THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Saturday, April 19, 2025 | 34 Pages | `5 & for State (+4 pages) `6 Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 Vol. 68 No. 168 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) GAMES NATION West Bengal Governor defies CM, meets riot victims as parties cross swords Cinema Check out our verdict on Kesari Chapter 2 Rajasthan Royals eager to register victory against LSG in IPL clash today Edit What is stopping Cong from reinventing itself? Hijacker stabs 3, shot dead by wounded passenger Agencies SAN PEDRO A knife-wielding US veteran attempted to hijack a Tropic Air airplane headed for San Pedro on Thursday, April 17. Two passengers and the pilot were stabbed in the process and the hijacker was shot dead by a wounded passenger. According to FlightRadar24, the Cessna Grand Caravan EX, registered V-3 HIG with 14 passengers departed Corozal at 8:17 am local time. Shortly thereafter at an altitude of 1,025 feet, the flight began squawking 7700, the internationally recognized code for general emergency. The flight continued Briefs Modi, Musk talk tech ties Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Elon Musk on Friday, reaffirming India’s commitment to strengthening tech and innovation ties with the US. They revisited earlier discussions from Washington DC, focusing on space tech, mobility, and digital infrastructure. Modi shared the conversation on X, calling it a dialogue full of promise. He mentioned a cheerful exchange with Musk’s children. The talk comes as Tesla eyes the Indian market and Starlink awaits regulatory approval to boost rural internet. Commerce and Telecom Ministers are engaging satellite firms, recognising their role in digital inclusion. With Musk now advising Trump, the talks carry strategic weight. India ticks off Dhaka India has sharply rejected Bangladeshi criticism of recent violence in West Bengal, calling the comments “disingenuous” and “unwarranted.” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged Dhaka to focus on protecting its own minorities instead of “virtue signalling.” His remarks followed condemnation from Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to Bangladesh’s interim chief, over unrest in Murshidabad. Sectarian tensions flared in West Bengal after protests against the Waqf Amendment Act. Ties between the neighbours have soured since ex-PM Sheikh Hasina fled amid mass unrest, with India increasingly frustrated over Bangladesh’s handling of minority violence and perceived attempts to deflect criticism. Tahawwur fed veg food Tahawwur Rana is under CCTV watch, provided vegetarian food, medical care, and is allowed writing material as per News 18. NIA officials are questioning him daily for 8-10 hours, focusing on his involvement with Lashkar-eTaiba, Pakistan’s ISI links, and future terror plots. His extradition follows a US Supreme Court denial of his appeal. A 12-member team is handling the probe. Rana is being held at the NIA Headquarters under constant CCTV surveillance. Sources said he is receiving adequate sleep and has access to paper and pen for notetaking if needed. toward Belize City and then vectored off the Belize coast for little more than an hour. The aircraft landed safely at 16:11 UTC (10:11 am local time).  Akinyela Sawa Taylor, 49, a US army veteran took control of the plane around 8:30 a.m. with the demand that he wanted to leave Belize. However, the aircraft circled for hours before landing safely at Ladyville airport.  During the flight, Taylor stabbed two passengers, Fitzgerald Brown and Jair Castañeda, and the pilot, Howell Grange. One of the passengers who had a licensed firearm shot Taylor as the plane landed. The injured passengers and pilot survived. However, they were airlifted to a hospital for treatment. Taylor was also taken to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival, Newsweek reports. Taylor was refused entry into the country over the weekend, so officials are investigating how he entered Belize, police said. The aircraft landed safely in Belize City and was met by a large emergency response. Video from the airport shows a large emergency response meeting the aircraft on the runway. It remained unclear how the hijacker boarded the plane with a knife, though it is known that the country's smaller air- strips lacked security to fully search passengers. Chester Williams, Belize police commissioner, said that Taylor wielded a knife and stabbed three passengers on the plane. Those people were later taken to the hospital to treat their injuries. Williams said that Taylor was shot by a passenger who was licensed to carry a firearm, which he later turned over to police. The passenger was among those stabbed and remains in critical condition as he was stabbed in the back and lungs, according to the police commissioner. 4Contd on | nation FILLIP TO INDO-US RELATIONS | Amendments proposed in draft law to cap accident-related penalties on equipment suppliers to attract companies that have been holding back Nuclear liability law set for change Agencies NEW DELHI India is set to ease its nuclear liability laws to cap accidentrelated penalties on equipment suppliers, government sources said, in a move mainly to attract U.S. firms that have been holding back due to the risk of unlimited exposure. A draft law prepared by the department of atomic energy removes a key clause in the Civil Nuclear Liability Damage Act of 2010 that exposes suppliers to unlimited liability for accidents, sources told Reuters news agency. Under the proposed amendments, the right of the operator to compensation from the supplier in case of an accident will be capped at the value of the contract. It will also be subject to a period to be specified in the contract. Currently, the law does not define a limit to the amount of compensation an operator can seek from suppliers and the period for which the vendor can be held accountable. The draft law also proposes a lower liability cap on small reactor operators at $58 million, but is unlikely to alter the cap for large reactor operators from the current level of $175 million, sources told Reuters. For an active partnership with the private sector towards this goal, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up. We have come to the conclusion that maybe the liability law needs to be amended because at the end of the day, what is the good of having a great initiative if it does not deliver goods on the ground? Nirmala Sitharaman S Jaishankar 4Contd on | nation Under the proposed amendments, the right of the operator to compensation from the supplier in case of an accident will be capped at the value of the contract. It will also be subject to a period to be specified in the contract. The draft law also proposes a lower liability cap on small reactor operators at $58 million, but is unlikely to alter the cap for large reactor operators from the current level of $175 million Up to ₹1L cashless treatment Prajakta Pol MUMBAI The Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has rolled out a major healthcare initiative, offering accident victims cashless treatment up to Rs 1 lakh. It was announced after a meeting presided by the Health Minister Prakash Abitkar which conducted a comprehensive review of the state’s Health Department on friday. During the meeting, he issued several key directives, stressing the importance of providing accident victims with timely, cashless treatment up to Rs 1 lakh. He in- structed authorities to ensure the effective implementation of this initiative. Details of the decision were shared via the official X account. Minister Abitkar warned strict action against any misconduct in this regard. Addi- ACCIDENT VICTIMS tionally, a decision was made to develop a dedicated mobile app to provide information on hospitals, bed availability, and to register complaints. The Health Minister also instructed the Public Health Department to ensure the provision of cashless treatment up to Rs 1 lakh in both em- paneled and other emergency hospitals. A committee has been formed to consider expanding the number of included procedures, revising treatment rates, including costly treatments like organ transplants, and integrating basic healthcare services into the scheme. