While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 22, 2025
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A fire at an electrical substation wiped out the power at London's Heathrow airport on March 21, stranding thousands of passengers and causing global travel turmoil.
PHOTOS: REUTERS
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Heathrow airport restarts flights, after closure chaos
Flights at Britain’s Heathrow resumed late on March 21 after a fire knocked out its power supply and shut Europe’s busiest airport for the day, stranding tens of thousands of passengers and causing travel turmoil worldwide.
Heathrow said its teams worked tirelessly to reopen the world’s fifth-busiest airport after it was forced to close entirely after a huge fire engulfed a nearby substation on late on March 20, with travellers told to stay away.
The airport had been due to handle 1,351 flights on March 21, flying up to 291,000 passengers, but planes were diverted to other airports in Britain and across Europe, while many long-haul flights returned to their point of departure.
Heathrow said there would be a limited number of flights on March 21, mostly focused on relocating aircraft and bringing planes into London.
Pete Hegseth to make first Asia trip as Pentagon chief
AFP
Pete Hegseth will make his first trip to Asia as defence secretary next week, travelling to key US allies the Philippines and Japan, the Pentagon said on March 21.
The trip “comes as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with like-minded countries to strengthen regional security,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
During the trip – which will also take him to Hawaii and Guam – Mr Hegseth will participate in a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, Mr Parnell said.
Elon Musk holds unprecedented Pentagon talks
REUTERS
Billionaire Elon Musk took his campaign to cut the US federal government into uncharted waters on March 21, holding an unprecedented top-level meeting at the Pentagon and calling for the prosecution of any Defence Department officials leaking “maliciously false information” about his visit.
Mr Musk, whose businesses have a number of Defence Department contracts, met US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for 80 minutes in his first such talks at the Pentagon, which is responsible for a large chunk of federal government spending.
It was unclear whether US generals joined that meeting virtually.
Pope Francis must relearn to speak after oxygen therapy
AFP
Pope Francis is slowly regaining his strength in hospital but must “relearn to speak” after prolonged use of high-flow oxygen therapy, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez said on March 21.
The cardinal, who is the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, dismissed speculation that the pontiff would retire and said he was returning to his old self.
“The pope is doing very well, but high-flow oxygen dries everything out. He needs to relearn how to speak, but his overall physical condition is as it was before,” Cardinal Fernandez said, at a presentation of a new book by Francis on poetry.
New IOC president can meet expectations, says Bach
AFP
Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry, the first African president of the International Olympic Committee can “even exceed the expectations” of the continent, said her predecessor Thomas Bach on March 21.
Coventry, 41, became the most powerful single figure in sport after sweeping aside her six rivals in the first round of voting on March 20. She is also the first woman to lead the Olympic Movement.
Swimming great Coventry – who won seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals, two of them gold – has always been hurt by suggestions that she does not fully represent Zimbabwe or Africa because she is white.
