FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | SPORTS WORLD LOCAL 2023 TET results out, ’22 candidates protest Page 3 BRIEFLY 71 Maoist cadres lay down arms in Chhattisgarh: Trump: Ukraine can win back lost territory with NATO aid State to provide ` 2 lakh ex gratia to kin of those killed by electrocution in rain Kolkata, 24 September Govt nod for expansion of medical education capacity: New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved a significant expansion of postgraduate and undergraduate medical education capacity in the country, according to a government said release. The cabinet has given the green signal to Phase-III of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for strengthening and upgradation of the existing state government and Central government medical colleges, standalone PG institutes, and government hospitals. The scheme aims to increase 5,000 postgraduate seats in government institutions. underground drains. She said people should be cautious about the electrical wires in and around the puja pandals. She inaugurated the newly built fire station at Kalighat. The old fire station building has been pulled down to make room for the new one. Mr Sujit Bose, state minister for Fire and Emergency Services, along with senior officials were present at the function. Miss Banedrjee flagged off 29 motorcycles fitted with fire fighting gear. “The two wheelers will be able to enter the lanes and bylanes to put out flames. I thank all the fire fighters who toil hard to face any emergency situation,” she said. Miss Banerjee inaugurated a number of popular Durga Pujas in south Kolkata. This included Hindusthan Park, Samajsebi, Ballygunge Cultural Association. She inaugurated the Durga puja at Sottor Palli, Abasar, Golmath and Bakulbagan, located in her Assembly constituency. NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 24 September Noting that the Global South, in particular, is confronted with a set of challenges that have heightened in the first half of this decade, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the rights of developing countries are under challenge. In his remarks at the High Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South Countries, New York, Mr Jaishankar on Tuesday said: "We meet in increasingly uncertain times, when the state of the world is a cause for mounting concern for member states. The Global South, in particular, is confronted with a set of challenges that have heightened in the first half of this decade. They include the shocks of the Covid pandemic, two major conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, extreme climate STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 24 September employment last year, roughly 65,000 were processed abroad. These cases, economists noted, are most vulnerable to the new fee, Bloomberg reported. “If all of them were to stop, it would reduce work authorisation for immigrants by up to 5,500 per month, unless immigrants are able to use other visa categories to get employment,” the economists wrote. Computer-related jobs made up nearly two-thirds of H-1B approvals in fiscal 2024. As per the data, computer-related roles made up nearly two-thirds of H-1B approvals in FY24, with half of the petitions tied to professional, scientific, and technical services. Around 71 per cent of approved petitions were for Indian nationals. Notably, the US hiring has slowed sharply, with employers adding just 29,000 payrolls per month on average over the past three months. Abhishek, Varun, Hardik consolidate top spots in T20I rankings Page 12 Leh: Four killed, over 70 injured as police open fire on violent protesters People stage a massive protest over the statehood demand and for the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, in Leh on Wednesday. ANI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Jammu, 24 September A t least four people were killed and more than 70 others were injured on Wednesday when police opened fire and burst teargas shells to disperse students and youth who burnt the BJP office and vehicles in Leh as their statehood protest turned violent. Authorities have clamped curfew in the Leh district to prevent further violence. While top police officers did not respond to phone calls, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was leading the 35-day hunger strike in Leh, told mediapersons that four civilians have died so far. Leh’s district magistrate, Romil Singh Donk has imposed prohibitory orders under the Section 163 of the BNSS in the district. Reports said that more than 50 injured people were brought to the district SNM Hospital, while many more were receiving treatment in other clinics. Angry students and youth in the morning set on fire the BJP’s office and also several police and private vehicles in Ladakh UT’s capital town of Leh. This is the first time in the past several years that the peaceful region of Ladakh has witnessed such violent incidents. Hundreds of angry protestors clashed with police at several places. They ransacked government offices and also tried to storm into the office of the BJP controlled Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) where they pelted stones. The police fired teargas ‘Reform the UN, multilateralism as a whole’ H-1B visas to cut immigrant work authorisations by 5,500 per month, India to be impacted most: JPMorgan The new USD 100,000 application fee for H-1B visas imposed by the United States (US) administration could cut immigrant work authorisations by as many as 5,500 each month, according to JP Morgan Chase. Economists at JPMorgan Chase, Abiel Reinhart and Michael Feroli, said while the number may seem “fairly small” compared to the overall US labour market, technology firms and Indian