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BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump’s hardline trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East.Emerging nations representing about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output are set to unite over what they see as unfair US import tariffs, according to sources familiar with summit negotiations.Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive tariffs.His latest salvo comes in the form of letters due to be sent starting Friday informing trading partners of new tariff rates expected next week on July 9.Diplomats from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have been busy drafting a statement condemning the economic uncertainty.Any final summit declaration is not expected to mention the United States or its president by name. But it is expected to be a clear political shot directed at Washington.”We’re anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,” Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio’s Pontifical Catholic University said.This is particularly the case for China, which has only recently negotiated with the US to lower steep tit-for-tat levies.”This doesn’t seem to be the right time to provoke further friction” between the world’s two leading economies, Fernandez said.- Xi no show -Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power.But the summit’s political punch will be depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.”I expect there will be speculation about the reasons for Xi’s absence,” said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank.”The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,” said Hass.The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.Hass said  Putin’s non-attendance and the fact that India’s prime minister will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi’s absence.”Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi,” who will receive a state lunch, he said.”I expect Xi’s decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors.”Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run.- Middle path -Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel is also skipping the meeting. A source familiar with the negotiations said the BRICS countries were still in disagreement over how to respond to the wars in Gaza and between Iran and Israel.  Iranian negotiators are pushing for a tougher collective stance that goes beyond referencing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state and for disputes to be resolved peacefully.Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit.Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, by Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.Analysts say that it has given the grouping more potential international punch.But it has also opened many new fault lines.Brazil hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues.”BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,” Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP.

BRICS leaders will meet in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday, with the bloc depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual summit of emerging economies for the first time in 12 years.The grouping — often seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power — meets as members face imminent and costly tariff wars with the United States.Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be dominated by Beijing, which grew much faster and larger than the rest.China has not said why Xi will miss the summit, a first since he became president in 2012.”I expect there will be speculation about the reasons for Xi’s absence,” said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank.”The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,” said Hass.The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.So too will Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel. Hass said that Putin’s non-attendance and the fact that India’s prime minister will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi’s absence.”Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi,” who will receive a state lunch, he said. “I expect Xi’s decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors.”Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year.Lula is expected to run again for an unprecedented fourth term in office.- ‘Cautious tone’ -For BRICS leaders who do make the trip to the “cidade maravilhosa” — the marvelous city — the economy will be top of the agenda.Lula on Friday defended the idea of finding an alternative to the dollar for trade among BRICS nations.”I know it is complicated. There are political problems,” Lula said at a BRICS banking event. “But if we do not find a new formula, we are going to finish the 21st century the way we started the 20th.”But with many, including China, locked in difficult trade negotiations with the United States, they may be wary of roiling the mercurial US president.President Donald Trump has warned that starting Friday, countries will receive letters stating the amount their exports to the United States will be tariffed.He has also threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries that challenge the dollar’s international dominance.”We’re anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,” Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio’s Pontifical Catholic University, told AFP.This is particularly the case for China, she said: “This doesn’t seem to be the right time to provoke further friction” between the world’s two leading economies.On a range of other issues, from the Middle East to climate, BRICS members will have to overcome deep-seated differences.- Consensus-building difficult -Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, by Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.Analysts say that it has given the grouping more potential international punch. The BRICS now represent nearly half of the world’s population and 40 percent of its GDP. But it has also opened many new fault lines, not least over how strongly to challenge the United States.This expansion “makes it all the more difficult to build a strong consensus,” said Fernandez.BRICS members did not issue a strong statement on the Iran-Israel conflict and subsequent US military strikes due to their “diverging” interests, according to Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.Brazil, nevertheless, hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues.”BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,” Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP.Artificial intelligence and global governance reform will also be on the menu.

