Good morning, ‘Dear treasured customer’: We are all aware of e-commerce’s ability to take over our everyday lives, bringing buying, selling, trading and more, at the comfort of our fingertips. However, as a fan of independent bookstores, I have to break this to you: These online platforms are, at the same time, taking away literature from our vicinity. A quaint bookshop tucked away in one corner of Srinagar's Lal Chowk, Bestseller, known for its rare collection of English and Urdu classics, brought down its shutters on April 19, citing dwindling reading habits and fierce competition from e-commerce websites. Sounds unfair, right? 32-year-old Mohammad Saniyasnain, whose father Sonaullah Chiloo opened the store back in 1985, shares with The Indian Express: “Why would anybody come to us when he can get the book delivered at home without a hassle? I also think the new generation is not inclined towards book reading.” 🚨 Big Story ‘As a mark of respect’: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi led India in paying tributes to Pope Francis, who passed away in the Vatican on Monday, the government announced a three-day state mourning in the country. In a statement last evening, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, “As a mark of respect, three-day state mourning will be observed throughout India, in two manners: two days’ state mourning on April 22 and 23 and one day’s state mourning on the day of the funeral.” During this period, the national flag will be flown at half mast on all buildings across India and there will be no official entertainment. 'When I met Pope Francis.': Sudheendra Kulkarni pens a heartfelt tribute to Pope Francis, referring to His Holiness the “Gandhi of our era.” He writes: “No contemporary religious, political, social or cultural leader — Christian or non-Christian — spoke out against poverty, violence, human indignity and attacks on ecology with so much anguish and authenticity, with so much courage and commitment, and with such tireless regularity as he did. He had the smile of an innocent child, but beneath the calm exterior, his was a restless, tormented soul." ‘Transition’: Following Pope Francis’ death, a total of 135 cardinals under the age of 80 will gather in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City to elect the next leader of the Church. Among them are four Indian cardinals, a reflection of the growing role India plays in the global Catholic community. Here's a close look at the four Indian church leaders who will cast their vote in the papal conclave. Global Catholic landscape: The College of Cardinals that will meet to elect a new head of the Catholic Church may well choose someone from outside Europe — a reflection of the shifting global base of Catholicism (and Christianity, in general) from Europe to the Global South. While the world’s Catholic population crossed 1.4 billion in 2023, more than 72% of the world’s Catholics lived in South and Central America (41.2%), Africa (20%), and Asia (11%) put together. One obvious reason behind this shift in the global distribution of Catholics is the diverging rates of overall population growth in the Global North and South. Here’s our explainer on the shift in the global Catholic landscape. 🎧 Also, in today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, we remember the Pope’s 12-year papacy after he took over as the first pontiff in 600 years to don the mantle after the resignation of his predecessor. ⚡ Only in Express A RTI application filed by The Indian Express revealed that the government, in the past 5 months, has issued 130 content notices to online platforms like Google, YouTube, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, among others. These notices sent under the Home Ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)-led Sahyog portal, effectively act as content blocking orders. However, the RTI does not reflect the notices sent to Elon Musk-owned X platform, which, in the past, regarded the Sahyog portal as a "censorship portal". Read our exclusive report here. Also, take a look at the list of winners of the 2023 Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Their stories took them to different parts of India, the challenges they faced and the impact they made — from uncovering a drug scam to reporting from conflict zones. 📰 From the Front Page In the first high-level visit from the White House since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, US Vice-President J D Vance met PM Modi on Monday and both sides “welcomed the significant progress” in negotiations towards a India-US bilateral trade pact, framing it as a “new and modern trade agreement.” Vance, on a four-day visit, met Modi amid the backdrop of the sweeping tariff regime announced by Trump — which has been paused for 90 days — against most countries, including India. In defense: Justice B R Gavai, set to take over as the Chief Justice of India next month, made a statement on Monday referring to the recent attacks on the judiciary. During the hearing of two separate petitions seeking the Supreme Court’s directions to the Centre, he said: “as it is, we are alleged of intruding on Parliamentary and Executive functions”. This comes after criticism over two of the top court’s recent orders — on suggesting a stay on the new Waqf law and setting a timeline for the President to clear Bills. 📌 Must Read Gulf of opportunities: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah this week. The visit reflects a higher priority for the Middle East country —-under its Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS)––in India’s foreign policy strategy. The story is as much about the evolving dynamics between the two nations as it is about the parallel political trajectories of Modi and MbS, writes C Raja Mohan. ⏳ And Finally… Shoes with stars: Meet 20-year-old Pooja Yadav, the latest entrant to the India’s hockey team. Her father bought her first pair of playing shoes which had two golden stars, and today she is the star in her village in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. Playing cricket with the boys and all the reruns of Chak de! India culminated into the national call-up, but her journey has just started as she scans the field to not make the wrong passes. That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Ariba and Vibha
