PEGASUS STALLS PARLIAMENT AGAIN, COMES UP IN SUPREME COURT TODAY

There was no let-up in the Opposition’s pressure on the Govt in Parliament Wednesday seeking a structured discussion in both Houses on the Pegasus affair. The standoff disrupted both Houses even as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Thursday a clutch of petitions demanding a court-monitored investigation into the alleged potential targeting of activists, politicians and journalists using the spyware developed by an Israeli firm.

As the Opposition parties intensified their blockade of Parliament on Pegasus and the farmers’ protests, six MPs of the Trinamool Congress, Dola Sen, Md. Nadimul Haque, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Shanta Chhetri, Arpita Ghosh and Mausam Noor, were “named” and directed to withdraw from Rajya Sabha by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. In the din, the Govt passed five Bills — three in Rajya Sabha and two in Lok Sabha.

The action against the TMC members only cemented Opposition unity. Soon after the MPs were directed to withdraw from the House, 15 Opposition parties issued a joint statement saying they “stand firm and united” on their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus issue followed by a debate on the farmers’ protests and asserted “the responsibility for the deadlock lies squarely at the doorsteps of the Govt.”

The political standoff comes a day before the hearing in the Supreme Court on five petitions seeking a probe into the Pegasus revelations. These include those filed by senior journalists N Ram and Shashi Kumar; advocate M L Sharma; CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas; journalists — Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, S N M Abidi, Prem Shankar Jha, Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Satakshi — whose names allegedly figure in the list of potential targets, and a fifth by the Editors Guild of India. Ram and Kumar have sought a probe by a sitting or former judge of the SC into the allegations.

FIRST INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER SETS OUT ON SEA TRIALS

In a significant step towards making military equipment within India, the country’s first indigenously made aircraft carrier INS Vikrant set out on its maiden sea trials on Wednesday.

The 44,000-tonne carrier has been built at the state-owned Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala. Built at a cost of Rs 23,000 crore, the carrier is expected to be fully operational by the second half of next year.

The development comes at a time when India and China are in a race to expand their naval strength. China has two operational and two under-construction aircraft carriers and plans half-a-dozen more by 2030.

India has one operational carrier, INS Vikramaditya, purchased from Russia, and the upcoming Vikrant. The plans for the third carrier haven’t been okayed yet.

Vikrant is the largest and most complex warship ever to be designed and built in India. The country now joins a select group of nations having niche capability to indigenously design, build and integrate a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier. The US, UK, Russia, Italy, France and Japan have such capacities.

The warship has a top speed of 28 knots (52 kmph) and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles. Around 550 Indian firms, including about 100 MSMEs, have been providing various services for the construction of the warship. It has 14 decks with 2,300 compartments for a crew of around 1,700. The carrier was scheduled to join the fleet in December 2018, but faced delays. The keel was laid in 2009.

The Navy calculates that about 80-85 per cent of the project cost of approximately Rs 23,000 crore has been ploughed back into the Indian economy.

KERALA’S 24 COVID DEATHS PER MN A WK HIGHEST IN INDIA, MAHA 2ND

Kerala now reports the highest deaths per million per week in the country. Between July 25 and 31, Kerala reported 24 deaths per million per week, while Maharashtra came in second with 12 deaths per million per week, followed by Odisha’s 9 deaths per million per week. India’s average is about 2 deaths per million per week, reports Preetu Nair.

“Kerala’s case fatality ratio (CFR) on May 15 was 0.3% and it increased to 0.49% by July 31, but Kerala continues to have one of the lowest CFRs in the country,” said public health expert Dr Padmanabha Shenoy, who has been analysing Covid patterns across India on a weekly basis.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 4,04,648

New Cases in last 24 hours: 42,807

Recovered in last 24 hours: 41,875

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: +400

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 532 (4,26,321)

Daily Tests (Tuesday): 18,47,518

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

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 28.4% / 8.0%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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MV ASPHALT PRINCESS: SUSPECTED HIJACKERS LEAVE SHIP OFF UAE

A UK maritime security agency said the potential hijacking of the Panama-flagged MV Asphalt Princess had ended but gave no further details. The bitumen tanker was seized on Tuesday heading into the Strait of Hormuz.

