The editorial Page: For the indo-Pacific, a ‘g minus 2’ strategy 8 WEDNESDAY, JUlY 8, 2026 Journalism of Courage lUCKnOW, late CIty, 18 paGes ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com Da I ly F R O M : a h M e Da B a D , C h a n D I Ga R h , D e l h I , J a I p U R , KO l K ata , l U C K n O W , M U M B a I , n aG p U R , pat n a , p U n e , va D O Da R a PhARAohS, oN BRINk of AN INCRedIBle woRld CUP UPSet, CRUmBle At CloSING Messi Magic Steals Egypt Dream Two goals down and 11 minutes to go, Argentina script heart-stopping fightback express aT World Cup Sandip G New York, July 7 years, aNd maybe decades, later, Lionel Messi would remember the game of wildly fluctuating fortunes in graphic detail.Thepenaltyhemissedin the first half, the free-kick that cannoned off the post, egypt’s counter-attacking goals, Cristian romero’s goal that fired the comeback, his own equaliser on the half-volley, the heart-stopping moments during the Var check of enzo Fernandez’s headed winner. and, after all that, the night he cried like a child when he heard the final whistle. He would recollect it as one of the greatest comebacks he and his country has made, the afternoonhecouldseedarkness creeping through the roofed canopy of the arena in atlanta. Just 11 minutes remained Ahmedabad terror attack that killed 56: 18 yrs on, HC upholds death sentence for 38 »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 Pm meetS INdoNeSIA PReSIdeNt, AddReSSeS PARlIAmeNt Missiles, minerals and port: Delhi, Jakarta seal key deals lA CommIttee preparing the draft Uniform Civil Code for Rajasthan will hold a public hearing for Kota division. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com aMId THe ram Mandir donation row, which has led to a major organisational shake-up in the shri ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, treasurer Govind dev Giri on Tuesday told The Indian Express that work shouldhavebeendecentralised and red flags addressed earlier. However, he asserted that bureaucratsassociatedwiththe Trust and sBI officials were equally expected to ensure administrative oversight and flag shortcomings before the situation escalated. on Monday, the Trust accepted the resignation of its generalsecretary,Champatrai, and member, anil Mishra, and appointedseniorrssfunctionary and retired Indian Forest service (IFos) officer Krishna Mohan as interim general secretary. It also announced the creation of a new chief executive officer (Ceo) post. speaking to The Indian Ex- ontable:two l Templeledger Brahmosmissile ₹250.04 cr batteriesworth Total income (FY 2025-26) $200million Counters ₹21.05 cr Amrita Nayak dutta INdIa aNd Indonesia signed pactsonthesupplyofBrahMos and air-to-air missiles, along with cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths, maritime security, and space and agriculture as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Indonesian President Prabowo subianto in Jakarta on Tuesday. Modi also addressed the Indonesian Parliament as part of his two-day visit, making a thinly veiled reference to China’s assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific. “India is a strong advocate of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. India believes in freedom of navigationintheIndo-Pacific... Indiaisanationthatfollowsthe INdIaIssettosupplyIndonesia with two batteries of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles valuedat$200millionaspartof several landmark defence agreementssignedbetweenthe twocountrieson Tuesday,including astra air-toair missile systems, major defencetechnologytransfer,and maritime security cooperation, officialstoldTheIndianExpress. The BrahMos missile has been operationalised in India across all the three services and playedakeyroleinstrikingdesignated targets inside Pakistan during operation sindoor. New Delhi, July 7 as many as 22 bombs went off in ahmedabad on July 26, 2008. FIle dianMujahideen,anoffshootof thebannedoutfitsIMI,andhad planned the blasts as “revenge” forthe2002post-Godhrariotsin Gujarat and to overthrow an elected government. a division Bench, comprising Justices a y Kogje and samir dave, also dismissed the appeals filed by the accused »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 business as usual By EP UNNY »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 New Delhi, July 7 E. pm narendra modi with president prabowo subianto after being conferred the Bintang adipurna of the republic of indonesia, the country’s highest civilian honour, in Jakarta, Tuesday. ptI »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 lA two-dAy BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting begins in Kerala. It will provide strategic direction for enhancing cooperation among member countries under India's leadership. express Shubhajit Roy Parimal A dabhi Happening today more reporTs, p 17, 18 maulshree Seth Ayodhya, July 7 Eye on China, Modi says India on path of development, not expansionism Ahmedabad, July 7 THe GuJaraT High Court on Tuesday upheld the sentence awarded by a special trial court four years ago in the 2008 ahmedabad serial blasts case, confirming the death penalty for 38 of the 49 convicted and life imprisonment for the remaining 11. The blasts on July 26, 2008, had killed 56 people and injured over 200. speaking to The Indian Expressaftertheverdict,special Public Prosecutor in the case, Miteshamin,saidthisisthefirst instanceinthecountrywherea high court has simultaneously confirmed death sentences for as many as 38 people. The prosecution had contended during the trial that the accusedwereassociatedwithIn- messi celebrates his goal during the match against egypt, Tuesday. ReUteRs for egypt to close out a game theyweredeservedlyleading20.Theystoppedeverythingbut