Daily Briefing: Trump hints at ‘opening up India' with trade deal; L K Advani's prison notebook; Maa movie review
Remember that cup of your favourite tea, served with some biscuits or wafers, and that tempting whiff of cakes getting baked in your neighbourhood, on a cloudy morning? Well, that's what the mood is like among the cricket club members in Yorkshire, England's deeply traditional county. With about 800 clubs and over 125,000 recreational players, just like at home, tea here is never taken light or lightly. The 'Cricket Yorkshire Tea of the Year' competition is back, with participants gearing up to send pictures of their mouth-watering tea spreads to the organisers. Word of mouth appreciation and some field trips during tea time shall decide the winner. The contest is expected to get spicier in the coming years with a few Indian clubs.
With that, let's move on to the top 5 stories from today's edition:
🚨 Big Story
Indian trade negotiators landed in the United States on Friday for in-person talks before the July 9 deadline for the reciprocal tariff pause runs out. American President Donald Trump said that the US and India 'may' sign a trade deal under which the country would 'open up.' The roadblock to a trade deal comes as the US has flagged several non-tariff barriers and high duties in India; however, it has yet to commit to several Indian demands.
As the negotiations between India and the US for an interim trade deal enter their final phase, India's oil imports from the US jumped over 270 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of 2025. This jump underscores Delhi's strategy of enhancing American imports amid trade pact negotiations and diversifying its sources of crude oil in a volatile geopolitical and geo-economic environment. India is attempting to step up imports from the US across categories to address America's key concern of a widening goods trade deficit.
⚡ Only in Express
The Emergency, 50 years on: Meenakshi Datta Ghosh was the youngest of the five ADMs posted in the national capital when the Emergency was imposed, only to find herself witnessing the Ramlila Maidan rally that preceded, and maybe even hastening the Indira Gandhi government's crackdown. The silence on the Delhi streets was heavy, laced with fear and dread, carving a perfect sight for Ghosh to see how the levers of power were oiled and wills were bent. 'The issue was do I comply with the law, or follow the political cum bureaucratic commands? Do I preserve process and procedure, or do I enable power?… I feel that the Emergency prepared me to overcome everything that came my way,' Ghosh recalls.
From the prison diaries: Detained without trial for months in Bangalore Central jail, Lal Krishna Advani maintained a prison notebook. On December 28, 1975, when Emergency was in full swing, the then Jana Sangh leader wrote that PM Indira Gandhi wanted the Constitution to be changed after a public debate, but questioned her intentions, and countered her claim that the Opposition was in favour of an 'inflexible Constitution'. 'It is the democratic content of the Constitution which the present Establishment regards as a roadblock to its ambitions,' the Jana Sangh leader wrote. Read Advani's full entry here.
💡 Express Explained
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk launched its blockbuster weight-loss injectable semaglutide earlier this week, months after its competitor Eli Lilly's tirzepatide hit Indian markets — and nearly four years after these GLP-1 therapies took the United States by storm. These drugs are highly effective for weight loss, helping people lose 15% to 20% of their body weight. So, how do these 'miracle drugs' work? How were they discovered? And what are the other benefits of these drugs? We explain.
✍️ Express Opinion
In our Opinion section today, Kanti Bajpai delves into the three major issues arising from American strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, and the possibility of a nuclear deal. He writes: 'The conditions are ripe, therefore, for a new nuclear deal. That said, the ceasefire must hold, and Iran must have an authority figure that can deliver a deal. Neither is certain. In addition, the US may have to sweeten the deal economically by lifting sanctions. This will depend on Trump overcoming domestic and Israeli opposition. In short, there is a road ahead, but it is a rocky one.'
🍿 Movie Review
Wondering what to watch this weekend? We've got you covered! Kajor-starrer 'Maa' has hit your nearby screens this Friday, presenting the story of a mother who would go to any lengths to save her family. Shubhra Gupta, in her review, writes: 'Mixing mythology and technology, 'Maa' presents Kajol as a contemporary woman fighting with all her might to keep at bay the dark forces targeting her young daughter… This is a film which is clearly well-intentioned. Smashing patriarchy is a task that films need to keep taking up, and Kajol has the heft to get the job done.'
That's all for today. Have a lovely weekend!
