CAA: Amit Shah to address rally at Hubballi on Jan 18
Bengaluru, Jan 8: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address a huge rally at Hubballi on January 18 as part of the party's nationwide outreach programme over the Citizenship Amendment Act, the BJP's Karnataka unit said on Wednesday.
Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Anurag Singh Thakur will also address a couple of rallies in the state in favour of CAA, the party said.
More than one lakh people are expected to attend Shah's rally in Hubballi, BJP state general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai told reporters here.
While Thakur, who is the Union Minister of State for Finance, will address rallies on January 11 at Belagavi and Chikkodi, Joshi, who is Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, will address rallies at Kalaburagi and Yadgir on January 11 and in Raichur district on January 12.
Tenginkai claimed thousands of party workers have already knocked on the doors of as many as 4.65 lakh houses spread across 253 mandals and 21,000 booths as part of the outreach programme.
"There has been a tremendous response. Remaining 37,000 booths will be covered in the next coming days," he added.
Ravi Kumar, another general secretary, said elected members of the party starting from gram panchayats, to MLAs, MLCs and MPs have been directed to stay put in their respective constituencies and visit 100 houses on January 11 and 12 in a special effort to reach out to all sections and strata of society.
"In order to further intensify our campaign, we have planned bike rallies by Yuva Morcha workers in taluk headquarters, Bharat Mata Poojan by Mahila Morcha workers and intellectuals meet in district headquarters," a BJP statement said, quoting him.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
