NEW DELHI 19 JULY 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 12 PAGES Flash Point MAGAZINE The Island Nobody Can Visit A Life Spent in Inquiry EXCLUSIVE VOICES THE DARK SIDE OF ROMANCE How Great Nations Unmake Themselves Devdutt Pattanaik Ravi Shankar Prabhu Chawla Sathya Saran Shankkar Aiyar Shampa Dhar-Kamath Nirupama Dutt The Last Wooden Valley S I D D H A R D H A G AT T I M I @ Hyderabad Restaurants to keep open till 4 am for FIFA final I F R A H M U F T @ New Delhi DELHI’S restaurants and cafes will stay open until 4 am this weekend as the national capital prepares for a night of football fever, with the Delhi government announcing extended operating hours for the FIFA World Cup 2026 final. The move is expected to allow thousands of fans to gather at eateries and public screening venues to watch the title clash between defending champions Argentina and Spain, which kicks off at 12:30 am IST on July 20 in New York. CM Rekha Gupta announced the decision on X on Saturday, saying the extension has been made possible under the city’s 24x7 business-friendly operating framework introduced as part of the government’s ease of doing business reforms. “Every football fan has watched Lionel Messi make history Now, history has one . more story to tell. A legend. A teenage prodigy. One trophy. One night that generations will remember. Delhi is ready for that night,” Gupta said in a post on X. The announcement was welcomed by football enthusiasts and the hospitality industry alike. Amit Bagga, co-chapter head of National Restaurant Association of India in Delhi, said, “We thank our CM for allowing restaurants to open till 4 am for the FIFA World Cup, which is a great initiative towards ease of doing business already in place.” India joins US and China The successful maiden orbital mission, christened ‘Aagaman’, placed India among a select group of nations whose private companies have independently demonstrated orbital launch capability. The vehicle also successfully deployed a microart payload, an 18-karat gold rocket and a handwritten postcard from PM Narendra Modi AT 12.05 pm on Saturday sev, en-storey Skyroot’s Vikram-1 roared into the skies from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, not just carrying a liftoff weight of 45,000 kg but also the aspirations of India’s fast-growing private space sector. Eighteen minutes later, at 12.23 pm, Vikram-1 successfully entered a 450-km Low Earth Orbit, making Skyroot the first Indian private company to place a rocket into orbit and scripting a defining moment in the country’s commercial space journey making , India the third country with private orbital launch capabilities after the US and China. While the countdown for the lift-off began at 11.30 am, the mission was put on hold due to an apparent navigation-related issue, delaying liftoff by about 35 minutes. Once the countdown resumed, Vikram-1 soared off the launch pad amid loud cheers from scientists, engineers and guests gathered at the launch complex. What followed was an almost flawless sequence of events. Within minutes of liftoff, the rocket accelerated to Mach 1.5. At 12.07 pm, the second stage ignited, propelling the vehicle higher. A minute later, at 12.08 pm, Vikram-1 crossed the 100-km Karman Line, the internationally recognised boundary of space. At 12.09 pm, the third stage ignited, before burning out at 12.10 pm after completing its role in the ascent. The spent stage separated at 12.13 pm, paving the way for the fourth stage ignition at 12.15 pm. As the vehicle accelerated to an orbital velocity of nearly 7.5 km/s, it steadily approached its target orbit. At 12.23 pm, mission control declared “Grand Success” as Vikram-1 successfully injected its payloads into a 450-km Low Earth Orbit. The rocket deployed Skyroot’s SCOPE satellite and Grahaa Space’s SOLARAS CubeSat into orbit, while its upper stage continued carrying technology demonstration payloads for in-orbit experiments. Skyroot said the mission successfully validated the rocket’s propulsion systems, avionics, guidance, navigation and control systems under actual flight conditions while generating critical flight data for future missions in the Vikram launch vehicle programme. SPAIN’S LEO IMPOSING RECORD CAN OVERTAKE MARADONA There was a time when Lionel Messi’s Argentina achivements were threadbare. Now, he’s 90 minutes (or 120) away from overtaking Diego Maradona. If he can add a second World Cup in as many editions, he will surely shut down any remaining doubters about his place in the pantheon of greats BIG DAY OUT FOR YAMAL, CUBARSI Only three teenagers have started and won the final as teenagers (Pele, Giuseppe Bergomi and Kylian Mbappe). Lamine Yamal & Pau Cubarsi have the chance to join them Led by Rodri, the 2024 Euro winners haven’t lost a competitive game since 2023 March. They have mastered the way to keep the ball and grind out opponents and tire them. Sunday will once again test their skill against resilient Argentina Birla clears Sena merger, TMC split Uddhav Sena MPs’ defection to Shinde camp okayed; TMC rebels get separate seats in LS P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi IN a significant decision ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, while also allowing 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs to sit separately in the Lok Sabha, even as their plea for formal recognition as members of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) remains pending. The decision, taken just two days before Parliament session, is expected to reshape the Opposition’s floor strength and seating arrangement in the House. Official sources said the approval of the merger has increased the strength of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha from seven to 13 MPs. The Speaker accepted the claim of the six MPs that they had merged with the recognised Shiv Sena headed by Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde after examining constitutional provisions, parliamentary precedents and legal opinion. For the TMC rebels, seats have been allotted away from the Mamata Banerjee-led bloc, though their bid for NCPI status is still under examination. JPC meet cancelled A meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, examining the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, scheduled for Monday has been cancelled. This came a day after the JPC on removal of prime ministers and chief ministers detained on serious