Tag: latest Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
23 JULY 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Rajasthan Speaker moves SC in a Pilot case. 

On 22 July, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi challenged a State High Court order directing him to defer the Tenth Schedule proceedings against former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot till 24 July. Joshi described the court’s order as an interference by the judiciary in the Speaker’s exclusive domain. His petition, filed by advocate Sunil Fernandes, said the High Court order was an affront to the powers of the Speaker. Meanwhile, Pilot and 18 other MLAs filed a caveat in the apex court by urging that no order should be done ex-parte without informing their side. Joshi, too, has moved the Supreme Court, asking it to stop the Rajasthan High Court from pronouncing a verdict on the disqualification notices on Friday. 

B) Former SC judge B.S. Chauhan to head Vikas Dubey probe.      

The Supreme Court on 22 July, approved the Uttar Pradesh government’s choice of retired apex court judge Justice B.S. Chauhan to head the commission that will probe the gunning down of eight police officers and the encounter killings of their alleged assailants, history-sheeter Vikas Dubey, and his associates. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde said that the single most important aspect of the commission’s inquiry should be how Dubey came to be released on bail or parole. 

C) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 12,35,388 with the death toll at 29,887. India reported its highest ever a number of recoveries on a single day, with 28,472 COVID-19 patients having been cured or discharged from hospitals in 24 hours, according to a statement from the Union Health Ministry on June 22. With this, the number of recovered patients stands at 7,53,049. This has strongly boosted the recovery rate to 63.13%

D) Writer and critic Kovai Gnani pass away.

Eminent writer, Tamil Marxist scholar and literary critic Kovai Gnani died on 22 July at his home in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He was 85. His son Pari Vallal said that he died at 11.15 am due to age-related health problems. His eyesight had been impaired for more than 20 years. A key figure in the Vanambadi poetry movement in Coimbatore and an author of more than 50 books, Gnani promoted Tamil literature through several little magazines, including the likes of Parimanam, Nigazh, and Tamizhneyam.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) U.S. to buy 100 million doses of vaccine.

if Britain will able to successfully develop the vaccine, the U.S. government will pay $1.95 billion to buy 100 million doses of Pfizer Inc and the German biotech COVID-19 vaccine. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense said that the agreement allows the U.S. government to acquire an additional 500 million doses. Pfizer and BioNTech have been testing vaccines that require two injections in clinical trials.  Pfizer will deliver the doses if the product receives emergency use authorization or licensing from the U.S.

B) The US shuts down the Chinese consulate in Houston as tensions rise.

The United States has told China to shut down its consulate in Houston by 24 July. China has described this move as a political provocation. The Houston consulate is one of five in the U.S, not counting the embassy in Washington DC. The U.S. justified its decision by citing a need to protect American intellectual property and information from Chinese spying. Beijing condemned the order and threatened retaliation. China was considering closing the U.S. consulate in the city of Wuhan. China warns the U.S. to immediately withdraw its decision, otherwise, China will definitely take proper and necessary measures against this. 

C) India, China not to use UAVs at friction points. 

The armies of both Indian and China have agreed to not use unmanned aerial vehicles at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), other than for mutually agreed short time periods. The confidence-building measure has impacted real-time verification of the de-escalation process, as aerial objects cannot be used within 10 km of the face-off sites, a senior government. Earlier, the two armies had agreed to a 30-day moratorium on foot patrolling at all the friction points while they pulled back from their positions. The official said that as of now, they were not engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation at any of the points, but a continuous verification was required and they were prepared for the long haul. 

D) Facebook to set up two teams for evaluation of its policies and algorithms. 

Acknowledging that it needs to do more to combat racism on its platforms, Facebook has said that it is setting up two teams to evaluate its policies and algorithms. The equity team of Instagram and the Inclusive Product Council of Facebook will look for bias in algorithms and work to make both the platforms fair and safe for all. Recently, against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, Facebook has been under fire for its failure to crack down on racist content and groups on its platforms.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
22 JULY 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Pune firm to make a billion doses of Oxford vaccine
The Serum Institute of India, based in Pune, said that it will apply for a license to start clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine developed at Oxford University. The firm is the world’s largest vaccine-maker in terms of the number of doses produced and sold globally. It has partnered with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to mass-produce the Oxford vaccine. With the trials of the SII’s COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University showing encouraging results, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII) had earlier said at least 300 million doses of the potential vaccine named ‘Covishield’ would be ready by December this year.