Trinidad and Tobago on Friday bestowed its highest honor on visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking to strengthen New Delhi’s ties with the Caribbean and Latin America.Modi arrived Friday in the country, where more than a third of the population is of Indian descent.President Christine Carla Kangaloo gave him the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at a ceremony at President’s House in St Ann’s, just outside the capital Port of Spain — the first time a foreign leader was so honored. “This honor is a symbol of the deep and eternal friendship between our two countries,” Modi said, according to an official translation. Relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago date back to 1845, when indentured Indian laborers first arrived to work on sugar and cocoa plantations under British colonial rule, following the end of slavery. Between 1845 and 1917, more than 140,000 laborers settled in the Caribbean nation.The Indian community is now the country’s largest ethnic group, at 35.4 percent of the population of 1.4 million. Black Trinidadians are the second largest group at 34.2 percent.”It is a matter of great pride that the Indian community here continues to preserve our shared traditions, culture and customs with such care and devotion,” Modi said. He called Kangaloo and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar “the biggest brand ambassadors of this community.””Our relationship carries the excitement of cricket and the flavor of Trinidad pepper,” Modi said, calling Trinidad and Tobago a vital partner for New Delhi.”India and Trinidad & Tobago rose from the shadows of colonial rule to write our destiny of progress. Our nations stand tall as proud democracies and pillars of strength in the modern world,” Modi wrote on X.”It’s high time we all work together to give the Global South its rightful seat at the high table.”During his time in Port of Spain, Modi addressed the Trinidadian parliament and signed memorandums of understanding with Persad-Bissessar.Devant Maharaj, a former government minister and leader of the nation’s largest Hindu organization, called Modi a “hero” and hailed the visit.But Trinidad’s largest Muslim organization questioned the decision to honor Modi, citing his human rights record.He will next visit Argentina and Brazil, where a BRICS summit will take place on Sunday and Monday. 

A five-storey building collapsed in Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring nine others, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for more trapped victims.The incident happened shortly after 10:00 am (0500 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan. Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told AFP. Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said around 20 families were living inside.”I got a call from my wife saying the building was cracking and I told her to get out immediately,” he told AFP at the scene.”She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her ‘this building will stand for at least 10 more years’. Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed.” The Sindh provincial health department said the death toll had risen to eight killed and nine injured late Friday.The search for survivors continued into the night, with relatives gathered near the site waiting for news. Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be “at least eight to 10 more people still trapped”, describing it as a “worn-out building”.- Race against time -Nearby residents rushed to save their neighbours before rescuers took over to remove the rubble, along with at least five excavators.The heavy machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way.All six family members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning.”Nothing is left for me now — my family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery,” he told AFP.Another resident, Maya Sham Jee, said her brother’s family was also trapped under the rubble.”It’s a tragedy for us. The world has been changed for our family,” she told AFP.”We are helpless and just looking at the rescue workers to bring our loved ones back safely.”In June 2020, at least 18 people were killed when a residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed in the same area of the city.Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.

