FRIDAY APPLE WARNS OF SOPHISTICATED SPYWARE ATTACKS ON IPHONE USERS 12 APRIL, 2024 2021 epaper.morningstandard.in WHEN APPLE STARTED SENDING OUT ALERTS TO ITS USERS ABOUT SECURITY BREACHES facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard DEATH FOR REAL ESTATE TYCOON A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 11 NEW DELHI J8.00 POLITICIANS, DIPLOMATS, SCRIBES TARGETED In its latest alert, Apple has dropped the term ‘state-sponsored’ it used to describe such malware attacks in the past. The latest notification has also come at a time when around 60 countries, including India, are in election mode. The targets are usually politicians, diplomats, activists and senior journalists. Apple said these attacks are very hard to detect | P12 VIETNAM Truong My Lan was sentenced on Thursday to death by a court in Ho Chi Minh city for fraud The US firm has warned its users in India and 91 other countries of a “mercenary spyware attack” targeting a select few influential individuals PAGES 14 Decks cleared for FIREBRAND ANNAMALAI’S DUEL IN COIMBATORE IS TN HEAD-TURNER ED to take over Herald assets PMLA adjudicating authority upholds 2023 order to attach properties worth `751.90 cr IN a big blow to the Congress, the decks have been cleared for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take possession of assets worth `751.90 crore belonging to the party-owned Associated Journal Ltd (AJL) and Young Indian. For, the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Adjudicating Authority has upheld the provisional attachment order issued last year in connection with a money laundering probe against AJL. The ED had provisionally attached these properties last year. It had also interrogated several individuals, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, in connection with the case. The two Congress leaders together held 76% of shares in Young India, the holding company of AJL, which publishes The National Herald newspaper. According to the ED, the AJL had to repay a loan of `90.21 crore to AICC, which, however, treated the said loan as nonrecoverable and sold it for a mere `50 lakh to Young Indian. In its order, the adjudicating authority said it believes the movable assets and equity shares attached by the ED are proceeds of crime. The ED had initiated the money-laundering probe following a process initiated by PRIME PROPERTIES The assets to be taken into possession by the Enforcement Directorate include the Herald House at ITO in New Delhi, land as well as buildings in Mumbai, Lucknow and some other prime location AS the summer peaks, the battlefield in Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency sparkles in an unfamiliar glow. There are two reasons. For one, BJP’s Tamil Nadu state president, K Annamalai, an IPS officerturned-politician, has entered the poll fray . Second, the DMK took over the constituency from CPM after a gap of a decade and fielded a soft-spoken Ganapathy P Rajkumar, former Mayor of Coimbatore Corporation, with the sole aim of trouncing the BJP with all its might. The fact that in 2019, CPM’s P R Natarajan romped home with over 1.79 lakh votes may portray the constituency as a hopeless trek for any debutant. But in the 2021 assembly elections, it changed colour from tip to toe in favour of AIADMK in the five segments under this LS constituency. Even the victory of the BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan from Coimbatore South — the sixth Assembly seat — after a three-cornered contest in which she handed actor-turned-neta Kamal Haasan a drubbing, could be attributed to the alliance with the AIADMK. The firebrand Annamalai, initially reluctant to enter the Lok Sabha race, later fell in line with the party high command’s deci- LIQUOR POLICY CASE CBI questions, arrests Kavitha in Tihar jail the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, which took cognisance of a private complaint against irregularities in the affairs of National Herald. The court had held that seven accused persons and entities, including Young Indian, prima facie committed offences of criminal breach of trust under various IPC sections, including cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, dishonest misappropriation of property and criminal conspiracy . The ED probe revealed AJL is in possession of proceeds of crime in the form of properties in many cities worth `661.69 crore and Young Indian `90.21 crore in the form of investment in equity shares of AJL. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi COMPOUNDING the troubles for the already embattled BRS leader K Kavitha, the CBI on Thursday arrested her in a corruption case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. CBI sleuths questioned her in Tihar jail on Saturday last after obtaining permission from a special court. Kavitha, 46, has been lodged in Tihar in an ED case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act linked to the excise policy scam. The BRS leader was questioned on WhatsApp chats Kejriwal recovered from co-accused plea in SC Buchi Babu’s phone and documents related to a land deal The Supreme after which `100 crore was al- Court will hear legedly paid to the AAP in on Monday kickbacks to swing the now- Kejriwal’s plea scrapped excise policy in fa- challenging Delhi HC order vour of a liquor lobby . The CBI made the arrest of dismissal of formalities in jail number 6 his petition of of Tihar on Thursday under arrest and Section 120-B (criminal con- remand. The SC spiracy) read with Section hasn’t decided 477-A (falsification of ac- yet as to who counts) of IPC and Section 7 would be the (offence relating to public judges to hear servant being bribed) of Pre- his appeal. P4 vention of Corruption Act. It is learnt that the agency plans to produce her before a special court in Delhi on Friday to seek