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Journalism of Courage
Good morning,
The high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and other European leaders ended on a largely inconclusive note with no peace deal in sight. However, it put in place the roadmap for more talks. Trump said he had called Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin arranging a rendezvous between him and Zelenskyy — likely in Hungary — followed by a trilateral summit between the three leaders. Crucially, Trump has assured Zelenskyy that the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war there. The meeting remained incident-free in contrast to the bitter squabble in February, when Trump publicly berated the Ukrainian leader for his appearance and ingratitude. This time, Zelenskyy chose to wear a suit — a fact that was brought to attention amid laughter in the Oval Office. Zelenskyy, in an early morning tweet today, hailed the summit as an “important step” and “a demonstration of genuine unity between Europe and the US”.
On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.👇
The INDIA bloc of Opposition parties is mulling “legal and Constitutional measures” against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, The Indian Express has learnt. Among these measures, the Opposition is considering moving a notice for an impeachment motion against Kumar. The parties have accused Kumar of “talking like a BJP spokesperson” during a recent press conference instead of answering questions about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls. The parties have alleged that the Election Commission (EC) was under the BJP’s control, calling certain officials “clearly biased”.
Quick context: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has claimed that the Congress has found around 1 lakh alleged fake voters on the electoral roll of the Mahadevapura Assembly segment. The Opposition parties have criticised the ongoing SIR in Bihar. On Sunday, Kumar asked Gandhi to either submit his allegations in an affidavit or apologise to the nation. He refused to answer questions on the number of electors who were able to submit documents during the SIR, or how many were found to be Bangladesh nationals.
Can the CEC be removed? The process follows the same manner as that of a Supreme Court judge’s impeachment. Read here.
Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel, according to Egyptian officials. The proposal will see the return of half the hostages held in Gaza in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners. The truce comes amid Israel’s plans to seize control of Gaza City, which it has described as the last big Hamas bastion.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Palestinian Ambassador Abdullah Abu Shawesh speaks about Israel’s Gaza takeover plan, calling it a step to “ethnically cleanse” Palestinians, and whether Trump can bring peace.
Meanwhile, Navtej Sarna, former Indian Ambassador to Israel, the US and the UK, joined us for an Explained.Live event, where he discusses why the two-state solution is “dead”.
Pros and cons: The 18 per cent GST on insurance premiums has long been criticised for deterring wider insurance adoption in India. The next generation GST reforms, expected in October, could likely see the scrapping of tax on insurance policies, or at least a reduction to 5 per cent. While the move may accelerate insurance penetration, it would result in an annual revenue loss for the government, amounting to Rs 17,000 crore, and higher operating costs for insurers.
Several states have also expressed concerns that the GST overhaul will lead to an annual revenue loss of Rs 7,000-9,000 crore, leaving them with less to spend on state administration.
🎧 For more on the GST reforms, tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.
Rendezvous: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is visiting India, today. This is the first visit by a Chinese minister since India and China began disengaging along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Yesterday, Wang met his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, and discussed a range of issues from de-escalation to Trump’s tariff threats.
Deported: On June 26, Sunali Bibi, a resident of West Bengal’s Birbhum, was pushed into Bangladesh after being detained by the Delhi Police. Sunali, who is eight months pregnant, and her family members worked as ragpickers and domestic help in Delhi. Her family has filed an appeal in court, raising a pertinent question: What happens if she gives birth in Bangladesh? Will the baby be a Bangladeshi citizen?
A correction: The government is considering ways to ensure “equivalence” in the application of the ‘creamy layer’ condition in reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) across a range of public sector jobs. The hope is to ensure fairness and uniformity among candidates eligible for reservation. What is the concept of the creamy layer, and how will the government establish ‘equivalence’? We explain.
One for the history books: NCERT’s new social science textbooks sparked a row over various matters, including the negative portrayal of the Mughal and Delhi Sultanate periods, and the omission of Tipu Sultan, among others. Speaking with The Indian Express, Michel Danino, the French-born panel head for NCERT social science textbooks, says that the “criticism is welcome” but he rejects charges of “communalisation of education”. Read on.
Shorter attention spans and Instagram algorithms have changed the grammar of cinema. Social media has trained us to expect a high point every thirty seconds. Films are now louder, bigger and shinier — but at the cost of depth. In our Opinion pages today, Akhil P J writes why Gen Z needs Guru Dutt, a filmmaker who mastered the art of silence.
That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
