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Good evening, In yesterday’s edition, we examined the upcoming August 1 tariff deadline and how countries are racing against time to secure interim trade agreements. Today, US President Donald Trump has warned that India could face tariffs as high as 25% if the two nations cannot reach a deal before the deadline. Trump told reporters during his return from Scotland, “They’re going to pay 25%.” His comments follow US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s statement to CNBC on Monday, where he said that “more negotiations” were necessary to determine how “ambitious they want to be.” Greer was referring to India allegedly “opening portions of its market.” A 25% tariff rate for India would be a decrease of one percentage point from the rate Trump announced in April, as part of his so-called Liberation Day. Trump has yet to send a formal letter to India, as he has with other countries, but with hopes of a deal fading, his latest remarks could make that letter imminent. On that note, let’s dive in 👇🏽
📝 The Debrief
Taking stock of the powerful earthquake that struck the Kamchatka Krai in Russia’s Far East
Early Wednesday morning, a powerful earthquake struck the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The quake measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale, making it the strongest since 2011. The epicentre was located at a depth of 20.7 km, about 119 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, media reports stated. Tsunami alerts: The quake generated large tsunami waves along the coasts of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, prompting widespread warnings and evacuation orders for millions in the Pacific Islands and the United States. In Russia, the first tsunami wave struck the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, a port town on the island. Meanwhile, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported that a tsunami wave of approximately 30 cm (1 foot) reached Nemuro on Hokkaido’s eastern coast. It also issued tsunami warnings for areas including Tokyo Bay. Bracing for impact: Apart from Russia and Japan, several other countries have issued tsunami warnings – from the United States (Hawaii, Alaska, and California) to China and Taiwan (Far East), the Philippines in Southeast Asia, and Ecuador in South America. Hawaiian authorities have predicted tsunami waves as high as 10 feet, while its Governor Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation, instructing residents to take the warning seriously and evacuate the area near the shoreline. Besides Hawaii, the first tsunami waves also hit Alaska and the California coast on Wednesday. India spared: The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) stated that an earthquake was detected off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. It noted that no tsunami warning has been issued for India or the Indian Ocean about the earthquake. However, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco issued an advisory after a tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii, California, and other West Coast areas. The advisory mentioned that the Consulate was “monitoring the potential tsunami threat” following the earthquake in Russia.
✍️ From our newsroom
The operation: Indian security forces finally hunted down the three Lashkar-e-Taiba men behind the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, thanks to a single slip-up: their satellite messaging device. The trio – Suleiman Shah, Hamza Afghani and Jibran (all Pakistani nationals) – had been on the run for over three months, moving between caves and thick forests from Baisran to Dachigam, only making short calls to their handlers in Pakistan. A satellite phone signal, first picked up on July 11 and then again from Mahadev peak on Saturday, triggered “Op Mahadev.” Heat signature drones and tips from nomads helped troops track the terrorists to a makeshift tent at 13,000 ft, where they were killed in a fierce firefight. Their device, designed to bypass mobile networks, ultimately betrayed them. Identity confirmation came via jailed local collaborators and survivors of the April attack, with ballistic tests sealing the case. My colleagues Arun Sharma, Amrita Nayak Dutta, and Deeptiman Tiwary piece together the hunt in this fascinating tick-tock piece. Do read.
🔎 Need to know
Joining in: In a bid to ramp up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to follow France in recognising a Palestinian state in September, unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and took concrete steps towards lasting peace. Stop button: Australia has expanded the scope of its social-media ban for teenagers by including YouTube in sites covered by it. YouTube was originally exempted from the ban, set to take effect in December. Flat bat: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that there were no calls between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Operation Sindoor.
🎙️Expresso Playlist
In today’s Playlist, I’ll recommend an interesting episode from our in-house podcast, Our Own Devices, where host Nandagopal Rajan speaks to Ellen Randall, President-elect of IEEE, about leveraging technology for humanitarian causes, including areas such as natural disasters.
✋🏽 One last thing
I’ll leave you with an interesting Financial Times story on how the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (of Ozempic and Wegovy fame) lost its lead in the weight loss drug race.
Until tomorrow, Venkat Ananth |
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