With quite a few states opening up their economies after two months of severe restrictions, the Centre has sounded a warning: it is “extremely important” to go for a calibrated approach. Vaccine politics, meanwhile is well and truly on with Palestine canceling the agreement with Israel after it found the shipment were too close to expiry, and US is “undermining” China by offering to supply to Taiwan. Iran has a new president after an election that saw a record low turnout with more than half not voting and many leaving their vote “blank”.
CORONAVIRUS NEWS
🚷 Control!: After experts and courts, now the central government chimes in with a message to states: do not unlock in haste. In the letter, it tells states to have micro-level planning so that any spike is nipped in the bud.
🦠 Variant’s Variant: Delta+ has now been detected in Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai, Ratnagiri and Palghar. Not much is known about this variant except for the mutation in its spike protein that allows for better resistance aganist mRNA vaccines like Covaxin. Check out our June 16 edition for a comprehensive Hindustan Times graphic.
🇵🇸💉🇮🇱 No Deal: Palestine cancels 1mn vaccine swap deal with Israel after it finds the vaccines were too close to expiry – they were allegedly told that the expiry would be in July/August but turned out it was in June itself.
“Hybrid work is here to stay, requiring organisations and their people to find new ways to come together, collaborate and deliver seamlessly.”
Nandan Nilekani, Infosys Chairperson
Report: ToI, Pic: Wikimedia Commons
🇺🇸💉🇹🇼 Enemy of my Enemy: US will send 2.5mn Moderna doses to Taiwan, which will probably annoy China that views Taiwan as part of its territory.
🏊♀️ TokyOlympics: The Ugandan contingent arrived in Japan fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot and a negative test before boarding. In Japan, one member tested positive. This is the first detection of the virus among Olympic athletes.
💉 12-16 Week Gap: AstraZeneca chief investigator backs India’s policy of giving 12 to 16 weeks’ gap between two Covishield doses. Adds that getting both doses is important.
🏥 Hospital Cleared: Agra hospital that was in the news after its owner was allegedly heard saying that he shut off oxygen, is cleared of any wrongdoing.
🎉🎉🚫 Clash in France: Over a thousand people attended an illegal rave forcing police to intervene. In the resulting clashes, one man lost his hand.
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INDIA NEWS
👥 Let’s Talk: All key parties in J-K get invite to attend meeting with Prime Minister on June 24.
👨💼IAS in BJP: Retired Gujarat cadre IAS officer A K Sharma, considered to be close to PM Modi is now party’s UP vice-president. This amid speculations that the party’s central leadership was not very pleased with the state’s handling of Covid-19.
🛩️ MiG Out: Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauri says India will phase out “flying coffins” MiG-21 in the next three years and induct Rafales and Light Combat Aircraft.
🇲🇲 India Abstained: It is now learnt that India had abstained from voting for or against Myanmar in Friday at the United Nations in a resolution that called for restrictions in arms trade with the country. It said the resolution was tabled in haste and that it would not help in boosting democracy. Bangladesh and Nepal too had abstained.
🤝 Have to co-exist: Weeks after India established formal contact with the Taliban, its spokesperson said, “Pakistan is our neighbour, we have shared values and history. India is also our regional country. None can change one’s neighbours or region. We must accept this reality and have peaceful coexistence. That is in the interest of all.”
😠 Kerala Madness: The govt has given jobs to the wives of three CPM men who allegedly were involved in the killing of Youth Congress workers. Victims’ kin call it “heinous”. In another episode, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed Congress’s new state chief K Sudhakaran are going down memory lane bringing out “old, cold” memories.
👶🏻👶🏻 Assam two-child policy: The policy will slowly be incorporated into state government’s welfare policy, says chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
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WORLD NEWS
🇮🇷 No Surprise: Ebrahim Raisi, 60, is the new president of Iran in an election that saw 49% turnout and nearly 3.7m “voiding their ballots”, which is the highest over the last few years. He is not very popular with the US for his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. This may complicate efforts to restart the 2015 agreement between Iran, US and European countries. But with Iran grappling with an economic crisis, they may just go with the deal.
🇨🇦 Canada’s George Floyd: A video of a white police officer kneeling on the neck of a Black man has had the country in outrage. Police said they are investingating the incident.
🇻🇦🇪🇺 Sainthood: The Vatican as moved to put former France prime minister Robert Schuman, considered to be among the founders of modern Europe, which is now the European Union, on the path of sainthood.
🇬🇧 Jumping Ship: Former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has defected to the Labour Party claiming the Conservative Party has now become “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic”
“I am motivated by support for equality, social justice and internationalism. That is the Labour brand. The conclusion I have reached is that this government needs to be replaced.”
John Bercow, former Speaker
Environment
🌴 Lakshadweep under Threat: A study by IIT Kharagpur finds that rising sea levels threaten the archipelago. The smaller islands of Chetlat and Amini could lose a lot of land and the only airport on Agatti islands could suffer damage.
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NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Steven Spielberg’s 🦈 Jaws was released
on this day in 1975.
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News Of Today 