RAJNATH IN LADAKH: NEIGHBOURS CAN TALK, NEED PURE INTENTIONS

Seeking “resolution of issues” through talks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Monday that India’s neighbours should also think that “we will remain neighbours” and issues can be settled if the intentions are “pure”.

Speaking in Kyungam, 88 km from Leh, from where he inaugurated 63 bridges built by the Border Roads Organisation across eight states and Union Territories, Singh, without naming China, said “a big challenge had come up on the northern border, which we had to face” last year, and “no praise was enough” for the capability demonstrated by the Indian armed forces.

“I would like to say that our military has proven that it has bravery, courage and patience as well. Where patience is needed, our military shows patience, and where bravery and courage are needed, they demonstrate that too.”

“We have been, are and will remain neighbours. I am talking about all neighbours. Why can’t we find a resolution through talks? We need pure intentions,” he said.

The Defence Minister paid tribute to the 20 Army personnel who lost their lives in Galwan Valley in hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops on June 15, 2020.

FM ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO COUNTER COVID INDUCED DOWNTURN

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced eight measures—six of them new— pertaining to growth, exports, health, and employees aimed at ameliorating the distress caused by the second wave of the Covid pandemic as well as gear up to counter the third wave.

The government estimates the package to amount to Rs. 6.29 lakh crore. But this also includes earlier announced schemes such as the extension of the free foodgrain scheme which alone will cost the Exchequer over Rs 93,000 crore.

Sitharaman announced a Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for Covid- affected sectors, of which Rs 50,000 crore has been set aside for the health sector.

She announced the enlargement of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) given as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package by Rs 1.5 lakh crore from the present corpus of Rs 3 lakh crore.

A new credit guarantee scheme has been launched to give loans to small borrowers, through micro finance institutions (MFIs), where the maximum loan to individuals will be Rs 1.25 lakh at an interest rate 2 per cent below the rate prescribed by the RBI.

For the tourism sector, financial support will be extended to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides and travel & tourism stakeholders (TTS). These TTS will receive up to Rs 10 lakh loan, while licensed tourist guides will get up to Rs 1 lakh loan.

Besides, the government will give 5 lakh free visas to boost tourism. These will be for short term stays up to one month and given once to each foreigner.

INDIA OVERTAKES U.S. IN TOTAL JABS GIVEN

India has overtaken the US in the total number of Covid-19 vaccines administered so far with over 32.8 crore doses till Monday while the US has logged 32.3 crore doses.

Reacting to the data shared by the health ministry, PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter to say, “India’s vaccination drive keeps gaining momentum. Congrats to all those who are driving this effort. Our commitment remains vaccines for all, free for all.”

While the coverage in terms of percentage of population is low for India, given its population, with only 4% fully vaccinated, the numbers are better in absolute terms. India has 5.5 crore people fully vaccinated behind US’s 15.3 crore.

As Covid numbers in India continued to fall, with fresh cases on Monday dipping to a 103-day low of 37,152, last week’s data revealed a worrying plateauing of cases in Maharashtra and Kerala while the virus showed a spike in some states of the northeast. Maharashtra showed a distinct slowdown at 2% drop in cases from a 17.4% drop in the previous seven days and a 23% fall in preceding week. Kerala recorded 79,500 new cases during June 21-27, the highest count in India and just 2% less than the tally in the previous week. In the preceding weeks, it had logged a fall of 14.7%, 20% and 29%.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 5,47,214

New Cases in last 24 hours: 37,021

Recovered in last 24 hours: 56,948

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -20,834

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 907 (3,97,668)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 21,06,178

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.2%

Most Affected States:

