saturdAY Govt won’t enforce 20-28°C AC temperature norm in a hurry 28 june, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard lavish bash Bezos, Sanchez wed in Venice The sky itself is no limit for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, who have traveled into space — and expectations are just about as high for their wedding in Venice. Page 9 developed nations have more to do ■ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 Let’s avoid new complexities: India to China Express News Service @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Thursday said India and the US would soon sign a major trade agreement. He did not divulge more information. Trump also disclosed that he had signed a new trade agreement with China the previous day. The White House later clarified that the US has reached an agreement with China for exports of rare earth elements, a key raw material for auto and electronics manufacturing. Trump’s remarks on a deal with India came as an Indian delegation led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal arrived in Washington for the Maya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi Bogus ‘award’ India categorically rejected a “supplemental award” issued by what it described as an “illegal” Court of Arbitration purportedly set up under the Indus Waters Treaty | P7 Chariots crawl The annual Rath Yatra at Puri on Friday was chaotic. None of the three chariots could even be pulled for half the distance from Shree Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple amid heavy crowds and gross mismanagement | Ranjan Ganguly | p5 ‘serious concern’ No regular vcs in 12 of 13 kerala univs: HC e x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ Kochi Kerala High Court has observed it is a matter of serious concern that 12 of 13 universities in the state are functioning without regularly appointed vice-chancellors, and that pleas are being filed in this court at every stage of the appointment process and even over temporary arrangements. This situation risks the quality of higher education in the state, observed a division bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji. It issued the order while dismissing a petition filed by Sivaprasad A, assistant professor of Bishop Moore College, Mavelikkara, and other Senate members, challenging the temporary appointment of a VC in the University of Kerala. The bench observed that it has been nearly three years since the University of Kerala has been functioning without a regular vice-chancellor due to differences between stakeholders. The HC said it was due to the disagreement between the Senate and the chancellor that the arrangement, which is intended to address a short-term contingency, has continued. 10% rebate in property tax extended till July 31 A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi The first meeting of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Cor poration of Delhi (MCD), held on Friday after a gap of nearly two and a half years, passed 25 crucial agendas and extended 10% rebate on property tax till July 31. The passed items included revised layout plans for Shri Ram College of Commerce and St. Stephens College, layout plans for housing for Rajya Sabha Secretariat at RK Puram and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade at Maidan Garhi, revised layout for National Physical Laboratory Complex at Pusa, War of words over media presence at House The MCD’s first standing committee meeting witnessed a war of words between the ruling and opposition parties. Criticising the BJP, Leader of Opposition Ankush Narang said for the first time in MCD’s history, the media was not allowed to attend the meeting. He questioned why the BJP “denied access to the media”. BJP said journalists could not be accommodated due to space constraints. construction of school building at Wazirabad and 30 classrooms in a school in Lal Kuan Chungi, revised layout plan of staff quarters of Delhi University layout plan of group hous, ing at Hari Nagar Colony etc. , Major items not taken up were the construction of an automated multilevel parking fa- PAGES 12 ■ After US-China deal, Trump hints at ‘big one’ with India Rajnath flags trust deficit, stresses need for permanent solution to border demarcation A defence ministry readout highlighted Singh’s concern India and China should build about trust deficit remaining a on the fresh momentum in the major barrier to progress. bilateral relations and avoid Singh reiterated India’s posinew complexities, Defence tion that the Chinese People’s Minister Rajnath Singh said on Liberation Army must return Friday, a day after he met his to its deployment positions as Chinese counterpart Admiral they stood in April 2020, prior Dong Jun on the sidelines of to violent clashes at multiple the Shanghai Cooperation Or- friction points such as Finger 4 ganisation Defence Ministers’ on the north bank of Pangong c o n c l ave i n Tso, Hot Springs, Qingdao, China. Gogra, Galwan, “It is incumand Depsang. bent on both The 2020 standsides to maintain off breached sevthis positive moeral agreements mentum and and confidenceavoid adding new building meascomplexities in ures, underminthe bilateral relaing decades of On border issues tionship,” Singh peace and stabilposted on X, addity efforts. Rajnath Singh told ing that he exAlthough disChina’s Admiral Dong Jun changed “conengagement the border issues may be s t r u c t ive a n d from all standoff addressed through a forward-looking points was com“structured roadmap of views” with Dong pleted in October permanent engagement on Thursday . 2024, over 1,00,000 and de-escalation” During the troops with talks, Singh emheavy military phasised the need for a struc- equipment still remain detured and permanent approach ployed near the LAC, indicatto de-escalation and peace ing that challenges persist. along the Line of Actual ConBeyond border issues, Singh trol. He outlined a roadmap for also briefed the Chinese deeffective border management, fence minister about the April achieving a permanent solu- 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack tion to border demarcation and India’s Operation Sindoor through established mecha- aimed at dismantling Pakinisms, bridging the trust defi- stan’s terror infrastructure. He cit stemming from the 2020 underlined India’s right to selfEastern Ladakh standoff, and defence and urged shared recreating good neighbourly con- sponsibility in combating terditions to foster cooperation. rorism. P7 l The principle of CBDR-RC (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities) means all countries must fight climate change, but developed nations should do more Earlier this month, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar said ACs will soon be required to operate between 20-28 degrees Celsius cility at Punjabi Bagh, the setting up of municipal solid waste to energy facility at Narela Bawana, the construction of 200-bedded ward block at Balak Ram Hospital, setting up of dung drying processing plant on turnkey basis at Ghazipur slaughterhouse, revised layout plan for Moolchand Khairati Ram Hospital in Lajpat Nagar, construction of sludge drain from Rajasthan Pahari on Shiv Mandir Road to Mehrauli Badarpur Road, etc. All standing committee members participated in the discussions. The MCD’s preparations for the monsoon