kollam l saturday l may 24, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION some relief for harvard as federal judge blocks trump fiat A federal judge on Friday blocked a Trump administration decision to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enrol foreign students order violates first amendment, says Univ decision imperils future of all students The relief follows Harvard University suing the Trump administration’s decision to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, calling it unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands. Harvard University said the fiat violates the First Amendment and will have a devastating effect for the university | P9 ■ ■ Harvard President Alan Garber said the decision imperils the future of thousands of students and scholars and serves as a warning to others The Harvard chapter of American Association of University Professors called the decision “the latest in a string of nakedly authoritarian moves against America’s oldest institution of higher education” 7,000 is the number of visa holders who would be affected by the order 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 Double whammy, drama at 36K ft RBI announces Buzz on B’desh head Yunus 2.69 lakh crore considering resignation bonanza to govt Reforms row s l a l i t h a @ New Delhi A Delhi-to-Srinagar IndiGo flight was forced to fly through a severe thunderstorm after being denied access to Pakistani airspace, according to an official statement released Friday by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The incident occurred on Wednesday when flight 6E 2142, an Airbus A321 Neo with 227 passengers, encountered a hailstorm and intense turbulence while cruising at 36,000 feet near Pathankot. The DGCA said the crew had initially requested a deviation from their planned route due to dangerous weather conditions but were denied clearance. According to the crew’s account, shared by the DGCA, they first contacted Indian Air Force’s Northern control requesting a leftward deviation toward the international border to avoid the storm, but the 50% tariff Threat by Trump on all EU imports from June 1 P9 Trump threatens Apple with 25% tariff if it doesn’t build iPhones in the US. “I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the US will be manufactured and built in the US, not India, or anyplace else” P10 COvid 273 cases in Kerala in May Most cases in Kottayam (82), T’Puram (73) & Ekm (49) | P4 damaged nose Our crew contacted Lahore to enter their airspace to avoid the weather but it was refused. Crew then chose to continue at same heading to exit the weather — DGCA statement on the Indigo scare request was denied. They then contacted Lahore Air Traffic Control for entry into Pakistani airspace, which was also refused. Caught in turbulent weather and with limited options, the pilots briefly considered turning back. However, with the thunderstorm already surrounding the aircraft, they decided to continue along the same heading, choosing the shortest path out of the storm toward Srinagar. While navigating through the thunderstorm, the aircraft was hit by hail and turbulence, triggering a series of warnings. The DGCA confirmed that the aircraft experienced multiple system alerts, including loss of Alternate Law protection, unreliable backup speed indicators, and “Angle of Attack fault” warnings. The storm’s powerful updrafts and downdrafts also caused the autopilot to disengage, forcing the crew to fly the aircraft manually. During the peak of the turbulence, the plane’s descent rate spiked to 8,500 feet per minute — a dangerously steep drop — while warnings for exceeding maximum speed and possible stalls were repeatedly triggered. Despite the chaos, the flight crew carried out emergency checklist procedures (ECAM actions) and declared a “PAN PAN” emergency — indicating a situation that is urgent but not immediately life-threatening — to Srinagar air traffic control. They then requested radar guidance and successfully landed the aircraft with autothrust systems functioning normally. No passengers were injured. Pakistan’s airspace has remained closed to Indian flights after Operation Sindoor. ‘What are you doing?’ SC poser on Kota suicides S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday grilled the Rajasthan government over a surge in student suicides in Rajasthan’s Kota, calling the situation “serious”. A bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan were told 14 suicide cases were reported from the city so far this year. “What are you doing as a state? Why are these children dying by suicide and only in Kota? Have you not given it a thought as a state?” Justice Pardiwala asked the counsel representing Rajasthan. The Supreme Court was hearing a matter of the death of a 22-year-old student from IIT, Kharagpur who was National task force on mental health The bench referred to a March 24 verdict of the top court which took note of recurring cases of student suicides and formed a national task force to address the mental health concerns found hanging in his