U.S. will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip, redevelop it: donald Trump thursdAY 06 Trump made these remarks on Tuesday during a joint press conference in the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu february, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard p h i l ippi n e s Vice-president impeached gaza bet worth pursuing, says netanyahu 215 lawmakers signed a petition to impeach V-P Sara Duterte, who is engaged in a bitter political battle with the President & had issued a death threat against him. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 l Trump said he envisions a redeveloped Gaza like “the Riviera of the Middle East.” “We’ll own it and dismantle all unexploded bombs ... level the site, create economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.” Netanyahu, when asked about the US taking over Gaza, said, “I think it’s something that could change history. it’s worth pursuing this avenue.” | P9 PAGES 12 40 mins length of the presser where Trump got the gaza brainwave Sourav Roy Pollsters predict BJP ‘capital gain’ P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Holy dip Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Prayagraj on Wednesday | PTI 18 non-Hindu TTD staff face stern action E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Tirumala THE Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has barred 18 employees practising non-Hindu rituals from all religious programmes and functions of the temple body until further orders. TTD Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao instructed department heads not to assign these employees to any temple or religious programme-related work. And TTD Chairman B R Naidu reaffirmed that non-Hindu employees will be transferred out to Andhra Pradesh government departments or offered voluntary retirement. The disciplinary action, sources said, is in line with TTD’s commitment to preserving the sanctity of its temples. “It has been proved that 18 TTD employees are practicing and participating in non-Hindu religious activities, though they have taken an oath that they will follow Hindu Dharma (religion) and traditions only said Syamala Rao in a ,” memo. The 18 staff include professors, lecturers and nurses, working in colleges, hospitals and hostels run by TTD. In November 2024, the TTD Board said it would write to the N Chandrababu Naiduled NDA government for taking an appropriate decision on non-Hindus working in Tirumala. It had recommended the transfer of non-Hindu employees to other government departments. State IT and HRD minister Nara Lokesh supported the action against the TTD employees and said, “We stand by it.” As the high-stakes assembly election in Delhi concluded on Wednesday, several pollsters predicted the BJP’s return to power after 27 years with a clear majority If these predic. tions are accurate, it would be a huge setback for the ruling AAP, which is seeking a third consecutive term. Seven out of 10 exit polls have predicted between 39 and 50 seats for the BJP and 20 to 25 seats for AAP. Seven pollsters have predicted not more than three seats for the Congress, which is looking to retain its foothold in Delhi. In the 70-member assembly 36 is , the majority mark. While People’s Pulse gave a sweeping 51-60 seats for the BJP-led NDA, Chanakya Strategies projected 39-44 for it. According to the P-Marq exit poll, the BJP and its allies are likely to win 39-49 seats, AAP 21- 31 seats, and Congress 0-1. The JVC exit poll said the BJP and allies would get 39-45, AAP between 22 and 31 seats and Congress 0-2. The Poll Diary predicted 42-50 seats for the BJP and allies, while AAP was given 18-25 seats, 0-2 for Congress, and 0-1 for others. Chanakya Strategies’ exit poll said the BJP and its allies are likely to get 39-44 seats, AAP could win 25-28, and the Congress may get 2-3. However, two surveys — Wee Preside and Mind Brink — predicted a sweeping victory for AAP According to the Wee Pre. side exit poll, AAP is expected to get 46-52 seats, restricting BJP to 18-23 seats. The Mind Brink survey predicted 44-49 seats for AAP and 21-25 for the saffron party. Both pollsters forecast a Congress wipeout. The high-pitched campaign has seen all three parties in the fray — AAP Congress, and the , BJP — lock horns over several issues, including corruption charges against the AAP government. The campaign also saw promises of various freebies by all parties. If the exit polls come true, the Congress, which was hoping to revive its sagging fortunes in the capital, will suffer a huge setback. After a series of electoral debacles in Haryana and Maharashtra, it will be another blow to the party. The gloves were off as the INDIA bloc partners Congress and AAP unleashed an all-out war against each other during the election campaign. Knives were out as most of the constituents of the Oppostion INDIA bloc, including Samajwadi Party Trinamool Con, gress and Shiv Sena (UBT) extended support to AAP in the election. The parties also endorsed TMC chief Mamata Banerjee for the leadership post for the bloc. The INDIA bloc will be in for another crisis if the results do not favour AAP as many constituents feel , that Congress should have forged an alliance with Kejriwal to take on the BJP Howev. er, for the Congress, which ruled the capital for 15 years in a row, it is a survival battle.  