Daily Briefing: New North-East link to Kolkata via sea; life and loss along LoC; Final Destination Bloodlines movie review
Good morning,
Had a buzzing week? Finding reasons to wind down? Well, we've got you some good news! Three years after coming within 6cm of the 90m mark, Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra finally breached the barrier, with his javelin travelling the farthest any Indian had ever thrown — 90.23m. The landmark throw came on his third attempt, at the Doha leg of the Diamond League, thus becoming only the 25th javelin thrower to cross the 90 m mark. Although he did not win the League despite the giant throw, the distance he coveted became the central focus. All questions about him crossing the 90-mark, which sometimes threatened to overshadow his other achievements, took a backseat on Friday. And he isn't satisfied just yet. 'It was just the first competition of the year. I believe that I am ready to throw further. It's just a beginning.'
With that, let's move on to the top 5 stories from today's edition:
🚨 Big Story
Post-Pahalgam effect: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the anti-smuggling body under the Finance Ministry, has begun blocking in-transit goods originating from Pakistan routed through third countries such as the UAE. The increased scrutiny by the Customs authorities follows an immediate government ban on the import and transit of all goods originating in, or exported from, Pakistan, in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
To take India's message after Operation Sindoor to the world, the government plans to send all-party parliamentary delegations to several countries in the coming days. The Ministry of External Affairs is working with the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats to prepare lists of MPs who will be part of the exercise. Many opposition MPs have received calls from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, inviting them to be part of the delegations in 'national interest.'
India hits back: In response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus's remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is 'landlocked' and Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region,' India chose to hit back, not only in words but also in action. The proposed highway from Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam will now become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar, eventually leading to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata.
⚡ Only in Express
Lives on the Line: Since India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, access to the village of 50 households and 260 people along the Line of Control has been largely restricted over the last few days. From Pallanwala, Akhnoor on the Zero Line, to Rajouri and Poonch, a few kilometres away from the LoC, the heavy shelling from the Pakistan side has left the lives of the residents in shambles. Some who took shelter elsewhere, far from their homes, amid sirens, blackouts, advisories and artillery attacks, are headed back to their hometowns, even as they continue to count their losses after a week of brewing tensions between the two countries.
💡 Express Explained
Drama: While United States President Donald Trump wraps up his Gulf tour, an unprecedented meeting between him and the de facto President of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the telephone, has become the talk of the town. What tops this meeting is the US' plan to lift its 46-year-old sanctions on the country that the previously sanctioned al-Qaeda terrorist now leads. What are the takeaways from Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE? What are his priorities for the Middle East, and where do they leave Iran, Israel, and Syria? We explain.
✍️ Express Opinion
'Once in a lifetime moment': As the United States proposes unprecedented budget cuts towards the field of science, Vikram Patel underlines opportunities and strategies that could benefit India as it pursues the country's ambition to become a world-leader in science. Patel writes: 'To do so, India would need to recognise that high-quality science is the result of the confluence of several key factors, the most important being the scientists themselves, equipped with the right skills and driven by the hunger to generate knowledge.'
🎥 Movie Review
Wondering what to watch this weekend? We've got you covered! Bloodlines – the sixth film in the horror franchise, Final Destination, that includes several novels and comic books – is alive and kicking. 'At least at the start,' as Shalini Langer writes in her review. 'At the heart of it is an extended family, a racially mixed bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins, who come together with surprisingly genuine warmth. The thought that Death may be coming for one or the other, reaching out across half-a-century to get them, gnaws at us,' Langer describes.
That's all for today. Have a lovely weekend!
Until next time,
Ariba
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