THE SUNDAY Vol. 36 No. 28 | Sunday, April 13, 2025 29 Pages | `5 & for State `6 | Reg. No. MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 46955/1988 M.p.c.s. office Mumbai-400001 FREE PRESS JOURNAL Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper PLAY & PAUSE Weekend Are pigeons the new health menace? Experts weigh in Good Life Powdered nutrients future of nutrition? Padma Shri Achyut Palav talks about passion, practice, penmanship Sunday Read Juhi Babbar Soni on her new play, A Love Story “1938-1979” DEADLINE SET | Supreme Court sets time limit for action on bills reserved for presidential assent 3-month Planet I curb on swallowed President by star Violence spikes in Bengal 1 2 n May 2020, astronomers first observed a planet getting swallowed by its host star, in the Milky Way about 12,000 light years away. They believed the planet collapsed as the star puffed up becoming a red giant. New observations by the James Webb Space Telescope indicate that it Online report NEW DELHI In the landmark judgement in the state of Tamil Nadu versus Governor of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court has said on the Bills which the Governor has reserved for the President's assent, the President must decide within 3 months, Live Law reports. A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Mahadevan observed in paragraph 391 of the judgment that “In case of delay beyond this period, appropriate reasons would have to be recorded and conveyed to the concerned State. The States are also required to be collaborative and extend co-operation by furnishing answers to the queries which may be raised and consider the suggestions made by the Central government expeditiously. If there is no action by the President within the timelimit, the States are entitled to file writ petitions seeking the issuance of a writ of mandamus against the President. The Court held that like the Governor, even the President can also not exercise "absolute veto" by indefinitely sitting over the Bills. The Judgement by Justice Pardiwala said, "Where a State bill has been reserved by the Governor for the consideration of the President on the ground that assent of the President is required for the purpose of making the bill enforceable or securing some immunity therefor, then in such cases the withholding of assent by the President would be justiciable to the limited extent of exercise of such power in an arbitrary or malafide manner." Where the bill which is under consideration pertains to a subject matter or domain within which State legislature has been accorded primacy, FPJ News Service MUMBAI The death toll in the ongoing violence over the Waqf law in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district has risen to three. What began as peaceful demonstrations in the Muslim-majority region on Friday quickly spiraled into violent clashes, arson, and a political storm, prompting the Calcutta High Court to order the deployment of Central Forces in the affected areas. With raids ongoing and the situation still tense, the Border Security Force (BSF) has been deployed near the Bangladesh border. Police have urged citizens not to fall for rumors or political provocation. Chief Minister Mamata Ba- 4Contd on | Nation Trump asserts trade war doing really well. Is it? Agencies UPI down, 3rd time in 12 days FPJ News Service WASHINGTON Exemptions from tariffs MUMBAI US President Donald Trump insisted his trade war with much of the world was “doing really well” despite mounting fears of recession. The White House also maintains that the US economy is on the verge of a “golden age”, and that dozens of countries – now facing a US tariff of 10% after Trump shelved plans to impose higher rates until July – are scrambling to make deals. “The phones have been ringing off the hook to make deals,” the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters on Friday, The Guardian reported.. “We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly. DJT” Some of Wall Street’s most influential figures were unconvinced. “I think we’re very close, if not in, a recession now,” Larry Fink, CEO of the investment giant BlackRock, told CNBC. Far from providing certainty, the 90-day pause on higher US tariffs on much of the world “means longer, more The US administration has exempted smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, according to new guidance from US Customs and Border Protection. The new tariff guidance includes exclusions for other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, flat panel TV displays, flash drives, memory cards and solid-state drives used for storing data. level on record. US consumer sentiment has dropped 11% to 50.8 this month, ahead the pause announced by Trump earlier this week, according to a regularly survey compiled by the University of Michigan. For the third time in less than two weeks, India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—a cornerstone of the country's digital payments revolution—suffered a nationwide outage on Saturday, shaking public trust in the system just as it touched record-breaking highs. From kirana shops in small towns to bustling markets in Delhi-NCR, digital transactions came to a halt as users across platforms reported failed payments and interrupted fund transfers. The disruption began around 11:30 a.m., according to outage-tracking service Down Detector, which logged over 2,300 complaints by early afternoon. The downtime lasted for three hours. This marks the third such incident since March 26, with a similar outage reported again on April 2. What once seemed like a rare technical hiccup is fast becoming a pattern—and a troubling one at that. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the government-backed entity that manages UPI, acknowledged 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Confidence in US fading? Investors are selling US government bonds, sparking concerns about America's stability as a safe haven. Rising Treasury yields could lead to higher borrowing costs for consumers and corporations, potentially impacting the economy. This unusual bond sell-off, driven by factors like tariff policies and loss of confidence, challenges the traditional role of bonds as a buffer during stock market downturns. As the US chases 90 trade deals in as many days, the odds against such an outcome are stacked heavily against it elevated uncertainty”, he added. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the US’s largest bank, said the world’s largest economy was facing “considerable turbulence” as a key measure of consumer confidence tumbled to its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic – and the second-lowest Marine Drive Makeover As new 6-lane road planned, residents want in on plans Prajakta Pol MUMBAI To ease traffic congestion in south Mumbai, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is planning a new six-lane road running parallel to Marine Drive. This road, which will stretch approximately 3 km between the Coastal Road and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), is part of the larger Orange Gate Marine Drive twin tunnel project. The proposal was reviewed in a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, where it was revealed that the new road may require reclaiming parts of the Marine Drive promenade and sections of the Arabian Sea. Officials also hinted at the possibility of constructing a cantilever bridge, like the one on the Coastal Road, in areas where land is limited. MMRDA is exploring a connection between this stretch and a proposed 1.77-km sea appears the planet came into the star’s gravitational embrace, with disastrous consequences – after an erosion of this alien world's orbit over time. Webb observed hot gas consequently forming a ring around the star following the event and an expanding cloud of cooler dust enveloping the scene. bridge from NCPA to Cuffe Parade. Fadnavis, speaking at the meeting held at Sahyadri Guest House, called for speedy implementation. “This is a vital step towards decongesting south Mumbai and integrating the Eastern Freeway with Atal Setu. Timely execution is critical,” he said. Fadnavis has set an ambitious deadline: December 2028. Preliminary works including tunnelling, land acquisition, and piling are already in progress. Officials confirmed that a revised technical plan has been prepared in coordination with the transport department. Apart from the tunnel, upgrades to nearby roads such as S V Patel Road and Marine Drive are also planned. . In view of this development, residents of South Mumbai have raised concerns and put forward specific demands. “Residents must be taken into confidence during the planning of this road. 4Contd on | Nation The planet is from a class called "hot Jupiters" - gas giants at high temperatures owing to a tight orbit around their host star. It's orbit is thought to have gradually deteriorated due to its gravitational interaction with the star, falling inward, its gaseous outer layers stripped, expelling CM Mamata Banerjee says she won't implement Waqf Act as High Court orders central forces into affected areas nerjee strongly condemned the violence while distancing her administration from the controversial law. “We did not make this law. It is the Centre’s legislation. We have clearly stated that the Waqf (Amendment) Act will not be implemented in West Bengal,” she posted on X. She appealed for peace and warned of legal action against those inciting riots. 4Contd on | Nation 4 3 gas which is seen as light. About five billion years from now, the sun is expected to expand outward in its red giant phase and could well engulf Mercury, Venus and maybe even Earth, the nearest planets. The images are an artist’s rendition of the event courtesy NASA's website. ED initiates seizure of Cong’s AJL assets NATIONAL HERALD CASE FPJ News Service MUMBAI In a significant development in the National Herald money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated possession proceedings for immovable assets worth ₹661crore linked to Congresscontrolled Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The move follows months of investigation and the confirmation of asset attachments by the adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). On April 11, notices were served to the registrars of prop- erty in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow said the ED in a press note. It said that official documents had been affixed at prominent locations on AJLowned properties including Herald House at 5A Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi, a property in Bandra (East), Mumbai, and the AJL building at Bisheshwar Nath Road, Lucknow. 4Contd on | Nation