Friday, October 24, 2025 | Vol. 69 No. 16 | 29 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation NATION Kedarnath and Yamunotri temples close for winter as Char Dham Yatra 2025 concludes Briefs Nov 1: New rules on bank nomination From November 1, bank customers can opt for four nominees in their bank accounts, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. The new guidelines under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 would provide depositors more flexibility and control over nominations for bank deposit accounts, lockers, and assets held in safe custody. Depositors can opt for either simultaneous or successive nominations, as per their preference. Nomination for articles in safe custody and safety lockers facilities, only successive nominations are permitted. SEE MONEY India suffer ODI series loss to Aus India suffered a disappointing 0-2 series loss to Australia after Virat Kohli failed with the bat again and Rohit Sharma’s defiant 73 went in vain in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval. Rohit’s halfcentury had ensured India post a competitive 264 but Australia eventually overhauled the target despite a wobble to win by two wickets. Under pressure, Rohit mixed grit with grace in his 97-ball knock on a spicy track that formed the cornerstone of India’s total of 264/9 which was at least about 25 runs short. In response, Matthew Short’s 74 and Cooper Connolly’s 61 powered Australia home at 265/8 in 46.2 overs. SEE GAMES Oppn leader’s killing stirs row in Lanka MPs of Sri Lanka's main opposition SJB on Thursday wore black in Parliament to protest what it termed the government's insensitive response to the killing of one of its local council chairmen. Lasantha Wickramasekera, who headed the Weligama local authority in the southern Matara district, was shot dead on Tuesday, in first political killing since the NPP government came to power a year ago. The government said Wickramasekera had a "criminal past" with links to the underworld. NATION Cinema How these Gen Z stars lit up colourful Diwali Govt plans to tweak IT rules to ensure labelling of AI-generated content Edit The Modi enigma: India wants its PM to be a nationalist VIRTUAL PRESENCE | Modi tells host Malaysia that he will attend online only due to ongoing Diwali celebrations. Jaishankar to lead the Indian delegation PM to skip ASEAN summit Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be travelling to Kuala Lumpur to attend the ASEAN summit this weekend and instead will be there virtually. “Had a warm conversation with my dear friend, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia. Congratulated him on Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and conveyed best wishes for the success of upcoming Summits. Look forward to joining the ASEAN-India Summit virtually and to further deepening of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” said Modi on X. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirmed the phone conversation with the prime minister and wrote on social media. “We touched on the organization of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month. He informed me that he will attend virtually due to the ongoing Deepavali celebrations in India at that time.” The Ministry of Eternal Affairs issued a statement saying that External Affairs S. Jaishankar will be deputed to lead the Indian delegation to Kuala Lumpur. “External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will represent Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 October. The East Asia Summit will provide an opportunity to deliberate on the challenges to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and also exchange views on regional and international developments.” This is not the first time the prime minister has declined to personally attend an ASEAN summit meeting. Modi opted out of an ASEAN meet on November 12, 2022, in Phnom Penh, and India was instead represented by VicePresident Jagdeep Dhankhar. The timing of this ASEAN summit coincides with especially tricky moments in the drawn-out negotiations New Delhi and Washington are having on trade, with the Damocles Sword of even more Trump tariffs complicating the scenario. The summit, which comes after a series of contentious statements by President Trump against the prime minister, was seen as a chance for both leaders to reaffirm the relationship at the highest level. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation Had a warm conversation with my dear friend, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia. Congratulated him on Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship and conveyed best wishes for the success of upcoming summits. Look forward to joining the ASEAN-India summit virtually and to further deepening of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X US clamps sanctions Trump: India to almost stop on Russian oil firms buying Russia oil by ’25-end Agencies WASHINGTON The United States has imposed new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies in a move aimed at pressuring Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine. The announcement came a day after President Donald Trump said a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest would be shelved indefinitely. “Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don’t go anywhere,” Trump said. The sanctions target Rosneft and Lukoil, which fund what New sanctions are a big change. Trump had previously said he would not impose new sanctions until European nations stopped buying Russian oil US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the Kremlin’s “war machine.” He said the measures were necessary due to “Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war.” 4Contd on | nation Agencies WASHINGTON President Trump on Wednesday again reiterated that India had agreed to “almost stop” buying Russian oil by the end of the year. “India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop. It’s a process. You can’t just stop. By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing,” Trump said at the White House, adding that he had spoken to PM Modi. Meanwhile, reports citing industry sources, after the new sanctions on Russian oil entities, say Indian refiners are Tejashwi INDIA bloc CM face Dheeraj Kumar PATNA After weeks of hesitation, closed-door negotiations, and mounting pressure from allies, the Congress on Thursday formally declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face of the INDIA bloc for the Bihar election. Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief and former minister Mukesh Sahani will be the bloc’s deputy chief ministerial face. Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot made the announcement here in the presence of top alliance leaders, including Tejashwi, Sahani, CPI(ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, and state Congress chief Rajesh Ram. Congress state in-charge Krishna Allavaru was also present. The announcement, made just weeks before polling, resolves one of the most contentious issues within the alliance — who would lead the campaign in Bihar. “Mukesh Sahani had from the very start demanded that the deputy CM post be reserved for him, even offering to give up a few seats in exchange,” sources in the alliance said. By conceding to his demand, the bloc has sought to consolidate support among the politically influential Mallah (fishermen) community, a key constituency in eastern Bihar. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation ‘OIL BILL TO RISE’: The Russian firms sanctioned by the US account for 60% of the supplies of crude oil to India, said Prashant Vasisht, senior vice president and co-group head of corporate ratings at ICRA. “While India can substitute the purchases from Russia with suppliers from the Middle East and other geographies, the import bill for crude oil would increase,” he said. “On an annual basis, the replacement by market priced crude would lead to a rise in import bill by less than 2%.” preparing to reduce imports of Russian oil to comply with new US curbs. Such a cut could ease trade tensions with Washington and help India negotiate lower tariffs on its exports to the US. Private and state-run Indian refiners have begun reviewing Process on for CJI succession FPJ News Service MUMBAI Congress ends weeks of wrangling, declares RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial face and VIP’s Mukesh Sahani as his deputy The government on Thursday formally began the process to appoint the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), with incumbent Justice B.R. Gavai set to retire on November 23. According to sources, the letter requesting Justice Gavai to recommend his successor has been delivered. As per the memorandum of procedure governing the appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges, the CJI’s successor should be the senior most judge of the Supreme Court deemed fit to hold the office. 4Contd on | nation offgrid Agatha Christie catching children early FPJ News Service MUMBAI In a first for Agatha Christie, four of the crime novelist's famous mysteries are being adapted for children – with the help of the Mr Men and Little Misses. The illustrated books, aimed at pre-school and primary age children, feature Christie detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple working alongside Roger Hargreaves's much-loved children's characters, reports the BBC. Two of the books were published on Thursday - Little Miss Marple: Muddle at the Vicarage and Mr Poirot: Mischief on the Nile – with two more to follow in February. James Prichard, Agatha LITTLE MISS MARPLE AND MR POIROT MAKE APPEARANCE IN ILLUSTRATED BOOKS TARGETING PRE-SCHOOLERS Christie's great grandson, said it was a "dream collaboration". Prichard, who is also the chair and CEO of Agatha Christie's estate, added: "These clever and very funny re-imaginings of my great grandmother's stories, which include some of my favourite characters (in rather suspicious circumstances!), are bound to delight fans of both authors." Little Miss Marple: Muddle at the Vicarage will see the super-sleuth get involved when Reverend Muddle suspects there's been a theft at the vicarage. The Guardian quoting Harper Collins, the publisher says, In Muddle at the Vicarage, Little Miss Marple lives in St Mary Mead, the fictional village created by Christie, and is friends with Mr Nosey and Little Miss Chatterbox. When Reverend Muddle suspects a theft there are further mysteries “of the rather muddled kind”, and Little Miss Marple is “sure she can help Inspector Nonsense and Constable Silly uncover the truth” truth with the help of Inspector Nonsense and Constable Silly. 4Contd on | nation their exposure to Russian suppliers. Reliance Industries, India’s biggest buyer of Russian crude, plans to reduce or halt imports, including those under its long-term deal with Rosneft. 4Contd on | nation INDIA APPROVES ₹79K CR ARSENAL Agencies NEW DELHI India on Thursday cleared a fresh round of big-ticket defence procurements worth ₹79,000 crore, including Nag missiles, amphibious warfare ships and advanced electronic surveillance systems, in a move aimed at further strengthening the combat capabilities of the armed forces. The approvals came at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. This is the second major procurement decision since Operation Sindoor, following a ₹67,000-crore clearance on August 5. “The DAC approved various capital acquisition proposals DAC clears major indigenous weapons and naval systems to bolster tri-service combat readiness amounting to about ₹79,000 crore,” the Defence Ministry said, emphasising that a large share of the systems are indigenously developed under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. 4Contd on | nation Irrelevant: Court on Choksi’s pleas Ashish Singh MUMBAI Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi’s claims that he faced a risk to life, denial of fair trial rights, torture, politically motivated prosecution, targeting based on his religion, nationality, or political beliefs, lack of adequate medical care in an Indian prison, and alleged kidnapping were all rejected by the Belgian court. The court ruled these arguments as “irrelevant” and unsubstantiated in the context of his extradition to India in connection with the Rs 13,000crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case. Officials familiar with the case said the ruling strengthens India’s bid for his extradition but noted that he can appeal the Court of Appeal’s preliminary judgment before the Belgian Supreme Court within 15 days, potentially prolonging the legal process. Choksi had argued that the Belgium government could not extradite him without being held internationally liable. He claimed he would face blatant denial of justice, torture, inhuman treatment, and politically motivated trials in India. He also alleged that Indian authorities had kidnapped him in Antigua, challenging the legality of the extradition process. 4See also | P2