Until next time,
Ariba
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Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
How to win at foreign policy
WHEN DONALD TRUMP meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska it will be the seventh time the two have talked in person. This time is different, though. Since their last sit-down, Mr Putin has launched an unprovoked war, lost perhaps a million Russian soldiers (dead and wounded) and inflicted ceaseless misery on Ukrainians in pursuit of an imperial dream. Undaunted, Mr Trump hopes to get in a room with a wily dictator, feel him out and forge a deal. It is the biggest test yet of his uniquely personal style of diplomacy. It is also a reminder of how unpredictable American foreign policy has become. Will Mr Trump be firm, making clear that America and its allies will do what it takes to guarantee Ukraine's sovereignty? Or will he be in such a rush to reopen business with Russia that he rewards its aggression and leaves Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks? As everyone clamours for the president's ear, no one knows what he will do. At the beginning of Mr Trump's second term his supporters had a theory about how he would wield American power. Rather than relying on deep relationships and expertise, he would rely on his gut. As a master negotiator with a knack for sensing what others want and fear, he would cut through the waffle and apply pressure ruthlessly. Everyone wants access to American markets. By threatening to shut them out, he would force recalcitrant foreigners to end wars and reset the terms of trade to America's advantage. Career diplomats and experts would be replaced by rainmakers. Yes, his transactional approach might foster a bit of corruption. But if it brought peace in Ukraine or Gaza, who cared? Alas, there are drawbacks to this approach. Using tariffs as a weapon hurts America, too. More fundamentally, junking universal principles for might-makes-right repels friends without necessarily cowing foes. And the substitution of presidential whim for any coherent theory of international relations makes geopolitics less predictable and more dangerous. Mr Trump is not a globalist, obviously. Nor is he an isolationist, or a believer in regional spheres of influence. He simply does what he wants, which changes frequently. One way to make sense of Trumpism is that he divides his efforts at dealmaking into three categories: high, medium and low stakes. In the first category are America's relations with unfriendly great powers, principally China and Russia. Israel is here, too, because of its importance in American domestic politics. Iran makes an appearance, because of the way it threatens its neighbours. All these relationships are complex, difficult and matter a lot to Mr Trump. If he scores a win here—if he ends the war in Ukraine, or brings peace between Israel and the Palestinians, or finds a formula for co-operating with China without endangering national security—then the pay-off is potentially staggering. In the medium-stakes category Mr Trump puts Brazil, South Africa and, oddly, giant India. These are important countries that both America and China want in their camp. In most cases, their values are far closer to America's than to China's. Ties with them ought to be win-win. But they are unwilling to be bossed around, and take offence when Mr Trump insults or tries to bully them. The small stakes, for Mr Trump, are in small or poor countries. A superpower can wield great influence over such places, sometimes to good ends. Mr Trump helped cement a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia, for example, and brokered a truce between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. These are welcome achievements. Azerbaijan and Armenia had been fighting for 35 years. Mr Trump mediated a reopening of trade and transport links. The fruits may include a weakening of Russian influence in the area. The Congo-Rwanda deal is much shakier—Rwandan-backed rebels have violated it repeatedly—but not nothing. And there may be an upside for America, in the form of mineral deals. When it comes to medium-size stakes, Mr Trump's method works less well. He has started needless feuds with the leaders of Brazil (because it is prosecuting a Trumpy ex-president for allegedly attempting a coup), with South Africa (because he believes, wrongly, that it is persecuting whites) and with India (infuriating its prime minister with painful tariffs and undiplomatic boasting). The result? India will draw closer to Russia again, and be less inclined to act as a counterweight against China. Brazil and South Africa see China as a more reliable partner than America. Mr Trump has won headlines that play well with his most ardent supporters. But America has lost out. And when it comes to the highest stakes, the president is floundering. He has tried to coerce China with tariffs, but it is fighting back. This week Mr Trump blinked and extended another deadline. He also undermined his own national-security policy by lifting a ban on exports of Nvidia chips to China, while insisting that Uncle Sam gets a 15% cut. On Ukraine, he has been wildly inconsistent, one day blaming it for having been invaded and threatening to cut military aid, then accusing Mr Putin of bad faith and threatening stiffer sanctions on Russia. On Israel, he has consistently given Binyamin Netanyahu everything he wants and extracted nothing in return. If Mr Trump's bombing of Iran's nuclear sites made Israel safer, well and good. But he has failed to use his leverage to restrain Israel's unending war in Gaza. The world is flattery Other countries are learning how to play Mr Trump. A crypto deal and a nomination for a Nobel peace prize worked for Pakistan. A plane helped Qatar. The corruption is turning out to be as bad as almost anyone feared; the great deals have yet to materialise. Those who say Mr Trump is looking out for his own interests, not America's, have plenty of ammunition. All this is only a preliminary judgment. If Mr Trump stands up to Mr Putin this week, perhaps he can make his greatest-ever deal, ending Europe's worst war since 1945. Sadly, the odds are against it. For subscribers only: to see how we design each week's cover, sign up to our weekly Cover Story newsletter.
