WEDNESDAY 09 SEPTEMBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Houthi attacks on Saudi ignite fires at major oil facilities, injure 73 UNITED KINGDOM TECHNICAL ISSUE GROUNDS FLIGHTS National Air Traffic Services, the country’s leading provider of air traffic control, said it had identified the issue in its flight processing system. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  The Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen launched a wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, injuring more than 70 people and igniting fires at oil facilities, authorities said. The attacks early Tuesday came hours after Houthis blamed Saudi for an airstrike on a prison in Yemen’s northern province of Jawf. The attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities in Saudi’s southern region and operations are temporarily suspended, the Kingdom’s energy ministry said. | P9 PAGES 12 Modi-Putin meet to lend big push to def, trade ties Bilateral meeting on Friday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday ahead of the BRICS Summit, their second bilateral in weeks, with the talks set to give fresh momentum to the India-Russia par tnership across energy, defence, trade and strategic cooperation. The meeting comes amid record levels of Russian energy supplies to India, discussions on expanding defence cooperation and efforts to address longstanding payment issues in bilateral trade. Putin will attend the BRICS Summit on September 12-13. Ahead of the visit, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said India-Russia energ y cooperation was continuing to reach new highs. “Every month we have a new record,” Peskov said, while declining to disclose figures. Defence cooperation is also expected to feature prominently with Russia signalling readi, ness to discuss the supply and possible technology transfer of FLAG MEETING India, China hold talks in Arunachal J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi INDIA and China have held their first Corps Commanderlevel flag meeting in the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with the first engagement taking place at Wacha on the Indian side in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday and the second talk at Damai on the Chinese side on Monday , the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Tuesday . The engagement, described by MEA as the first “Senior Highest Military CommanderLevel Flag Meeting” in the eastern sector, comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to India for the BRICS summit later this week, as New Delhi and Beijing seek to consolidate the thaw in ties following the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the meetings followed understandings reached between the two countries in August last year and last month, and subsequent discussions held in Beijing and New Delhi in May and August this year. Lt Gen Girish Kalia, commander of the Army’s III Corps, led the Indian delegation. The Wacha-Damai engagement was held at a point in the Kibithoo sector, sources said. A file photo of PM Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin | EXPRESS Man fakes PMO ID card Mumbai police arrested two men at a PM Modi event venue after one of them, Rohan Parekh, used a forged PMO identity card to enter with bodyguard Dilip Kundre, carrying a licensed gun. The lawyer of the accused said his visit was only a “private” affair. advanced platforms, including the Su-57 fighter and S-500 air defence system. “We have very good military equipment and are willing to offer it to the Indian side,” Peskov said. He indicated that Moscow was pre- Govt rapped over survivor’s identity in POSH handbook U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre for disclosing the identity of a survivor of sexual harassment in a POSH (Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act) handbook published by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed the government lawyer to inform the court about the names of officials responsi- THE Punjab government faced opposition pressure on Tuesday over the death of 46-year-old farmer Gulzar Singh, with the Congress, BJP and SAD demanding CM Bhagwant Mann’s resignation and the dismissal of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. They also demanded registration of a case against Cheema for alleged abetment in Gulzar’s death, saying that he had been humiliated after questioning ble for the content. The judge directed the counsel to respond to the court’s query by the next hearing on Wednesday . The law prohibits revealing the identity of the survivor of a sexual offence, violation of which is a punishable offence. The judge passed the order on a plea by an accused, who has sought directions for removal of his name from the handbook, claiming that the matter has been settled. However, the judge said the woman’s identity can’t be revealed despite settlement. RISKY RESCUE OP Video clip of a leopard knocking a forest dept official to the ground during a rescue mission in Karnataka’s Davanagere. The animal was hurt after it was hit by a car on a highway. The official’s team members quickly intervened and saved him | EXPRESS SC mulls building 62 buildings marked safety audit across as dangerous, 16 razed and 4 sealed country after crash A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha filed a status report after inspecting the Satya Niketan site THE Supreme Court on Tuesday along with an IIT professor and said that it is considering a pan- officials of the Municipal CorpoIndia review of building safety ration of Delhi (MCD). Sinha following the Sepwas appointed amitember 6 collapse of Contractor held cus curiae in an eara building in Satya lier pan-India case from Kasganj Niketan that killed concerning illegal A labour contractor seven people and inconstructions. has been arrested jured five others. He sought direcfrom Kasganj in Uttar tions for a detailed The bench of JusPradesh, police said. tices Ahsanuddin safety audit of payThe PG owner, Amanullah and R ing guest accommoHariram Gupta, and Mahadevan said, “We dations, private hoshis wife Urmila have have something in tels and student been sent to 14-day mind. It has to be on housing in and a pan-India basis. We judicial custody, while around colleges and may get it (petition their son Mahesh has universities across been remanded in before Delhi High Delhi. He also sought police custody. Court) transferred time-bound inspechere. This is a seritions of such accomous issue. The issues dealt with modations. Sinha said the Satya by the HC are overlapping with Niketan collapse was the second one considered by this court on such incident in the locality pan-India basis.” since April 2022. The bench was considering Solicitor General Tushar Mewhether the matter pending be- hta described the building colfore the HC should be trans- lapse incident as “most unfortuferred to the Supreme Court. nate” and “horrific” during During the mentioning before Tuesday’s hearing. MORE REPORTS ON P3 & P4 the bench, amicus curiae and S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is speeding up the demolition or sealing of 62 buildings identified as “dangerous” in and around the accident site and other parts of the city It has already demolished 16 and . sealed another four. The remaining 42 have been marked for demolition or sealing on priority The ac. tion followed