FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 140 | INDORE | MONDAY | OCTOBER 27, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports I THOUGHT I’D GET THROUGH THIS WITHOUT CRYING: SOPHIE P.10 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY A whirlwind week ahead, indeed! UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI Edit Making bus travel safer P.6 Brand Sutra The Winner Takes It All P.12 ‘STRONG PARTNERSHIP’ | In a virtual address, PM Modi calls the grouping a key pillar of New Delhi's ‘Act East’ policy O mprakash Nareda, visionary behind ‘Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara’, has spent last 24 years proving that love for nation isn’t shown in words — it’s lived through action. Turn to Indore page to find out how. SEE P2 fp Briefs PARIS Louvre heist suspects held Two suspects have been arrested over the brazen jewellery heist at the Louvre, just as one of them was about to fly out of France, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday. Two men in their 30s and originally from the capital's Seine-Saint-Denis suburb were detained on Saturday. ‘21st century belongs to India and ASEAN’ FP News Service NEW DELHI The India-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is emerging as a powerful foundation for global stability and growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday. In a virtual address at the India-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) annual summit, Modi also said that the grouping is a key pillar of New Delhi's Act East policy. "The 21st century is our century. It is India and ASEAN's century," Modi asserted, expressing confidence that initiatives like "ASEAN Community Vision 2045" and "Viksit Bharat 2047" will create a brighter future for humanity. "India has always fully supported 'ASEAN centrality' and ASEAN's outlook on the IndoPacific," he said. "Even in these times of uncertainty, the IndiaASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has made steady progress. Our strong partnership is emerging as a powerful foundation for global stability and growth," Modi said. "India and ASEAN together represent one-fourth of the global population. We not only share geography, we share deep historic relations and shared values. We are part of the Global South," Modi said. He said India has "stood firmly with its ASEAN friends" in every crisis and the two-way cooperation in the spheres of maritime security and the blue economy is growing rapidly. "In light of this, we are declaring 2026 as the ASEANIndia year of maritime cooperation," he announced. "We are also vigorously advancing mutual cooperation in education, tourism, science and technology, health, green energy and cybersecurity. We will continue to work together to preserve our shared cultural heritage and strengthen people-to-people ties," he said. 4Continued on | P8 E-paper TRUMP ADMIN CHARTS THE ‘CRUDE’ COURSE Not at expense of India: Rubio on US-Pak ties n Even in these times of uncertainty, the India-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has made steady progress. Our strong partnership is emerging as a powerful foundation for global stability and growth n India has always fully supported 'ASEAN centrality' and ASEAN's outlook on the Indo-Pacific n Almost one-fourth of the world’s population is represented by us. We don’t just share geography but also culture and values. We are partners in the Global South. We are not just trade partners but also cultural partners n India has always stood with Asean friends in any disaster... our cooperation is increasing rapidly. In light of this, we are declaring 2026 as the ASEAN-India year of maritime cooperation Trump hikes Canada Kailash says players must alert tariff over advert tiff local officials while going out Agencies WASHINGTON 3 HELD WITH TIGER HIDE Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Three persons were arrested with a tiger skin in East Mandla late Saturday night, in a joint operation by forest teams from East Mandla and Kanha Tiger Reserve. Officials said the accused were trying to sell the skin when they were trapped by forest officers posing as buyers. District Forest Officer (East Mandla) Pretha said two persons were initially detained with the tiger skin, followed by arrest of a third accused. Preliminary questioning revealed that others were also involved in the poaching. A search has been launched to trace them. The accused claimed that someone else had killed the tiger, and investigators are now verifying this claim. 4Continued on | P8 US president Donald Trump said on Saturday he was increasing tariffs on Canada by an additional 10% "above what they're paying now," after the province of Ontario aired an anti-tariff advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan. He called the advert a "fraud" and lashed out at Canadian officials for not removing it ahead of the World Series baseball championship in a social media post. Ontario's premier said he would take it down to allow trade talks with the US to proceed, after Trump withdrew -but that it would still run in the US over the weekend. Canada is the only G7 country that has not reached a deal with the US since Trump began seeking to charge steep tariffs on goods from major trading partners. The US has already imposed a 35% levy on all Canadian goods -- though most are exempt under an existing free trade agreement. 4Continued on | P8 Our Staff Reporter INDORE MOLESTATION OF AUSSIE CRICKETERS Agencies Top Chinese and US economic officials agreed on the framework for a trade agreement on Sunday as US President Donald Trump said he was confident of hashing out a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in the coming days. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur for a fifth round of inperson discussions since May. "I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday," Bessent told reporters. Bessent told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he anticipated the agreement would defer China's expanded export controls on rare earth minerals and magnets and avoid a new 100% US tariff on Chinese goods threatened by Trump. Two women players were stalked and one of them was molested by a motorcycle-borne man in Indore administration should be informed because there is a huge craze for cricketers (in India)," Vijayvargiya said. He said Trump and Xi would discuss soybean and agricultural purchases from American farmers, more balanced trade and resolving the US fentanyl crisis, which was the basis of 20% US tariffs on Chinese goods. China's Li said both sides had reached a "preliminary consensus" and will next go through their respective internal approval processes. "The US position has been tough," Li said. "We have experienced very intense consulta- tions and engaged in constructive exchanges in exploring solutions and arrangements to address these concerns." Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for ASEAN summit, his first stop in a five-day Asia tour that is expected to culminate in a face-to-face with Xi in South Korea on October 30. After the talks, he struck a positive tone, saying: "I think we’re going to have a deal with China". Both sides are looking to avert an escalation of their trade war. offgrid 8k schools. 20k teachers. Students? 0 PTI West Bengal accounts for most such schools, govt data show. The state also has maximum number of teachers (nearly 18,000) in such schools NEW DELHI Nearly 8,000 schools across the country had zero enrolments during the 2024-25 academic session, with West Bengal accounting for most of them, followed by Telangana, official data show. A total of 20,817 teachers were employed in the schools with zero enrolments. In a peculiar case, West Bengal accounted for 17,965 such teachers, along with the highest number of schools with- out enrolments (3,812). According to the Ministry of Education's statistics, 7,993 schools had zero enrolments, down by over 5,000 from the previous year's count of 12,954. Meanwhile, Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Sikkim, and 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Obviously the more we sell them (oil), the less they'll buy from someone else Marco Rubio US Secretary of State Dalit man beaten to death, mob attacks accused’s homes FP News Service Amid an outrage over the alleged molestation of two Australian women cricketers in the city, urban development and housing minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Sunday said cricket players must keep the local authorities informed while stepping out, as they are very popular in India. "Players must keep in mind that when they leave their place, their security and local The two women players, who are taking part in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, were stalked and one of them was molested by a motorcycleborne man in the city on Thursday morning. The incident took place in the Khajrana Road area and the accused was traced and arrested on Friday, an official said. 4Continued on | P8 US, China ease trade tensions KUALA LUMPUR important.” "But, I think they (India) have to understand we have to have relations with a lot of different countries. We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan," he said. Agencies ‘Part of the Global South’ Agencies WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump once again claimed that New Delhi is going to stop buying oil from Russia, emphasising that India is cutting back Russian oil purchases "completely" while China will cut back "very substantially." Talking to reporters onboard Air Force One on his way to Malaysia on Saturday, Trump said he might discuss Russian oil purchases with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting. "I may be discussing it, but you know China, you probably saw it today. China's cutting back very substantially on the purchase of Russian oil," Trump said. The US president and his administration have been claiming for the past few days that India has assured that it will significantly reduce its oil imports from Russia. However, India has been maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its own interest, especially ensuring affordable and secure supplies for its consumers. WASHINGTON The US is seeking to expand its strategic partnership with Pakistan, but not at the cost of its longstanding relationship with India, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday. Just like India has ties with countries that the US doesn’t, the vice versa applies, Rubio told reporters on board a flight to Doha. Ahead of his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Rubio, referring to India's energy ties with Russia, said New Delhi has already expressed a desire to diversify its procurement of crude oil. “It’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy,” he said. “I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic, and ‘India is cutting back Russian oil purchases fully’ Tripura had no such schools. "School education is a state subject, states have been advised to address the issue of zero enrolments in schools. Some states have merged some schools for optimum utilisation of resources such as infrastructure as well as staff," a senior official said. There were no schools with zero enrolment in the Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, and Chandigarh, according to the data. Delhi also had no schools with zero enrolments. 4Continued on | P8 Trump said he was confident of hashing out a deal with Xi when they meet in South Korea on Oct 30 BHIND A dalit man was fatally beaten with sticks over a long-standing feud between two families in Bhind, as reported on Sunday. According to information, the victim was identified as Ali, also known as Rudra Pratap Singh Jatav and the incident took place in  Daboh’s Raipura village.  It is said he succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Gwalior for treatment. His maternal uncle was also seriously injured in the attack and is undergoing treatment in Gwalior. The dispute reportedly involved the Jatav family and the Kaurav family, who have had ongoing conflicts for a long time. Local police had previously received complaints about frequent clashes between the 2 sides. After the killing, angry members of the Jatav community attacked the houses of the accused and set a car and a bike on fire. Tension escalated in the village, prompting deployment of a heavy police force. On Saturday, the confrontation turned violent, leading to Rudra Pratap’s death. The accused have been identified as Ranveer Kaurav, Anshu Kaurav, Prahlad Kaurav, Rajiv Kaurav and Kunwar Singh Kaurav. A case of murder has been registered against them and another case has been filed regarding arson. Additional SP Sanjeev Pathak stated that the situation in the village is now under control and police teams have been deployed as a precaution. Arrest operations are underway and the accused will soon be taken into custody for questioning. TI Rajesh Sharma confirmed that the killing was due to an old enmity and that police are also investigating arson at the accused’s houses. Cryptocurrency is property under Indian law, says HC Agencies CHENNAI The Madras HC has held that cryptocurrency qualifies as property under Indian law, capable of ownership and being held in trust. Justice Anand Venkatesh on Saturday held that while cryptocurrency is intangible and not legal tender, it possesses the essential characteristics of property. "There can be no doubt that “cryptocurrency” is a property. It’s not a tangible property nor It is not a tangible property nor is it a currency. However, it is a property, which is capable of being enjoyed and possessed (in a beneficial form). It is capable of being held in trust Justice Anand Venkatesh, Madras HC is it a currency. However, it’s a property capable of being enjoyed and possessed (in a beneficial form). It is capable of being held in trust,” it said. The ruling came in a peti- tion filed by an investor whose XRP holdings on the WazirX platform were frozen after a 2024 cyber attack. 4Continued on | P8