The Daily Catch-Up: A Kargil truce, a goalkeeper’s redemption, and other top news

7 min readJun 30, 2026 06:44 PM IST

Col. Raj on the extreme right in the front row, before advancing to the strategic Point 5465 during the Kargil War. (By special arrangement)

Dear Reader, Each weekday, The Daily Catch-Up sifts through the day’s news so you do not have to. From geopolitics to courtrooms, from classrooms to tech launches, we bring you the top stories, in plain language and without ceremony. Let us begin.

The Daily Catch-Up: A Kargil truce, a goalkeeper’s redemption, and other top stories

Spotlight

The Kargil truce that ran on cigarettes and chocolate

In the summer of 1999, Colonel (retired) Rajinder Kumar Sharma was leading nine soldiers up Point 5465, nearly 17,000 feet, when Pakistani troops opened fire from a nearby knoll. After a brief firefight, someone waved a white flag. Sharma’s men had none of their own, so a soldier tied his vest to a rifle barrel, and the Lieutenant climbed up alone to meet a smartly dressed Pakistani Major (who seemed to have arrived fresh from the salon). The two talked, swapped cigarettes, and Sharma handed over a Cadbury bar he had been carrying as emergency ration, and by dusk, Sharma’s unit had taken the peak. The episode is recorded in Shoorveer (Penguin Random House), a book by his sons.

Indo-Pacific vs Pacific Command: C Raja Mohan explains

What’s in a name Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi’s visit to India is a reminder that the Indo-Pacific predates American usage of the word, going back to Shinzo Abe’s 2007 speech to Parliament. Whatever Washington’s reasons for restoring the older name Pacific Command, Takaichi has carried Abe’s vision forward, pushing Japan’s defence spending past 2 percent of GDP even as Tokyo and Delhi prepare a joint declaration on economic security. The irony is that Beijing calls the term an artificial Western construct, yet its own naval base in Djibouti and trade corridors linking western China to the Indian Ocean treat the two oceans as one theatre, the best proof the concept holds.

Wife spins Rs 50-lakh extortion plot

A 19-year marriage in East Delhi has unravelled after a woman was found allegedly involved in a Rs 50-lakh extortion plot against her businessman husband. The plot involved phone calls from US-based gangster Jitender Gogi, who has links to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Investigators suspect the motive lies in friction with her mother-in-law.

Spill The Expresso

LEGAL:  ‘Husband’s age can’t bar eligible wife from IVF’

A couple trying to conceive since 2014 got a green light from the Calcutta High Court, which ruled that a wife who meets ART Act criteria cannot be denied IVF just because her husband, at 57, is past the prescribed age limit of 55. Justice Krishna Rao held that since the wife alone carries the embryo, the husband’s age has no real bearing on her eligibility, and that a married woman can even approach a clinic independently under the Act.

ENTERTAINMENT: ‘They wanted more cleavage’, says Zeenat Aman

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Zeenat Aman opened up about the early days of her career. (Photo: Zeenat Aman/Instagram)

The actor who defined the “bold” heroine of 1970s Bollywood says she had little say over her own characters. On sets with almost no other women, she said, filmmakers cared only about her appearance, summed up in her own words as “gayegi, nachegi, do dialogue bolegi, bheegegi, barish mein“. The “sex symbol” label outlasted the perception, even among those who knew her, that it was an oversimplification.

TECH: WhatsApp rolls out usernames: How to claim yours before someone else does

WhatsApp is letting users globally reserve a unique username ahead of a full rollout later this year, eventually allowing chats without exchanging phone numbers. The feature targets cases like marketplace deals or school groups, where people want to connect without sharing personal contact details.