More reports on Pg 3, 4 & 5 AAP rejects exit polls, predicts historic victory BJP welcomes exit polls, hints at wind of change AAP rejected exit poll results, asserting that pollsters have “historically” underestimated its performance. AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta told PTI the party had consistently outperformed exit poll predictions in previous elections, including in 2013, 2015, and 2020. Gupta expressed confidence that the party would secure a “historic” victory. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva welcomed the exit poll predictions, saying they reflect the people’s desire for change. “I believe the people made up their minds long ago that they wanted change,” Sachdeva said, adding that Delhiites are looking for a corruption-free government. He praised the BJP workers for campaigning against corruption. 19 women among 104 deportees in 1st batch from US reach Amritsar h a r p r e e t b a j w a @ Chandigarh A US air force aircraft carrying 104 Indian immigrants from different states landed in Amritsar on Wednesday the , first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump dispensation as part of the crackdown against illegal immigration in that country . Of the deportees, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said. The deportees include 19 women and 13 minors. The US action comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington. The C-17 Globemaster landed at the Amritsar airport at 1.55 pm, where a posse of police personnel were deployed, flanked by some anxious relatives of those who were sent back. All deportees were questioned inside the airport by government agencies, including officials from Ministry of External Affairs and Home Affairs. Ar- rangements were being made to send all deportees to their homes following background checks, an official said. Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal, who met some deportees at the airport, appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene on behalf of Indians facing deportation in the US. Jaspal Singh from Hardorawal in Gurdaspur reached home late in the evening and told local television channels that he had paid `30 lakh to an agent to reach the US, who took 5 months to send him there. “The agent told me he would send me legally but he used the donkey route,” he said. P8 The C-17 Globemaster at Amritsar | PTI Since 2020, US has detained 1,70,000 Indians attempting to cross the border illegally. They are all subject to deportation Shashi Tharooor, Congress MP on X Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 70 Total seats 36 target seats Source AAP BJP+ Cong Chanakya Strategies 25-28 39-44 2-3 DV Research 26-34 36-44 0-0 JVC 22-31 39-45 Matrize 32-37 35-40 0-1 Mind Brink 44-49 21-25 P-Marq 21-31 People’s Insight 25-29 40-44 0-2 Peoples Pulse 10-19 51-60 0-0 Poll Diary 18-25 42-50 0-2 WeePreside 46-52 18-23 0-1 Poll Of Polls 30 1 0-2 0-1 39-49 0-1 39 India is 2nd largest AI market: Altman E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi TWO years after dismissing India’s AI potential as ‘hopeless’, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday acknowledged that India has grown to become the second biggest market for his firm’s flagship product, the ChatGPT, after the US. Altman, while discussing India’s progress in AI alongside Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at an event in Delhi, said Open AI has tripled its users in India in the past year. Praising India’s rapid optimisation of the new technology, he said: “The innovation that’s happening, what people are building [in India], it’s really incredible. We’re excited to do much, much more here, and I think it’s (the Indian AI program) a great plan.” During his first visit to India in June 2023, Altman had termed the country’s ability to develop a foundational model similar to ChatGPT “totally hopeless”, suggesting that India would be better off without FinMin asks staff not to use ai apps The finance ministry has directed its officers not to use AI tools/ apps such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek in office devices or computers, saying they pose confidentiality risks to data and documents trying to create its own model. He later claimed his words were taken out of context. Altman says training AI models is still expensive but it is becoming increasingly feasible, so India can take the lead in AI development. His shift in tone comes in the wake of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek creating a foundational model at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s offerings. The rise of DeepSeek has put pressure on OpenAI and other Western firms to lower prices to remain competitive. New UGC regulations Hold your breath contradict NEP, says for 3,720 minutes K’taka home minister A family after casting votes at Jamia Nagar in Okhla | PTI I f r a h M u f t i @ New Delhi The clock must tick for 3,720 minutes from Wednesday 6 pm till Saturday 8 am for Delhiites to know whom they have voted into power for the next five years. The high-stakes election sealed the fate of 699 candidates from AAP, BJP, Congress and others, with a turnout of 60.42%. Former CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, his wife and son walked to their polling booth at a school close to their Feroze Shah Road residence. They escorted his parents, who used wheelchairs. Kejriwal’s BJP rival, Parvesh Verma, performed religious rituals on the Yamuna bank before casting his vote with his wife and daughter at the Nirman Bhawan booth. The polling remained largely peaceful, save sporadic complaints of bogus voting and model code violations reported throughout the day . The Mustafabad constituency recorded the highest turnout, 69%, followed by Seelampur 68.70%. The lowest turnout was recorded at Mehrauli with 53.04%. Till 11.30 pm, the highest voter turnout was recorded in North East Delhi district (66.25%), and the lowest in the South East district (56.31%). The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82%, 4.65% lower than 67.47% in 2015. President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, CJI Sanjiv Khanna, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Chief Minister Atishi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal were among the early voters. Express read After US, Argentina announces WHO exit President Javier Milei has ordered Argentina’s withdrawal from the World Health Organisation over “profound differences with the UN agency in health management, especially during the pandemic,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday. This follows his ally US President Donald Trump, declaring withdrawal from WHO. HC orders status quo on Rohit Bal’s estate The Delhi High Court has ordered a status quo on the estate of late fashion designer Rohit Bal. Justice Anish Dayal ordered a status quo on a plea of Lalit Tehlan, who claimed of being the primary beneficiary of Bal’s duly executed will with respect to his assets, including properties in Defence Colony and Noida besides Rohit Bal Designs Pvt Ltd’s shares. He said the UGC Draft Regulations 2025 must strike a balThe University Grants Com- ance between national policies mission’s (UGC) growing influ- and the interests of individual ence over education policies, states. “There was no way that from primary to higher educa- we would have differed from a tion, is a cause for concern, national perspective, however, says Karnataka Home Minister the proposed changes should Dr G Parameshwara. not undermine the autonomy Many of the proposof states or create unals from the National necessary conflicts beEducation Policy tween the state and (NEP) 2020, which Central governments,” Bengaluru, aimed to strengthen he said. Chennai and regional languages Tamil Nadu Higher Hyderabad have and cultures, have now Education Minister been at the been contradicted by Govi Chezhian raised forefront of the new UGC draft regconcerns over the disproducing ulations, Paraconnect between eduinternational meshwara told at the education leaders cation and industry H i g h e r E d u c at i o n requirements. He said DK Shivakumar, Ministers’ Conclave, many graduates are K’taka Deputy CM where ministers from not industry-ready, six states, including which forces firms, esHimachal Pradesh, Tamil pecially in the IT sector, to proNadu, Kerala and Jharkhand, vide additional training before participated to oppose the hiring them. UGC’s draft regulations. Ministers representing KeraParameshwara questioned la and HP highlighted that eduwhy states were not given the cation is no longer just about freedom to shape their educa- classrooms and textbooks but tion policies to reflect their re- has now become a major congional priorities and culture. tributor to the economy . e x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ Bengaluru Odisha bill to check pvt coaching centres soon D i a n a S a h u @ Bhubaneswar A new bill drafted by the Odisha government to regulate private coaching centres and hostels proposes mandatory registration certificates for operation of such facilities. It says the centres can’t make false promise of ranks to the students. With privately-run coaching centres mushrooming across the state, the higher education department has drafted the Odisha Coaching Centres and Private Hostels (Regulation and Control) Bill, 2025. It mandates that all coaching centres have to be registered under the act and not make any misleading promises, or guarantee ranks or good marks to students for enrolling in them. Every coaching centre will have to open a website that pro- vides information to students on qualifications of tutors, courses offered, fees to be charged, exit and fee refund policy. The site must contain the exact number of students who undertook coaching and succeeded in getting admission in higher educational institutions. The bill prohibits coaching centres from engaging teachers of any government or aided college. An officer of the department said any violation of the proposed act will invite penalties. In case of first violation, a centre will have to pay a fine of `25,000, `1 lakh in the second instance and if found guilty for the third time, its registration would be cancelled. There is also provision for refund of fees in case a student decides to quit after finding the coaching of low quality . imam of ismaili muslims, aga khan iv, dies The man behind the revival of decaying sites like Sundar Nursery and Humayun’s Tomb, and the imam of Ismaili Shia Muslims — Aga Khan IV — died in Lisbon on Wednesday at the age of 88. He was known for his development work in India and around the world | P9