belagavi l tuesday l june 23, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION UK PM Keir Starmer latest to exit 10 downing street revolving door Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, becoming the sixth UK prime minister to step down before the end of tenure since 2016 Keir Starmer Andy Burnham Labour drubbing in local polls sealed fate Oversaw conclusion of India FTA Pressure had been building on Starmer to step down amid domestic policy U-turns, ministerial resignations and a scandal over his decision to appoint a known associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as the British ambassador to Washington. A trouncing for the Labour Party in the local and regional elections held on May 7 proved the final straw ■ ■ Labour politician Andy Burnham, who last week won the crucial by-election in Markfield is the frontrunner to replace Starmer As UK PM, Starmer oversaw the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement with India. He brought a large business delegation to Mumbai last year, signalling his desire for closer business ties | P11 Jul 5, 2024 When starmer became the prime minister of the United Kingdom 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 Suspected AC defect leads to massive fire in three-storey building, PM offers `2L ex-gratia Meta invests in CRED, ropes in Shah as WA boss take note KSDC’s 24-hr shutdown on June 25 to hit online services Pa d m i n i d h r u v a r a j @ Bengaluru Students among 15 burnt alive in UP blaze N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow AT least 15 people, mostly students between 22 and 27 years, were charred to death after a fire broke out in a three-storey commercial building in a posh Lucknow neighbourhood on a busy Monday afternoon. The list of the deceased includes four girls. Most of the victims were trapped on the second floor of the building, located on Usha Mehta Marg in Aliganj in north Lucknow, where students were attending classes at an animation centre. The building houses a pet shop and clinic in the basement, ground, and first floors. The second floor has a library-cum-coaching centre called “Learning Space”, and also housed “Head Hopper Studio,” a 3D Art production and The fire broke out suddenly. It was an animation centre. It seems that the children ran towards the rear of the building but couldn’t survive Brajesh Pathak, Deputy CM, UP game asset outsourcing centre. Most of those killed were students who had come for internship/work at the gaming studio. Around 35 students were present when the fire broke out. While some managed to escape, several of them jumped off from the second floor, with many locking themselves inside bathrooms to escape the flames. As per fire department sources, the blaze apparently originated in the pet shop in the basement due to a short circuit in an air-conditioner around 2.30 pm, and spread rapidly before engulfing the building. “A total of 22 people were brought to the Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) following the incident. Of them, 15 were declared brought dead, while five injured were admitted for treatment,” King George Medical University PRO Prof K K Singh told the media. Prime Minister Narendar Modi announced an an ex-gratia of `2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given `50,000. The state has set up an SIT under ADG Praveen Kumar to ascertain the cause of the fire. President, Vice-President offer condolences President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan on Monday condoled the loss of lives in Lucknow. “The news of the deaths of numerous people in the horrific fire accident that occurred in Lucknow is extremely sad,” President Murmu said on X Adityanath promises strict action for lapses Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday evening visited the site of the fire. “Every person responsible will face strict action,” he said before announcing an ex-gratia of `5 lakh for the kin of each deceased META Platforms has appointed CRED founder Kunal Shah as the global CEO of WhatsApp. Shah replaces Will Cathcart, who has stepped down after the running messaging platform for seven years. As part of the deal, the US tech giant will invest about `8,550 crore, or $900 million, in the Bengaluru-based fintech company . The investment, which will be made through a mix of primary and secondary share purchases, values CRED at `43,239 crore or $4.5 billion. Meta will be a minority investor in CRED and will not receive access to customer information, the company said. Shah will step away from his operating role at CRED while retaining his personal shareholding. Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at the company since 2020, will become CRED’s interim chief executive. The board is working on a leadership structure as CRED prepares for a public listing. Announcing the appointment, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said: “Kunal Shah will join Meta as WhatsApp’s next leader. Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies, and he brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.” Shah said: “While it’s come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive.” Shah’s appointment marks a significant addition to the growing list of Indian-origin executives steering the world’s most influential technology companies such as Google (Sundar Pichai) and Microsoft (Satya Nadella). The Karnataka State Data Centre (KSDC), which hosts more than 100 applications and 260 servers catering to various state government departments, will undergo a 24-hour shutdown later this week for critical electrical maintenance, affecting a wide range of digital services across Karnataka. Though the scheduled downtime falls on a public holiday and is followed by the fourth Saturday the shutdown will in, convenience citizens as several essential online services will remain unavailable. Online bus ticket bookings, bill payments, digital transactions, traffic fine payment portals and downloading or accessing of official documents are likely to be affected, temporarily disrupting essential civic and legal services. KSDC has scheduled the shutdown from 9 pm on June 25 to 9 pm June 26 to undertake a critical electrical maintenance work, requiring a total power shutdown. It has been approved by the competent authority . The downtime will likely impact several key state-level digital platforms, including the eProcurement portal, Human Resource Management System, e-Office services, and Aadhaar appointment and UID-related systems, among others. The Karnataka High Court has issued a notice informing litigants, advocates and general public that its website and online services will remain unavailable during the period. Services such as Online Digital Case Diary and other online facilities hosted on the court’s website will not be accessible. Kunal Shah Investor, serial entrepreneur A prominent face of India’s tech ecosystem for two decades, Kunal Shah has invested in hundreds of early-stage startups. Before CRED, he founded Freecharge, one of India’s early digital payments ventures What is CRED? CRED, based in Bengaluru, is a fintech platform that enables users to manage their credit card payments and earn rewards. It is a members-only service that rewards highearners for timely credit card payments HC allows removal of woman’s uterus as she can’t manage menstrual hygiene India & China review ties, see progress to normalisation E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Bengaluru J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India and China on Monday reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations and noted progress towards the gradual normalisation of ties as National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting in New Delhi. The meeting comes amid a cautious thaw in relations between the two neighbours following the tensions triggered by the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Officials described the latest engagement as “constructive and forward-looking,” reflecting continued efforts by both sides to stabilise ties after a series of high-level political, diplomatic and military interactions over the past two years. “NSA Ajit Doval met member of the CPC Political Bureau and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, on June 22 on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs’ meeting in New Delhi. The two sides reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations and noted progress towards gradual normalisation,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement. Highlighting India’s position, Jaiswal said Doval “underlined that stable, predictable and constructive bilateral relations contribute to building of trust and better understanding between the two sides.” “The discussions were constructive and forward-looking,” he added. The Indian dele gation included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Indian ambassador to China Vikram Doraiswami. Rescue efforts (L) in progress at the site of the fire in Lucknow; and videograb of students sliding down a cable (above) to save themselves | PTI/Express I n d r a S @ Bengaluru Iran frustrate Belgium, delight for Egypt 10-man Belgium were held to a goalless draw by Iran while Egypt earned their first ever WC win. WC scoring record for messi Lionel Messi scored against Austria on Monday to become all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 17 goals. He is now one ahead of Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16). On Sunday, Mohamed Salah, Mostafa Zico and Trezeguet were on the scoresheet as Egypt beat New Zealand 3-1. Salah, who also had an assist, was declared the Man of the Match. Toil for red devils The Red Devils finished the game with 10 men and struggled to break down a resolute Iranian side. Iran’s Mehdi Taremi had the ball in the net from a clever first-half free-kick that was ruled out by VAR | P13 Today’s matches: Group K: Portugal vs Uzbekistan (10.30 PM), Colombia vs DR Congo (7.30 AM*). Group L: England vs Ghana (1.30 AM*), Panama vs Croatia (4.30 AM*) *IST Wednesday Live on United8 Sports & ZEE5 In a rare case, the Karnataka High Court allowed the parents of a 23-year-old woman to get her uterus removed in a procedure to be performed at Vani Vilas Hospital in the city as she , suffers from severe developmental and intellectual disabilities which impair her ability to understand, manage and perform even basic activities of daily living. “Having regard to the findings recorded by the Medical Board, the nature and extent of the patient’s intellectual and developmental disabilities, her inability to independently manage menstrual hygiene, the recurring medical complications highlighted by the petitioners, the absence of any medical contraindication and the unanimous recommendation of the Medical Board, this court is satisfied that the proposed procedure is intended to advance the welfare, health, dignity and best interests of the patient,” the court said. Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order on a petition filed by the parents, who hail from a village in Yelahanka taluk. “This court also finds it relevant that the present case does not concern sterilisation for eugenic purposes, population control measures or any attempt to curtail the rights of the patient on account of her disability. The recommendation is founded entirely upon considerations relating to health, hygiene, dignity safety and quality of life,” , said the court. It directed the medical super- intendent of Vani Vilas Hospital to make all arrangements for the total abdominal hysterectomy as recommended by the Medical Board constituted by it. The court also stated that the medical superintendent should ensure welfare, dignity, safety and best interests of the patient are protected at all stages of treatment and provide pre-operative counselling, care and rehabilitation services. The medical board had recommended that the patient may undergo the total hysterectomy after considering the opinions furnished by all specialists. The medical board concluded that the patient is suffering from Global Developmental Delay associated with Moderate Permanent Intellectual and Developmental Disability assessing her , social age at approximately 5 years and 4 months, her IQ at 36 and her permanent disability at 75%. The woman also suffers from seizures, the panel concluded.  CONTINUED ON: P7 cricket with care ICC frames pregnancy policy to facilitate healthy comeback g o m es h s @ Chennai In a first, the International Cricket Council has formulated a framework that will assist female cricketers return to sport post pregnancy. The new policy called Return to Play Post Pregnancy Guidelines aims to provide systemic support to athletes through the period of pregnancy and return to play . The eight-page document has been prepared in a general format to be used by all ICC Member nation subject to the coun- try’s own local legislation or regulations. “No player should have to choose between motherhood and representing her country at the highest level,” ICC Chair Jay Shah said in a statement. One of the highlights was each board appointing a dedicated case manager (a doctor or physiotherapist) for each player and will serve as primary point of contact. While countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and Pakistan already have a maternity policy in R e t u r n -t o - p l ay k e y p o i n t s The decision to announce a pregnancy is always at the discretion of the mother and there should be no mandate from the board to ask for a pregnancy test The 6Rs framework: Ready (0-6 weeks), Review (6-8 weeks), Restore (8-16 weeks), Recondition (12-16+ weeks), Return and Refine place, the BCCI is yet to have a dedicated guidelines for women cricketers. After pregnancy , the ICC has formulated a 6Rs framework: “Ready (0-6 weeks), No fixed gestational age to stop playing, player to decide that in consultation with doctors To ensure key access and wellbeing services through pregnancy and postpartum period Access to medical staff, physios, S&C coaches and psychologist Review (6-8 weeks), Restore (816 weeks), Recondition (12-16+ weeks), Return and Refine” India cricketer Sneha Deepthi, who made a comeback at do- mestic level for Andhra seveneight months after giving birth to her daughter Kriva Philip in 2021, welcomed the new guidelines. “I feel the policy is really good, it will help women to have a family and also play the sport she loves,” Sneha told this daily . “It is really important to have professional help rather than just medical help. You need help like trainer, physios, and medical staff from the start of the pregnancy In my case it was not . easy. It was Covid time, there was very little medical help, so it made my comeback journey very difficult.” The biker, Vijay (right), with receipts of his pending traffic fines Student with 100 violations pays `27.5k fine Bengaluru: Availing the 50% concession on pending e-challan fines, Vijay, a student with 100 traffic violations registered against his two-wheeler, walked into the Rajajinagar traffic police station and paid Rs 27,500 in fines against a total penalty of Rs 55,000 on the first day of the rebate scheme on Sunday. A traffic police officer said the student had committed 100 traffic violations across the city. Most violations were related to riding without a helmet, pillion rider without a helmet, jumping signals and other offences. Availing the 50% concession on pending e-challans, the student visited the police station, paid the fine amount, and promised that he would not commit traffic violations in the future. ENS