribune the meeting started at 11 am and continued till 3.30 pm with a continued on page 10 3advocateselevated as Additional Judges Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 2 The President today appointed advocates Sumeet Goel, Sudeepti Sharma and Kirti Singh as Additional Judges of the Punjab and Haryana continued on page 10 (SOURCE: CPCB) IN BRIEF SC reserves judgment in electoral bonds case NEW DELHI: A five-judge Constitu- tion Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a bunch of petitions challenging the validity of the electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties. INSIDE