PAK ACCUSES INDIA OF CARRYING OUT BLAST NEAR LET CHIEF HAFIZ SAEED’S HOME

Pakistan on Sunday ended its four-month pause on accusations and attacks against New Delhi, describing the June 23 bomb blast near the home of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed as “India-sponsored terrorism”.

Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf told reporters in Islamabad that the mastermind of the attack that killed three people and injured 24, “is an Indian citizen and he is associated with R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing)”.

On Twitter, Prime Minister Imran Khan alleged that the “planning & financing of this heinous terror attack has links to Indian sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan”, and asked the “global community” to “mobilise international institutions against this rogue behaviour”.

Yusuf said that after forensic analysis of electronic equipment recovered from the alleged terrorists, “we have absolutely no doubt or reservation in informing you that the main mastermind belongs to R&AW, is an Indian national, and is based in India”.

PM GREETS BIDEN ON US I-DAY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted US President Joe Biden and the people of the USA on their 245th Independence Day. "As vibrant democracies, India and USA share values of freedom and liberty. Our strategic partnership has a truly global significance," the PM said in his brief message.

CONGRESS QUESTIONS GOVT'S SILENCE ON RAFALE DEAL

The Congress on Sunday questioned the silence of the government after French authorities ordered a probe into "corruption and favouritism" in the Rafale deal.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera sought to know that in an inter-governmental defence deal, where there cannot be any middlemen or corruption, when the beneficiary of any "corruption" has ordered a probe, why has a country, which has lost public money, not ordered one?

He alleged that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a lot of noise about national security, but undermines the country's security interests when it comes to helping its crony capitalist friends.

"After more than 24 hours of the decision by France to investigate corruption, influence peddling, money laundering, favouritism, there is one question every responsible Indian, every concerned citizen asks. Why is the Government of India still silent?" Khera asked at a press conference.

Khera sought to know that now that the French Public Prosecution Services has initiated a probe into the corruption allegations against the previous president of France, who was one of the parties to the deal, why is no enquiry being ordered on the role of the key functionaries of the Indian government? "It is downright insulting to the people of India that this government and its ministers have stayed tight-lipped about this entire scandal.”

"The Indian National Congress demands that a fair Joint Parliamentary Committee be constituted immediately and every aspect of the Rafale deal probed by it. The people of India deserve to know the truth," Khera said.

6.77 CR DOSES SINCE NEW POLICY ROLLED OUT, A FIFTH OF ALL VACCINATIONS SO FAR

In just under two weeks since India returned to centralised procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, 6.77 crore doses have been administered across the country, which is almost a fifth of all doses given since vaccinations began on January 16, official data show.

The 6.77 crore doses administered in the 13 days from June 21 to July 3 represents a 67 per cent increase in vaccinations over the preceding 13-day period, that is June 8-20.

Since June 21, the Centre has procured 75 per cent of doses from the open market and distributed them to states to be given for free to citizens above the age of 18 years. The remaining 25 per cent of the stock has been reserved for procurement by private facilities to carry out vaccinations against payment.

Significantly, the shift to centralised procurement from June 21 coincided with an increase in the supply of vaccines, as Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech ramped up their production of Covishield and Covaxin respectively.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 4,77,019

New Cases in last 24 hours: 40,376

Recovered in last 24 hours: 42,817

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -3,184

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 743 (4,02,758)

Daily Tests (Saturday): 18,38,490

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.3%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 21.5% / 4.8%

Following states have Daily Test Positivity Rate (DTPR) of 1% or more.

