Covering the most important news of the day
If all goes well, this will be the last Independence Day when you will be able to fly that small plastic Indian Tricolour that you get on the street. It is among the many items that will be banned from July 1, 2022, in the Centre’s attempt to finally put a stop to single-use plastics that have been polluting our waters, land and even air.
With the Taliban at its doorstep, the Afghan govt has made a desparate plea for a power sharing arrangement. At least 10 provincial capitals have fallen to the insurgent group in a week. Meanwhile, the US is asking them to spare their embassy in Kabul in case they overrun the Capital. With morale high, will the Taliban accept?
Continue reading “August 13 – Here They Come!”
The Indian telecom industry is neck-deep in trouble. Vodafone Idea is almost sunk and Airtel’s boss Sunil Mittal has been calling for a tariff hike for a while. And while Jio is perhaps the only one not under stress, if its competition were to collapse all of a sudden, the company alone does not have the build to handle the influx of new customers. The govt that is proposing to create a “floor price” for services. Competition may have just killed competition.
TOP NEWS
➡️ SC clips wings of states on dropping criminal cases against MPs, MLAs
➡️ ‘Hybrid warfare’ in Europe
➡️ 8 out of 34 Afghan provincial capitals now under Taliban
➡️ World economy losing steam: OECD
Code Red! That is what the first of the many IPCC reports on the present climate science is calling the situation right now. The past five years have been the hottest on record since 1850. The temperature is likely to breach 1.5degC warming from pre-industrial levels by 2040 and heatwaves and droughts are going to be more severe. A sliver of hope: Drop fossil fuels now and we could prevent it breaching 2degC.
Continue reading “August 10 – Smoking Up”
Another Olympics has come and gone with the US once again topping the charts with the most gold medals and medals. China, with 38 golds, was in the lead for most of the Games until the last day when US ended with 39 golds. India was 48th. Next stop for the Games is the City of Light – Paris!
TOP NEWS
➡️ Parliament enters last week of Monsoon Session
➡️ ICMR study finds mixing doses of vaccines gives better protection
➡️ Get your vax certificate on WhatsApp
➡️ Three Afghan cities fall to Taliban in 24 hours
Sometimes victory blinds us to the truth and that should not happen. Neeraj Chopra’s epic performance has given a reason to cheer. But just two months ago, his celebrated coach, Uwe Hohn, had said Indian athletes’ preparations for the Olympics were not up to the mark. In fact, he seemed to suggest that the set up almost scuttled Chopra, and that he was unhappy with his contract. Even stories of other Olympians show the incredible hardships they have to face.
TOP NEWS
➡️ J&J single-dose vaccine approved in India
➡️ Afghan province capital falls to Taliban
➡️ Mystery over Centre’s O2 committee
➡️ Nasdaq pushes for diversity in companies
Apple’s move to introduce a software that will scan users’ phone for child abuse content has come in for much criticism. While the intention is good, the company now suspects every customer. Worse, it could also be a backdoor for the govt to enter. So much for privacy.
Continue reading “August 7 – Step Backs, Stumbling Blocks”
2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ that’s how many people have been infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus till date. Deaths are over 4.2 million. These numbers are gross underestimates. And there is so much we still don’t know about the virus. Where did it come from, why did India’s second peak fall so quickly, the longterm effects? Till then, get vaccinated!
TOP NEWS
➡️ Two years of abrogation of Article 370
➡️ Residents in a Moradabad locality are threatening an exodus over Muslims
➡️ WHO calls for moratorium on booster shots
A village is going to be shifted. And not just any village but Raini of Uttarakhand — birthplace of the Chipko movement. Experts say it is in danger as the slope that it is seated could give way due to geological reasons. The search is on for another suitable place for residents. Home is where the heart is. So will the new place be home?
