tirunelveli l Monday l march 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Trump launches retaliatory strikes on Yemen’s Houthis US President Donald Trump launched a largescale military strike against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday, killing at least 31 people Biggest U.S. military operation since jan Favoured Houthi spots targeted The strike was in response to the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping. The unfolding strikes—which one US official told Reuters might continue for weeks—represent the biggest US military operation in West Asia since Trump took office in January. The Houthis’ political bureau described the attacks as a “war crime” | P9 ■ ■ Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold and “shook the neighbourhood like an earthquake”. Strikes also targeted Houthi military sites in Yemen’s southwest city of Taiz, and a power station in the town of Dahya, where Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthi leader, often meets his visitors 101 people injured in the strikes, mostly women and children CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ‘ ’ shows our resolve, opposers of Tamil blew up issue: CM What kind of ideology thrives on bloodshed and the export of terror? We are not the sole victims. Wherever terror strikes in the world, the trail somehow leads to Pakistan E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Prime Minister Narendra Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a podcast with Lex Fridman, in New Delhi | PTI Pak’s terrorist mindset hurting peace, says Modi Islamabad must mend ways; disputes with China being worked out; Trump 2.0 stronger Express news service @ New Delhi EVERY noble attempt by India for peace with Pakistan was met with hostility and betrayal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interview with American computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, broadcast on Sunday. “We sincerely hope that wisdom prevails upon them and they choose the path of peace,” Modi said in his three-hour podcast. “Wherever ter ror strikes in the world, the trail somehow leads to Pakistan,” he said, citing the example of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attack, took refuge in Pakistan, he pointed out. Calling out Pakistan’s ‘terrorist mindset’, he said: “Today it stands as an epi, centre of turmoil not just for India but for the world.” Modi recalled how he had specially invited the then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony in 2014 with the hope that the two countries could turn a new leaf. “Yet, every no- express read After MP seat row, DMDK voices support for DMK Dindigul: Days after the DMDK and AIADMK sparred over the promise of a Rajya Sabha MP seat for the former, DMDK chief Premalatha Vijayakanth on Sunday said her party supports the DMK government on its Tamil language stand and welcomed the state budget for 2025-26 | P4 Man waiting in queue at Tiruchendur temple dies Thoothukudi: A 50-year-old devotee, identified as R Omkumar of Karaikudi, collapsed and died while waiting in a queue at the Subramaniya Swamy temple in Tiruchendur on Sunday. Police said the incident occurred around 1.15 pm when the crowd was less compared to the morning | P3 ble attempt at fostering peace was met with hostility and betrayal,” he said. On India’s relations with China, he said differences are natural between two neighbouring countries. “But our focus is to ensure that these differences don’ t tur n into disputes,” he said, adding that India prefers dialogue to sort out differences. Acknowledging the border dispute with China, he said efforts are on to address them through dialogue and consultation. “Slowly but surely trust should , return,” he added. Cooperation between India and China is beneficial not just for the two countries but also for global stability and prosperity, Modi noted. “Since the 21st century is Asia’s century we want India , and China to compete in a healthy way Competition is not . a bad thing, but it shouldn’t turn into conflict,” he said. When asked about his views on US President Donald Trump, Modi said in the second term, Trump seems “far more prepared than before”, adding that he has a clear roadmap in his mind with well-defined steps. Dismissing opposition claims of the increasing debt burden of the state government, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said that the DMK government has brought down the growth in debt substantially in the last four years, and the loans being availed of are an investment for the future generation. Answering a question about the budget in his ‘Ungalil Oru- van’ video series, Stalin said, “If the criticisms are constructive, we can consider them. But when they make negative criticism just for the sake of it, it only shows their malice towards the state government.” Stalin pointed out that between 2011 and 2016, the debt growth stood at 108%. This went up to 128% from 2016 to 2021. But after the DMK government assumed office, the debt growth was brought down to 93%. Fire at Thoothukudi plant, 630 MW of power production hit E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Thoothukudi A major fire broke out at the Thoothukudi Thermal Power Station (TTPS) late on Saturday night, leading to the halting of 630 MW of power production at three of its units. Following several hours of effort, fire and rescue service personnel managed to put out the blaze by 5 pm on Sunday The fire at the cable . gallery however, is still smoldering. Two fire, fighters have been hospitalised due to suffocation. TTPS is among the oldest thermal plants in operation, comprising five 210-MW units, with a total production capacity of 1050 MW. According to sources, the fire broke out at the control room of unit I around 9.40 pm, and spread to the nearby departments and godown, impacting power production at units I, II and III. Smoke billowing out of chimneys caused panic among the public, they said. Upon information, at least 10 fire engines and 50 personnel — under the deputy director of fire and rescue service — from stations in Thoothukudi and neighbouring districts arrived at the spot to douse the flames. As smoke filled the plant, the firefighters struggled to move closer to spray foam, leading to the suffocation and hospitalisation of two.  