SATURDAY HAMAS CONFIRMS SINWAR’S DEATH, SAYS HOSTAGES WON’T BE RELEASED 19 OCTOBER, 2024 Hamas on Friday confirmed that Israeli forces killed its leader Yahya Sinwar. It added the Israeli hostages won’t be freed until there is a ceasefire epaper.morningstandard.in AL-HAYYA TO TAKE THE REINS facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard UKRAINE WAR SEOUL SAYS NORTH TO SEND TROOPS North Korea has decided to send ‘largescale troops’ to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, South Korea’s news agency said, citing its spy agency PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 PAGES 12 “Those prisoners will not return before the end of the aggression on Gaza,” said Khalil al-Hayya, who was Sinwar’s Qatar-based deputy. With Sinwar’s death, Al-Hayya is the seniormost Hamas leader and is among the probables who could head the outfit. In a video message broadcast by Al Jazeera, Al-Hayya said Hamas would continue its activities 101 NUMBER OF HOSTAGES STILL HELD BY HAMAS, OF WHOM 30 ARE FEARED DEAD ISRAEL TO CONTINUE GAZA OFFENSIVE ■ ■ Sinwar, the mastermind of the brutal October 7 attack that claimed over 1,200 lives, was killed in a targeted ground operation by Israeli forces in Rafah in southern Gaza. His identity was confirmed through a DNA test Announcing the Hamas leader’s killing on Thursday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s war is not over yet | P9 Personal laws can’t stunt child marriage Act: SC ‘Incarcerated for 18 S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday held that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) cannot be stunted by personal laws and marriages involving children violate the free will to have a partner of choice. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued a slew of directions to strengthen the legal framework to eradicate child marriages in the country These include set. ting up special courts to hear RESTIVE STATE Purported sack-CM call by 19 Manipur BJP MLAs P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati NINETEEN BJP MLAs of Manipur have reportedly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the removal of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Two leaked pages of their purported six-page letter are circulating on social media. However, it was not clear if the letter was at all submitted to the PM. One of the pages bears the purported signatures of Assembly Speaker Th Satyabrata Singh and senior ministers Th Biswajit Singh and Y Khemchand Singh. Neither they nor the CM has commented on this so far. The BJP has 37 MLAs in the sensitive state. Interestingly, the CM had around 5 pm on Friday uploaded a clip of a local news channel on his WhatsApp status, which reported the demand of the 19 MLAs urging the PM to sack Biren. He deleted it about half an hour later. The MLAs exp re s s e d d e e p concerns over the situation in Manipur. They said the state’s revenue and tax collection has been greatly hampered, thus badly affecting the economy . “We, as fervent supporters of the BJP and having won the mandate of the people, feel that we have the responsibility of saving Manipur along with saving BJP from downfall in Manipur. At the present juncture, taking a cue from the trend and dynamics of the conflict and strife between the two communities, we strongly feel that removal of the present incumbent Chief Minister is the only solution,” the letter read. It cautioned that the longer the conflict continued, the more irreparable the damages would be. Reconciliation and peace could be ensured only through dialogue and meaningful, multi-pronged engagement. EXPRESS READ Minor boy and mother die in Shahdara fire A minor boy and his mother died in a fire that broke out in a house in Delhi’s Shahdara area early on Friday. Several other members of the family were injured, officials said. The fire broke out on the third and fourth floors of the four-storey residential building in Bholanath Nagar. Locals blamed narrow lanes and haphazard parking for stalling of firefighting. “The delay was a key factor in the loss of life of my family members,” said Hariom Gupta, a relative of Kailash Gupta, one of the family member injured | P4 child marriage cases, empowering magistrates to pass injunction orders against reported violations, and formation of dedicated police units to prevent such crimes. Writing the judgement for the bench, CJI Chandrachud said child marriage violates the right to life and liberty ensured under Article 21 of the Constitution. “All children married as minors are denied their right to choice and autonomy right to educa, tion, right to sexuality and the right to development of the child. SLEW OF STEPS TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGES States, Union Territories to appoint Child Marriage Prohibition Officers at district level; quarterly reports should be released Magistrates to focus on ‘auspicious days’ known for mass weddings, to take proactive measures to prevent child marriages Create a designated portal for online reporting of child marriages Girls who are married as children are denied their right to health,” it said, adding that the children who are thrown into forced marriages are deprived of their right to development. While noting that the issue of whether the PCMA would prevail over personal laws was pending with Parliament for consideration, the bench suggested that the House may also consider outlawing child betrothals, which rob children of their free will to choose a partner. Keeping in mind the delicate socio-economic interplay in the matter, the bench emphasized on a community-driven approach for the success of the efforts to eradicate child marriages in the country “The law . will only succeed when there is a multi-sectoral coordination. Training and capacity building of the law enforcement officers needs to be there,” Chandrachud said. The order came in a public interest litigation filed by the NGO, Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action (SEVA), and activist Nirmal