directions from the Delhi government to demolish dilapidated buildings declared unsafe. According to sources, a report was circulated among concerned MCD departments after the September 6 collapse to initiate action against unsafe structures. The survey, based on information compiled from different MCD zones, classified 62 structures as dangerous. Of these, 50 fall under the maintenance category and 12 under the building category The report . also records cases where dangerous buildings were evacuated and repairs carried out. But 42 structures require further action, including demolition or sealing. As part of its annual exercise, the civic agency is also surveying more than 32 lakh houses this year. The ongoing survey has identified 377 houses requiring repairs. Repairs have been completed in 27 cases, while the remaining cases are being monitored. The Satya Niketan building was built in the 1990s on a plot of 55 square yards in a resettlement colony. It reportedly had no sanctioned building plan and was being used as a boys’ hostel. The building was vacated a year ago, but the owner resumed PG accommodation a few months later. Residents claimed that the collapse occurred while repair work was under way . ED seeks fresh FIR against Pinarayi in bribery case JOSE K JOSEPH & SHAN A S @ Kochi/T’Puram THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked the Kerala Police to register a separate corruption case against Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his sonin-law and MLA P A Mohamed Riyas and daughter T Veena over alleged bribe transactions linked to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL). The agency has forwarded its findings and supporting evidence from the money-laundering probe to state police chief Ravada Chandrasekhar, seeking registration of an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act Mann must quit over farmer suicide, Oppn steps up attack H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh pared to discuss India’s demand for technology transfer in connection with the Su-57. Peskov also suggested that the two countries could deepen joint defence production, citing the BrahMos programme as a model. The two sides are also working to resolve accumulated rupee balances arising from bilateral trade, while exploring closer cooperation in rareearth exploration, an area with growing strategic significance for both countries. Peskov also said Moscow broadly shares India’s position that the conflict must be resolved peacefully “We do want . a solution of the Ukrainian conflict by peaceful means.” The leaders are also expected to discuss security counterter, rorism, drugs and space cooperation. India has separately raised the issue of its nationals serving in the Russian military . Peskov said a list was being compiled and those identified would be sent home. On BRICS, Peskov rejected the characterisation of the group as antiWestern, saying it was based on trust, respect and benefit. the minister over the alleged availability of drugs. Gulzar, a Dalit resident of Sangrur, named the finance minister in his dying declaration. Congress leader and LoP Partap Singh Bajwa said the AAP government had “let loose anarchy” in Punjab and “surrendered to the gangsters”. A BJP delegation led by state president Kewal Singh Dhillon met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and submitted a memorandum seeking immediate and action in the case. `3.28 crore bribe The ED report identifies 13 individuals and entities in connection with the case. It says Pinarayi received `3.28 crore as bribe from CMRL. The report alleges that Veena assisted Pinarayi and Riyas in the collection and routing of the fund. (PCA) and other relevant provisions. Chandrasekhar told this newspaper that he had received ED’s communi- cation. “We are assessing the report and will seek legal opinion,” Chandrasekhar said. Though no formal announcement has been made, the government has, in-principle, decided to hand over the matter to the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB). Sources said legal opinion has been sought on whether the VACB can directly register a case under the PCA or it should conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering a FIR. Since Pinarayi and Riyas are public servants, a prior approval from the state government is required to EXPRESS READ conduct a probe against them. Government sanction is needed to register an FIR against them. The ED’s recommendation marks a major expansion of its CMRL-Exalogic probe, which initially focused on payments totalling `2.78 crore made by CMRL to Exalogic Solutions, a now-defunct company owned by Veena. The payments were shown as being towards IT and consultancy services, which the ED alleged were bribe money . The ED has also alleged the involvement of CMRL MD S N Sasidharan Kartha and former CFO P Suresh Kumar in the payment and facilitation of the purported bribes. Indian hockey teams to wear blue jersey EIFFEL TOWER REOPENS AFTER STAFF STRIKE The monument was closed for a day after staff went on strike over women being asked to leave during a visit by BAPS | P7 Indian hockey teams will revert to their traditional blue jerseys for the upcoming Asian Games. They had earlier shifted to an orangecoloured kit during the World Cup, leading to a row. Now, in line with the contingent, Indian teams will stick to blue. P11 Rakesh Mehta, ex-chief secy, takes his own life Former chief secretary Rakesh Mehta, who served under ex-chief minister Sheila Dikshit, allegedly took his own life at his residence in Noida. He cited “mental and health issues” as reasons behind the extreme step. P4 CABINET NOD AWAITED Decks cleared for satellite broadband services in India R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi IN a move that could bring satellite communication services closer to commercial launch in India, the Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the apex decision-making body for telecommunications and digital policies at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has approved a spectrum usage charge of 5% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for satellite communication services. Service providers await security clearance The Digital Communications Commission’s decision paves the way for the govt to allocate spectrum to Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, subject to them meeting security and other regulatory clearances With this decision, the government can now move ahead with spectrum assignment for satellite communication companies such as Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Amazon Leo to launch commercial services in India. The charge will be lower at 4% of AGR for operators providing services in rural and remote areas. DoT will now move the proposal through the Inter-Minis- terial Committee and then seek Cabinet nod. The DCC has also approved spectrum assignment for five years with an option for a twoyear extension. Telecom regulator Trai had recommended 4% of AGR spectrum usage charge, along with an additional `500 per urban subscriber per year for nongeostationary satellite orbitbased satellite services with rural and remote subscribers being exempt from the additional levy . However, the DoT rejected the per-subscriber charge, citing difficulties in distinguishing between rural and urban users. It also rejected the proposal to subsidise rural users.