TOP NEWS
➡️ R0 value is increasing in 8 states
➡️ Ship hijacked in Gulf of Oman, Iran blamed
➡️ There is a new unicorn in town
“You and I… in this beautiful world”. Those words are enough to invoke memories of Cheeka the pug following a boy around. The image is of one of the most successful ad campaigns, run by Hutch in the early 2000s. Since then, the group has changed hands and is now known as Vi. But for how much longer? Aditya Birla group now says it is willing to give it up to the govt to keep the company afloat.
Continue reading “August 3 – Vi, bye bye?”
It’s like deja vu. Although for scientists this may seem like fears coming true. More fires are being reported in Europe as Italy, Spain and Greece fall victim. And the EU says this year’s fires have been more destructive than before. In Afghanistan, after the Taliban, it’s the floods that is killing more people – 113 in the last count (maybe a little dramatic here, but you get the point). Climate crisis, indeed.
TOP NEWS
➡️ Another Hotline between India and China
➡️ Myanmar’s coup leader appoints himself as PM
➡️ Belarusian Olympian fears for her safety at home
➡️ Sign of recovery: GST collection at record high
Did you follow the News of Today this week? Give our test a try!
Continue reading “QUIZ OF THE WEEK #5”
The police is one of the most visible arms of government. But it’s also a fact that they do not inspire confidence with their political linkage. PM Modi stressed on ridding the force of this “negative perception”. But former top cop Prakash Singh pointed out that the Centre too could have done its bit for this.
TOP NEWS
➡️ No let up in Assam-Mizoram tension
➡️ Jharkhand recommends CBI probe judge’s death
➡️ Fire has ravaged important Turkey cities
How old is animal life? What did it look like? A new paper published in the journal Nature says it may have found an answer – in an 890 million years old fossil of a sponge. Yes, your bath sponge could be a descendant of one of them! Of course, this has generated debate and it may well be proved otherwise later. But a sponge, imagine!
TOP NEWS
➡️ Assam’s advisory against travel to Mizoram
➡️ Centre introduces OBC, EWS quota in med education
➡️ Cabinet OKs move to privatise one general insurer
➡️ Russian space module pushes at Int’l Space Station
The US love affair with guns is a strange thing for the rest of the world (so too is their preference for “soccer” over football and “Farenheit” over “Celsius”). Remington, a gun maker facing bankruptcy and the country’s oldest, is offering $3mn to each of the nine families who lost a member in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. Wouldn’t it be easier on everyone to bring in more restrictions on use of guns? Apparently, not.
TOP NEWS
➡️ US says Taliban will make Afghanistan a pariah state; Taliban calls China a friend
➡️ Assam and Mizoram agree to pull back their police from border area
➡️ China is building nuclear missile silos
➡️ Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity found right again
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Today is Kargil Vijay Diwas, the day India pushed back Pakistani aggressors, while commentators in Pakistan too have earlier described it as a “misadventure”, in India, it is claimed to have been a “costly” victory. Politicians still speak on it and shower praises on the sacrifices made. And yet, the border remains warm.
TOP NEWS
➡️ Over 150 people have died in Maharashtra in rain-related incidents
➡️ Rudreswar Temple in Telangana becomes India’s 39th Unesco World Heritage Site
➡️ Tunisia PM sacked over handling of Covid-19
Tokyo Olympics 2020 begins
Exactly 30 years ago, India liberalised its economy. Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, one of its main architects, said the road ahead is more daunting than the one in 1991. Just how daunting? Read the news everyday!
TOP NEWS
➡️ Govt’s confusing numbers in Parliament
➡️ Heavy rain in western India. Likely to continue today
➡️ Taliban wants Ghani gone
➡️ India improves score in UN survey
Just days to go for the Olympics, and it is quite clear that this will be remembered for not just athletes’ performance, but also for the “nil” supporters in stadiums. Will this translate to better performance? Closer to home, Parliamentarians’ performance are for all to see as “ruckus” seems to be the favoured by the media to describe proceedings.
