kochi l wednesday l October 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Sanae Takaichi wins historic vote, is Japan’s first woman pm Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, became Japan’s first woman prime minister on Tuesday hardliner with eye on defence, economy votary of aggressive monetary easing 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 ■ ■ Takaichi supports aggressive monetary easing and big fiscal spending, echoing her political mentor’s Shinzo Abe’s“Abenomics” policies, which, if implemented again, could rattle markets 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 237 votes were won by takaichi, 4 more than a majority 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 Relief as $100,000 H-1B fee does not apply to U.S. 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 current visa holders and recent international graduates. In a detailed clarification issued on Monday, the United States Citizenship and Immigration 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 Heavy smog near India Gate at dawn on Tuesday | Sayantan Ghosh Post-Diwali air quality in Delhi worst in 4 years 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 proclamation 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 longawaited clarity to thousands of skilled foreign workers and international graduates navigating an already complex immigration landscape in the US. Healthcare professionals, workers under national interest waivers (such as those in 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 prefestival 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 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. Slightly better, but still alarming, were Burari Crossing and Shadipur, both recording 393, and Ashok Vihar at 386, placing them in the very PM2.5 Levels in Delhi Pre-Diwali | 500 454.5 Post-Diwali E x p r ess N e w s S e r v ice @ Kochi Worse 488 than 2021 400 319.7 300 200 100 220 168 163.1 204 129.3 2021 92.9 2022 2023 156.6 2024 2025 star attraction Particulate Matter(PM)2.5 in µg/m³ poor range. Other localities like RK Puram (369), Rohini (367), and Vivek Vihar (367) also saw heaqy pollutants. As for the NCR, its overall average AQI was 388. Health experts raised alarms over the worsening situation. “Studies show pollution causes a 22–25% rise in heart, asthma, and bronchitis attacks,” said Dr G C Khilnani, chairman, PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. A 2017 tweet by Delhi’s current CM Rekha Gupta resurfaced online: “My city is melting, it’s all smoke, in the air… So much poison, who is spewing it?” It went viral on Tuesday, capturing the city’s toxic irony . Football icon I M Vijayan takes a selfie with students from the UAE after the inaugural ceremony of the 67th Kerala State School Sports Meet at the University Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday | Vincent Pulickal | P2 E X P RESS READ Police freeze order seeking cops’ social media data T’Puram: Facing mounting opposition from within its own ranks, the state police department has backed out from its move to monitor the social media activities of its personnel. The department decided to freeze its order seeking details of the social media groups in which police personnel are either members or admins. The move to collect data was met with stiff opposition by police associations. P5 Tata Trusts reappoints Venu Srinivasan for life Mumbai: Tata Trusts, which owns and controls the $180-billion Tata empire, has reappointed Venu Srinivasan, chairman emeritus of TVS Group, as a trustee for life. With the reappointment of Srinivasan, 73, ahead of his term expiring on October 23, the focus shifts to upcoming decision on Mehli Mistry, whose trusteeship expires on Oct 28. coins, ornaments & idols Price rise no deterrent, temples glitter in gold offerings Rajesh Ra v i @Kochi Even as gold prices surge to record highs, Kerala’s temples continue to glitter with the devotion of followers. Offerings of gold and silver pour in undeterred. At the famed Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, devotees drop precious metals into the hundi (offering box) in astonishing quantities — around 20 to 25 kg of gold and 120 to 150 kg of silver every year. The October 2025 collection alone yielded 2.58 kg of gold and 9.31 kg of silver. The Sabarimala hill shrine, which opens only for three months President arrives in state, to visit sabarimala today Sabarimala has turned into a high-security zone ahead of President Droupadi Murmu’s visit on Wednesday | P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express HC sees wider plot in Sabarimala gold scam, asks SIT to probe deep Revellers flouted time limit for firecrackers I f r ah Mu f ti @ New Delhi defence), and employees of universities, nonprofit research institutions, and government research bodies are believed to fall under exempt categories, though further clarification is expected. Students go to the US as F1 visa holders and later transition to H1B through employer sponsorship. International students in the US, especially from STEM fields, can work for up to three years after graduation. According to the Open Doors report for 2023-24, there are over 3.3 lakh Indian students in the US and 95% of them are enrolled in post graduate courses or PhD programmes. during the pilgrimage season, receives nearly 15 kg of gold during that short period. Across the state, more than 3,000 temples receive offerings of precious metals in various forms — from ornaments and coins to idols and ritual items. Global gold rates have surged over the past few months, driven by factors including geopolitical tensions. In Kerala, the price of 22K gold (916 purity) has seen a significant increase. As of March 29, a sovereign of 22K gold was valued at `50,400. By October 21, the price rose to `95,760. According to industry body World Gold Council, Kerala significantly contributes to India’s gold demand — 25-28% of 600-800 tonnes annual consumption. The report also mentions that based on estimates, temples in India may hold 2,000-4,000 tonnes of gold, with 1,000 tonnes potentially accumulated before 1968. This suggests 1,000-3,000 tonnes were donated by private individuals. Guruvayur Devaswom chairman V K Vijayan said most of the gold received by the temple is in the form of jewellery and other items. “The majority of the gold we receive falls under the miscellaneous category. We deposit it with the SBI Mumbai branch, where it is converted into gold bars, and we earn around 2-2.5 % interest on the value of the deposited gold,” he explained. Regarding silver, Vijayan said it was previously stored in strong rooms without being monetised. “We recently deposited around 5 tonnes of silver with the SBI Hyderabad branch, where it was converted into bars. We’re awaiting approval from the authorities to auction it through the bank,” he ● More on P4 said.  The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to thoroughly investigate the aspect of criminal conspiracy in the Sabarimala gold scam, observing that the chain of events commencing in 2019 and the subsequent entrustment of the dwarapalaka idols to Unnikrishnan Potti appeared to be part of a larger and well-orchestrated scheme. The court also referred to a letter dated August 21, 2025, from the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, citing directions from the president of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to expedite the goldplating work proposed by the sponsor. A Division Bench, comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar, held that the investigation should extend to u n c ove r i n g t h e larger conspiracy, identifying TDB officials who may have colluded to conceal the misappropriation of gold from the goldcladded plates, and determining whether the entrustment of the dwarapalaka idols in 2025 formed part of a broader scheme to suppress the pilferage that occurred in 2019. The bench directed the SIT to examine every facet of the matter and ascertain the role and complicity, if any, of each TDB officer, from the highest echelons downward. “The higher officials of the Board cannot absolve themselves of responsibility or shift the blame onto subordinate officers, for each of them bore a collective duty to ensure that the sacred valuables of the deity were neither pilfered nor wasted,” it observed.  ● More on P4