SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard RARE EARTH CURBS TRUMP WARNS OF TARIFFS ON CHINA Donald Trump Friday slammed Beijing for hostile trade practices and threatened “massive” tariffs over its export controls on rare earth minerals PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Nobel Peace Prize goes to Venezuelan leader Machado, who dedicates it to US President Humbled, grateful THANK GOD IT’S NOT TRUMP! AGENCIES THERE was a collective sigh of relief across the world after the Norwegian Nobel committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, passing over US President Donald Trump in the process. Months of badgering by Trump for the most coveted award came to nought despite loads of nominations in his favour. He knew he had little chance of making it, as most of those nominations came after the February 1 deadline for this year’s award, yet he went on bullying the Nobel committee like a spoilt child. That the panel showed spine to fob him off came like a breath of fresh air. After the announcement, he went into a sulk, despite Machado dedicating the award to Trump. “Today more than ever , we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve freedom and democracy she said. ,” Her opposition to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro aligns with the Trump administration’s stance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously praised her as ‘the personification of resilience, tenacity and patriotism’. , The first nation to face Trump’s anger was China, as he said he no longer felt it nec- essary to meet President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month. He lit into China’s hostile trade practices, including new export controls on rare earths, and threatened it with massive tariff hikes. Democracy activist Machado who sought to challenge President Maduro in last year’s elections, has become a “unifying” figure in Venezuela, the Nobel jury said. “In the past year, Ms Machado has been J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ Coldrif pharma owner sent to police custody The 75-year-old owner of Tamil Nadu-based Sresen Pharma, which manufactured the fatal batch of Coldrif cough syrup, was reportedly remanded in ten days police custody on Friday. Ranganathan Govindan was produced before Additional Session Judge Gautam Gurjar in Parasia town, Madhya Pradesh. forced to live in hiding,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel committee. “Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.” Machado was set to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government disqualified her. She then campaigned for her stand-in, ex-diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, seen by much of the international community as the rightful winner. The run-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations to ‘steal’ the mandate. It’s not for me to judge whether the current US president deserves the Nobel prize — I don’t know. He’s really doing a lot to resolve these complex crises, which have lasted for years, even decades Vladimir Putin, Russian President It should... remind those of us lucky enough to live in America that we have a solemn responsibility to constantly preserve and defend our own hard-won democratic traditions Barack Obama, former US President Democracy is a precondition for peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat Nobel Peace Prize jury India upgrades its technical mission in Kabul to embassy ‘Ban not ideal’: SC hints at allowing green crackers in city THE Supreme Court on Friday reserved its decision on allowing the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) during the upcoming Diwali festival. The top court also gave an oral assurance, hinting that “for Diwali we will allow use of green firecrackers but will fix a certain time duration,” adding that it will pass an order to this effect later. It is, however, unclear when the court will pass the order. The court observed that a complete ban on bursting fire crackers in Delhi-NCR is “neither practical nor ideal” because such restrictions are often violated, and a balance of equities is needed. The bench, headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, said it will most likely revisit the stay on the ban (Arjun Gopal judgement) on green firecrackers. It was hearing a batch of pleas seeking permission to manufacture and sell “green” firecrackers in Delhi and NCR. The Union Gover nment, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, requested the apex court to allow green firecrackers between 8 am and 8 pm on Diwali, from 11:45 pm to 12:30 am on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and for an hour on Gurpurab and other occasions. On September 26, the Supreme Court permitted manufacturing of green firecrackers in Delhi, provided they are not sold in the Delhi-NCR, considering rising pollution levels and deteriorating environmental conditions. “This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Nobel Institute. ‘I am just part of a huge movement... I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honoured.” Displaced Palestinians walk along the coastal road near Wadi Gaza in central Gaza Strip on Friday | AP GAZA PEACE PROCESS KICKS IN Cautious optimism as ceasefire takes effect A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect Friday, hours after Israel’s Cabinet cleared the deal. However, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to return to war if the ‘objectives’ are not met 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages began on Friday after Israeli forces said they completed the first phase of their withdrawal from Gaza TATA TRUSTS BOARD MEET CORDIAL AMID PUBLIC LISTING CALL B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai THE board of Tata Trusts, recently hit by an unprecedented revolt from four trustees led by Mehli Mistry — a close friend of the late Ratan Tata and first cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry — against chairman Noel Tata, held a ‘cordial’ meeting on Friday . It discussed only routine charity matters, even as the government urged the warring sides to resolve their differences quickly . The meeting took place a day after the first death anniversary of Ratan Tata and amid growing questions over Noel Tata’s leadership. Tata Trusts own 66.6% of Tata Sons that controls around 400 companies, 30 of them publicly listed with a combined market capitalisa- tion of about `30 trillion. While the meeting was underway, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group — which owns 18.4% of Tata Sons, making it the second-largest shareholder after the Trusts — issued a statement urging that Tata Sons be taken public to improve transparency and governance. The company has already missed the Reserve Bank’s September 30 deadline for its listing. “The board met for a few hours and discussed only routine issues, mainly funding for hospital and rural development projects. No contentious issues were raised, and the meeting ended cordially a source said. ,” “Though the atmosphere was tense, none of the attendees expressed it openly ,” the source added. Palestinians start returning to Gaza After Israeli troops began pulling back under the agreement to end the war, thousands of displaced Palestinians on Friday started returning to what is left of their homes in Gaza | P9 IN a recalibrated diplomatic strategy India has officially up, graded its Technical Mission in Kabul to a