The Evening Wrap: Shinde to support BJP's decision on Maharashtra CM

Decks cleared for government formation in Maharashtra as caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde says he will accept Modi-Shah’s decision. Shiv Sena leader and caretaker Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) declared that his party will support the BJP central leadership’s decision on the next chief minister of the State. This has virtually ended the power tussle among Mahayuti parties reported in the political circles with both BJP and Shiv Sena lobbying for their leader to be the next Maharashtra Chief Minister. “I called Modi Saaheb; I called Amit Shah. I told them, Don’t keep my consideration in mind. Your decision will be acceptable to me,” Mr. Shinde told the media. Addressing the media at his residence in Thane, Mr. Shinde recalled his tenure as the Chief Minister, under what circumstances he took over, and what his government achieved. “Anand Dighe, Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology was with us. Narendra Modi supported us. A common karyakarta like me was trusted. I used this trust for the benefit of the people. I would like to thank both Amit Shah and Narendra Modi for everything they did,” Mr. Shinde said. We want Parliament to run: Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’ Brien Striking a different note from the rest of the Opposition, Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien on Wednesday said his party was keen that the Parliament should “run”. Meanwhile, the Trinamool’s working committee arrived at six subjects and said it will remain focused on these “people-centric” issues during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament. “We want the Parliament to run, you can’t let one issue hijack the entire House,” Mr. O’ Brien said hours after Opposition protests forced the early adjournment of the two Houses. While the Congress and several other allies have been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the alleged corruption charges against the Adani Group, the issue does not figure in the six focus issues decided by the Trinamool. The Trinamool has skipped both the meetings of the INDIA bloc floor leaders called by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday and Wednesday. It has given indications that it will not be willing to accept the Congress’s lead in deciding its parliamentary strategy. The six focus issues are deprivation of Central funds to West Bengal, inflation, unemployment, fertiliser shortage, Manipur strife, and the Aparajita Bill 2024 passed by the State Assembly seeking stricter punishment for convicted rapists. According to sources, as per the party’s internal assessment, the Opposition narrative on alleged corruption by industrialist Gautam Adani was not cutting much ice with the electorate. This view, a senior party leader said, was reinforced with the Opposition’s emphatic defeat in Maharashtra. When asked if the Trinamool’s divergence on the Adani issue also translates to a divorce from the INDIA bloc, Mr. O’ Brien said, “Trinamool is the only party in the INDIA bloc which does not have an electoral alliance with the Congress. This is a fact.” And each constituent of the INDIA bloc, he said, is entitled to its own view. “The Trinamool will take on the BJP but our outlook can be different from their outlook,” he said. But whenever there was convergence with any other Opposition party, on any issue, the Trinamool “will stand by” them. “If, for example, any Opposition party is to protest the denial of Central funds to State governments, we will be there,” he said. Senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi, Mahesh Jethmalani say no bribery charges against Gautam Adani, nephew in U.S. indictment Former Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi, in a press conference called in his personal capacity on Wednesday, said billionaire businessman Gautam Adani and nephew Sagar Adani are not named in the counts of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and obstructing justice in a 54-page U.S. court indictment document. Also, in a stock exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Ltd, which is at the centre of the bribery allegations, said reports of them being charged with FCPA violations “are incorrect”. They have been charged with offences that are punishable with a monetary fine or penalty. Rajya Sabha MP, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, in a similarly called press meet, echoed Rohatgi. He even added that no offence was alleged in the indictment against the Adanis. He termed the indictment “very sketchy” and its timing “very suspicious”. The New York court’s five-count indictment concerns a bribery scheme allegedly devised in the U.S. to bag a lucrative solar power contract in India. The five counts of indictment include conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud to deceived US investors in connection with the sale and purchase of investments in the 2021 144A Bond through interstate commerce and mails; and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The indictment has directly named the Adanis in second, third and fourth counts. The text concerning the first (conspiracy to violate FCPA) and the fifth count (conspiracy to obstruct justice) mentioned by Rohatgi and Jethmalani begins with a short paragraph clearly stating that “all allegations” made in the preceding 123 paragraphs of the indictment document, which names the two Adanis and six others as ‘defendants’, “are realleged and fully incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph”. Usually, chargesheets are read as a whole and not piecemeal. Though the first count of conspiracy to violate FCPA, a U.S. law which covers offences regarding attempts or offers to bribe foreign officials or a foreign political party, directly names only defendants Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal of having “knowingly and willfully” conspired to commit the offence, the document referred to how they met with the Adanis in connection with the bribery scheme and exchanged electronic messages. The first count said Gupta exchanged messages with Mr. Sagar Adani “regarding efforts to convince States to purchase power under the Manufacturing Linked Project”. Again, the indictment document under the first count said that “on or about April 29, 2022, Agarwal and a conspirator, a UK citizen residing in Hong Kong, “met with defendants Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain in India, during which they discussed the bribery scheme”. The indictment alleged that Gupta, on or about May 17, 2022, had sent an electronic message to Agarwal that “Adani would like to take up discussions related to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Manufacturing Linked Project directly with you. We are always available to help with the successful execution of this prestigious PPA for which, as you already know, close coordination with Adani will be required”. The document stated that Agarwal, while in the U.S., “had a call with defendant Gautam Adani about the bribery scheme” on or about May 28, 2022. The first count of indictment also referred to an electronic message about a “bad” meeting that Agarwal had with the two Adanis and Jaain. There is mention of Agarwal and a conspirator meeting with the Adanis in India on or about June 14, 2022. The Congress dismissed the remarks of lawyers Jethmalani and Rohatgi as an attempt to dilute the seriousness of the charges and said the “Modani ecosystem” is attempting damage control through denial. “Not surprisingly, the Modani ecosystem has let loose big legal cannons this morning. Now faced with serious action in other countries whose systems it cannot intimidate or erode, the Modani ecosystem is attempting damage control through denial,” Ramesh said in a post on X. This laughable attempt cannot dilute the seriousness of the charges levelled by US agencies, he asserted. “There is no escaping the fact that the Department of Justice indictment clearly says that Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani, and others ‘devised a scheme to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribe payments to Indian government officials in exchange for the government officials causing state electricity distribution companies to enter into PSAs with SECI’ (para 47),” Ramesh pointed out. “It also says that they ‘offered and promised to Indian government officials approximately 2,029 crore rupees (approximately $265 million) in bribes in exchange for Indian government officials causing the state electricity distribution companies to execute PSAs’ (para 49),” Ramesh further pointed out. Furthermore it alleges corruption at the highest levels, saying that Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain “secretly influenced the SECI process for reallocation of the 2.3 GW PPAs to the Indian Energy Company’s subsidiary”, Ramesh added. The Solar Enegy Corporation of India (SECI) is a public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, he pointed out. Ramesh said that by rights, the ED, CBI, and SEBI should be carrying out investigations proactively in the face of these revelations. It is for them to carry out their obligation to the nation, rather than act as tools of a corrupt political-business nexus, he said. “This is the moment of reckoning for our institutions and the Indians who occupy those offices. History will neither forgive nor forget this moment. As for our part, we will continue to raise these issues in Parliament and with the people,” the Congress leader asserted. Supreme Court seeks balance between bail and the accused’s obligation to a timely trial The Supreme Court on Wednesday proposed that accused persons seeking bail on the ground of delay in the commencement of trial in money laundering cases ought to give, in return, an undertaking that they would not seek adjournments, and cooperate with the trial in the future. A Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka said this would strike a “balance”. The Bench was hearing a bail application filed by an accused, Zeeshan Haider, in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. “This is the course we want to adopt,” Justice Oka observed orally, listing the case on December 5. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju said the suggestion from the court would indeed even the odds. “In arguments of bail on the ground [that] trial would be delayed, an undertaking has to be given that, one, the day the case is fixed for framing charges, you should not seek adjournment. After charges are framed, no further proceedings would be filed and there should be full cooperation with the trial,” Justice Oka observed in the Zeeshan Haider case hearing. Wednesday’s development follows a string of recent judgments from the Supreme Court holding that prolonged delay in the commencement of trial was a ground for bail in PMLA cases. The court had clearly held in them that ‘bail is the rule, jail the exception’. The court had poked holes in the Directorate of Enforcement’s constant refrain that a crime committed