charges was deferred. P7 The rebels are expected to attend Sunday’s all-party meeting as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote to Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar inviting them, while Bandyopadhyay separately called on PM Naren- Police shift Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital in early morning operation N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi CLIMATE activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi Police in an early morning clampdown on Saturday after 20 days of hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, where he was protesting against exam paper leaks and demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The police crackdown came a day after former IB officer Anurag Kumar took charge as Delhi Police commissioner. Police in plain clothes evicted Wangchuk from the protest site to the hospital, citing directions of the Delhi High Court and his deteriorating health condition. Soon after, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke began an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. Safdarjung Hospital said Sonam Wangchuk being evicted from the protest site on Saturday | PTI Wangchuk was admitted at 7.40 am. “Blood tests showed compensated acidosis, reduced serum potassium levels and increasing urinary ketones. “The patient has refused all intravenous fluids, oral rehydration fluid or any other medication,” the hospital said. A health bul- letin issued by the hospital at 9 pm mentioned that Wangchuk’s condition warrants immediate medical intervention. Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo said that she has asked the hospital staff not to administer any treatment without her consent. P3 5 more women critical after Turbans, bags ride two-wheelers for AI cameras C-sec deliveries in Rajasthan ARTIFICIAL intelligence may be transforming everyday life, but its use in traffic enforcement is creating unexpected problems for motorists in Uttarakhand’s Rudrapur. AI-enabled cameras installed along national and state highways and major roads are mistakenly identifying bags, boxes, and sacks carried on twowheelers as human passengers. The automated system then issues challans for triple riding, even when only two people are riding the vehicle. Official cover up of lapse Officials have cautioned that carrying goods or luggage on two-wheelers can endanger other road users and should be called an offence anyway. “If luggage loaded on a vehicle poses a risk to others or threatens its stability, it can amount to an offence,” official sources said. Several such complaints have reached the Rudrapur Regional Transport Office. In two or three such cases, riders had placed everyday items between the driver and the pillion pas- senger while travelling on motorcycles or scooters. Unable to distinguish the cargo from a person, the camera interpreted its shape as that of a third rider and auto- How Can Happiness Always Be a Choice? FINAL PUSH AGAINST SPAIN UNINTELLIGENT N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun AMMA SPEAKS MESSI’S DREAM DEBUT FOR PRIVATE SECTOR Skyroot’s Vikram-1 performs textbook launch on first try ‘I Don’t Ever Sideline Any Actors’ matically generated a penalty . Motorists said they became aware of the alleged violation only after receiving challans. “We had not violated any traffic rule and could not understand why a challan had been issued,” one affected motorist said. The technology has also reportedly caused difficulties for members of the Sikh community . State transport officials have received two or three complaints in which Sikh riders wearing smaller turbans or cloth pieces were issued challans for not wearing helmets. R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur ADDING to the maternal death crisis in Rajasthan, five pregnant women, who underwent Caesarean deliveries in Jodhpur’s government hospital, have fallen critically ill. While three of the women are in the ICU, one is surviving on ventilator support, hospital authorities said. Initially, two patients were placed on ventilator support, and three others were admitted to the ICU. Authorities said the women were referred from healthcare facilities in nearby districts after suffering excessive bleeding following caesarean deliveries. According to hospital officials, Saroj, who was referred after developing a cardiac complication that necessitated a caesarean delivery, continues to be on ventilator support. Pooja, referred due to excessive bleeding, remains in the ICU, while Roshni, who was shifted from a private hospital in Nagaur and had a pre-existing hypertension-related condition, is also being treated in the ICU on oxygen support. dra Modi at his residence on Saturday . Meanwhile, the Speaker is also expected to approve a request from the DMK for separate seating arrangements after the Congress ended its long standing alliance with it and aligned with Chief Minister Vijay’s TVK in Tamil Nadu. The Speaker’s decisions come despite both the TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) pressing for the immediate disqualification of the rebel MPs under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Earlier, the Speaker held separate meetings with delegations from the parent parties as well as the dissident groups before arriving at the decisions. EXPRESS READ Parts of Abhishek’s office demolished TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee faced a setback on Saturday, as South 24-Parganas district officials demolished parts of his office, which they claim had been built against the violations of building bylaws. The operation began in the morning, with police and central forces cordoning off the office premises with guard rails. P8 National Award for city filmmakers City-based filmmakers Suraj Kumar and Garima Singh have bagged the National Award in Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values category for “Piplantri: A Tale of Eco-Feminism”. It explores the happenings in a Rajasthan village, where residents plant 111 trees for every girl child born. 2 more arrests in Naga killing case A joint team of National Investigation Agency, Manipur Police and Central Reserve Police Force arrested two more persons on Saturday in connection with the recent abduction and killing of six Naga civilians, including two pastors. The Manipur Police said further efforts were on to arrest other individuals connected with the case.