chennai l thursday l october 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION Gold records worst single-day plunge since 2013, falls over 6% After record rally of more than 70% so far this year, the yellow metal fell 6.3% on Tuesday, its biggest single-day fall in more than 12 years Profit booking, trade talks behind slump ANALYSTS WARN OF SHORT-TERM VOLATILITY The sharp fall in prices is attributed primarily to profit booking and a slew of positive news flows which have shaved the sheen off the safe-haven metal. A key factor is the upcoming meeting of US president Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping to iron out their trade differences. Other factors are a strong dollar and the likelihood of US shutdown ending | p10 ■ ■ Silver too registered a sharp fall of 7.8%—its worst since 2011—on Tuesday as the historic squeeze in the London market began to ease Analysts warn of more volatility in the short term as the market is likely to correct further. On whether the price of gold will fall below `1 lakh per 10 grams soon, one analyst said, it is difficult to predict `1,32,294 per 10 grams—the record price peak gold touched last Friday 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 Trump nuances stance on India’s Russian oil buy Only joint secy, DGP can order removal of social media content DIPAK MO N DAL @ New Delhi US prez says Modi isn’t going to buy much war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good US President Donald Trump thing,” Trump said. has softened his earlier asserThe Diwali call, initiated by tion that India would complete- Trump, was their third publicly ly stop buying Russian crude known conversation since midoil, saying after a Diwali phone September and comes amid oncall with Prime Minister Naren- going tensions in US–India reladra Modi that India tions, particularly “is not going to buy over Washington’s much oil from Rusdecision to impose sia”. It reflects a nusteep tariffs on key anced shift from his Indian exports. This previous claim that includes a 25% levy Modi had promised a linked to India’s confull halt to Russian tinued purchase of Modi unlikely imports, which Russian crude as to travel to was not corroborated Trump seeks to presMalaysia by the Indian sure Moscow amid Prime Minister Modi is government. unlikely to participate the ongoing conflict Speaking to reportin Ukraine. in the ASEAN Summit ers after the call, In his Oval Office in Malaysia scheduled Trump added that he for Oct 26–28, which is remarks, Trump dialso spoke about expected to be attended aled back his earlier “let’s not have no by US President Donald stance: “He’s not gowars with Pakistan,” ing to buy much oil Trump, according to a claim refuted sourc- sources. While an official from Russia. He es here in Delhi. wants to see that war word on the level of India’s participation Sources said “Pakiend as much as I do. is awaited, the prime stan was not disSo they’ve cut it way cussed during the minister may address the back, and they’re phone conversation” summit virtually. India is continuing to cut it between the two lead- typically represented at way back.” ers. “I just spoke to the India-ASEAN Summit Modi, in a post on by the prime minister, X responded warmly your prime minister . but there have been today. Had a great “Thank you, Presiexceptions conversation. We dent Trump, for your talked about trade... phone call and warm He’s very interested in that. Al- Diwali greetings. On this festithough we did talk a little while val of lights, may our two great ago about let’s have no wars democracies continue to illumiwith Pakistan. The fact that nate the world with hope and trade was involved, I was able to stand united against terrorism talk about that. And we have no in all its forms.” J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Spiritual ascent President Droupadi Murmu climbs the 18 holy steps at Sabarimala temple on Wednesday. She is only the second Indian President to visit the hill shrine | pti Starting November 1, only senior officials of the rank of joint secretaries or directors general of police can issue orders to social media platforms to remove unlawful content. Besides, every such takedown order will be subject to a monthly review by a secretarylevel officer to ensure the actions remain lawful, necessary , and proportionate. These provisions are part of the amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, notified on Wednesday Under the amended rules, . all takedown requests must include clear legal basis, specific statutory provisions, and details such as URLs or identifi- m u k e s h r a nj a n @ New Delhi IN the first sign of a thaw, leaders of Ladakh, where four people died in police firing during the recent pro-statehood protests, met with officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday for subcommittee