hyderabad l Monday l march 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Trump launches retaliatory strikes on Yemen’s Houthis Biggest U.S. military operation since jan 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 US President Donald Trump launched a largescale military strike against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday, killing at least 31 people Favoured Houthi spots targeted ■ ■ 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 KCR should teach us how to earn `1 lakh crore: 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 Se r v i c e @ Jangaon 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 Asserting that he was ready for a debate on the Sriramsagar, Nagarjunasagar and Koilsagar irrigation projects, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday dared BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, and not any “petty and small leaders from the BRS who do not know anything”, to a face-off with him. Addressing a public meeting after laying foundation stones for various development projects and flagging off seven hired RTC buses for women’s SHGs, Revanth sharply criticised the previous BRS regime. “The BRS regime burdened the state with `8.29 lakh crore in 10 years. A staggering `1.53 lakh Islamabad must mend ways; disputes with China being worked out; Trump 2.0 stronger E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ 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- 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. Budget to be downsized by `70,000 crore: Revanth The chief minister speaks at Jangaon crore is required just to service this debt in the form of interest payments. Had such a large amount been saved, we could have built houses for all. Farm loans could have been waived for 70 lakh farmers,” he said. Recalling that KCR once claimed capsicum far ming would generate huge profits, Revanth challenged the BRS chief to reveal the technique to farmers and also explain how he amassed `1 lakh crore. “I am ready to send 1,000 young people to KCR’s farmhouse to learn these techniques,” he said. Referring to the Kaleshwaram project, Revanth stated that it was constructed in KCR’s tenure but was damaged within three Mangaluru cops seize MDMA worth `75 cr Hafiz Saeed’s close aide shot dead in Pakistan V i n c en t D ’ S o u z a @ Mangaluru H a r p r ee 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 PoonchRajouri of J&K. Rehman was the architect behind the 5 killed in Dhang ri attack of Balochistan 2023, in which seven people were killed; the Five persons, Reasi bus attack on including three June 9, 2024, in which Frontier Corps (FC) nine pilgrims were personnel, were killed and over 50 were killed and 30 injured injured, and the Bhatafter a paramilitary ta-Durian attack on convoy was attacked April 20, 2023, in which by Baloch militants five Army personnel in Noshki district of were killed. Balochistan E x p r e s s Re a d SLBC rescue operations enter 23rd day as hopes fade Hyderabad: The multi-agency rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel entered the 23rd day on Sunday, even as hopes of finding the trapped workers alive fading. Nagarkurnool Collector B Santhosh held a review meeting here and said the operations had been expedited at D1 and D2 points in the tunnel | P2 Hyderabad: Ahead of the Budget presentation on March 19, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced that the 2024-25 Budget would be downsized by `70,000 crore. He remarked that Congress had handed over a rich state to the BRS, but the BRS government had left behind a “bankrupt Telangana” for Congress. “Despite this, we have tried to present a realistic budget. However, revenue collections fell short. We projected a budget of `2.91 lakh crore for 2024-25, but the expected revenues did not materialise,” he said. Revanth, however, asserted that despite the revenue shortfall, the government had not halted any welfare or development activities. years. “Kaleshwaram project has now become the ‘Kuleshwaram project’,” he said. Revanth reiterated that the state government pays KCR a monthly salary of `3.92 lakh, yet he did not attend the Assembly . Objecting to BRS leaders like T Harish Rao referring to KCR as the “father of Telangana,” Revanth thundered: “Who considers KCR the father of Telangana? Does this ‘father of Telangana’ even wake up without the smell of liquor? Konda Laxman Bapuji, Jayashankar and others qualify for this sobriquet. A person who looted lakhs of crores, is a liquor addict, and drained the state’s resources cannot be called the father of Telangana.”  Continued on P4 Mangled remains of the vehicle that was attacked in Balochistan | X no one’s safe Man breaks into MP’s 3 juveniles sexually house, loiters for 1.5 hrs harass minor, detained E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad In what can only be described as a security breach, an unidentified person entered the residence of Mahbubnagar MP DK Aruna on Road No. 56, Jubilee Hills, around 3 am on Sunday and remained inside for about an hour and a half before leaving without stealing anything. The intruder, wearing gloves and a mask, scaled the compound wall at the back of the house and removed a windowpane on the ground floor to gain entry, police said. Aruna’s daughter and granddaughter were asleep in separate rooms on the first floor, which were locked from the inside. The house helps stay on the ground floor. A manservant, Lakshman, told police that he heard a sound around 3 am but did not see anyone. “We went back to sleep, but later noticed footprints on the floor at 6 am. We immediately informed the police and checked the CCTV footage. The intruder entered through the parking area, accessed the house through a window, and cut the CCTV camera cables. In areas without cables, he repositioned the cameras. The intruder remained inside for about an hour and a half, even visiting the puja room, which contained valuables, but did not take anything,” Lakshman said.  continued on Pg5 A minor girl was allegedly sexually abused by three male classmates at a government school in Gachibowli. The girl and the three accused are Class X students. While one of the accused has been booked under charges of sexual assault, the other two face charges of sexual harassment. All three were sent to judicial remand on Saturday . The incident came to light after the victim confided in her friends about the harassment, and the friends in turn alerted the parents of the victim. The parents then questioned the girl who revealed the sordid details, following which a complaint was lodged. According to the complaint, one of the accused had blackmailed the girl using morphed photos. Later, another classmate recorded a video of her being sexually assaulted and used it to harass her. When the girl damaged the phone containing the video, the boy, along with the third accused, demanded she replace it. Unable to endure the harassment, the victim confided in her friends. Gachibowli Inspector Mohd Habubullah Khan told TNIE that a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act had been registered against the three juveniles. Further investigations are underway . inside Ranjani Srinivasan speaks about her escape I P8 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 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 Commissioner Anupam Agrawal said the two women used to travel from Delhi to Bengaluru on latenight flights with the drugs packed in trolley bags, and deliver it to peddlers in Nelamangala, KR Puram, Whitefield, Hoskote, Electron- ics 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.