S. No.   State    /           Tests   /           New Cases       /           DTPR

1          Manipur            /           4.3K     /           643       /           15.0

2          Meghalaya        /           3.7K     /           489       /           13.2

3          Kerala  /           1.2L      /           12,100  /           10.1

4          Mizoram           /           5L        /           243       /           6.8

5          Nagaland          /           1.1k      /           68        /           6.2

6          Tripura /           8.2K     /           428       /           5.2

7          Arunachal Pradesh        /           3.6K     /           168       /           4.7

8          Maharashtra     /           2.2L      /           9,336    /           4.2

9          Odisha /           71.1K   /           2,870    /           4.0

10        Goa      /           4.6K     /           164       /           3.6

11        Andhra Pradesh            /           94.6K   /           3,175    /           3.4

12        West Bengal     /           52.2K   /           1,297    /           2.5

13        Tamil Nadu       /           1.6L      /           3,867    /           2.4

14        Assam  /           53.8K   /           1,213    /           2.3

15        Himachal Pradesh         /           6.9K     /           87        /           1.3

16        Karnataka         /           1.5L      /           1,564    /           1.0

17        Chhattisgarh     /           23.5K   /           229       /           1.0

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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TALIBAN TAKE CONTROL OF KEY KANDAHAR DISTRICT

The Taliban have captured a key district in their former bastion of Kandahar after fierce night-time fighting with Afghan government forces, officials said on Sunday, sending scores of families fleeing from the area. The insurgents have pressed on with their campaign to capture territory across Afghanistan’s rural areas since early May when the US military began its final pullout of troops from the country.

The fall of Panjwai in the province of Kandahar comes two days after US and Nato forces vacated their main Bagram airbase. Over the years, the Taliban and Afghan forces have regularly clashed in and around Panjwai, with the insurgents aiming to seize it given its proximity to Kandahar city, the provincial capital. The chief of the outfit, Hibatullah Akhundzada, hails from Panjwai and Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban.

Panjwai governor Hasti Mohammad said Afghan forces and the Taliban clashed during the night, resulting in the forces retreating from the area. “The Taliban have captured the police headquarters and governor’s office.” Kandahar provincial council head Sayed Jan Khakriwal accused government forces of “intentionally withdrawing”. Assadullah, a commander of border police, said it was only the police force that was fighting against the insurgents. “The army and the commandos who have better military equipment are not fighting at all,” he said.

Panjwai is the fifth district in Kandahar to fall to the insurgents in recent weeks. Afghan officials dispute the claims but acknowledge that troops have retreated from some districts.

AMERICA CELEBRATES I-DAY JUST SHY OF VACCINATION GOAL OF 70%

US President Joe Biden had hoped to turn the Fourth of July into a celebration not just of the nation’s independence, but of reaching his administration’s ambitious goal to have 70% of adults at least partly inoculated against the coronavirus before the holiday. He didn’t quite make it. As of Friday, only 67% of Americans 18 and older had gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, according to a New York Times tracker.

Almost 60% of all adults were fully vaccinated, and the Delta variant was creating hot spots, particularly in states with low vaccination rates, like Missouri.

The shortfall has not dampened the White House’s outlook. The president has pressed ahead with an optimistic message, signalling that this year’s July Fourth celebration will be about “independence from the virus” and a return to some semblance of normal life. On Saturday, Biden visited Traverse City, Michigan, as part of what the White House called the “America’s Back Together” celebration. On Sunday, he and his wife, Jill, are throwing an Independence Day bash at the White House.

However, ground report is not so encouraging. According to media reports on Sunday, nearly 15 million people in the US have missed their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. The second dose is considered ‘missed’, if 42 days have elapsed since the first shot.

This has left health officials concerned as the Delta variant continues to spread. In a report, CNN said the vaccines are far more effective against the variant but for that both jabs need to be administered.

US medical officials enlisted a number of possible reasons why many have missed their second jabs. Some mistakenly believe one dose is enough to be protected, some bail out considering the unpleasant (sometimes) side effects, some people simply confront scheduling problems.

US’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci, meanwhile, told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that about 99.2% of recent Covid-19 deaths in the US involved unvaccinated people. Fauci said “it’s really sad and tragic that most all of these are avoidable and preventable.”

Americans, however, have returned to prepandemic Fourth of July rituals in droves, flocking to the roads and to the skies in the stiffest test yet for the nation’s travel infrastructure since it was mostly shut down by the pandemic in March 2020.

