The Editorial Page: Trump is succeeding because of leaders who want to be little Trumps 10 FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026 Journalism of Courage New DelHI, lATe CITY, 22 PAGeS ₹7.00 (₹8 RAIPUR, ₹15 SRINAGAR) l www.indianexpress.com CBC 03101/13/0008/2526 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 , lU 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 Delhi court acquits Kejriwal in two ED cases over summons u.s. announces ‘neW gaZa’ pLan As Trump unveils his Board of Peace, Delhi waits, watches Not intentional disobedience, says judge; Satyameva Jayate: AAP chief sohini ghosh & nirbhay thakur New Delhi, January 22 A delHI court Thursday acquittedformerdelhiChiefMinister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal of the charge of disobeyingapublicservant’sorder forskippingsixsummonsfrom theenforcementdirectoratein connection with its probe into the delhi excise policy case. The court of Additional Chief JudicialMagistrate Paras dalal ruled that “mere non-appearance (following the sum- nation mons) is not intentional disobedience”. AAP leaders hailed the verdict and Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, “Satyameva Jayate”. The ed had filed two criminal cases against Kejriwal – »continued on page 2 Ahead of EU leaders’ visit sports alarm bells: toxic outdoors, no weather-proof indoors, ioc takes note off four new train services in Kerala. He will address a rally in Madurathakam, Tamil Nadu. l uddhav thackeray and Raj Thackeray will address their party workers together in Mumbai to mark Bal Thackeray's 100th birth anniversary. express exclusive Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com nihal koshie & mihir vasavda New Delhi, Mumbai, January 22 At the India open last week, international badminton stars questioneddelhi’s placeonthe global calendar, citing health concerns from the toxic air. Some of them even complained to the International olympicCommittee(IoC).“We can confirm that the IoC Athletes’Commissionhasreceived the information and is in touch,”theIoCtoldTheIndian Express. ■ sportingexodUs india-south africa Test moved to Kolkata last year. asian games medallist Tejaswin Shankar shifted base to South Africa and the US. “The idea was to try and avoid time in Delhi during those months,” he said. shooters training at smog has reduced visibility. When the heat peaks, many wrestlers move to hill towns. But Railways coach Kripa Shankar Patel said: “You can’t run long training cycles there... The oxygen is lower because of the altitude.” in 2023, the Cycling Feder- the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi are travelling to Bhopal. Beyond health, national coach Deepali Deshpande said ation of India moved the national camp for road and endurance cyclists from Delhi to Guwahati. In 2024, it was shifted to Patiala. ■ dronacharya Award-winning hockey coach Pritam Siwach is worried. At the Sports Authority of India’s Sonepat centre, dust and toxic air have »continued on page 2 the world Bangladeshfirm onWorldcup: ‘Willingtoplay, butnotinindia’ express news service Kolkata, January 22 A dAy after the International Cricket Council (ICC) asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to confirm whether their team would play theT20World Cup in India next month as scheduled, the Bangladesh government responded on Thursday, reiterating that its players are keen to participate but not in India. The decision sets the stage for the ICC to replace the team with Scotland, as the global governing body had decided during its Board meeting on Wednesday when Bangladesh was given the ultimatum. Speaking to reporters after holding a “high-level meeting” with BCB president Aminul Islamandtheteam'scricketers, Bangladesh's Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul said they want to play the tournament in »continued on page 2 ASUSPresidentdonaldTrump unveiledhisBoardofPeaceand son-in-law Jared Kushner announced plans fora ‘New Gaza’ rebuilt from the ruins of the Israel-Hamas war, India stayed away from the ceremony in davosThursday,optingtowalk the diplomatic tightrope for now by neither declining nor acceptingTrump’sinvitationto p 14 the ideas page should india join thE board? bEst of both sidEs pagE 11 Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the board. Sources said India has Meitei man married to Kuki-Zo woman shot in Manipur, video captures killing — and a message sukrita Baruah nation Guwahati, January 22 A MAN from the Meitei community was shot dead in Manipur’s Churachandpur on Wednesdayevening—akilling that wasrecorded on videoand circulated, interrupting months of relative peace in the state. The man had been living with his wife, who is from the Kuki-Zo community, for the pastmonth inavillageinChurachandpur. Inthevideo,whichsurfaced late Wednesday night, the man can be seen sitting on the E. explained EvEryonE wants to why the dilemma bE a part: India’s dilemma over the trump at Board of Peace has much to do with balancing its longdavos shubhajit roy New Delhi, January 22 external affairs minister s Jaishankar with ambassadors from european Union countries in new delhi on Thursday. “spoke to them about the current state of the world with volatility and instability as the new normal,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. ANI rePorT, PaGe 7 internationaL shuttLers Write to ioc on deLhi’s air lpm narendra Modi will flag By EP UNNY India, China, Russia, much of Europe skip event, Pak there rs 10-lakh hEalth covEr for all: aap govt in punjab happening today business as usual p7 strong reasons for not joining the board immediately, and »continued on page 2 topmaoistwith rs1-crbounty among15killed inJharkhand encounter shubham tigga p6 rolE of kuki group not in pact suspEctEd ground outdoors in the dark. The 1-minute, 12-second video carries the text “No peace, no popular government”, a reference to attempts to restore a popular government in the state.Whileitdoesnothaveany audio, the man can be seen pleading with folded hands to somepeoplewhoarenotvisible New Delhi standing foreign policy principles, especially on multilateralism and the issue of Palestine, against the strategic benefits of joining an elite global platform, and potential diplomatic fallout with the US if it were to decline the invitation. »continued on page 2 Ranchi, January 22 A ToP leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), carrying a Rs 1-crore bountyonhishead,wasamong 15 Maoists killed on Thursday in an encounter with security forcesintheSarandaforestarea near Chaibasa in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, officials said. The exchange of fire began near Kumbhdih village under the Chotanagra police station limits. Residents of surrounding villages reported hearing »continued on page 2