WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR DHANKHAR ANGUISHED OVER OPPOSITION’S NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION ISRAELI DEFENCE MINISTER ADMITS KILLING HANIYEH P9 SENSEX 78,472.87q67.30 WEATHER Mostly cloudy. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 27°C and 18°C respectively. TEMPERATURE Max: 27.2˚C SUN RISES 06:13 hrs MOON RISES 01:06 hrs P8 23,727.65q25.80 ` vs $ 85.16 NEW DELHI, 24 DECEMBER Min: 18.3˚C SUN SETS 16:59 hrs MOON SETS 12:42 hrs F New Moon on 31 December THUMBNAILS Devotees visit the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church on the eve of the Christmas festival, in New Delhi on Tuesday. n ANI 5 soldiers killed after army vehicle met with accident in J&K's Poonch: Five soldiers lost their lives after an army vehicle met with an accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch on Tuesday, officials said. "All ranks of White Knight Corps extend their deepest condolences on the tragic loss of five brave soldiers in a vehicle accident during operational duty in the Poonch sector," White Knight Corps posted on X. our days after confirming that estranged neighbours India and Pakistan will not play in each other’s territories at least till 2027, the International Cricket Council on Tuesday unveiled the official schedule of the Champions Trophy 2025 that runs from 19 February to 9 March with Pakistan hosting their first global cricket tournament since 1996, alongside the UAE which was confirmed as the neutral venue for matches involving India. The decision to hold India's matches away from Pakistan, the official host country, was finalised after Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, met with Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak in Pakistan. Sheikh Nahyan is a senior UAE minister and also the head of the Emirates Cricket Board. Accordingly, the Indian team will begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on 20 February, a day after the tournament officially kicks off in Karachi with a match between defending champions Pakistan and New Zealand. The highly-anticipated match between archrivals India and Pakistan will be played on 23 Feb- ruary in Dubai before the Men-in-Blue take on the Black Caps for their final group stage match on 2 March in Dubai. The 19-day competition will feature eight teams, divided into two groups of four each. India, Bangladesh, New Cong stages protests against Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar NEW DELHI, 24 DECEMBER Leaders and party workers of the Congress in parts of the country on Tuesday took to the streets in their respective states and UTs in protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks CWC to take up critical issues facing nation under BJP govt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 24 DECEMBER Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal (photo) on Tuesday said that the upcoming Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Karnataka’s Belagavi will deliberate upon the critical challenges facing the nation under the BJP-led government’s rule, including economic inequality, erosion of democracy and attack on Constitutional institutions. A two-day programme called ‘Nav Satyagrah Baithak’ is being organised by the Congress from 26 December to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency of Congress, in Belagavi. Speaking to the media at the party headquarters, Mr Venugopal said: “To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the historic session, we are hosting an extended CWC meeting, Nav Satyagrah, in Belagavi. The CWC meeting will take place in the same venue where Mahatma Gandhi ji assumed the presidency of the Indian National Congress.” Mr Venugopal said the CWC meeting will discuss an action plan and programme for the party for the upcoming years, with two resolutions. “The meeting will deliberate on the critical challenges facing the nation under BJP rule, including economic inequality, erosion of democracy, and attacks on constitutional institutions,” he said. GOLD 78,250.00 CT 2025: India to play all matches in Dubai TRIDIB BAPARNASH Min. 54% STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P7 P12 SILVER 99,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 72.86p0.54 Budget 2025: PM Modi meets economists India-Pakistan match to take place on 23 February; final on 9 March RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 69% NIFTY ROHIT REFUSES TO REVEAL BATTING ORDER FOR MCG TEST MAN WHO NEVER RESTED ON HIS LAURELS on Babasaheb Ambedkar. The demonstrations in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pardesh, Bihar, Punjab, Telangana, Assam and other states were held as part of the nationwide protest announced by the Congress in protest against Mr Shah’s remarks. They held Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman Marches and submitted a memorandum to the President through District Collectors demanding Mr Shah’s resignation. In Delhi, the demonstrations were held in various parts of the national capital. In J&K, the party leaders carried out the Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman March, starting from Panama Chowk. The leaders presented a memorandum to the President through the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, to honour Ambedkar's legacy and protest against Shah's remarks, demanding his resignation, according to the J&KCongress post on X. Zealand and Pakistan form Group A while Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa are in Group B. The matches for both groups - apart from the India games - will be played across Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. A total of 12 group-stage matches will be played, followed by the semifinals and final. The tournament returns to the cricket calendar for the first time since the last edition was staged in 2017. The two semi-final matches will take place on 4 and 5 March, and with both games being allocated reserve days, it's not impossible that they end up taking place on the same day, though Dubai is usually dry at that time of the year. The final is slated for 9 March, with a reserve day. The first semi-final will be played in the UAE, irrespective of India’s involvement, while the second semifinal will be played in Lahore. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 24 DECEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with a group of eminent economists and thought leaders in preparation for the Union Budget 2025-26 at NITI Aayog. In his remarks at the meeting, PM Modi thanked the speakers for their insightful views. The Prime Minister emphasised that Viksit Bharat can be achieved through a fundamental change in mindset which is focused towards making India developed by 2047. During the meeting which was also attended by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, economists shared suggestions on wide range of topics including employment generation, skill development, enhancing agricultural productivity, attracting investment, boosting exports among others. First JPC meeting on ONOE Bills on 8 Jan STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 24 DECEMBER A 39-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) will hold its first meeting on the Bills related to 'One Nation, One Election' bills on 8 January, next year, sources said. The JPC was constituted on Friday to review two Bills related to “one nation, one election”. According to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, BJP MP PP Chaudhary has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee. The panel com- prises 39 members, with 27 from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha. Among the members of the JPC are Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Congress), Anurag Thakur and Anil Baluni (BJP), as well as other Opposition leaders such as Kalyan Banerjee (TMC), and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party). The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth) Amendment Bill, 2024 and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17 December