chennai l THURSday l DECEMBER 11, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION india secure bronze, Germany lift junior hockey crown India produced a brave-heart performance to nullify a two-goal deficit to beat Argentina 4-2 in the third-place play-off in Chennai on Wednesday Pic: Ashwin Prasath Set piece goals help hosts Sreejesh remains coy on what next On a night when nothing worked for India, they managed to win and convert four deadball situations; three penalty corners and one penalty stroke. Arshdeep Singh won each of India’s first three deadballs in the 4th quarter. Ankit Pal converted the first while Manmeet Singh the second. Shardanand Tiwari struck from the spot while Anmol Ekka scored the last mould this squad. When asked if he will remain with the junior programme, ex-India goalkeeper said he will continue to learn ■ Germany, who breezed past India in the semifinals, beat Spain 3-2 via penalties to win an incredible eighth title at this level | p11 ■ Over the last 12 months, coach PR Sreejesh has dedicated his time to 04 India won 4th medal at the event (gold in 2001 & 2016, silver in 1997) 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 US gives mixed signals as trade talks resume P USH P ITA DEY @ New Delhi AS the US and India look to finalise a broader bilateral trade agreement, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that India’s offers are “the best Washington has received”, though challenges remain in getting New Delhi to open up its agriculture sector. “There is resistance in India for certain crops and meats and products. They are a difficult nut to crack… but they have been quite forward leaning. The types of offers they have been talking to us about are one of the best that we have ever received as a country,” said Greer while speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC. The comments came as the US trade negotiation team led by Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer commenced the two-day talks in New Delhi on Wednesday. On the first day he held dis, cussions with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. Both reviewed the ongoing negotiations for the agreement. Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch is the US’ chief negotiator. India’s chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, They have been a tough nut to crack... but they have been quite forward leaning. The type of offers they have been talking to us about have been the best US team during negotiations with Indian officials in New Delhi on Wednesday | X — US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce. India’s former chief negotiator and current Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal will be supervising the progress of the negotiations. “The two sides exchanged views on matters related to In- Wednesday, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated that the ongoing trade negotiations with the US are progressing well. “Talks are continuously progressing. We are moving forward towards a bilateral trade agreement,” Goyal said. reply to opposition Want to remove all infiltrators: Shah j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi A combative Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hit out at the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for its campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the Opposition wanted to keep infiltrators on the voter list. The Narendra Modi government’s policy, Shah said, was unambiguous — “detect all aliens from the rolls and throw them out of the country Shah .” said that the Opposition had raised the issue only because it could no longer win elections through “corrupt practices,” asserting that “the Congress’ repeated poll defeats stemmed from its leadership and not from EVMs or vote theft.” Intervening in the debate on electoral refor ms, Shah rebutted the Opposition’s charges. His 90-minute speech saw frequent interruptions from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who challenged him to a debate on his three press conferences alleging “vote chori” by the BJP. The heated exchanges eventually led to an Opposition walkout. Seeking to corner the Congress, Shah claimed three episodes of “vote chori” involving party icons, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. He said Nehru became Prime Minister in 1947 despite having fewer internal votes than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; that Indira Gandhi New cic appointment An outstanding speech by Home Minister Amit Shah Ji. With concrete facts, he highlighted diverse aspects of our electoral process and also exposed the lies of the Opposition —Narendra Modi, Prime Minister dia-US trade and economic ties, including on the ongoing negotiations for a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement,” the Department of Commerce said. Meanwhile, speaking on the sidelines of the Pravasi Rajasthani Divas in Jaipur on VCK, Left flay judge VCK and Left parties have flayed Justice GR Swaminathan for impleading Union Home Secretary in the contempt case related to the deepam row | P4 E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Madurai A seven-member team from the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology led by Deputy Direc, tor Yathish Kumar, carried out a detailed three-hour inspection atop the Thiruparankundram hill on Wednesday, amid the ongoing controversy over lighting of lamp for the Karthigai Deepam festival on the deepathoon (lamp post) located Express news service @ New Delhi Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks in the Lok Sabha | PTI Oppn seeks poll reforms Opposition MPs on Wednesday sought machinereadable voter lists, a rollback of the 45-day CCTV wipe-out