Jamie Smith made the highest Test score by an England wicketkeeper of 184 not out and Harry Brook passed 150 again but India still ended Friday’s third day of the second Test at Edgbaston with a lead of over 200 runs.England were in dire straits at 84-5, more than 500 runs behind, when Smith joined forces with Brook in just the second over of the day’s play.They came together after Mohammed Siraj had taken two wickets in two balls, including removing Ben Stokes for the first golden duck of the England captain’s Test career.  But England’s sixth-wicket duo went on to add 303 runs before Brook fell for 158.And by the time England were dismissed for 407, Smith had surpassed Surrey mentor Alec Stewart’s previous highest Test score by an England wicketkeeper of 173 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1997.But the new ball proved England’s undoing for the second time in the match as they lost their last five wickets for 20 runs. Siraj (6-70) and fellow paceman Akash Deep (4-88), in for the rested Jasprit Bumrah, did the damage between them in an England innings featuring six ducks. India, looking to level the series after last week’s five-wicket loss in the first Test at Headingley, led by 180 runs on first innings, with captain Shubman Gill’s superb 269 the cornerstone of their 587 all out.And they had extended that advantage to 244 runs at the close, with India 64-1 in their second innings after gifted left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose 28 featured six fours, was lbw to fast bowler Josh Tongue.A rueful Brook told Sky Sports: “Up until I got out I felt like we were almost clawing it back, but our tail had a collapse, as we saw with them (India).”Smith’s hundred was just the second of his 12-Test career following the 24-year-old’s 111 against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford last year and Brook forecast a glittering future for his team-mate.- ‘Phenomenal’ -“It was good to spend some time out there with Smudge (Smith), he’s got a long career ahead with England and he’s a phenomenal player,” said Brook.England resumed on 77-3, with Joe Root and Brook — the world’s two top-ranked Test batsmen — 18 not out and 30 not out.But Root soon glanced fast bowler Siraj to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.Next ball, Stokes was undone by a superb rising delivery from Siraj that he edged behind, reducing England to 84-5.Smith, however, survived the hat-trick by straight-driving Siraj for four.It was the start of a blistering 80-ball hundred that included 14 fours and three sixes as Smith joined a select group of batsmen to have made 100 runs before lunch in a session of Test cricket.India had rested Bumrah, the world’s number one ranked Test bowler, in order to protect the fast bowler’s fitness in a series where he is expected to feature in just three out of five matches.But in his absence, Smith smashed 22 runs in a single over from paceman Prasidh Krishna, including a six and four fours.Smith, showing no obvious ill effects from the strain of keeping wicket for 151 overs struck consecutive fours off experienced left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the last over before lunch to complete an astounding century.Brook, 91 not out at the interval went to a hundred after giving his wicket away on 99 in the first Test and went on to exceed 150 for the fifth time in his nine hundreds at this level.But Deep eventually broke through with the new ball by bowling Brook with a fine delivery that darted back off the seam. Deep also removed Chris Woakes for five on the Warwickshire all-rounder’s home ground. He had previously reduced England to 13-2 by dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks.Smith smashed Deep for six over long-on to raise England’s 400 but Siraj cleaned up the tail as Brydon Carse, Tongue and Shoaib Bashir failed to manage a run between them.

The BRICS nations will convene for a summit in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and Monday, with members hoping to weigh in on global crises while tiptoeing around US President Donald Trump’s policies.The city, with beefed-up security, will play host to leaders and diplomats from 11 emerging economies including China, India, Russia, South Africa and host Brazil, which represent nearly half of the world’s population and 40 percent of its GDP. Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will have to navigate the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will miss the summit for the first time.Beijing will instead be represented by Premier Li Qiang.Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing a pending International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will not travel to Brazil, but is set to participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, fresh from a 12-day conflict with Israel and a skirmish with the United States, will also be absent, as will his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a Brazilian government source told AFP.Tensions in the Middle East, including Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, will weigh on the summit, as well as the grim anticipation of tariffs threatened by Trump and due next week.Trump said that starting Friday, his administration would send countries letters stating their tariff levels, as negotiations to avoid higher US levies enter the final stretch.- ‘Cautious’ -“We’re anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,” Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio’s Pontifical Catholic University, told AFP.China, for example, “is trying to adopt a restrained position on the Middle East,” Fernandez said, pointing out that Beijing was also in tricky tariff negotiations with Washington.”This doesn’t seem to be the right time to provoke further friction” between the world’s two leading economies, the researcher said.BRICS members did not issue a strong statement on the Iran-Israel conflict and subsequent US military strikes due to their “diverging” interests, according to Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.Brazil nevertheless hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues.”BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,” Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told AFP.Lula on Friday again defended the idea of finding an alternative to the dollar for trade among BRICS nations.”I know it is complicated. There are political problems,” Lula said at a BRICS banking event. “But if we do not find a new formula, we are going to finish the 21st century the way we started the 20th.”- ‘Multilateralism’ -However, talks on this idea are likely dead in the water.For Fernandez, it is almost “forbidden” to mention the idea within the group since Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries that challenge the dollar’s international dominance.Brazil, which later this year will host the COP30 UN climate conference, also hopes to find unity on the fight against climate change.Artificial intelligence and global governance reform will also be on the menu.”The escalation of the Middle East conflict reinforces the urgency of the debate on the need to reform global governance and strengthen multilateralism,” said foreign minister Vieira.Since 2023, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia have joined BRICS, formed in 2009 as a counter-balance to leading Western economies.But, as Fernandez points out, this expansion “makes it all the more difficult to build a strong consensus.”

