TROUBLE AT ASSAM-MIZORAM BORDER

At least six Assam Police personnel were killed while defending the 'constitutional boundary' of the state with Mizoram and more than 60 people injured, including a superintendent police, as the festering border dispute between the two northeastern states erupted into a bloody conflict on Monday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the chief ministers of Assam and Mizoram, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Zoramthanga respectively, and urged them to ensure peace along the disputed border and find an amicable settlement.

After allegations of encroachment of territory by both sides over the past few weeks and skirmishes that escalated tensions between the two states, violent clashes were reported along the inter-state border. The incidents came two days after Amit Shah held talks with the chief ministers of eight northeastern states and underscored the need to resolve lingering border disputes.

Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana, in a statement, claimed Mizoram Police responded 'spontaneously by firing back' at Assam Police after its 200 personnel forcibly crossed a duty post manned by the CRPF personnel and indulged in arson, assault on unarmed persons and firing.

Though Assam CM initially did not blame Mizoram police for the killing of the six policemen, he later tweeted, 'Clear evidences are now beginning to emerge that unfortunately show that Mizoram Police has used Light Machine Guns (LMG) against personnel of @assampolice.

LOK SABHA ADJOURNED AFTER PASSAGE OF 2 BILLS AMID UPROAR

The govt on Monday pushed its legislative agenda in Lok Sabha as the House passed two bills amid uproar by opposition members over the Pegasus row and farmers issue. These are the first two bills to be passed by Lok Sabha in the Monsoon session which began on July 19.

The House has seen repeated disruptions over the alleged Pegasus spying allegations, fuel price hike and three new agri laws since the session started.

As soon as the House met at 3 pm after repeated adjournments during the day, Lok Sabha took up the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021, separately.

Discussion on the two bills could not take place as Opposition members continued to stage protests demanding a discussion on the Pegasus snooping allegations and the farmers' demand of repealing the agri laws.

Rama Devi, who was chairing the proceedings, repeatedly urged protesting members to return to their seats and participate in the discussions. However, with protesting MPs not relenting, she went ahead with the consideration and passage of the two bills.

Soon after the bills were passed, the House was adjourned for the day.

RAHUL GANDHI RIDES TRACTOR TO PARLIAMENT TO PROTEST AGAINST FARM LAWS

Congress leaders on Monday protested against farm laws both inside and outside Parliament with Rahul Gandhi leading a tractor protest outside.

Gandhi rode a tractor to Parliament to make a point against farm legislations. He was accompanied by Punjab Congress MPs and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda.

“These laws are for a few industrialists, not for farmers. The govt says nothing bad has happened to the farmers and that the farmers sitting out on protests are terrorists. But the fact is that the laws are not for the farmers. They are for a few industrialists,” Gandhi told reporters before several Congress leaders, including Randeep Surjewala and Youth Congress president BV Srinivas, were taken into preventive custody by Delhi Police for violating Section 144 of the CrPC outside Parliament.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 3,92,696

New Cases in last 24 hours: 30,833

Recovered in last 24 hours: 42,539

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -12,124

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 418 (4,21,414)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 11,54,444

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 3.3%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 25.6% / 7.0%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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NEARLY 200 GOVTS OPEN CLIMATE TALKS

Nearly 200 nations started online negotiations on Monday to validate a UN science report that will anchor autumn summits charged with preventing climate catastrophe on a planetary scale.

Record-smashing heatwaves, floods and drought across three continents in recent weeks, all amplified by global warming, make the Intergovtal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment more than timely.

“It’s going to be a wake-up call, there’s no doubt about that,” said Richard Black, founder and senior associate of the London-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

The report, he noted, comes only weeks ahead of a UN General Assembly, a G20 summit, and the 197-nation COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Scientists have calculated that greenhouse gas emissions must decline 50% by 2030, and be phased out entirely by 2050 to stay within range of 1.5°C.

US TO END 18-YEAR-LONG COMBAT MISSION IN IRAQ BY END OF 2021

US President Joe Biden and Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday sealed an agreement formally ending the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, more than 18 years after US troops were sent to the country.

Coupled with Biden’s withdrawal of the last US-forces in Afghanistan by the end of August, the Democratic president is completing US combat missions in the two wars that then-President George W Bush began under his watch.

Biden and Kadhimi met in the Oval Office for their first face-to-face talks as part of a strategic US-Iraq dialogue. “Our role in Iraq will be ... to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with IS as it arises, but we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Biden told reporters.

There are currently 2,500 US troops in Iraq focusing on countering the remnants of Islamic State. The US role in Iraq will shift entirely to training and advising the Iraqi military to defend itself. The shift is not expected to have a major impact since the US has already moved toward focusing on training Iraqi forces.

THE REST

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YEDIYURAPPA RESIGNS AS CM, SUSPENSE CONTINUES OVER SUCCESSOR

The 78 year-old BJP veteran, who submitted his resignation to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru yesterday, said he quit 'voluntarily' and will continue to remain active in state politics.

Asserting that he will 'hundred per cent' continue in politics and work to bring BJP back to power from tomorrow itself, the Lingayat strongman said, "...there is no question of political retirement for any reason. I'm with the karyakartas and the people."

"The party has nurtured me to this level, most probably no other politician in the country has got the privileges that I have got. To a question on whether he will accept if there is an offer to make him the Governor, he said, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee had offered me to become the central minister when he was the PM. I had said no. There is no question of becoming Governor. I will work to strengthen the organisation in Karnataka. I have not asked for any position, nor will I accept it."

Following Monday's developments, the focus now shifts to finding a successor for the BJP veteran, who could lead the govt for the remainder of its term and the party to the 2023 assembly polls. There is no clarity yet as to who the next CM would be.

Yediyurappa shall continue to function as Chief Minister till alternate arrangements are made. Interestingly, the four-time CM holds the distinction of never having completed a full term in office.

The Lingayat community, which accounts for 16 percent of the electorate in Karnataka and which has stood solidly by Yediyurappa and by extension the BJP, view his exit with dismay.

DELHI’S AUTOCRACY DECIDES CMS, CONG REACTS TO YEDIYURAPPA'S RESIGNATION

The Congress on Monday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over BS Yediyurappa's resignation as Karnataka chief minister, and said he is yet another "victim" of the PM, who has a record of allegedly forcing retirements of senior BJP leaders.

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala alleged that it is Delhi's autocracy that decides chief ministers and not the will of BJP's MLAs. He alleged that the BJP govt in Karnataka is an "illegitimate" one as it is born out of "defection and corruption".

The Congress has also been alleging that the BJP used the Pegasus spyware to oust the Congress-JDS govt in the state.

MAMATA GOVT ANNOUNCES INQUIRY PANEL TO PROBE PEGASUS SCANDAL

Upping the ante in her tense face-off with the Centre over the Pegasus controversy, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a two-member inquiry commission to go into the allegations of snooping on politicians, officials and journalists.

The surprise development came shortly before the Trinamool Congress supremo boarded a flight for New Delhi where she will hold parleys with opposition leaders to explore ways to cobble together an alliance of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Former chief justice of Calcutta high court Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and ex-Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur are the two members of the commission.

Under the Commission of Inquiry Act both the Centre and states can institute a probe. However, if the central govt has ordered such an inquiry, 'no state govt shall, except with the approval of the central govt, appoint another commission to inquire into the same matter for so long as the commission appointed by the central govt is functioning', the Act says.

It also says that if a state govt has ordered an inquiry, 'the central govt shall not appoint another commission to inquire into the same matter for so long as the commission appointed by the state govt is functioning, unless the central govt is of opinion that the scope of the inquiry should be extended to two or more states'.

NO OFFICIAL ESTIMATE OF BLACK MONEY IN SWISS BANKS: GOVT

The Govt has said that there is no official estimate of the black money stashed in Swiss Bank for the last 10 years.

The admission was made by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha on Monday in reply to a query by Vincent Pala (Congress) about the amount of black money stashed in Swiss Banks for the last 10 years and by when is the amount expected to reach India.

The Minister said media reports have not taken account of the way the figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses.

UK HIGH COURT DECLARES VIJAY MALLYA BANKRUPT FOR INDIAN BANKS TO REALISE DEBT

A British court on Monday granted a bankruptcy order against Vijay Mallya, paving the way for a consortium of Indian banks led by the SBI to pursue a worldwide freezing order to seek repayment of debt owed by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The 65-year-old businessman, meanwhile, remains on bail in the UK while a “confidential” legal matter, believed to be related to an asylum application, is resolved in connection with the unrelated extradition proceedings.

Mallya's barrister, Philip Marshall, sought a stay as well as an adjournment of the order while legal challenges remain ongoing in the Indian courts. However, the requests were turned down by the judge who concluded that there was “insufficient evidence” that the debt will be paid back to the petitioners in full within a reasonable period of time. He also put forward an application seeking permission to appeal against the bankruptcy order, which Judge Briggs refused as there was no “real prospect of success” of an appeal.

The debt in question comprises principal and interest, plus compound interest at a rate of 11.5 per cent per annum from 25 June 2013. Mallya has made applications in India to contest the compound interest charge.

TELANGANA’S RAMAPPA TEMPLE MADE IT TO UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE LIST

Rudreswara Temple also known as Ramappa temple, located at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana has made it to UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO held on Sunday in China.

A World Heritage Site is a location with an “outstanding universal value”. This signifies “cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity”.

With this, India now has 39 sites on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is now the custodian of 23 world heritage sites.

The temple is located in the village of Palampet, which is about 200 km north of Telangana’s capital Hyderabad. The temple complex was built by Racherla Rudra Reddy during the period of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva. It was built using sandstone and its construction, which began in 1213 CE, is believed to have continued for over four decades.

