CHINESE FM CALLS JAISHANKAR; BOTH AGREE TO 'COOL DOWN' TENSIONS

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to External Affairs Minister S

Jaishankar and the two leaders agreed to 'cool down' tensions on the ground

'as soon as possible' and maintain peace and tranquility in the border area

in accordance with the agreement reached between the two countries, an

official statement said in Beijing.

The telephonic conversation between the two ministers came after 20 Indian

Army personnel were killed in the clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan

Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation

in over five decades that has significantly escalated the volatile border

standoff between the two countries.

China has not disclosed the number of its soldiers killed.

During the telephonic conversation, Jaishankar conveyed to Wang India's

protest in the strongest terms on the violent face-off and said the

unprecedented development will have 'serious impact' on bilateral ties. He

asked the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps,

the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement in New Delhi.

"The Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly

responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an

intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to

not change the status quo," Jaishankar told Wang.

The MEA said both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had

the agreement arrived earlier at the higher level been scrupulously followed

by the Chinese side.

During the conversation, Wang said the two sides should follow the important

consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and strengthen the

communication and coordination on the proper handling of the border

situation through the existing channels so as to jointly maintain peace and

tranquility in the border area, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry

statement.

Wang emphasised that both China and India are emerging powers with a

population of over one billion people each, and accelerating 'our own

development and revitalisation is our respective historical missions'. For

this reason, mutual respect and mutual support is the right direction for

the two sides, which is in the long-term interests of the two countries;

'mutual suspicion and mutual friction are evil paths, and contrary to the

fundamental aspirations of the two peoples', he said.

The Chinese foreign minister also alleged that on the evening of June 15,

the Indian front-line frontier troops 'blatantly broke the consensus'

reached at the military-level meeting between the two sides.

PM SAYS WILL RESPOND APPROPRIATELY IF PROVOKED

In his first public remark on the violent clashes between Indian and Chinese

forces in Galwan Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said India

wants peace but will respond appropriately if provoked. He said the

sacrifice of the Indian soldiers will not go in vain.

He said India has culturally and historically been a peace-loving country.

"We have always worked with our neighbours in a cooperative and friendly

manner. Always wished for their development and welfare. We have always

tried to ensure that differences do not turn into disputes. We never provoke

anyone. But we also do not compromise with the integrity and sovereignty of

our country. Whenever the need arose, we have demonstrated our power and

proved our capabilities in protecting the integrity and sovereignty of the

country," he said. Modi said the country should be proud of the fallen

soldiers as they died fighting (Woh maarte maarte marein hai).

MAJOR GENS HOLD TALKS ON GROUND, ALL FORCES PUT ON HIGH STATE OF ALERT

A fresh round of talks at the level of Major Generals after Monday night's

violent showdown between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley

failed to break the deadlock between the two sides and ended on an

inconclusive note Wednesday.

It was the second meeting in two days between GOC 3 Infantry Division and

his Chinese counterpart at Patrolling Point 14 (PP-14) on the Line of Actual

Control.

Officials said another meeting at the level of Major Generals is likely to

take place at the same place Thursday. Besides reconciling certain aspects

related to the violent showdown, the other major item on the agenda will be

restoration of the status quo ante in the area, in line with decisions taken

at the June 6 meeting of Corps Commanders at the Chushul-Moldo border point.

Officials said 18 soldiers with serious injuries were admitted to the

Military Hospital in Leh. Four of them were critical and placed in the

Dangerously Ill list at the time of admission, but their condition was said

to be stable Wednesday evening. There were 58 others with minor injuries at

Tangtse, officials said.

The government, meanwhile, has instructed all armed forces units to be in

the state of highest readiness - on operational alert - for any deployment

in the light of tensions on the China border.

India on Wednesday took strong exception to China claiming sovereignty over

the Galwan Valley, saying its "exaggerated and untenable claims" are

contrary to the understanding reached on the issue between the two sides.

SONIA GANDHI ASKS GOVT TO BE TRANSPARENT ON LAC SITUATION

Asserting that the brutal killing of Indian Army personnel by Chinese forces

have shaken the conscience of the country, Congress president Sonia Gandhi

posed several hard questions to the BJP government and asked Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to tell the country how China was able to occupy Indian

territory.

Pointing out that there is so much anger in the country over the killings,

she said "the Prime Minister should come forward and tell the nation the

truth as to how China occupied Indian soil and why 20 of our brave Indian

soldiers were martyred? What is the situation on the ground? Are our Army

officers or soldiers still missing? How many of our Army officers and

soldiers are seriously injured."

"Cheen ne hamare kitne hisse par aur kahan kahan kabza kar rakha hain. What

is the thinking, policy and solution of the Government to deal with the

situation. We want to assure that the Congress party stands with our Army,

its soldiers and their families and the government in this hour of crisis. I

am confident that the entire country will unite and face the enemy in these

challenging times. I urge the Prime Minister to come before the nation at

this time of crisis and reassure the country on the basis of truth and fact.

