TUESDAY 23 JUNE, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Keir Starmer X.com/TheMornStandard UK PM KEIR STARMER LATEST TO EXIT 10, DOWNING STREET, REVOLVING DOOR WEST ASIA US, IRAN AGREE ON HORMUZ HOTLINE The two countries agreed to set up communications lines to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and end fighting in Lebanon, mediators said on Monday PAGE 9 Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, becoming the sixth UK prime minister to step down before the end of tenure since 2016 Labour drubbing in local polls sealed fate A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 Suspected AC defect leads to massive blaze in 3-storey building, PM offers `2L ex gratia  PAGES 12 Pressure had been building on Starmer to step down amid domestic policy U-turns, ministerial resignations and a scandal over his decision to appoint a known associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as ambassador to Washington. A trouncing for the Labour Party in the local and regional elections proved the final straw | P9 Meta invests in CRED, ropes in Shah as WA boss PA D M I N I D H R U V A R A J @ Bengaluru Students among 15 burnt alive in UP blaze N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow AT least 15 people, mostly students between 22 and 27 years, were charred to death after a fire broke out in a three-storey commercial building in a posh Lucknow neighbourhood on a busy Monday afternoon. The list of the deceased includes four women. Late in the night, police arrested three persons—Ramakrishna Upadhyay, Virendra Prasad Shukla, and T K Jaiswal after filing an FIR. The FIR pertains to negligence and violations linked to the fire. Four officials were suspended too. Most of the victims were trapped on the second floor of the building located on Usha Mehta Marg in Aliganj in north Lucknow, where students were attending classes at an anima- The fire broke out suddenly. It was an animation centre. It seems that the children ran towards the backside but couldn’t survive Brajesh Pathak, Deputy CM, UP tion centre. The ill-fated building housed a pet shop and a clinic in the basement, ground, and first floors. The second floor had a library-cum-coaching centre called ‘Learning Space’, and also housed ‘Head Hopper Studio’, a 3D Art production and game asset outsourcing centre. Most of those killed were students who had come for internship/work at the gaming stu- dio. Around 35 students were present when the fire broke out. While some managed to escape, several of them had to jump off from the second floor, while many locked themselves inside bathrooms in a bid to save themselves. As per fire department sources, the blaze originated in the pet shop in the basement due to a short circuit in an air-conditioner around 2.30 pm, and spread rapidly before engulfing the building. “A total of 22 people were brought to the Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) following the incident. Of them, 15 were declared brought dead, while five injured were admitted for treatment,” King George Medical University PRO Prof K K Singh told the media. Rescue efforts (L) in progress at the site of the fire in Lucknow; and videograb of students sliding down a cable (above) to save themselves | PTI/EXPRESS UP sets up SIT to probe cause of fire The Uttar Pradesh government has set up a Special Investigation Team under Additional Director General Praveen Kumar to ascertain the cause of the fire. The SIT has been tasked with submitting its findings within seven days Adityanath promises strict action for lapses Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Monday evening said every person responsible will face strict action. He announced ex gratia of `5 lakh for the kin of each deceased, while PM Narendra Modi offered `2 lakh each META Platforms has appointed CRED founder Kunal Shah as the global CEO of WhatsApp. Shah replaces Will Cathcart, who has stepped down after running the messaging platform for seven years. As part of the deal, the US tech giant will invest about `8,550 crore, or $900 million, in the Bengaluru-based fintech company . The investment, which will be made through a mix of primary and secondary share purchases, values CRED at `43,239 crore or $4.5 billion. Meta will be a minority investor in CRED and will not receive access to customer information, the company said. Shah will step away from his operating role at CRED while retaining his personal shareholding. Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at the company since 2020, will become CRED’s interim chief executive. The board is working on a leadership structure as CRED prepares for a public listing. Announcing the appointment, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said: “Kunal Shah will join Meta as WhatsApp’s next leader. Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies, and he brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.” Shah said: “While it’s come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive.” Shah’s appointment marks a significant addition to the growing list of Indian-origin executives steering the world’s most influential technology companies such as Google (Sundar Pichai) and Microsoft (Satya Nadella). KUNAL SHAH Investor, serial entrepreneur A prominent face of India’s tech ecosystem for two decades, Kunal Shah has invested in hundreds of early-stage startups. Before CRED, he founded Freecharge, one of India’s early digital payments ventures What is CRED? CRED, based in Bengaluru, is a fintech platform that enables users to manage their credit card payments and earn rewards. It is a members-only service that rewards highearners for timely credit card payments 8 women in Jodhpur suffer post-caesarean complications 12 Indians killed in Qatar natural gas unit explosion as it began operations R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur AS many as 12 Indians were killed in a massive explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex on Sunday night as workers tried to resume operations there, months after it was bombed during the recent West Asia war. In all, there were 13 casualties, which included a Pakistani national. The Indian embassy in Qatar said: “Qatari authorities have confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately passed away in the Ras Laffan incident yesterday night. We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the departed.” Over 60 others were reported injured in the blast. The injured were from several countries, including India, Qatar, Tanzania, Pakistan, Guinea, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya and Nigeria, local media reported. AFTER similar incidents in Kota and Bikaner, a fresh case has surfaced in Jodhpur where several women developed serious health complications after undergoing caesarean deliveries, raising concerns within the health department. On June 20, eight women who underwent caesarean sections at Pawta District Hospital fell ill. While six are suspected to have developed septicaemia, two others suffered kidney-related complications. All eight were referred to Mathura Das Mathur (MDM) Hospital and are undergoing treatment. Two of them are in the ICU, while six others are being treated at the Pawta District Hospital. As a precautionary measure, the operation theatre where the surgeries were performed has been sealed. Medicines and equipment used during the procedures are being examined as part of the investigation. Dr BS Jodha, Principal of Dr SN Medical College, said all the caesarean deliveries were performed on June 20. “One of the women suffered excessive bleeding following surgery An. other patient was diabetic and also had low blood pressure and anaemia, conditions that can affect kidney function. Blood samples from all the affected women have been collected and sent for testing. The reports are expected soon,” he said, adding that the matter is under investigation. The hospital administration says the exact cause will become clear once the test reports are received. According to Dr Kulveer Singh Chopra, PMO of Pawta Hospital, the condition of all six women admitted for delivery is currently stable. Andy Burnham EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi Messi’s one, scores two: Record 18 for Leo Lionel Messi became the leading scorer in World Cup history, taking his tally to 18 goals in Dallas ARGENTINA ENTER NEXT ROUND Messi had equalled Miroslav Klose’s mark of 16 goals last week. He started with a penalty miss on Monday but redeemed himself later. He made it 17 when he swept home after 38 minutes in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria. He put the icing on the cake in the 95th minute. In the process, Argentina booked a spot in the next round FIRST WIN FOR EGYPT On Sunday, Mohamed Salah shone as Egypt beat New Zealand 3-1 for their first ever win in WC history while debutants Cabo Verde held Uruguay 2-2. Meanwhile, Belgium were held 0-0 by a resolute Iran TODAY’S MATCHES: Group K: Portugal vs Uzbekistan (10.30 PM), Colombia vs DR Congo (7.30 AM*). Group L: England vs Ghana (1.30 AM*), Panama vs Croatia (4.30 AM*) *IST Wednesday Live on United8 Sports & ZEE5 However, all the injured Indians were stable and receiving treatment, the embassy’s statement said. “Qatari authorities have also confirmed that all those who got injured in the incident are in stable condition and are receiving appropriate medical treatment. Our Embassy is working in close contact with the Qatari authorities to extend all possible help to the Indian nationals and their families affected by this incident, including ensuring that mortal remains of the deceased are sent to India at the earliest,” it said. QatarEnergy said the blast occurred during the start-up of operations at the Barzan local gas supply facility. The plant had a capacity of almost 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day which Qa, tar used for electricity generation