THE REST

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SUEZ CANAL SAYS DEAL REACHED TO FREE SEIZED VESSEL EVER GIVEN

The Suez Canal Authority on Sunday said it has reached an agreement to settle a financial dispute with the owners of a hulking container ship that blocked the crucial waterway for nearly a week earlier this year.

The authority did not reveal details on the settlement deal with the Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the Japanese owner of the Ever Given. It said the deal will be singed in a ceremony in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia on Wednesday.

The vessel would be also freed Wednesday, it said.

The head of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, said last month the parties had agreed on a compensation amount. But he said it would not be made public as they had signed a non-disclosure agreement until the signing of the final contract.

The vessel had run aground in the single-lane stretch of the canal on March 23 before it was extracted six days later after a massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats.

At first, the Suez Canal Authority demanded $916 million in compensation, which was later lowered to $550 million. The two sides have traded blame for the vessel’s grounding, with bad weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities, and human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.

PUSHKAR SINGH DHAMI SWORN IN AS 11TH UTTARAKHAND CM

Pushkar Singh Dhami was sworn in as the 11th chief minister of Uttarakhand, along with an 11-member cabinet on Sunday. The oath of office was administered on Dhami and his ministers by Governor Baby Rani Maurya at a simple function held on the lawns of the Raj Bhawan in the presence of a host of MPs and MLAs of the ruling BJP and senior government officials.

No new face has been inducted into Dhami's cabinet, which remains as it was under his predecessor Tirath Singh Rawat. The only difference is that this time, all the ministers are of cabinet rank.

Earlier in the day, Dhami met Satpal Maharaj at his residence with a bouquet of flowers amid reports that the senior leader and a few other MLAs of the saffron party were sulking since Saturday as they were not happy with his election as the new leader of the BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand.

Dhami later said there was no resentment anywhere. All those said to have been unhappy with the party high-command over its choice of new chief minister were present at the swearing-in ceremony and were sworn in as ministers.

At 45, Dhami takes over as the youngest chief minister of Uttarakhand. A two-time MLA from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district, Dhami replaces Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned on Friday. Dhami takes over the reins of power at a time when Uttarakhand has a few months to go for the assembly polls, which are due early next year.

'CONG HAS CAPACITY TO FIGHT UP POLLS WITHOUT SP OR BSP'

Days after the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party ruled out forging any major alliances for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Congress's state unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu on Sunday expressed confidence that his party has the capacity to fight the elections without aligning with either of them and form the next government on its own.

He also said the Congress would fight the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh next year under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's "dekh-rekh (supervision)", and that under her leadership, the party would make a comeback in the state after over three decades.

Lallu said the Congress has emerged as the main challenger to the "oppressive" UP government and claimed that his party with just five legislators has proven to be a more effective opposition than the Samajwadi Party which has 49 MLAs in the 403-member assembly.

He said "winds of change" were blowing in the state and added, "Badlav ki aandhi hai, jiska naam Priyanka Gandhi hai (There is a storm of change and its name is Priyanka Gandhi)."

THOSE INDULGING IN LYNCHING AGAINST HINDUTVA: RSS CHIEF BHAGWAT

Asserting that the DNA of all Indians is the same, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday urged Muslims not to get "trapped in the cycle of fear" that Islam is in danger in India.

Addressing an event organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch on the theme 'Hindustani First, Hindustan First', he said that people can't be differentiated on how they worship.

He also took on those indulging in lynching, saying, "They are against Hindutava". Though at times, some false cases of lynching have been registered against people, Bhagwat said. "Don't get trapped in the cycle of fear that Islam is in danger in India," he said at the event.

Underlining that development is not possible without unity in the country, the RSS chief stressed that the basis of unity should be nationalism and the glory of ancestors.

The only solution to Hindu-Muslim conflict is dialogue, not discord, he said. "Hindu-Muslim unity is misleading as they're not different, but one. DNA of all Indians are same, irrespective of religion," Bhagwat said.

