kalaburagi l saturday l december 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION donald Trump suspends green card lottery programme VISA The the US President blamed the green card lottery programme for allowing the Brown University shootings suspect to enter the US move is certain to invite legal challenge in keeping with anti-immigrant stance The diversity visa programme makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year to people from countries with little representation in the US. The lottery was created by Congress, and the move will invite legal challenges. The decision comes after it was found that the shooting suspect, had used the visa to enter the US. He hailed from Portugal ■ ■ Trump has long opposed the diversity visa lottery. While pursuing deportation, Trump had sought to limit avenues to legal immigration Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Friday she is asking the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the programme. “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in US” | P11 20 mn people applied for the 2025 GREEN CARD visa lottery CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Learning Malayalam, Priyanka tells Modi at Speaker’s ‘chai pe charcha’ Yunus admin shaken A girl rescues books from a shop near the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper in Dhaka | AP/PTI Student leader’s death roils B’desh Media offices torched in Dhaka; Hindu youth lynched in Mymensingh; Indian mission in Chattogram attacked J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi Bangladesh has slipped into one of its most volatile moments since the 2024 students-led uprising, with political violence, attacks on the press, and the brutal lynching of a Hindu minority man pushing the country closer to the brink ahead of the national elections set for February 12, 2026. Tensions soared on Thursday night after news broke about the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent leader of the July uprising and a candidate in the upcoming elections. Hadi died in a Singapore hospital, six days after he was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka. In protest, hundreds of mostly young protesters poured into the streets, setting fire to the offices of Prothom Alo, the country’s largest daily, and The Daily Star. Both dailies missed their print editions for the first time in their history Sources . said the papers may have been targeted for being seen as pro-Sheikh Hasina and pro-India. In another incident on Thursday night, a Hindu man was lynched in Mymensingh city over alleged blasphemy . The victim, identified as 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, a factory worker, was beaten to death by a mob, hanged from a tree and later set on fire. Videos of the gruesome killing circulated widely on social media, fuelling fear. The spiralling violence has further shaken the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has already been under fire for failing to restore order since taking office in August 2024. The Yunus administration dismissed the attacks as the work of “a few fringe elements” and warned against mob violence. “We strongly and unequivocally condemn all acts of violence, intimidation, arson, and destruction of properties,” it said in a statement, adding: “At this critical hour, we call upon every citizen to honour Hadi by rejecting and resisting violence, incitement and hatred.” The interim government also condemned the attacks on the media, calling them “tantamount to an attack on free media” and a major obstacle to democratic progress. As for the lynching of the Hindu youth, it said “the perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared.” The unrest has not been confined to Dhaka. Protesters vandalised the already demolished structure of 32 Dhanmondi, the former home of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram. Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, detaining 12 protesters.  P11 The fresh violence has shaken the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, which is facing criticism for failing to restore order in the country since taking office in August 2024 Known for anti-India stand Sharif Osman Hadi (pic) was a key figure in July uprising. Known for his anti-India stand, he circulated some maps showing Indian areas as part of ‘Greater Bangladesh’ No one can stop the democratic progress through threat, terrorist activities or bloodshed —Muhammad Yunus We cannot help but take note of the govt’s relaxed attitude towards the security of news outlets — The Daily Star PU student raped by minor dress Code Govt employees friend, 2 others under lens told to dress R a k s h i t h G o w d a @ Bengaluru A 16-year-old first-year PU student was allegedly forced to consume alcohol and then raped by her 17-year-old friend at a lodge in Yelahanka police limits on Thursday night. The police are probing to ascertain whether it is a case of gang rape as the involvement of two others is suspected. Both the survivor and the accused hail from Kerala. The girl lives in the city with her parents and is pursuing firstyear PU at a well-known college. The accused, a 17-and-ahalf-year-old college dropout, is a resident of Devanahalli. Police are also investigating the role of two of his friends, both adults, who were allegedly present in the room when the incident took place. The police said the accused and the victim met at a college function a month ago and became close after chatting on social media. P7 decently The state government has issued a circular, warning the employees against wearing clothes that damage the reputation of the state government. Though the employees are told to wear decent outfits, many are not following the instructions, the circular said | P6 P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi A light-hearted exchange over ‘Wayanad turmeric’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent Ethiopia visit figured in the friendly conversation between Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the PM at the customary tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday af, ter the conclusion of the Winter Session of Parliament. Priyanka, the Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, is understood to have told Modi that she is learning Malayalam so that it helps while conversing with her constituents. She also asked the PM about his recent three-nation trip to Africa and the Middle East. Modi is learnt to have said that the impression many people have in India about Ethiopia