A five-storey building collapsed in Pakistan on Friday, killing at least seven people and injuring eight, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for trapped victims.The incident happened shortly after 10 am (0500 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said around 20 families were living inside. “I got a call from my wife saying the building was cracking and I told her to get out immediately,” he told AFP at the scene.”She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her ‘this building will stand for at least 10 more years’. Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed.”Rescuers retrieved seven bodies from the rubble, and rescued eight injured people, an official leading the operations, Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, told AFP.Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab confirmed the death toll to reporters as he visited the site.Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told AFP. Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be “at least eight to 10 more people still trapped”, describing it as a “worn-out building”.Nearby residents rushed to save their neighbours before rescuers took over to remove the rubble, along with at least five excavators.The heavy machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way.All six family members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning.”Nothing is left for me now — my family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery,” he told AFP.Another resident, Maya Sham Jee, said her brother’s family was also trapped under the rubble.”It’s a tragedy for us. The world has been changed for our family,” she told AFP.”We are helpless and just looking at the rescue workers to bring our loved ones back safely.”In June 2020, at least 18 people were killed when a residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed in the same area of the city.Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.

A five-storey building collapse in Pakistan on Friday killed at least six people and left six injured, police said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for trapped victims.The incident happened shortly after 10 am (0500 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said there were around 20 families living inside. “I got a call from my wife saying the building was cracking and I told her to get out immediately,” he told AFP at the scene. “She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her ‘this building will stand for at least 10 more years’. Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed.” A senior local police official, Arif Aziz, told AFP that six dead bodies have been retrieved and six wounded people rescued. Up to 100 people had been living in the building, he added. Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be “at least eight to 10 more people still trapped”, describing it as a “worn out building”.He also put the death toll at six.Nearby residents rushed to save their neighbours before rescuers took over to remove the rubble, along with at least five excavators.The heavy machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way.In June 2020, at least 18 people were killed when a residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed in the same area of the city.Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.

Afghanistan’s government said on Thursday that Russia had become the first country to officially recognise its rule, calling it a “brave decision”.The Taliban swept back to power in 2021 after ousting the foreign-backed government and have imposed an austere version of Islamic law. They have keenly sought official international recognition and investment, as the country recovers from four decades of war, including the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989.The announcement was made after Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, in Kabul on Thursday.”This brave decision will be an example for others… Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone,” Muttaqi said in a video of the meeting on X. “Russia is the first country which has officially recognised the Islamic Emirate,” Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal told AFP, using the government’s name for their administration. Muttaqi said it was “a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect, and constructive engagement”, the foreign ministry posted on X. Russia’s foreign ministry added on Telegram: “We believe that the act of official recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will boost the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in several areas.” It highlighted potential “commercial and economic” cooperation in “energy, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure”. The ministry said that Moscow hoped to continue helping Kabul “reinforce regional security and fight against the threats of terrorism and drug-trafficking”.Russia has taken recent steps to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities, removing them from a list of “terrorist organisations” in April and accepting a Taliban ambassador in Moscow.In July 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban “allies in the fight against terrorism”.Russia was the first country to open a business representative office in Kabul after the Taliban takeover, and has announced plans to use Afghanistan as a transit hub for gas heading to Southeast Asia. – ‘Allies’ -Only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates recognised the Taliban during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. This time, multiple other states, including China and Pakistan, have accepted Taliban ambassadors in their capitals, but have not officially recognised the Islamic Emirate since the end of the then-insurgency’s two-decade war with US-led NATO troops. There has been limited but growing engagement with the Taliban authorities, particularly from regional neighbours, but also major global players China and Russia.China on Friday said it welcomed Russia’s decision.”As a traditional friendly neighbour of Afghanistan, the Chinese side has always believed that Afghanistan should not be excluded from the international community,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.However, restrictions on women and girls, barring them from education and squeezing them from public life, have been key sticking points for Western nations. Multiple Afghan women activists were quick to condemn Russia’s recognition. The move “legitimizes a regime that bans girls from education, enforces public floggings, and shelters UN-sanctioned terrorists”, said Mariam Solaimankhil, former member of Afghanistan’s parliament. “The move signals that strategic interests will always outweigh human rights and international law.”Senior Taliban figures remain under international sanctions, including by the United Nations. Another former MP in Kabul, Fawzia Koofi, said any recognition of the Taliban “will not bring peace it will legitimize impunity” and “risk endangering not just the people of Afghanistan, but global security”.

