ASSAM-MIZORAM CMs DIAL DOWN TENSIONS

For the first time since the clashes along the Assam-Mizoram border almost a week ago, Chief Ministers of the two states on Sunday sought to dial down the tensions between their people and security personnel.

In what can be seen as a first step towards de-escalation, the Mizoram government said it would withdraw the FIR filed against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on July 30.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah too had a telephonic discussion with Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram CM Zoramthanga towards a peaceful resolution of the border differences. After the talks, Zoramthanga said in a tweet: “…in order to prevent any possible escalation of the situation, I request the people of Mizoram to avoid posting sensitive messages and make judicious use of their social media platform.”

The Mizoram CM said in the talks with Shah and Sarma, the three “agreed to resolve the Mizoram-Assam border issue amicably through meaningful dialogue”.

Two hours later, Assam CM Sarma said what happened along the border was “unacceptable to the people of both the states”. “Our main focus is on keeping the spirit of North-East alive… Honble CM @ZoramthangaCM had promised to call me post his quarantine. Border disputes can only be resolved through discussion,” he said in a tweet.

Since the border clashes which killed six Assam police personnel, there had been an impasse, with both states stationing their forces at the border, along with the CAPF — neither ready to back down.

NEW HOTLINE SET UP IN SIKKIM BETWEEN INDIAN ARMY, PLA

At a time when India and China are hoping to resolve the nearly 15-month military standoff in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army have established a new hotline for on-ground communication in Sikkim. Multiple such hotlines already exist between the two forces.

The Army said in a statement on Sunday that a “hotline was established between Indian Army in Kongra La, North Sikkim, and the PLA at Khamba Dzong in Tibetan Autonomous Region to further the spirit of trust and cordial relations along the borders”.

“The armed forces of the two countries have well-established mechanisms for communication at ground commanders level. These hotlines in various sectors go a long way in enhancing the same and maintaining peace and tranquility at the borders,” it said.

Such hotlines have been helpful in keeping things largely under control in eastern Ladakh, where the two armies are involved in the standoff. Nearly 1,500 messages have been shared at the two hotlines in eastern Ladakh, at Chushul and Daulat Beg Oldie, since the standoff began in May 2020.

The new hotline comes a day after the two sides held the 12th round of Corps Commander-level talks on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo Border Personnel Meeting point on Saturday. While there has been no official word from either side yet, a statement is expected today.

INDIA’S COVID CASES SURGE 7.5% AFTER 11 WKS OF STEADY DECLINE

Fresh Covid-19 cases in India registered a week-onweek rise for the first time in 12 weeks since the peak of the second wave in early May, in what could be an early sign of another spike in the pandemic in the country. Currently, however, the surge is mainly restricted to Kerala and North Eastern states.

India recorded just over 2.86 lakh new cases in the current week ended Sunday (July 26-August 1), a 7.5% rise from the previous week’s tally of 2.66 lakh. Weekly cases in the country have registered a rise for the first time since May 3-9, when the second wave peaked. The fall in cases had continued till last week, even though the decline had slowed to1.4%.

Kerala, the current epicentre of the pandemic in India, logged close to 1.4 lakh cases in the present week, a 26.5% increase from previous week’s 1.1 lakh. The state accounted for nearly half (49%) of all new cases in the country in the last seven days, with a daily average of 20,000 new cases. Kerala posted 20,728 cases on Sunday, the sixth straight day that the daily count had stayed over 20,000.

With a record 87.8 lakh doses administered on Saturday, India managed to achieve its target of providing 13.5 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses for July. In the process, the total number of vaccine doses administered in the country also crossed the 47-crore mark. Over 10.2 crore people in the country are fully vaccinated.

Over 43 lakh doses were given daily on an average during July.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya replied to a tweet by Cong leader Rahul Gandhi, who had posted a Twitter hashtag “Where are vaccines” and said, “July is gone, but the shortage of vaccine hasn’t.” Mandaviya said, “More than 13 crore doses were administered in July. We are proud of our healthcare workers. Now you too should be proud of them.”

