SAMBALPUR TUESDAY MAY 20, 2025 `9.00 PAGES 12 CITY EDITION A DECADE AFTER BREXIT, BRITAIN AND EUROPE AGREE TO ‘RESET’ RELATIONS The UK and EU have reached a new deal setting out post-Brexit relations, easing restrictions on travel and work for hundreds of millions of people UK MAY TAKE PART IN EU MILITARY MISSIONS THIRD DEAL SEALED BY BRITAIN THIS MONTH The ‘reset’ comes nine years after Britain voted to leave the European Union. Britain, the second largest defence spender in Europe, will now take part in joint procurement projects and may also possibly join EU military missions. Both sides also agreed to make it easier for visitors and food from UK to reach the EU. A contentious fishing deal was also inked ■ ■ Controls imposed on UK exports to the 27-country bloc will be lifted in exchange for Britain extending EU fishing rights in British waters. European fishing boats will have access to UK waters until 2038 This is the third back-to-back strategic trade deal that Britain has struck this month, after landmark pacts with India and the US $167 billion DEFENCE FUND BEING SET UP BY THE EUROPEAN UNION TO REARM THE BLOC 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 SIT to probe min’s ‘shameful’ remarks No N-signalling by Pak during conflict: Misri S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Foreign secretary briefs parliamentary panel, says US had no role in brokering the ceasefire P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi MAINTAINING that the recent conflict between India and Pakistan was always in the conventional domain, and there was no nuclear signalling by the neighbouring country For, eign Secretary Vikram Misri told a parliamentary committee on Monday that the United States had no role in the ceasefire between the two countries, sources said. The meeting came in the wake of Operation Sindoor to avenge the slaughter of 26 civilians in Pahalgam. According to sources, the three-and-a-half hour meeting saw several Opposition members questioning Misri on US President Donald Trump’s repeated assertion of his role in brokering a ceasefire between the two nations. Many members pointed out that the US is having a free run with its narrative of mediation and has succeeded in re-hyphenating India with Pakistan. “Misri replied that we have given sufficient response on this,” said a source. Another member pointedly questioned why India “allowed Trump to repeatedly seize the narrative”. Misri reiterated that India has been consistent with its stated position that the decision on ceasefire was taken at a bilateral level. “Misri emphatically told the panel that there was no US mediation in the ceasefire,” said a source. Some MPs asked if Pakistan used Chinese platforms in the TMC pulls out of all-party delegation The row over nomination of MPs to multi-party delegations continued on Monday, with the TMC’s Yusuf Pathan, named by the Centre in one of the delegations, opting out. The party said it was not boycotting the diplomatic exercise but wanted to assert its right to pick its representative | P7 conflict. Misri said it did not matter as India hammered Pakistani air bases. On reports that India lost fighter jets during the conflict, he said it was the defence ministry’s call and didn’t want to go into such details. “The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) informed his Pakistani counterpart that India struck nine terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and in Pakistan on May 7. Pakistan responded with an escalation, prompting India to retaliate. It was only after India’s retaliatory strikes, which included targeting key Pakistani air bases and disabling a runway at Nur Khan, that Pakistan requested a DGMO-level call,” he told the meeting. Sources said the panel unanimously condemned the trolling of Misri and praised his professional conduct. The meeting chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was attended by several parliamentarians. PAK SPY LINK Nothing suspicious about Priyanka yet, probe still on A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar EVEN as Puri-based YouTuber Priyanka Senapati was interrogated by multiple agencies for the third consecutive day on Monday over her alleged links with Jyoti Malhotra, nothing suspicious has emerged against her so far. “As it is a sensitive case, Priyanka is being interrogated thoroughly and every aspect of her association with Jyoti is under scrutiny So far, nothing suspicious has been found but . the investigation is still progressing to ensure that we are not missing on any minutest detail which can indicate her involvement with Jyoti in any wrongdoing,” said a senior police officer. Police sources said Priyanka’s laptop, her mobile phone and social media accounts are being examined. Besides, police are also probing her and her father Rajkishore Senapati’s bank accounts for any unusual or suspicious transactions. Rajkishore runs a restaurant and the source of money through which he started the business is also being verified, they added. Meanwhile, Priyanka reportedly told the investigators that she was a big admirer of Jyoti, who has been arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, and wanted to be a popular CONTINUED ON P5 social media influencer like the latter. SKY CANDY A couple take pics at Udayagiri cave hills as cumulus clouds hover on the skyline, in Bhubaneswar on Monday | DEBADATTA MALLICK SC junks telcos’ plea for waiver of dues R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday rejected telecom companies’ pleas seeking waiver of the interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components of their pending adjusted gross reve n u e ( AG R ) d u e s , collectively amounting to over `80,000 crore. Terming the petitions by Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Teleservices ‘misconceived’, a bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said: “We are really