UNESCO notes on its website that, “The building features decorated beams and pillars of carved granite and dolerite with a distinctive and pyramidal Vimana (horizontally stepped tower) made of lightweight porous bricks, so-called ‘floating bricks’, which reduced the weight of the roof structures. The temple’s sculptures of high artistic quality illustrate regional dance customs and Kakatiyan culture.”

SEBI'S NEW SKIN-IN-THE-GAME FRAMEWORK FOR MFs

The Rs 33-trillion domestic mutual fund industry will be required to make thousands of crores of investments in its own schemes to meet the SEBI’s new skin-in-the-game framework approved by its board last month.

According to a disclosure by Sebi, AMCs will have to invest 0.03 per cent of own money in schemes with ‘low’ risk profile and 0.13 per cent in schemes with ‘very high’ risk profile.

For a scheme with Rs 1-trillion assets under management in a low risk scheme, the fund house will have to invest Rs 130 crore Currently, fund houses are required to invest a maximum of Rs 50 lakh per scheme.

HC REFUSES TO HEAR JAVED AKHTAR PLEA ALLEGING KANGANA RANAUT ‘MISLED COURT’

The Bombay High Court Monday refused to hear an intervention application filed by lyricist Javed Akhtar, alleging that actor Kangana Ranaut’s counsel had made a misleading statement in court to obtain an assurance from the Regional Passport Authority on her passport renewal, despite pending criminal cases against her.

Akhtar’s contention is that the response by Ranaut’s counsel on no pending cases was limited to the criminal proceedings arising out of two FIRs against her for sedition and for copyright violation, while not taking into account the criminal defamation case against her filed by the lyricist.

However, a bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice N J Jamadar refused to intervene, maintaining that if the court allows one such intervention, they will be flooded with similar pleas.

“We will not hear you. Today, you do not have the right to an audience. If we allow this application, then what about hundreds of other people? The court will be overflooded with hundreds of such pleas. We have our limitations. We are not entertaining an intervention application by someone who is not a complainant (in FIRs in question),” the court said.

The court on Monday, however, suggested that Akhtar approach the complainant in the Bandra sedition case or the public prosecutor’s office to raise his grievances.

INDIA AT TOKYO OLYMPICS

Achanta Sharath Kamal’s progress to the third round of the men’s singles in table tennis was the only bright spot on another gloomy day for India at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. The veteran paddler overcame a sluggish start to beat Portugal's Tiago Apolonia in his second round match and set up a meeting with China’s defending Olympic champion Ma Long.

Fencer C A Bhavani Devi also showed some spark in her Olympics debut, otherwise it was a dismal outing for Indians in most disciplines.

ARCHERY: India (Pravin Jadhav, Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai) beat Kazakhstan in the Men's Team 1/8 Eliminations 6-2.

In the Round of 8, India lost to South Korea 0-6.

BADMINTON: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty lost 13-21, 12-21 to Marcus Gideon Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia) in Men's Doubles Group A.

BOXING: Ashish Kumar lost to China's Erbieke Tuoheta 0-5 in Men's 75kg Round of 32 bout.

FENCING: C Bhavani Devi beat Nadia Ben Azizi (Tunisia) 15-3 in Women's Sabre Individual Round 1. Lost to France’s Manon Brunet 7-15 in Round 2.

HOCKEY: Indian Women lost to Germany 0-2 in Women's Pool A match.

SHOOTING: Angad Vir Singh Bajwa finished 18th with a score 120 (24, 25, 24, 23, 24), while Mairaj Ahmad Khan placed 25th with a score of 117 (25, 24, 22, 23, 23) in Men's Skeet, failed to make six-man final.

SWIMMING: Sajan Prakash failed to qualify for the men's 200m butterfly semi-finals after finishing fourth in Heat 2. With a timing of 1:57.22 seconds he placed 24th among 38 swimmers.

TABLE TENNIS: Achanta Sharath Kamal beat Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11 11-6, 11-9 in Men's Singles Round 2. Manika Batra lost Austria’s Sofia Polcanova 8-11, 2-11, 5-11,7-11 in Women's Singles Round 3. Sutirtha Mukherjee lost 3-11, 3-11, 5-11, 5-11 to Sweden's Linda Bergstrom in Women’s Singles Round 2.

TENNIS: Sumit Nagal lost 2-6, 1-6 to Daniil Medvedev of Russian Olympic Committee in Men's Singles Round 2.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There are plenty of people to whom the crucial problem of their lives never get presented in terms that they can understand. - John Jay Chapman

OFF TRACK

The room was full of pregnant women with their husbands.  The instructor said, "Ladies, remember that exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. It strengthens the pelvic muscles and will make delivery that much easier. And it's better if you walk on a soft surface like grass."

"Gentlemen, remember -- you're in this together. It wouldn't hurt you to go walking with her. In fact, that shared experience would be good for you both."

The room suddenly became very quiet as the men absorbed this information.

After a few moments a man at the back of the room, slowly raised his hand.

"Yes?" said the Instructor.

"I was just wondering if it would be all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"