hostel on May 4. It was also simultaneously dealing with another case of a girl, a NEET aspirant, who was found hanging in her room in Kota. In the IIT case, the bench lamabasted the defence over a delay in filing FIR after four days after the death of the student. In the Kota suicide case, the bench disapproved of non filing of an FIR. Rajasthan’s counsel said the investigation in the case was on and the SIT was aware of suicide cases in the state. “How many young students have died so far in Kota? You are in contempt of our judgement. Why have you not registered the FIR?” the bench asked Rajasthan’s counsel. The bench said the student was not residing in the accommodations provided by her institute, which she left in November 2024 and started living with her parents. The bench then summoned the police officer concerned in the Kota case on July 14 to explain the situation. E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi Decides to keep 7.5% of its balance sheet as a financial safeguard against unforeseen shocks D I PA K M ON D AL @ New Delhi THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced a record `2.69 lakh crore as surplus to the Centre for 2024-25. The decision was taken by RBI’s Central Board of Directors on Friday at Mumbai under the chairmanship of governor Sanjay Malhotra. 2,68,590 Surplus The dividend will help Centransfer 2,10,874 tre tide over challenges posed by US tariffs and higher deFigures in Rupees fence spending in light of the crore conflict with Pakistan. 87,416 The latest payout is higher 99,122 than the `2.11 lakh crore that 57,128 RBI transferred to the Centre last year, but is lower than the the `3-3.5 lakh crore projected 30,307 by analysts. This is due to the 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 RBI board’s decision to increase the Contingent Risk The dividend will help Buffer (CRB)—a fund set aside Centre tide over challenges to deal with unexpected situaposed by US tariffs and tions—to 7.5% of RBI’s balance higher defence spending in sheet from 6.5% earlier. light of conflict with Pakistan This is a prudent move given the pressure on US Treasury yields could increase revaluation loss on forex reserves, said CRB was increased to 6% for Gaura Sen Gupta, chief econo- 2022-23 and to 6.5% for 2023-24. mist, IDFC First Bank. AccordUnion Budget estimated `2.6 ing to her, upward pressure on lakh crore as dividend from UST yields could persist due to RBI and PSBs in FY26 against US fiscal risk concerns. `2.3 lakh crore in FY25. A highRBI said the surplus for 2024- er-than-budgeted dividend 25 was based on the revised would help ease the fiscal presECF (economic capital frame- sure on the Centre at a time work) approved by the central when GDP growth in FY26 is board on May 15. likely to slow down a bit. During accounting years “This (`2.69 lakh crore divi2018-19 to 2021-22, owing to the dend) is also `40,000-50,000 prevailing macroeconomic con- crore higher than the amount ditions and the onslaught of that was likely assumed in the Covid-19, the RBI board had de- FY2026 Union Budget, implycided to maintain the CRB at ing an equivalent upside to 5.5% to support growth and non-tax revenues,” said Aditi overall economic activity The Nayar, chief economist, ICRA. . Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus is considering resigning, citing mounting political deadlock and lack of consensus among key parties, according to a report by the BBC Bangla Service. Student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) chief Nahid Islam told the BBC that Yunus appeared deeply concerned about the worsening political climate. “He (Yunus) said he is thinking about it (resignation). He feels that the situation is such that he cannot work,” Islam said Thursday night after meeting the 84-year-old Nobel laureate. Islam said he met Yunus after rumours about his resignation spread throughout the day “Sir . said, ‘If I can’t work — I was brought here after a mass uprising to bring change and reMuhammad for m to the Yunus country. But in the current situation, with mounting pressure from movements and the way I’m being cornered, this isn’t how I can work,’” he quoted Yunus as saying. Another report citing unnamed sources close to the interim chief stated Yunus had voiced his intent to resign during a cabinet meeting on Thursday However, advisers persuad. ed him to remain in office. The resignation buzz comes amid growing friction with the military over election timelines and a controversial policy involving a humanitarian aid corridor into Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Rakhine state. Army Chief General Waker-UzZaman, recently pressed Yunus to hold elections by December. Munambam commission report next week E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Kochi The judicial commission appointed by the state government to resolve the dispute triggered by Kerala Waqf Board’s claim over 404 acres of land in Munambam will submit its report next week, said chairman Justice (retd) C N Ramachandran. “An appointment with the CM will be sought and