Friday, October 10, 2025 | Vol. 69 No. 5 | 29 Pages THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES NATION Will bring law to ensure one member from every family in Bihar gets govt job, says Tejashwi Cinema National Postal Day: Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain a part of the team's 2027 World Cup plans: Gill Edit How limited is the gleaming vision of infra in Mumbai FULL FLOW | UK charts deeper trade, education, defence ties as PMs push for rapid FTA rollout MODI, STARMER SEAL NEW ERA Dhairya Gajara and Ashwin Ahmad MUMBAI/NEW DELHI PM Modi on Thursday urged visiting UK PM Keir Starmer to act firmly, “within the ambit of law”, against Khalistani extremist elements operating from British soil, even as both leaders showcased an expansive new phase in India–UK cooperation spanning defence, education, technology and trade. Starmer, on a two-day visit to Mumbai with a 126-member business and education delegation, signalled London’s support for India’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council and pitched the UK as a long-term partner in New Delhi’s ‘Vikasit Bharat’ vision. Briefing reporters after the talks at Raj Bhavan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India reiterated its “serious concerns” over pro-Khalistan activity abroad. “The Prime Minister emphasised that radicalism and violent extremism have no place in democratic societies and With Taliban minister’s visit, a new vista opens Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi landed in New Delhi on Thursday. It was the first official visit for Muttaqi, who has been placed on a travel ban by the UNSC Taliban Sanctions Committee since January 25, 2001, and the first for a Taliban leader ever since the group took power in 2021. The ban was relaxed by the UN for one week on September 30, allowing him to visit New Delhi from October 9 to 16. Lit Nobel for Hungarian novelist Agencies STOCKHOLM Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai, whose philosophical, bleakly funny novels often unfold in single sentences, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for his "compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” "Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess," the Swedish Academy said. "But there are more strings to his bow, and he also looks to the East in adopting a more contemplative, finely calibrated tone." The settings of his novels move across central Europe's remote villages and towns, before skipping to the Far East, where his travels to China and Japan left deep-seated impressions on Krasznahorkai. 4Contd on | Nation MEA spokesperson Randhir Jasiwal welcomed Muttaqi on X: “We look forward to engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues.” While nothing has been publicly revealed about his agenda, MEA sources confirm Muttaqi will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval. He is scheduled to visit the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary and the Taj Mahal, apart from meeting business groups and members of the Afghan community. 4Contd on | Nation should not be allowed to misuse the freedoms these societies provide,” he said. Both sides agreed to act “strictly within legal frameworks”. Misri noted that Modi had raised the matter with Starmer earlier in July, underlining India’s expectation of visible results. Alongside this, the leaders reviewed the implementation of the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed in July. Addressing Global Fintech Fest, PM Modi invited global businesses to participate in India's growth story. "We have to create a fintech world where technology, people and planet can all prosper. The goal of innovation should not be just growth but also goodness.” SEE Money 4Continued on | P17 FPJ News Service The SC has said that sex education should be introduced at a younger age instead of beginning from Class IX, as is currently the case. It emphasized that children should be made aware of the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty and the precautions to be taken in relation to them. 1/month periods leave in K’taka across sectors Vinay Madhava Gowda Rajesh Moudgil Agencies BENGALURU CHANDIGARH The Karnataka government has decided to bring in a legislation to provide one-day paid leave every month for women employees across the sectors, during their menstrual periods. State Labour Minister Santhosh Lad, who made the proposal in the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, said that the bill will be applicable to all the women working both in private and public sectors. A sombre calm enveloped the Sector 24 residence of senior IAS officer Amneet P Kumar on Thursday afternoon as Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini arrived to offer condolences. Her husband, IGP Y Puran Kumar, a 2001-batch IPS officer, was found dead with a gunshot wound two days earlier — a tragedy that has now turned into a storm over alleged caste-based discrimination and abetment by senior police officers. Sources indicated that the state government may con- JERUSALEM Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the first phase of US President Trump's initiative to end the war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet taken to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed. Trump announced the agreement on his Truth Social Spoke to my friend, President Trump and congratulated him on the success of the historic Gaza peace plan. Also reviewed the good progress in trade negotiations. