Top of the Morning

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. India flexed its defence muscle by successfully test-firing the Agni-5 ballistic missile from Odisha’s Chandipur range. With a 5,000-km range, it can strike deep into Asia—including northern China—and even parts of Europe. Developed by DRDO, an upgraded 7,500-km version is in the works. The Agni-5 family, now...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Monorail Chaos in Mumbai It was a rescue straight out of a disaster drill. Heavy rain stalled two Mumbai monorails on Tuesday—one carrying 200 passengers, another with 582—leaving hundreds trapped mid-air for hours. The worst was at Mysore Colony, where rescuers smashed windows and used cranes and scissor lif...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Trump Pushes Biggest Ukraine Breakthrough Yet After nearly four years of war, Washington may have delivered the most concrete peace opening so far. On Monday, President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and seven top European leaders to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv. The real head...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Putin’s ‘Jelly Legs’ Steal Spotlight Forget the Alaska handshake—what went viral after Trump and Putin’s summit was the Russian president’s shaky stance. Kremlin footage showed Putin’s knee twitching and toes lifting as he chatted with Trump, sparking a flood of online theories. Ukrainians joked about hidden...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Wang Yi’s Delhi Visit: Setting the Stage for Modi’s China Trip China’s foreign minister Wang Yi will be in New Delhi on August 18 to meet NSA Ajit Doval under the Special Representatives dialogue — just ahead of PM Modi’s August 31 visit to Beijing for the SCO summit. The talks aim to rebuild ties fractured b...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. SOUTH AFRICA RUSHES TO AVOID US TARIFF HIT South Africa is racing to avert the US’s steepest sub-Saharan tariff yet — 30% on some exports. Pretoria says it’s ready to offer a “broad, generous” trade deal, including more imports of US poultry, blueberries, and pork, to save an estimated 30,000 jobs in an econo...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. 90-Day U.S.-China Trade Truce President Donald Trump has extended the tariff suspension with China for another 90 days, keeping U.S. duties capped at 30% and Beijing’s at 10%. Both sides confirmed the move after talks in Stockholm, avoiding hikes that would have kicked in on August 12. The reprieve calms mark...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Red Fort Security Breach Days Before I-Day A “dummy terrorist” from Delhi Police’s Special Cell walked into the high-security Red Fort with mock explosives during a drill — reaching the children’s enclosure, taking selfies, and leaving unnoticed. This marks the third lapse in recent drills ahead of Independen...

US–India trade talks have hit a wall. President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on Indian imports from 25% to 50%, tying the hike to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. His message was blunt — “No, not until we get it resolved” — making clear that negotiations won’t resume until the tariff dispute ends. For India, a key US export market is now at risk, but New Delhi insists its oil import...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Geopolitical Flashpoint: Russia Ditches INF Treaty In a move that could redraw the global nuclear map, Russia has officially abandoned the last remaining limits under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The Kremlin confirmed it no longer feels bound by its self-imposed restrictions—opening the...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Indian Tech in Russian Drones? Ukraine has formally raised concerns with India and the EU after finding Indian-assembled components inside Shahed-136 drones—Iranian UCAVs now used extensively by Russian forces. Investigations revealed a bridge rectifier by Vishay and a signal chip by Aura Semiconductor, both...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. 📉  Markets Hold Their Breath “Brace for more uncertainty.” That’s the sentiment driving investor caution as US-India trade tensions flare once again. According to Mint’s quarterly market survey, 77% of investment professionals expect volatility to continue, especially if the pending trade deal throws up new...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Trump’s Oil Deal with Pakistan, Tariff Shock for India “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling oil to India someday.” That was Donald Trump’s surprise message on Truth Social as he unveiled a new U.S.–Pakistan energy partnership to develop Pakistan’s “massive oil reserves.” While no U.S. oil giant has been named...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Trump’s Oil Deal with Pakistan, Tariff Shock for India “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling oil to India someday.” That was Donald Trump’s surprise message on Truth Social as he unveiled a new U.S.–Pakistan energy partnership to develop Pakistan’s “massive oil reserves.” While no U.S. oil giant has been named...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Operation Sindoor: Modi’s No-Holds-Barred Warning to Pakistan In a fiery 97-minute address in Parliament, PM Narendra Modi revealed India’s retaliatory strikes after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. “In 22 minutes, we responded to April 22,” he said, confirming that India bombed n...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. 1. “No Fences, Just Food” – Trump’s Gaza Pledge With emotion in his voice, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the setup of “food centres” across Gaza—open, unfenced zones where civilians can access aid freely. Speaking from Scotland after meeting UK PM Keir Starmer, Trump said, “You can’t fake starvati...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. 1. TCS Cuts Jobs to “Realign the Future” India’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is laying off 12,261 employees—roughly 2% of its global workforce—in FY26. The move, largely targeting mid-to-senior management, is part of TCS’s shift toward becoming a “Future-Ready”, AI-driven organisation. D...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Whisky, Work Visas & Win-Win Trade After three years of negotiation, India and the UK have inked a landmark Free Trade Agreement, boosting bilateral trade by an estimated $34 billion annually. Signed during PM Modi’s London visit, the deal grants duty-free access to 99% of Indian exports, benefiting key secto...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Modi’s London Mission: Trade Meets Royalty It was a warm welcome from the Indian diaspora—and a pivotal handshake in British countryside diplomacy. PM Narendra Modi landed in London for a two-day visit focused on formalizing the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, a deal three years in the making. Hosted by newly...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Flight Frights: Safety Under the Scanner It’s been a tense 48 hours in Indian aviation, with three back-to-back incidents raising concerns over safety and monsoon preparedness. On Tuesday, Air India Flight AI 315 from Hong Kong landed safely in Delhi, only for a fire to break out in the aircraft’s auxiliary p...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. VP Dhankhar Resigns, Citing Health In a surprising political turn, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from office on Monday, citing medical reasons and the need to prioritize health. The resignation—submitted under Article 67(a)—was effective immediately. In an emotional letter to President Droupadi Mur...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. Earnings Tsunami Incoming The Q1 FY26 earnings season has officially begun, with Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank leading the charge. Over 95 major companies are set to report their numbers this week, covering sectors like tech, pharma, infra, and finance. “Markets will first react to Reliance, HDFC Bank, an...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories.  Trade Tensions Explode: Lula vs Trump It’s no longer just a tariff—it’s personal. After Donald Trump imposed a sweeping 50% duty on all Brazilian imports, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva fired back, declaring: “No gringo is going to give orders to this president.” The tariff, effective April 1,...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. PAN-PAN in the Sky: IndiGo’s Emergency Landing It started with a “PAN PAN PAN”—the aviation distress call for urgent but non-life-threatening situations. That’s what the captain of IndiGo flight 6E 6271 declared mid-air on Wednesday, after detecting an engine snag. The Airbus A320neo, carrying 191 people from...

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories. 1. NATO’s 100% Sanctions Warning to India, China & Brazil NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, with backing from U.S. President Donald Trump, issued a stark ultimatum: any country still trading oil and gas with Russia will face “100% secondary sanctions.” Targeting China, India, and Brazil directly, Rutte urged...