Vol. 66 No. 318 | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 | 18 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper DARSHEEL SAFARY ON HUKUS BUKUS It is a father-son relationship story and how their faiths collide EDIT UKRAINE REFERENCE AT G20 RESOLVED MODI’S MOMENT Declaration seen as a “coup” for PM; summit outcome hailed by Biden, Lavrov, Macron, Scholz and others Naidu shunted city to city, TDP in hot chase Remanded to judicial custody for 14 days OUR CORRESPONDENT / AMARAVATI Former chief minister, TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been arrested in a corruption case, was remanded on Sunday by a court in Vijayawada to judicial custody for 14 days. When reports last trickled in, he was being taken to the central jail in Rajamahendravaram in the erstwhile East Godavari district by road. Paramilitary forces have sanitised the entire route as the police expect TDP leaders to rush to Rajamahendravaram. Naidu was arrested in connection with an alleged fraud involving misappropriation of funds from the Skill Development Corporation, leading to a loss of Rs 300 crore to the state government. In a pre-dawn operation on Saturday at Nandyal, officers knocked on the door of the caravan in which Naidu was sleeping and arrested him for his alleged role in the scam. After his arrest, he was taken by road to Vijayawada, 300 km away where he was pro, duced in court early on Sunday morning. The convoy was obstructed several times by TDP cadres. CONTD. ON NATION Israel upbeat at prospect of corridor HARINDER MISHRA / TEL AVIV Hailing the announcement of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as "major news" for Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the "largest cooperation project in our history" will change the face of the Middle East and Israel, and will benefit the entire world. His message came as hundreds of thousands of Israelis were protesting on the streets against the government's judicial overhaul plan. "Israel is at the focus of an unprecedented international project that will link infrastructure from Asia to Europe. This link will also realise a multi-year vision that will change the face of the Middle East, and Israel, and will affect the entire world," he said. "This vision starts in India, passes through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel before reaching Europe," Netanyahu said. CONTD. ON NATION RBI LIKELY TO START DIGITAL RUPEE PILOT IN CALL MONEY MKT BY OCT FPJ DESK WASHINGTON/LONDON The G20 declaration, even though it softened the language used to describe the Ukraine war, is seen as a "coup" for host Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For the US and its allies, it was a climb down – when compared with the stringent position they had taken on Russian aggression in Bali -but it is a small price that they have to pay now for propping up a ‘rising’ India as a counterweight to China. Ukraine -- which took part in last year's Bali summit but was not invited this year -- predictably said the outcome was "nothing to be proud of". However, analysts said the economic balance and power dynamics is shifting within the G20, away from advanced mar- ITALY SECOND THOUGHTS ON CHINA’S BRI FPJ NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI Italy is having second thoughts on the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and PM Meloni is only waiting for the opportune moment to pull out. It is understood that when Meloni met Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, she told Li that Italy is planning to withdraw from the project, which is impinging on its relations with the US. Italian media, too, reported earlier in the day that Italy would quit the BRI and instead seek to revitalise a strategic partnership agreement with China, aimed at fostering economic cooperation, which it first signed in 2004. On Sunday however, Mel, oni said there was more to Italy's relationship with China than the Belt and Road Initiative, adding that a final decision on whether to leave the BRI was still to be taken. CONTD. ON NATION Changes in Harbour, THE FP BULLETIN QUAKE TOLL IS Trans Harbour slots 2000+ blocks will be extended to five hours daily from 12.30am to , Train schedules on the Har- 5.30am, and will continue unbour and Trans Harbour til October 2, 2023. lines will be significantly As a result of these extendchanged, due to ongoing ed block hours, the last local construction work on the train from CSMT to Panvel Western Dedicated Freight will depart at 10.58pm, while Corridor (WDFC) at Panvel the first local train from Panstation, the Central Railway vel to CSMT  will be  PL16, dehas announced. Starting parting at 5.40am during the from Septemblock period. ber 11, 2023, 5hr-overnight blocks Several other five block train from 12.30am, as local hours will be schedules will taken, instead work on the Western be affected at of the current Dedicated Freight this time, inthree to four cluding cancelCorridor at Panvel lations and alhours, impacting comtered routes. station gathers muters. According to steam, with Oct 2, CR, Panvel local Work on the construction of 2023, deadline on trains leaving two tracks (Up CSMT at the horizon and Down) for 11.14pm, the dedicated 00.24am, 5.18am freight corridor at Panvel sta- and 6.40am will be cancelled tion commenced on August during the block period. Sim18, 2023, with a planned dura- ilarly Panvel locals departing , tion of approximately 45 days from CSMT at  11.30pm, and was set to conclude on 11.52pm, 00.13am, 00.40am October 2, 2023. During this will be short-terminated at