full-fledged Embassy , the clearest sign yet of New Delhi’s intent to deepen engagement with Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The announcement was made at External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s meeting in New Delhi with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday, where the two leaders held wide-ranging discussions spanning security cooperation, infrastructure development, humanitarian aid, education, trade, and people-to-people ties. Muttaqi used the occasion to publicly reassure India on one of its core concerns: terrorism emanating from Afghan soil. “We had a detailed discussion on security cooperation. We will not allow Afghan territory S Jaishankar with Afghani counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi | PTI to be used against any country ,” he said. He further urged restraint over cross-border tensions, cautioning that “issues cannot be solved through this approach” and referencing Afghanistan’s historical resistance to foreign aggression. “The Afghan people’s patience and courage should not be challenged. If someone doesn’t know, they should ask the British, Soviets, or Americans.” In response, Jaishankar acknowledged Kabul’s assuranc- Data breach: NEET-PG aspirants’ personal info put up for sale online A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi IN a shocking data breach ahead of NEET-PG 2025 counselling, personal details of thousands of medical aspirants—including their names, contact numbers, addresses, scores and department preferences—have been found on sale across multiple websites. The data, allegedly leaked from official records, is being peddled to touts, coaching institutes and marketing firms for sums ranging between `3,500 and `15,000. The NEET-PG 2025 examination was held on August 3. The counselling is expected to start by the third week of October. A simple online search with terms like ‘NEET PG 2025 student data’ throws up several portals openly advertising ‘student databases’ as commodities. When this newspaper contacted LEAKED FROM RECORDS The data, allegedly leaked from official records, is being peddled to touts, coaching institutes and marketing firms for sums ranging between `3,500 and `15,000. Several candidates claim that they have received unsolicited calls from individuals posing as admission counsellors. one such website—studentdatabases.com—it offered a sample list of 100 aspirants from Delhi and demanded `10,000 for full access. The rate was eventually negotiated down to `7,000. Another website operator claimed their portal would soon be deleted after a copyright strike. A sample dataset accessed by this newspaper contained details of 100 candidates, includ- ing their application IDs, roll numbers, names, fathers’ names, nationalities, categories, NEET-PG scores & ranks, email IDs, mobile numbers, states, cities and genders. A random verification revealed that the profiles were genuine. Several candidates claim that they have received unsolicited calls from individuals posing as admission counsellors demanding hefty sums to secure seats in MD or MS courses. Dr Devaunshi Kaul, president of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association, has termed the leak “a grave violation of privacy and data integrity”. Meanwhile, no comment was received from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare till the time of going to press. TRUMP TYRANNY? Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee, Duflo leaving the US Passengers can file high air fare complaints now A G E N C E F R A N C E P R E S S E @ Geneva Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday directed airlines to maintain air fares at reasonable prices during festival season. Passengers can register complaints on high airfares on AirSewa, the grievance redressal portal of the Aviation Ministry. He also directed the Tariff Monitoring Unit of DGCA to keep strict vigil. US-based Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will soon join the University of Zurich, where they will establish a new centre for development economics. The University of Zurich (UZH) said on Friday the married couple, who currently work at the Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology (MIT), would join its economics faculty from July next year. The statement made no mention why the pair—who won the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize alongside Michael Kremer for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”— had decided to leave. But they will be moving to Switzerland at a time when ex- perts are warning US President Donald Trump’s cuts to research funding and attacks on universities’ academic freedoms could lead to a brain drain, with some countries trying to attract US scientists. Duflo, a dual USFrench national, herself cosigned an editorial in Le Monde newspaper back in March denouncing “unprecedented attacks” on US science. She and Indian-born Banerjee will each have an endowed professorship at UZH funded by the Lemann Foundation, the university said. They will also establish and co-lead the new Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy with an aim to foster pol, icy-relevant research and connect researchers and education policymakers. “We are delighted that two of the world’s most influential economists are joining UZH,” university president Michael Schaepman said. es and said that India and Afghanistan shared a common goal peace, prosperity, and regional stability “We appreciate . your sensitivity towards India’s security concerns. Your solidarity with us in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack was noteworthy,” he said. Announcing the embassy upgrade, Jaishankar said: “Our relationship is rooted in deep civilisational ties, and this decision reflects our intent to remain a reliable development and humanitarian partner.” India reiterated its role as one of Afghanistan’s major development partners, having invested over $3 billion in more than 500 projects across the country Jaishankar announced . the launch of six new development projects, with details to be finalised soon. He also offered support in maintaining and completing infrastructure projects that had been previously initiated. P7 EASE OF LIVING Soon, access birth & caste certs through WhatsApp A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi BIRTH and caste certificates may soon be accessible through WhatsApp in Delhi. These are among the 50 public services that the Delhi government has identified for a digital shift. Under the ‘Gover nance through WhatsApp’ initiative, services currently accessed online will transition to WhatsApp using AI, a senior government officer said. Users can interact with a bilingual chatbot in Hindi and English to receive guidance on applying for services and documents, uploading necessary papers, and paying fees, he said. The project is shaped by the Information Technology Department, which previously operated the doorstep delivery of government services under the previous regime in Delhi. To execute the WhatsApp services model, a dashboard will be developed for real-time monitoring and management of the departments’ interactions with the applicants, he said. The project will be implemented by a tech company that the government will engage to design and deploy the system. Meanwhile, WhatsApp is c u r r e n t l y d e ve l o p i n g a new feature: unique usernames allowing users to chat without even sharing their mobile numbers.