P5 Firefighters were forced to drill a hole into the walls of unit I to put out the smoke emanating from the wires, cables and machinery | v kARTHIKALAGU M’luru police bust Karnataka’s biggest drug cartel, arrest two V i n c e n t D ’ S o u z a @ Mangaluru In the biggest drug haul ever by Karnataka police, 37.87 kg of banned MDMA worth `75 crore was seized by Mangaluru City Police in Bengaluru. Two South African nationals—Bamba Fanta, 31, and Abigali Adonis, 30 — were arrested. The two were intercepted at Neeladrinagar near Electronics City in the state capital when they were allegedly on their way to supply the drugs to peddlers. Both the accused were staying illegally in the country police said. , Explaining their modus operandi, Mangaluru Police Com- missioner Anupam Agrawal said the two women used to travel from Delhi to Bengaluru on late-night flights with the drugs packed in trolley bags, and deliver it to peddlers in Nelamangala, KR Puram, Whitefield, Hoskote, Electronics City , and other places through cabs during early morning, and return. It is suspected that they were either procuring the drugs from outside India or somewhere near Delhi. Agarwal said that the operation stemmed from an earlier arrest, six months ago, of a Nigerian named Peter, who was arrested in Bengaluru with MDMA worth `6 crore. Police have prevented a major threat to the life of thousands of youth. Our government has set a target to root out drug menace Siddaramaiah, CM Hafiz Saeed’s close aide shot dead in Pakistan H a r p r e e t b a j w a @ Chandigarh A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, wanted by Indian security agencies for several deadly terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, was eliminated by gunmen in Pakistan, officials said on Sunday . Zia-ur-Rehman alias Abu Qatal was gunned down in the Jhelum area of Punjab on Saturday evening. His security guard was also killed. Considered the lead handler of LeT founder and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, 43-year-old Rehman led the LeT strategy in planning a string of attacks in Poonch-Rajouri of J&K. Rehman was the architect behind the Dhangri attack of 2023, in which seven people were killed; the Reasi bus attack on June 9, 2024, in which nine pilgrims were killed and over 50 were injured, and the Mangled remains of the vehicle that was attacked in Balochistan | X Bhatta-Durian attack on April 20, 2023, in which five Army personnel were killed. 5 killed in Balochistan Five persons, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed and 30 injured after a paramilitary convoy was attacked by Baloch militants in Noshki district of Balochistan CM Stalin receiving the first copy of poet Vairamuthu’s collection of works during an event on Sunday | martin louis To a question about his tweet on using Tamil letter ‘ ’ in place of the rupee symbol that hit the headlines across the country Stalin said, “We placed , Tamil letter ‘ ’ to demonstrate our commitment to the language policy. That’s all. But those who dislike Tamil have made that a big news.” “The union finance minister, who was silent on my demands in the past, has responded to that. She has used ‘ ’ in many of her posts (on social media). In all, the TN budget and Tamil language have become a hit at the national level,” he added. On the question of how TN differs from other states on debt issue, the CM said, “The recent economic survey showed that the debt (to GSDP ratio) of TN is within the limits. There is no government which does not borrow. Whether we spend these loans properly is what is important.”  P5 ‘The atmosphere felt volatile and dangerous’ Fearing for life Srinivasan says she had been blindsided by the entire turn of events. “I’m fearful that even the most low-level political speech ... can turn into this dystopian nightmare where somebody is calling you a terrorist sympathiser and making you, literally, fear for your life and safety” Express News Service @ New Delhi On the morning of March 14, US federal immigration agents arrived at the Columbia University apartment of Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan to detain her. She had recently found out from the US Consulate in Chennai that her student visa had been abruptly revoked by the US State Department. The 37-year-old Srinivasan, a Fulbright scholar pursuing a doctoral degree in urban planning, wasn’t home. The agents didn’t stop coming. The following night, they returned. By then Srinivasan knew what could be in store for her. “The atmosphere felt so volatile and dangerous,” Srinivasan told The New York Times in her first interview since fleeing. “I just made a quick decision.” She packed a few belongings, left her cat with a friend, and caught a flight to Canada from LaGuardia Airport. Her roommate was left to bear the brunt of the pressure, as immigration agents persisted in their search for Srinivasan. Hours later, Mahmoud Khalil, another Columbia student, was arrested from his apartment by authorities, sending shockw ave s t h r o u g h o u t t h e university . The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Srinivasan had voluntarily self-de- ported herself through the Customs and Border Protection Home App. Srinivasan’s ordeal is part of a larger, aggressive crackdown under the Trump administration aimed at pro-Palestinian demonstrators. She is one of several non-citizens at Columbia University who have found themselves targeted by Immigration and CusPic: X toms Enforcement in recent days. In a statement, the DHS called Srinivasan a “terrorist sympathiser,” accusing her of supporting violence in support of Hamas. However, these accusations have been firmly denied by Srinivasan’s legal team.