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 4,08,343

New Cases in last 24 hours: 40,771

Recovered in last 24 hours: 36,808

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: +3,539

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 424 (4,24,808)

Daily Tests (SATURday): 17,89,472

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

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 27.5% / 7.8%

STATES WITH HIGH No. OF ACTIVE CASES AND/OR HIGH POSITIVITY RATE

S. No. / States / Active Cases    / New Cases  /   New Deaths /  TPR (no of Positives per 100 Tests)

1          Kerala              167380 /           20,728  /           56        /           12.2

2          Maharashtra     78962   /           6,479    /           157       /           2.9

3          Karnataka         24144   /           1,875    /           25        /           1.2

4          Andhra Pradesh            21019   /           2,287    /           18        /           2.7

5          Tamil Nadu       20524   /           1,990    /           26        /           1.2

6          Odisha 14085   /           1,437    /           64        /           1.9

7          Mizoram           11751   /           861       /           2          /           7.9

8          Assam              11295   /           784       /           15        /           0.9

9          West Bengal     10974   /           701       /           13        /           1.6

10        Manipur            10405   /           832       /           10        /           14.9

11        Telangana        8873     /           455       /           3          /           0.5

12        Meghalaya        6043     /           589       /           11        /           10.5

13        Arunachal Pradesh        3675     /           138       /           2          /           4.2

14        Tripura 3482     /           222       /           Nil        /           2.8

15        Sikkim              3454     /           206       /           1          /           12.9

16        Chhattisgarh     1919     /           214       /           1          /           1.0

17        Nagaland          1344     /           73        /           4          /           7.9

18        Himachal Pradesh         1229     /           134       /           Nil        /           2.2

19        Jammu and Kashmir     1211     /           145       /           1          /           0.2

20        Goa                  1011     /           59        /           1          /           1.7

21        Puducherry       982       /           90        /           Nil        /           1.8

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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TALIBAN ROCKETS HIT KANDAHAR AIRPORT, ALL FLIGHTS CANCELLED

The Taliban leadership is targeting a key airport in the city of Kandahar and trying to take it over to ensure that the facility is not used for aerial attacks against them. An attempt was made on Sunday but reports from the area suggest that their assault was repulsed by the government forces. All domestic and international flights have been suspended after rockets were fired at the facility. Details of the damage are unavailable because of the claims and counter claims by both sides.

The facility is vital as it is used to carry out air attacks and reconnaissance operations against the militants.

Meanwhile, across Afghanistan, a mass exodus is unfolding as the Taliban press on in their brutal military campaign. And with that, fears of a harsh return to extremist rule or a bloody civil war between ethnically aligned militias have taken hold. So far this year, around 330,000 Afghans have been displaced, more than half of them fleeing their homes since the US began its withdrawal in May, according to the UN. Many have flooded into makeshift tent camps or crowded into relatives’ homes in cities, the last islands of government control in many provinces. Thousands more are trying to secure passports and visas to leave the country altogether. Others have crammed into smugglers’ pickup trucks in a desperate bid to slip illegally over the border. In recent weeks, the number of Afghans crossing the border illegally shot up around 30%-40% compared with the period before international troops began withdrawing in May, according to the International Organization for Migration. At least 30,000 people are now fleeing every week.

The sudden flight is an early sign of a looming refugee crisis, aid agencies warn, and has raised alarms in neighboring countries and Europe.

US, UK JOIN ISRAEL IN SAYING IRAN ATTACKED OIL TANKER

The US and the UK joined Israel on Sunday in alleging Iran carried out a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman, putting further pressure on Tehran as it denied being involved in the assault.

Calling it a “unlawful and callous attack,” British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said his country and its allies planned a coordinated response over the strike on Thursday on the oil tanker Mercer Street. US secretary of state Antony Blinken soon followed, saying there was “no justification for this attack, which follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behaviour”.

While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran and its militia allies have used so-called “suicide” drones in attacks previously. However, Israel, the UK and the responding US navy have yet to show evidence from the strike or offer intelligence on why they blame Tehran. Israeli PM Naftali Bennett warned on Sunday: “We know how to convey the message to Iran in our own way”.