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister network saying all of the hostages held in Gaza would be released soon and Israel would withdraw troops to an agreed line as the first step to a “Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace”. Signs that a deal was close came earlier on Wednesday A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe made these observations while hearing a case involving a 15-yearold boy accused of rape and criminal intimidation. The boy had been denied bail by the Allahabad High Court in August 2024 and had approached the Supreme Court, Live Law and Bar & Bench reported. In September 2025, the SC had granted him bail subject to conditions fixed by the Juvenile Justice Board, noting that the accused himself was a minor. It had also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit explaining how sex education was being implemented in higher secondary schools to create awareness among adolescents about puberty and related issues. 4Contd on | Nation Help deleted Bihar voters file pleas: SC SHOE ‘ATTACK’ A FORGOTTEN CHAPTER: CJI FPJ News Service NEW DELHI NEW DELHI The SC on Thursday passed an interim order directing the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to assist voters whose names were deleted from the electoral rolls during EC's Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said every excluded voter must be given free legal aid and help from para-legal volunteers to file appeals before the October 17 deadline, when the electoral rolls will freeze. It also asked for a status report within a week and adjourned the case to October 16, Live Law and Bar & Bench reported. The Court said every village must display the LEGAL VIEW ■ SC exempts pre-2022 surrogacy cases from age restrictions FPJ News Service names of Booth Level Officers and para-legal volunteers who will assist excluded voters in filing appeals. CJI BR Gavai on Thursday broke his silence on the recent incident where an advocate tried to hurl a shoe at him inside the Supreme Court, describing it as a “forgotten chapter”. Speaking during a courtroom exchange, CJI Gavai said, “My learned brother and I were very shocked with what happened on Monday, for us it is a forgotten chapter.” Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, who was also part of the Bench, strongly condemned the act, calling it an “affront to the institution.” He remarked, “He is the CJI, it's not a matter of joke!” 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation ■ HC stays 42% quota in T'gana local body polls ■ ‘Registrar can’t grant registration without hearing developer’ ■ Don’t file chargesheet in Pocso case against minor: Bombay HC SEE City, Nation offgrid Forced to eat meat, doc dies midair FPJ News Service Served non-veg food on Qatar Airways flight, the vegetarian choked to death trying to eat around the meat MUMBAI A California-based cardiologist and lifelong vegetarian died aboard a Qatar Airways flight after being served a non-vegetarian meal and choking while trying to eat around the meat, his family has alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in a California court. Dr Asoka Jayaweera, 85, was travelling from Los Angeles to Colombo on June 30, 2023, when the incident occurred. According to court filings, he had pre-booked a vegetarian meal for the 15.5hour flight, but was informed midair by a flight attendant that no vegetarian meals IG suicide row: DGP may be sent on leave Trump card comes into play: Israel, Hamas ink peace deal ‘Start sex edu before Class IX’ NEW DELHI ‘Join India’s growth story’ SMOOTH RIDE were available. Instead, he was handed a standard nonvegetarian meal and told to “eat around the meat.” Shortly after attempting to do so, he began to choke. Crew members administered first aid and contacted MedAire, a service that connects aviation staff with emergency physicians on the ground. However, despite administering oxygen and drugs, the team could not revive him. According to the complaint, the pilot did not make an emergency landing, claiming the aircraft was flying over the Arctic Circle. But Jayaweera’s son, Surya, disagreed, calling it inaccurate. 4Contd on | Nation during a White House round table, as the secretary of state Marco Rubio gave the president a handwritten note with the words “very close” underlined. 4Contd on | Nation 4See also | Edit, World 4Contd on | Nation A case has been filed against DGP Kapur and Rohtak SP Bijarniya under SC/ST atrocities Act sider sending DGP Shatrujeet Kapur on leave and appointing an officiating DGP in his place, in view of the allegations. Amneet handed over a detailed memorandum to the CM demanding the immediate registration of an FIR against Kapur and another senior IPS officer. 4Contd on | Nation