It is still not clear who seized the ship, but analysts suspected Iranian forces.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards dismissed reports of possible involvement as a pretext for "hostile action" against Tehran.

The men who boarded the MV Asphalt Princess were reportedly armed and are said to have ordered it to sail to Iran.

On Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) tweeted that those who boarded the vessel had left, adding: "Vessel is safe. Incident complete." According to reports, up to nine armed men had boarded the vessel.

UNSC AGAINST AFGHANISTAN TURNING INTO ISLAMIC EMIRATE

The UN Security Council has declared that it does “not support the restoration of the Islamic emirate” in Afghanistan as it expressed deep concern over the high levels of violence in the war-torn country following the Taliban stepping up its military offensive.

The UNSC’s ministration is seen by most of its members as a better alternative than allowing the situation to drift.

Three recent developments indicate that the stage may shift from Doha which sources do not believe was conducive to negotiations.

The Taliban made the mistake of attacking a UN compound in Herat which gave the opportunity to India to marshal support for a condemnatory statement. Second, Afghan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar has also been appealing for UNSC discussions, most recently in a call to Jaishankar.

Third, the White House’s unequivocal backing to the Kabul regime indicates its distaste to matters being decided on the battlefield.

TRAVEL CURBS: U.K. MOVES INDIA FROM 'RED' TO 'AMBER' LIST

Fully vaccinated passengers from India will no longer be subjected to compulsory 10-day hotel quarantine as the U.K. moved the country from its “red” to “amber” list.

Under Britain’s traffic light system for international travel, returning from amber list countries means a 10-day quarantining at home.

The change, announced by the Department for Transport, comes into effect from 4 a.m. local time on Sunday.

“The UAE, Qatar, India and Bahrain will be moved from the red list to the amber list. All changes come into effect Sun 8th August at 4 a.m.,” U.K. Transport Secretary tweeted.

“While it’s right we continue our cautious approach, it’s great news to open more destinations for people wanting to connect with families, friends and businesses across the globe, all thanks to our successful domestic vaccination programme,” he said.

THE REST

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BJP GOT MAXIMUM DONATIONS, CONGRESS NUMBERS DIP

Donations received by the BJP during FY 2019-20 were more than three times the aggregate declared by the INC, NCP, CPI, CPM and AITC put together for the same period (Rs 785.77 crore against Rs 228.035 crore declared by the remaining parties).

This is the finding of a report prepared by the Association for Democratic Reforms on donations above Rs 20,000 received by national political parties during FY 2019-20, as submitted by the parties to the Election Commission.

Donations to the BJP increased from Rs 742.15 crore during FY 2018-19 to Rs 785.77 crore during FY 2019-20 (5.88 per cent increase). On the other hand, INC donations decreased — from Rs 148.58 crore during FY 2018-19 to Rs 139.016 crore during FY 2019-20 (6.44 per cent drop). And like past 14 years, the BSP once again declared that the party did not receive any donation above Rs 20,000.

AP SPURNS MEDIATION OFFER, CJI RAMANA RECUSES SELF FROM CASE

The Andhra Pradesh govt on Wednesday spurned CJI N V Ramana’s practical suggestion to resolve the dispute with Telangana on apportionment of Krishna river water shares through mediation, saying it would prefer a legal battle in the Supreme Court to stop the neighbour from “usurping water” in excess of its share.

The CJI had on Monday suggested that the two states resolve the dispute over apportioning of the river water through mediation instead of spending time and energy over litigation.

However, he caveated it by saying, “If Andhra Pradesh wants adjudication of legal issues raised in its writ petition, I will recuse and post the petition before another bench.”

INDIA NEEDS 3 PVT PLAYERS IN TELECOM; HOPE GOVT OFFERS SUPPORT: AIRTEL CEO

Amid Vodafone Idea’s struggle to stay afloat, Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Wednesday asserted that a large nation like India needs three private players in telecom, and hoped the govt would take measures to offer relief to the financially-stressed industry. Vittal said the recent changes effected by Airtel in some of its plans is a step towards raising average revenue per user (ARPU), which is currently “abysmally low”.