level talks. A nine‑member Ladakh delegation comprising three members each from the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), along with Ladakh MP Mohd Haneefa Jan, met MHA officials for over two hours. Jan said discussions primarily revolved around four major issues—statehood, Sixth Schedule inclusion, reservation, and the revocation of the National ‘issue can’t be resolved in one or two meetings’ KDA member Sajjad Hussain Kargili said their demand for the past six years has been democracy in Ladakh. “This issue cannot be resolved in one or two meetings. We discussed the implementation of a reservation policy in Ladakh. among other things” Security Act (NSA) invoked against climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. The activist is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail. The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner “prejudicial to the defence of India”. The maximum detention period under the stringent law is File photo 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier. Jan described the atmosphere as “positive and constructive,” with both sides agreeing to sustain engagement to secure Ladakh’s identity and equitable representation. The delegation reiterated that statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards were vital to protect answered the call and said that she had filed a petition in the A town panchayat chairperson HC against her removal on in Tamil Nadu, whose husband Wednesday “Sudha had not re. openly claimed that they had ceived any property tax notices. spent `2 crore to get that posi- Some officials forged her signation, has been removed ture to show that she from the post for failing had received them. “We to pay a property tax due spent `2 crore to get the of `6,400 for her eight chairperson’s post, can commercial and residenwe not spend around tial buildings within `5,000 for property tax,” the stipulated period in he asked. 2022-23. Sudha, who was electThe Municipal Aded from ward 7 on a M Sudha ministration DepartDMK ticket, did not pay ment has also removed the tax for any of the M Sudha, chairperson of eight properties in the first halfAlangulam town panchayat, as year of 2022-23, and she had also a councillor of the panchayat failed to make payments for sevfor dereliction of duty based en of the eight buildings in the on the order of the Madras second half-year, despite receivHigh Court. ing three reminders from the When TNIE reached out to panchayat administration that Sudha, her husband Mohanlal she had headed.  P5 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tenkasi Boys seen playing with foam at Srinivasapuram beach in Chennai on Wednesday | Ashwin prasath Rain takes a pause as weather system weakens, showers likely from Sunday 16K hectares of paddy under water Agriculture Minister M R K Panneerselvam on Wednesday said over 16,000 hectares of paddy crop, including 5,000 hectares of ready-toharvest kuruvai, has been inundated by rainwater across Tamil Nadu The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Wednesday lifted the orange alert that had earlier been issued for Chennai and neighbouring districts for Thursday as the weather , system over the Bay of Bengal weakened and lost momentum. However, officials have cautioned that heavy rains are likely to return to the region from October 26 (Sunday). RMC Director B Amudha said the weather system would cross the north Tamil Nadu coast as a well-marked low-pressure area by Thursday morning and would not intensify into a depression. “It is sort of getting diffused,” she said, adding that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. According to the latest forecast, the wellmarked low-pressure area currently lies over the southwest Bay of Bengal, off the Tamil Nadu coast, and is expected to move northwestwards, likely crossing north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts , within the next 24 hours.  P5 inside Minister rejects charge of delay at DPCs | P4 To curb deepfakes, the IT ministry has proposed embedded markers and labelling to help social media users identify AI-generated content ers of the content. The new provisions, introduced through the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025, aim to make the removal process more transparent, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said. First notified in February 2021 and amended in 2022 and 2023, the IT rules lay down obligations for intermediaries to ensure online safety and accountability. Under Rule 3(1) (d), they must remove unlawful information upon receiving a court order or a government notification. The ministry has also proposed new rules to regulate deepfakes and AI-generated content. The draft rules propose a new clause defining synthetically generated information as any content artificially created or modified in a