MADURAI  THURSDAY  OCTOBER 30, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION INDIA WOMEN FACE DOMINANT AUSSIES FOR SPOT IN FINAL Harmanpreet and Co will have to play out of their skin to overcome an indomitable Australia in the second semifinals of ICC Women’s World Cup Shafali Verma KAUR & CO FACE STIFF CHALLENGE FOCUS ON SHAFALI AND HEALY After what was a topsy-turvy road to the semis, it seemed like India were going in with a settled unit. But injury to Pratika Rawal meant Shafali Verma came in as a replacement. Australia are the defending champions and haven’t lost a world cup game since 2017. For them to be beaten, the hosts will have to be perfect across all 100 overs ■ ■ The Haryana batter has been given a morale boost. They have backed her to play the natural game and take the attack to the Australians. But it is a gamble and loaded with a lot of risk | P13 Australia are keeping their cards close on Healy’s fitness. She trained on Tuesday before skipping Wednesday’s optional practice Seven AUSTRALIA IS THE ONLY TEAM TO HAVE WON WC TITLES SO MANY TIMES 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 latest: Modi tough as hell, nicest-looking guy ‘CUSTODY’ JOKE ON PAK President Droupadi Murmu with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, India’s first woman Rafale fighter jet pilot, at the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala. Pakistani social media had falsely claimed to have captured Singh during ‘Operation Sindoor’ ‘I’m doing a trade deal with India.’ Adds he has great respect for PM J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi President Murmu takes ‘unforgettable’ Rafale flight President Murmu on Wednesday took a sortie in a Rafale jet from Ambala Air Force Station. She called it an “unforgettable” experience | PTI Job scam: ED dossier explains modus operandi, names Nehru SIDDHARTH PRABHAKAR Oppn demands swift investigation, CBI case IN its 232-page dossier sent to the Tamil Nadu police chief, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has explained in detail the alleged role played by Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Minister KN Nehr u, his brothers KN Manivanan and KN Ravichandran, and close associates D Ramesh, T Selvamani and Kavi Prasad in the alleged cash-forjob scam in the appointment of 2,538 officers and staff in the MAWS department. The dossier was sent along with a four-page covering letter on October 27 under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act CHENNAI: Calling the scam a cruel betrayal to TN youth, AIADMK chief EPS has sought TN police to file an FIR and initiate a probe swiftly. BJP’s TN chief Nainar Nagenthran and K Annamalai have demanded a CBI probe | P4 @ Chennai K N Nehru & K N Ravichandran | EXPRESS (PMLA) requesting the Tamil Nadu police to initiate an investigation. According to ED sources, the agency has shared an evidence regarding rigging of the selection process for about 150 candidates. These candidates have been allegedly appointed as assistant engineers, junior engineers, town planning officers and sanitary inspectors in the recruitment drive. P7 Nehru: Bid to malign Dravidian model govt CHENNAI: Rejecting the allegations, Minister K N Nehru said the ED’s charges are because of its “ulterior political motives”. “After failing to blow up an old bank case, this is ED’s latest attempt to malign the Dravidian model government,” he said | P4 India, China agree to keep peace at border Rahul warns of ‘poll theft’ bid in Bihar M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR INDIA and China agreed to maintain stability at the border during a fresh round of highlevel military talks. The 23rd meeting of Corps Commanders of the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army took place at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on October 25. “This was the first meeting of the ‘General Level’ mechanism in the western sector since the 22nd round of Special Representatives’ talks held on August 19,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. “Both sides agreed to continue to use existing mechanisms to resolve any ground issues along the border to maintain stability it said. ,” The Chinese Defence Ministry said India and China “engaged in active and in-depth communication on the management of the western section of the China-India border.” ARRIVING late but greeted by roaring crowds both at Sakra in Muzaf far pur and Darbhanga, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi touched the hearts of mostly youthful audiences waving Congress and RJD flags amid drizzle on Wednesday . Launching his first election rally in Bihar’s Sakra in Muzaffarpur district, Rahul chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his prime target for a blistering attack at election rallies at Sakra and Darbhanga. He made passing references to the grand alliance’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and