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Good evening, We will begin today’s edition with some disturbing (and sad) news from Bangladesh, where the ancestral Mymensingh home of legendary filmmaker and Academy Award winner Satyajit Ray is being demolished to “make way for a new semi-concrete structure.” Ray’s grandfather, the eminent Bengali writer and editor Upendrakishore Roychowdhury, owned the house. The house, situated approximately 120 km north of Dhaka, was constructed over a century ago. After the Partition in 1947, the property was under government control, and following its creation, Bangladesh “repurposed it as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy in 1989.” The Indian government has asked Dhaka to “reconsider the demolition” and “examine options for its repair and reconstruction” as a “museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh.” New Delhi has also offered to help Bangladesh “for this purpose.” Bangladeshi officials were quoted by local media as having followed “proper procedures” with “necessary approvals.” Their reason? The building “posed a serious risk for children when they gathered at the compound.” On that note, let’s dive in 👇🏽
📝 The Debrief
Taking stock of India’s situation with a fortnight left for the August 1 deadline
With a fortnight to go for US President Donald Trump’s hard tariff deadline, India is among those racing to secure an interim deal with the US. On Wednesday, Trump announced an agreement with Indonesia, which resulted in tariffs on the Southeast Asian country being reduced from 32% to 19%. Indonesia was among the first countries to receive letters from Trump earlier this month. Trump also indicated that an agreement with India was among the most likely, even as he predicted two or three deals would be reached before the deadline. He said, “I would say India, and we have a couple of others, but I have to tell you, I’m very happy with the letters.” Ctrl+C: The “landmark” deal with Indonesia, Trump claimed on Truth Social, would open up the “ENTIRE MARKET to the United States for the first time in History.” He added that Indonesia had committed to purchasing $15 billion worth of US energy, $4.5 billion in American agricultural products, and 50 Boeing jets, “many of them 777s.” Citing some of these deals as a potential template, Trump reiterated his previous claims of gaining “access” to India. He said, “We’re going to have access to India…Our people couldn’t go on. And now we’re getting access because of what we’re doing with the tariffs.” State of play: Trump’s comments coincide with Indian negotiators starting a new round of talks with their US counterparts in Washington to secure a deal before the August 1 deadline. India, as a senior government official told us earlier this week, remains focused on “signing a bilateral trade deal by the end of the year.” However, as we have repeatedly reported, agriculture has been a major sticking point in negotiations, with India adopting a tough stance to protect its agricultural (and wider industrial) interests. Still, both the Indian government officials and those in the Trump administration (including Trump) remain optimistic about the chances of reaching an interim deal. Off the record: Indian officials insist that “wider US tariffs” such as those on metals, a likely duty on BRICS countries, and secondary tariffs on Russian oil buyers, are not on the table in these ongoing discussions. The two sides are negotiating based on the Terms of Reference agreed upon in April, despite Trump's continued announcement of new tariffs, including those on copper and copper products, as well as a delayed tariff on pharmaceutical drugs, among other measures. He has also threatened to impose additional tariffs (10%) on countries in the BRICS bloc.
✍️ From our newsroom
The lifelong marathoner: Fauja Singh, who became the world’s oldest marathoner in 2011, aged 100, died at 114 after being hit by an unidentified vehicle while crossing a road in his Beas village in Punjab. It was an abrupt end to a remarkable life. Born in 1911, Singh turned to running after losing his wife and son in the 1990s. He ran his first marathon at 89, clocking 8 hours 11 minutes in Toronto at 100, before retiring at 102. Known for his turban, tailored suits, and love for mangoes, Fauja embraced fame with humility. He became Adidas’s brand ambassador, carried the Olympic torch in 2012, and once quipped about former Punjab CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal’s speeches to Capt. Amarinder Singh. A British citizen without a birth certificate, he was never officially recognised by Guinness. Yet, fans adored him. He walked every day, collected over 100 pairs of shoes, and even in his final years, refused to sit still. To quote him, “Zindagi inni sohni hai ki maran nu te jee nahin karda (Life is so beautiful that I just don’t feel like dying.”
🔎 Need to know
Watch out: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that countries like Brazil, China, and India could face secondary sanctions if they continue doing business with Russia. Rutte’s comment follows Trump’s newfound support for Ukraine and a threat to impose “biting” 100% tariffs on buyers of Russian exports.
My turn: Networking giant Broadcom has launched its new network processing chips—Tomahawk Ultra—to compete with chipmaking giant Nvidia’s NVlink Switch chips. The processor aims to accelerate AI data processing by acting as a traffic controller for data moving between hundreds of chips within a single server rack. Damning: An eyewitness to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack has told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that he saw the terrorists fire four rounds in the air in “celebration” after killing 26 civilians in the Baisaran meadows, the Indian Express has learnt.
🎙️Expresso Playlist
I’ll recommend a fascinating episode from Freakonomics Radio ft. a rich discussion on why governments are betting big on sports, and when they do spend big money, what are they buying?
✋🏽 One last thing
I’ll leave you with this super interesting Politico story on the ongoing civil war between Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters, aided and abetted by Elon Musk’s X. Ouch.
Until tomorrow, Venkat Ananth |
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