| Good morning! Shubhanshu Shukla, only the second Indian to venture into space, is set to return to Earth today. He spent 18 days in space, a total of 433 hours at the International Space Station, going around the Earth at least 288 times. Shukla and the rest of the Axiom-4 mission crew began their 22-hour journey to Earth on Monday afternoon and are scheduled to make a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the Californian coast, around 3 pm today. Catch the latest updates on Shukla’s return on our live blog! On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.
🚨Big Story "It just keeps going on and on and on," US President Donald Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine war, echoing a sentiment shared by many across the globe. In a renewed bid to end the war once and for all, Trump has threatened Russia with steep tariffs and revealed his plan to send weapons to the embattled Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his US counterpart and said that the duo had agreed to speak more frequently. U-turn: Trump's latest announcement marks a dramatic shift in his position on the war, which he had promised to swiftly resolve after assuming office. He was sitting beside NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the White House, months after he criticised the group of nations for not doing enough for its defence. Earlier, he had blamed Zelenskyy for allowing the war to happen, and threatened to all but abandon the country's defence after a meeting of the two presidents in the Oval Office in February went off the rails. More recently, however, Trump has spoken about his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to accept a ceasefire. India's stakes: Most Western countries have already isolated Russia financially ever since the war began over three years ago. This time, Trump has raised the stakes, threatening 100 per cent tariffs against Russia and secondary sanctions against countries buying Russian exports. He has given Putin 50 days to strike a deal before the tariffs kick in. Crucially, this may prevent India from buying oil from Russia, which has emerged as the largest source of crude oil over the last three years, largely due to Moscow’s discounted prices. However, some experts argue that Trump may not follow through with his threats as he would want to avoid a second showdown with China, the world’s second-largest economy and one of Russia’s largest buyers.
⚡Only in Express Paper trail: Officials from Assam have asked the Election Commission (EC) to wait for the state to complete the preparation of the National Register of Citizens before conducting its special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. This comes amid the brewing controversy and confusion over the poll panel's revision of Bihar's electoral rolls. The Opposition has alleged that the exercise has become a de facto citizenship-verification exercise, an "NRC through the backdoor", which does not fall within the EC’s purview. Meanwhile, the Bihar BJP is equally concerned about the EC exercise. Sources suggest that party leaders are worried that the Opposition, which has warned of “mass disenfranchisement”, has been driving the narrative on the issue. The ruling party has planned an outreach campaign.
📰 From the Front Page Safety check: After the preliminary investigation report on the Air India plane crash focused on the fuel control switches, India's aviation safety regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has asked for inspection of the switches' locking mechanism on most of the India-registered Boeing commercial aircraft by July 21. This would be done in line with a December 2018 bulletin by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Saving Nimisha: The fate of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, set to be executed on July 16 on murder charges in Yemen, hangs in the balance as efforts are being made to save her life. The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the execution may be put in abeyance, adding that it has done all it could to save Nimisha after a plea in the court sought the government's intervention in helping negotiate with the victim's family, while "blood money", which could pardon the execution, is arranged. Drawing a line: The Punjab government tabled the Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill 2025 in the state Assembly on Monday. The Bill proposes a punishment of up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for acts of sacrilege against religious scripture.
📌Must Read Racket: Until not so long ago, Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba used to sell trinkets, going door to door at his native village, Rehra Maafi. A two-time village Pradhan has now come under the scanner for his swift rise to riches, among which is a 'mansion' built in a nearby village, Madhpur, over 4 bighas of land. More importantly, the house is the purported site of a large religious conversion racket operating for the last 15 years in Uttar Pradesh. My colleague Manish Sahu traces Jamaluddin's life story, with the help of reluctant relatives, and the course of the police investigation against him. Guardrails: The malicious and ubiquitous deep fakes have polluted the Internet for years now. Artificial intelligence has made such manipulation easier and more sophisticated, leading to a dramatic rise in increasingly difficult-to-spot deepfake content. Denmark has proposed an interesting solution, which not just looks to protect victims from the harm deepfakes cause, but from their publication in general. It is working to extend its copyright protections to individuals' facial features, appearance and voice. Here’s how it will work.
⏳And Finally… Lords’ game: The England vs India Test, third in the series, was another one for the ages. India fell short of just 22 runs, marking their narrowest margin of defeat against England. The Test witnessed a gladiatorial fight between cricket greats, Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and England skipper Ben Stokes. In fact, Jadeja became only the second Indian batter to hit 50-plus scores in both innings of a Test at Lord's since Vinoo Mankad in 1952. But as national sports editor Sandeep Dwivedi writes, Jadeja's heroic attempt at a miracle cannot hide other batsmen’s tame surrender. 🎧 Before you go, tune in to the latest ‘3 Things’ podcast episode. Today’s lineup: Rape allegations at IIM Calcutta, AI chatbots for therapy, and a staff shortage at Mumbai Education Department offices. That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta | 
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