HYDERABAD l Monday l December 08, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late cITY EDITION FORMULA one: Dream comes true for new king Norris emotional brit ends max’s dominance McLaren’s British driver Lando Norris navigates tricky test in season-closing Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday to clinch his maiden F1 crown A tearful Norris won the title by two points ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who relinquished his crown after four consecutive years, in a tense and emotional season-ending race dominated by strategy and tactics. Max, despite finishing on top of the podium, fell just short in the overall equation as Norris finished third to seal the deal | P11 champ thrives under pressure ■ The 26-year-old showed great discipline and patience as he executed his race under extreme pressure knowing that any error could gift the title to Verstappen or teammate Oscar Piastri ■ A journey that began with kart racing when he was eight years old, Norris became Britain’s first F1 world champ since 2020 423 NORRIS FINISHED WITH 423 POINTS WHILE VERSTAPPEN ENDED WITH 421 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 Fireworks during dance performance likely caused blaze; nightclub did not have fire safety clearance; owners on the run; probe ordered New rules for Goa clubs Anjuna  Baga Beach Following the tragedy, the Goa administration has issued an order to all nightclubs, restaurants and bars to maintain a valid fire NOC, enforce occupancy limits, ensure working alarms, detectors and firefighting systems, use certified electrical setups and keep exits illuminated goa Arpora Calangute A videograb of the fire in Arpora in North Goa late on Sunday. Eyewitnesses said the nightclub did not have well-defined exits | Express 25 killed in blaze at packed Goa nightclub s u d h ir s u r ya w a n s h i @Mumbai A massive fire tore through a jampacked nightclub in North Goa around midnight on Sunday killing at least 25 , people, including five tourists and 20 employees of the club. The club, ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ at Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, did not have the mandatory fire department no-objection certificate. Since the club stands in the backwater of Arpora river, a narrow bridge leading to it made it tough for panic-stricken tourists to escape, fire officials said. A preliminary inquiry found that electric fireworks inside the nightclub was the likely cause of the blaze, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, adding that he had ordered chief secretary Dr V Candavelou and DGP Alok Kumar to identify and act against government officials who allowed the club to operate without fire safety clearance. The club’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur Boosting ties with India top agenda of US official’s visit j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi A top US official is scheduled to visit New Delhi and Bengaluru from December 7 to 11. The visit of US under secretary of state for political affairs Allison Hooker is expected to sharpen the strategic focus of the US-India partnership at a time when both sides are navigating economic friction, geopolitical volatility and rapid technological shifts. According to the US Embassy, Hooker will prioritise advancing the US-India strategic partnership, deepening economic and commercial ties, exp a n d i n g American exports, and accelerating collaboration in emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and space exploration. Her visit comes amid renewed efforts in Washington and New Delhi to stabilise ties after weeks of heightened tensions over US’ 50% tariff. Hooker has been closely involved in engagement with India in recent months. In September, she met Indian ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra, as both sides worked to ease friction over trade and energy issues. were arrested by the police. Separately police have launched a manhunt for , the club owners — Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, who’ve been named in the FIR. At least 100 people were on the dance floor at the time of the fire. In an attempt to rush out, some visitors ran downstairs to the kitchen where they got trapped in the blaze along with the staff, said Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad. “There was a sudden commotion as the flames started erupting. We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames,” she said. Officials said there were no proper exits to the premises. Police have detained the sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa Panchayat, Roshan Redkar, who had issued a trade licence to the nightclub in 2013. President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, among others, condoled the deaths. An ex-gratia of `5 lakh for the kin of each deceased and `50,000 for the injured were announced by the CM. Deeply pained by the tragic fire incident in North Goa resulting in the loss of lives. My heartfelt condolences. May