DISENGAGEMENT PROCESS CONTINUES AT LAC

Continuing the slow process of disengagement on the Line of Actual Control,

Chinese and Indian troops Wednesday stepped back from another friction point

in Ladakh as both sides prepared for more meetings at the diplomatic and

military levels for the next steps to resolve the border situation.

A senior Army officer said that troops from both sides moved back by around

2 km from the standoff site at PP15 in the Hot Springs sector, after the

remaining tents there were dismantled by Chinese soldiers and taken back in

vehicles.

A security establishment officer said the withdrawal was done according to

the disengagement formula used at PP 14. "The progress is good. Both forces

are moving back with vehicles and structures. The target was set for this

evening and it appears it is going to be achieved.

On July 7, the Chinese troops at PP 14 had moved back 1.8 km where not more

than 30 soldiers will be stationed in makeshift tents. A further kilometre

behind this line, not more than 50 soldiers will be present. And further

down, behind the second perimeter, forces can gather at their posts.

As it works with Beijing to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control

in Ladakh, New Delhi has decided on a four-pronged disengagement approach:

lower the public rhetoric, temporarily suspend patrolling of buffer zones by

either side, mount sustained surveillance and reconnaissance of friction

points, and keep adequate troops in depth areas until the process is

completed. Lowering the public rhetoric gives some diplomatic and

conciliatory space to both sides for an honourable exit from the impasse.

This four-pillar approach, which had been in the works since the June 24

meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on

India-China Border Affairs and the June 30 meeting of Corps Commanders on

the two sides, was firmed up at a briefing by National Security Advisor Ajit

Doval to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the Special

Representative-level talks with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign

Minister Wang Yi on July 5.

Besides the Prime Minister and the NSA, External Affairs Minister S

Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah were

instrumental in finalising this approach. It was done between the evening of

July 5 and the afternoon of July 6.

GOVT TO PROBE FINANCES OF GANDHI FAMILY TRUSTS, CONG CALLS IT WITCHHUNT

The centre has set up an inter-ministerial committee to "coordinate

investigations" into the funding of three trusts linked to the Nehru-Gandhi

family - the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust

and Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. This comes a fortnight after the BJP

alleged that the RGF had received funds from China to "conduct studies that

are not in the interest of the country".

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the

committee will "coordinate investigations into violation of various legal

provisions of PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), Income Tax Act,

FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) etc" by these three

organisations.

All the three organisations are headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders P Chidambaram, Rahul

Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are among the trustees at the RGF.

The Congress termed the government's move as "cowardly" and a "blind

witch-hunt". "Mr Modi believes the world is like him. He thinks everyone has

a price or can be intimidated. He will never understand that those who fight

for the truth have no price and cannot be intimidated," Rahul tweeted.

"Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi gave their lives for India. Targeting the

trusts dedicated to honour their rich legacy is unfortunate and vindictive,"

said CWC member Anand Sharma.

The party's communication department head, Randeep Surjewala, said the

"vicious and vengeful investigation" was "devious hounding" of those

exposing the government's ineptitude.

Defending the government's decision, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao

said it was a "natural outcome" of the information that has come out about

the RGF. He said if there was a "political motive", the government "would

not have waited for six years to order a probe".

PAKISTAN CLAIMS KULBUSHAN JADHAV DIDN'T FILE APPEAL, INDIA CALLS IT 'FARCE'

Former Indian Navy official Kulbushan Jadhav, who is on death row on charges

of spying and terrorist activities in Pakistan, has refused to file an

appeal in the Islamabad High Court against his conviction by a military

court, the Pakistan government said Wednesday.

Hours later, India responded sharply and said Pakistan's claim that Jadhav

has refused to initiate review petition is a "continuation of the farce" in

play for the last four years. "Pakistan is only seeking to create an

illusion of remedy," the Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson

Anurag Srivastava said Wednesday.

Stressing that Jadhav has been sentenced to execution through a farcical

trial and remains under custody of Pakistan's military, the MEA spokesperson

said, "He has clearly been coerced to refuse to file a review in his case..

In a brazen attempt to scuttle even the inadequate remedy under the

Ordinance, Pakistan has obviously coerced Jadhav to forego his rights to

seek an implementation of the judgment of the International Court of

Justice."