workers would face the most impact. Of the 141,000 H-1B petitions approved for new India bloc unveils roadmap to woo Bihar’s EBC voters Page 5 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Raipur: A total of seventy one Maoist cadres surrendered before the Dantewada police in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. The group, consisting of 50 men and 21 women, laid down arms under the state’s Poona Margeṃ (rehabilitation for rebirth) initiative and the district led Lon Varratu (come back home) campaign. Several of the surrendered cadres had been linked to past ambushes and violent attacks in Bastar. The surrender ceremony, held at the office of the Superintendent of Police, was witnessed by senior police and CRPF officers. NATION Page 9 The state government will provide Rs 2 lakh compensation to the next of kin of those who died by electrocution during the torrential rains that hit the city on Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced this afternoon. Ten people died after they were electrocuted during the unprecedented downpour. Of these, eight died in the city while one each died in South and North 24-Parganas. Miss Banerjee said: “The state government will give Rs 2 lakh compensation to the next of kin of the dead. I would request the CESC to provide Rs 5 lakh compensation. If they fail to do anything the state government will give a job of home guard to one of the next of kin per family.” Miss Banerjee regretted that neither the Kolkata Port nor the Farakka barrage authorities carry out dredging of the Hooghly. Also, the DVC released water without informing the state government. As a result, vast areas of Bengal are flooded when there is heavy rain in Jharkhand or Bihar, she said. She said the accumulated water has receded from most of the streets of the city due to the hard work of the state government officials and civic body personnel. Miss Banerjee urged people not to throw plastic on the streets as they clog the Thursday, 25 September 2025 events, volatility in trade, uncertainty in investment flows and interest rates, and the catastrophic slowing down of the SDG agenda." Mr Jaishankar said, most of all, the rights and expectations of developing countries in the international system, which has been so assiduously developed over many decades, are today under challenge. "In the face of such proliferation of concerns and multiplicity of risks, it is natural that the global south would turn to multilateralism for solutions,'' he said. Mr Jaishankar highlighted the lack of solutions in the multilateralism arena, saying that the international organisations are starved of resources and are rendered ineffective. "Unfortunately, there too we are presented with a very disappointing prospect. The very concept of multilateralism is under attack. International organisations are being rendered ineffective or starved of resources. The building blocks of the contemporary order are starting to come apart, and the cost of delaying much-needed reforms is today starkly visible," he said. Passenger bitten by rat at Indore airport STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Bhopal, 24 September In a bizarrely embarrassing incident, a rat bit a passenger in the departure waiting area of the Devi A h i lya b a i Holkar International Airport of Indore in M a d hya Pradesh. As per airport officials, a male passenger travelling from Indore to Bengaluru was bitten by a rat inside the departure lounge on Tuesday. Airport Director Vipinkant Seth said the airport doctor and medical staff immediately attended to the passenger and administered an injection, and also provided antibiotic medicines. The official said that pest control was also carried out soon after the incident. Just a few days ago, two newborn baby girls died after they were bitten by big rats inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital (MYH) of Indore, which is one of the biggest government hospitals of Madhya Pradesh. shells and resorted to baton charge to chase them away, reports said. The 35-day hunger strike in support of constitutional safeguards for Ladakh led by Mr Wangchuk turned violent on the 15th day today when a shutdown call was given after two elderly hunger strikers, a man and a woman, were shifted to the hospital on Tuesday after they fainted. The condition of one of them later turned serious, triggering arson and violence. CRPF and Ladakh Police have been deployed in strength across Leh to prevent further violence. A shutdown across Ladakh in Leh and Kargil districts was announced for Thursday to protest against the “delaying tactics” of the central government in implementing their demands. K’taka HC dismisses X Corp challenge UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Bengaluru, 24 September Karnataka High Court today dismissed a petition by X Corp challenging the legality of the Central government’s Sahyog portal, an online platform for issuing content takedown orders to intermediaries. Justice M Nagaprasanna ruled that foreign entities cannot claim protection under Article 19 of the Constitution, which grants rights only to Indian citizens. The Court noted that X Corp, while complying with content takedown laws in the USA, refused to follow similar directives in India. Justice Nagaprasanna emphasised that "liberty is yoked with responsibility," and platforms operating in India must accept accountability. The judgment underlined that social media cannot remain in a state of "anarchic freedom," and regulation is essential to safeguard dignity and prevent offences, particularly against women. The Court observed that historically, communication has always been regulated, from messengers and postal systems to modern platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat.