
Terrorist behind 2011 LK Advani Madurai pipe-bomb plot held after 30 years on run
A reward of Rs 5 lakh had been announced for information leading to his arrest. Along with him, another fugitive, Mohammed Ali, also known as Yunus or Mansoor, from Tirunelveli, was also arrested. Ali had been absconding for 26 years.'They were involved in several bomb blasts and communal murders and had evaded arrest for three decades,' the police said in a statement. The arrests were made following a tip-off, with support from central intelligence agencies that had been tracking them for years.Siddique is an accused in several high-profile terror cases including the 1995 bomb blast at the Hindu Munnani office in Chennai, a parcel bomb explosion the same year in Nagore that killed Hindu right-wing activist T Muthukrishnan, and the 1999 coordinated bomb planting at the Chennai Police Commissioner's office, Egmore, and six other locations including Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore and parts of Kerala.advertisementHe is also a suspect in the 2012 murder of Dr Arvind Reddy in Vellore and the 2013 bomb blast near the BJP office in Malleswaram, Bengaluru.His associate Mohammed Ali was wanted in connection with the 1999 bomb-planting incidents in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Both will be produced before a judicial magistrate and remanded, police said.- EndsTune InMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu

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Hans India
6 minutes ago
- Hans India
Odisha CM Majhi thanks PM Modi for approval of Capital Region Ring Road project
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, along with members of his Council of Ministers and legislators, on Wednesday extended gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving the Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR) project at a ceremony held at the State Guest House here. The CRRR will be a 111-km six-lane road project with an estimated cost of Rs 8,342 crore. The project is expected not only to ease traffic flow but also boost Bhubaneswar's development as a textile and software hub, thereby strengthening Odisha's economic prospects. Speaking at the ceremony, Chief Minister Majhi said: "I express my heartfelt thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for granting approval to the Capital Region Ring Road project. This transformative project will ensure smoother connectivity, accelerate industrial growth, and open new avenues for trade and investment in Odisha." During the event, it was also highlighted that global steel major POSCO, which had earlier exited the state due to massive protest, is returning to Odisha with the support of the 'double engine government'. The company in a joint venture with a leading group is set to establish a mega steel plant in Keonjhar district with an investment of over Rs 50,000 crore. Initially, the plant will have a capacity of 6 million tonnes, which will later be scaled up to 12 million tonnes. Keonjhar has been chosen as the site due to its strong infrastructure facilities including road, air, rail, water, and power connectivity. To attract more investments, the Odisha government has been conducting roadshows in Delhi, Mumbai, and Singapore, and is planning another in Hyderabad soon. With its attractive incentive package and investor-friendly industrial policy, Odisha is positioning itself as a preferred destination for national and international investors. CM Majhi also praised the approval of two semiconductors in Bhubaneswar during the last meeting of the Union Cabinet.
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First Post
6 minutes ago
- First Post
Want to become a US citizen? Donald Trump wants you to have ‘good moral character'. But what does that mean?
Want to become a citizen of the United States? Having a 'good moral character' has long been considered one of the criteria for citizenship. However, now the administration of US President Donald Trump has expanded on the definition. But what has changed? What do experts think? Having a 'good moral character' has long been considered one of the criteria for US citizenship. Reuters Want to become a citizen of the United States? Having a 'good moral character' has long been considered one of the criteria for citizenship. However, now the administration of US President Donald Trump has told officials to expand on the definition. But what happened? What are the changes one needs to be cognisant of? Let's take a closer look: What happened? First let's briefly take a look at the 'good moral character' requirement for citizenship. This stipulation was added after the US passed the 1790 Naturalization Act. This had long been interpreted to mean that a person has no criminal convictions against him or her – for example murders, felonies and genocide. However, drink driving, for example, can also be a disqualifier. Those wanting to apply to become a citizen must show that they have undergone rehabilitation. This citizenship test is usually given to green card holders who have been in the country between three and five years and who want to become American citizens – a process known as naturalisation. Other than showing 'good moral character', those wanting to become citizens must also clear English and civics tests. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the change in policy in a memo on Friday. The agency ordered its employees to do a more complete and 'holistic' assessment of applicants' 'good moral character'. This includes being involved in their local community, positive contributions to the US, having family ties, having a long employment history, being a lawful resident of the us for a long time and paying taxes. The agency asked employees to consider applicants' 'positive attributes and not simply the absence of misconduct.' The applicant must show their character is 'commensurate with the standards of average citizens of the community in which the alien resides.' Officers have been told to bar applicants if they have committed 'any other acts that are contrary to the average behaviour of citizens in the jurisdiction where aliens reside. This even if those acts are 'technically lawful.' USCIS has also said it will check prospective citizens and visa applicants for 'anti-Americanism,' and in particular 'antisemitic ideologies' including their behaviour on social media. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also said it will check prospective citizens and visa applicants for 'anti-Americanism,' and in particular 'antisemitic ideologies' including their behaviour on social media. AFP 'America's benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies,' USCIS chief spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said on Tuesday. '[USCIS] is committed to implementing policies and procedures that root out anti-Americanism and supporting the enforcement of rigorous screening and vetting measures to the fullest extent possible.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Immigration benefits—including to live and work in the United States—remain a privilege, not a right,' he added. 'USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America's newest citizens not only embrace America's culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate Good Moral Character,' Tragesser earlier said. 'US citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship—it should only be offered to the world's best of the best.' What do experts say? That this is the latest move from Trump to attempt to restrict immigration to the United States. Trump has also taken aim at birthright citizenship which he has vowed to do away with. Since 2015, anywhere from 600,000 to 1 million immigrants have become US citizens every year. There are around 25 million naturalised citizens in the US. Critics say the Trump administration is trying to keep the keep the number of people who enter the US and become naturalised citizens in check. 'They're trying to increase the grounds for denial of US citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behaviour,' Doug Rand, a former senior USCIS official who worked in the Biden Administration, told CBS. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Gabriel J Chin, a University of California, Davis, law professor, told The Washington Post that new USCIS guidance is 'so loose and discretionary that it is obviously susceptible to arbitrary enforcement.' 'Many birthright US citizens do not have sufficient educational or economic achievements that would entitle them to a visa to immigrate to the United States,' said Chin. 'If they had not been born here, they would not make the cut'. Some in the Trump administration have propounded 'the Great Replacement theory' – a conspiracy advanced by many on the far-right that accuses shadowy elitist figures of seeking to replace white citizens with non-white immigrants. While Trump has never explicitly referred to this theory, he has consistently put down immigrants, particularly from South American nations as 'animals' and 'rapists'. He has also repeatedly said that America is at risk of being invaded and its culture lost. 'For me, the really big story is they are opening the door for stereotypes and prejudice and implicit bias to take the wheel in these decisions. That's really worrisome,' Jane Lilly Lopez, an associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University, said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Experts say that this is the latest move from Donald Trump to attempt to restrict immigration to the United States. Trump has also taken aim at birthright citizenship which he has vowed to do away with. AFP Lopez said the development 'make it harder for noncitizens to obtain legal belonging in the United States' because officers have to 'evaluate something they cannot consistently describe or define.' Trump has also threatened to denaturalise US citizens – most prominently Elon Musk and Zoran Mandani. However, denaturalisation can only be done under the strictest of terms. The Trump administration has also cracked down on college students protesting against Israel's actions in Gaza under the guise of 'anti-Semitism'. The Trump administration has also vowed to deport 'pro-Hamas students'. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student with a green card, has already been deported for advocating for Palestinian rights. Meanwhile, Rümeysa Öztürk, a student from Turkey, was taken into custody by the government for writing an op-ed saying that her college should 'acknowledge the Palestinian genocide' and cut all ties with Israel. A judge ordered Öztürk to be released after finding that the government had no grounds to hold her in custody, STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What does this mean? It means that if you are planning to apply for the United States for visa or a citizenship, the last thing you should do is criticise President Donald Trump on social media. Or even worse, take aim at Israel over the unfolding events in Gaza. This, of course, is steeped in irony given that Trump himself is a convicted felon. Trump in May 2024 was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records during the 2016 presidential election. Trump did so to cover up an affair with a porn star Karen McDougal, with whom he had carried on at a time when his wife Melania had just given birth to their son Baron. Trump also is the first president to enter office as a convict. A New York judge found Trump civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E Jean Carroll. Trump also has been credibly accused of sexual harassment by dozens of women. Trump has also claimed that the late Jeffrey Epstein, who ran a sex trafficking ring, was a good friend for many years. The two men are said to have had a falling out. Trump has since distanced himself from the late disgraced financier. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Trump isn't exactly in a position to be the arbiter of moral standards, that has not deterred his administration from trying to do so anyway. Israel, meanwhile, is more and more being widely accused by experts of conducting a genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Experts are warning that Gaza faces a starvation crisis. Over 60,000 Palestinians are said to have died since the war in Gaza began according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. With inputs from agencies


News18
13 minutes ago
- News18
Hawala syndicate linked to Dubai busted in UPs Sambhal, five arrested
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Sambhal (UP), May 20 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Police here have busted a hawala syndicate for alleged illegal financial transactions using a gaming app and arrested five of its members, officials said. According to police, the syndicate which operated through a gaming app was allegedly transferring illicit funds to Dubai via hawala channels, they said. Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar said the investigation was launched after a complaint was filed by a man named Deendayal at the cyber police station on August 12. Deendayal reported that he witnessed unexplained transactions amounting to Rs 1.70 crore in his Punjab National Bank (PNB) account in Chandausi. Police on further investigation found that a gaming app was being used for online gambling and that a recovery agent, Rishi Pal had opened bank accounts for Deendayal and his wife, Meena, the officer said. He added that transactions of Rs 1.70 crore were made in Deendayal's account, while Rs 1.69 crore were deposited in his wife's account. He was allegedly managing the bank accounts to make illegal transactions. Deendayal disclosed to the police that a Chandausi resident, Amit Varshney, paid him Rs 10,000 for each account he opened and Ingat Kohli, a Delhi resident, allegedly paid him Rs 20,000 per account. 'The gang is believed to have set up 500 franchises nationwide, with each franchise allegedly earning around Rs 8 crore annually. The money was then routed to Dubai through hawala," the officer said. Police have arrested Rishi Pal Yadav, Amit Varshney, Ingat Kohli, Pushkar Sarki, and Pawan Kumar. They have been sent to jail. Investigation to arrest the remaining members of the gang is underway, the officer said. PTI COR CDN SHS SHS SKY SKY view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...