not the iron-clad resolve of argentina, the impenetrable genius of Messi, and their own muddled thinking, their naivety on the biggest stage. Cruel as the 3-2 reversal was for egypt, they lost to a team that isshapingitsowndestiny,carving its own legacy. egypt’s resistance would not be forgotten, but argentina’s comeback would acquire epic status. The match wouldbeatouchstoneforfightbacks in the tournament’s history. and another occasion to celebrate Messi and argentina. The champions never lost ‘Bureaucrats also had responsibility… Champat Rai’s trust in driver misplaced’ Man lynched over rape-murder innocent: Bengal CM Ravik Bhattacharya Kolkata, July 7 Two days after a 26-year-old man was lynched in Baruipur, in south 24 Parganas district of west Bengal, on suspicion of being involved in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, Chief Minister suvendu adhikari on Tuesday said a preliminary police probe has found that he was “innocent”. on Monday, adhikari had said that “the lynching had a communal angle”. speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, he said: “I held a detailed meeting with the police. according to them, IndrajeetMondol,theyouthwhowas the victim of mob lynching in Baruipur, was innocent. Those who are involved in the inci- dent will be charged with murder and arrested.” The CM also directed dGP siddh Nath Gupta to submit a report within 72 hours on possible lapses in the police probe into the rape-murder. »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 Donation box Online mode Foreign currency ₹66.55 cr ₹9.70 cr ₹0.94 cr donatedpreciousmetals (up to March 31, 2026) pure silver, silver-like items Gold-like items 1,518.925 kg 32.259 kg interview SwAmI GovINd dev GIRI RaM teMple tRUst tReasUReR explained WITh Ceo poST, hoW ram Temple TruST IS ChangIng page 14 inside S.I.T. flagS ‘lapSeS’ by former TruSTee anIl mIShra page 4 press, Giri defended rai’s personal integrity and said his “working style” rather than his »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 BalanCe sheet ₹422.74 cr capital expenditure (includes temple construction) ₹91.76 cr revenue expenditure (includes bhog, prasad, puja, maintenance) ₹1,876.30 cr total funds with temple trust l Fixed deposits: ₹1,771.22 cr l Mutual funds: ₹87 cr source: Details of donations and expenses were shared during the trust’s meeting on July 6 Cong questions ‘clean sweep’ in Minister’s office as 4 key aides removed express News Service New Delhi, July 7 wITH THe Ministry of environment, Forest and Climate Changesimultaneouslyremoving four key aides of union Minister Bhupender yadav, the opposition Congress on Tuesday questioned the reason behind the unusual move. TheIndianExpressreported on Tuesday that the Minister’s Private secretary and additional Private secretary had beenshuntedout,whiletheappointment of another addi- union minister Bhupender Yadav tional Private secretary had been “terminated” in separate orders dated July 3. Ithasnowlearntthattheappointment of his assistant »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 l proposal in final sTages, was discussed aT high-level meeTing where cm was presenT Kejriwal’s former residence will be Delhi state guest house and cultural centre To have rooms for guests, conference hall, meeting spaces and an auditorium for various cultural and artistic events Gayathri mani New Delhi, July 7 THe deLHI government will developtheofficialresidenceof former Chief Minister arvind Kejriwal as a “delhi state Guest House-cum-Cultural Centre”, TheIndianExpresshaslearned. Therenovationandbeautificationofthebungalowat6FlagstaffroadinCivilLinesinNorth delhi by the previous aaP gov- Civil Lines bungalow is in the final stages. It ernment was made was discussed in a major issue by the express a high-level BJP before the 2025 meeting where assembly election. Chief Minister The bungalow, derekha Gupta scribed as “sheesh Mahal” by the BJP, has re- andseniorofficialswerepresent. mained unoccupied since oc- The Public works department tober 2024 when Kejriwal (Pwd)hasbeenaskedtosubmit details of the present condition moved out. “Theproposaltodevelopthe of the property,” a source in the special kejriwal’s official residence was dubbed ‘sheesh mahal’ by BJp delhi government said. according to officials, the bungalowwasontheagendafor themeetingofthedelhiCabinet lastweek,butitcouldnotbediscussedbecausethegovernment was focused on rolling out the electric Vehicle (eV) policy at the time. “The proposal will be taken up for final approval soon,” a senior official said. unlike other states, delhi does not have a designated state guest house or bhawan to host guests and national and international delegations. Turning the bungalow into a state guest house has been among the options on the government’s table, but it has now been decided to include a culturalcentre,andtoalsodevelop the premises next door to build a larger complex, officials said. “whenever there is a meeting or event with guests from elsewhere in the country or abroad, the government has to make arrangements for their stay and hospitality,” the senior official said. “as this property is readily available, it was proposed to develop it into a state guest house,” he said. “There is space at the back which will be developed. The aaP government was also constructing a building next to this bungalow,whichtoowillbedeveloped,” the official said. The premises would have rooms for guests, a conference hall, meeting spaces, and an auditorium in which various cultural and artistic programmes,exhibitions,andofficial ceremonies can be held, officials said. Kejriwalandhisfamilylived in the bungalow for almost a »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 Lucknow