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Nazarbayev University Crisis: Shigeo Katsu Demands Audit TransparencyOxford: Owner of Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer and Johnny Was Reports Third Quarter ResultsNew Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Domestic telecom gear maker HFCL inaugurated its defence equipment manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, the company said on Tuesday. The new facility will produce defence technologies, including HFCL's indigenously developed thermal weapon sights, electronic fuzes, high-capacity radio relay (HCRR) systems and surveillance radars. Also Read | TTD Vaikunta Ekadasi 2025 Ticket Booking Commences: Online Tickets for Tirumala Vaikunta Dwara Darshan in Tirupati Now Available for Devotees, Here's How To Book. "HFCL is proud to inaugurate this advanced defence equipment manufacturing facility in Hosur, which symbolises our unwavering dedication to innovation, excellence, and national progress. This facility will allow us to deliver world-class defence technologies to armed forces, enabling them to operate with greater efficiency and confidence in critical missions," HFCL Managing Director Mahendra Nahata said. The facility has the capacity to manufacture up to 5,000 thermal weapon sights, 250,000 electronic fuzes, 1,000 units each of high-capacity radio relays and ground surveillance radars annually, the statement said. Also Read | Year Ender 2024: From Launch of India's 1st Analog Space Mission to Successful Tests of Reusable Launch Vehicle 'Pushpak', Check List of ISRO Accomplishments. HFCL's thermal weapon sights are compatible with small arms, such as rifles, light machine guns (LMGs), and rocket launchers, and offer features like high-resolution imaging etc. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Nebraska's auditor on Wednesday questioned the creation of a private foundation that has helped fund the secretary of state's overseas trade missions for two years but is "beholden to no one." Established in 2022, the Nebraska Secretary of State Foundation has raised and spent relatively modest amounts in support of Secretary of State Bob Evnen's official trips to faraway nations and domestic dinners where Evnen hosted foreign diplomats. Still, Auditor Mike Foley questioned the foundation's apparent mixing of private and public resources and wasteful use of taxpayer dollars in an audit released Wednesday that raises broader questions about the foundation's role in state government. "No one has access to their books. No one knows when they meet. And they're helping to fund a core function in state government," Foley told the Journal Star. "And I'm nervous about that. I really want the Legislature to take a look at this. Even though it's a fairly new foundation and the monies are small right now, this could develop into something more serious." In a statement, Evnen, a Republican who was first elected secretary of state in 2018 and reelected in 2022, said his office appreciates "the professionalism of the auditor’s office in conducting this review of our international trade mission work." "We have clarified for the auditor’s office some of the questions that were raised, and we will give serious consideration to their other suggestions," Evnen said. Nebraska's secretary of state serves myriad roles in state government, but Wednesday's probe focuses on the Secretary of State Foundation's involvement in Evnen's role as the state's chief diplomat responsible for promoting commercial, educational and cultural exchanges between the state and foreign countries. In that role, Evnen has traveled abroad five times since February 2022, including a February trip to Kenya that is the subject of the bulk of Foley's office's audit. Ahead of the trip, a deputy secretary of state in Evnen's office sent an email to the director of Nebraska's Corn Board asking the state-funded board to sponsor a reception Evnen's office planned to host at a hotel in Nairobi. The board's director agreed to give $500 to pay for food costs at the reception but specifically said the money should not be used to purchase alcohol. Evnen's office sent the Corn Board a $500 invoice on state letterhead Feb. 5 directing the board to make checks payable to the private Secretary of State Foundation. But it was ultimately the state that paid for the food at the reception, not the foundation, which instead paid $1,514.52 for alcohol and other beverages at the reception, including wine, whisky, gin, vodka, lager, sodas, water and juices, according to Wednesday's audit. In a response to Foley's office's findings included in the published audit, Evnen's office said it "does not have control over the Secretary of State Foundation" but said the foundation had confirmed that it did not use the funds provided by the Corn Board for alcohol. The auditor's office, in response, questions "the notion that the Secretary of State’s office lacks any control over the foundation," noting that state employees in Evnen's office were "clearly directing what invoices were to be paid by the foundation — including negotiating specific payment terms." In fact, the audit suggests Evnen and his staff appear to have played "an active role in both creating the foundation and managing its ongoing financial affairs." At least once, the foundation issued a check to Evnen himself, paying Nebraska's top election official $3,855.16 in December 2022, apparently reimbursing Evnen for a dinner at an Omaha steakhouse where Evnen's office hosted the Kuwaiti ambassador. That payment came early in the Secretary of State Foundation's existence. Among the first deposits into the foundation was $9,335.73 from the NebraskaLand Foundation, a separate private nonprofit that had received $12,200 from state agencies the year before it poured money into the Secretary of State Foundation, suggesting the initial deposit included at least some taxpayer dollars. Foley's office's audit also raises questions over inconsistent registration fees that Evnen's office has charged varying state entities to attend trade missions and the purchase of expensive business class plane tickets for the trip to Kenya that cost nearly three times as much as coach tickets. The audit also questioned why Evnen's office paid for five hotel rooms for two nights in Nairobi while the delegates who had occupied the rooms spent those nights on a personal safari in Maasai Mara. Those costs were ultimately reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — but were nonetheless a frustration for Foley, who said state actors sometimes tend to think of federal dollars as "monopoly money." "Well, I file a federal tax return, too," the auditor said. 2024 Nebraska high school football state championship matchups Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com . On Twitter @andrewwegley Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
5 Popular Apps To Boost Your LifePolice on Tuesday announced the arrest of a key figure in a nationwide cybercrime network. The suspect, identified as Muhammad Anas, a resident of Okara district of Punjab, was arrested for his role in defrauding people through fake WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social media accounts. As per police, Anas was operating a sophisticated scheme that involved creating fake social media profiles using counterfeit SIM cards. He allegedly impersonated prominent personalities to deceive victims and extort money. The arrest was made possible by the Mirpurkhas police's technical team, which utilised advanced technology to trace and detain the suspect in Okara. Anas has confessed to being part of an organised gang involved in fraud and identity theft. The network targeted people in various districts, including Mirpurkhas, by posing as influential figures. Anas also admitted to selling sensitive personal data, such as national identification cards, marriage certificates, travel histories, and other confidential information, for monetary gain. Police have seized hundreds of active SIM cards, fake social media accounts, and a mobile phone used in the illicit operations. The investigation is ongoing, with police aiming to dismantle the entire network. Mirpurkhas SSP Shabbir Ahmed Sethar praised the efforts of the technical team and the raiding party, stating that their dedication was instrumental in arresting the suspect. COMMENTS Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our
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