vijayawada l monday l june 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Terrorist outfits using social media to raise funds, warns FATF Terrorists are increasingly using social media, instant messaging and streaming platforms to raise and move funds, the watchdog warned Digital tools make fundraising easier push for greater collaboration The rapid evolution of social media, messaging and streaming platforms has created new avenues for terror financing, the Financial Action Task Force said. Terrorists are exploiting QR codes and rotating cryptocurrency wallets to receive donations, while using encrypted messaging, disappearing content and coded language to evade law enforcement ■ ■ “No single jurisdiction or authority can address this threat alone, so we need to work together closely to prevent criminals from misusing these platforms,” FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo said The watchdog called for more robust risk assessments and greater integration of financial and digital intelligence among other measures 30 countries have included terror financing via social media in their risk assessment 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 Let’s make Indian Ocean an ocean of opportunity: Modi in Seychelles Target-driven policing makes cops struggle P h a n i n d r a Pa pa s a n i Pacts on security, extradition, maritime cooperation, digital payments, and health signed India extends `1,250 cr credit line to Seychelles JAYANTH JAC O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India envisions the Indian Ocean as an “ocean of opportunity” where maritime security goes hand-in-hand with economic prosperity, as India and Seychelles elevated their strategic partnership by signing nine agreements, including an extradition treaty . Addressing a joint press meet with Seychelles President Patrick Herminie after the wide-ranging talks, Modi said the Indian Ocean was a shared space whose security and prosperity depended on cooperation based on mutual trust. “Our vision is to make the Indian Ocean an ocean of opportunity,” Modi said, adding that its “security, sustainability and prosperity are our shared responsibility .” He said the approach formed the core of India’s MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision. “The defence and security of India and Seychelles are integral to each other.” @ Vijayawada The two countries signed an umbrella line of credit agreement for `1,250 crore between the Export-Import Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment of Seychelles, according to the Ministry of External Affairs Seychelles seeks Indian advanced light helicopter Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives the ‘Guardian of the Blue Horizon’ from Seychelles President Patrick Herminie on Sunday | PMO via PTI Photo During Modi’s visit to the island nation, Seychelles requested India to provide an Advanced Light Helicopter and help establish centres devoted to cyber security and artificial intelligence there, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday The two sides signed nine agreements on security, connectivity, health, agriculture, digital payments, maritime cooperation, space and capacity building. The key pact was an extradition treaty aimed at strengthening cooperation against cross-border crime. On economic cooperation, Modi said both countries would continue exploring new oppor- both countries reaffirming commitment to combating piracy drug trafficking, etc. , Earlier in the day, Modi was conferred Seychelles’ highest honour for a foreign dignitary , the Special Presidential Distinction “Guardian of the Blue Horizon”, in recognition of his leadership on sustainability, the Blue Economy, climate action and ocean governance. tunities for industry and investment while improving connectivity. “Work will also be done to enhance connectivity between India and Seychelles,” he said, adding India would share its successful experience in digital public infrastructure with the island nation. President Her minie said maritime security remained central to bilateral ties, with West asia flare-up Iran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait after US strikes A g e n c i e s @ Dubai The renewed flare-up in the Gulf showed no sign of easing on Sunday with Iran launching drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait hours after United States airstrikes hit the Islamic Republic. Iran and the US have both accused the other of violating their fragile ceasefire, straining negotiations meant to end war that began on February 28. The US military said it had struck multiple targets in Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, adding “Iran had a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement” but “elected not to” when its forces attacked the oil tanker Kiku with a one-way drone. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it carried out strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US attacks, warning any further aggression would be met with a “crushing response”. The Guards “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain,” they said in a statement. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region and have imperilled negotiations for a lasting ceasefire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman for both inbound and outbound traffic. Iran warned any attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz routes agreed with the US would “increase tensions”. “Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait, and will increase the tensions,” Iran Foreign MinisP9 ter Abbas Araghchi said.  