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

1          Maharashtra     1,17,874           /           6,727    /           287

2          Karnataka         97,592  /           2,576    /           93

3          Kerala  96,014  /           8,063    /           110

4          Andhra Pradesh            42,252  /           2,224    /           31

5          Tamil Nadu       40,954  /           4,804    /           98

6          Odisha 29,019  /           3,319    /           43

7          Assam  25,043  /           2,689    /           42

8          West Bengal     21,580  /           1,761    /           32

9          Telangana        13,869  /           993       /           9

10        Chhattisgarh     6,208    /           405       /           6

11        Manipur            5,642    /           432       /           6

12        Jammu and Kashmir     4,996    /           259       /           6

13        Meghalaya        4,378    /           336       /           8

14        Mizoram           4,069    /           131       /           Nil

15        Punjab  3,639    /           253       /           20

16        Tripura 3,537    /           219       /           4

17        Gujarat 3,465    /           96        /           3

18        Uttar Pradesh   3,046    /           183       /           41

19        Arunachal Pradesh        2,577    /           295       /           Nil

20        Puducherry       2,479    /           144       /           1

21        Goa      2,316    /           138       /           7

22        Uttarakhand      2,294    /           120       /           4

23        Sikkim  2,027    /           71        /           3

24        Bihar    1,972    /           165       /           4

25        Himachal Pradesh         1,691    /           148       /           3

26        Haryana           1,593    /           96        /           16

27        Rajasthan         1,593    /           72        /           2

28        Delhi    1,553    /           59        /           2

29        Nagaland          1,397    /           56        /           6

30        Jharkhand        1,005    /           90        /           Nil

31        Madhya Pradesh           696       /           37        /           19

32        Lakshadweep    295       /           28        /           Nil

33        Chandigarh       181       /           8          /           Nil

34        Andaman and Nicobar Islands   48        /           7          /           1

35        Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu      39        /           8          /           Nil

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

NO NUCLEAR WEAPON FOR IRAN ON MY WATCH

US President Joe Biden, in a meeting on Monday with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, said his commitment to Israel is “iron-clad” and he looks forward to meeting with new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett soon.

Biden, in his first meeting as president with a top Israeli official, also said Iran would not come to possess a nuclear weapon during his time in office.

“My commitment to Israel is … ironclad,” Biden told Rivlin at the start of their meeting in the Oval Office. He said the two officials would discuss a range of topics, including Iran.

“What I can say to you is that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch,” Biden said.

The meeting took place just weeks after Bennett took over as Israel’s new prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu.

OXFORD STUDY SAYS MIXING COVID-19 VACCINES GIVES ROBUST PROTECTION

Amid the global shortage of the Covid-19 vaccines, a study conducted by Oxford University has found out that alternating doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines generate robust immune responses against the coronavirus.

According to the study, 'mixed' schedules of these vaccines induced high concentrations of antibodies against the SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart.

This study, published on the Lancet pre-print server, means all possible vaccination schedules involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could potentially be used against Covid-19.

UK Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said: 'Today's data are a vital step forward, showing a mixed schedule gives people protective immunity against Covid-19 after four weeks."

THE REST

=========

JAMMU DRONE ATTACK: PRELIMINARY PROBE POINTS TO ROLE OF LeT

Intelligence and investigative agencies on Monday said that the preliminary findings in the investigation into the drone attack at the Indian Air Force station in Jammu on Sunday indicated the role of the Lashkar-e-Toiba terror group and use of highly sophisticated explosive RDX, which also points at likely involvement of Pakistan’s state actorS in the blast.

The two bombs were estimated to weigh a little over 2 kg each.

The agencies are also not ruling out the possibility of the drones having originated from Indian side of the border, but they claimed that these might have been activated by terrorists infiltrated from Pakistan with the requisite training.

Meanwhile, officials in the security agencies said, over 300 drones and unidentified flying objects have been sighted along the country’s western frontiers with Pakistan, particularly in Punjab and Jammu sectors. They said personnel posted in forward areas are grappling to find a suitable technology to check these lethal sky-floating objects.