they find strength during this difficult time. I pray for the speedy recovery Droupadi Murmu, President Rahul calls for fair probe Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while extending condolences to the bereaved families, said the tragedy reflected a serious failure of safety measures and governance. “The authorities should conduct a transparent probe to ensure similar tragedies are avoided in the future.” Modi to open Vande Mataram debate in LS P R EETHA NA I R @ New Delhi THE penultimate week of the Parliament session is set to be very busy with both Houses set , to debate ‘Vande Mataram’ and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the debate on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, where he is expected to highlight several previously unknown facets of the national song. The BJP has been allotted three hours for its interventions in the Lok Sabha, while the total debate time will span about 10 hours. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to be the second speaker in the debate, which will also feature the participation of Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Deepender Hooda, Manipur MP Dr Bimol Akoijam, and Praniti Shinde, among others. The Rajya Sabha will take up the debate on Vande Mataram on Tuesday, with Home Minister Amit Shah leading the discussion. Health Minister and Leader of the Rajya Kerala actor assault case verdict today Sabha J P Nadda will be the second speaker. The debate on Vande Mataram is likely to see fireworks as the Congress and BJP were at loggerheads over the latter’s allegations that important stanzas of the national song were dropped in 1937, which sowed the seeds of partition. While inaugurating the yearlong commemoration of Vande Mataram to mark its 150 years, Modi said a “divisive mindset” is still a challenge for India. In response, the Congress said the PM insulted Vande Mataram, noting that Rabindranath Tagore himself had recommended adopting only the first two stanzas. The Lok Sabha will take up the debate on SIR on Tuesday and Wednesday. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi will speak on SIR on Tuesday He is . also expected to raise the issue of ‘vote theft’ and the accountability of the Election Commission of India. During the debate on SIR, the Opposition members are also expected to raise suicides of Booth Level Officers reportedly due to intense work pressure related to the voter list re-verification drive. Eight years after the 2017 abduction and sexual assault of a Kerala actor, the Ernakulam Sessions Court will deliver its verdict on Monday at 11 am. Actor Dileep is an accused | P5 All set for Telangana Rising Summit today M a n da Rav i n d e r R e d dy @ Hyderabad Telangana is all set to host its first global economic conclave — Telangana Rising Global Summit 2025 — at Bharat Future City . The two-day summit will begin on Monday Over 3,000 del. egates are expected to attend the summit, which will feature a total of 27 panel discussions on various topics. The summit will be inaugurated by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma. It will begin with an inaugural session, in which Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee, Kailash Satyarthi, Trump Media and Technology Group Director Eric Swider, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and World Economic Forum president Borge Brende will speak. As many as 154 delegates from 44 countries will attend the summit. Of them, 46 delegates are from the US alone. Global CEOs, GCC leaders, diplomats, policymakers and senior officials will also attend the summit and speak in various sessions. The state Secretariat is lit up with images showcasing women empowerment, on the eve of the Telangana Rising Global Summit, in Hyderabad on Sunday | SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN The chief minister will address the delegates around 2.30 pm and elaborate on Praja Palana, investment opportunities, cooperation from the state government, aims of the Telangana Vision 2047 document and Bharat Future City . The major aim of the global summit is unveiling the vision on Telangana’s development up to 2047. As the government is aiming to achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and $3 trillion economy by 2047, the global summit will showcase its vision to achieve the targets. AIR travel chaos due to IndiGo’s operational disruptions continued on Sunday though , the situation appeared to improve with the country’s largest airline set to operate 1,650 flights until midnight – up from 1,565 on Saturday and 706 on Friday . This still resulted in 650 flights across the country being cancelled with hundreds of them delayed by hours. In a statement, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said air travel operations across the country were stabilising. “All other domestic airlines are operating smoothly and at full capacity, while IndiGo’s performance has shown steady improvement today, with flight schedules moving back towards normal