Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I’m Nelson John and here are today’s top stories.

The week began with tragedy in the hills. Relentless rain turned Darjeeling and Kalimpong into death zones — 18 dead, thousands stranded, homes buried in landslides between 2 and 3 a.m. Roads caved in, bridges collapsed, and tourists trapped as five NDRF teams dug through debris. With NH-10 cut off and two steel bridges washed away, rescue ops stretched thin. Politics followed quickly — BJP hit out at Mamata Banerjee for staying at Kolkata’s Puja carnival; TMC shot back saying she was monitoring round the clock. Meanwhile, Modi and Shah expressed condolences as the toll rose across Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Then came fire on the field — India crushed Pakistan by 88 runs at the Women’s World Cup in Colombo. No handshakes. No smiles. Just fierce stares and a coin toss controversy that added fuel to the rivalry. Home Minister Amit Shah called it a “perfect strike,” while fans called it payback season.

On the global front, India drew new red lines with Washington. S Jaishankar said Delhi won’t open agriculture or dairy to US markets, calling current tariffs “unfair.” The message: India will trade, but on its own terms.

And in defense, Delhi’s doubling down on Russia — set to buy five more S-400 systems, with local manufacturing built in. It’s proof India’s sticking with what’s battle-tested.

Finally, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal heads to Doha to push a new trade pact with Qatar — a move that could reset Gulf ties and give India a stronger foothold beyond oil.

#DarjeelingFloods #IndiaPakistanRivalry #WomensWorldCup #S400 #IndiaUSRelations #PiyushGoyal #IndiaQatar #Jaishankar #MamataBanerjee #BreakingIndia #GlobalTrade #IndiaNews #TopOfTheMorning

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices