CONGRESS SLAMS DIP IN VACCINATIONS, CALLS MONDAY’S START A 'PR EVENT'

The Congress on Wednesday attacked the government over the dip in vaccination numbers after a record high earlier this week with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying the country is not safe unless vaccination is done on a large scale but sadly the government is "unable to move beyond a PR event".

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also lashed out at the Centre over the dip in the number of vaccinations after India achieved a "historic milestone" of administering 88.09 lakh coronavirus vaccine doses in a single day on June 21. The numbers dipped to over 53.4 lakh on Tuesday.

"The Delta variant (of coronavirus) is knocking on the doors of the country. Only 3.6 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated but the PM has taken on the role of event manager," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. After patting his own back, the vaccinations saw a drop of 40 per cent the next day, the Congress general secretary said.

"Formula of record vaccination...Madhya Pradesh, June 20: 692 vaccine doses administered, June 21: 16,91,967, June 22: 4,825," Priyanka Gandhi said. "Collected vaccines, used it in a single day for event, then a dip the next day. For administering vaccines to all adults by December, 80-90 lakh vaccine doses will have to be administered daily," she said.

In a tweet, senior Congress spokesperson P Chidambaram said, "Look at the numbers for MP, Karnataka and Haryana on Sunday to Tuesday. BJP governments pulling a rabbit out of a hat! Pure magic for a day!" He tagged a media report on the vaccine doses administered in various states, showing the dip in numbers after the record high on Monday. "Watch UP and Gujarat numbers for a few more days," Chidambaram added.

"I am appalled that eminent doctors attribute Monday's record to 'planning'. The plan was to 'doctor' the numbers on Monday," the former Union minister alleged.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 6,21,720

New Cases in last 24 hours: 54,303

Recovered in last 24 hours: 69,298

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -16,318

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 1,323 (3,92,014)

Daily Tests (Monday): 19,01,056

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.9%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 18.6% / 4.0%

Most Affected States:

(S. No. / State / No. of Active Cases / New Cases in last 24 Hrs / Deaths in Last 24 Hrs)

1          Maharashtra     1,21,859           /           10,066  /           508

2          Karnataka         1,16,450           /           4,436    /           123

3          Kerala  99,389  /           12,787  /           150

4          Tamil Nadu       52884   /           6,596    /           166

5          Andhra Pradesh            51204   /           4,684    /           36

6          Assam  30524   /           2,728    /           30

7          Odisha 30164   /           3,456    /           46

8          West Bengal     22378   /           1,925    /           38

9          Telangana        16462   /           1,114    /           12

10        Manipur            9291     /           629       /           9

11        Chhattisgarh     7622     /           408       /           5

12        Jammu and Kashmir     6782     /           444       /           4

13        Punjab  5641     /           509       /           35

14        Gujarat 4807     /           138       /           3

15        Meghalaya        4312     /           482       /           9

16        Mizoram           4216     /           419       /           1

17        Tripura 3785     /           395       /           4

18        Uttar Pradesh   3666     /           112       /           54

19        Puducherry       3058     /           263       /           4

20        Uttarakhand      2877     /           149       /           16

21        Goa      2765     /           240       /           5

22        Bihar    2704     /           298       /           6

23        Arunachal Pradesh        2567     /           252       /           Nil

24        Sikkim  2390     /           131       /           Nil

25        Himachal Pradesh         2287     /           258       /           8

26        Rajasthan         2178     /           155       /           1

27        Haryana           2160     /           174       /           19

28        Delhi    1797     /           588       /           7

29        Nagaland          1578     /           103       /           Nil

30        Madhya Pradesh           1495     /           84        /           21

31        Jharkhand        1364     /           139       /           2

32        Lakshadweep    340       /           55        /           Nil

33        Chandigarh       267       /           53        /           1

INDIA, US KICK OFF MEGA WARGAME IN INDIAN OCEAN WITH EYE ON CHINA

India and the US on Wednesday kicked off a two-day multi-domain wargame in the Indian Ocean involving an array of air defence platforms to further consolidate their operational synergy in the face of China's increasing military presence in the region.

The US has deployed its naval carrier strike group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, as well as a fleet of F-18 fighter jets and E-2C Hawkeye all-weather aircraft for the exercise, officials said.

The Indian assets at the exercise included Jaguar and Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets, IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft and warships Kochi and Teg. The Indian Navy has also deployed a fleet of P8I maritime surveillance aircraft and MiG 29K jets, apart from other platforms.

A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships.

"The Indian naval warships, along with aircraft from the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force will be engaged in the joint multi-domain operations with the carrier strike group comprising Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh," Indian Navy's spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said on Tuesday.

LAC DEPLOYMENT MEANT TO FOIL ‘LAND GRAB’ BY INDIA: CHINA

China blamed India again on Wednesday for the LAC standoff as it described its own military deployment along the western section as a “normal defence arrangement” aimed at preventing and responding to “encroachment and threat on China’s territory” by India.

For a long time, the Chinese foreign ministry claimed, the Indian side had been increasing its military deployment along the China-India border and encroaching on China’s territory. The country’s spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said this was the “root cause” of tension along the China-India border.

“China always stands for a peaceful settlement of the boundary issue through negotiation and against linking the boundary issue with bilateral relations,” the official said, reiterating China’s position that the boundary issue should not be allowed to come in the way of overall development of ties.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

US HAS AGREED TO LIFT OIL SANCTIONS: IRAN

Iran said on Wednesday the United States had agreed to remove all sanctions on Iran's oil and shipping, although Germany cautioned that major issues remained at talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.

The Iranian remarks, by outgoing President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff, echoed previous assertions by officials in Rouhani’s pragmatist camp that Washington is prepared to make major concessions at the talks, under way since April in Vienna.

The talks adjourned on Sunday for a break, two days after Iran held a presidential election won by hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian judiciary chief who is on a US blacklist. Raisi is due to replace Rouhani in August. “An agreement has been reached to remove all insurance, oil and shipping sanctions that were imposed by (former US President Donald Trump),” Rouhani’s chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

CAR BOMB GOES OFF OUTSIDE JUD CHIEF HAFIZ SAEED'S HOUSE IN LAHORE, KILLS 3

A powerful car bomb went off outside the house of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed here on Wednesday, killing at least three people and injuring over 20 others, police said.

The blast took place at a police picket outside Saeed's residence at the BOR Society in Jauhar Town.

Inspector General of Police (Punjab) Inam Ghani said there could have been a "major loss" had there been no police picket outside the house of the high-profile personality, referring to Saeed. He also claimed that "hostile" intelligence agencies could be involved in this blast.

AZ, PFIZER VAX WORK AGAINST DELTA: STUDY

Covid-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech alliance remain broadly effective against Delta and Kappa variants, which were first identified in India, according to a scientific study, underpinning a continued push to deliver the shots.

The study by Oxford University researchers, published in the journal Cell, investigated the ability of antibodies in the blood from people, who were vaccinated with the two-shot regimens, to neutralise the highly contagious Delta and Kappa variants, a statement said.

The Oxford researchers also analysed the likelihood of reinfection in people who had previously had Covid. Looking at the ability of antibodies in their blood samples to neutralize the variants, the risk of reinfection with the Delta variant appeared particularly high in individuals previously infected by the Beta and Gamma lineages that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, respectively. By contrast, previous infection with the Alpha, or B117, variant first detected in UK, conferred “reasonable” cross-protection against all variants of concern, lending itself as a template that next-generation vaccines could be molded on, the researchers said. “B117 might be a candidate for new variant vaccines”.

THE REST

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ELECTION COMMISSION IN TALKS WITH J&K DISTRICT CHIEFS; PM’S MEETING TODAY

On the eve of the Prime Minister’s meeting with leaders of mainstream parties in Jammu & Kashmir, the Election Commission held a virtual-mode meeting Wednesday with Deputy Commissioners of all J&K districts to discuss details of existing electoral constituencies.

The meeting comes ahead of the discussions scheduled in New Delhi Thursday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a coalition of mainstream parties in J&K.