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 3,67,219 (+13,103) / 84,00,129 (+1,43,470)

Total Deaths 12,262 (+341) / 4,51,263 (+5,306)

Total Recovered 1,94,438 (+6,886) / 44,14,991 (+1,08,585)

Active Cases 1,60,519 (+5,876) / 35,33,875 (+29,579)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 54,452 (-143)

Top impacted nations so far: (And some of India's Neighbours)

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 22,34,471 / 1,19,941 /

9,18,796 / 11,95,734

2 Brazil 9,60,309 / 46,665 /

5,03,507 / 4,10,137

3 Russia 5,53,301 / 7,478 /

3,04,342 / 2,41,481

4 India 3,67,264 / 12,262 /

1,94,438 / 1,60,564

5 UK 2,99,251 / 42,153 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Spain 2,91,763 / 27,136 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Peru 2,40,908 / 7,257 /

1,28,622 / 1,05,029

8 Italy 2,37,828 / 34,448 /

1,79,455 / 23,925

9 Iran 1,95,051 / 9,185 /

1,54,812 / 31,054

10 Germany 1,90,179 / 8,927 /

1,73,600 / 7,652

11 Chile 1,84,449 / 3,615 /

1,56,232 / 24,602

15 Pakistan 1,54,760 / 2,975 /

58,437 / 93,348

18 Bangladesh 98,489 / 1,305 / 38,189 /

58,995

101 Sri Lanka 1,924 / 11 /

1,397 / 516

Top 18 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 116752 / 51922 / 59166 /

5651

Tamil Nadu 50193 / 21993 / 27624 /

576

Delhi 47102 / 27741 / 17457 / 1904

Gujarat 25148 / 6149 / 17438 / 1561

Uttar Pradesh 15181 / 5477 / 9239 /

465

Rajasthan 13542 / 2762 / 10467 /

313

West Bengal 12300 / 5262 / 6532 /

506

Madhya Pradesh 11244 / 2374 / 8388 /

482

Haryana 8832 / 4750 / 3952 /

130

Karnataka 7734 / 2824 / 4804 /

102

Andhra Pradesh 7071 / 3340 / 3641

/ 90

Bihar 6940 / 2125 / 4776 / 39

Telangana 5675 / 2412 / 3071 /

192

Jammu and Kashmir 5406 / 2428 / 2914 /

64

Assam 4695 / 2041 / 2643 / 8

Odisha 4338 / 1277 / 3047 / 14

Punjab 3497 / 881 / 2538 / 78

Kerala 2698 / 1352 / 1324 / 21

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

TRUMP 'PLEADED' WITH XI JINPING TO HELP HIM GET REELECTED: JOHN BOLTON

President Donald Trump "pleaded" with China's Xi Jinping during a 2019

summit to help his reelection prospects, according to a scathing new book by

former Trump adviser John Bolton that accuses the president of being driven

by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House worked furiously to block the book, asking a federal court

for an emergency temporary restraining order Wednesday against its release.

Bolton's allegations that Trump solicited Chinese help for his reelection

effort carried echoes of Trump's attempt to get political help from Ukraine,

which led to calls for his impeachment.

"I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my

tenure that wasn't driven by re-election calculations," Bolton wrote.

The 577-page book paints an unvarnished portrait of Trump and his

administration, amounting to the most vivid, first-person account yet of how

Trump conducts himself in office.

The book also includes embarrassing claims that Trump thought Finland was

part of Russia, didn't know that the United Kingdom was a nuclear power and

called reporters "scumbags" who should be "executed."

TRUMP SIGNS BILL PRESSURING CHINA OVER REPRESSION OF UIGHUR MUSLIMS

US President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday calling for

sanctions over the repression of China's Uighur Muslims.

The bill, which Congress passed with only one "no" vote, was intended to

send China a strong message on human rights by mandating sanctions against

those responsible for oppression of members of China's Muslim minority.

The United Nations estimates that more than a million Muslims have been

detained in camps in the Xinjiang region. The US State Department has

accused Chinese officials of subjecting Muslims to torture, abuse "and

trying to basically erase their culture and their religion."

China denies mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training.

BEIJING CANCELS FLIGHTS, SHUTS SCHOOLS OVER NEW CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

Beijing moved on a war footing on Wednesday, cancelling hundreds of domestic

flights and trains while ramping up the mass testing of 90,000 people to

stem the spread of the coronavirus, as the city reported 31 new COVID-19

cases, pushing the tally to 137.

Two airports in Beijing have cancelled 1,255 domestic flights, nearly 70% of

the scheduled trips, the official media reported. Beijing currently does not

operate international flights.

Beijing has asked libraries, museums, parks to limit visitors up to 30% of

full flow and halted cross-province group tours.

THE REST

========

INDIA ELECTED NON-PERMANENT MEMBER OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL

India was elected as non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security

Council for a two-year term on Wednesday, winning 184 votes in the

193-member General Assembly.

Along with India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway also won the Security Council

elections held Wednesday.

There were 192 Member States present for voting and the 2/3 required

majority was 128. India garnered 184 votes. Canada lost the elections.