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month. Each hospital department has also been told to hold a health camp every month and treat at least five patients under the cashless scheme. Since March, Rs 1,300 crore has already been given to hospitals, and more funds will be provided if needed. US threatens to exit Ukraine talks FPJ News Service MUMBAI The United States may abandon its role in mediating peace between Russia and Ukraine within days unless credible progress is made, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. Speaking after highlevel talks in Paris with European and Ukrainian officials, Rubio signaled growing impatience in Washington over stalled negotiations. “We’re at a point where a decision must be made — either this moves forward, or we step back,” Rubio told reporters, 4Contd on | nation Castañeda Akinyela Sawa Taylor FBI NABS HAPPY PASSIA, KHALISTANI TERRORIST FPJ News Service NEW DELHI In a major breakthrough in India's fight against transnational terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Immigration’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) have arrested Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia in Sacramento, California. A 29year-old gangster-turned-terrorist from Punjab’s Ajnala region, Passia had been orchestrating terror attacks in India while evading capture in the United States using burner phones and encrypted apps. In a post on X, the FBI called Singh an "alleged terrorist responsible for terror attacks in Punjab. NIA had announced a reward of Rs 500000 lakhs for information on Singh. Passia, who illegally entered the US after stints in Dubai and London, is a key operative of the Pakistan-backed Khalistani group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and is accused of Trump hints at easing tariff war with China Agencies WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump on Thursday signaled a potential end to the tit-for-tat tariff hikes between US and China saying, “I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point you make it where people don’t buy.” He told reporters, "So, I may not want to go higher or I may not want to even go up to that level. I may want to go to less because you know you want people to buy and, at a certain point, people aren't gonna buy." Trump's comments pointed to a diminished appetite for sharply higher across the board tariffs on dozens of countries after markets reacted violently to their introduction on April 2. He hiked rates on Chinese imports, now totaling 145%, after Beijing retaliated with its own counter-measures. Last week, China said it would not respond to a "numbers game with tariffs," its own signal that across-the-board rates would not rise further. Trump said China had been in touch since the imposition of tariffs and expressed optimism that they could reach a deal. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | money I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point you make it where people don’t buy... So, I may not want to go higher or I may not want to even go up to that level. I may want to go to less because you know you want people to buy and, at a certain point, people aren’t gonna buy. — Donald Trump Taliban sells 5,00,000 US weapons abroad FPJ News Service MUMBAI Nearly half a million American-made weapons, once in the custody of U.S. forces and Afghan troops, have vanished—sold, lost, or smuggled into the hands of terrorist groups, including alQaeda affiliates. This revelation, based on a BBC investigation and corroborated by diplomatic sources and UN reports, raises grave concerns over the unchecked proliferation of Western arms in some of the world’s most volatile regions. Following the Taliban’s sudden return to power in August 2021, they seized a massive arsenal once belonging to the U.S.-backed Afghan National Army. According to a former Afghan official who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, the Taliban gained control of nearly one million weapons and military assets—mostly funded by the U.S. taxpayer Half a million of US weapons left behind in Afghanistan have vanished. Experts fear they’re fuelling terror groups across the region and the world. over two decades of war. This cache included M4 and M16 assault rifles, Humvees, mine-resistant am- bush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, and even UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Much of this equipment was Howell Grange left behind during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal or abandoned by Afghan troops who fled or surrendered as Taliban forces swept across the country. In a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee held in Doha in late 2024, Taliban representatives admitted that nearly half of this equipment—around 500,000 pieces—is now “unaccounted for.” A member of the committee confirmed the figure, noting that the UN had independently verified these losses with other intelligence sources. A February 2025 UN report detailed that Talibancaptured arms have surfaced among militant groups including Tehrik-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and Yemen’s Ansarullah movement. These arms were either sold on the black collaborating with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He faces charges for at least 16 terror incidents, including 14 grenade attacks, across Punjab between 2023 and early 2025. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Punjab Police had named him and Pakistanbased BKI handler Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda as the masterminds behind a grenade attack in Chandigarh in Sept 2024. That incident targeted a retired Punjab Police officer and was part of a broader campaign to spread fear among law enforcement personnel. 4Contd on | nation May date for Shukla’s space odyssey Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Over four decades after then Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to go to space aboard a Soviet Soyuz T-11 aircraft, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is all prepared to follow suit as he is due to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) next month as part of Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission. Announcing this after a high-level meeting held to review major future plans of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and PMO Jitendra Singh said the mission will mark the visit of first Indian ever to visit the International Space Station (ISS). He also declared that “India is ready for its next space milestone”. The preparation for Shukla’s travel into space was revealed by the Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO V. Narayanan during a presentation. He said the mission, scheduled for May 2025, marks a milestone in India’s expanding international space collaborations. 4Contd on | nation