THE REST

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RS RUCKUS: TMC LINES UP OPP MPS IN DEFENCE OF SUSPENDED SHANTANU SEN

At least a dozen non-TMC Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha are said to have offered to depose against Union Minister Hardeep Puri in defence of TMC MP Shantanu Sen who was suspended from the House for tearing up Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw’s statement on the Pegasus issue.

On that day, July 22, there was a heated exchange between Sen and Puri after which the TMC MP alleged that he was summoned by the Union Minister in a “bad manner”.

Amid the commotion, soon after Sen tore Vaishnaw’s statement, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was presiding over the House, said: “Let us not indulge in such unparliamentary traditions, please… what democratic process is this?”

The next day, after Sen was suspended, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu described the ruckus as a “clear assault on our Parliamentary democracy”.

In a complaint to the House Chairman, TMC chief whip Sukhendu Sekhar Roy is learnt to have listed the names of the Opposition MPs, from TMC’s arch-rival CPI(M) to the Shiv Sena and senior Congress leaders such as P Chidambaram, who are “ready to depose” as “eye-witnesses” against Puri. Apart from TMC MPs, they include CPI(M)’s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Akali Dal’s Balwinder Singh Bhunder, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav, RJD’s Manoj Jha, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and several Congress MPs, including Digvijaya Singh and Shaktisinh Gohil apart from Chidambaram. These names were communicated to the Rajya Sabha Chairman after the MPs were asked whether they witnessed the events and were ready to vouch for the sequence.

In the complaint, the TMC chief whip has alleged “abuses” and “heckling” by the Union Minister, and sought a “thorough probe into the rowdyism”.

GST REVENUE SURGES PAST RS 1 LAKH CRORE IN ECONOMY UPTICK

The gross GST collections in July (for sales in June) rebounded over the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark to Rs 1,16,393 crore, data released by the Finance Ministry on Sunday showed.

GST collections in July have increased 33 per cent from the corresponding period last year and 25.4 per cent over the previous month, indicating a pickup in economic activity after a series of localised lockdowns in May during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Experts said GST revenues are expected to pick up in the coming months, even though a possible third wave of the pandemic remains a risk.

The Finance Ministry in its statement said the fall in GST revenue in June was predominantly related to the situation in May, when most states and Union Territories were under complete or partial lockdown.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Punjab were some of the major states that recorded over 25 per cent growth in gross GST revenue in June. Gross GST revenue includes revenues for both states and the Centre, and is an indicator of economic activity in the region.

GOVERNMENT MARKS 2 YRS OF TRIPLE TALAQ BAN

The government on Sunday marked the second anniversary of the anti-triple talaq law as the Muslim Women Rights Day with top government ministers coming together to hail the passage of the legislation in Parliament on August 1, 2019, as historic and pledging to advance entrepreneurship among the Muslim women.

Addressing the stakeholders, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said, “August 1 is a day to salute the struggle of Muslim women against triple talaq.

The ministry data shows that instances of triple talaq have fallen by 80 per cent since the enactment of the law against the practice.

J&K POLICE TO DENY SECURITY CLEARANCE FOR PASSPORT ETC TO STONE PELTERS

The CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has ordered the denial of security clearance required for passport and other government services to all those involved in stone-pelting or subversive activities.

The senior superintendent of police (SSP), CID, Special Branch (SB), Kashmir, has directed all the field units under it to ensure that the person’s involvement in law and order, stone-pelting cases, and other crime prejudicial to the security of the state be specifically looked into during verification related to passport, service and any other verification related to government schemes. “The same must be corroborated from the local police station records,” the order read.

174,000 FLATS COMPLETELY STALLED IN 7 CITIES; NCR'S SHARE AT 66%: REPORT

Nearly 1.74 lakh homes, worth around Rs 1.4 lakh crore, are completely stalled across seven major cities with Delhi-NCR accounting for maximum 66 per cent, according to property consultant Anarock.

In its research, Anarock has taken into account only those housing projects that were launched in 2014 or before.

In a city-wise break-up, the Delhi-NCR property market has maximum stalled stock of 1,13,860 units (approximate value Rs 86,463 crore) or 66 per cent of the total across the top-seven cities.

The MMR has 41,730 units that are completely stalled (approximate value Rs 42,417 crore) or 24 per cent of the total affected stock.