and to power its water desalination plants. “I would like to emphasize that this was an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature,” Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi told a news conference Monday afternoon in Doha, Qatar’s capital. No leaks were detected as a result of the accident. The cause of the explosion is under probe. Digital detox: Haryana village unplugs to shed cybercrime tag H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh FOR years, Nuh’s villages have been synonymous with cyber fraud investigations across the country Now, one village is at. tempting a dramatic break from that image. In Sukhpuri, residents publicly smashed 55 smartphones after a panchayat resolved that no villager would use one again, arguing that the devices had become both the tool of cybercrime and a source of social disruption. The decision was taken at a recent panchayat attended by villagers, community elders and police. Convinced that easy access to smartphones had fuelled both online fraud and social problems, the gathering resolved to return to basic keypad phones. Soon after, residents gathered in the village and smashed the handsets. Videos of the exercise later went viral on social media. The move comes from Nuh district, where 60 villages have been identified as cybercrime hotspots. Investigators say a significant share of cybercrime cases reported from across the country can be traced back to the region, which has overtaken Jharkhand’s Jamtara in scale and sophistication. Not everyone in Sukhpuri is convinced the ban is the answer. Many young residents said smartphones have become essential for education, digital payments, job applications and access to government services. Students, in particular, expressed concern that keypad phones would make it difficult to attend online classes, access study material and apply for scholarships. EXPRESS READ No PG diploma courses after ’26-’27, says NMC The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Monday announced that postgraduate diploma courses would be replaced with degree programmes, like MD and MS. It said that 2026-27 academic year would be the last year for admissions to postgraduate diploma courses. “No admissions shall be permitted to PG diploma courses from academic year 202728 onwards, and such courses shall cease to be functional thereafter,” the NMC said. CRICKET WITH CARE ICC frames pregnancy policy to facilitate healthy comeback G O M E S H S @ Chennai IN a first, the International Cricket Council has formulated a framework that will assist female cricketers return to sport post pregnancy. The new policy called Return to Play Post Pregnancy Guidelines aims to provide systemic support to athletes through the period of pregnancy and return to play . The eight-page document has been prepared in a general format to be used by all ICC Member nation subject to the coun- try’s own local legislation or regulations. “No player should have to choose between motherhood and representing her country at the highest level,” ICC Chair Jay Shah said in a statement. One of the highlights was each board appointing a dedicated case manager (a doctor or physiotherapist) for each player and will serve as primary point of contact. While countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and Pakistan already have a maternity policy in R E T U R N -T O - P L AY K E Y P O I N T S The decision to announce a pregnancy is always at the discretion of the mother and there should be no mandate from the board to ask for a pregnancy test The 6Rs framework: Ready (0-6 weeks), Review (6-8 weeks), Restore (8-16 weeks), Recondition (12-16+ weeks), Return and Refine place, the BCCI is yet to have a dedicated guidelines for women cricketers. After pregnancy , the ICC has formulated a 6Rs framework: “Ready (0-6 weeks), No fixed gestational age to stop playing, player to decide that in consultation with doctors To ensure key access and wellbeing services through pregnancy and postpartum period Access to medical staff, physios, S&C coaches and psychologist Review (6-8 weeks), Restore (816 weeks), Recondition (12-16+ weeks), Return and Refine.” India cricketer Sneha Deepthi, who made a comeback at do- mestic level for Andhra seveneight months after giving birth to her daughter Kriva Philip in 2021, welcomed the new guidelines. “I feel the policy is really good, it will help women to have a family and also play the sport she loves,” Sneha told this daily . “It is really important to have professional help rather than just medical help. You need help like trainer, physios, and medical staff from the start of the pregnancy In my case it was not . easy. It was Covid time, there was very little medical help, so it made my comeback journey very difficult.” PROGRESS TOWARDS ‘GRADUAL NORMALISATION’ IN INDIA-CHINA TIES National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held ‘constructive’ and ‘forward-looking’ talks in Delhi on Monday | P7