power outage shuts heathrow airport London’s Heathrow Airport shuttered on Friday after a fire broke out at a substation serving the aviation hub, leading to the cancellation of at least 1,350 flights. The impact is likely to last several days. London’s Metropolitan Police force said there was no indication of foul play. The airline industry trade association said the shutdown was a planning failure | AP | P11 belagavi l Saturday l march 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION 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 From Dec, all MHA missives in mother tongue of recipient Aims to stymie the ongoing language row r a j es h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi IN a fillip to linguistic diversity , Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said his office will begin official correspondence with Chief Ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), and citizens in their respective state languages starting December this year. The move aims to promote inclusivity and quell allegations of language imposition. Shah made this statement in the Rajya Sabha during a discussion on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ functioning. He informed the House that a new department for Indian languages has been established under the Raajbhasha Vibhaag (Department of Official Language) in the home ministry . “I want to say this so that those who want to divide the country in the name of language do not get an agenda. The Modi government has established a department for In- Follow local regulations, MEA on US crackdown JAYANTH JACO B @ New Delhi INDIAN nationals going abroad must follow the laws of the host country the Min, istry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday in response to questions over an Indian student ‘self-deporting’ from the US and another being detained over their alleged pro-Palestine stance. “When it comes to visa and immigration policy, it lies within the sovereign function of a country We ex. pect the foreign nationals coming to India to abide by our laws and regulations and similarly, when Indian nationals are abroad, they must comply with local laws,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Last week, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student pursuing a doctoral degree at Columbia University self, deported after her visa was revoked for participating in pro-Palestine protests. The US Department of State cancelled her visa citing security threat due to her activities ‘supporting Hamas’. In the second incident, Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, was detained over alleged ties with Hamas. A federal judge, however, has blocked his deportation. Responding to the case of Suri, the MEA spokesperson said the US government did not reach out to the Indian embassy . dian languages, which is working on promoting all Indian languages. Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi... every language has been included. There will be apps for translation too,” he said. In a broadside on the Tamil N a d u g ove r n m e n t , S h a h claimed TN was diverting attention from issues of corruption by raising the language pitch. “We will expose you... To those who use language as a shield for their scams, let me make it clear now that every language is important. How can we be opposed to Southern languages when we ourselves belong to different states? Nirmala Sitharaman comes from Tamil Nadu and I come from Gujarat,” Shah said. His statement comes amid the raging dispute between the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government and the Centre over the implementation of the new National Education Policy and the three-language formula proposed under it. In-house inquiry against Delhi HC judge over ‘cash discovery’ 18 BJP MLAs suspended over ‘honey trap’ chaos D e v a r a j B H i r e h a l l i @ Bengaluru S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court Collegium is considering a proposal to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court following allegations of discovery of cash from his official residence. According to reports, a huge pile of cash was spotted by fire and rescue personnel who were called to douse a fire at the judge’s house on March 14. The judge was not in the house then. In a statement issued late on Friday the , Supreme Court said upon receiving information, Delhi High Court chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya had initiated an in-house enquiry and the report would be submitted to the Chief Justice of India. It also sought to clarify that the proposal seeking transfer of the judge was separate from the in-house inquiry procedure. “The report will be examined and processed for further and necessary action,” it said. Meanwhile, Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg claimed on Friday night that his department had not found any cash at the judge’s residence. According to the fire department’s report, some stationery and domestic articles caught fire and there were no casualties. “The call regarding the blaze at 30, Tughlak Road, also the Judge’s residence was received at 11.35 pm on March 14 and two fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot. The DFS team arrived at the spot at 11.43 pm,” said the report reviewed by this newspaper. Marshalls carry away BJP MLAs for creating chaos during the session in the Assembly on Friday | Express The 15-day budget session ended here on Friday on a bitter note with Assembly Speaker UT Khader suspending 18 BJP MLAs for six months for showing disrespect to his chair during a heated debate on the alleged honey trap attempt on Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna. The Council too witnessed pandemonium with Opposition legislators attacking the government over the issue and 4% reservation for Muslims in contracts for government’s civil works. In the Assembly, BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition R Ashoka stormed into the Well protesting against the suspension of 18 legislators from their party, who were carried away by the marshalls amid noisy scenes. “Since they showed disrespect to the constitutional chair, I acted to protect its dignity,” Khader told reporters, defending his action | P4 ipl turns 18 Karnataka bandh today, but it could be biz as usual The ten-team franchise league has come a long way over the past 17 years. In the opening game of the 18th season, which will see 74 games played across 64 days, defending champs KKR take on RCB at the Eden Gardens | P13 Bengaluru: Karnataka bandh called on Saturday is likely to receive a poor response, as various organisations have extended only moral support to it, and decided to run their businesses as usual. However, cabs and autorickshaws may remain off the roads in a few districts, including Bengaluru. As government offices, banks and many private companies are closed on account of fourth Saturday, the bandh is likely to have little effect on normal life. Schools and colleges will remain open. the 2025 edition of the biggest t20 league gets underway on saturday express read