Gorana, saying PCMA was not being implemented in letter and spirit. Warrant against ex-RAW agent US court issues arrest warrant; second unsealed indictment identifies him as Vikash Yadav YESHI SELI AND HARPREET B A J W A @ New Delhi/Chandigarh A day after the US said India had ‘removed’ a Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) agent for the alleged murder-for-hire plot to eliminate Khalistani radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, the Department of Justice has identified him as Vikash Yadav. On October 10, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Yadav by a New York court. The second indictment unsealed on Friday revealed the murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against Vikash Yadav, 39, also known as Vikas and Amanat. Yadav described himself as a field officer previously serving with CRPF and directed the plot from India. The indictment claims Yadav was the co-conspirator of Nikhil Gupta, 53, who was earlier charged and extradited to the US. “ alleged last year (first inAs dictment) we foiled an attempt PROVIDED KEY INFO Vikash Yadav allegedly provided information, such as the victim’s residential addresses, phone numbers, and other identifying information, to Nikhil Gupta for furtherance of the plot to murder Pannun, says FBI VIKASH YADAV faces charges of murderfor-hire; plot to commit murder THE CASH COMPONENT Yadav and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver $15K in New York as advance fee for the murder to the undercover agent, which is how they got into trouble US Govt has reassured its commitment to constitutional duty to protect the life, liberty and freedom of expression of the US Citizen at home and abroad — Gurpatwant Singh Pannun by Vikas Yadav, an Indian government employee and his coconspirator Nikhil Gupta to assassinate an American citizen on US soil. Today’s charges demonstrate that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled,’’ Attorney General Merrick B Garland said. For its part, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a wanted poster of Vikash Yadav and added him to their most-wanted list. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) alleged that Yadav was the mastermind of the plot. “We charge that Yadav, an employee of the Indian government, used his position of authority and access to confidential information to direct the attempted assassination of an outspoken critic of the Indian government—here on the US soil,’’ it said. The indictment claims that on June 19, 2023, a day after the Nijjar murder, Gupta had told an undercover DEA agent — who he thought was the assassin-on-hire — that Nijjar was also their target and that they had many such hit jobs in the pipeline. Gupta added that there was no further need to wait to bump off Pannun. The charges, if proved, can carry a penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiracy and 20 years for money laundering. In July 2020, Pannun was designated a terrorist by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. He is the founder of a US-based separatist group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which was declared a banned organisation five years ago under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. months’: Jain granted bail in laundering case S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi WHAT THE LAWYER SAID Satyendar Jain’s lawyer senior advocate N Hariharan argued that Jain was neither a flight risk nor in a position to influence witnesses He pointed out that there were significant discrepancies in the amount of alleged “proceeds of crime” cited by both the CBI and ED SATYENDAR Jain, a senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi cabinet minister, was granted bail by a Delhi court on Friday in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Jain had been in custody since May 2022, following his arrest by the central agency . During the hearing, Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court considered Jain’s prolonged incarceration of nearly 18 months before granting him regular bail. Jain, who had earlier been granted medical bail from May 2023 to March 2024, was allowed to walk free after furnishing a bail bond of `50,000 and providing a surety in the same amount. His lawyer, senior advocate N Hariharan, argued that Jain was neither a flight risk nor in a position to influence witnesses. He also pointed out that there were significant discrepancies in the amount of alleged “proceeds of crime” cited by both CBI and ED. The court had reserved its order on Jain’s regular bail application on October 5, after hearing lengthy arguments from both sides. Opposing the bail, Special Counsel for the ED, Zoheb Hossain, argued that the delay in trial was largely due to the actions of the accused, who had sought multiple adjournments. Hossain emphasised that the case involved substantial proceeds of crime amounting to `4.81 crore. Despite the ED’s objections, the court determined that Jain’s extended pre-trial incarceration justified the granting of bail. Jain was initially arrested by the ED on May 30, 2022, in connection with allegations of laundering money P3 . U.S.FOR TRANSPORTING IRANIAN OIL SANCTIONS 2 INDIANS 18 companies and individuals, including two Indians, were sanctioned for their alleged ties to a Houthi network transporting Iranian oil, revenue from which enables Houthi attacks on Israel and disrupting shipping in Red Sea | P9 Gangster strikes again, tells Salman VEDANTA TO INVEST to ‘pay `5 cr, or face consequences’ `1 LAKH CR IN ODISHA BIG MOVE S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai H E M A N T K U M A R R O U T @ Bhubaneswar METAL and mining major Vedanta Limited on Friday announced a fresh investment of `1 lakh crore in Odisha to set up a 6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) alumina refinery and a 3 mtpa ‘green’ aluminium plant, which will be powered by renewable energy . The announcement was made by Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal during his