At the same time, he indicated that the company, which already has a premium positioning in the market, may not initiate a broader tariff revision unilaterally and risk any erosion of customers and competitiveness.

ED SLAPS RS 10,600-CRORE NOTICE ON FLIPKART FOR FOREX VIOLATIONS

The Enforcement Directorate has slapped its biggest FEMA show-cause notice of Rs 10,600 crore on Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal-founded Flipkart and nine other entities/ individuals linked to the e-commerce major for allegedly flouting foreign exchange rules.

The violations are in relation to Flipkart and its other holding firms, including one in Singapore, which had investment from foreign firms between 2009 and 2015.

In 2018, Flipkart was acquired by Walmart in a $16-billion deal.

The probe reflects discrepancies in Flipkart’s structuring operations, according to the official. ‘’The company was found to have indulged in multi-brand retailing while it claimed it was engaged in wholesale trading activities,’’ he said.

ED ARRESTS THAPAR IN ₹466-CR YES BANK CASE

The Enforcement Directorate arrested late on Tuesday night industrialist Gautam Thapar of the Avantha group in connection with the Rs 466-crore Yes Bank fraud case after a series of day-long searches on his premises and produced him before a special court in Delhi on Wednesday where he was sent to one-day ED custody.

His arrest in a case of money laundering is scheduled to be heard on Thursday.

Thapar is being investigated in connection with his loan default with the Yes Bank and later sale of his 40 Amrita Shergill Marg bungalow to alleged front entities controlled by Yes Bank cofounder Rana Kapoor and his wife Bindu for a mere Rs 380 crore. Thapar is also facing a second case of money laundering based on a CBI FIR that has alleged bank fraud of over Rs 2,400 crore in connection with his firm CG Power.

OLYMPICS: HOW INDIA'S ATHLETES FARED ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4

Ravi Dahiya and Neeraj Chopra made up for the disappointment of India’s women’s hockey team’s defeat in the semi-finals to Argentina with heartening performances in men’s wrestling and javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.

While Dahiya powered into the final of the 57kg Freestyle final and ensured India a fourth Olympics medal, Chopra turned on the style to script history by qualifying for the final with his first throw in the javelin competition.

Dahiya will fight it out for the gold medal today, while Chopra will stake claim for India's maiden track-and-field Olympics medal on Saturday.

Here’s how the country’s other athletes performed at the Games on Wednesday.

ATHLETICS

Shivpal Singh finished 12th in Group B qualification and 27th overall in men's Javelin Throw; failed to advance to final.

BOXING

Lovlina Borgohain lost to Turkey’s Busenaz Surmeneli 0-5 in women's 69kg semi-final.

GOLF

Aditi Ashok is at tied second after Round 1 in women's Individual stroke play.

Diksha Dagar is at tied 56th after Round 1 in women's Individual stroke play.

WRESTLING

Anshu Malik lost to Belarus’s Iryna Kurachkina in first round of women's Freestyle 57kg; will play in Repechage round.

Deepak Punia beat Nigeria’s Ekerekeme Agiomor in first round, beat China’s Zushen Lin in quarter-finals, lost to USA’s David Morris Taylor in semi-finals of men's Freestyle 86kg; will play for bronze medal.

LOVELINA BORGOHAIN LOSES SEMI-FINAL BOUT, GETS BRONZE

Lovlina Borgohain's "dogged determination" drew all-round praise as the country raised a toast to the young boxer for winning a bronze medal in her maiden Olympic Games.

Borgohain (69kg) signed off with a bronze medal after a 0-5 loss to reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli on Wednesday, bringing an end to the country's boxing campaign in Tokyo and adding a third medal to its overall tally.

"...With your hard work and dogged determination, you have done the nation proud. Your Bronze medal in boxing at the Olympics Games will inspire the youth, especially young women, to battle with challenges and turn their dreams into reality," President Ram Nath Kovind wrote on his Twitter handle.

The 23-year-old's bronze came after weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and shuttler PV Sindhu had won a silver and bronze respectively.