levels. IndiGo’s flight operations are likely to reach up to 1,650 by the end of today (Sunday),” its statement read. To ensure financial protection for passengers, the ministry directed IndiGo to complete refunds for cancelled or severely delayed flights by 8:00 PM on Sunday . The ministry also asked IndiGo to ensure that no additional fees are levied for rescheduling travel impacted by cancellations. On how much more refund was pending, an Indigo source said the process of calculating the amount to be refunded was still on. The ministry also said In- 117Indigo flightsRGIA cancelled at Hyderabad: Amid continuing chaos, IndiGo cancelled as many as 117 flights at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Sunday. In a statement on Sunday, Indigo said that refunds and baggage return were under way for both direct and indirect flight bookings. A Revanth Reddy, chief minister CONTINUED ON P4 IndiGo flight ops stabilising, cancellations down to 650 S L A L I THA @ New Delhi After the Telangana Rising Global Summit, a new phase of development will begin in the state diGo successfully delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers as of December 6. It had mandated a 48-hour deadline for delivery of luggage separated from flyers due to the flight delay and cancellation chaos. In an update on the situation, Indigo said its on-time performance shot up to 75% on Sunday from 30% on Saturday . The airline also said it will “root cause analysis” into flight disruptions. Meanwhile, the DGCA extended the deadline for IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to respond to the show cause notice to Monday 6 pm. IndiGo sources said the airline would soon respond to the show cause notice. “We are readying our response by explaining the reasons that flights were cancelled and delayed and the steps we are taking to mitigate them,” a source said. Passengers looking for their bags in the massive buildup of unclaimed luggage at IGI Airport on Sunday | Sayantan Ghosh US Consulate road in Hyd to be named Trump Avenue e n s @ Hyderabad The state government has decided to name the road alongside the US Consulate here after US President Donald Trump. The stretch will be christened “Donald Trump Avenue.” Officials will soon write to the Ministry of External Affairs and the US Embassy, formally conveying the proposal. The move comes weeks after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, while speaking at the USIndia Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) annual conclave in New Delhi, suggested naming key roads in Hyderabad after leading global corporations to reflect the city’s growing international stature. In line with this vision, the government has also approved naming the upcoming greenfield radial road connecting the Nehru Outer Ring Road (ORR) at Raviryal to the proposed Regional Ring Road (RRR) after Padma Bhushan Ratan Tata. The interchange at Raviryal has already been named “Tata Interchange.” Further, a significant stretch in the city will be designated as “Google Street” to acknowledge the global influence of Google Maps and the company’s broader technological contributions. These initiatives are part of the state’s effort to showcase Telangana as a hub of innovation and global partnerships. The government is exploring additional proposals to honour distinguished individuals and leading corporations by naming other important roads after them. Elderly woman left out in the cold by sons N a v e e n K u m a r Ta ll a m @ Jagtial A mother once believed that her sons were her entire world. She raised them with immeasurable love, sacrificing her own happiness, hoping that they would become her support in old age. But the dreams she built around her children crumbled. A resident of Malyal in Jagtial, 70-year-old Kurre Lakshmi, has been abandoned by the very sons for whom she lived every moment of her life. After the death of her husband, Lakshmi divided her property between her two sons — Krishna and Srinivas. Lakshmi continued living in her ancestral home, which went to the younger son Srinivas during the partition. But when he began constructing a new house and temporarily moved into a rented one, he refused to take his mother along. With nowhere to go, Lakshmi went to her elder son Krishna, hoping for comfort. But even there, she felt like a burden. When she wanted a permanent solution to her problem, Krishna assured her that he would talk to revenue officials and settle the matter. On Saturday, he told her to proceed to the RDO office, promising to join her shortly . Lakshmi waited outside the office in the shivering cold without food and water. Hours passed. Evening came. But her sons never turned up. RDO Puli Madhusudhan noticed the frail woman waiting alone and personally ap- Kurre Lakshmi proached her. After listening to her painful story, he immediately summoned Krishna. He sternly instructed him to take his mother home and issued orders that both sons must appear before him on Monday to resolve the matter once and for all.