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 7,68,952 (+25,571) / 1,21,66,688 (+2,16,583)

Total Deaths 21,144 (+491) / 5,52,046 (+5,420)

Total Recovered 4,76,554 (+19,496) / 70,30,227 (+1,34,681)

Active Cases 2,71,254 (+5,584) / 45,84,415 (+76,482)

TOP IMPACTED NATIONS SO FAR: (AND SOME OF INDIA'S NEIGHBOURS)

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 31,58,932 / 1,34,862 /

13,92,679 / 16,31,391

2 Brazil 17,16,196 / 68,055 /

11,17,922 / 5,30,219

3 India 7,69,052 / 21,144 /

4,76,554 / 2,71,354

4 Russia 7,00,792 / 10,667 /

4,72,511 / 2,17,614

5 Peru 3,12,911 / 11,133 /

2,04,748 / 97,030

6 Chile 3,03,083 / 6,573 /

2,71,703 / 24,807

7 Spain 2,99,593 / 28,396 / N/A

/ N/A

8 UK 2,86,979 / 44,517 / N/A

/ N/A

9 Mexico 2,75,003 / 32,796 /

1,67,795 / 74,412

10 Iran 2,48,379 / 12,084 /

2,09,463 / 26,832

11 Italy 2,42,149 / 34,914 /

1,93,640 / 13,595

12 Pakistan 2,37,489 / 4,922 /

1,40,965 / 91,602

17 Bangladesh 1,72,134 / 2,197 /

80,838 / 89,099

109 Sri Lanka 2,094 / 11 /

1,967 / 116

TOP IMPACTED INDIAN STATES SO FAR

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 2,23,724 / 91,065 / 1,23,192

/ 9,448

Tamil Nadu 1,22,350 / 46,483 / 74,167

/ 1,700

Delhi 1,04,864 / 23,452 / 78,199 /

3,213

Gujarat 38,419 / 9,112 / 27,313 / 1,994

Uttar Pradesh 31,156 / 9,980 / 20,331 /

845

Telangana 29,536 / 11,933 / 17,279 /

324

Karnataka 28,877 / 16,524 / 11,878 /

471

West Bengal 24,823 / 7,705 / 16,291 /

827

Andhra Pradesh 22,259 / 10,894 / 11,101 /

264

Rajasthan 22,063 / 4,715 / 16,866 /

482

Haryana 18,690 / 4,302 / 14,106 /

282

Madhya Pradesh 16,036 / 3,420 / 11,987 /

629

Assam 14,033 / 5,281 / 8,727 / 22

Bihar 13,274 / 3,633 / 9,541 / 100

Odisha 10,624 / 3,557 / 7,006 / 61

Jammu and Kashmir 9,261 / 3,545 / 5,567 /

149

Punjab 6,907 / 1,901 / 4,828 / 178

Kerala 6,196 / 2,604 / 3,560 / 28

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

HARVARD, MIT SUE US IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have sued

the Department of Homeland Security and the federal immigration agency over

new guidelines barring foreign students from remaining in America if their

universities switched to online-only classes in the Fall.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary and

permanent injunctive relief to bar the US Department of Homeland Security

and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the enforcing federal

guidelines that will force international students to leave the US.

Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow said in an email to affiliates

that the "order came down without notice-its cruelty surpassed only by its

recklessness. We believe that the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

order is bad public policy, and we believe that it is illegal."

US CONSIDERING ADDITIONAL ACTIONS AGAINST CHINA: WHITE HOUSE

The United States is preparing to take additional actions against China, the

White House has said, but what those presidential measures would be was not

made clear.

"I'm not going to get ahead of the president on what our actions on China

will be, but you will be hearing about some upcoming actions that pertain to

China. So, I can confirm that," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany

told reporters on Wednesday.

US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien on Wednesday said, "I think

you're going to see a significant rollout of measures with respect to China

over the coming days and weeks. There's no president that's ever stood up to

China the way President Donald Trump has. He was the first president to put

a massive tariff on the Chinese to stop the trade imbalance."

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said the "incredibly

aggressive" Chinese actions along the border with India were a reflection of

the "behavior" of President Xi Jinping in the region and the world, holding

the Chinese leader more directly accountable for it than before. "I don't

think it is possible to look at that particular instance - the Chinese

Communist Party aggression (the border conflict with India) - in isolation;

you need to be put it in the larger context." he added.

