22 Indian seafarers are on board two of the three container ships that came under Iranian fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. According to a Shipping Ministry official, they are unhurt and safe. One of the ships is the Panama-flagged Euphoria, which has 21 Indians on board, whereas the other ship, Liberia-flagged Epaminondas, seized by the Iranian forces along with Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, has another Indian seafarer. The attacks come in retaliation to the seizure of a few Iranian oil tankers as they attempted to slip through the US blockade of Iran’s ports.Turnout surge in Bengal, Tamil NaduTCS Nashik caseSanju Samson’s finest hundred Big StoryDecoding the surge: Polling in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections Thursday ended with a new record of voter turnout over 92% – over 10 percentage points higher than the 2021 turnout. This surge comes after the deletion of electors from the rolls during the Special Intensive Revision exercise, which brought down the overall base and enhanced the percentage. It also points to robust voting by those who had cleared the Election Commission’s SIR test. However, the number of voters in absolute terms was over 12% lower than the number for votes cast in these 152 constituencies in 2021.Since 1952: Voters turned out in large numbers in Tamil Nadu on Thursday, with the turnout being recorded as 84.6% – the highest-ever turnout in an Assembly election in the state since 1952. The numbers surpassed the previous high of 78.29% in 2011. The turnout rose steadily through the day, with districts such as Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Erode and Tiruppur leading the charts. Just like in Bengal, leaders across parties sought to read the heavy voting in their favour.Beyond the everyday scenes at the polling booths across Tamil Nadu laid the spark that actor-politician Vijay introduced in the contest, where the ruling DMK enjoyed an edge based on incumbency, welfare delivery, a broad alliance, and the advantages of being in power. The AIADMK entered polling day with the hope that anti-incumbency and alliance arithmetic would narrow that advantage. However, as voting gathered pace, conversations revolved around the impact of TVK chief, and the likelihood of a third force to transform the political landscape in the state.⚡ Only in ExpressStory continues below this ad“I have moved on… My target is now to write one book a year, and the books will be in various genres – both fiction and non-fiction.”In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said that he has put the controversy over his unpublished autobiography, “The Four Stars of Destiny,” squarely behind him. He further agreed that there was an absence of rules and guidelines for retired military personnel like him submitting their manuscripts for clearance to the Ministry of Defence. His comments come months after his memoir stood as an outlier with the Ministry. His memoir, cited by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, entailed his conversations with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on August 31, 2020, over Chinese tanks advancing towards the Rechin La area in Eastern Ladakh. From the Front PageThe Indian government is currently in conversation with Anthropic’s senior leadership in the US, over the risks posed by its latest AI model Mythos that could potentially impact India’s banking sector. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also held a high-level meeting on Thursday to assess the risks. The banking sector has been asked to take preemptive steps to safeguard their systems from the AI model. Governments across the world are moving to step up defenses against cyber attacks, given Mythos’s ability to autonomously identify serious vulnerabilities in widely used software and infrastructure,and pose significant threats.On boil: The bodies of siblings – five-year-old Tomthin and five-month-old Yaisana – have lain together, at a morgue in Imphal, awaiting “justice”. Killed in a projectile attack in their sleep in Bishnupur, their family is demanding for their children. Protesters have also taken to the streets of Imphal – putting Manipur back on the edge. This comes just days ahead of what would be the third anniversary of the start of the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state. With no clear answers, the family has resolved not to claim the bodies of the children till “justice is delivered”.Story continues below this adTCS Nashik case: At least two complainants in the case related to alleged workplace harassment at TCS’s BPO office in Nashik resigned from their jobs less than a week before FIRs were filed, The Indian Express has learnt. The case stems from the complaint of a local political party worker, who approached the city police alleging that a Hindu woman employee in her early 20s was observing fasts during Ramzan and had been influenced to follow “Islamic teachings” at her workplace. Family members and friends of some of the complainants said that some of the women were battling depression, anxiety and social isolation. Must ReadIn our Opinion section today, Rajani Sinha delves into the impact of the West Asia war on India’s GDP growth, and disinvestment targets. With rising energy prices and disruptions in supply chains, the country’s GDP could slip to around 6.7 per cent this year. Calling for the country to emerge as an attractive investment destination, Sinha writes: “The West Asia crisis has hit India at a time when the country was relatively better placed in terms of macro fundamentals. The government and central bank have announced some measures to shield the economy in the short run. But, for the medium to long term, this crisis has highlighted the urgent need for India to strengthen its energy security.”Deadlock: With Iran refusing to buckle under US President Donald Trump’s pressure, it is quite a challenge now to break the deadlock over the West Asia war. It is up to the US and Iran to find middle ground that allows both sides to project victory to their domestic constituencies. There are key questions on which both must agree, and potential exit strategies, concerning Iran’s nuclear programme, the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief, amongst others. Here’s how the deadlock can be dismantled.⏳ And Finally…101, not out: For the first time in 15 seasons, an IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings was marked by the absence of both Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. It required newer stars to emerge, and Sanju Samson and Akeal Hosein led the way to inflict a fifth loss in seven matches for MI. Samson’s knock against MI was a blend of caution and calculated attack. His unbeaten 101 runs in 54 balls may have had 10 fours and six sixes, but it also had 25 singles as he had to navigate his stay in the middle, with wickets falling at the other end. Here’s why it was Samson’s finest hundred.Story continues below this ad Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss how the ‘logical discrepancies’ cited by the ECI to delete voters in Bengal defied all possible logic. Next, we move on to talk about Gujarat’s new AI tool, NARIT-AI, to help police build stronger cases under the NDPS Act. We also delve into the alleged attack on a Dalit groom in Madhya Pradesh.That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!Until next time,Ariba Business As Usual by E P Unny