B) Caution against the use of respirator masks
A recent advisory from the Union Health Ministry said that the N-95 valved respirator masks do not prevent the virus from escaping out and thus may not aid in the containment of COVID-19. The Director-General of Health Services has alarmed against the use of N-95 respirator masks by telling that they do not prevent the virus from escaping outside, thus may not aid in the containment of Covid-19.
The Central government has told the need to wear at least home-made protective cover for the face and mouth whenever people step out of their residences. The advisory further said that the covers must be washed and cleaned each day and only cotton cloth must be used.

C) COVID Watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 11,88,791 with the death toll at 28,747. The government said that their ultimate aim is to reduce Covid-19 cases positivity rates to 5% and maintain aggressive testing levels. The ministry added that 30 states and union territories already had lower figures than the national average. It further said that cases per million in India is 837, which is very low compared to the figures for other countries. Deaths per million population are 20.4 as compared to 77 in the rest of the world.

D) 23% Delhiites have antibodies to the virus
The results of Delhi’s seroprevalence study, released on 20 July showed that 23.48% of the people surveyed had developed IgG(Immunoglobulin G) antibodies. This indicates that they had been exposed to the coronavirus. The study indicated that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic. Releasing the results of the survey, the Union Health Ministry on 20 July said that the serosurvey is done to determine the exposure of the novel coronavirus among the population. These cases are mostly in the densely populated areas of Delhi.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Probe Russian link to Brexit poll: Lawmakers.
According to a parliamentary report released on 20 July, the British government should properly investigate any Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum after failing to look into it despite past evidence of Kremlin meddling. The report further said that oligarchs with links to Russian President Putin used their wealth for extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment. There should have been an assessment of Russian interference in the referendum and the public must be told the results of that assessment.

B) EU leaders strike a deal to rebuild the economy.
A €750 billion rescue package has been announced to pull the bloc out of deep recession. On July 20, European leaders have agreed on a massive aid package for their pandemic-ravaged economies, as U.S. President Donald Trump finally came out in favor of face masks as a tool against the novel coronavirus. The virus has infected more than 14.7 million people and killed over 6,10,000 of them since emerging in China late last year, with the fresh alarm being sounded over its accelerating spread in Africa. After a 90-hour summit, the European leaders finally agreed on a rescue package of €750 billion ($858 billion) to try and pull their bloc out of a deep recession. The pandemic has devastated the global economy.

C) Close to a limited trade deal with the U.S.
On July 20, the Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that India and U.S. have almost finalized a limited trade deal. He also told that both the countries have declared earlier that the long term plan is to work towards a comprehensive trade deal. As an intermediate step between the imminent limited deal and the comprehensive deal, Mr. Goyal proposed a preferential trade agreement that would cover 50 to 100 goods and services. India and the U.S. have apparently been close to finalizing a limited trade deal several times over the past year, including when both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump were in New York last year for the United Nations General Assembly session. Again, in February this year, the two sides scrambled unsuccessfully to finalize a mini deal that was to be announced during Mr. Donald Trump’s India visit.

D) China repeats claim on Bhutan’s east.
China said that it has offered Bhutan a package solution for its boundary dispute, which is
reviving a reference to its 1996 proposal for a territory swap to give Bhutan the disputed areas in its north in exchange for the disputed western areas, including Doklam. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) also repeated its claim on Bhutan’s eastern boundary at Sakteng, which experts warn, maybe a new pressure tactic by Beijing to push Thimphu into concluding a boundary deal. During a meeting of the UNDP-led Global Environment Facility on June 2-3, 2020, the Chinese representative had unsuccessfully tried to stop the funding for Bhutan’s Sakteng forest sanctuary, claiming the area was disputed. Bhutan, through the Indian delegate who represented them, had rejected the claim and was granted the funding.

SPORTS NEWS:

A) Team India to undergo two-week quarantine.
The Cricket Australia acting chief Nick Hockley said that the Indian team will have to undergo a two-week quarantine period, most likely in Adelaide, once it touches down in Australia for the much-anticipated tour later this year. This statement is in contrast to the views of the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who had already made it clear that he was not in favor of a two-week quarantine period for the Indian team once they get off in Australia. Hockley again stated that the two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. They are working towards making sure that during the quarantine, the players will get the best training facilities so that they do not suffer any kind of losses relating to their practice and training.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 JULY 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Congress MLA alleges Pilot offered him ₹35 crores to join BJP. 

