mangaluru 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 US 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 K’taka’s ‘biggest’ drug haul: 2 S Africans held, 37kg MDMA seized 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 V i n c en t D ’ S o u z a @ Mangaluru 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 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- express read Gabbard to meet Modi, Doval during India visit New Delhi: The US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard arrived in India on Sunday for a three-day visit. She is expected to call on Prime Minister Modi and hold talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval during her stay | P7 India, New Zealand to bolster defence ties New Delhi: Coinciding with the visit of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to India from March 16-20, talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is back on the table. Both countries are also set to enhance defense cooperation during the five-day visit | P7 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. IN the biggest drug haul ever by the Karnataka police, 37.87 kg of banned MDMA worth about Rs 75 crore was seized by the Mangaluru City Police in Bengaluru. Two South African nationals—Bamba Fanta, alias Adonis Jabulile, 31, and Abigali Adonis, alias Odijo Evans, 30— have been arrested. The duo was intercepted at Neeladrinagar near Electronics City in the state capital on Saturday morning when they were allegedly on their way to supply the drugs to the peddlers. Both the accused were staying illegally in the country by furnishing fake passpor t and visa documents. Explaining their modus operandi, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal said that the two women used to travel from Delhi to Bengaluru and Mumbai on late-night Minister: Kids shouldn’t get property if they abandon their parents E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru KARNATAKA Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil has called for the cancellation of property transfers and wills made in favour of children who later abandon their elderly parents in government hospitals. The issue was raised by Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) Director during a review meeting at Vikasa Soudha, who said that over 150 cases of elderly parents being deserted at BIMS was reported. Besides, it was also discussed that more than 100 similar cases have been found in other government medical colleges across Karnataka. Following this, Dr Patil instructed all government medical colleges to report such cases and file complaints with assistant commissioners (revenue subdivision) so that legal action can be taken against those responsible. He also directed Director of Medical Education Dr BL Sujatha Rathod to take action. Dr Patil said that under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, parents have the legal right to cancel property transfers if their children fail to take care of them. Under Section 23 of the Act, if a child takes property from a parent and then abandons them, the law allows for the property to be returned to the parent, he added. The medical officers, during the meeting, highlighted that many elderly individuals say their children left them at hospitals on the pretext of treatment but never returned. Since hospitals provide food, clothing, and shelter, a few deliberately abandon their parents there. While some families cite financial difficulties, in most cases, the elderly were deserted after transferring property to their children. So far, BIMS has relocated 70 elderly individuals to retirement homes. One student dies, 28 in hospital in suspected food poisoning E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mandya In a tragic incident, a 13-yearold student died and 28 more students took ill due to suspected food poisoning in an unauthorised hostel run by a private school in Malavalli taluk, Mandya district, on Sunday . The victim has been identified as Kerlong from Meghalaya. According to the police, the incident took place in Gokula Vidya Samsthe in T Kagepura village. According to initial reports, a businessman from Malavalli organised a feast for his relatives and friends as part of Holi celebrations and sent the lefto- ver vegetable pulav and chutney to the hostel. On Friday night, the hostel staff served the food to the students. On Saturday afternoon, the students complained of vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. The staff gave them ORS and medicines. Mandya Superintendent of Police Mallikarjuna Baladandi told the media that on Sunday morning, the 13-year-old student—Kerlong—collapsed in the hostel while others expressed stomach pain and vomiting. The school authorities rushed them to a hospital where Kerlong was declared brought dead. CONTINUED ON P4 I have spoken to Mandya Deputy Commissioner and instructed him to arrange appropriate treatment for the children and take strict action against those responsible for the incident. The police have arrested three persons Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Hafiz Saeed’s close aide shot dead in Pakistan 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 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 Accused Abigali Adonis & Bamba Fanta flights with the drugs packed in trolley bags, deliver it to peddlers in Nelamangala, KR Puram, Whitefield, Hoskote, Electronics City and other plac, es through cabs during early morning, and return. It is suspected that they were either procuring the drugs from outside India or somewhere near Delhi. As per initial reports, both the accused were in the drug cartel for more than one year. Bamba, who came to Delhi on a business visa in 2020, was involved in food cart business before she forayed into the drug business one-and-a-half years ago. Adonis landed in India on a medical visa in July 2020, got into some cloth business before she shifted to the drug business. Both of them were leading a lavish life. Agrawal said that in the last year, the duo has made more than 50 trips from Delhi to Mumbai and Bengaluru to supp ly d r u g s. H e, h oweve r, s a i d t h at i n K a r n at a k a , they were supplying drugs to Bengaluru and had no connection with Mangaluru.  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” E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ 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.