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Sachin Pilot writes: All that the Prime Minister didn't say in his Independence Day speech
The 79th Independence Day is a moment of great pride for every Indian. Our great nation has demonstrated how, despite tremendous socioeconomic challenges, a country as large as India can move from a democratic experiment to a model democracy. The day commemorates the unprecedented collective effort of every Indian to gain independence from colonial rule. The independence movement was not driven by a person, an ideology, or a single organisation. It encompassed the efforts of hundreds of thousands of patriots who cut across religious, caste, regional, and political lines — a unity in diversity — which till date remains our greatest strength. However, the Prime Minister's address on August 15 failed to underscore or reiterate this spirit, and the speech came across like another partisan address. The BJP's attempt to discredit previous Prime Ministers and other political parties who have served the country reared its head again when the Prime Minister incorrectly referred to a lack of technological progress in previous governments. This narrative conveniently forgets the immense contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru in establishing ISRO, IIMs, IITs, AIIMS, HAL, DRDO, and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Indira Gandhi continued those endeavours — she facilitated the mission to send India's first citizen to orbit in space (Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma), ordered underground nuclear tests, and had the foresight to initiate a national mission on seabed mining. Rajiv Gandhi was instrumental in bringing about the telecom and IT revolution, making long distance communication a reality for every Indian. Manmohan Singh's government launched the ambitious project to connect more than 2.5 lakh gram panchayats through broadband by laying optical fibre throughout the length and breadth of the country, systematically strengthening the foundation for a truly digital India. These are massive milestones in India's technological journey; discounting and underplaying the contributions of previous leaders of the nation is a disservice to the country's history. The government appears to seek credit for India becoming the fourth largest economy in the world in the last few years. But there is more to this macro-economic data. What the claim misses entirely is an analysis of the 'average'. From a per-person perspective, India as a country of about 140 crore people, still remains in the list of lower middle income countries with a per-capita GDP of $2,711. For comparison, the per capita GDP of Sri Lanka is $4,325, and Bhutan is $3,913. We have overtaken Japan's GDP and are now eyeing Germany's GDP in order to become the third largest economy. But it is important to note that both these countries have a population of approximately 12 crore and 8 crore, respectively. That is roughly the size of two states in India. Japan's per capita GDP is about $33,767 and Germany's is $54,343. India's closest country in terms of population is China with a per capita GDP of $12,614. A true measure of India's economic success must be tested on the per-person data point. It is the surest indicator to assess whether we are punching above our weight or not. The BJP has also been incessantly trying to draw political mileage from Operation Sindoor. Today's address by the PM was no different. Importantly, this was another instance where the issue of whether the claim by the President of the United States that he ensured a ceasefire between India and Pakistan is true, was completely ducked. The US President continues to claim credit for the ceasefire and so far, the PM has not denied Trump's role publicly. This is a serious departure from India's time-tested stand that resolving issues between India and Pakistan is a bilateral matter and no foreign interference shall be permitted. The other aspect of the Pahalgam terrorist attacks and Operation Sindoor that remains unanswered is accountability. The security lapse exposed a failure of the Government's intelligence and security machinery. This failure is compounded by the lack of meaningful international support in unequivocally castigating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Prime Minister spoke of 'picchde ko praathmikta' (priority to the backward) but has allowed an environment of fear to fester where backward communities remain concerned about their existing constitutional protections and guarantees. 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India.com
26 minutes ago
- India.com
Project Kusha: India's long-range missile system to eliminate Pakistani and Chinese stealth planes, missiles, and drones from 500 km away
New Delhi: India faces constant threats from Pakistan and China. China expansionist nature is a real danger, as is evident from Tibet, Xinjiang and a part of Mongolia. Now its eyes are set on Taiwan, South China Sea and India's Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. To fulfill its evil intentions, it is strengthening Pakistan as a pawn. For this, it is giving it weapons, ammunition, missiles and planes in large quantities. In the face of this, India has understood that it may have to face a big war shortly. What is Project Kusha? India is continually developing new weapons to counter the threats from these two countries. In the same direction, the government is working on developing a big missile defence system. The name of this system is Project Kusha, which is named after Lord Rama's younger son, Kush. According to sources, DRDO is preparing to test the M1 interceptor in September this year. This system, being developed with indigenous technology, will act as an impenetrable shield against enemy missiles coming from long distances and will shoot them down before they enter the Indian border. It is believed that this system will be at par with the S-500 being developed by Russia and, in many cases, even ahead of it. What makes Project Kusha a game-changer? According to the report, this missile defence system bridges the gap between 80 km and 400 km. It is a long-range defence shield designed to counter stealth aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles and ASBMs. It will be a long-range missile defence system being developed with completely indigenous technology and parts. The importance of Project Kusha has increased after the way India's Akash system and Russia's S-400 system showed their prowess in Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May. It has become clear that if future wars are to be won, then long-range missile defence systems will have to be developed. How will Kusha daunt Pakistan and China? Project Kusha will be a big deterrent against Pakistan and China. In this, such arrangements are being made that any missile, drone or plane of both enemy countries will be shot down before it enters Indian airspace. This system will have 3 types of interceptor missiles, which will rush towards their target at lightning speed as soon as they get a signal from the radar and turn it into a heap of fire in a few moments. What are the features of Project Kusha? M1: 150 km range, to target short-range threats like drones, cruise missiles and stealth aircraft. M2: 250 km range, to destroy medium-range threats such as airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) and anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM). M3: 350-400 km range, to target large aircraft and some short and medium-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs and IRBMs). This system has a long-range state-of-the-art radar system which will immediately identify any aerial threat moving towards India, even from a distance of 500 km. Once the project is successful, then 5 squadrons of it will be purchased for the Indian Air Force.