under the PMLA was too serious for bail. On August 9, the apex court, while granting bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, had held that bail cannot be withheld as a form of punishment. Delay in the commencement of trial for no fault of the accused is a ground for bail, it had held. “Keeping an accused incarcerated for an unlimited time in the hope of a speedy trial is a violation of his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the court had observed in the Sisodia judgment. Sambhal violence: Protesters should pay for damage to property, says U.P. Govt The Uttar Pradesh government will make protesters involved in the Sambhal violence pay for damage to public property while posters of “stone pelters” will be displayed at public places, an official said on Wednesday. Four people died and scores, including police personnel, were injured in Sambhal on Sunday after a confrontation erupted over a court-ordered survey of the city’s Shahi Jama Masjid in Kot Garvi area, following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site. “The UP government is adopting a firm stance against the individuals involved in the Sambhal violence. Posters of the stone pelters and miscreants will be displayed publicly, and recovery of cost of damages will be sought. A reward may also be announced for information leading to their arrest,” an official spokesperson said. In a similar initiative, the government had previously put up posters of individuals linked to vandalism during the anti-CAA protests in 2020. These posters were displayed across several locations, including the state capital, but were later removed following a court order. Displaced people return to south Lebanon as ceasefire appears to hold A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that began Wednesday appeared to be holding, as residents in cars heaped with belongings streamed back toward southern Lebanon despite warnings from Israeli and Lebanese troops that they stay away from certain areas. If it holds, the ceasefire would bring an end to nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah’s patron, Iran, and Israel’s closest ally, the United States, into a broader conflagration. The deal does not address the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes overnight on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, according to hospital officials. Israel said one of the strikes targeted a Hamas sniper, without commenting on the other one. The truce in Lebanon could give some reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the border. “They were a nasty and ugly 60 days,” said Mohammed Kaafarani, 59, who was displaced from the Lebanese village of Bidias. “We reached a point where there was no place to hide.” The U.S.- and France-brokered deal, approved by Israel late Tuesday, calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance. Israel says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah should it violate the terms of the deal. Israel is still fighting Hamas militants in Gaza in response to the group’s cross-border raid into southern Israel in October 2023. But President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration would make another push in the coming days to try to renew efforts for a deal in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. Hours after the ceasefire came into effect, thousands of people drove south from Beirut with their belongings and mattresses tied on top of their cars. Traffic was gridlocked at the northern entrance of the port city of Sidon. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shiite sect, and for all of Lebanon,” said Hussein Sweidan, a resident returning to the port city of Tyre. He said he saw the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. The Shia militant group has often faced criticism from members of Lebanon’s other religious communities. Sporadic celebratory gunfire was heard at a main roundabout in the city, as drivers honked their horns and residents cheered. The Israeli military warned displaced Lebanese not to return to evacuated villages in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops were still present following the ground invasion in early October. The Israeli military said forces opened fire to push back a number of vehicles that were entering a restricted area. An Israeli security official said Israeli forces remain in their positions hours after the ceasefire began and will only gradually withdraw. In Brief: World Chess Championship: Gukesh outplays Liren on time in round 3 for first win Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh clinched his first win over defending champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship, outplaying him in the third round to draw level on points in Singapore on Wednesday. The two players now have 1.5 points each. The 18-year-old Indian won in a winning position after 37 moves showcasing an exemplary opening preparation to outwit the Chinese. Indian-American Jay Bhattacharya is Donald Trump’s pick to lead National Institutes of Health U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya as the director of the National Institutes of Health, the country’s top health research and funding institutions. With this, Bhattacharya becomes the first Indian-American to be nominated by Trump for a top administrative position. Earlier, Trump picked Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency along with Tesla owner Elon Musk. [logo] The Evening Wrap 27 November 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Whatever