Nikola Tesla is famous for inventing alternating current, which is supplied to all our homes. Thomas Edissons’s spat with him is legendary. And now there is a spat between Serbia and Croatia over him. Croatia wants his face – Tesla was born there- on the Euro when it adopts the currency in 2023, but Serbia where the currency is a Dinar says Tesla was a Serb and not for Croatia to “usurp”. Talk about immorality!
TOP NEWS
➡️ Two bills passed in Parliament
➡️ Violence on the Assam-Mizoram border kills 6
➡️ Vaccination pace in India drops
➡️ China and Pak tie up to stop terrorism in Afghanistan
IN PARLIAMENT
Lok Sabha: Two bills passed – Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill to help MSMEs tide over delayed payment, and the National Institute of Food Tech, Entreupreneurship and Management Bill to declare certain institutes as of national importance.
Rajya Sabha: Hardly any business here. However, some questions were replied. The Govt says there is no definition for “forest” but said the area under forest is over 700,000 sq km.
INDIA NEWS
Pegasus Row: West Bengal became the first state to order an investigation into the controversy, which on Monday included the aide of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Bengal govt has formed a committee led by former Supreme Court judge M B Lokur.
Violence: Six Assam policemen were killed in violence at the border with Mizoram over allegations of encroachment. The chief ministers of both states publicly blamed each other forcing Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene.
Coronavirus News: India may have underestimated its deaths due to Covid-19 with a new study reporting that there had been 2.7mn to 3mn deaths during the first two waves. (THIS STUDY IS YET TO UNDERGO SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY). The pace of vaccinations has dropped to such an extent that the country may miss target for July.
Conflict of Interest: The Chhattisgarh govt is planning to pass a law through which it will acquire a cash-strapped medical college owned by the chief minister’s daughter’s in-laws. Bureaucrats pointed to three issues with the college: 1. Its Rs 125 crore liabilities were largely unsecured 2. the IMA had accused it of fraudulent activities and 3. It has not been recognised since 2017.
Conspiracy: There is a plot to destabilise the government, claims Jharkhand where a police case has been registered and arrested three persons. According to the alleged statements given by two of the suspects, ruling coalition MLAs had met certain BJP MLAs at a hotel as part of the conspiracy. The BJP has denied any plot.
WORLD NEWS
Joint Action: China and Pakistan are tying up to drive out terrorists and stop Afghanistan from becoming a hotbed of terrorism in the region. The two countries resolved to pursue peace in the war-torn nation and said they will prevent the spread of war.
US to Leave Iraq: The foreign troops, just over 2,500 of them, will leave the middle east nation by the end of the year. While largely symbolic, this is seen as and advantage to Iran, which could have greater influence on the region now.
“The US wants to reignite the sense of national purpose by establishing China as an imaginary enemy.”
Xie Feng, Chinese vice foreign minister
We’ll Decide What’s Fair: Myanmar’s Junta has cancelled the verdict of the 2020 national elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party alleging that it was neither free nor fair.
Yay… wait a min: After almost a year, Lebanon finally has a prime minister – billionaire Najib Miqati. He had twice earlier led the country but with “little success” and was even accused of embezzlement.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Work For Food: Joblessness is increasing in India’s rural and urbab areas with the unemployment rate touching 7.14% on July 25.
Byju’s Insatiable: The ed-tech company has acquired its 14th and 15th company in Singapore-based Great Learning for $600mn and Toppr for $150mn. Total acquistions at $3bn.
News Of Today 