the re- port submitted before May 31. I’m preparing the draft. Once it’s done, it will take only two days to finalise the report,” he told TNIE. Justice Ramachandran said the terms of reference of the commission is to protect the interests of the Munambam residents. “The commission’s objective and the state E X P R ESS R EAD 36 hoax bomb threat cases registered in ’25 People try to escape the rain that lashed Vypeen in Kochi on Friday evening. The IMD has issued red alert for various northern districts and orange alert for most central Kerala districts, including Ernakulam, till Sunday | A Sanesh State braces for challenging monsoon; NDRF teams to be deployed from June 1 S h a i n u M o h a n @T’Puram Memories of last year’s devastating landslides in Wayanad still fresh in mind, Kerala has ramped up preparedness, including deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, to deal with extreme rain events as the southwest monsoon gears up to make an early entry . The northern districts are bracing for extreme rain in the coming days with weather models forecasting an early and strong monsoon onset by Sunday. Even before the season’s official onset, the India Meteo ro l o g i c a l D e p a r t m e n t (IMD) has issued red alerts across northern Kerala due to cyclonic activity . In view of the impending monsoon and heavy rain, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) is gearing up to deploy NDRF teams at vulnerable locations, likely in central and northern districts. Sources said Kerala has requested for seven more teams in addition to the two stationed in Thrissur. “Kerala is well-prepared to face the monsoon,” said KSDMA membersecretary Shekar Lukose Kuriakose. “Monsoon is arriving a week early and NDRF teams will be deployed from June 1. We cannot advance their deployment as they have their own calendar,” said ● More on P4 Shekar.  T’Puram: The state police have registered 36 cases this year in connection with hoax bomb threats, which temporarily crippled the functioning of several institutions and kept lawenforcement agencies on their toes. In seven cases, officers have made proper headway and are closing in on an individual who had sent the threat mails. He hails from outside Kerala | P5 Tamannaah Bhatia as ambassador sparks row Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Friday defended the government’s decision to appoint actor Tamannaah Bhatia as brand ambassador of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), which manufactures the famed Mysore Sandal Soap, as pro-Kannada activists protested outside the KSDL factory in Yeshwanthpur, opposing the move | P5 gover nment’s view is the same,” he said. If the need is for a consensus, he said the government should go for it. “If all parties involved – the government, Waqf Board and Farook College – can discuss and resolve the matter, they should. Else, the government, using its powers, should acquire the land,” he said. He, however, did not indicate whether the views would be in his final report. An expert said acquiring the land is not easy “First, there is . the problem of compensation. Why should Farook College, which has sold the land, be compensated? The question then is who should be compensated,” said the expert, who sought anonymity  ● More on P4 . fractured trust People sound concern as more cracks appear on NH in Kozhikode E x p r ess Ne ws S e r v i c e @Kozhikode More cracks have been spotted on under-construction NH66 stretches, this time at Thiruvangoor and Ambalapadi in Kozhikode, sparking concerns. During the heavy rain on Thursday night, small pieces of concrete from the underpass at Ambalapadi fell on a twowheeler rider travelling towards Cherukulam. In Thiruvangoor, a 400-m-long crack was seen at an under-construction flyover on the NH stretch. “The concrete pieces, though small, could have led to a major accident. Luckily the biker es, caped. We informed the highway officials and the construction firm about the crack and water leak, but they termed it a normal matter,” said Suresh Palora of Ambalapadi. Cracks seen on a flyover at Thiruvangoor, Kozhikode, on the under-construction NH-66 stretch | E Gokul “When they spotted the crack on Thursday, the residents informed the police, after which traffic through the underpass was restricted at 11.30pm. The authorities inspected the place and restored traffic after the road was deemed safe,” said Sa- feena Edavazhi Peedikayil, the councillor of Eranhikkal division. An engineer from KMC Constructions Ltd, the contractor working on the Vengalam-Ramanattukara stretch of the NH, said bridges are being constructed in different phases and there would be gaps at joints when they continue expansion in each phase. “It would be a two-inch gap. It were the pieces of cement putty used to fill the gap that fell. There is nothing to worry about,” said Nasar, the engineer. At Thiruvangoor, the crack reportedly formed a few days ago and has been sealed with tar. However, the residents alleged the authorities did not inspect the damaged portion and only poured tar on the crack.