India captain Shubman Gill scored a superb maiden Test double-century before stand-in fast bowler Akash Deep reduced England to 13-2 at Edgbaston on Thursday with two wickets in consecutive balls.Gill’s 269 was the cornerstone of India’s first-innings 587 all out on the second day of the second Test, with England 77-3 at stumps — a huge deficit of 510 runs. Deep was only featuring after India rested the outstanding Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler but only due to play in three games of this five-match series to minimise the effects of a back injury.The 28-year-old Deep conceded 12 runs in his first over, with Zak Crawley hitting two fours.But Deep’s second over was a very different story, the paceman’s double-wicket maiden leaving England in dire straits at 13-2.He had Ben Duckett, fresh from a superb 149 in England’s five-wicket win in the first Test at Headingley, edging to third slip where Gill capped an already brilliant day for himself by holding a fine catch.Next ball Ollie Pope fell for a golden duck when, closing the face of the bat, he nicked Deep to second slip, with KL Rahul clinging on at the second attempt.Joe Root survived the hat-trick delivery.But India, made to pay for dropping several catches in the cordon at Headingley, then held another when Mohammed Siraj had Crawley edging to Karun Nair at first slip, with England now 25-3.Root (18 not out) and Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook (30 not out) prevented further collapse with an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 52. But the day belonged to India, bidding for just their fourth series win in England after triumphs in 1971, 1986 and 2007.      – Majestic Gill -Earlier, the 25-year-old Gill, in just his second Test as captain, set a new record for the highest score by an India batsman in a Test in England, surpassing the great Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 at the Oval back in 1979.Gill also received excellent support from spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar in partnerships of 203 and 144 for the sixth and seventh wickets, respectively.   Already a Test-best 168 not out at lunch, Gill continued to bat in near flawless fashion in the afternoon.He was especially severe on Shoaib Bashir, cover-driving the off-spinner for four and lofting him for six, with the bowler largely unthreatening against frontline batsmen in a return of 3-167 in 45 overs.A hooked single off fast bowler Josh Tongue, whose two wickets cost 119 runs, took Gill to 200, with the elated skipper bowing to a capacity crowd in celebration.England brought on part-time medium-pacer Brook in a desperate bid to ‘buy’ a wicket but Gill struck him for three successive fours — the best a straight drive. But it was occasional off-spinner Root, however, who bowled the recalled Sundar with a delivery that turned and bounced.By that stage Gill had bettered his Test-best score for the second match in a row after making 147 at Headingley.His marathon Edgbaston innings of some eight-and-a-half hours finally ended with a rare false shot when a tired pull off Tongue found Pope at square leg, with India now 574-8.Several England players shook Gill’s hand after he had faced 387 balls, including 30 fours and three sixes.India, again sent into bat by England captain Ben Stokes, resumed on 310-5, with Gill 114 not out and Jadeja 41 not out in a stand worth 99 at Wednesday’s close after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s entertaining 87. Gill had already become just the seventh player to score a century in each of his first two (or more) Tests as captain.His was also, statistically at least, the most secure Test hundred on record in England since analysts Cricviz began keeping such records in 2006.On Wednesday, Gill’s false shot percentage was just 3.5 percent. The average when making a hundred in England is 12 percent.But India, batting in ideal sunny conditions on Thursday, now wanted even more runs from Gill and Jadeja after collapses of 7-41 and 6-31 cost them dear at Headingley — and they got them.