SIKH LEADERS PROTEST OVER ‘FORCED CONVERSIONS, MARRIAGES’ IN VALLEY

Following an alleged forced interfaith marriage of a Sikh girl, which triggered local protests last week, Sikh leaders from outside Jammu and Kashmir arrived in Srinagar on Monday to protest against what they called “forced conversions and marriages” of girls from their community.

Even as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and some other Sikh leaders reached Srinagar Monday, local Sikh leaders warned against “people from outside exploiting the situation for their political interests”.

On Saturday, the local Sikh community had alleged that an 18-year-old Sikh girl was “forcibly married” to a Muslim man in Srinagar earlier this month. While the girl was inside a court here, her family and other members of the community staged a protest outside. The girl was later handed over to her parents.

While police haven’t made an official comment on the issue, police sources said the girl was presented before the court to record her statement, and she told the magistrate that she had married of her own free will.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Sirsa alleged that four Sikh girls had been “forcibly converted and married” in Jammu and Kashmir, and demanded an “anti-conversion law”.

But local Sikh leaders said they were aware of only two such cases – last week’s incident, and an old case.

GOVT DECIDES: TWITTER NO LONGER ENJOYS ‘SAFE HARBOUR’ PROTECTION

The government has concluded that Twitter in India is no longer an “intermediary” and, therefore, cannot be provided the legal protection that is accorded to Internet intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, senior government officials said on Monday.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has arrived at this view after consultations with legal experts and other departments of the government over the last several days, and is likely to present it before the courts or law enforcement agencies as and when the need arises, the officials said.

“It is up to the courts to decide finally whether Twitter will still enjoy safe harbour status or not. As far as we (the IT Ministry) are concerned, our view is now decided. They (Twitter) have till date not complied with multiple norms,” a senior Ministry official said.

Meanwhile, in a late night development, Bulandshahr police booked Twitter India managing director Manish Maheshwari under Section 505 (2) of IPC and Section 74 of the IT (Amendment) Act 2008 for showing a wrong map of India on its website. The FIR was lodged on the complaint of a local lawyer. The map showed Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as a separate country.

After the error created an uproar, Twitter quietly withdrew the map.

PRASHANT BHUSHAN’S ‘VACCINE SCEPTIC’ VIEWS SPARK ROW

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan sparked a row on Twitter when he said it was irresponsible to promote universal usage of a vaccine that was still untested. Bhushan, who’s voiced his skepticism over vaccines on social media before, shared a news article about a man who lost his wife to what he claims were the adverse effects of the Covid vaccine. In his post, he accused the central government of not monitoring adverse events from the vaccine.

In a second post, Bhushan clarified that he wasn’t “anti-vaccine per se” but was opposed to universal usage of “untested vaccines”.

Another tweet, only seconds later—this one flagged as misleading by Twitter—said: “The healthy young have hardly any chance of serious effects or dying due to covid. They have a higher chance of dying due to vaccines. The covid recovered have much better natural immunity, than the vaccine gives them. Vaccines may even compromise their acquired natural immunity”.

“For the record, I have not taken, nor do I intend to take any Covid Vaccine,” he said in his post.

Backlash from these posts prompted another one hours later, this one saying he was “shocked” at the attack on what he said were his “contrarian views”.

APPROVAL TO COVISHIELD WOULD BE CONSIDERED: EU AGENCY

People vaccinated with Covishield, manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), are unlikely to be eligible to travel to the European Union member states under the 'Green Pass' scheme as the vaccine is yet to be cleared by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EU Digital Covid certificate or 'Green Pass' will be mandatory to travel to European countries and the document is likely to serve as proof that a person is vaccinated against Covid-19.

The Covishield vaccine "does not currently have a marketing authorisation" in Europe and the matter would be considered when an application is received for it, the EMA said on Monday.

The EMA has already approved four Covid-19 vaccines which included Vaxzevria, the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in the UK and EU-member countries.

The SII makes Covishield in India with a licence from AstraZeneca. "The only Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca for which a marketing authorisation application was submitted to and evaluated by EMA, leading to its authorisation in the EU, is Vaxzevria," Alessandro Faia, a spokesperson of the EMA said.

