Chennai-born architect behind Trump’s AI policies to leave job Sriram Krishnan steps down from role as senior policy advisor for AI to US President Donald Trump Born in Chennai in 1984, Krishnan earned his Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology from SRM University in 2005, before moving to the US two years later to join Microsoft pushed for rollback of AI regulation Krishnan was an architect of the Trump administration’s ‘AI Action Plan’, which provided a blueprint to roll back regulation of the emerging technology and promote the construction of data centres across the US. kannur l monday l june 08, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l 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 Chorus against latest cooking gas price hike Express News Service @ New Delhi TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek with AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday | PTI 23 Oppn parties to meet today DMK decides to boycott citing Cong ‘betrayal’ P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi As many as 23 Opposition parties are set to attend the crucial INDIA bloc meeting on Monday to devise fresh strategies to corner the BJP government on key national issues with an eye on the 2029 general elections, the Congress said. In a post on X, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said 23 political parties have confirmed their participation in the “INDIA janbandhan” meeting. “There are some parties who have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons, even though they have conveyed their strong opposition to the Modi government’s policies and actions,” Ramesh said. The meeting comes amid growing friction within the bloc, with the DMK and AAP opting to skip and others expressing concerns about the Congress’s conduct. While the gathering is being seen as an effort to deepen coordination among Opposition parties, particularly after the recent round of assembly elections and amid evolving politi- cal equations in several states, a Samajwadi Party leader told this paper that the DMK’s absence would be a major setback for the bloc. “The Congress will have to face several questions. Being the largest party, they failed to take other parties along,” he said. The DMK decided to boycott the meeting, citing Congress’s “betrayal” in Tamil Nadu by joining the TVK government. The equation with the CPI(M) has also strained, with the Left party expressing displeasure over remarks by senior Congress leaders alleging collusion with the BJP in Kerala. The meeting comes at the behest of the Trinamool Congress, which is facing an existential crisis. “Meeting with a common purpose and clear intent. INDIA united. Many parties look forward to meeting in the spirit of camaraderie,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said. SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Manoj Jha, J&K CM Omar Abdullah, NCP’s Supriya Sule, VCK’s Thirumavalavan and others are expected to attend. TVK was not invited because it doesn’t have MPs. OPPOSITION parties on Sunday criticised the Centre over the latest increase in domestic LPG prices, accusing it of further burdening households already struggling with a rising cost of living and inflation. However, the government maintained that despite the latest hike, domestic LPG prices in India remain lower than those in neighbouring Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The government raised the price of a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder by `29, taking it to `942 from `913 in Delhi. The hike comes nearly three months after an inc re a s e o f ` 6 0 a n - nounced in March amid a surge in global energy prices linked to West Asia conflict. The Congress alleged that the government was passing the burden of rising costs onto citizens.” Party p re s i d e n t M a l likarjun Kharge questioned the government’s handling of fuel supplies and pricing. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar warned that the government would pay a “political price” as frequent hikes in essential commodities were burdening the common man. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, an NDA ally, too demanded an immediate rollback. CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan called it an “anti-people” decision. 7,613 lives lost on kerala roads Pimenta, most powerful in 2 yrs; 6-9pm span most fatal woman in football S h a n A S @T’Puram Kerala lost over 7,500 lives to road accidents in the twoyear period to 2025, with the 6pm to 9pm window proving to be the most dangerous, the ‘Road Accident Analysis Report’ released by the State C r i m e Re c o rd s B u re a u (SCRB) has revealed. As per the data, 7,613 people lost their lives in nearly one lakh road accidents over the period, averaging 10 fatalities a day. A significant 21% of the deaths occurred during the peak hours of 6pm to 9pm. In contrast, the time period between midnight and 3am saw the lowest accidents at 2.23% and fewest deaths at Cause for concern Year Accidents Deaths Injuries 2020 27,877 2,979 30,510 2021 33,296 3,429 40,204 2022 43,910 4,317 49,307 2023 48,068 4,080 54,286 2024 48,834 3,880 54,796 2025 49,889 3,733 56,922 (Source: State Crime Records Bureau) 1.86%. Overspeeding was the number one cause of death, leading to 46% fatalities. The number of fatalities saw a slight drop over the intervening period, from 3,880 in 2024 to 3,733 deaths in 2025, fAREWELL aCTOR SALIM kUMAR CREMATED WITH FULL STATE HONOURS even as the number of accidents rose from 48,834 to 49,889, respectively, showed the SCRB data. The figures of those injured rose from 54,796 in 2024 to 56,922 in 2025. Malappuram and Palakkad emerged the most dangerous traffic corridors in the state, claiming 649 and 638 lives respectively over the 24 months under review. Kasaragod and Idukki were comparatively safer with 172 and 204 fatalities respectively . Surprisingly, though bad weather takes the rap for mishaps, the data revealed that a majority of accidents (81,534) and deaths (5,609) occurred during sunny/clear ● More on P4 weather.  Braving heavy rain, thousands gathered at Paravur in Ernakulam on Sunday to bid goodbye to the artist who entertained audiences for more than three decades | P4 s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n @ Oslo RAFAELA Pimenta has had a few insults thrown in her direction over the decades. But the most powerful woman in football doesn’t let it affect her anymore. “Couldn’t care less at this point,” she tells this daily on the sidelines of the Norway Rafaela Pimenta | Michal Walusza / Norway Chess Chess event last week. Pimenta, who manages Er- have a number of clients at the ling Haaland among other star World Cup, beginning in the footballers, lifted the lid on US, Mexico and Canada from what her working conditions June 11. were like before she worked up Pimenta hopes for better the ladder to carve out a com- working conditions for women manding space for in football. “What I press herself in an indushope is that it gets clusive easier for all womtry created by men for men. “It’s really en. That women male dominated and it was will not care for this abuse and even worse when I started,” that we can keep holding our says the 53-year-old who was at positions we achieved and push the event as she had invested in forward.” It’s a powerful mestheir new product, Total Chess. sage to think about as the men’s The Brazilian lawyer-turned- World Cup — the single most manager — generally recog- widely watched sporting event nised as one of the first female across the planet — is about to ‘super agents’ in football — will start in a few days’ time.  P11