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