India plans to strongly take up with the EU the issue of non-inclusion of Covishield in the list of approved vaccines for the EU ‘Green Pass.

FACEBOOK HITS $1 TRILLION VALUE AFTER JUDGE REJECTS ANTITRUST COMPLAINTS

A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed federal and state antitrust complaints against Facebook Inc that sought to force the social media company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the federal complaint was "legally insufficient."

Facebook shares rose more than 4% after the ruling. The share price rise put Facebook's market capitalization over $1 trillion for the first time.

The dismissal was the first big blow to state and federal lawsuits against Big Tech firms last year seeking to rein in alleged abuses of their massive market power.

Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the FTC failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market but said the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29.

T20 WORLD CUP TO BE SHIFTED FROM INDIA TO UAE

The T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India is being shifted to the UAE owing to the health safety concerns posed by Covid-19, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly told PTI on Monday, ending weeks of speculation surrounding the mega-event in October-November.

“The decision was taken keeping health safety concerns of all stakeholders in mind,” Ganguly added.

The BCCI will, however, remain the hosts of the showpiece.

Asked if October 17 has been finalised as the start date of the tournament, Ganguly said: “We will be able to finalise itinerary details in some days. October 17 start hasn’t yet been finalised.”           

Once the IPL was shifted to the UAE, it was a foregone conclusion that the T20 World Cup will move too given the looming concerns about a possible third wave of Covid-19 infection around that time.

SPAIN OUTLAST CROATIA IN EIGHT-GOAL THRILLER, SWITZERLAND OUST FRANCE IN PENALTY SHOOTOUTS

Spain striker Alvaro Morata enjoyed sweet redemption by helping fire his side to a 5-3 win over Croatia after extra time on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 in an enthralling match laced with drama and storylines.

Spain fell behind in the first half to a Pedri own goal from near the halfway line after an incredible error from keeper Unai Simon but they looked on their way to a comfortable victory with goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres.

Yet Croatia staged an unthinkable comeback with goals from Mislav Orsic in the 85th minute and a Mario Pasalic header in added time to force the extra period.

Spain showed tremendous character though and prevailed thanks to Morata's superb strike in the 100th minute and a goal from Mikel Oyarzabal in the 103rd.

In the quarter-final, Spain will face Switzerland in St Petersburg on Friday,

Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved a penalty kick from Kylian Mbappe in a penalty shootout to knock France out of the European Championship. Switzerland won the shootout 5-3 after a 3-3 draw through extra time.

WIMBLEDON GETS UNDERWAY

Wimbledon, the only grass-court Grand Slam of the year returns after two years.

Day 1 saw Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev the big names in action. While Murray, Djokovic and Rublev won their Round 1 matches, Tsitsipas lost to Frances Tiafoe causing a huge upset on the first day itself.

Among the women, Swiatek, Kenin, Muguruza and Sabalenka all won their matches. Sloane Stephens knocked out 10th seed Petra Kvitova.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic came back from behind to defeat Britain's Jack Draper in four sets in the first round. After losing the first set to get an early scare, Djokovic brushed past his opponents winning the next three sets to win the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the next round.

Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out in the first round after losing to USA's Frances Tiafoe. The third-seeded Tsitsipas suffered a defeat in straight sets, going down against Tiafoe 4-6, 4-6, 3-6.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (10th seed) has been eliminated in the first round by American Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-4. Stephens, a former top 10 player now ranked 73rd, committed only 14 unforced errors. Her best showing at Wimbledon was in 2013, when she reached the quarterfinals.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There is all the difference in the world between treating people equally and attempting to make them equal. - F.A. Hayek

OFF TRACK

An airport announced for a delayed flight -  "We're sorry for the delay. The machine that normally rips the handles off your luggage is broken, so we are having to do it by hand. We should be finished and on our way shortly."