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 kalaburagi l wednesday l october 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l 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 | P12 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 $1L H-1B fee does Delhi air quality not apply to visa holders post-deepavali worst in 4 years A video grab of teacher Veeresh Hiremath kicking the boy at the residential school in Chitradurga Teacher kicks, beats up 9-yr-old in temple school EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ 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 Endowments Department, at Nayakanahatti of Chitradurga district. The only mistake of the homesick boy, Tarun, was to call his grandmother. The incident occurred in 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 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 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. Heavy smog near India Gate in New Delhi at dawn on Tuesday | Sayantan Ghosh 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 poor range. 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. 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 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 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 long-awaited 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 defence), and employees of universities, nonprofit research institutions, and government research bodies are believed to fall under exempt categories, though further clarification is expected. B’luru to get `1.20Lcr boost for infra works E xp r ess N ews S e r vice @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 Rajnath warns of rising ‘ideological wars’ New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday emphasised the shifting landscape of the country’s security challenges, noting that while the nation grapples with border instability, society faces a new surge in “ideological wars”, sophisticated crimes and terrorism.