At the meeting Wednesday, the DCs were asked about problems faced by voters of an area of an assembly constituency which does not have any geographical contiguity, whether voters have to travel long distances in such constituencies, or places which fall in one district but are included in a constituency falling in some other district.

Meanwhile, PAGD leaders began reaching New Delhi for the meeting with the Prime Minister. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti left Srinagar for Delhi on Wednesday. People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah are already in New Delhi.

In Srinagar, NC president and PAGD chairman Farooq Abdullah, who will also attend the talks Thursday, continued to consult members of his party.

NO MEETING WITH SONIA OR RAHUL; DEADLINES FOR AMRINDER TO FULFILL PROMISES

In an unusual move that signals its growing displeasure over the rift within its Punjab unit, the Congress high command Wednesday came out in public to say that it has directed Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to work on implementing the party’s 18 key poll manifesto promises within a timeframe.

Simultaneously, the party’s three-member committee on Punjab, led by Mallikarjun Kharge, said it would call Singh’s emerging rival Navjot Singh Sidhu to Delhi for discussions. Besides, the Chief Minister, who was in Delhi for a two-day visit, returned to Punjab without meeting either Congress president Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.

The high command, however, also signalled that it was not happy with the recent outbursts of Sidhu, an issue which the Chief Minister had flagged with the committee.

A day after the Kharge panel held detailed discussions with the Chief Minister, the high command made it known that it has set deadlines for him to fulfil the promises of 2017.

The promises include taking action in the Bargari sacrilege case; cracking down on drug rackets, and sand and transport mafia; providing 200 units of free power to urban households; scrapping of “faulty” power purchase agreements; scholarships for Scheduled Caste children; and, waiver of loans for Dalits.

NEW IT RULES BREACH LAW AND GAG FREE SPEECH: 13 KEY NEWS MEDIA FIRMS MOVE MADRAS HC

The Madras High Court issued notices Wednesday to the Union Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology and Information & Broadcasting on a plea by Digital News Publishers Association — a 13-member collective of the nation’s biggest news media companies — challenging the Constitutional validity of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021).

Hearing the application for interim orders, a bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy recorded the petitioners’ submission that there is “sufficient basis for the petitioners…apprehension that coercive and arm-twisting action may be taken” under such provisions.

The High Court directed that a copy of the petition be forwarded to the office of the Additional Solicitor General.The respondents, the two Ministries, should file their counter-affidavits within a fortnight. The next hearing is after three weeks.

BANKS REALISE 40 PER CENT OF LOSS DUE TO MALLYA, NIRAV MODI: ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it had transferred attached assets worth Rs 9,041.5 crore to Public Sector Banks, which suffered losses due to the bank fraud by fugitive business tycoons Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

The ED in an official statement said the agency as on date, out of total attached and seized assets of Rs 18,170.02 crore under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), assets worth Rs 9,041.5 crore, representing 40 percent of total loss to the banks, had been handed over to the PSBs.

The agency said Mallya, Nirav Modi and Choksi had defrauded Public Sector Banks by siphoning off the funds through their companies, which resulted in loss of Rs 22,585.83 crore to the banks.

TO COUNTER PETA, AMUL HAILS INDIA’S CULTURAL LINKS WITH MILK

Dairy giant Amul has enlisted the services of bovine deities in a bid to tell off non-profit entities that are seeking to promote “plant-based beverages” as alternatives to milk in India over charges of animal cruelty in the dairy industry.

Highlighting the cultural and spiritual significance of dairy in India, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which oversees the Amul brand, published an advertisement in major English dailies Tuesday to present “facts” that will “bust the myths”.

In the ad, Amul said milk has been an integral part of Indian lives since the Harappan civilisation from 4,500 years ago. It pointed out that the Hindu deity, Lord Krishna, the caretaker of the holy cow, was a well-known “milkman of India”.

Cows are worshipped in India, the ad said, naming bovine deities like ‘Kamdhenu’, ‘Surabhi’, ‘Goumata’ and ‘Nandini’. So, farmers can’t treat bovines with cruelty to yield milk for human consumption, it pointed out.

