Donald Trump appoints John Ratcliffe as CIA chief, sidelines Kash Patel
Washington, D.C.: US President-elect Donald Trump has selected John Ratcliffe as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), bypassing Kashyap 'Kash' Patel, who was previously considered a leading candidate for the position. Ratcliffe, a former Director of National Intelligence and a Texas Congressman, is known for his conservative political stance and close alignment with Trump’s policy views.
Ratcliffe has previously served as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) during Trump’s administration, holding office in the final eight months of Trump's presidency. A lawyer by training, Ratcliffe's career includes representing Texas in the US House of Representatives from 2015 to 2020 and serving as mayor of a Texas town for four terms.
Trump’s statement praised Ratcliffe's "fearless commitment to Constitutional Rights and national security" and expressed confidence in Ratcliffe's leadership at the CIA, particularly on issues like Israel and China. Ratcliffe has voiced strong criticism of President Joe Biden’s foreign policies, particularly regarding Israel and the US approach to China.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
