GG USA 2849

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NEWS

19th - 25th April 2025 www.garavigujarat.biz

THE US government said on Wednes-

day (9) it will begin screening the so-

cial media of immigrants and visa ap-

plicants for what it called antisemitic

activity, leading to swift condem-

nations from rights advocates, in-

cluding some Jewish ones, who

raised free speech and surveillance

concerns.

President Donald Trump’s ad-

ministration has attempted to crack

down on pro-Palestinian protests

over US ally Israel’s devastating mili-

tary assault on Gaza after Palestinian

Islamist group Hamas’ deadly Octo-

ber 2023 attack.

‘Today US Citizenship and Immi-

gration Services (USCIS) will begin

considering aliens’ antisemitic activ-

ity on social media and the physical

harassment of Jewish individuals as

grounds for denying immigration

benefit requests,’ USCIS, an agency

of the Homeland Security Depart-

ment, said in a statement.

The step will immediately afect

those applying for lawful permanent

resident status, foreign students and

those affiliated with educational

institutions linked to antisemitic

activity, it added.

The Trump administration has

often labeled pro-Palestinian voices

as antisemitic and sympathetic to

groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and

the Houthi rebels, whom Washing-

ton designates as ‘terrorists’.

The administration is attempting

to deport some foreign students,

has  revoked multiple visas and

has warned universities of federal

funding cuts over pro-Palestinian

protests.

Protesters, including some Jew-

ish groups, say the administration

conflates their criticism of Israel’s

actions in Gaza and support for Pal-

estinian rights with antisemitism

and support for extremism.

Free speech group Foundation

for Individual Rights and Expression

(FIRE) said the Trump administra-

tion was ‘formalizing censorship

practices.’

‘By surveilling visa and green

card holders and targeting them

based on nothing more than their

protected expression, the admin-

istration trades America’s commit-

ment to free and open discourse for

fear and silence,’ FIRE said.

AN INDIA-BORN doctor and mem-

bers of her family died in a plane

crash in upstate New York over

the weekend while heading to the

Catskills Mountains for a birthday

celebration.

Dr Joy Saini, a urogynecologist,

her husband Dr Michael Grof, a neu-

roscientist, their daughter Karenna

Grof, a former MIT soccer player and

the 2022 NCAA (National Collegiate

Athletic Association) woman of the

year, and son Jared Grof, a paralegal,

died when the twin-engine plane

crashed, according to media reports.

The National Transportation

Safety Board (NTSB) said in a state-

ment that on 12 April at about 12:06

pm, the aircraft got destroyed when

it was involved in an accident near

Craryville, New York.

The family boarded Grof’s pri-

vate plane at Westchester County

Airport in White Plains, New York.

NTSB said its investigators are

collecting evidence and interviewing

witnesses.

The victims included Jared

Groff's partner Alexia Couyutas

Duarte, who had planned to attend

Harvard Law School later this year,

and Karenna Grof's boyfriend James

Santoro who was an MIT graduate.

According to media reports, the

family was headed to the Catskills

for a birthday celebration and the

Passover holiday.

According to the information on

the website of Boston Pelvic Health

& Wellness, a centre founded by

Saini, she was a ‘highly experienced

and respected urogynecologist and

reconstructive pelvic surgeon’.

FBI DIRECTOR Kash  Patel  was

removed from his role as acting

director of the Bureau of Alcohol, To-

bacco, Firearms and Explosives and

replaced by Army secretary Daniel

Driscoll, US ofcials confirmed on

Wednesday (9).

Patel was sworn in as acting ATF

leader on 24 February, three days

after he was sworn in as FBI director,

a role he continues to hold.

It was unusual for one person to

be tapped to lead two major Justice

Department units at the same time.

A Justice Department official

confirmed Patel's removal and said

it had nothing to do with his job

performance. The ofcial did not say

why Patel was removed.

Driscoll is now serving as acting

ATF director, the ofcial said. Three

other sources familiar with the de-

cision said Driscoll will continue to

hold both roles.

It is unclear when  Patel  was

formally removed from his post or

when Driscoll was notified of his new

responsibility.

President Donald Trump’s sec-

ond term has featured multiple

whipsaw policy reversals, includ-

ing the firing and rehiring of large

numbers of federal workers and on

Wednesday the temporary lowering

of tariffs on many countries, less

than 24 hours after steep new taxes

on imports kicked in.