It also noted that milk is a completely natural superfood, and vegetarian, while plant-based beverages contain additives like stabilisers and thickening agents, and also cost six times more.

The move comes nearly a month after the NGO, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asked Amul to switch to producing vegan milk.

JOHN MCAFEE, ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE PIONEER, FOUND DEAD IN SPANISH PRISON

John McAfee, the creator of the eponymous antivirus software, was found dead Wednesday in prison outside Barcelona, according to the Associated Press. He was 75.

In recent years, McAfee became a prominent booster of cryptocurrencies, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. president, had numerous run-ins with the law and traded in extreme conspiracy theories.

McAfee had been in Spanish custody since October on a June 2020 U.S. indictment in which he was charged with failing to file four years of tax returns while concealing assets. Then in March, he was indicted and accused of fraud and money laundering over his use of social media to promote cryptocurrencies, which prosecutors said generated $13 million in illicit gains for McAfee and a co-conspirator.

NEW ZEALAND BEAT INDIA BY 8 WICKETS TO WIN WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

India's revered superstars failed to dazzle on the 'D-Day' as New Zealand's canny operators and their classy skipper Kane Williamson deservingly walked away with the inaugural World Test Championship title after a composed eight-wicket win in the final that exposed multiple frailties in Virat Kohli's team.

Just like that overcast morning at the Old Trafford two years back, India's batsmen fluffed their morning lines against a familiar opposition, albeit with the red Dukes, and were skittled out for 170 on the best day for batting in a game marred by inclement weather.

A target of 139 wasn't going to be difficult and Williamson (52 not out) and Ross Taylor (47 not out) pulled it off with considerable ease.

Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's two early wickets raised hopes of a twist in the tale but Williamson and Taylor doused them one patient stroke at a time.

Perhaps the cricket Gods wanted a course correction for Williamson and his men, who were left high and dry during that evening at the Lord's where twist of cruel fate and horrible rules robbed them off deserving glory in the 2019 World Cup.

That was not to be the case on Wednesday when their bowlers choked India, who seemed to be in pursuit of a draw to lay their hands on the glittering mace.

This is India's 6th straight loss in ICC organised global tournaments — starting from the 2014 World T20. A year later, they lost the World Cup (50 overs) semifinal to Australia in Sydney. In 2016, they went down to the West Indies in the ICC World T20 semifinal in Mumbai. In 2017, India lost the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan at The Oval, while in 2019, New Zealand got the better of them in the World Cup semifinal at Old Trafford.

Scores in WTC Final: India 217 & 170; NZ 249 & 140/2

EURO CUP 2021 DOWN TO LAST 16

1) Wales vs Denmark Sat 26 Jun

2) Italy vs Austria Sun 26 Jun

3) Netherlands vs Czech Republic Sun 27 Jun

4) Belgium vs Portugal Mon 27 Jun

5) Croatia vs Spain Mon 28 Jun

6) France vs Switzerland Tue 28 Jun

7) England vs Germany Tue 29 Jun

8) Sweden vs Ukraine Wed 29 Jun

INDICATORS

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GBP 0.71 /US$, Euro 0.83 /US$, Jap.Yen 110.87 /US$, Aus$ 1.32 /US$, Sing 1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 83.21 /US$, Can$ 1.23 /US$, Mal Ring 4.15 /US$,

Pak Re 157.28 /US$, Phil Peso 48.73 /US$, Russian Rouble 72.68 /US$, NZ$ 1.42 /US$, Thai Baht 31.77 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.07 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 32,648

Dollar Index 91.82 Brent Crude 75.17  BDI 3,147

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,776 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,716 / 4,616, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 73,400

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain parallelism of life, a community of thought, a rivalry of aim. - John Adams

OFF TRACK

An agitated patient was stomping around the psychiatrist's office, running his hands through his hair, almost in tears.

"Doctor, my memory's gone. Gone! I can't remember my wife's name. Can't remember my children's names. Can't remember what kind of car I drive. Can't remember where I work. It was all I could do to find my way here."

"Calm down. How long have you been like this?"

"Like what?"