decision BJP takes over Maharashtra CM position, Shiv Sena has their full support, says Eknath Shinde [Decks cleared for government formation in Maharashtra]( as caretaker Chief Minister [Eknath Shinde says he will accept Modi-Shah’s decision](. Shiv Sena leader and caretaker Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) declared that his party will support the BJP central leadership’s decision on the next chief minister of the State. This has virtually ended the power tussle among Mahayuti parties reported in the political circles with both BJP and Shiv Sena lobbying for their leader to be the next Maharashtra Chief Minister. “I called Modi Saaheb; I called Amit Shah. I told them, Don’t keep my consideration in mind. Your decision will be acceptable to me,” Mr. Shinde told the media. Addressing the media at his residence in Thane, Mr. Shinde recalled his tenure as the Chief Minister, under what circumstances he took over, and what his government achieved. “Anand Dighe, Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology was with us. Narendra Modi supported us. A common karyakarta like me was trusted. I used this trust for the benefit of the people. I would like to thank both Amit Shah and Narendra Modi for everything they did,” Mr. Shinde said. We want Parliament to run: Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’ Brien Striking a different note from the rest of the Opposition, Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien on Wednesday said his [party was keen that the Parliament should “run”](. Meanwhile, the Trinamool’s working committee arrived at six subjects and said it will remain focused on these “people-centric” issues during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament. “We want the Parliament to run, you can’t let one issue hijack the entire House,” Mr. O’ Brien said hours after Opposition protests forced the early adjournment of the two Houses. While the Congress and several other allies have been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the alleged corruption charges against the Adani Group, the issue does not figure in the six focus issues decided by the Trinamool. The Trinamool has skipped both the meetings of the INDIA bloc floor leaders called by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday and Wednesday. It has given indications that it will not be willing to accept the Congress’s lead in deciding its parliamentary strategy. The six focus issues are deprivation of Central funds to West Bengal, inflation, unemployment, fertiliser shortage, Manipur strife, and the Aparajita Bill 2024 passed by the State Assembly seeking stricter punishment for convicted rapists. According to sources, as per the party’s internal assessment, the Opposition narrative on alleged corruption by industrialist Gautam Adani was not cutting much ice with the electorate. This view, a senior party leader said, was reinforced with the Opposition’s emphatic defeat in Maharashtra. When asked if the Trinamool’s divergence on the Adani issue also translates to a divorce from the INDIA bloc, Mr. O’ Brien said, “Trinamool is the only party in the INDIA bloc which does not have an electoral alliance with the Congress. This is a fact.” And each constituent of the INDIA bloc, he said, is entitled to its own view. “The Trinamool will take on the BJP but our outlook can be different from their outlook,” he said. But whenever there was convergence with any other Opposition party, on any issue, the Trinamool “will stand by” them. “If, for example, any Opposition party is to protest the denial of Central funds to State governments, we will be there,” he said. Senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi, Mahesh Jethmalani say no bribery charges against Gautam Adani, nephew in U.S. indictment Former Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi, in a press conference called in his personal capacity on Wednesday, said billionaire businessman [Gautam Adani and nephew Sagar Adani are not named in the counts of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]( (FCPA) and obstructing justice in a 54-page U.S. court indictment document. Also, in a stock exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Ltd, which is at the centre of the bribery allegations, said reports of them being charged with FCPA violations “are incorrect”. They have been charged with offences that are punishable with a monetary fine or penalty. Rajya Sabha MP, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, in a similarly called press meet, echoed Rohatgi. He even added that no offence was alleged in the indictment against the Adanis. He termed the indictment “very sketchy” and its timing “very suspicious”. The New York court’s five-count indictment concerns a bribery scheme allegedly devised in the U.S. to bag a lucrative solar power contract in India. The five counts of indictment include conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud to deceived US investors in connection with the sale and purchase of investments in the 2021 144A Bond through interstate commerce and mails; and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The indictment has directly named the Adanis in second, third and fourth counts. The text concerning the first (conspiracy to violate FCPA) and the fifth count (conspiracy to obstruct justice) mentioned by Rohatgi and Jethmalani begins with a short paragraph clearly stating that “all allegations” made in the preceding 123 paragraphs of the indictment document, which names the two Adanis and six others as ‘defendants’, “are