TOP NEWS
➡️ Ruckus in Parliament over Pegasus
➡️ IT raids Dainik Bhaskar offices, group claims govt backlash for Covid coverage
➡️ WHO renewed attempt at Covid origin story
➡️ Scientists map the inside of Mars
Toa, the orca calf is stuck in New Zealand after it got separated from its pod around 10 days ago. The New Zealand people are doing all they can to care for the killer whale even shifting him when the weather threatened. But experts are now concerned: Taking care of him takes a lot of resources and, in the long run, may not be good for the animal. What’s your take on wild animals in captivity? Read the story and let us know your take!
TOP NEWS:
➡️ NSO GROUP KNEW PEGASUS COULD BE MISUSED
➡️ LIVERPOOL LOSES ITS ‘WORLD HERITAGE’ TAG
➡️ Byju’s has acquired US-based reading platform for $500mN
➡️ Pharma majors to pay $26bn to the us for opiod crisis
The Olympics motto – Faster, Higher, Stronger – now has one more – ‘Together‘. In these times of isolation, perhaps it is fitting that the grandest show on earth where the best of the human race, well, races should not forget its humanity in individual success.
TOP NEWS:
➡️ Parliament saw little business as Oppn attacked govt over Pegasus
➡️ Govt says no Covid deaths due to lack of oxygen
➡️ 2 out of 3 Indians have antibodies against Covid
➡️ Another extreme weather event, this time in China
Data can be used to explain everything in the world, and perhaps even twisted to misexplain. On Monday, the govt told parliament that India had the most number of women grads, percentage-wise, when compared to some developed countries. Some may have already figured out the problem with this: Using percentages to compare when absolute figures are unknown make little sense.
Continue reading “July 20 – More on Pegasus, Almost Nil in Parliament”
Storms have been wreaking havoc in the world and another one is expected in Parliament – the Monsoon session begins today. Two previous sessions of the house were curtailed due to COVID-19. Whatever the storm, we will bring it to you.
TOP NEWS:
➡️ IMA slams Kerala decision to relax COVID norms for 3 days
➡️ Around 40 people spied upon in India
➡️ Afghanistan withdraws envoys from Pakistan
➡️ Blackstone acquires Simplilearn for $250mn
Weather is political, said Germany’s ARD public television. For many years now, the world has been seeing extreme weather events. With the rich now affected and even Ruport Murdoch creating a channel just for weather, what was a conversation starter is now truly a conversation.
Top News:
➡️ UP cancels Kanwar Yatra
➡️ Gujarat High Court begins live streaming of proceedings
➡️ Afghan envoy’s daughter abducted in Pak
➡️ Deaths of 12 people in a care home has shaken up Germany
On July 17 morning, the US Navy formally handed over two MH-60R multi-mission naval helicopters, aka Seahawks, to the Indian Navy. There are 22 more in the offing. Here we look at the chopper, what it is used for and what it means to the Indian military.
Continue reading “A New Bird For Indian Navy”
Today we have two ICMR studies that reiterate the importance of vaccines. We know we have been harping on vaccination studies for a while, but 182 days into the vaccination drive, we have just around 8% fully vaccinated and 44% of adults getting one dose of vaccination (assuming 900 mn adults), and these have to increase. Also, there is a story behind these numbers.
Top News:
➡️ SC tells UP to ensure no Kanwar Yatra, or else…
➡️ Western Europe struggles with flooding with over 100 deaths
➡️ Afghanistan president minces some words to Pakistan
➡️ The US has moved against China with a business advisory
Check out some of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, killed in Afghanistan by Taliban bullets, in The Indian Express, India Today
Continue reading “July 17 – Listen Up, UP!”
Have €600,000 lying around and have a dream of wanting to be Napoleon (or at least have his fashion sense? Sotheby’s is auctioning one of his iconic bicorne hats. Speaking of hats, Modiji is doffing his to Yogi Adityanath for his handling of Covid-19. Great.
