Good morning! There are plenty of ‘jokes’ in this edition and they would have been funny if it weren’t so serious. And it all played out in the rooms of the Supreme Court for the whole world to see. Meanwhile, India may have gotten out of the grip of the Delta Variant but now it is the time for the rest to suffer as Europe and Africa are showing more cases. Surprisingly, some countries are planning to open up more despite having seen what it did to India. CBSE students maybe in for some change next year. While you may not see much of the Stan Swamy case here, we covered it in our own way yesterday.
CORONAVIRUS NEWS
🗺️ For the World: India is planning to release Co-WIN source code so that other countries may adopt it for their vaccination drive.
🦠 Delta is Alpha: Africa is recording a record number of cases as vaccination remains low in the continent. South Africa is worst hit (although this could be because of better reporting).
INDIA NEWS
👨⚖️ Am I Joke?: Since the quashing of Section 66A of the IT Act, which allowed police to arrest people for vague “menacing” social media posts, the Supreme Court said it was distressed that 1,037 new cases were still lodged under the section.
👩⚖️ Are you a Joke?: Taking a serious view of the incident inside the Kerala Assembly in 2015 when MLAs (including the current education minister) created a huge ruckus, the Supreme Court said that such action could not be condoned and they have to face trial.
The death of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy in judicial custody Monday brings to an end a stark tale of injustice — one that has left the highest institutions of India’s justice system diminished… There are far too many instances of the judiciary’s lack of urgency, its reluctance to stand up for the liberty of citizens…
The Indian Express editorial
🤦♂️ Don’t be a Joke: The Supreme Court junked a plea by a lawyer to ask the NIA to investigate a “toolkit” allegedly built by the Congress against Narendra Modi. The lawyer also wanted the court to restrain political parties from putting up hoardings that showed the country/govt in “poor light”.
✍️ 2 in 1: From next year, the CBSE will look to hold board exams twice, each with 50% syllabus, in line with the new education policy. This is to reduce stress on children.
😪 Disappointed: The Gupkar Alliance said it was disappointed by the outcome of the June 24 meeting with PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Till now, the govt has not done anything to increase confidence in the process.
“GST and demonetisation as also corona have created an economic crisis. Now, there is the threat of destroying the social fabric. After Ayodhya, some people are talking about Mathura.”
Lalu Prasad Yadav at his first public address since his release on bail in the fodder scam case.
🗳️ No Speaker: The first day of the Maharashtra Assembly’s Monsoon Session finished without elections to the Speaker’s post. The Congress, which was to get the post as per the power sharing agreement, was keen on the election but not the Shiv Sena or the NCP. The election to this post is done via secret ballot and hence would have been a virtual strength test for the coalition govt. Meanwhile, 12 MLAs were suspended for a year over indiscipline.
“Alimuddin’s killers were garlanded at the hands of a Union minister, a tricolour was placed over the body of Akhlaq’s killer, a mahapanchayat was convened in support of those who killed Asif, where a BJP spokesperson had asked, ‘Can’t we even murder?'”
Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM president in response to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comments on those who are lynching Muslims in the name of cow are going against Hindutva.
In Father’s Shoes: Chirag Paswan led an “Aashirvad Yatra”, on the day of his father late Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan’s birthday, in Bihar as he battled attempts to ouster him from the party. His uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is in the opposing faction, also paid homage to the late party chief.
🖥️ This is not a Joke: Only 2 in 10 schools have internet access, only 4 in 10 have functional computers, finds one survey. 88% Kerala schools have internet access, which is the highest followed by Gujarat at 70%.
WORLD NEWS
🤑 Grey Cells: Pakistan has set up a cell to investigate money laundering and terror financing in the country to move out of the FATF’s grey list.
🇧🇷 Corruption: A damning report in Brazilian news website has added to President Jair Bolsonaro’s troubles. The report claims that Bolsonaro supported rachadinha – an illegal practice in which politicians demanded a portion of their staff’s wages.
🇳🇬 Nigerian Menace: Gunmen have kidnapped 140 students and eight others from a TB centre for ransom. Among those held is a 12-month-old child.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
📉 No Service: India’s service sector keeps contracting to a 11-month low in June. Pace is much faster than manufacturing.
🚛🛍️ All for one: The Centre has set up a panel called the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which will include the likes of Nandan Nilekani and Anjali Bansal, to create a network for online marketplace that will digitise the value chain, standardise the value chain, promotion of suppliers and efficiency of logistics.
Nandan Nilekani 
Anjali Bansal
😕 Confusion: The government has extended the last date for hearing comments on the draft e-commerce rules amid allegations that stakeholders had not been consulted.
🤙🚫 Do Not Disturb: As many checks against unwanted and unsolicited messages and calls failed, the govt has moved to impose a Rs 10,000 fine against violators. Violators could even face disconnection.
ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECH
🇳🇿 Climate Change: New Zealand measured its hottest June since records began 110 years ago. On average, it was 2 deg Celsius higher.
👾 Non-negotiable: A group named REvil has claimed responsibility for the hack into over 1 million systems and has demanded $70 million ransom in Bitcoins to free them.
NEWS OF YESTERDAY
French chemist Louis Pasteur successfully tested an antirabies vaccine on this day in 1885.
All pic, unless otherwise specified, are sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
News Of Today 