Daily Briefing: Will India lift the World Cup?

Their final opponents, South Africa, have created history of their own, becoming the nation’s first-ever ODI World Cup finalists, men or women. Come Sunday, I, for one, will be glued to the television, cheering the loudest for the Women in Blue.

On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.👇

🚨 Big Story

The much-anticipated meeting for world trade this year, between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, ended with a fragile truce, putting months of trade war between the world’s largest economies to bed. The ceasefire, which rolls back several tit-for-tat measures, would be renegotiated every year.

Zoom in: The US has lowered the duty on China from 57 per cent to 47 per cent, allaying threats of the 100 per cent tariff, beginning November 1. China, on its part, agreed to resume purchases of US agricultural products. Crucially, it extended a one-year pause on sweeping curbs on rare earth elements, which are essential to chipmaking.

Zoom out: The deal betrays Washington’s mounting concerns over the vulnerabilities in semiconductor production. China’s chokehold on the rare earth minerals had most global firms worried. In pursuing a limited objective deal around this supply chain, the US has signalled their willingness to stabilise ties with China, which had refused to bend to tariff pressure, instead of a complete reset. Notably, Trump’s accommodative stance with Xi was also a departure from his usual abrasive tactics. Read Shubhajit Roy’s takeaways from the Trump-Xi meeting.

Delhi’s challenge: The reduced tariffs for China spell trouble for India, given that the US has refused to penalise Beijing for its purchase of Russian oil. India, meanwhile, is stuck with a steep 50 per cent duty until it finalises a trade deal with the US. Already, the reciprocal tariffs have reduced India’s exports to the US, but China’s have grown.

Also read: Washington-Beijing rivalry is a mirror of two nations wrestling to determine the next global order by Jabin T Jacob

⚡Only in Express

Dis/Agree: In recent months, Pakistan has been more visible and seemingly acceptable on the global stage. Is this a fundamental shift or a temporary fallout of great power politics? We asked two experts to weigh in.

Muqtedar Khan, professor of International Affairs at the University of Delaware, reflects on Pakistan’s fortune reversal post Operation Sindoor. It has improved relations with nations like Saudi Arabia, the US and Russia, and could impede India’s dominance in the Global South.

Defence analyst Manoj K Channan, meanwhile, dismisses Pakistan’s rise, calling it instead “survival theatre”. He writes that countries that have engaged with Islamabad do not see it as a ‘partner’. “Pakistan is not being courted. It is being handled.”

📰 From the Front Page

Uncanny scenes played out at a studio in Mumbai’s Powai, where a 50-year-old man held 17 children, aged between 10 and 12 years, hostage.

As it happened: The children had come from different parts of Maharashtra for an audition when the man allegedly locked them inside. He then recorded a video, insisting that he be allowed to “speak to a few people”. He introduced himself as Rohit Arya, threatening to “set everything on fire”, harming himself and the children, if his demand was not met.

The Mumbai Police quickly sprang into action. Senior Inspector Jitendra Sonawane arrived on the scene, and while he engaged with Arya on the phone, another team attempted to rescue the children. In our report, Sonawane recalls the “toughest 80 minutes” of his career.

The motivation: Arya was shot dead during the rescue operation. Since last year, he had been demanding payment for work he had done for the government’s Swachhta Monitor Project. He even staged a hunger strike and protested in Mumbai. He claimed that he was owed Rs 2 crore. The Maharashtra School Education Department, however, has countered his claims.

Also read: Mumbai’s troubled history with hostage standoffs and shootouts

📌 Must Read

The ‘badland’: It’s been 20 years since RJD lost power in Bihar. Yet, the shadow of the party’s “jungle raj” looms large over the electoral fight even today. If the NDA is to be believed, the stories from the dreaded jungle raj are passed down as folklore to Bihar’s new generation. The RJD insists that the term is used to shift focus away from the crime under the Nitish Kumar government. Santosh Singh traces the origins and history of the ‘jungle raj‘.

It’s official. Justice Surya Kant will serve as the next Chief Justice of India, starting November 24, after the incumbent CJI, Justice B R Gavai, demits office. Many may not know that Justice Kant comes from humble beginnings, growing up in Haryana’s Hisar. My colleague Sukhbir Siwach took a trip down to his village to speak to the CJI-designate’s friends and family, who recall how ‘Surya’ turned his life around.

⏳ And Finally…

Delhi’s cloud seeding experiment failed. Thick smog still hangs heavy over the national capital. And Thursday was among the most polluted days of the year so far. Complaints of respiratory issues have risen over the last 10 days. We reached out to one of the top pulmonologists in the country, Dr Gopi Chand Khilnani, who sounded a rather grim warning: “If you can afford it, leave Delhi for 6-8 weeks”. Read the full interview.

That’s all for today, folks! Happy weekend!
Sonal Gupta

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