Top News:
➡️ Soon, you could own/operate a drone easily in India
➡️ Supreme Court has said the sedition law has enormous power of misuse
➡️ Vladimir Putin may have been in on a 2016 plan on interfering in US Elections
➡️ Scientists have made a paralysed man ‘talk’
Inflation is going up in India, thanks to edible oil and fuel prices. All eyes will be on the RBI on whether it will take a call on changing its rates next month as inflation has crossed its limit of 6% twice. Nepal has witnessed a “landmark” judgment from its SC on who gets to be PM and finally, scroll down for a “OH MY GOODNESS ROCKY (the goldfish) IS THAT YOU?” moment.
Continue reading “July 13 – Spending Much? Yep”
Taliban has extended its reach in Afghanistan and olive branch to China. The Uttar Pradesh local body polls have seen much violence – a primer to next year’s Assembly elections? Staying in the state, the govt has proposed a law that will essentially see it attempt to regulate population to save on resources rather than the other way around.
Continue reading “July 11 – Afghan Troubles, UP Bubbles”
The WHO has said that the pandemic isn’t slowing down and warned that there could be a day when the virus may evolve into something that even the vaccines can’t protect against. With that in mind and seeing pictures of the so-called “revenge travellers”, India’s Covid Task Force has warned people from behaving recklessly. At the India-Russia talks in Moscow, much of the focus was on Afghanistan where the Taliban is said to control 85% of the country although this is impossible to verify.
Continue reading “July 10 – WhatsApp Blinks, Cuba’s Vaccines”
UK-based energy major Cairn has gotten a step closer into seizing India’s foreign assets as part of their winnings following a tribunal decision in their favour. Could do with some of that “India’s honour” that the central govt has been touting ever so often no? In other news, Indian scientists have found a new plant species in Antarctica. A new research has established that just one does close to nothing to the Delta variant.
Continue reading “July 9 – Cairn Grabs at Indian Assets”The Covid death toll in the world has topped 4 million, while the Delta Variant is now set to dominate the highly vaccinated US population. The UP govt is very confident that it has tamed the virus. Hopefully, they have! There is shocking news from Haiti where their President has been assassinated. And Trump continues to make the news.
Check out our interactive on Modi’s new team
Continue reading “June 8 – Petrol’s 100, Haiti President Assassinated”
Forty-three people took oath of office at the Rashtrapati Bhawan to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new team. Here we look at some of the most significant changes, entries, elevations and drops.
Continue reading “Modi’s New Team – Some New, Some Old”
Turn your eyes to Delhi as the Narendra Modi govt is expected to embark on its first Cabinet reshuffle since returning to power in 2019, at around 11am. As a first step, new governors have been appointed to different states. Read about the new Norwegian law that will look to prevent youngsters from harming their bodies and how “renting out” your shirt may not be the greenest thing to do! And there is a new ministry in the Government of India.
Continue reading “July 7 – A New Ministry, Old Problems”
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.
Continue reading “July 6- The Joke’s on Us”
Human rights activist Stan Father Swamy has died. He was 84 years old and in jail since October last year under the stringent anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Here we look at the life of the activist, the case against him was and the courts observation in the matter. We will also quote people appearing in news articles.
Continue reading “The Stan Swamy Case – In Tweets”
Fire in Cyprus and Canada, crashes in Haiti and the Phillippines, and the Afghans fearing for their lives. It’s been a day of tragedies. Cattle rearing emits methane which is around 90 million tonnes (MT) annually and is a greenhouse gas that has forced even nations like France to issue advisories on shifting to vegetarianism. Now, Indian scientists have made a breakthrough.
Continue reading “July 5 – Day of tragedies”
Did you follow the News of Today this week? Give our test a try!
Continue reading “QUIZ OF THE WEEK #3”
“Let them eat cake” is what the French Queen Mary Antoinnette supposedly said when her people were hungry (there is no evidence to this). The Bombay High Court has now supplied us with another slogan: Let them work (paraphrased). Brazilians are on the streets, angry over their government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and corruption that seems to have plagued it.