the current CM Nitish Kumar while going after the PM and listing all his policy ‘follies’ from demonetisation to GST and beyond. At Sakra, in a densely populated Muslim and SC area, Rahul accused Modi of attempting to steal the Bihar election. “Whatever @ Muzaffarpur/ Darbhanga Tejashwi Yadav in conversation with Rahul Gandhi at Sakra in Bihar | PTI you are getting is due to this Samvidhan, but this Constitution is attacked by the BJP and RSS. Modi chunav chura rahe hai (stealing polls). He stole it in Maharashtra and Haryana, and is now attempting in Bihar,” Rahul alleged. He went on to place the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of poll rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India in the same ‘election theft’ basket. SIR was first done in Bihar and is to be replicated in 12 other states/UTs. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he is “doing a trade deal with India,” while lavishing praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “the nicest-looking guy” and “tough as hell.” Speaking at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump also reiterated his controversial claim that he personally averted a war between India and Pakistan by using trade pressure on both nations. “Prime Minister Modi is the nicest-looking guy He’s a killer. . He’s tough as hell. No, we will fight. I said, Whoa, this is the same man that I know,” Trump told business leaders, then he recounted how he ‘persuaded’ both India and Pakistan to halt military action. “I said, ‘You’re starting a war with Pakistan — we can’t make a trade deal.’ And within two days, they called me back and said, ‘We stopped fighting.’ Isn’t that amazing?” he said. The US President also referred to the ongoing trade negotiations India-bound Russian oil tanker does U-turn A tanker carrying Russian crude oil to India turned around and went adrift in the Baltic Sea after US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Bloomberg reported. Loaded with about 730,000 barrels of crude from Rosneft on October 20, it set sail for Sikka in Gujarat and was expected to arrive in mid-November. United States President Donald Trump speaks at the APEC CEO summit in Gyeongju, South Korea | PTI with India, emphasising that both countries share “a great relationship.” “I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship,” he said. Trump also praised Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, describing him as “a great fighter,” and said he warned both countries that trade with the United CEO MEET DMK bloc wants SIR put off; AIADMK & BJP back exercise T M U R U G A N A N D H A M @ Chennai THE ruling DMK on Wednesday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to postpone the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing practical difficulties and alleged procedural anomalies. The party’s allies — the Congress, CPM, CPI, and VCK — also echoed similar concerns. However, the AIADMK and BJP extended their support for the exercise. The views were expressed during a meeting of recognised political parties convened by Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik at the state secretariat. After the meeting, DMK M K Stalin organisation secretary R S Bharathi told reporters that the ECI had announced the SIR in haste, just months ahead of the Assembly elections. “The northeast monsoon is active, and the meteorological department has predicted surplus rainfall. Moreover, Christmas and Pongal holidays are approaching, when many people travel to their native places. During this period, enumerators may record ‘door locked’. The timing of the SIR seems to have been chosen with an ulterior motive,” he alleged. Bharathi further claimed that there were suspicions of an attempt to replicate the electoral exercise conducted in Bihar. P7 STALIN ON VOTERS SAYS SIR BJP’s ATTACK CM Stalin has called upon every party to take part in the all-party meet on Nov 2 to defeat the BJP’s attempt to deprive people of their franchise | P4 States would cease if hostilities continued. “These are two nuclear nations. I told both sides we won’t do trade if they fight. Within 24 to 48 hours, it was over,” he claimed. Trump claimed that the leaders of both India and Pakistan called him after two days and stopped fighting. “After literally two days, they called up, they said, we understand, and they stopped fighting.” EXPRESS READ TVK: No change in 2026 poll plan CHENNAI: Responding to questions on EPS’s outreach for alliance, TVK deputy general secretary Nirmalkumar said that there is no change in the party’s stand, hinting that TVK is still inclined to contest alone in the 2026 election | P4 Kerala govt puts PM SHRI on hold T’PURAM: Facing opposition from coalition partner CPI, the CPM government in Kerala decided to put on hold the implementation of the centre’s PM SHRI scheme in the state. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by CM Pinarayi Vijayan. ENS