is quite different from the actual position of that country which , is progressing very well socially and economically . The tea party is a customary meeting hosted by the Speaker with leaders of different par- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the tea party | PTI ties after every session. The Opposition had stayed away from the meeting since the 2024 Monsoon Session alleging that its members were not allowed to speak during debates. Congress sources said the party decided to attend it this time around following a decision by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge. While the Opposition remains opposed to the bills, they felt the Chair was relatively fair during this session. This, they said, was in contrast to the previous session, when they were not allowed to speak. When SP leader Dharmendra Yadav observed that the Winter Session was one of the shortest, the PM told him in a friendly manner that it was At a time when most films struggle to go beyond a week or two in their theatrical run, Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar has done the seemingly impossible. After earning more than `200 crore in its first week, the film outdid those figures in week two. For small films that sometimes pick up gradually it’s a , great accomplishment. For a big money-grosser like Dhurandhar, it is almost like spotting a shooting star. The film centred on an Indian intelligence operative (Ranveer Singh as Hamza Ali Mazari), who infiltrates Pakistan’s underworld, has been receiving rave reviews from express read ED attaches Nagendra’s assets worth `8 crore Bengaluru: The Directorate of Enforcement has attached four immovable properties worth Rs 8.07 crore of former minister B Nagendra in Valmiki Corporation misappropriation case | P6 SIR exercise: Over 97 lakh names dropped in TN Chennai: Over 97 lakh names from Tamil Nadu’s existing electorate of 6.41 crore have been dropped in the draft rolls as part of the Special Intensive Revision exercise in all 38 districts in the state that was released on Friday | P7 No 2.5-yr formula; I am CM & will remain so: Siddu S u n i l Pat i l @Belagavi Siddu & I have reached an agreement, says DKS Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday categorically denied any agreement limiting his tenure to two-and-a-half years, asserting on the floor of the Legislative Assembly that he enjoys the confidence of the Congress high command and will continue to be CM. “According to me, the high command is with me. There was no decision at the time of assuming office that I would serve only for two-and-a-half Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the last day of the winter session at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on Friday Gokarna: DCM DK Shivakumar on Friday said he had never said that Siddaramaiah will not complete his full five-year term as CM. “We two have come to an agreement. The top brass forged the agreement. We never spoke about leadership change. It is the creation of the media,” he said | P4 years. I am the chief minister now, and I will continue,” Siddaramaiah said in a firm tone, responding during a debate on North Karnataka. His remarks sparked sharp reactions from BJP leaders, including Opposition leader R Environmental responsibility part of CSR, says SC bench s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday held that companies cannot claim to be socially responsible while disregarding the protection of wildlife and fragile ecosystems affected by their operations. A two-judge bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar while hearing submissions in the long-running case on conservation of critically endangered Great Indian Bustard held that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) cannot be divorced from a company’s environmental responsibility “CSR funds are not . acts of philanthropy but instruments to discharge constitutional and fiduciary duties, particularly where corporate activities threaten endangered species,” the bench said. The case was filed in 2019 by environmentalist M K Ranjitsinh seeking urgent measures to prevent the extinction of the Great Indian Bustard, whose populations have declined due to habitat loss and collisions with overhead power lines in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Disposing of the writ petitions, the court ruled that survival of the Great Indian Bustard is non-negotiable, adding firms benefiting from natural landscapes must shoulder responsibility for conserving them. Dhurandhar past Baahubali, Dangal; eyes `1K cr-club B H H a r s h @ Hyderabad good for his throat as he didn’t have to shout for too many days, inviting laughter from those present, sources said. RSP’s N K Premachandran too complained about the short session, with Speaker Birla reminding him that he had given him ample opportunities to speak on any subject. Priyanka joined in, saying that many MPs like her always look at Premachandran’s conduct in the House and try to learn various aspects of parliamentary proceedings, sources said. Those who attended the tea party included Manickam Tagore, Kumari Selja, Mohd Jawed, Supriya Sule, A Raja, Ram Mohan Naidu, Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Chirag Paswan. celebs and fans, even if quite a few critics haven’t taken a shine to it. And the juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down. After breaching the `500 crore mark in 10 days, Dhurandhar has earned over `700 crore globally, and is well on track to enter the `1,000 crore club. In its run so far, the film has comfortably crossed the domestic collections of landmark films like SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, Rajinikanth’s 2.0, Aamir Khan’s Dangal, and Prabhas’ Salaar. On the surface, Dhurandhar probably works like a conventional gangster drama, and the apolitical audience members are enjoying it superficially . On the other hand, it frequently scrapes on our real wounds made by turbulent ties with Pakistan. This illusion is what has made the film and its responses a major talking point. Ashoka, Sunil Kumar and Munirathna, who repeatedly raised the issue of leadership change. They challenged Siddaramaiah to publicly declare that he would remain chief minister for the full five-year term, leading to a lively exchange in the House. When BJP MLA Siddu Savadi claimed that BJP would return to power in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah retorted, “Not even in your dreams. BJP will not come to power in this state under any circumstances.” P4