elicited suggestions from all members. The ruling party members quoted the commissioner as saying that more work was done this year compared to last year, including the installation of new pumps. Standing Committee Chairperson Satya Sharma stated that concerned officials have been directed to resolve all issues raised at the earliest. latest round of trade talks. Agarwal, special secretary in Department of Commerce, is leading discussions to finalise an interim pact ahead of Trump’s July 9 deadline to slap reciprocal tariffs. The Trump administration had on April 2 announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India. However, those tariffs have been suspended until July 9 to allow room for negotiations. The US is seeking tariff concessions from India on a range of products, including industrial goods, automobiles, electric vehicles, We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India, a very big one, where we’re going to open up India —Donald Trump, US President RG Kar rerun? Law student raped inside college, sparks outrage K AU S H I K PR A D H A N @ Kolkata Ten months after the horrific rape-murder of an on-duty junior doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata has again made national headlines. This time, it is due to the alleged rape of a law student inside her college, not far from a police station. According to the survivor, the incident took place between 7:30 pm and 10:50 pm on Wednesday at the South Calcutta Law College. She alleged that former student of the college, Manojit Mishra, dragged her to a room adjacent to the union room and violated her while his two aides—Zaib Ahmed (19) and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), both third-year students— guarded the room from the outside. The three have been arrested. According to police, Mishra (31) is the prime accused. All three were produced before the Alipore court and remanded to police custody till July 1. According to sources, Mishra is associated with TMCP, the students’ union of the ruling Trinamool Congress. His Facebook profile introduces him as the organisational secretary of TMCP’s South Kolkata District. He is also a practicing criminal lawyer in Alipore court. The other two arrested are also associated with the TMCP . The TMCP, however, sought to disown the accused. TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya said, “TMCP has had no running unit in that college. When Mishra was a student at that college, he held the post of organisational secretary for TMCP’s South Kolkata District. But his name was excluded from the committee since it was reconstituted in 2022.” The complainant told police that Mishra had called her to say she would be the GS of the girls’ department and proposed to marry her. The complainant said that she told him she had a boyfriend. After that, she was forcibly taken to a room. The two other accused closed the door of the room from outside. Then Mishra started torturing her. Hearing her screams, the college security guard rushed to the spot. But Mishra’s aides beaten them. A video was also recorded during the incident. They also threatened that if she told anyone, the video would be made viral on Facebook, the survivor alleged. P8 Three accused have been arrested and sent to police custody till July 1 | pti Live-in relationships are against settled law in middle-class society: HC OBSERVING that live-in relationships disproportionately harm a woman in case of a breakup as the man can always move on and get settled after getting married, and that women find it difficult to get a life partner after breakup, the Allahabad High Court said “livein relationships are against the settled law in middle-class societies.” A single judge bench of Justice Siddharth expressed displeasure at the growing number of live-in cases reaching the court. “The concept of livein relationship goes against the interest of women since a man can marry even after live-in relationship but it is difficult for the women to find a life partner after a breakup,” Justice Siddharth ruled. “This court finds that after live-in-relationships were legalized by the Supreme Court, these cases are coming to the courts because the concept of live-in-relationship is against Elderlies tied to cot, locked in filthy Noida old-age home Na m i ta Ba j pa i @ Lucknow The UP State Women’s Commission and police conducted a joint raid on an illegal oldage home in Noida and rescued 42 elderly people who were putting up in pathetic conditions at the facility . Commission member Meenakshi Bharala said during the raid on Thursday an elderly woman was found tied up to the cot and men were locked in basement-like rooms at the Anand Niketan Vridha Seva Ashram. When the home operator was asked to show documents, he failed to come up with any . Later, it was found that the facility at C-5, Noida, Sector 55, had been operating since 1994 but without any proper documentation and registration. Bharala said a video of the home had gone viral on social media showing an elderly woman tied up and kept in a room. The social welfare department took note of it and ordered a raid. Bharala said elderly women and men were found to be locked in rooms and most of them didn’t have proper clothes. “All the 42 inmates in the home were safely evacuated,” she added. There was no staff for taking care of the elderly Bhar. ala said the home had been charging `2.5 lakh per person to keep the elderly They . took `20,000 as security deposits and `10,000-`12,000 for accommodation and food. express read man gets bail n a m i ta ba j pa i @ Lucknow wines, petrochemical products, dairy items, and agricultural products such as apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. In return, India is pushing for duty reductions on its labour-intensive exports such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, g ar ments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. Earlier this month, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that a deal between India and the US could be finalised soon, with both countries finding common ground that suits their interests. the settled law in the Indian middle-class society .” The court’s remarks came while hearing a bail plea of an accused named Shane Alam who had been booked under various provisions of BNS and POCSO Act on charges of getting involved in a physical relationship with a woman after giving false assurance of marriage. While arguing for the in- formant, her counsel Madhu Yadav said the act of the accused had ruined the life of the woman. Taking note, the bench said that while the concept of live-in relationship had found favour with the young generation, its after-effects were seen in the present case. The bench, however, granted bail to the accused on June 24 this year. AISATS sacks 4 senior executives for partying Airport services management firm Air India SATS Services (AISATS) dismissed four senior executives for hosting a party, days after a video clip of the gathering in the backdrop of the Ahmedabad crash elicited widespread criticism. | P7 Gangster kin shot dead in front of daughter The nephew of gangster Manjit Mahal was shot dead in front of his 10-year-old daughter, who also sustained a bullet injury in the attack allegedly carried out by unidentified assailants in the Bawana area on Friday, officials said. | P3