her remand. “If the CBI gets her remand, Kavitha will be moved to a lockup at the agency headquarters where she will be questioned by officers of the Anti-Corruption Branch,” a senior CBI official said. EID MUBARAK Hawkers outside Jama Masjid during Eid-ul-Fitr on Thursday. Markets in Chandni Chowk, Meena Bazar and Dariba Kalan wore a festive look | PTI | P4 ‘NOT RECEIVED ANAND’S RESIGNATION’ | P3 MAIN SEGMENT ‘All We Imagine as Light’ first Indian film in 30 years to compete at Cannes P RAS H A N T H VA L L AVA N MUMBAI-BASED filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light is all set to premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it will compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or award. The announcement was made on Thursday by Iris Knobloch, president of the Cannes Festival, along with Thierry Fremaux, General Delegate. This year’s Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to be held from May 14 to 25. The last Indian film to enter the competition section at Cannes is the 1994 Malayalam film Swaham, by director Shaji N Karun, which lost to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. All We Imagine As Light is an Indo-French co-production, and revolves around two nurses from Kerala who work at a nursing home in Mumbai. The film stars Kani Kusruti (Biriyaani) and Divya Prabha (Ariyippu). British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri’s Santosh will also be screened at the Cannes this year — under the Un Certain Regard section. Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing won the Oeil d’Or (Golden Eye) for Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. The film revolves around a college student who writes a letter to her estranged boyfriend. In 2017, the director’s Afternoon Clouds, was the only film to be selected for screening at Cannes. Born and raised in Mumbai, Kapadia went on to study film direction at Film and Televi- Poster of All We Imagine As Light sion Institute of India in Pune. All We Imagine As Light will compete against 19 other films, including Megalopolis by Francis Ford Coppola, The Apprentice by Ali Abbasi, Kind of Kindness by Yorgos Lanthimos, and The Shrouds by David Cronenberg. Director Greta Gerwig, best known for films like Lady Bird and Barbie, will lead the juries of the competition section. Veteran filmmaker George Lucas will receive an Honorary Palme d’Or this year. Top award Neecha Nagar is the only Indian film ever to win the top honour at Cannes back in 1946. At the time, the award was known as Grand Prix du Festival International du Film ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR EX PRESS N EWS SERVICE @ New Delhi S M A N N A R M A N N A N @ Coimbatore sion. Having previously lost to the DMK in the Aravakurichi assembly seat in 2021 by 24,816 votes, he is leaving no stone unturned by touring every nook and cranny of the constituency amidst his busy schedule of campaigning for candidates of the BJP and its allies across the state. He is seen as a fearless, corruption-free leader by the youth and people who are looking for an alternative for the two Dravidian parties. But will it be enough to cross the line? While the BJP eyes the support of a sizable North Indian population and votes from Hindu outfits, the DMK hopes to lap up minority votes and the support of allies like the CPI and CPM, which hold sway over the working class. On the other hand, the AIADMK enjoys a traditional vote bank. While Singai G Ramachandran, AIADMK’s IT wing president, is banking on party strongman S P Velumani and five MLAs, the DMK will definitely miss the presence of jailed ex-minister V Senthil Balaji, who played a vital role in the party’s victory in the local body polls in the Kongu belt. CONTINUED ON P5 EXPRESS READ Lindy Cameron to be new NDMC’s ‘tree ambulance’ British envoy to India to protect green cover The UK on Thursday appointed Lindy Cameron as its new high commissioner to India. Cameron will succeed Alex Ellis who will be transferring to another diplomatic service appointment, the Foreign Office said. Cameron is the first woman to be appointed British High Commissioner of India. She will take up her appointment during the course of this month. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has launched a ‘tree ambulance’ for treating ailing trees and maintaining the green assets in the areas falling under it. The NDMC has customised an eco-friendly CNG-run ‘tree ambulance’ equipped with two water tanks, having storage capacities of 750 litres and 250 litres, and a highpressure pump with a jetting hose. P4 HARYANA 6 school kids dead, 20 hurt as bus overturns H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh SIX children were killed and around 20 injured as their school bus crashed into a tree in Haryana’s Mahendragarh on Thursday. The police said they have arrested three people, including the principal and the driver, who was allegedly drunk and driving rashly . State Education Minister Seema Trikha said a show-cause notice has been issued to the private school to explain why it was open on Thursday despite it being a holiday on account of Eid. The accident took place when the bus was on its way to the GL Public School in Kanina town after picking the children from their houses. The bus driver was allegedly drunk and lost balance while overtaking a vehicle when the bus reached Unhani village. There were at least 35 students from Class IV to Class X in the bus. Official documents show that the bus’s fitness certificate had expired six years ago, said sources When asked about reports suggesting that the driver was drunk, SP Arsh Verma said said, “We have apprehended him and his medical examination is being conducted.’’ 18 HURT AS DTC BUS HITS POLE IN RAJOURI GARDEN | P4
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.