"We are in a democracy. There can't be a dominance of Hindus or Muslims. There can only be the dominance of Indians."

MINORITY LEADERS AGREE ON NEED TO CURB POPULATION GROWTH, SAYS ASSAM CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday met over 150 leading indigenous Muslim personalities from diverse fields and said they had all have agreed that population growth in some parts of the state is a threat to development.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Sarma said a total of eight sub-groups will be formed with members from the indigenous Muslim community to suggest various developmental measures. “Today I met over 150 intellectuals, writers, doctors, artistes, historians, and professors among others. We discussed various issues confronting the Assamese minority people,” he added.

All present in the meeting agreed that “population explosion” in some parts of Assam pose a threat to the development of the state, he added. “If Assam wants to become one of the top five states in India, then we have to manage our population explosion. This was agreed by all,” Sarma said.

RS 103 CRORE ON JULY 1, FASTAG TOLL DATA SHOWS TRAFFIC BACK ON HIGHWAYS

AS THE country recovers from the second wave of Covid, traffic seems to be hurrying back to the highways, according to official data on usage of FASTags.

By June-end, toll collected through this electronic mode touched Rs 97 crore in a day, and by July 1, Rs 103 crore. This is just short of the all-time daily high of Rs 107 crore in March, just before the second wave hit, the official data show.

On July 1, 63 lakh FASTag transactions were recorded. And across June, the Government earned Rs 2,576 crore through FASTag tolls, a jump of 21 per cent from May.

Officials said that barring certain states, such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha and Rajasthan, the uptick in FASTag transactions is steady.

E-COMMERCE COS SAY NEW RULES WILL HURT BIZ, URGE GOVT TO EXTEND DEADLINE

Top companies including Amazon, Tata Group, Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal have reached out to the government, requesting for more time to study the proposed changes in the consumer protection rules on e-commerce and extend the deadline for submitting comments by a few weeks or at least by 20 days.

The consumer affairs ministry had sought comments from relevant stakeholders and had given them two weeks’ time--till July 6--to submit their inputs.

In a virtual meeting with some industry players on Saturday, the e-commerce firms told the government that there is a need to relook at the draft e-commerce rules for progressive regulation, sources aware of the matter told Business Standard. They raised concerns that in the current shape and form, the new rules are expected to have a negative impact on their business models.

According to reports, Tata was very vocal on related party aspects. Tata Sons executive Poornima Sampath requested for more time as she said that it will have a huge impact on brand Tata and they need time till the end of July to assess the impact of various clauses and give some serious inputs. The draft rules say that related parties can’t do any transaction in the marketplace.

“Which means Starbucks, which has a joint venture with Tata, can’t sell on Tata’s marketplace,” said the person. “Also, Amazon has an indirect stake in its sellers Appario and Cloudtail and they can’t sell on Amazon. Once you remove those big entities, the prices are going to shoot up. How is that going to benefit the consumers?”

DINESH KARTHIK SORRY FOR MAKING A SEXIST REMARK DURING COMMENTARY

Indian and KKR wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik on Sunday apologised for his sexist comments which he made on air during the second ODI between Sri Lanka and England.

"Batsmen and not liking bats, they go hand in hand. Most of the batters don't seem to like their bats. They either like another person's bat. Bats are like a neighbour's wife. They always feel better," the former KKR skipper had said.

Following his on-air remarks, the India batsman was criticised on social media and on Sunday Karthik while commentating on Sky Sports during the third ODI between England and Sri Lanka came up with an apology.

"I want to apologise for what happened last game. It's not really what I intended. I just got it all wrong. I apologise to everybody. It's definitely not the right thing to say," Karthik said. "I am really sorry that it shouldn't happen again. I got a lot of stick from my wife and my mum for saying that," he added.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

OFF TRACK

A leading newspapers reports that two million Americans got married to someone they met online. The bad news, four million got divorced because of somebody they met online.