Sanae Takaichi wins historic vote, is Japan’s first woman pm mangaluru l wednesday l october 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city EDITION Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, became Japan’s first woman prime minister on Tuesday The 64-year-old, who won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership this month, has positioned herself as a hardliner focused on defence and economic security. After forging a last-minute coalition deal, Takaichi was appointed by parliament on Tuesday as the country’s first woman head of government and Japan’s fifth leader in as many years On tariffs, she said she won’t shy away from renegotiations with US if the deal is implemented in a way deemed harmful or unfair to Japan | P12 237 votes were won by Takaichi, 4 more than a majority The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a Our offices and press will remain closed today and there will be no issue of the paper on Thursday CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Teacher kicks, beats up 9-yr-old in temple school E X P R E S S N E W S S E RV I C E @ Chitradurga A nine-year-old boy was brutally kicked and beaten up by a teacher at the Sanskrit Vedadhyayan Residential School, run by the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable E n d ow m e n t s Department, at Nayakanahatti of Chitradurga district. The only mistake of the homesick boy Tarun, was , to call his grandmother. A video grab of The incident Veeresh Hiremath o c c u r r e d i n kicking the boy February this year, but came to light only now. In the video, shot by another student at the school, shows the teacher, Veeresh Hiremath, first hitting the boy with a stick. He then threatens the boy, saying, “If you call from any other number, you will not be allowed to live.” P7 post-deepavali Delhi air quality worst in 4 years Revellers flouted time limit for firecrackers I f r ah M u f ti @ New Delhi Despite a Supreme Court fiat and the Delhi government’s repeated appeals for a “Green Diwali”, the national capital woke up to a thick, suffocating haze the morning after the festival, as pollution levels shot through the roof across Delhi-NCR on Tuesday . The city witnessed its worst air quality since 2021, with PM2.5 levels zooming to 488 micrograms per cubic metre within 24 hours after Diwali—over three times the pre-festival level of 156.6. PM2.5 represents the quantity of fine particles that easily penetrate the respiratory system. This year’s spike was the highest in five years (see graphic). Though the SC allowed bursting firecrackers only between 8 -10 pm, crackers boomed till Heavy smog near India Gate in New Delhi at dawn on Tuesday | Sayantan Ghosh 2.30 am. By 6.05 am on Tuesday , the city’s overall AQI was 347, falling in the ‘very poor’ category Of the 37 air quality moni. toring stations, 34 recorded readings in the red zone — ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’. Last year, the AQI stood at 359 the morning after Diwali. Among the city’s 10 most polluted areas, Bawana topped the list with AQI of 418, followed by Wazirpur at 408 and Jahangirpuri at 404, all falling in the severe category . $1L H-1B fee not to apply to visa holders J AYA N T H J A C O B & P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi A month after US President Donald Trump’s proclamation jacking up the fee for H1-B visas to a steep $100,000 caused panic among international students and professionals, the US government has now clarified that the fee won’t apply to most current visa holders and recent international graduates. In a detailed clarification issued on Monday, the United States Citizenship and Immi- gration Services (USCIS) said the fee will not be applicable to those already in the country seeking a ‘change of status’ or an ‘extension of stay’. The fee is only applicable to petitions filed on or after 12:01 am ET on September 21, 2025, for beneficiaries outside the US without a valid H-1B visa, or those requesting consular processing. While the September 21 Presidential proclamation created confusion regarding the entry of professionals to the US, the USCIS confirmed that the proc- lamation does not impact travel for current H-1B visa holders or those with an approved change of status petition. Importantly USCIS said that , even those with expired F-1 or H-1B visas who depart the US and later return on an approved petition will not be subject to the fee, provided their original petition was filed before the September 21 cutoff date. The update offers long-awaited clarity to thousands of skilled foreign workers and international graduates. B’luru to get `1.20Lcr boost for infra works E x p r ess N e w s S e r v ice @Bengaluru CAN money work the magic? The bumbling and crumbling Bengaluru is set to get a huge cash infusion, nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore, from the state government for various development projects in the city . Speaking after the ground breaking ceremony of Rs 58.44 crore-worth white-topping and comprehensive road develop- ment project in Chickpet on Tuesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the significant announcement. The CM also listed out the projects in the pipeline for Bengaluru. The CM said that the government will extend Metro lines and implement the Tunnel Road project, a new outer ring road and double-decker roads, among other projects, to decongest and develop Bengaluru. The CM said white topping is being carried out to address the vexing issue of potholes so that roads will last for at least 30 years. He added that instructions have been given to officials to fill potholes by the end of October. “There should be no compromise on quality the ,” CM said. DCM DK Shivakumar said they are preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for white topping of 500 km of roads in the city at Rs 4,000 crore. express read V Srinivasan to remain Tata trustee for life New Delhi: Tata Trusts has unanimously reappointed Venu Srinivasan as a trustee for life. This comes amid reports of a vertical split within Tata Trusts - with one faction said to align with Noel Tata and the other comprising those seen as loyalists of the former doyen | P13 press Intake Cong, BJP trade charges over fundraising for Bihar polls | P4 It’s a `46-crore dhamaka festive business for KMF | P6