"Well fought @LovlinaBorgohai! Her success in the boxing ring inspires several Indians. Her tenacity and determination are admirable. Congratulations to her on winning the Bronze. Best wishes for her future endeavours. #Tokyo2020," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

INDIA WOMEN LOSE TO ARGENTINA IN SEMIS; WILL PLAY FOR BRONZE

India put up a gritty performance before going down to world No. 2 Argentina 1-2 in the semi-finals of the Olympics women’s hockey tournament, at Oi Hockey Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo, on Wednesday.

In the first semi-final the Netherlands thrashed Rio Olympics champions Great Britain 5-1.

India will take on Great Britain in the third-fourth place play-off match on Friday.

The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money after taking the lead in the second minute through a penalty-corner conversion by Gurjit Kaur.

But the Las Leonas bounced back strongly and skipper Maria Barrionuevo's scored in the 18th and 36th minute from penalty-corners to pave the way for a hard-fought victory.

RAVI DAHIYA ENDURES BITE BY SANAYEV, REACHES WRESTLING FINAL

India's Ravi Dahiya endured a painful bite on his biceps from opponent Nurislam Sanayev during the Tokyo Olympics 57kg semi-final bout, but the in-form wrestler is perfectly fine and raring to go for the final, a support staff member of the team assured.

After Dahiya scripted one of the greatest comebacks on the mat, pictures revealed the deep bite mark on his right bicep.

"It was paining when Ravi returned from the mat but he was given an ice-pack and he is fine. The pain has subsided. He is fit for final, no problem at all," a member of the Indian wrestling team's support staff said.

Ravi won by fall after trailing 2-9. A pin/fall is a wrestling maneuver where the defending opponent is pinned down with both his shoulder blades touching the mat. If a wrestler is successful in pinning down an opponent at any stage of the bout he is declared the winner.

BUMRAH BAGS 4 AS INDIA'S PACERS DEMOLISH ENGLAND

India's pacers breathed fire in helpful conditions to dismiss England’s vulnerable batting line-up for 183 and put their team in a strong position on Day 1 of the first Test, in Nottingham, on Wednesday. Jasprit Bumrah (4/46), who was not at his best during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, was back in his element and ran through the opposition alongside his new ball partner Mohammad Shami (3/28).

All the pacers, including Mohammad Siraj (1/48) and Shardul Thakur (2/41), made the ball talk throughout the England innings, which lasted 65.4 overs, vindicating the team management's decision to go for a four-pronged pace attack while leaving out premier spinner R Ashwin,

Ravindra Jadeja was picked as the sole spinner in the eleven, ahead of Ashwin, raising a few eyebrows.

In response, K L Rahul, playing his first Test in two years, and Rohit Sharma, took India to 21 without loss at stumps, surviving 13 testing overs from England fast bowlers.

INDIA BEAT GERMANY 5-4 IN MEN’S HOCKEY, CLAIM BRONZE

India defeated Germany 5-4 in a thrilling men's hockey bronze medal play-off to win an Olympic medal after 41 years, at the Tokyo Games this morning (Thursday).

When goalkeeper P R Sreejesh saved Germany's last penalty-corner with 6.8 seconds to go for the hooter India's players broke into celebration after a super effort;

Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th minute) scored a brace, while Hardik Singh (27th), Harmanpreet Singh (29th) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st) were India's the other goal-getters.Timur Oruz (2nd), Niklas Wellen (24th), Benedikt Furk (25th) and Lukas Windfeder (48th) scored for Germany.

India's last medal at the Olympics was a gold at the Moscow Games in 1980.

The Indians staged one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of the game, fighting back from a two-goal deficit to turn the match around. There were tears and hugs on the field as the Indians, led by Manpreet Singh and coached by Australian Graham Reid, savoured the historic moment.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. - Henry W. Longfellow

OFF TRACK

An insurance salesman was getting nowhere in his efforts to sell a policy to a farmer. "Look at it this way." he said finally. "How would your wife carry on if you should die?"

"Well . . . " drawled the weather-beaten man, "I don't reckon that'd be any concern of mine -- long as she behaves herself while I'm alive."