Continue reading “July 4- Rafale Back In News, Disaster in Japan”
The much vaunted Kerala model of managing Covid has taken a beating yet again with cases rising. The state alone accounts for nearly 26% across the country. A major cyber attack was reported on US companies. And the Indian military’s turf war has gone public.
Continue reading “July 3 – Another rise in cases?”
Strip away the politics, and Pakistanis and Indians are basically the same and Covid has sort of proved that, finds a study using artificial intelligence into people’s tweets. What Covid has not done is unite governments and that is Africa’s Lament against Europe that once colonised it and ravaged it before the virus and even against Covax that promised to help them. We can understand China President Xi Jinping is happy and proud of his rule country but he had some real harsh words for everyone else. Your cooking gas is now dearer and Antarctica is even hotter.
Bharti Group has got a majority stake in a UK-based space firm that aims at increasing internet connectivity by creating a network of satellites. This puts it in competition with Elon Musk whose Starlink project is slated to begin providing coverage from August. The Supreme Court has involved itself in Covid-19 management now – ordering compensation and how deaths ought to be classified. And heat in Canada is killing people. Too many people.
Continue reading “July 1 – Tyranny of Rulers, Airtel’s Space”
Dear reader, our headline today is representative of how we must see things. India’s Finance Minister has announced a stimulus of Rs 6.28 lakh crore to help the economy recover after the second Covid infection. Bare numbers often do not tell you the whole story and an expert analysis may be required to light on the details, hence we have given a disclaimer. In other news, there is cause for cheer with studies suggesting the existing vaccines are sturdy, but how sturdy we cannot say as new variants pop up every now and then. In Ethiopia, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winning Abiy Ahmed Ali now knows he has war on his hands.
There is confusion on what the EU Covid certificate will mean for Indians after learning that although the EU does say it is applicable for “any Covid vaccine”, the technical specifications speak something else.
Continue reading “June 28 – Drone Attacks, Golden Archer”
“When told to bend, the Indian media crawled.” is a quote often heard when talking about the Emergency, which was imposed 46 years ago on June 25, 1975. Hopefully, that will never happen again. After UGC, it is turn of reputed national research institutes to prostrate before the govt, this time with an acronym! A wild elephant has got Jharkhand officials worried and fuel prices have hit a century in 12 states. See if yours is one of them!
Continue reading “June 27- Rain Delay, ₹100 For Petrol”
There is a storm brewing and that is after an interim report from an SC-appointed panel found that the Delhi govt had grossly overestimated the city’s oxygen needs. Pakistan’s troubles with the FATF continues but it is so very close to getting out of the ignominious grey list and the Twitter-Govt spat is getting silly.
Continue reading “June 26- Toshiba Chairman’s Day Out”
With vaccines now more freely available, state governments in Goa and Gujarat are taking measures to ensure nothing like the second wave happens again – insisting that people get vaccinated rather than encouraging. The much-awaited Centre’s meeting with J-K has finally begun with many leaders saying they got off to a good start. Shocking news from Canada where many graves had been found at another school, and in Burkina Faso where child soldiers were supposedly behind a massacre.
Continue reading “June 25 – Horror from Canada, Burkina Faso”
India is moving to curb the spread of Delta+ with a new surveillance system. Hopefully that will prevent anything like the third wave. The AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have shown serious, but very rare, side effects prompting govts around the world to make a move. In the Black Sea, Russian and British Navy have conflicting reports on what transpired on Wednesday but the tension over the last few months, maybe years, is spilling over.
Continue reading “June 24 – Trouble in the Black Sea”
The Phase III trial data is finally out for Covaxin and althought it is yet to undergo scientific scrutiny, provides much needed comfort to the public at a time when Delta+ is making inroads. The Gupkar Alliance will be meeting the Centre in Delhi, but will it result in anything? Initial reports say that the two sides may be sitting opposite each other – on the table and on agenda. Also, lawyers have put together a definition for “ecocide”.
Continue reading “June 23- Variant’s March in June”
News Of Today