manner that appears authentic. Such content could be treated as unlawful and taken down. Talks with govt constructive: Leh team Alangulam town panchayat chairperson loses post for failing to pay `6,400 tax due SV KRISH N A CHAITA N YA @ Chennai Labels for deepfakes, AI-generated content 4 women die in wall collapse in three districts cuddalore: Four women were killed and four others injured in separate wall and roof collapse incidents in Cuddalore, Villupuram, and Kallakurichi districts following continuous rainfall. In Cuddalore, a mother–daughter duo, M Yasothai (69) and M Jaya (40), died when a house wall collapsed. A Pachiammal (65) in Marakanam and Vanamayili (60) in Kallakurichi also died in similar incidents. In Panruti, four people — Balu (50), his wife Dhatchayani (40), their daughter Sandhiya (21), and Aruna (12) — were injured when the concrete roof of a house collapsed. P4 the region’s land, jobs, and cultural rights. On the reservation front, both sides decided to hold further deliberations to evolve a fair framework for all communities. KDA member Sajjad Hussain Kargili said another round of meetings would be held within two weeks. “Our demand for democracy in Ladakh continues. Statehood is the ultimate solution,” he said. Talks between the Centre, LAB and KDA had broken down after four protesters were killed and several injured in widespread violence in Leh on September 24. The invitation for the talks were made by the Centre on September 20. The last round of talks between the two sides was held in May . express read HC okays pond work on `6,500 crore land Chennai: The Madras HC on Wednesday permitted the state government to continue with the work to create ponds on the `6,500 crore worth of land recovered from the Madras Race Club in Chennai | P2 Duraimurugan case: HC seeks DVAC reply Chennai: Madras HC directed the DVAC to explain how the 2011 DA case against Minister Duraimurugan was transferred from Vellore court to Special Court for corruption cases in Chennai | P2 Odiya man lynched over bursting crackers Tiurppur: Three Odisha men, working at a Tiruppur factory, bludgeoned an 18-year-old Odiya man to death with wooden logs over bursting of firecrackers on Tuesday | P2 Bizman, wife kill 2 sons, end life over debt R a j a l a k s h m i S a m pat h @ Chennai A 45-year-old businessman and his wife died of suspected suicide after killing their two sons at their villa at Injambakkam near Neelankarai on Wednesday morning due to debt trouble caused by business loss. The deceased were identified as J Siranjeevi Dhamothara Gupta (45), who ran a CCTV showroom on Mount Road, his wife S Revathi (36), and sons S Rithvik (15) and S Dhithich Ashwa (11). Preliminary investigations revealed that Revathi and the children had died of asphyxiation. A suicide note, purportedly signed by Siranjeevi and Revathi, stated that no one was responsible for their deaths and they had taken the extreme step as they were unable to repay their loans. Police said Siranjeevi had been struggling with financial difficulties for nearly a decade and had borrowed substantial amounts to sustain his business. Investigators are examining his bank and loan records to ascertain the total value of his liabilities. P5 human vs machine 6 lakh Amazon jobs on the line as robots step in E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Amazon.com plans to replace more than 6,00,000 employees with robots over the next decade in the US, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing internal documents. The company is one of the largest employers in the US, with nearly 1.2 million hires. Referring to interviews with staff and internal documents, the NYT reported that the com- pany’s ultimate plan is to automate 75% of its operations and expects to increase sales by a factor of two by 2033 compared to now through automation. Automation would help Amazon avoid hiring 1,60,000 employees by the end of 2027, resulting in savings of $12.5 billion over the next two years, the report said. At the Amazon facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is built with automation in mind, a thousand robots already do much of the packing and shipping work, allowing Amazon to employ 25% fewer employees. In 2026, the Louisiana facility would employ only half of the staff compared to what it would have without the deployment of robots. The op- eration of the Shreveport facility will be replicated in nearly 40 facilities by the end of 2027. As for Amazon India, sources said there are no immediate plans to deploy robots in the country as the focus of automation is currently in the US. To avoid backlash, the company is planning for greater community involvement and changing Amazon’s corporate language from ‘automation’, ‘AI’, and ‘robot’ to a more acceptable ‘advanced technology’ and ‘cobot’ (robots collaborating with humans).