Must Read

Germany’s Jonathan Tah (4) and teammates acknowledge the crowd after a loss during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Germany and Paraguay in Foxborough. (AP Photo)

Germany eliminated by Paraguay in penalty shootout after disallowed goal The goalkeeper who once sold his clothes just ended Germany’s World Cup Paraguay’s Orlando Gill, a keeper few outside Asuncion had heard of a month ago, saved penalties to send four time champions Germany out at the Round of 32. Julio Enciso had put Paraguay ahead before half time, Kai Havertz levelled early in the second half, and extra time produced only a Jonathan Tah header ruled out on VAR review. In the shootout, Gill denied Havertz and Nick Woltemade while Germany missed three kicks in all.

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Also Read: Orlando Gill: The goalkeeper who sold his clothes, then stopped German

Book Nook

‘A ghost-self walks alongside you’: Maggie O’Farrell on Hamnet, Land, and the maps we carry within

Maggie O’Farrell’s next book Six years after Hamnet, O’Farrell returns with Land, sparked by the discovery that her great-great grandfather mapped a famine ravaged Ireland for the British Ordnance Survey in the 1860s. The novel follows Tomas, the cartographer, and his son Liam, who later travels as a Jesuit priest to Kerala, letting O’Farrell draw quiet parallels with the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.

Still not done? Here’s more from the day.

Blow to Uddhav Sena: Aaditya Thackeray aide Sachin Ahir joins Eknath Shinde

Sachin Ahir filed the nomination for the Maharashtra Legislative Council deputy chairman post in the presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sachin Ahir filed his nomination for the Legislative Council deputy chairman post as a Mahayuti candidate, a defection that lands close to Aaditya Thackeray.

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‘Hear her final scream’: Judge’s powerful order in Pune toddler rape-murder case

A Pune special court handed three death sentences to the convict in the rape and murder of a three year old girl; the judge’s order is being read for its unusually direct language.

‘No negotiation at any level’: Iran rejects Trump’s claim of talks in Doha

Trump and Tehran have issued contradictory statements over reported new talks in Doha, leaving it unclear whether any negotiation is actually on the table.

Why teenaged girl from an Odisha hamlet died in Tamil Nadu unit 1,500 km from home

A gas leak at a Tiruvallur factory has turned attention to the desperate migration of a tribal community from Keonjhar district, where entire villages are emptying of their young.

Two-wheelers constitute two-thirds of Delhi’s vehicles, why the EV policy shift matters

With scooters and motorcycles dominating the capital’s roads, Delhi’s new policy aims for at least 30 percent fleet electrification by March 2030, when the scheme expires.

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Woman teams up with sister, murders partner to ‘protect’ daughter: police

A Ghaziabad woman, Kiran, allegedly worked with her sister Kashish to kill her live in partner and pass it off as suicide; police say she told them it was to protect her 13 year old daughter, and cracked the case within 12 hours of a complaint.

The Daily Catch-Up is published Monday to Friday by The Indian Express.

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Aishwarya Khosla is a senior editorial figure at The Indian Express, where she spearheads the digital strategy and execution for the Books & Literature and Puzzles & Games sections. With over eight years of experience in high-stakes journalism, Aishwarya specializes in literary criticism, cultural commentary, and long-form features that explore the complex intersection of identity, politics, and social change.

Aishwarya’s analytical depth is anchored by her prestigious Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections. This intensive research fellowship in policy analysis and political communications informs her nuanced approach to cultural journalism, allowing her to provide readers with unique insights into how literature and media reflect broader political shifts.

As a trusted voice for the Indian Express audience, she authors the popular newsletters, Meanwhile, Back Home and Books 'n' Bits, and hosts the podcast series, Casually Obsessed.

Before her current role, Aishwarya spent several years at Hindustan Times,  where she provided dedicated coverage of the Punjabi diaspora, theater, and national politics. Her career is defined by a commitment to intellectual rigor, making her a definitive authority on modern Indian culture and letters.

Areas of Expertise

Literary Criticism, Cultural Politics, Political Strategy, Long-form Investigative Features, and Newsletter Curation.

Write to her

You can reach her at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can follow her on Instagram:

@aishwarya.khosla, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya.

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