The secretary of state pointed to the number of both maritime boundary

disputes the Chinese Communist Party has "engaged in is unequal to any place

in the world".

WRITERS, ACADEMICS SIGN OPEN LETTER CRITICIZING IDEOLOGICAL CONFORMITY

Dozens of artists, writers and academics have signed an open letter decrying

the weakening of public debate and warning that the free exchange of

information and ideas is in jeopardy amid a rise in what they call

"illiberalism".

JK Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood are among the of writers,

artists and academics to argue against ideological conformity in an open

letter in Harper's Magazine. The letter comes amid a debate over so-called

"cancel culture" - where prominent people face attack for sharing

controversial opinions. "The forces of illiberalism are gaining strength

throughout the world and have a powerful ally in Donald Trump, who

represents a real threat to democracy,'' the letter said.

"But resistance must not be allowed to harden into its own brand of dogma or

coercion - which right-wing demagogues are already exploiting. The

democratic inclusion we want can be achieved only if we speak out against

the intolerant climate that has set in on all sides.''

The letter criticised the state of public debate and the "swift and severe

retribution" dealt out to any perceived wrongs. It decried an "intolerance

of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism.''

Other signatories included Noam Chomsky, Gloria Steinem and Malcolm

Gladwell.

THE REST

========

BJP LEADER, HIS FATHER AND BROTHER KILLED IN BANDIPORA MILITANT ATTACK

Three members of a family, all linked to the BJP, were killed in a militant

attack on Wednesday evening in North Kashmir's Bandipore, leading to the

arrest of their entire security detail.

The dead included a member of the BJP state executive committee, Sheikh

Waseem Bari, 27, and his father Sheikh Bashir Ahmad and brother Sheikh Umar,

who were also office-bearers of the party. The attack happened right outside

the Bandipore Police Station, when the three were at the family shop, run

out of their home.

The J&K Police said they had arrested 10 of its personnel assigned to the

security of Bari and his family, for failing to protect them. Police said

the personnel security officers were not present with them when the attack

happened.

The high-profile killings in a fortified zone came as a shock for the

security establishment, especially as Bandipore has been relatively calm in

recent years.

FALSE CLAIM, NEGLECT AND INCOMPETENCE: PROBE INDICTS LG POLYMERS

*Top officials of LG Polymers claimed they promptly reached the accident

site but CCTV footage showed they arrived more than two hours later.

* The surge in polymer content that set off the leak on May 7 at 2.42 am had

also happened barely 10 days earlier but no serious note was taken.

*There was no onsite and offsite emergency plan, the management didn't alert

the local residents and washed its hands of the tragedy, leaving the

clean-up to the administration.

*Cost-cutting hurt talent; some staff classified as "engineers or senior

engineers" were merely Class XII graduates.

These are among the key points in indictment of LG Polymers at Visakhapatnam

by the government-appointed committee probing the Styrene vapour leak that

killed 12 on May 7 and affected almost 300.

On Wednesday, the 12 executives of LG Polymers, who were arrested July 7

were produced before a magistrate who remanded them to 15 days in judicial

custody.

ARMY DIRECTS SOLDIERS TO DELETE 89 APPS OVER SECURITY CONCERNS

The Indian Army has asked soldiers to delete 89 apps from their smart phones

including Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and several apps already banned by

the government, people familiar with the developments said on Wednesday,

speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The apps, including dating apps such as Tinder, OkCupid and Couch Surfing,

have been banned for security reasons, they said. The social media apps that

are a no-go area for soldiers include messaging platforms, video-hosting

sites, gaming and dating apps, and also some e-commerce options, the people

said.

GOVT EYES COUNTRY OF ORIGIN TAG ON ITEMS SOLD ON E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS BY

AUGUST

The government is keen to make it mandatory to display 'country of origin'

of products sold on e-commerce platforms starting August 1, but online

retailers have pushed back saying the deadline may not be feasible.

The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) on

Wednesday held a second meeting on the matter after the initial consultation

two weeks ago, attended by close to 30 e-commerce players. DPIIT made it

clear that it is looking to have 'country of origin' available for new

listings on e-commerce platforms by August 1, and for legacy listings by the

end of September.

Larger players like Amazon and Flipkart requested a timeline of three months

to execute the proposal.

