Sailor, missing after attack on ship, in Yemen govt's custody
Anilkumar Raveendran, 45, a security officer of the ship, contacted his wife Sreeja Anil over the phone in the early hours of Saturday.
According to Sreeja, her husband said that he was safe and was in the custody of Yemeni govt. He, along with 10 others on the ship, was rescued by a fishing boat. The fishermen handed them over to Yemen coast guard.
Currently, nine people, including Raveendran, are in a hotel in Yemen while two are in hospital.
Sreeja passed on the message to Indian embassy officials and the ship operators. "He should be brought to India at the earliest," she said.
Raveendran, who retired from the Army as naib subedar, joined as a security officer on the ship in Feb 2025. The ship was attacked in the Red Sea while returning from Somalia on July 7. The ship sank in the attack. Two Indians, including Raveendran, were reported to be on the ship.
Sreeja said a Kanyakumari native who escaped had reached home earlier. She suspected that Raveendran was being held captive by the Houthis. TNN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
First Post
15 minutes ago
- First Post
Canada: Indian Couple Harassed, Abused By Youngsters; 1 Arrested Firstpost America
Canada: Indian Couple Harassed, Abused By Youngsters; 1 Arrested | Firstpost America | N18G A deeply disturbing video from Ontario, Canada, shows a group of Canadian youngsters harassing and racially abusing an Indian couple. The incident occurred at a parking lot of a mall in Peterborough on July 29. The Canadian youth performed obscene gestures, used the n-word, and even threatened to kill the Indian man. The video has sparked outrage on social media, with many people highlighting how racism and assault towards Indians are becoming frequent in Canada. So far, the Peterborough police have arrested one man, who has been charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm. However, the youth was released after an undertaking. In recent years, Canada has seen a sharp rise in hate crimes against South Asian communities, especially those of Indian origin. See More
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
30-year-old suspected Pakistani spy detained in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer
A 30-year-old man, suspected of spying for Pakistan, was detained by military intelligence (MI) in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer and later handed over to Kotwali police. A 30-year-old man suspected of spying for Pakistan was detained by Military Intelligence in Jaisalmer.(Representational image ) The accused, identified as Jivan Khan, 30, a resident of the Sankada area, had previously worked at a restaurant located within the military area in Jaisalmer, news agency ANI reported, citing unnamed officials. The accused man'was trying to regain entry into the Army station on Tuesday (August 19) when he was stopped at the gate,' ANI reported, quoting sources as saying. Following the examination of his mobile phone for suspicious activity, Khan was detained by military intelligence (MI) personnel and handed over to Kotwali police on Tuesday night, said officials. During questioning, he reportedly 'admitted to having relatives in Pakistan.' Khan is expected to be presented before the joint interrogation centre (JIC), where multiple security agencies will carry out further questioning, officials added. This is the fourth suspected spy case in Jaisalmer this month. On August 13, a contractual manager at a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) guest house near the Chandan Field Firing Range was also arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI. According to Rajasthan CID (security), Mahendra Prasad, a resident of Almora in Uttarakhand, 'was found to be in contact with Pakistani intelligence agency through social media and was allegedly passing on sensitive details about the movement of DRDO scientists and Army officers engaged in missile and weapons testing at the firing range.'