period, overnight blocks for Belapur. The latter services three to four hours have been will not be available between in effect at the Panvel station Belapur and Panvel in the yard. However, beginning block period until October 2. September 11, 2023, these CONTD. ON NATION KAMAL MISHRA /  MUMBAI R escuers in quake-ravaged Morocco were frantically trying to find survivors under the debris after a huge earthquake killed more than 2,000 people, reports BBC. The epicentre was in a remote mountainous region southwest of Marrakesh, where entire villages have been flattened. The extent of the damage and number of casualties after the magnitude-6.8 earthquake remained unclear because the hardest-hit communities were in the High Atlas Mountains, where the few roads appeared to be blocked by debris, and where phone service and electricity had been knocked out, said the New York Times. CONTD. ON NATION UK GIVES US $ 2 BN FOR CLIMATE FUND Back to roots: At Akshardham KUNAL DUTT / NEW DELHI Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday visited the 100-acre Akshardham temple in the Capital with his wife Akshata Murty and spent 45 minutes in the complex. Sharing a bewitching moment under an umbrella, braving the rain, the couple walked barefooted to the reception area of the temple complex -- a distance of about 150 metres. Rishi had donned a white formal shirt paired with royal blue colour pants, while Akshata wore an olive green floral printed kurta with pinkish red palazzos and matching dupatta. Walking around the temple, dedicated to Swaminarayan, believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the British prime minister said they were amazed and awed by the beauty of the temple, which was not just a place of worship but also a landmark that portrays India's values and culture. ‘‘They first offered flower petals to the golden idol of Swaminarayan ji and then offered 'aarti', an official said. They also offered flower petals to idols of Radha-Krishna and Shiv-Parvati. The UK PM also enquired about the architecture of the temple and its history .   Sunak, who has Indian heritage, has described India as 'a country that's near and dear to me'.  has often spoken about beHe ing a proud Hindu. The trip has been a homecoming of sorts for Akshata Murty who was born , CONTD. ON NATION in Karnataka. ket economies of the West to emerging giants, particularly in Asia. As PM Modi marked the ceremonial transfer of the rotational G20 presidency by handing over the gavel to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday world leaders , hailed Modi for his "decisive leadership" and for championing the voice of the Global South. Most notable was the response of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who told reporters that the G20 Summit under India's presidency was a "breakthrough" in many ways as its tangible outcomes showed a path to the world to move forward on a range of challenges. Also, Lavrov was happy that Ukraine did not usurp the G20 agenda. CONTD. ON NATION 0 0 28 c. 27 c. Sunrise : 06:25 am Sunset : 06:46 pm G-20 NEEDS UNITY: CHINA P remier Li Qiang, representing China in Xi’s absence, told leaders that the G-20 “needs unity instead of division, cooperation instead of confrontation,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported. That followed a commentary posted hours earlier by a Chinese think tank affiliated with the country’s top spy agency, which criticized India for having “sabotaged the atmosphere for cooperation” at the G-20 by pushing its own agenda. Trudeau gets an earful from Modi ON EXTREMIST ELEMENTS FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday conveyed to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau India's strong concerns about the continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada that were promoting secessionism, inciting violence against its diplomats and threatening the Indian community there. In his talks with Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Modi also mentioned that a relationship based on "mutual respect and trust" is essential for the progress of the India-Canada The RBI picked nine banks for its pilot project for wholesale CBDC relationship, the Ministry of External Affairs said. "The prime minister highlighted that India-Canada relations are anchored in shared democratic values, respect for rule of law and strong people-to-people ties," it said. CONTD. ON NATION 6  workers killed as lift crashes in Thane high-rise PREM MORE / THANE Six workers were killed while another two were seriously injured when the lift came crashing down in the 40storey Runwal Eirene building in Balkum, Thane, on Sunday The two critically in. jured workers were immediately admitted in a private hospital. Police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and further investigation is under way   . The head of the disaster management cell of Thane Municipal Corporation, Yasin Tadvi, said the building is located on Ghodbunder Road. Waterproofing work on the roof of the recently completed high-rise, situated next to Narayani School in Balkum, was in progress when the mishap took place. The rope of the lift that was being used snapped even as the workers were descending, after completing the work. Eyewitnesses reported the incident to the Balkum Fire Brigade. Station Officer Omkar Vaiti rushed to the spot with a team of firemen. On learning of the accident, former local councillor Sanjay Bhoir too rushed to the site and helped in the rescue work. Rescue teams pulled out the workers trapped in the lift. Six workers died on the spot.