When ace gymnast and 30-time Olympic and World Championship medallist Simone Biles, 24, was faced with a choice – her mental health or Olympic glory, she chose her self. Of the many inspiring stories that have come out from this year’s Olympics (or 2020 Olympics), this is among them. Even the best among us need empathy. We are human, after all.
TOP NEWS
➡️ Assam-Mizoram border continues to be tense, Centre deploys more CRPF troops
➡️ India may start vaccinating kids against Covid in Sept
➡️ Koreans agree to restart hotline
➡️ Salmon are dying as water heats up
IN PARLIAMENT
Another Day, Another Ruckus: Both houses of parliament saw very little business on Tuesday as the Opposition stalled them.
CAA: The ministry of Home Affairs has sought six more months from Parliament to fram rules on the CAA. If granted, this will be the fifth extension. Parliamentary rules say that an extension cannot be more than three months at a time for a law signed by the President.
Outside Strategy: Ten Opposition parties came together outside Parliament to coordinate their strategy on the Pegasus issue. Together, they will move adjournment notices in the lower house. Meanwhile, PM Modi has called on his MPs to expose the Opposition tactics to disrupt Parliament.
INDIA NEWS
Peacekeeper: The Assam-Mizoram continued to be tense after the killing of policemen on Monday. The Union home ministry has sealed the border between the two states and increased the number of CRPF troops. Assam and Mizoram, meanwhile, have increased the presence of their police at the border. Both states blamed the other for the killings.
Back Again: Former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana has been named the new Delhi Police Commissioner. He is a 1984 Gujarat cadre IPS officer who has handled many cases involving corruption. Two years ago he and then CBI director Alok Verma had a falling out. He was touted to become the next CBI director in May but Chief Justice of India pointed out that he had only months to retire and could not be considered.
Another Clash: The Tripura-Mizoram border heated up a bit with violence being reported between two ethnic communities – Halam and Brus – injuring 13.
Coronavirus news: India may have vaccines for children by September, said the Union health minister.
Oh, Really?: The Supreme Court did not buy the West Bengal govt’s argument that only 27 children were orphaned in the state during the second Covid wave.
Hello, Friend: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu met with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for the first time since his elevation. He wanted Amarinder to address five “key issues” urgently, the chief minister told him that they were already in the advanced stages of completion. The meeting is being seen as an end to the months of frosty relationship between the two.
Engineering Down: The total number of seats in engineering colleges across the country – at 2.3mn – is the lowest in a decade. Since 2014, almost 400 colleges have shut down.
WORLD NEWS
Coronavirus News: With rising cases, thanks to the Delta variant, the US is likely to bring back tighter restrictions, including masks.
Draconian Law: The first person – a 24-year-old- to be tried under Hong Kong’s new security law has been found guilty of secessionism and terrorism.
Koreans Agree: South and North Korea have agreed to restore their hotlines after 14 months in an effort to rebuild their ties.
Ecuador Drops Assange: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange citizenship through naturalisation has been revoked after Ecuador finds inconsistencies in his application.
Father Sin: The Vatican has begun trial of 10 people, including a once powerful Cardinal, alleged to have criminally mismanaged the Holy See’s assets. This will be the biggest criminal case in the Vatican’s history and laws were changed to make this happen.
Another Tragedy At Sea: A boat ferrying people from Libya to Europe has capsized, killing at least 57. This year, 1,000 people have died in the Mediterranean this way.
“I am happy to see you.”
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara tells long-time rival Laurent Gbagbo whose refusal to acknowledge defeat in an election 10 years ago sparked a civil war that killed 3,000 people. The two are now attempting to put an end to that.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Not Enough: A Parliamentary panel has said that the govt’s Rs 20-lakh crore stimulus package for Covid relief was inadequate. It said that the measures taken in the package were more of loans and long-term rather than the need to have short-term cash stimulus.
Down Again: In line with other agencies, the IMF too has now downgraded India’s growth forecast from 12.5% to 9.5% in view of the devastating impact of the second wave. It said that in countries with better vaccine coverage, the impact would be much lower. The world is expected to grow at 6%, more than last year’s 3.2%, it said.
Record makers, breakers: Apple made a profit of $21 bn in the quarter ending June making it the company’s most profitable in its 45-year history. Google’s was $61 bn, while Microsoft was $48 bn.
Freeze: The Indian govt confirmed that energy major Cairn Energy Plc has managed to get an freeze order on its assets in France.
Flying Low: IndiGo, which was till a few years ago was the only profitable airlines in India, suffered its biggest loss in a quarter- Rs 3,174 crore. This was the sixth consecutive quarter that airline reported losses.
ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECH
ET Investigators: A Harvard University professor will lead a team of scientists in a search for tell-tale signs of alien technology and not just on Earth, but interstellar objects as well. The search will be called the Galileo Project.
News Of Today 