rule, access to EVMs, and changes to laws that allow ECI officers to act with impunity | P7 PM-led panel on Wednesday met to decide on the new Chief Information Commissioner and commissioners. LoP Rahul Gandhi gave disstent note | P7 INDIGO’s top management has broken its silence on the largescale flight disruptions caused by the airline this month. Late on Wednesday night, the airline’s chairman Vikram Singh Mehta said that exter nal experts would be roped in to ensure no disruption occurs again. “The Board will involve external technical experts to... identify root c au se s and ensure Vikram Mehta corrective action so that this disruption never occurs again,” Mehta said in a video message released by IndiGo. “On 3rd December, an unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations... I know how much distress this caused. I want to say, We are sorry!” he said. The disruptions were due to a combination of internal and external events, adverse weather conditions, congestion, and implementation of/ and operation under the crew roster rules, Mehta added. Champion of the Earth Sahu wins UN’s environmental honour SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA @ Nairobi TN’s Additional Chief Secy Supriya Sahu receiving ‘Champion of the Earth’ award from UNEP executive director Inger Anderson in Nairobi | express Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, has been named one of the 2025 Champions of the Earth, the United Nations’ highest environmental honour, for her pioneering contributions to sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration. The United Nations Environment Pro g ramme (UNEP) announced names of five global laureates chosen for the award on the sidelines of the seventh UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) held in Nairobi on Wednesday . A day after Microsoft committed $17.5 billion investment in India to help build AI capabilities, Amazon said it will invest $35 billion in India over the next five years to expand its businesses in the country from quick commerce to cloud computing and AI. The $35-billion investment, the company said, would create one million job opportunities and quadruple cumulative e-commerce exports to $80 billion by 2030. Amazon has 1.7 million sellers in India. Of these, over 200,000 export to more than 200 countries and have generated $20 billion in cumulative exports. Since 2010, Amazon has invested $40 billion in India.  P10 TN archaeology team inspects Madurai hill IndiGo to rope in external tech experts for help granted herself immunity after her election was set aside by courts. He said the dispute of the third “vote chori” has just reached the civil courts on how Sonia Gandhi “became a voter before becoming a citizen of India,” a remark that invited sharp reactions from the Congress benches. Shah said SIR was a long-standing administrative exercise to maintain integrity of elections. No party, he said, had opposed SIR between 1952 and 2004. He listed revisions carried out under former Prime Ministers Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shatri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, A B Vajpayee and even during the Manmohan Singh government. Shah also accused the Opposition of attempting to “normalise and formalise” infiltrators by resisting SIR in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Amazon to invest $35 bn more in India Sahu received the award in the Inspiration and Action category, which recognises individuals whose initiatives deliver measurable benefits for people and the planet. According to UNEP her climate inter, ventions have generated 2.5 million green jobs, expanded forest cover and integrated heat-adaptation measures, improving climate resilience for nearly 12 million people in TN. Her work places the state at the forefront of adaptation efforts at a time when global temperatures are expected to exceed 1.5°C within the next decade. P5 Climate relief for 12M people According to UNEP, Supriya Sahu’s climate initiatives have generated 2.5 million green jobs & expanded forest cover, improving climate resilience for nearly 12 million people in Tamil Nadu near the Sikandar Badshah Dargah on the hillock. Legal disputes regarding lighting of deepam and other issues have been going for on several years. Following multiple petitions and protests, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed that the lamp be lit at the hilltop. The state government has, however, challenged this order in an appeal. Amid the legal proceedings, a parallel debate has intensified on social media, with some claiming that the structure on the hilltop is not a lamp post but merely a survey stone. The team, which began its climb at 8.45 am, inspected the a l l e g e d d e e p at h o o n , t h e Nellithoppu area, and the present location where the deepam ritual is currently being performed.  P5 express read eps at gen council ‘AIADMK alliance will win 210 seats’ Chennai: “The alliance led by the AIADMK will win 210 seats in the 2026 elections in TN, as DMK has lost its popularity,” AIADMK chief EPS said on Wednesday. He was addressing a joint meeting of the party’s Executive Committee and General Council in Chennai | P4 madras hc Officers must abide by court orders: CJ Chennai: Madras HC Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, in a contempt of court petition in a service matter, on Wednesday said government authorities cannot leave court’s orders unimplemented | P4 Kerala actor case HC to probe letter predicting verdict Kochi: Kerala HC will examine the contents of an anonymous letter that predicted the verdict in 2017 actor abduction case a week before it was delivered, as it raises concerns over a possible breach of judicial confidentiality | P5