Gulf security framework proposed Iran proposed a security framework that includes all countries in the region and without any interference from outside A building in Bahrain damaged in Iranian drone attack | X Lebanon attacked Israel renewed its strikes on Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese media reported, two days after signing deal to end fighting Lawyers refuse to defend Ram temple fund scam accused N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow While the Ayodhya police conducted raids on the houses of eight accused in the Ram temple donations case on Sunday, several lawyers in the temple town have refused to represent the accused. Local sources said there is a growing sentiment within the Ayodhya legal fraternity to not take up the case to defend the accused. The issue is expected to be formally discussed, and a final decision will be taken at a general body meeting of the Faizabad Bar Association on Monday . Bar Association president Kalika Mishra said the unanimous refusal to represent the accused would be put before the Bar Association’s general body meeting and a decision would be taken. S o u r c e s claimed the legal fraternity is angry over the alleged theft of offerings at the temple and has united in the demand for ster n action against all eight accused. “Stern action should be taken against these accused by adopting the bulldozer policy,” senior advocate Rajendra Chaudhary said. Bar Association secretary Shailendra Jaiswal said people’s sentiments were hurt by the theft of temple offerings. It may be recalled that a similar decision was taken by the Ayodhya lawyers in 2005, when those accused of a terrorist attack at the makeshift temple of Lord Ram were produced before a Faizabad court. Instructor grounded after trainee pilot injured s l a l i t h a @ New Delhi AVIATION watchdog DGCA derostered an instructor from flying training duties pending investigation and said it is probing an incident of a trainee pilot sustaining injuries after being hit by a running propeller of a trainer aircraft at Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur airport on Friday . The incident occurred after the trainee pilot deboarded the twin-engine Tecnam P2006T aircraft, DGCA said in a statement on Sunday. The aircraft, belonging to Garg Aviation, a flying training organisation, was engaged in night instructional flying at the Kanpur (Chakeri) airport. The 22-year-old trainee pilot, Riya Bhatra from Delhi with over 300 hours of flying experience, was concluding a night instruction session when she deboarded her aircraft while its engines were still running. Struck by the blades, she sustained cut injuries to her back and hip and is currently recovering at a local private hospital. DGCA grounded the aircraft and de-rostered her senior instructor, Captain Rounaq. Captain Rajeev Bhalla of Garg Aviations Ltd defended this reporting delay stating , that they needed to ascertain facts. Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu administers Pulse Polio drops to a child at his camp office in Undavalli on Sunday | Express Naidu calls for revival of joint family system Exp r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada Lauding the greatness of the traditional Indian joint family system, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has underlined the need for its revival to uphold values in society . “The joint family system is one of our greatest strengths. Grandparents and other family members in a joint family system help shape children with values, besides extending emotional support,” Naidu said. Naidu administered polio drops to children as part of the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme at his camp office in Undavalli on Sunday . Later, the Chief Minister interacted with children and their parents, and enquired about their health, vaccination status and upbringing. Officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department informed him that the State aims to administer polio drops to 4.92 million children during the three-day campaign. Reiterating the State government’s commitment to encourage large families, Naidu said it is creating awareness among people about the importance of having two or more children and promoting a family-friendly social environment. The State Police Department seems to be facing mounting pressure as personnel struggle to balance routine law-and-order responsibilities with an expanding list of governmentdriven enforcement priorities, raising concerns over operational stress, procedural lapses and accountability . Since the TDP-led NDA assumed power in 2024, police forces across the State have been tasked with implementing a series of intensive campaigns, ranging from the crackdown on ganja smuggling and social media misinformation to investigations into alleged irregularities during the previous YSRCP regime. While these initiatives remain key priorities to the gover nment, they have also stretched police resources to the breaking point. With large sections of the force diverted to special drives and investigations, many police wings and enforcement agencies are said to be functioning with severe staf f shortages. The relentless pressure to achieve law and order targets is P4 taking a toll.