Good morning everyone! Today’s list has a very disconcerting story on pregnant women and Covid-19 with many more deaths reported during the second wave. The GoI is going hammer and tongs against Twitter, and the Delhi Police is trying to keep a hold on the three student activists who were earlier given bail by the high court .
CORONAVIRUS NEWS
💊 Another Drug: The Oxford University has reported a cocktail drug that binds to the virus and stop it from infecting people. The drug, however, should be given only to those without any antibodies, it said. Cons: It is expensive and could save 6 of 100 lives (Note: Every life is valuable).
🦁 Another Cat: A 12-year-old lion in a Tamil Nadu zoo has died of Covid-19.
👥 No Talk: Ruling party and opposition party members in the 22-member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) clash over whether to discuss the govt’s handling over the pandemic. NDA members said the panel could only discuss that which the CAG had audited, to which the Opposition gave examples when this was dispensed with.
👀 Eye See: Indian suffered most damage to their eyesight last year due to increased screen time, according to a study from the Lancet and WHO.
💉💰 All Gain, No Pain: A US company called Emergent BioSolutions got $628 million from the government to produce two vaccines. Its top executives got big bonuses, while 75 million doses it produced had to be discarded.
💉 One Down: German company CureVac’s mRNA vaccine trials showed just 47% efficacy. This is a disappointment considering the vaccine was touted to be stored at refrigeration levels and low-price – essential for developing economies.
🤰 Cause for Concern: Pregnant women suffered a lot during second wave. ICMR finds, in a yet-to-be published study, that twice as many died of the disease. There were more cases as well. Currently, India does not allow for pregnant women to be vaccinated as evidence is still low on vaccine’s effects on them.
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INDIA NEWS
👮 Won’t Let Go: After the Delhi High Court ripped through it over invocation of UAPA against three JNU students, the Delhi Police approached the Supreme Court requesting an immediate stay on their bail. It also requested a Delhi court for time till June 21 to verify details of two of them before processing their release.
👨⚖️ Hear Them: SC says denial of bail hearing is a breach of people’s rights and orders HCs to ensure half the judges sat on alternate days to ensure hearing.
💬 Twitter Trouble: Police finds that the attack against Ghaziabad man was not a case of communal violence. They claim that the men who attacked him were miffed over a “good luck charm” that he sold that did not bring them luck. Family of the victim rubbished the claim. Police have now moved against Twitter over the video that went viral on it and also booked those who tweeted it.
“It is astounding that Twitter which portrays itself as the flag bearer of free speech, chooses the path of deliberate defiance… Additionally, it chooses a policy of flagging manipulates media, only when it suits, its likes and dislikes.”
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology
🍜 Soup: A Kerala court has asked police to file a case against state BJP president K Surendran and ally Janadthipathya Rashtriya Sabha (JRS) leader Janu on charges of bribery. Surendran reportedly paid Rs 10 lakh to Janu to urge the party to return to the NDA.
⚔️ Left Wing Extremism: Greyhounds special forces kill six Maoists in Vishakhapatnam.
🇮🇳🇵🇰 Relationship Improves?: After two years, India and Pakistan have cleared visas for its diplomats.
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WORLD NEWS
🇺🇸🇷🇺 Biden-Putin Talks: The two leaders praise their talks in Geneva, the first since 2018. They spoke for around three hours and agreed for nuclear arms control and return ambassadors – who were recalled in March after the US accused Russia of meddling in the elections. No sign of progress on cyberterror, Ukraine or the Russian political prisoner Alexei Navalny.
🇲🇲 Myanmar: Village burnt down, two dead. Military says it was handiwork of militants, villagers say it was the military.
🍻🦘 Changing Taste: Australians, reputed to be hard drinkers, are slowly shifting to non-alcoholic beverages. One survey found the number of people between 18 to 24 who do not drink alcohol has doubled in the last 20 years. The reasons – better mental health, social acceptance and balance between alcohol and non-alcohol.
🇩🇪 German Army: The country has decided to withdraw a platoon it had sent to NATO after it was found that the troops indulged in anti-semtic and racist parties and sexual assault. It is significant as the govt had admitted that extremism had risen over the past one year.
🔪😱 Terrible Price: Airbnb allegedly paid $7mn to a woman who was allegedly raped at knifepoint in New York. Alleged rapist in custody and awaiting trial.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
🌾 Agriculture to Rescue: At a time of GDP slowdown and many sectors not performing well and rising inflation, agriculture could be the green shoot. Good monsoon rain has allowed for better sowing of kharif (summer) crops. Govt expects record harvest.
“India’s strides in the world of tech and start-up are well-known. Our nation is home to one of the world’s largest start-up ecosystems. Several unicorns have come up in recent years. India offers what innovators and investors need”
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
🧰 Weapons factories Upgrade: Union Cabinet has okayed corporatisation of the weapons units – Ordnance Factory Board – to boost efficiency. It will be split into seven based on what they produce.
🤑 Windfall: Govt earned Rs 26,104 crore as dividends from 23 listed public companies in FY21 – a rise of 123% from previous fiscal.
💳 Cashless: The UK is getting closer to becoming a “cashless society” with only 1 in six payments now being made with currency notes and coins. This still means 1.2 million people are transacting in cash.
“Drink water.”
Christian Ronaldo at a press conference. Coca Cola lost $4bn after this.
“…”
Paul Pogba didn’t say anything. Heineken’s value didn’t tank.
🔎Under Probe: Apple and Google are under investigation in the UK over their market dominance.
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ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECH
🪟 Shutting Down: Windows 10 will be discontinued from 2025 and a new OS will take its place.
🇨🇳👨🚀👨🚀👨🚀 New Home: China has launched three astronauts to occupy Tianhe, its first space station, for three months.
🌟 Myster Solved: Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetle juice), the star in the constellation Orion had dimmed quite significantly two years ago leading to speculation that it might explode. Now, it seems the answer is relatively simple – dust.
NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Watergate Scandal broke out on this day in 1972.
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News Of Today 