Pune, the other major western market, has 9,990 stalled units worth Rs 5,854 crore.

In the southern cities, Chennai has no stalled projects.

Bengaluru has 3,870 stalled units worth Rs 3,061 crore, while Hyderabad has 4,150 such units valued at about Rs 2,727 crore. Kolkata has mere 150 stalled units (valued at about Rs 91 crore).

SINDHU WINS A BRONZE, INDIAN MEN BEAT GB TO MAKE IT TO HOCKEY SEMIS

P V Sindhu became only the second Indian and the country's first woman to bag two Olympic medals (she had won a silver in 2016) after winning the bronze in women’s badminton at the Tokyo Games on Sunday. Wrestler Sushil Kumar, currently in jail, is the only other Indian with 2 medals.

The reigning World champion scored a straight-games (21-13 and 21-15) victory over China’s world No. 9 in the third-place play-off. Sindhu had suffered a heart-breaking loss to world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-final on Saturday.

China's world No. 2 Chen Yufei got the better of world No. 1 Tai Tzu-Ying of Taiwan on Sunday to win the women's singles title.

There was also reason to celebrate as India scored a thrilling 3-1 victory over Great Britain to qualify for the semi-finals of the Olympics men's hockey tournament, in Tokyo.

India scored from field goals through Dilpreet Singh (7th minute), Gurjant Singh (16th) and Hardik Singh (57th), while Britain's lone goal came from the stick of Sam Ward in the 45th minute.

The last of India's eight Olympic gold medals came way back in 1980, at the Moscow Games, when there were no semi-finals in that edition as only six teams participated in the event.

The last time India featured in the semi-finals of the Olympics was in 1972, at the Munich Games, where they lost 0-2 to arch-rivals Pakistan.

India will play in the last four stage at the Games after 49 years (after 1972). India won the Gold in 1980 Moscow Olympics but it had no semi final round as only 6 teams had participated in all.

India will now take on Belgium, who beat Spain 3-1 in another quarter-final earlier. The other semi-final will be between Australia and Germany. The Australians beat the Netherlands 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out after the score was 2-2 at the end of regular playing time, while Germany scored an easy 3-1 win over Olympic champions Argentina.

ITALY’S LAMONT MARCELL JACOBS WINS MENS 100m GOLD

Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs outshone a field of unusual suspects to claim a shock gold in the men's 100 metres at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. Jacobs, 26, timed a European record of 9.80 seconds, with American Fred Kerley taking silver in 9.84sec in one of the most understated major championship 100m races of recent times. Canada's Andre de Grasse, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Games, repeated the feat in 9.89 sec.

The race, run in stifling temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius had a distinctly underwhelming build-up and feel to it as hot favourite Trayvon Bromell bombed out of the semi-finals in which China's Su Bingtian and Jacobs unexpectedly set Asian and European records respectively.

The Tokyo Olympics are the first since Athens in 2004 to take place without Usain Bolt. And for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Games, there was no Jamaican in the final, Bolt's long-time former teammate Yohan Blake failing to qualify from his semi-final.

A MOMENT FOR THE AGES: BARSHIM-TAMBERI SHARE HIGH-JUMP GOLD MEDAL

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim added Olympic gold to his list of accolades in the men’s high jump in Tokyo on Sunday -and persuaded organisers to let him share it with his friend and rival, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi.

Both Barshim, 30, and the 29-year-old Tamberi ended with jumps of 2.37 metres and had no failed attempts until they attempted to clear 2.39.

After three failures each at that height, an Olympic official first offered them a jump-off to decide the winner.

“Can we have two golds?”, Barshim asked him.

The official nodded, and the two athletes clasped hands and whooped for joy.

“I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it. We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need,” Barshim said. “He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message.”

The visuals of the proceedings brought a tear to many an eye.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. - Clive James

OFF TRACK

“Hello Mrs. Miller,” said the guy behind the counter at a pharmacy.

Mrs. and Mr. Miller looked at him but drew complete blanks.

“I’m sorry, do we know each other?” she asked.

“Yeah, you was my English teacher.”

Leaning over, Mr. Miller whispered to his wife, “Good job, Honey, good job.”