MASSIVE MANHUNT FOR VIKAS DUBEY

Notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, the main accused in the cold-blooded ambush

and murder of eight policemen last week in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, was seen

at a hotel in Haryana's Faridabad near Delhi on Tuesday, police said. A

massive hunt has been launched to arrest him and the bounty on the gangster

has been doubled.

On Tuesday afternoon, raids were conducted at the Faridabad hotel and three

men were arrested during an encounter. The hotel manager said that a man

resembling the wanted gangster had left the hotel before the cops reached.

Police later confirmed the man was Vikas Dubey.

Of the three men who were arrested on Tuesday, Ankur and his father Shravan

helped the notorious criminal in hiding; Prabhat is from his village,

officials said.

Twenty-five teams of the UP police are conducting raids to arrest Dubey, who

has been missing since Friday's massacre. The bounty on him was doubled to

Rs 5 lakh yesterday from Rs 2.5 lakh.

Amar Dubey, a close aide of Vikas Dubey, was shot dead early Wednesday

morning.

On Friday, 50 policemen from three stations had gone to UP's Bikru village

in Kanpur, 150 km from state capital Lucknow, in search of the

politically-connected and wanted gangster charged in 60 criminal cases

including murder, kidnapping, extortion and rioting.

JAGDEEP PASSES AWAY

Born Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, Bollywood comedian Jagdeep passed away in

Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 81.

You think of Jagdeep, and the first thing that comes to mind is Soorma

Bhopali, the Sholay (1975) character who became so wildly popular that it

nearly eclipsed everything else he did.

Too many of the nearly 400 roles, over six decades, that Jagdeep did were

interchangeable. Broad, loud strokes for the comic folk meant that their

tracks were filled with gags, pratfalls, and banana-peel humour: that was

pretty much the way of the comedy from the 50s to the 80s.

One of his last significant roles was playing Salman Khan's father in

Rajkumar Santoshi's 1994 film Andaz Apna Apna: he was looking distinctly

older, but the familiar verve was very much there.

CRICKET RETURNS: STARTS WITH A SHOW OF SOLIDARITY TOWARDS BLM

Players from both teams and match officials united in a poignant gesture to

support the Black Lives Matter movement before play in the first Test

between England and West Indies at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton.

The players, support staff and umpires all took a knee on the field on

Wednesday, with each member of the West Indies team wearing a black glove on

his right hand, which they raised in a fist while kneeling.

After rain delayed the start of play in Southampton by three hours until

2pm, both teams stood in a semi-circle around the pitch to observe a

minute's silence for those who have lost their lives in the Covid-19

pandemic and for Sir Everton Weekes, who died on July 1 aged 95.

Immediately afterwards, the players - along with umpires Richard

Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth - took up their positions and all

dropped to one knee, with the fielding West Indies players raising their

gloved hand. England batsmen Rory Burns and Dom Sibley knelt at the crease

as the rest of the England and West Indian players and support staff were

kneeling down around the boundary in a powerful show of solidarity.

As for cricket itself, only 82 minutes of play was possible on the rain

curtailed day. England won the toss and at stumps were at 35/1 in 17-4

overs.

INDICATORS

Sensex 36,329 (-345), Nifty 10,706 (-94), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

66,076

Nasdaq 10,493 (+149) Dow 26,067 (+177), S&P 3,170 (+25)

US$-Rs. 74.68 GBP-Rs. 93.89, Euro-Rs. 84.41, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.33, Can$-Rs.

55.05, Aus$- Rs. 51.95

GBP 0.79 /US$, Euro 0.88 /US$, Jap.Yen 107.45 /US$, Aus$ 1.43 /US$, Sing

1.39 /US$, Bang Taka 83.23 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.27 /US$,

Pak Re 166.56 /US$, Phil Peso 49.48 /US$, Russian Rouble 71.26 /US$, NZ$

1.52 /US$, Thai Baht 31.19 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.80 /US$, Norway NOK 9.43

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 9,389

Dollar Index 96.35 Brent Crude 43.23 BDI 1,849

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,808 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,761 / 4,661

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 49,300

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Success is not owned, it is rented, and that rent is due every day. - Rory

Vaden

OFF TRACK

And then there is this beastly bloke who is so difficult that when he asks

"What day is it?" His wife says "Tuesday dear, if it is okay with you"