☕ *Your Expresso is ready!*
📬 *Get this delivered straight to your inbox*:
https://indianexpress.com/newsletters/
*Read this newsletter in a single page*:
https://indianexpress.com/article/live-news/top-news-today-briefing-10356314/
Good morning,
Have you ever tried booking train tickets, only to find all seats taken in a matter of seconds? Blame 'Brahmos', 'Tesla', 'Avengers' and 'Dr Doom'. These buzzwords are the names of software hacks used by interstate gangs to snatch up tickets within 15 seconds of online booking opening. Behind the scam is a network of developers, online admins, "super sellers" who sell the software, and touts who resell the tickets to desperate passengers at inflated prices. Now, the Railway Protection Force is hot on their trail, cracking down on the gangs that turned ticket booking into a digital heist. My colleague Mohamed Thaver has more details.
https://www.inexp.in/DPC4WS
On that note, let’s get to the rest of the edition👇
* Liquor politics in Bihar
* COP30 begins today
* On indoor pollution, and more
🗳️ *Decision 2025*
Campaigning for the second and final phase of the Bihar polls ended on Sunday. The remaining 122 of the 243 seats in the state will vote tomorrow. From our election coverage today:
👉 One of the most polarising issues that emerged in the run-up to these elections was the liquor ban enforced since 2016. Parties are split — JD(U) backs prohibition, while Jan Suraaj Party wants to scrap it, and Mahagathbandhan has promised a rethink. Gaps such as smuggling, police misuse, and a parallel black market plague the policy. But beyond politics, the sharpest division is within families. Men want the ban removed, while the women defend it staunchly. Read Deeptiman Tiwary’s ground report.
https://www.inexp.in/yBjNn-
👉 Among the seats voting in the second phase is Kargahar, which houses Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor's native village, Konar. Many in the village believe in Kishor's message for change, but there are doubts about whether he can shake things up for the "main players", NDA and Mahagathbandhan. Santosh Singh reports.
https://www.inexp.in/20Ehsh
⚡ *Only in Express*
The Centre began the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019 to ensure drinking water supply to every rural household through a tap connection. In May this year, an Indian Express investigation revealed excessive cost escalations in the scheme's implementation owing to a change in the Mission's guidelines. Now, states and UTs have received over 16,000 complaints against officials, contractors and third-party inspection agencies regarding financial irregularities and poor quality of work. Here's what The Indian Express learnt.
https://www.inexp.in/GD8mms
📰 *From the Front Page*
Let’s talk climate change: Countries are gathering once again for the annual climate summit. The 30th edition of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) will begin in Belen, Brazil, today. So far, the COP summits have yielded climate-positive actions but achieved little in arresting the steady rise of global temperatures. Read this year's agenda.
https://www.inexp.in/qIsgft
📌 *Must Read*
Healthier homes: Your house may not be as safe as you think from air pollution. Indoor air, degraded by construction dust, cooking emissions or household waste, can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air as the pollutants get trapped inside. But monitoring and regulations for indoor air have been largely absent in India. Researchers at BITS Pilani seek to change that with their newly devised Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) scale. We speak to the team about indoor air pollution, its health impact, and their solution.
https://www.inexp.in/tCHw8E
The big test: The US Supreme Court is hearing a case challenging the legality of Donald Trump's use of emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs. What constitutes a genuine emergency trigger? Are tariffs tantamount to taxes paid by American citizens? And hence, are Trump's tariffs legal? These are the questions the top court seeks to answer for a verdict that could have major implications for global trade. However, even in the case of an adverse ruling, Trump may have other options. Read our explainer.
https://www.inexp.in/k570ev
In conversation: It's been a few months since the Aam Aadmi Party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. Saurabh Bharadwaj is now AAP's face in the national capital as top leaders shift focus to Punjab, Goa and Gujarat. He joined us for an Idea Exchange session to talk all about what AAP has been up to, the current BJP-led Delhi government, and the Congress's vote theft charge.
https://www.inexp.in/ZAHBs9
⏳ *And Finally...*
Last year, Goa fended off a host of allegations, from high fares to touting, that dampened tourist spirits. As tourist season begins this year, videos of men groping foreign women at Arambol beach and another of a teenager facing harassment in North Goa have gone viral. These incidents have sparked concerns over the safety of women, and particularly solo travellers, in the state. Here's how the police and tourism department are taking action.
https://www.inexp.in/JtF2ui
🎧 Before you go, do tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode, where we discuss three ongoing controversies: the Pune land deal case involving Ajit Pawar’s son; the uproar over a Chandigarh bungalow; and the TMC vs BJP row over the legacies of Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
https://www.inexp.in/Bc+KSm
That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
