The tension between Bengal and Centre is spilling over and arresting this would be in everyone’s best interest. Germany and Argentina are sorry for the crimes committed by its military rulers. And if you get a mail on Dubai Coin, run the other way! Those who love storing photos on Google, there is some sad news.
CORONAVIRUS NEWS
🦠 Origin of Virus: India joins call for establishing the origin of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, although it does not name China or “lab grown” theory. US says there is “unexamined” evidence.
🔎💉 Clot Reason: Researchers have found a possible link between reported cases of a rare blood clot after AstraZeneca jab to the virus used in the vaccine.
✈️ Cut capacity: Airlines in India told to cut seat capacity to 50%, allows costlier tickets from June 1. Int’l flights are banned till June 30.
💉 Will jab ‘em all: GoI says it will vaccinate the whole country by year end. This will require 7.5mn jabs a day. On Friday, 2.8mn people were vaccinated.
💉💉 Vaccination Policy: Kerala and Mumbai have decided to shorten the gap to get the 2nd Covishield dose for those who had to leave for other countries and students with admission in foreign universities, respectively.
⚰️ Data Mismatch: Kolkata deaths could be 4X official count.
🇬🇧💉💉💉💉 Another Vaccine: The UK has approved a one-dose vaccine manufactured by J&J that has an efficacy of 85%. The country now has four vaccines. EU has approved Pfizer jab for 12 to 15 year olds.
“We are living this hell. Everyone is living this hell.”
Delhi high court
💰 On GST: GST Council will form a group of ministers to look into whether the tax on Covid essentials like masks, vaccines have to be dropped. It will also borrow Rs 1.58 lakh cr to compensate shortfall to states this fiscal.
📥📤 A Mystery Solved: Times of India reported that Bharat Biotech had produced 60 million vaccines but supplied only 40 million. Now, the firm clarifies that it takes 4 months to supply. An expert calls it “chaos”.
👍 Covaxin Efficacy: The Phase 3 trial of the jab (when it is administered to a large group of people, this case over 25K) showed an interim efficacy of 78%.
INDIA NEWS
🦇 Batman in Business: An Air India flight to Newark returned to Delhi after a bat was found in its Business Class.
🌀 Eye-to-Eye: Mamata Banerjee skipped a meeting with Modi over Cyclone Yaas. Although she said that she had his permission, the Centre later recalled the state chief secretary. Centre grants Rs 1K crore support to Bengal, Odisha, J’Khand.
🤳 Submission: FB, WhatsApp and other prominent social media websites, except Twitter whose appointee was rejected on ground that person was not an employee, have shared details in compliance with new rules.
👩🏻⚖️ SC Widens HC Ambit: Supreme Court said HCs were free to give people time to surrender even if they denied them anticipatory bail, while adding that it must not be exercised in an “untrammelled” manner.
👨⚖️ Dowry Deaths: SC noted that many courts were giving a narrow definition of the terms “before death” as just “moments before death”. This, it said, blunted the movement against dowry.
👨🏻⚖️ ‘Mockery’: A judge of the Calcutta HC wrote to the acting chief justice of the court complaining that there were procedural lapses while deciding on a writ petition from the CBI in the Narda case.
😡 Courting Ridicule: Goa court judgement in Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case has sought to question the woman’s character: past relationships, drinking smoking, her “cheerfulness”, among others. Calls her “unreliable witness”.
👩⚖️ Quotas Squashed: Kerala HC calls state’s move to give central scholarships to minorities on an 80 (Muslims):20 (Christians) basis as “unconstitutional”.
✋ Cong Turmoil: Former Kerala Congress Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala writes to Sonia Gandhi over his removal, saying he is hurt. Party sets up a committee to look into factionalism in Punjab.
🍎 Agriculture: Due to frequent rain, Himachal apples may be under threat of apple scab, a fungal disease that hit the industry badly last year.
😠 Crime most Vile: A pregnant Dalit woman, her two children and mother-in-law were tortured for four days after her husband refused to cut a tree.
✍🏽 CAA: Centre allows Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh to accept citizenship applications from certain religious groups.
🧐 #MeToo: Prestigious ONV Kurup award to be reviewed after allegations of sexual assault raised against this year’s awardee Tamil poet Vairamuthu.
🙏 Dead: Renowned Odia writer Subhendu Mund (70)
🎤 IE Interview with IT Minister Ravishankar Prasad
On Social Media: Some of them (such companies) have the biggest user base in India. But for grievances, you ask users to come to America… their reluctance to appear before Indian Parliamentary committees.
On Privacy: Our commitment to privacy is unimpeachable… The issue is of digital sovereignty of India.
WORLD NEWS
🥴 New Religion: Conspiracy theorists who believe in claims like “Satan worshipping pedophiles” (and others) control the levers of power now form nearly 14% of the US population and even more people don’t outrightly reject them. This is nearly 30mn people, as many as many religious groups.
🐘 Republicans’ Block: The US Republican-majority Senate has blocked a proposal for an independent investigation into the January 6 Capitol Riots.
🇩🇪 Germany’s Guilt: The country accepts that it committed genocide – 80% of indigenous population- in Namibia between 1884 and 1915. But victims’ descendants feel “excluded” as they don’t get any compensation.
In light of Germany’s historical and moral responsibility, we will ask Namibia and the descendants of the victims for forgiveness.
Heiko Maas, German foreign minister
🇦🇷Argentina’s Guilt: The country has sent thousands of DNA testing kits to its consulates around the world to track search for victims of its military rule in the 1970s-80s. Details of the military’s role in crushing dissent is gruesome.
🇬🇧Johnson’s Innocence: UK PM Boris Johnson was cleared of impropriety in the case of him having committed impropriety while refurbishing his home. Other cases still on.
👾 Another Hacking: SolarWinds hacked into US and foreign govt agencies through phishing attacks.
🇷🇺🇧🇾✈️🇪🇺 Russia backs Belarus: Russia begins acting against airlines that now refuse to fly over Belarusian airspace.
🏔️ Record Tumbles: Arthur Muir climbs Everest at 75 years and becomes oldest American to do so, Tsang Yin-hung fastest ascent by a woman in 25hrs, 50mins.
🇸🇾 Another Victory: Syrian President Bashar al-Asad wins a fourth 7-year term but the country’s opposition, the US and the EU called the elections a “sham”.
🇮🇷Impending Victory: Iran’s Guardian Council has all but cleared the name of its chief justice Ebrahim Raisi to become President in next month’s “elections”.
🇱🇰 India Watches: Sri Lanka invites investment into its Colombo Port City project, which has been under controversy for long as it could be turned into a Chinese enclave.
BUSINESS
⛽ Total Changes: Oil major Total rebrands as TotalEnergies to focus some resources into only renewable energy. This comes after many major energy companies faced resistance from its shareholders who voted for greener plans.
👋🧺 Growing Basket: Tata Digital buys majority stake in e-grocer BigBasket.
🪙 Fake Crypto: Dubai Coin is an elaborate phishing campaign, say authorities. By the time it was discovered and frozen, it had market cap of nearly $5mn.
💸 HDFC fined: RBI penalises Rs 10 cr on bank for selling 3rd party non-financial products to auto loan customers.
ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECH
🌠 Was Einstein Wrong?: Scientists have modeled the most detailed map of dark matter in the Universe. Their results are not according to expectations prompting questions on whether they have stumbled across new physics.
📷 Google Photos: Unlimited storage facility to be scrapped, instead it will be counted under the 15GB limit as under Google account.
News Of Today 