‘Director Kash Patel was brief-

ly designated ATF director while

awaiting Senate confirmations - a

standard, short-term move. Doz-

ens of similar re-designations have

occurred across the federal govern-

ment,’ White House spokesperson

Harrison Fields said.

‘Director Patel is now excelling

in his role at the FBI and delivering

outstanding results.’

Attorney General Pam Bondi has

launched a task force to focus on

enforcing the Second Amendment

of the US Constitution.

VICE PRESIDENT J D Vance and

national security adviser Michael

Waltz are expected to be in New

Delhi on 21 April, reflecting Wash-

ington's focus on its relationship

with India amid concerns across

the globe over president Donald

Trump's policy on tarifs.

Both the US vice president and

national security advisor are likely

to embark on separate visits to

India from 21 April 21, PTI reported on Friday (11) citing

top sources.

Vance's visit is likely to be more of a private trip, even

though it will have ofcial components.

Waltz's visit will be a purely business trip as he will

hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian interlocutors on

a range of key issues including the security situation in

the Indo-Pacific, the sources said.

Both Vance and Waltz are expected to meet prime

minister Narendra Modi before he travels to Saudi Arabia

for a two-day visit from 22 April.

The visits of Vance and Waltz

are taking place against the back-

drop of Trump's policy on tarifs

that triggered massive trade

disruptions and fears of a global

economic recession.

On Wednesday, Trump an-

nounced a 90-day pause on his

sweeping tarifs on all countries

except China as nations around

the world wilted under the impact of the seismic action.

Though Vance is also likely paying a visit to India

along with Indian American second lady Usha Vance and

their children from 21 April, the duration of his trip is set

to be longer than that of Waltz.

It is learnt that Vance and his family were planning to

travel to Shimla, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Delhi.

The visits are taking place weeks after US director of

national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard visited New Delhi, and

held meetings with Modi and top ministers.

GEORGIA has become the first state

in the US to introduce a bill to include

anti-Hindu discrimination in their

penal code.

Republican senators Shawn Still

and Clint Dixon, along with Dem-

ocratic senators Jason Esteves and

Emanuel Jones, had jointly backed

the Senate Bill 375 to end ‘Hindu-

phobia.’

‘The State of Georgia has in-

troduced SB 375, which formally

updates the state’s penal code to rec-

ognize Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu

prejudice, and enables law enforce-

ment and other agencies to consider

Hinduphobia while cataloging such

discrimination and taking appropri-

ate action,’ the Coalition of Hindus

in North America said.

US to screen social media of immigrants

Yoga session at

America’s tallest

building

Indian businessman

sanctioned for ties

with Iran

Kash Patel removed from gun control body

Vances to visit India from 21 April

Georgia to outlaw

'Hinduphobia'

India-born doctor, family killed in plane crash

YOGA mats were rolled out in the

iconic New York city landmark World

Trade Center as a special event at

the tallest building in the Western

Hemisphere kickstarted the 75-day

countdown to the 11th International

Day of Yoga, that will be commemo-

rated globally on 21 June.

The consulate general of India in

New York hosted the special ‘75 days

to go’ yoga session.

Overlooking expansive aerial

views of Manhattan and New Jersey,

the session was held early morning

on a rainy Monday (7) on the 102nd

floor of the One World Observatory

at the 1,776 feet tall One World Trade

Center, led by eminent yoga and

meditation instructor Ruchika Lal of

the Art of Living Foundation.

In the run up to the Yoga Day

commemoration in June, several

events will be held across the US -

from the Times Square and the UN

headquarters to other iconic desti-

nations.

THE US has sanctioned a United Arab

Emirates-based Indian national and

two India-based entities operating

as part of Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’ and

involved in shipping Iranian oil.

Jugwinder Singh Brar owns mul-

tiple shipping companies that boast

a fleet of nearly 30 vessels, many

of which operate as part of Iran’s

‘shadow fleet’, the US Department

of the Treasury said in a statement

on Thursday (17).

In addition to his UAE-based

businesses, Brar owns or controls In-

dia-based shipping company Global

Tankers Private Limited and pet-

rochemical sales company B and P

Solutions Private Limited.

The Treasury Department’s

Office of Foreign Assets Control

designated Brar, two UAE and two

India-based entities that own and

operate Brar’s vessels that have

transported Iranian oil on behalf of

the National Iranian Oil Company

and the Iranian military.

US visa

(From left) Dr Michael Groff, Karenna

Groff, Dr Joy Saini, and James Santoro

Kash Patel

J D Vance with Usha Vance

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