kalaburagi l friday l october 31, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Trump’s fiat to resume u.s. nuclear tests alarms world Remarks on restarting nuclear weapons testing have confused experts and raised fears of a worrying return to Cold War-era tensions Experts puzzled by unclear statement Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had ordered the Pentagon to begin nuclear weapons testing “on an equal basis” with China and Russia. Experts were unsure whether he meant live nuclear tests, missile system trials, or subcritical experiments. Many said his comments reflected confusion rather than a concrete policy shift ■ 1992 Last NUKE tests conducted decades ago ■ The announcement on social media was issued right as Trump was going into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea The United States last tested a nuclear bomb in 1992 and Russia in 1990, while North Korea remains the only nation to test this century, raising fears of renewed global testing | P11 marked the last U.S. nuclear bomb test before Trump’s latest call 45708/8 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 Man killed, hostage drama over Police rescue 17 children and two adults from Powai studio after tense two-hour standoff S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea | AP Trump-Xi talks successful, 10% tariff down. Time for India to wrap up its pact China’s development and rejuvenation are not incompatible with President Trump’s goal of ‘Making America Great Again — Xi Jinping, in his conversation with President Trump P u s h p i ta De y @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Thursday gushed about a summit he had with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea, describing it as a roaring success. On a scale of 1 to 10, Trump gave the meeting a 12. With Beijing agreeing to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans, Trump reduced China’s total tariff from 57% to 47%, which is now 3% less than India’s 50%. Experts say New Delhi must not lose momentum in pursuing its own trade pact with Washington so as to protect market access and remain competitive. Without an early trade deal, India risks losing further ground in its largest export destination, they said. Even with higher tariffs (57%) than India earlier, China’s exports to the US rose from $28.8 billion in May 2025 to $34.3 billion in September 2025, indicating no tariff impact, while India’s exports to the US plunged 37% during the same period — from $8.8 billion to $5.5 billion. “China did pressure the US as it is more competitive than India because of lower cost of manufacturing. India should focus on bringing down the tariff to 15% or the lowest level possible,” said Arpita Mukherjee, professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).  P11 6-month US curbs waiver on Chabahar J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The US has granted India a six-month waiver from sanctions on the strategically significant Chabahar Port project in Iran, External Affairs Ministry confirmed on Thursday. The waiver, which came into effect on March 29, will allow India to continue operations and development activities at the port without facing punitive US measures. “I can confirm that we have been granted exemption for a six-month period on the US sanctions that were applicable on Chabahar,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Chabahar has been central to India’s vision of enhanced trade connectivity with Afghanistan and Central Asia. It serves as a gateway that bypasses Pakistan, ensuring access to the landlocked regions. Rare earth import licence Some Indian companies have secured licences to import rareearth elements, including high-performance magnets, from China, the foreign office said. “Some Indian companies have received licenses for importing rare earth magnets from China... We have to look at how the US and China talks will play into our domain,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. In an exchange of fire during a rescue operation at a Powai studio on Wednesday, police shot dead a man who had held 19 people hostage for over two hours. The accused, identified as Rohit Aryan, was hit in the chest after he allegedly tried to open fire at the police team that entered the premises to free the captives. According to the police, the hostages included 17 students and two adults whom Aryan had called to a studio in the Mahavir Classic building in Powai under the pretext of conducting acting classes and auditions. The hostages were kept inside for more than two hours before the police entered the premises. Police officials said there were indications that Aryan might have been mentally disturbed, though this has not been confirmed. They added Drama over unpaid government dues Aryan staged the hostage act to allegedly draw public and government officials’ attention over pending payments for work that he did for government A screengrab shows the situation at R A Studio in Mumbai | express that the accused’s motive was linked to some pending government-related work. Aryan and his associates had u n d e r t a k e n g o ve r n m e n t projects for which payments had reportedly not been made. To draw the attention of the public and the government, Aryan decided to hold the stu- Bihar won’t forgive insult to ‘Chhathi Maiyya’, says Modi RA J E SH K U M AR THA K UR @ Chapra/Muzaffarpur india script historic win Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur led India to a historic win against Austarlia in the second World Cup semis in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. India will meet South Africa in the final on Sunday | AFP | P13 smart birder B’luru lad’s AI-powered BirdRover collects data for conservation G ayat h r i M K u r u p @ Bengaluru Seventeen-year-old Bengaluru innovator Hridank Bhagath has transformed a childhood curiosity into conservation technology. His fascination with birds began when he was just nine, wandering through the gardens of Udaipur as he followed the call of an Indian peafowl. Growing up listening to his grandmother’s tales of Garuda and Jatayu, and reading about Keats’ nightingales