shocked by these petitions which have come before us. Really disturbed. It is not expected of a multinational company. We will dismiss it.” Vodafone Idea, India’s third largest telecom service provider, had moved SC last week seeking a waiver of over `30,000 crore in it owes the government. Later, Bharti Airtel, along with its unit Bharti Hexacom, also filed a petition in the SC requesting a waiver of `34,745 crore in dues. Tata Illegal Bangladeshis in state being identified, will be deported: Min E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar STATE Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Monday said that the government has started the process of identifying Bangladeshis staying illegally in different districts, and no foreign national without valid documents will be allowed to stay in Odisha. The minister told mediapersons here that the government has issued direction to all district collectors, police and coastal security agencies to identify Bangladeshi nationals in their areas and verify their status. A Special Task Force (STF) has been formed to coordinate with the district administrations, police and security agencies for identifying undocumented We have already Bangladeshi nationals staying started the in the state, he said. process of “We have already started the identifying the Bangladeshis. No process of identifying the Bangforeign national ladeshis illegally staying in residing without both urban and rural areas of valid legal status the state. No foreign national will be allowed residing without valid legal stato stay in Odisha tus will be allowed to stay in Prithiviraj Odisha,” he said. Harichandan, The minister also said differLaw minister ent engineering departments of the state government have been instructed to not engage any Bangladeshi or foreign national without valid documents in any work or projects. “Identification of illegal Bangladeshi nationals who have come on several occasions and settled here without any valid documents like visa and work permit will be conducted CONTINUED ON P5 soon,” he added. MOONLIGHTING Young woman did 141 jobs in 7 years! U M A K A N N A N @ Bengaluru HOW many day jobs can one manage simultaneously? Not one, two, or three. In a startling revelation, background verification firm OnGrid said that a candidate was on the payrolls of 10 different companies at the same time, between 2018 and 2021, without a single day’s gap between roles. Not just that. The candidate, a woman in her early 30s, had 141 jobs in seven years. OnGrid said it found out this extreme case of moonlighting using its Employment History Check solution, powered by verified EPFO data. In 2020, while the world grappled with layoffs and employment uncertainty this in, dividual clocked 50 new jobs, switching between start-ups, large enterprises, and MNCs. OnGrid had earlier witnessed cases of candidates clocking jobs in doubledigits. But a moonlighting of this scale was a first. “As remote work, freelancing, and hybrid models become the norm, employment risks are also evolving. Traditional background checks are simply not enough anymore,” said Piyush Peshwani, co-founder & CEO, OnGrid. “This case is a wakeup call,” he added. A d i t ya N a r aya n Mishra, MD & CEO of CIEL HR said people moonlight not just for extra income. It can be for pursuing a passion project, acquiring new skills, or giving back to the community through teaching, he said. Double lives Moonlighting means employees doing a second job or a side gig alongside their main job. During the pandemic, this practice had ignited debates with IT firms warning staff against living “double lives” Teleservices sought relief on `16,798 crore it owes the government. During the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Vodafone Idea, sought an adjournment of the case to July saying the parties , were trying to approach the government for relief. However, the bench rejected it and proceeded to dismiss the case. Earlier, Vodafone Idea had claimed it was not in a position to pay AGR instalments, adding that it may be forced to shut down operations. THE Supreme Court on Monday castigated Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah for his scurrilous “sister of terrorists” remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and ordered setting up a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the FIR against him in the matter. “The entire nation was in shame due to the comments... We saw your videos, you were on the verge of using very filthy language but somehow better sense prevailed or you did not find suitable words. You should be shameful. Entire country is proud of our Army and you made this statement,” said a two-judge bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh. The court brushed aside his apology and wondered if “they were crocodile tears or an at- SC AGREES TO HEAR ASHOKA VARSITY PROF’S PLEA AGAINST ARREST tempt to wriggle out of the legal proceedings”. “The kind of crass comments you made, completely thoughtlessly We don’t need this apol... ogy the court said. ,” It asked the Director General of Police in Madhya Pradesh to constitute the SIT by Tuesday . “We are constituting a SIT with three IPS officers and one should be the rank of IG or DGP rank. All of them should be [from] outside the state. It is a litmus test and we want the state to submit the SIT report to us. We would like to have a very close watch,” the court said. The bench, however, stayed Shah’s arrest. Criticising the Madhya Pradesh government for its inaction in the matter, the court asked, “What have you done after registering the FIR? Has he [SHO] examined what kind of offence is made out? What is the status?” Top court on Monday agreed to consider Ashoka University faculty Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s plea against his arrest for social media post on Op Sindoor | P7
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