India will sit in the most powerful UN organ, for two years beginning on

January 1, along with the five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK

and the US as well as non-permanent members Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent

and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam.

India was a candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific

category for the 2021-22 term. Its victory was a given since it was the sole

candidate vying for the lone seat from the grouping.

New Delhi's candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member

Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.

Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council

for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985,

1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.

PLAN FOR UNLOCK 2.0, PM MODI TELLS CMS ON THE SECOND DAY OF INTERACTION

Warning that as monsoon approaches, managing the Covid-19 pandemic could

become harder, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said businesses and

offices must prepare for the second phase of the lifting of restrictions and

adhere scrupulously to social distancing to control the spread of the

contagion.

He said India's health capacities had been augmented but needed to be

strengthened further to defeat the infection.

On the second day of the interaction with CMs of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,

Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi,

Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, Modi said

when the health crisis first hit India, the country was short of almost all

equipment needed to fight the infection. Since then, the manufacture of

personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators had been ramped up.

"More and more people are recovering from Covid. There is no need to panic.

We should encourage the Covid warriors and continue our fight against the

deadly affliction," Modi said, adding it was necessary to provide emotional

support to those who were undergoing treatment, over and above overhauling

the physical health infrastructure. The PM opened the meeting with a

reference to the stand-off on the border with China and observed a

two-minute silence in memory of the slain soldiers.

He said the timely tracing, treatment, and reporting had helped contain the

spread of the virus, adding the recovery rate was on a steady rise. He said

India had reported one of the highest recovery rates in the world.

MANIPUR GOVERNMENT ON STICKY WICKET

Former Congress chief minister of Manipur and CLP leader Okram Ibobi Singh

will approach Governor Najma Heptullah to call a special Assembly session to

floor a no-confidence motion against the N Biren Singh-led BJP government.

This comes soon after three BJP MLAs resigned from the Assembly and party

membership to join the Congress.

One of the BJP's main allies, the National People's Party (NPP), withdrew

its support and pledged support to the Congress. The NPP's four MLAs are all

cabinet ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh.

The Biren Singh government was formed after the 2017 Assembly election, with

the BJP winning only 21 seats in the 60-member Assembly. The Congress was

the single largest party with 28 seats. Immediately after the election, one

Congress MLA defected to the BJP. A TMC MLA, along with the four NPP MLAs

and four MLAs of Naga People's Front (a BJP ally in Nagaland), helped prop

up the BJP's first government in the Northeast.

WAVE OF GRIEF AS MORTAL REMAINS OF SOLDIERS REACH THEIR NATIVE PLACES

A wave of grief swept across the country as the mortal remains of the

soldiers who laid down their lives fighting the Chinese Army in Galwan

Valley in Ladakh were taken to their native places on Wednesday.

Anti-China protests were held in several parts of the country, including the

national capital, though restrictions were in place on assembly of people

due to the coronavirus lockdown.

For many of the bereaved families the agonising wait started on Tuesday

evening when they were informed by senior Army officials about the sacrifice

of the 20 soldiers in the clashes with the Chinese Army along the Line of

Actual Control a day earlier.

In heart-wrenching scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama

terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, coffins of soldiers

arrived in several states for the last rites with full military honours.

Even as they struggled to come to terms with the shocking news and grieved

over the lives cut short, family members of the soldiers said they were

proud of their sacrifice.

The body of Colonel B Santosh Babu, which was brought to Hyderabad by a

special aircraft, was taken to his native Suryapet town by an ambulance as

people holding the tricolour showered flowers on it.

LO.AN MORATORIUM: SC SEES 'NO MERIT' IN CHARGING INTEREST ON UNPAID INTEREST

The Supreme Court has observed that there's "no merit" in charging interest

on unpaid interest for deferred loan payment instalments during the

six-month Covid-19 moratorium period. The top court has, however, asked the

Centre and the RBI to firm up their views on the issue, while setting the

next hearing for the first week of August.

The court also asked Indian Banks Association (IBA) to see if new guidelines

can be brought in force for the moratorium. The hearing, on a petition filed

against charging of interest on loans during the moratorium period, had

representation from the Centre/Finance Ministry, RBI, State Bank of India,

and the IBA.

"We realise that the Finance Ministry and the RBI need more time to revisit

the issue of loan moratorium," the three-judge bench, headed by Justice

Ashok Bhushan, said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre, argued that

banks have to pay interest to depositors and therefore waiving of interest

is not easy. Banks have deposits of Rs 133 trillion and interest must be

paid on that, he said, adding a waiver would have a cascading effect.

He pointed out that a complete waiver of interest during moratorium period

might risk the financial stability of banks and this would put the interests

of depositors in jeopardy. Mehta said the Centre may consider a waiver on a

case-by-case basis.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are

willing to give the advantage of a good light. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

OFF TRACK

Bert took his dog Bernard to the vet.

"Doctor," he said sadly, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to cut off

my dog's tail."

The vet stepped back, "Bert, why should I do such a terrible thing?"

"Because my mother-in-law's arriving tomorrow, and I don't want anything to

make her think she's welcome."