and Hardy’s thrushes, birds became an inseparable part of his imagination. But one day he realized he , was seeing more birds in books than in real life — a question that would eventually define his path: why are we losing them? That question led to BirdRover, an AI-powered hovercraft dents hostage. The Powai and Sakinaka police received a distress call around 1.45 pm and reached the studio soon after. A rescue operation was launched, during which the police entered the premises and freed all 19 hostages. The operation continued for about two hours. The police recovered an airgun, chemical substances, and other materials from the studio. Police sources said that more than 100 children had initially come for the auditions, out of which Aryan shortlisted 17 and confined them in a room while asking the remaining students to leave. The children were kept inside the studio between 1 pm and 4 pm. When the shortlisted students failed to return home for lunch, parents alerted authorities, leading to the police response. The rescued children, aged between 13 and 17 years, were later handed over to their parents and guardians. The accused and his associates were taken for medical examination. A detailed investigation has begun, and police are verifying all aspects of the case, including the alleged pending government work and payment delays that may have led to the incident. Hridank Bhagath with his BirdRover designed to monitor bird populations without disturbing them. The radio-controlled system glides silently across lakes, equipped with high-resolution cameras and custom-built algorithms that identify and classify birds in real time. Unlike traditional drones, which are noisy and capture top-down images unsuitable for accurate classification, BirdRover oper- ates quietly at water level, capturing side-profile images ideal for species recognition. The onboard AI automatically stores data and photographs, helping researchers build extensive datasets that once required months of manual work. Developing BirdRover wasn’t easy says Hridank, a 12th grad, er at The International School Bangalore (TISB) pursuing science. He went through seven prototypes, facing challenges ranging from AI optimization to waterproofing and stability . “One early model even sank during testing,” he shared. But every failure taught him more about balance, buoyancy and resilience. “Technology is at its best when it serves the natural world rather than disrupts it,” Hridank added. P7 A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched an all-out attack on Prime Ninister Narendra Modi, the latter lit into him and the Opposition’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav, in two back-to-back rallies in Bihar’s Chapra and Motipur on Thursday. Lampooning them as princes who want to bring back ‘jungle raj’ in Bihar, he alleged that their parties have always been mired in corruption and scams. Responding to a Rahul barb on the PM’s participation in the ‘Chhath puja’, Modi said it was an insult to ‘Chhathi Maiyya’ and her devotees. “For some, the worship of ‘Chhathi Maiyya’ was mere drama,” he said, adding that no person from Bihar could forget this insult. He informed the gatherings that the Centre is working to get ‘Chhath’ included in UNESCO’s list. “We are continuously striving to include Chhath Mahaparv in UNESCO’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Muzaffarpur | PTI list of world heritage as humanity’s grand festival,” he said, drawing loud applause from the crowds. Mocking the two ‘princes’ he said, “Both of them are on bail in scams worth thousands of crores of rupees.” Reviving memories of the ‘jungle raj’ during RJD’s tenure in power, Modi recalled the frequent kidnappings during that time, including in Muzaffarpur, where a young boy Golu was abducted while on his way to school in 2001. “When his parents could not pay the large ransom, RJD henchmen brutally dismembered the boy,” Modi said. New CJI appointed Justice Surya Kant has been appointed India’s 53rd Chief Justice; will assume office on November 24 and serve till February 9, 2027, marking a 15-month tenure TOP award Prakash Raj among 70 to get Rajyotsava E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Actor Prakash Raj, Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar (retd) and former hockey goal keeper Ashish Ballal are among the 70 personalities and achievers, including 12 women, who will be honoured with the prestigious Karnataka Rajyotsava Award on Saturday . The Kannada and Culture Department announced the names on Thursday. The awards will be presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the occasion of the 70th Kannada Rajyotsava. Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi told reporters that this year, no applications for the awards were invited. “ names were finalised A based on recommendations from various panels,” he added. The award includes a purse of Rs 5 lakh, a 25-gram gold medal and a citation. The minister said they have ensured that there is representation from all districts. P6 Mahadevappa, George face off at cabinet meet E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru The cabinet meeting on Thursday witnessed a spat between Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa and energy minister K J George over the diversion of SCSP/TSP grants to fund the guarantees schemes. Mahadevappa contended that although the energy department has been implementing ‘Gruha Jyothi’ it ignored energisation of borewells for SC/ST beneficiaries under ‘Ganga Kalyana Yojana’ attributing it to scarcity of funds. Mahadevappa questioned George about the delay in energising the borewells. He said the corporations concerned had disbursed Rs 75,000 each for every borewell. George, however, said the unit cost needs to be enhanced. “Where the money meant under SCSP/TSP proportional to the population of the communities”, Mahadevappa asked in high tone. He also threatened to stage a walkout but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pacified him. Later, it was decided that the energy department would send a fresh proposal to the social welfare department to enhance the unit cost.