one-to-one interaction with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at the G2B meet organised by the state government in Mumbai on Friday for inviting industry leaders to the Make-in-Odisha Conclave in January next year. The fresh investment is in addition to Vedanta’s earlier investment of `1 lakh crore in the state, which has already created over one lakh jobs over the past two decades, the company said. It will also mark the largest investment ever made by the conglomerate anywhere in the world, generating two lakh jobs along with opportunities for hundreds of MSMEs in the state. “The refinery and plant will create a massive industrial complex for the downstream industries as demand for aluminium is likely to double by 2030,” the company said. Security for Khan The Worli police has registered a case under BNS for threat and extortion. Mumbai police has heightened security outside Khan’s residence and his farmhouse in Panvel, officials said. THE Mumbai traffic police received a threat message demanding `5 crore from Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The sender, allegedly connected to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, warned that Khan’s life would be in jeopardy if the money was not paid, officials said on Friday . The threat follows the murder of NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Baba Siddique, who was shot dead on October 12 outside his MLA son’s office at in Bandra East. The Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the murder. The threat message on Khan said if the actor failed to pay the amount, his fate would be worse than that of Siddique, police sources said. “If Salman Khan wants to stay alive and wants to end the enmity with Lawrence Bishnoi, then he will have to pay `5 crore. Do not take this lightly, otherwise Salman Khan’s condition will be worse than Baba Siddiqui’s,” read the message. The Worli police has registered a case under BNS for threat and extortion. Mumbai police has heighted security outside Khan’s residence and his farmhouse in Panvel, officials said. The superstar had earlier received death threats from the Bishnoi gang. Members of the gang had also opened fire outside the actor’s Bandra home in April, sparking panic. Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai police on Thursday uncovered a plot to kill Khan by the Bishnoi gang in June and arrested shooter Sukhbir Singh of Haryana’s Panipat. Air quality slips to ‘very poor’, officials told to find out local source I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi DIWALI is still another 10 days away, but the air quality in the national capital is deteriorating already. Multiple monitoring stations indicating ‘very poor’ air quality The overall air qual. ity in Delhi stood at 293, worse than the previous 24-hour average of 285, data showed. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on said that there are 13 hotspots in Delhi where AQI has crossed 300. These are Wazirpur, Mundka, Rohini, Jahangir puri, Anand Vihar, Dwarka Sector-8, Bawana, Narela, Vivek Vihar, Okhla Phase 2, Punjabi Bagh, Ashok Vihar and RK Puram. The AQI level was highest in Wazirpur. “We have instructed the authorities to find out the local sources behind it.” Videos emerged from Anand Vihar on social media showing officials undertaking measures such as sprinkling water on roads to tackle air pollution. The Graded Response Action Plan-1 (Grap-1) was imposed across Delhi-NCR on October 14. According to data from the Air Quality Early Warning System, Dhyan Chand Stadium recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 270, while Mundka had a high AQI of 377. Najafgarh measured 278, and Narela 317. Nehru Nagar’s AQI was 289, with North Campus slightly higher at 296. Okhla Phase 2 had an AQI of 295, and Patparganj recorded 338. Punjabi Bagh measured 309, while Pusa had a lower AQI of 212. RK Puram reported 274, and Rohini showed a concerning AQI of 363. Anand Vihar had an AQI of 342, Dwarka Sector 8 registered 325, and IGI Airport 261. No respite, air quality to dip by Sunday SAFAR has predicted that Delhi’s air quality would dip by Sunday, potentially leading to a respiratory illness crisis among residents. People have been warned against taking outdoor activities such as jogging or running. Delhi’s neighbours Noida and Haryana’s Gurugram also reeled from poor air quality levels. The past 24-hour average data showed an AQI of 178 in Gurugram and 242 in Noida. SAFAR of Ministry of Earth Science has predicted that Delhi’s air quality would dip to ‘very poor’ category by Sunday , leading to a respiratory illness crisis among the residents. People have been warned against taking outdoor activities such as jogging or running and advised to wear N-95 masks when not at home. P3 Tamil anthem: Stalin seeks Guv’s ouster E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai A huge spat broke out between Governor R N Ravi and Chief Minister M K Stalin late on Friday after singers missed sing ing the ‘Thekkanamum Adhir Sirantha Dravida Nal Thirunaadum’ line from the ‘Tamizh Thaai Vaazhthu’ rendered at Doordarshan Kendra Chennai’s Hindi month valedictory function presided by the governor. Meanwhile, Doordarshan Kendra Chennai apologised for the ‘inadvertent mistake,’ and said singers had no intention to disrespect Tamil or the state song. Reacting to the incident, Stalin accused the governor of insulting TN and its people and demanded he be recalled immediately by the centre. The CM said that a person who doesn’t abide by the law and acts as per his wishes was not fit to hold that office and wondered if Ravi was a governor or an ‘ ryA an’. “Will the governor, suffering from the Dravidian allergy , ask the people to sing the national anthem leaving out ‘Dravida’,” he asked. Governor Ravi accused Stalin of making a racist remark and showing disrespect to the Tamizh Thaai Vaazhthu. Ravi said the allegation was “cheap and lowers the dignity of the Chief Minister’s office.”
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.