Rush Hour: 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana brought to India, China warns against trade ‘coercion’ & more
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Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin accused of plotting the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been brought to India after being extradited from the United States. The National Investigation Agency on Thursday described him as the mastermind of the attack, and said it secured his extradition after years of sustained efforts.
Rana allegedly conspired with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley and operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami terror groups to carry out the attacks.
Ten attackers, linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, had traveled by sea from Pakistan to Mumbai, targeting several locations across the city on November 26, 2008. The attacks left 166 people dead, including 26 foreign nationals.
In May 2023, a US district court ordered Rana’s extradition to India. The US Supreme Court in January rejected his appeal against the move. Read more.
China has said it will fight United States President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end” if Washington DC wants to engage in trade wars. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that “pressure, threats, and coercion” were not the right ways to deal with the country.
This came after Trump on Wednesday increased tariffs on China by 125%, while reducing the duties on imports from other countries to 10% for 90 days.
The US President cited the “lack of respect” Beijing had shown to the global markets for further increasing tariffs on imports from China. He claimed that 75 countries had sought trade negotiations with Washington and had not retaliated.
China’s yuan was at its weakest level against the US dollar on Thursday since the global financial crisis. Oil prices also fell by nearly 3% amid fears of a deepening trade war between the US and China. Read more.
The release of the Hindi film “Phule” has been postponed after the Central Board of Film Certification asked the filmmakers to remove some caste references. A Brahmin group had alleged that the film, based on the life of anti-caste reformers Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, portrayed the community in a bad light.
The president of a group called the Brahmin Federation, Anand Dave, claimed that the film ignored the contributions of Brahmins who supported Jyotirao Phule’s reforms.
The Central Board of Film Certification asked for terms such as “Mahar”, “Mang”, “Peshvai”, and “Manu’s system of caste” to be removed, saying that the terms were “sensitive”
The film, which stars Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa in leading roles, was initially slated to be released on April 11, which is Jyotirao Phule’s birth anniversary. However, it will now be released on April 25 instead. Read more.
The Allahabad High Court said in a recent judgement that a woman allegedly raped in 2024 had “invited trouble” for herself and was responsible for the crime committed against her. Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh made the remarks on March 11 while granting bail to Nischal Chandak, the man accused of raping the woman.
According to the woman’s complaint, she had gone to a bar in Delhi with three friends, where she met some male acquaintances, including Chandak. She said that as she was intoxicated, Chandak asked her to go with him to his home, to which she agreed.
The woman claimed that the man, instead of taking her to his home in Noida, took her to a relative’s flat in Gurugram, and raped her.
Chandak claimed that what took place between them was consensual sex and not rape. Read more.
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