The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
Facing US Indictment, Adani Group Has Launched a Massive Lobbying Campaign
On November 20, 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment against the Adani Group, charging its chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and other senior executives with orchestrating a 'massive bribery scheme' to win energy contracts in India. This event changed the dynamics of the Adani Group's newly initiated lobbying efforts in the US. From a modest commercial lobbying exercise, it turned into a targeted lobbying effort with two of most renowned legal and lobbying firms brought on board for what appears to have been a crisis management campaign. An analysis of federal lobbying disclosures from 2023 to 2025 reveals a distinct three-phase strategy, providing a timeline of Adani's response to escalating US legal and regulatory pressure. This data has been made available by OpenSecrets, a US-based research group tracking money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy. The Adani Group has called the charges in the DOJ indictment 'baseless' and denied them. The group said in a press statement on November 21 that it has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to 'maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations.' Phase 1, 2023: The beginning, modest commercial lobbying Throughout 2023, the Adani Group's lobbying footprint in Washington D.C. was minimal and focused on business objectives. The total lobbying expenditure for the year was only $40,000. This effort was run entirely in-house by its subsidiary, Adani Solar USA, with a single registered lobbyist, Anurag Varma. The group's stated aim was to engage with a range of government bodies, including the Department of Commerce, Department of State, Export-Import Bank of the US, National Security Council and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. The focus, then, was on commercial interests related to the company's solar business and general trade issues. The main player managing this was Varma, who has extensive experience in lobbying in the US. He has been hired by Indian and Indian-American players – including the Indian government – wanting to advocate for their causes in Washington since the 1990s. Phase 2, late 2024: The indictment and immediate reaction The unsealing of the DOJ indictment in November 2024 triggered an immediate strategic shift in Adani's approach to Washington. In a rapid response to the indictment, the very next day, on November 21, 2024, Adani hired a major law and lobbying firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. While the firm's official registration cited lobbying on "Issues related to the supply chain", the timing, immediately following the indictment, made it clear that it was likely a response to the legal crisis the company was facing. With the hiring of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Adani's lobbying team expanded to five individuals, four of whom were "revolving door" profiles, meaning people with extensive prior government insider experience. Notably, the team included former Member of Congress Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. The group's total lobbying spending for 2024 nearly doubled, going up to $70,000, with an additional $20,000 paid to Akin Gump. Also, its list of lobbying targets grew to include the White House. This marked an escalation from commercial advocacy to the quest for high-level political influence. Phase 3, 2025: The crisis campaign involving high-profile law firms The first half of 2025, according to the group's filings, saw Adani's crisis-response apparatus grow, with a massive surge in spending and the hiring of elite legal defence firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. Lobbying expenditures exploded to $150,000 in just the first six months of 2025, more than doubling the spending of the entire previous year. The number of lobbyists engaged went up to eight. Source: Data made available by OpenSecrets This hints towards a shift to legal defence. The focus of the lobbying effort moved directly to Adani Green Energy, the subsidiary at the heart of the bribery allegations. On January 20, 2025, Adani Green Energy retained two of the US's most powerful law firms for white-collar defence: Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. The registration forms for both firms were direct, stating they were hired to lobby on "Green energy issues and related criminal and civil matters." This explicitly connects their work to the DOJ case in the Eastern District of New York, and marks the final shift from commercial promotion to legal defence and high-level lobbying. The new lobbying team included top-tier legal talent such as William Burck, a former deputy counsel to the US president and now a lobbyist at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. The main target, with the new legal teams in place, is solely the Department of State. All the other government agencies it had said it was engaging with in previous years' filings no longer found a place. Given the international nature of the bribery allegations and the involvement of foreign officials, the State Department is a critical agency for the company to engage with as it navigates its defence in the US criminal case. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan's and Kirkland's lobbying, according to their filings, covers Energy/Nuclear, lobbying related to Law Enforcement/Courts/Judges/Crimes/Prisons and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with the State Department for the Adani Group. The move from multi-agency efforts to just the State Department suggests that the main target of the efforts is the indictment. Lobbying activities Year Total Spending Key Firms Hired Key Agencies Lobbied Stated Purpose / Context 2023 $40,000 Adani Solar USA (in-house) Dept of Commerce, Dept of State, National Security Council, Export-Import Bank Promoting its solar business and general trade issues. 2024 $70,000 Akin, Gump Dept of Commerce, Dept of State, National Security Council, White House Officially for 'supply chain issues,' but hired the day after the DOJ indictment. 2025 (first half) $150,000 Kirkland & Ellis, Quinn, Emanuel Dept of State Explicitly for 'related criminal and civil matters' in response to the indictment. Source: Data and filings made available by OpenSecrets The federal lobbying records illustrate a clear and reactive strategy. The Adani Group's engagement in Washington transformed from a low-level commercial effort into a high profile legal and lobbying operation in a direct response to the US criminal investigation. The timeline and expenditure increase, hiring of elite law firms specialising in government connections including one with a former 'Deputy Counsel to the President, Special Counsel to the President, Deputy Staff Secretary' as the main lobbyist, along with the explicitly stated purpose of lobbying on "criminal matters" all point to a concerted campaign to manage the legal and reputational fallout from the DOJ indictment.
