Daily Briefing: Modi in Moscow; 5 soldiers killed in Kathua terror attack; latest on BMW hit-and-run; and more

Marking his first visit since the Russia-Ukraine war began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Moscow Monday with a clear message that New Delhi sought to “play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region”. As he prepares to hold talks with President Putin at the 22nd India-Russia annual summit today, we tell you the economic agendas expected to be in focus today. 

Five soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer, were killed and five others injured in an ambush by militants on an Army convoy in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday afternoon. Sources tell the Indian Express that a fairly large group of militants was involved and there were inputs of a successful infiltration in the area by a large group around two months ago.

👉Only in Express

Production of apples, apricots, peaches, mangoes, pears, plums and litchi have been hit in Nainital district’s Ramnagar and Ramgarh. Read our exclusive report to find out how patchy rains and rising temperatures are upsetting Uttarakhand’s fruit cart.

📰From the Front Page

‘Self-denial is exacerbating the issue’

The Supreme Court has said it was clear a leak had taken place in the NEET UG 2024 examination but the decision on a retest depends on whether the breach was widespread enough to affect the fairness of the entire process and if it’s possible to distinguish between students who benefited from the leak and those who didn’t. 

Revealing new details in the Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, the Mumbai Police told a court that the accused, Mihir Shah, who is alleged to have been driving the vehicle, switched seats with his driver “after dragging the woman on the bonnet for nearly one-and-a-half kilometres”. 

In an organ transplantation racket, patients from Bangladesh were lured for the procedure in major hospitals and fake documents were allegedly prepared to claim there was a relationship between the donor and recipient. Behind this racket is a gang, and a lone doctor — Apollo Hospital’s 50-year-old Dr Vijaya Kumari, who has now been arrested.

⚡Must Read

In our Opinion section today, two professors at medical colleges discuss why an entrance exam like NEET does not work in a country as diverse as India.

Almost two and a half years after the imposition of wide-ranging Western sanctions, how is Russia’s economy doing? Unexpectedly well, global data sets suggest. What is behind Russia’s ‘high income’? Anil Sasi explains.

🔴And Finally…

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will not be part of the Indian team that will tour Sri Lanka later this month. Here’s why

Delhi Confidential: Not able to win a single seat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections and following reports of its core Dalit votes shifting to other parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, has reduced its membership fees from Rs 200 to Rs 50 per person.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we talk about why Delhi gets flooded every year, how a murder put a spotlight on Punjab’s pigeon-racing world, and PM Modi’s visit to Russia.

Until next time,

Sonal Gupta and Aradhana Kalia

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