hyderabad l thursday l october 30, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION India women face dominant aussies for spot in final Shafali Verma Kaur & Co face stiff challenge 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 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 focus on shafali and healy ■ ■ 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 | p11 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: Modi tough as hell, nicest-looking guy 1 J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi 2 3 A flooded Warangal Railway Station A pregnant woman being carried by 108 ambulance staff across a stream in Devarakonda 3 A truck being swept away in Khammam 1 2 Rain wreaks havoc in Warangal Record rainfall in Hanamkonda; one killed in Suryapet, another feared dead in Khammam Montha Express News Service @ Mahbubabad/Warangal/Jangaon Heavy rains, under the influence of Cyclone Montha, pounded several districts in Telangana — including Warangal, Hanamkonda, Jangaon, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Mahbubabad, Nalgonda, Khammam and Karimnagar — leading to widespread flooding, transport chaos, and significant disruption to daily life. One person, N Lakshminarayana of Chandupatla village in Maddirala mandal of Suryapet district, died when a tree fell on him, while a DCM van driver was feared dead when the vehicle was washed away in a stream in Khammam district. Warangal district bore the brunt of the rain with several colonies in the tri-cities of Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet inundated. The downpour severely impacted the railway network in Warangal district, inundating tracks at Dornakal and Warangal railway sta- impact 41.2 cm rainfall recorded at Bheemadevarapalle in Hanamkonda district Parvathagiri (Warangal) 38.2 cm Qilla Warangal 33.6 cm tions. The Golconda Express was detained at Dornakal, while the Konark Superfast was halted at Gundrathimadugu and the Krishna Express at Mahbubabad. Several goods trains were also stranded between stations. Reports indicate that the flooding in Dornakal was exacerbated by the encroachment of a nearby lake, which would normally absorb the excess water. Railway Very heavy rain forecast today for several districts, particularly in North Telangana  Due to waterlogging at Dornakal in view of cyclone ‘Montha’, the following trains are cancelled on October 30: Sirpur KaghaznagarSecunderabad, Tirupati Charlapalli, Tiruchanur Charlapalli, Howrah Secunderabad, Guntur Vikarabad, Vijayawada Secunderabad staff are actively clearing water from the tracks and diverting it to the Akeru Vagu (stream). They distributed food packets and water bottles to stranded passengers at both Dornakal and Mahbubabad stations. Initial assessments indicate no damage to the railway infrastructure itself. Paddy heaps at procurement centres were drenched in a number of places in the state, in- cluding erstwhile Karimnagar district. Authorities temporarily closed the Jammikunta market yard for two days, where the Cotton Corporation of India had recently begun cotton purchase process. Authorities rescued 530 students and staffers stranded in the Tribal Gurukul School since Tuesday night at Kompally in Devarakonda mandal in Nalgonda district following heavy floods. Several streams and rivulets overflowed, inundating low-lying areas in the district. Vehicular traffic heading towards Srisailam was disrupted after a stream overflowed onto the road between Devarakonda and Dindi. Road connectivity in Khammam and Bhadradri-Kothagudem districts too was disrupted due to flooding. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed officials to remain on high alert and protect paddy and cotton stocks at procurement centres.  continued on p2 Azharuddin likely to be Rahul warns of ‘poll theft’ bid in Bihar inducted into Cabinet RA J ESH KUMAR THAKUR @ Muzaffarpur/ Darbhanga E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Former Indian cricket captain and the Congress government’s MLC nominee, Md Azharuddin, is likely to be inducted into the state Cabinet led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in a move seen as politically significant ahead of the Jubilee Hills byelection. Party insiders believe that bringing the former cricketer into the Cabinet would not only strengthen the Congress’s appeal among minorities in Jubilee Hills, where Muslims constitute around 33% of the electorate, but also project a positive image at the national level, especially in the context of elections in Bihar and other states. On August 30, the state Cabinet had recommended the nomination of Azharuddin and Prof M Kodandaram to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota. However, approval from Governor Jishnu Dev Varma is still pending.  ontinued on p4 c ‘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’ President 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 Arriving late but greeted by roaring crowds both at Sakra in Muzaffarpur 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 Tejashwi Yadav with Muslim and SC Rahul at Sakra| PTI area, Rahul accused Modi of attempting to steal the Bihar election. “Whatever 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 of poll rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India in the same ‘election theft’ basket. India, China agree on peace, stability M aya n k s i n g h @ New Delhi India and China agreed to maintain peace and stability at the border during a fresh round of high-level 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 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 in a statement. “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.” 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 g 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 Trump speaks at days, they called me back and said, the APEC summit ‘We stopped fighting.’ Isn’t that in Gyeongju | PTI amazing?” he said. The US President also referred to the ongoing trade negotiations 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.” 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. V&E to probe affairs of pvt colleges ENS @Hyderabad The state government has directed the Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) Department to conduct inspections across all educational institutions allegedly involved in irregularities and misuse of funds released under the fee reimbursement scheme. The scheme covers reimbursement of tuition fees (RTF) and maintenance charges for students from economically weaker sections. The move follows random inspections by various government agencies that found evidence of misuse of funds meant for students.  continued on p4