Politics
FBI foils ‘terror plot’ targeting Los Angeles: US attorney general
- Four people charged with conspiracy, reads complaint.
- Group also planned to target ice agents, vehicles, says official.
- Says plot included planting explosives at 5 sites on New Year’s Eve.
WASHINGTON: The FBI has foiled a bomb plot targeting multiple targets, including immigration agents and vehicles, in Los Angeles and Orange County, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Monday.
“The Turtle Island Liberation Front—a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group—was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” Bondi said in a statement.
Four people have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California.
The bombing plot called for planting explosive devices at five locations targeting two US companies at midnight on New Year’s Eve in the Los Angeles area, it said.
The four defendants named in the complaint are Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai.
According to a sworn statement in support of the complaint, Carroll in November presented an eight-page handwritten document to a paid confidential source titled “Operation Midnight Sun” which described a bomb plot.
Carroll and Page later allegedly recruited the other two defendants to help carry out the plan, which included them “acquiring bomb-making materials and traveling to a remote location in the Mojave Desert to construct and detonate test explosive devices on December 12, 2025,” the sworn statement alleges.
FBI agents intervened, however, before they could complete their work to assemble a functional explosive device.
In yet another incident of hate crime against religious minorities in India, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removed the hijab (veil) of a newly recruited Muslim doctor during an official event on Monday, drawing widespread criticism worldwide.
The shameful incident took place at “Samvad,” the CM’s secretariat, where appointment letters were being handed over to newly recruited doctors, The Indian Express reported.
When the hijab-clad woman went to collect her job letter, the CM, 75, looked at her and asked: “What is this?”
Then, he bent a little and pulled her hijab down.
Meanwhile, the flustered appointee was hastily pulled aside by an official standing near the stage.
The shocking incident triggered a wave of anguish among minorities in the country and drew strong criticism from the opposition parties, especially the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Reacting to the video, the Congress accused Kumar of inappropriate conduct towards the woman official, calling it a “vile act”.
In a post on X, the party said, “This is Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Look at his shamelessness—a female doctor had come to collect her appointment letter, and Nitish Kumar pulled off her hijab. A man occupying the highest position in Bihar is openly indulging in such a vile act.”
The RJD questioned Kumar’s mental health.
“What has happened to Nitish ji? His mental state has now reached a completely pitiable condition,” the party said in a post on X.
In India, hate crimes against religious minorities have alarmingly increased during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Last month, a US report recommended designating India as a country of “special concern” due to religious prejudice and serious violations of religious freedom.
US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its report, exposed religious discrimination in India and extremist policies of the RSS and the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.
The report revealed that Modi and the BJP had implemented discriminatory policies against minorities in line with the Hindutva ideology.
It added that the BJP, as the political wing of the RSS, promotes Hindu nationalism.
The RSS has been involved for decades in violent acts against minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs.
- Private firms may import, process uranium under new bill.
- Foreign firms in joint ventures may apply for licence.
- New bill requires approval from both houses of parliament.
NEW DELHI: India on Monday set in motion steps to end decades of state control over nuclear power, by introducing a bill in parliament that would allow private firms to build and operate plants as the government seeks to make atomic energy central to its clean energy push.
Foreign companies in a joint venture with Indian companies could apply for a licence if selected to do so by the government.
India’s nuclear sector has been tightly guarded since its first reactor went online in 1969, shaped by Cold War politics and fuel-technology restrictions after its 1974 nuclear test.
State-run Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) owns and operates India’s current fleet of nuclear power plants but Reuters reported last year that India was looking to invite domestic private firms such as Tata Power, Adani Power and Reliance Industries to invest about $26 billion in the sector.
The new bill, which must be approved by the lower and upper houses of parliament to become law, would allow any “person expressly permitted by the central government” to apply for a licence to enter the nuclear sector, a major shift from decades when only state-run companies could operate reactors.
India plans to expand nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW) over the next two decades, more than 12 times the current 8.2 GW.
The new bill, named the Sustainable Harnessing of Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025, drops a rule that lets operators sue suppliers for equipment defects, a provision foreign suppliers have long opposed. Foreign suppliers include General Electric Co, Westinghouse Electric Co and France’s EDF.
The bill doubles operator liability for large reactors to 30 billion rupees ($330.75 million), retains the overall compensation cap at previous levels and proposes a nuclear liability fund to cover accident claims in line with global norms.
Private firms will be allowed to import and process uranium, according to the bill. The government has kept strategic activities such as uranium mining, nuclear fuel enrichment and fuel reprocessing under government control, and all operators would require licences.
Donations for a Sydney man who wrestled a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Bondi Beach have surged past A$1.1 million ($744,000), as he recovers in hospital after surgery for bullet wounds.
Forty-three-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim father-of-two, hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his rifle and knocking him to the ground.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ahmed’s bravery saved lives.
“What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours was the worst of humanity in a terrorist act. But we also saw an example of the best of humanity in Ahmed Al Ahmed running towards danger, putting his own life at risk,” Albanese told state broadcaster ABC News.
He was shot twice by a second perpetrator, Albanese said.
Ahmed’s family said he was hit in the hand and arm.
Australian police on Monday said a 50-year-old father and his 24-year-old son carried out the attack at a Jewish celebration on Sunday afternoon, killing 15 people in the country’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.
Hailed a hero for disarming the gunman
Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, told ABC News in an interview that his son was an Australian citizen and sells fruits and vegetables.
“My son is a hero. He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people.”
“When he saw people lying on the ground and the blood, quickly his conscience pushed him to attack one of the terrorists and take away his weapon,” Mohamed Fateh said.
Jozay Alkanji, Ahmed’s cousin, said he had had initial surgery and may need more.
Tributes have poured in from leaders both abroad and at home.
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, said in a social media post he visited Ahmed at St George Hospital and conveyed the gratitude of people across the state.
“Ahmed is a real-life hero,” his post said. “Thank you, Ahmed.” A photo showed Minns at his bedside, and Ahmed propped on pillows with his left arm in a cast.
US President Donald Trump called Ahmed “a very, very brave person” who saved many lives.
A GoFundMe campaign set up for Ahmed has raised more than A$1.1 million within one day. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was the largest donor, contributing A$99,999 and sharing the fundraiser on his X account.
Supporters thank Ahmed for saving lives
Outside St George Hospital, strangers came to show their support.
Misha and Veronica Pochuev left flowers for Ahmed with their seven-year-old daughter, Miroslava.
“My husband is Russian, my father is Jewish, my grandpa is Muslim. This is not only about Bondi, this is about every person,” Veronica said.
Yomna Touni, 43, stayed at the hospital for hours to offer assistance on behalf of a Muslim-run charity also raising funds for Ahmed.
“The intention is to raise as much money as possible for his speedy recovery,” she said.
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