FRIDAY 31 JANUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC SINCE 1818 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER SMOG/SHALLOW TO MODERATE FOG LIKELY IN THE MORNING. PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 26 AND 10 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. American Airlines jet collides with US Army chopper near Washington RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 97 % TEMPERATURE AGENCIES Min. 46 % Max: 26.7°C (+4.6) SUN RISES 07:09 hrs MOON RISES 09:03 hrs All feared dead in US mid-air collision ARLINGTON, 30 JANUARY Min: .09.2°C (+0.8) SUN SETS 18:00 hrs MOON SETS 20:01 hrs THUMBNAILS A sculptor from Rajasthan gives the final touch to an idol of Goddess Saraswati ahead of the Saraswati Puja in Amritsar.n ANI All party meeting held ahead of Budget session of Parliament: Ahead of the commencement of the Budget session of the Parliament, an all-party meeting was held in New Delhi on Thursday during which the Government appealed to all political parties to contribute through positive participation with high quality debates and discussions during the session. The Budget session of Parliament will begin on 31 January and, according to the schedule, the session will conclude on 4 April. A t least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, officials said Thursday. Crews were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any other survivors, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years. “We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.” The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waistdeep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. There was no immediate word on the cause of the Wednesday collision, but officials said Emergency response units assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport. n AGENCIES flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, with US and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path. “On final approach into Reagan National it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. “At this time we don’t India’s Shubhanshu Shukla to serve as pilot after NASA approves Axiom-4 mission to ISS AGENCIES NEW YORK, 30 JANUARY ISRO astronaut and Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, Shubhanshu Shukla, will take on the role of pilot on the Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, that will go to the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than Spring 2025, the US space agency said on Thursday. Group Captain Shukla will make history as the first Indian astronaut to visit the orbiting laboratory aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. A serving officer in the IAF, he has also been chosen as an astronaut for India’s Gaganyaan Mission. Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and Director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shukla will serve as pilot, said NASA. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. “I am excited to see continued interest and dedication for the private astronaut missions aboard the International Space Station," said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s International Space Station Program at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “As NASA looks toward the future of low Earth orbit, private astronaut missions help pave the way and expand access to the unique microgravity environment,” said the US space agency. The first private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 1, lifted off in April 2022 for a 17-day mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. The second private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 2, also was commanded by Whitson and launched in May 2023 with four private astronauts who spent eight days in orbit. The most recent private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 3, launched in January 2024; the crew spent 18 days docked to the space station. know why the military aircraft came into the path of the ... aircraft.” Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter during a training flight. Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and what appeared to be the mangled wreckage of the plane’s fuselage. Trump said he had been “fully briefed on this terrible accident” and, referring ‘India to develop its own AI model in next 10 months’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JANUARY India’s large language model (LLM) is expected to be ready within the next 10 months, said the Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday. “We have created the framework, and it is being launched today. Our focus is on building AI models that maintain the Indian context and culture,” he said at a press conference on the India AI Mission. He said the project will be supported by the India AI Compute Facility which has procured 18,693 GPUs to facilitate the creation of an LLM designed specifically for India. (P3) Ranji Trophy: Stampede-like situation as 15,000 storm Kotla to catch a glimpse of Kohli TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 30 JANUARY Broken phones, lost slippers and shoes lying around the Feroz Shah Kotla, a pitch invader breaching security to touch Virat Kohli’s feet were some of the unprecedented scenes that summed up the iconic batter’s return to domestic cricket after more than 12 years. The former India skipper’s much-anticipated return to domestic cricket created a surreal atmosphere at the Kotla that houses the Arun Jaitley Stadium, witnessing unprecedented scenes on the opening day of the inconsequential Ranji Trophy contest between Delhi and the Railways. On a chilly and foggy Thursday morning, thousands lined up outside the stadium for hours to make their way inside, creating an electrifying atmosphere, rarely seen in domestic games. As the gates to the stadium opened up, a stampede-like situation emerged near Gate 17 with broken phones, lost slippers and shoes lying around, and an unfortunate incident which left a police bike badly damaged. The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) had anticipated around 10,000 fans for Kohli’s return. However, as the morning progressed, the numbers exceeded their expectations. The officials later confirmed that more than 15,000 fans were in attendance during the opening day. Chants of “Kohli…Kohli” echoed through the stadium, electrifying the atmosphere as the local hero took the field. Amid the excitement, cheers of “RCB RCB” erupted, a nod to his unwavering loyalty to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since joining the IPL franchise in 2008 following his U19 World Cup triumph. Once Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni elected to field, Kohli was spotted manning the slip cordon, amid loud cheers from the crowd. Acknowledging the support, the iconic cricketer occasionally turned back to respond to the cheers. The excitement, however, reached a boiling point when an ardent Kohli fan ducked security, ran onto the field and touched Kohli’s feet before being whisked away by the security guards. The incident occurred during the 12th over, momentarily disrupting the match. As the fan sprinted towards him, the crowd erupted in cheers. Security personnel rushed in to remove the intruder, but Kohli, ever composed, gestured for them to go easy on him. The dramatic moment summed up the fervour around Kohli’s first domestic appearance in more than a decade. to the passengers, added, “May God Bless their souls.” Passengers on the flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Kejriwal suspects arrest in 2 days as ECI seeks explanation over Yamuna water STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JANUARY AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday condemned Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar for allegedly acting in favour of the BJP in a desperate bid for a postretirement job and stated that he suspected his arrest in the coming two days. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has responded to the AAP chief's reply sent on Wednesday night regarding his remark on Yamuna poisoning. The commission has granted him another opportunity to explain why action should not be taken for his serious allegations of promoting disharmony and enmity between different groups, and causing overall public disorder and unrest. Mr Kejriwal further said that history would never forgive Rajiv Kumar for the irreparable damage he has inflicted on India's democratic system. The AAP chief alleged that Delhi's election process has been reduced to a sham under the poll panel's watch, claiming that cash and blankets are being openly distributed to influence voters, with the ECI turning a blind eye to such anomalies. Aam Aadmi Party National Convener Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and party MP Sanjay Singh addresses a press conference on 'Yamuna Poison' row, at the party HQ in New Delhi on Thursday. n ANI In a fiery challenge, he dared Mr Kumar to step out of his bureaucratic cover and contest an election against him if he wanted to engage in politics. Senior AAP Leaders, including Satyendar Jain, MP Sanjay Singh, and CM Atishi, were also present at the interaction. Responding to a media query at the party headquarters, Mr Kejriwal said:` “Cash is being openly distributed in Delhi, but they fail to see it. Every day, blankets are being distributed—even yesterday evening, blankets were handed out. But they don’t notice that either. We even pointed out whose house is being used to store the money, yet they turn a blind eye to it.” Asserting that the ECI was engaging in politics, he said that CEC Rajiv Kumar wanted a post-retirement job after 28 February. “I want to tell Rajiv Kumar Ji—history will not forgive you. The amount of damage you have done to the Election Commission, I don’t think the Election Commission has ever been tarnished this badly in India's history,” Mr Kejriwal alleged.