Good Business eMails: ☕️ Evening Expresso

Good evening,
Hope you had a great weekend. The Bombay High Court on Monday overturned a special court verdict that sentenced five accused to death in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. The special bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak also acquitted all 12 accused in the case, including those sentenced to life imprisonment. The bench rejected the Maharashtra Government’s plea seeking confirmation of their sentences, while questioning the reliability of certain prosecution witnesses and the Test Identification Parade of some of the accused. In its observations, the bench found substance in the defence’s arguments, stating that the prosecution “utterly failed to establish the offences beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused on each count.” There were 13 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts, one of whom the special court acquitted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA). Of the remaining 12, five were sentenced to death, one of whom died during the pandemic, and seven were given a life term. 
On that note, let’s dive in 👇🏽
📝 The Debrief
Under Trump’s tariff cloud, elections to Japan’s upper house throw a wrench for PM Shigeru Ishiba
In a setback for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) coalition experienced a significant defeat in the elections for Japan’s Upper House of Parliament, the Diet. With 124 out of the 248 seats up for election on Sunday, the vote was seen as a barometer of Ishiba’s grip on power, which was already weakened late last year after the LDP-Komeito alliance lost control of the more powerful Lower House. Needing 50 seats to retain control of the Upper House, the coalition reached 47, falling short by three.
Why it matters? The elections occur during a tumultuous period for Japan, which is currently deadlocked in tariff negotiations with the United States. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump sent Ishiba a “letter” announcing 25% tariffs on Japanese imports to the US, one point higher than the figure he announced in April. These figures deal a significant blow to Japan’s largely export-driven economy, especially its automaking and rice industries. Add to that its steel and aluminium exports, both of which now attract Trump’s sector tariffs, and things don’t exactly look great.
Hanging on: Ishiba has taken a defiant stance following Sunday’s results and is sticking to the PM’s post, citing ongoing tense tariff negotiations with the August 1 deadline approaching. However, he faces calls to resign, with Sunday’s historic low: this is the first time an LDP leader will govern the country without a majority in at least one of the two Houses of the National Diet.
The rice factor: Domestically, rising food prices, especially the country’s staple—rice—have not improved the situation. A rice shortage has engulfed the nation, following a harsh summer in 2023 that affected harvests. The reopening of the country after the COVID-19 pandemic and the arrival of tourists exacerbated the situation, alongside hoarding by some traders and retailers. In August 2024, the government issued a warning about a “megaquake” following a tremor that sparked panic buying among the public. The earthquake did not occur, but the warning influenced rice prices, causing them to surge. In February 2025, the government was compelled to draw on a national rice stockpile, which it had maintained for emergencies since 1995.
The left-field: A little-known, five-year-old party called Sanseitō, which promises to put “Japanese First,” won 14 seats on Sunday, an increase from just one seat in 2022. The party, which traces its YouTube-led origins to Covid-19 conspiracy theories and the anti-vaxxer movement, tapped into classic far-right themes related to growing economic anxieties, such as immigration, tax cuts, and efforts to boost the country’s declining birth rates. 
✍️ From our newsroom
The Army’s way forward: By 2026–27, the Indian Army plans to undertake a technology-led overhaul across all sectors, with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and Big Data Analytics at its core. This includes coordinated drone swarms, real-time battlefield surveillance, predictive maintenance, AI-powered decision support, and combat simulations for troop training. The initiative is being sped up following lessons learned from Operation Sindoor, the cross-border strike in May. A new AI task force under the DGIS will lead this effort, focusing on integrating drone and satellite feeds in real-time and deploying tools such as LLM-based text summarisers, facial recognition, chatbots, and pattern detection systems. The roadmap outlines clear tactical, operational, and strategic objectives, including the incorporation of AI into procurement specifications, retrofitting older equipment, and enabling GPS-free navigation. An AI laboratory is forthcoming, with collaborations with industry and academia also underway. 
🔎 Need to know
Injury woes: India’s injury crisis during the ongoing England tour has worsened with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy being ruled out of the series due to a knee injury. Reddy joins paceman Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh on the sidelines, both of whom have been ruled out of Wednesday’s fourth and crucial Test in Manchester.
No fly: American passenger airline Alaska Airlines requested that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground its entire fleet temporarily, as well as that of its subsidiary Horizon Air Lines, due to an IT outage affecting its systems.
Close call: An Air India Kochi-Mumbai flight AI2744 veered off the runway after touchdown at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport. The Airbus A320neo aircraft taxied to the gate with all passengers and crew safe.
🎙️Expresso Playlist
In today’s Playlist, I’ll recommend an excellent Apple TV+ podcast, Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story. The audio miniseries adopts a docudrama approach to examine Ponzi’s life, his remarkable rise to infamy, and his subsequent steep fall.
✋🏽 One last thing
I’ll leave you with this long, must-read New York Times story on how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prolonged war in Gaza may have a lot to do with domestic politics.
Until tomorrow,
Venkat Ananth