coimbatore l Sunday l January 11, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION protesters will be declared ‘enemy of God’, warns Iran Iran’s attorney general Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned on Saturday those taking part in protests will be considered ‘enemy of God’ new mass rallies grip major cities Activists warn of intensifying crackdown “Prosecutors must carefully and without delay prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who seek foreign domination over the country,” a statement read. ‘Enemy of God’ is a death penalty charge in Iran. The two-week-old protests showed no signs of slowing, with major cities hit by new mass rallies on Saturday ■ The toll has gone up to 65, according to the US-based Human ■ Rights Activists News Agency. Activists said they fear the authorities are intensifying their suppression under cover of internet blackout The attorney general’s statement comes a day after the US reiterated its warning against violent crackdown on protesters | P9 2,300 the number of people detained by iranian forces as per U.S. sources 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 ED goes to SC against Didi on I-PAC, WB files caveat U n sust a i n a b l e Don wants to cap credit card rate at 10% from Jan 20 Supreme Court on Saturday seeking to , ensure that no order is passed without THE Enforcement Directorate giving it an opportunity to be (ED) on Saturday moved the heard. Supreme Court against the The ED on Thursday raided West Bengal government in the the premises of I-PAC and its I-PAC money laundering case. director Pratik Jain in Kolkata Alleging that its series of as part of a money laundering raids foe the probe was obprobe into an alleged coal pilstructed by Chief Minister ferage scam. Mamata has acMamata Banerjee, the ED cused the ED of overreach. sought a CBI probe into the inThe ED on Friday had apcident, claiming its “right to Mamata Banerjee proached the Calcutta High conduct a fair and independent Court, alleging that the CM investigation has been curtailed by the took away incriminating documents state machinery”. from the agency’s custody Amid high . In a swift counter-move, the West courtroom drama, the HC adjourned Bengal government filed a caveat in the the case to January 14. e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi/Kolkata Banks say it would cut credit access to retail customers in a big way B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai TAPS takes effect from Jan 1, 2026 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai Case booked for flag on tree in Deepam row Madurai: The Madurai police on Friday registered a case against unidentified persons for tying a flag to a tree on an area of the Thiruparankundram hill which is maintained by the Murugan temple, during the Santhanakoodu festival at the dargah on Dec 21, 2025 | P4 Karur deaths: Central team checks caravan Karur: A day after inspecting the stampede site in Karur where 41 people died during a TVK campaign in September 2025, a 10-member expert team from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory on Saturday checked the campaign caravan used by party chief Vijay and held inquiry with its driver | P4 Jai Jawan Jai Kisan orial Trust E x p r ess Re a d i Nationa str lM ha em Giving effect to the announcement made by Chief Minister MK Stalin last week about the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS), the state government on Saturday issued an order to implement the scheme from January 1, 2026. As per the G.O., TAPS will become operational after the notification of rules and completion of statutory norms and accounting procedures. The order, however, does not specify when these procedures will be completed. Importantly, the government has sought to extend TAPS to employees recruited under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Employees who joined service under CPS and retired on or after January 1, 2026, will be covered under TAPS, subject to rules to be notified. Those who were in service before January 1, 2026, will be given an option during retirement to choose between TAPS or CPS-equivalent benefits.  P7 l Bahadur La S pension plan Amid plunging popularity ratings, US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a cap on interest rates on credit card dues at 10% for a year. The new rate will be effective from January 20, which coincides with completion of Trump’s one year as president. Making the announcement, the president said he will no longer let Americans be “ripped off ” by credit card companies, which charge about 20-30% annually on credit card debts. While economists and analysts globally called it unsustainable, banks said it would lead to massive pullback of credit access to retail customers. US hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said: “My concern about capping rates at 10% is that doing so will inevitably cause millions of Americans to have their cards cancelled as credit card companies lose the ability to adequately price subprime credit risk. Consumers denied credit cards will be forced to turn to loan sharks whose rates and terms will be vastly worse for borrowers.” The move comes amid rising household debt in the US, which jumped by by $197 billion to reach $18.59 trillion in the third quarter. As for credit card balances , they rose by $24 billion from the previous quarter and stood at $1.23 trillion. Though no Indian card issuer chose to react, analysts this newspaper spoke to rubbished the idea as “a wild call that strikes at the very root of free markets and markets-driven interest rate regime”. In India, credit cards charge anywhere from 36-40% annually . “If you don’t charge a risk premium on a completely risky loan/unsecured product like credit card, how can a bank continue to be in business? Even in the US, the effective interest rate is around 7% now and with addition of staff cost, interest cost on the money being lent through credit card, a pricing of 10% is simply not sustainable,” an analyst said. From Aparthied-era township to top of tree G o m e s h S @ Paarl Just about 25km North of Durban, KwaMashu township holds a historical significance in South Africa. It was established under Apartheid to house relocated Black South Africans from Cato Manor. A neighbourhood that is steeped in history — the Mahatma Gandhi House is close by — and houses close to 175,000 people (2011 census) who continue to struggle with poverty, unemployment and crime. For the last few weeks, the localWITH THIS ISSUE A Sobering Effect PLUS 12 P AGES ``JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN " Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi pays homage to the 2nd Prime Minister of India Bharat Ratna Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri (October 02, 1904 - January 11, 1966) on his 60th Punyatithi "The basic idea of governance, as I see it, is to hold the society together so that it can develop and march towards certain goals" Lal Bahadur Shastri ^^esjh le> ls ç'kklu dk ewy fopkj ;g gS fd lekt dks ,dtqV j[kk tk;s rkfd og fodkl dj lds vkSj vius y{;ksa dh rjQ c<+ lds** yky cgknqj 'kkL=h LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, DELHI Plot No. 11/7, Sector - 11, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075 Phone : 011-25307700 | Email : director@Lbsim.ac.in www.Lbsim.ac.in ity has been cherishing a rare mo- dream seemed impossible. “Buying ment of joy. One of their sons — cricket gear was difficult. My sisNqobani Mokoena — has turned ters were assisting me, and they into a symbol of hope not just for were too expensive,” Princess rethe locality but the whole councalls. “Kids in the township try Raised by a single mother, . don’t focus on school, don’t foPrincess Mokoena, with help cus on their talent, and don’t from a joint family the 19-year, respect their family .” old pacer has lit up the ongoThe teenager found a ing SA20 for Paarl Royals. new life through It was not easy as a child. cricket. Only in its Princess worked as an asfourth year, just sistant in a firm and struglike IPL, SA20 is gled to make ends meet making cricket and at times supporting a viable career Nqobani’s cricketing Nqobani Mokoena option. P13 Owaisi: India will one day have hijab clad as PM AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said a hijab-clad woman would one day become India’s PM, as the Constitution accords equal status to every citizen, unlike in Pakistan where members of only one religion can reach top posts