realleged and fully incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph”. Usually, chargesheets are read as a whole and not piecemeal. Though the first count of conspiracy to violate FCPA, a U.S. law which covers offences regarding attempts or offers to bribe foreign officials or a foreign political party, directly names only defendants Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal of having “knowingly and willfully” conspired to commit the offence, the document referred to how they met with the Adanis in connection with the bribery scheme and exchanged electronic messages. The first count said Gupta exchanged messages with Mr. Sagar Adani “regarding efforts to convince States to purchase power under the Manufacturing Linked Project”. Again, the indictment document under the first count said that “on or about April 29, 2022, Agarwal and a conspirator, a UK citizen residing in Hong Kong, “met with defendants Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain in India, during which they discussed the bribery scheme”. The indictment alleged that Gupta, on or about May 17, 2022, had sent an electronic message to Agarwal that “Adani would like to take up discussions related to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Manufacturing Linked Project directly with you. We are always available to help with the successful execution of this prestigious PPA for which, as you already know, close coordination with Adani will be required”. The document stated that Agarwal, while in the U.S., “had a call with defendant Gautam Adani about the bribery scheme” on or about May 28, 2022. The first count of indictment also referred to an electronic message about a “bad” meeting that Agarwal had with the two Adanis and Jaain. There is mention of Agarwal and a conspirator meeting with the Adanis in India on or about June 14, 2022. The Congress dismissed the remarks of lawyers Jethmalani and Rohatgi as an attempt to dilute the seriousness of the charges and said the “Modani ecosystem” is attempting damage control through denial. “Not surprisingly, the Modani ecosystem has let loose big legal cannons this morning. Now faced with serious action in other countries whose systems it cannot intimidate or erode, the Modani ecosystem is attempting damage control through denial,” Ramesh said in a post on X. This laughable attempt cannot dilute the seriousness of the charges levelled by US agencies, he asserted. “There is no escaping the fact that the Department of Justice indictment clearly says that Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani, and others ‘devised a scheme to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribe payments to Indian government officials in exchange for the government officials causing state electricity distribution companies to enter into PSAs with SECI’ (para 47),” Ramesh pointed out. “It also says that they ‘offered and promised to Indian government officials approximately 2,029 crore rupees (approximately $265 million) in bribes in exchange for Indian government officials causing the state electricity distribution companies to execute PSAs’ (para 49),” Ramesh further pointed out. Furthermore it alleges corruption at the highest levels, saying that Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain “secretly influenced the SECI process for reallocation of the 2.3 GW PPAs to the Indian Energy Company’s subsidiary”, Ramesh added. The Solar Enegy Corporation of India (SECI) is a public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, he pointed out. Ramesh said that by rights, the ED, CBI, and SEBI should be carrying out investigations proactively in the face of these revelations. It is for them to carry out their obligation to the nation, rather than act as tools of a corrupt political-business nexus, he said. “This is the moment of reckoning for our institutions and the Indians who occupy those offices. History will neither forgive nor forget this moment. As for our part, we will continue to raise these issues in Parliament and with the people,” the Congress leader asserted. Supreme Court seeks balance between bail and the accused’s obligation to a timely trial The Supreme Court on Wednesday proposed that accused persons seeking bail on the ground of delay in the commencement of trial in money laundering cases ought to give, in return, an [undertaking that they would not seek adjournments]( and cooperate with the trial in the future. A Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka said this would strike a “balance”. The Bench was hearing a bail application filed by an accused, Zeeshan Haider, in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. “This is the course we want to adopt,” Justice Oka observed orally, listing the case on December 5. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju said the suggestion from the court would indeed even the odds. “In arguments of bail on the ground [that] trial would be delayed, an undertaking has to be given that, one, the day the case is fixed for framing charges, you should not seek adjournment. After charges are framed, no further proceedings would be filed and there should be full cooperation with the trial,” Justice Oka observed in the Zeeshan Haider case hearing. Wednesday’s development follows a string of recent judgments from the Supreme Court holding that prolonged delay in the commencement of trial was a ground for bail in PMLA cases. The court had clearly held in them that ‘bail is the rule, jail the exception’. The court had poked holes in the Directorate of Enforcement’s constant refrain that a crime committed under the PMLA was too serious for bail. On August 9, the apex court, while granting bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, had held that bail cannot be withheld as a form of punishment. Delay in the commencement of trial for no fault of the accused is a ground for bail, it had held. “Keeping an accused incarcerated for an unlimited time in the hope of a speedy trial is a violation of his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the court had observed in the Sisodia judgment. Sambhal violence: Protesters should pay for damage to property, says U.P. Govt The Uttar Pradesh government will make protesters involved in the Sambhal violence pay for damage to public property while posters of “stone pelters” will be displayed at public places, an official said on Wednesday. Four people died and scores, including police personnel, were injured in Sambhal on Sunday after a confrontation erupted over a court-ordered survey of the city’s Shahi Jama Masjid in Kot Garvi area, following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site. “The UP government is adopting a firm stance against the individuals involved in the Sambhal violence. Posters of the stone pelters and miscreants will be displayed publicly, and recovery of cost of damages will be sought. A reward may also be announced for information leading to their arrest,” an official spokesperson said. In a similar initiative, the government had previously put up posters of individuals linked to vandalism during the anti-CAA protests in 2020. These posters were displayed across several locations, including the state capital, but were later removed following a court order. Displaced people return to south Lebanon as ceasefire appears to hold A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that began Wednesday [appeared to be holding]( as residents in cars heaped with belongings streamed back toward southern Lebanon despite warnings from Israeli and Lebanese troops that they stay away from certain areas. If it holds, the ceasefire would bring an end to nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah’s patron, Iran, and Israel’s closest ally, the United States, into a broader conflagration. The deal does not address the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes overnight on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, according to hospital officials. Israel said one of the strikes targeted a Hamas sniper, without commenting on the other one. The truce in Lebanon could give some reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the border. “They were a nasty and ugly 60 days,” said Mohammed Kaafarani, 59, who was displaced from the Lebanese village of Bidias. “We reached a point where there was no place to hide.” The U.S.- and France-brokered deal, approved by Israel late Tuesday, calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance. Israel says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah should it violate the terms of the deal. Israel is still fighting Hamas militants in Gaza in response to the group’s cross-border raid into southern Israel in October 2023. But President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration would make another push in the coming days to try to renew efforts for a deal in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. Hours after the ceasefire came into effect, thousands of people drove south from Beirut with their belongings and mattresses tied on top of their cars. Traffic was gridlocked at the northern entrance of the port city of Sidon. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shiite sect, and for all of Lebanon,” said Hussein Sweidan, a resident returning to the port city of Tyre. He said he saw the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. The Shia militant group has often faced criticism from members of Lebanon’s other religious communities. Sporadic celebratory gunfire was heard at a main roundabout in the city, as drivers honked their horns and residents cheered. The Israeli military warned displaced Lebanese not to return to evacuated villages in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops were still present following the ground invasion in early October. The Israeli military said forces opened fire to push back a number of vehicles that were entering a restricted area. An Israeli security official said Israeli forces remain in their positions hours after the ceasefire began and will only gradually withdraw. In Brief: World Chess Championship: Gukesh outplays Liren on time in round 3 for first win Indian Grandmaster D[. Gukesh clinched his first win over defending champion Ding Liren]( in the World Chess Championship, outplaying him in the third round to draw level on points in Singapore on Wednesday. The two players now have 1.5 points each. The 18-year-old Indian won in a winning position after 37 moves showcasing an exemplary opening preparation to outwit the Chinese. Indian-American Jay Bhattacharya is Donald Trump’s pick to lead National Institutes of Health U.S. President-elect [Donald Trump has picked Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya]( as the director of the National Institutes of Health, the country’s top health research and funding institutions. With this, Bhattacharya becomes the first Indian-American to be nominated by Trump for a top administrative position. Earlier, Trump picked Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency along with Tesla owner Elon Musk. 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