Rajasthan Congress MLA, Giriraj Singh Malinga has alleged that Sachin Pilot had offered him ₹35 crores to switch to  BJP, but he rejected the offer. He also said that he had informed Gehlot about the secret offer. Sachin Pilot responded by saying that he was not surprised though he was sad.  He would take appropriate and strictest possible legal action against the MLA. 

Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been called by the Rajasthan police to appear for questioning in connection with investigations into an alleged conspiracy to topple the Rajasthan government. 

B) SC asks UP to consider having retired SC judge on panel probing Dubey encounter.

The Supreme Court of India has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to expand the committee which is probing the encounter deaths of gangster Vikas Dubey and his crime partners. The apex court has asked the state to consider a former SC judge and a retired police officer. The three-judge Bench led by the CJI Bobde found substance in the arguments that there have been about 6,126 police encounters in which 122 persons have been killed in Uttar Pradesh. The court has declined to spare a sitting SC judge for the probe committee. 

C) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 11,45,653 with the death toll at 27,966. India reported its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus infections on 20 July of 40,425 new cases. The toll rose by 681 to 27,497. The recovery rate stood at 62.61%. The Kerala government has made it compulsory for all the migrant workers entering the state to undergo rapid antigen assay-based tests for the coronavirus, followed by 14 days of room quarantine. 

D) PM Modi to visit Ayodhya. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other VIPs, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, will attend the ceremony for laying of the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya which will be held on 5 August. A 40 kg silver brick will be laid as the foundation stone by the Prime Minister. The PTI reports that three-day-long Vedic rituals will be held before the main ceremony, which will begin on August 3.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Oxford Covid-19 vaccine triggers an immune response. 

In a new research paper published in The Lancet, the scientists of Oxford University have said that their experimental vaccine, in an early trial, produced a dual immune response in hundreds of people aged between 18 to 55. The trials showed that the injection led them to make antibodies and T-cells that can fight the coronavirus. Though these results are promising, yet they are still preliminary only. The effects of the vaccine were calculated by the number of antibodies and T-cells it produced in the blood of the volunteers and not in any response to the virus itself. 

B) Sri Lanka to research on Ravana’s aviation routes. 

Sri Lanka’s aviation authority has said that it will lead a research project to study the aviation routes of mythological character Ravana. The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka has asked the public to search and provide any relevant documents and literature. They asked them to contact an email ID and phone number to research the topic of King Ravana and the ancient domination of aerial routes that are lost now. The project sought to bring out an authoritative narrative about King Ravana as there are a lot of stories. 

C) Trump refuses to clearly say upon accepting election results. 

The President of the United States, Mr.  Donald Trump has refused to accept the results of the upcoming presidential election which are going to be held in November. In an interview which was held on 19 July, Donald Trump said that it was too early to make such an ironclad guarantee. Counting a similar threat he made weeks before the 2016 vote and scoffing at recent polls that show him lagging behind presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

D) Iran to continue work with India on the Chabahar line. 

In the latest development to India, Iran’s Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, the Railway Minister of Iran has said that Iran and India are determined to continue cooperation on the railway line. These remarks contradict the remarks of the Iranian officials who had earlier said that India was not a part of the project. Meanwhile from the meeting which was held on 20 July, it is unclear that whether it means that there has been some progress in the issues pending since December 2019 and whether India will now sign an agreement with the government of Iran to take the project forward.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
20 JULY 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) COVID Watch – Numbers and Developments. 

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stands at 11,15,080 with the death toll at 27,512. As per the Union Health Ministry release, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of India has fallen below 2.5% for the first time on 19 July. The Ministry told that this reduction was because of the focused efforts of the Centre and State/UT governments on efficient clinical management of hospitalized cases.

B) States, Union Territories differ on a date for reopening schools. 

All educational institutions have been shut down since mid-March due to the pandemic, leaving 25 crore children across the country out of school. In many states, some form of distance learning has started by using online resources as well as television and radio programmes. On July 15, the HRD Ministry held a videoconference with the State representatives to discuss the School Safety Plan. Assam was the only State willing to open at the end of July. Of the 36 States and UTs, 21 said that they had not taken a decision yet, with five of those adding that they were awaiting guidance from the Centre. On the other hand, Delhi, which has the third-highest number of cases, said that it would like to open schools preferably in August. According to the Ministry document,  Delhi has dropped to sixth place inactive cases. Bihar, Chandigarh and Haryana are also willing to reopen around Independence Day, while Puducherry says it will make a decision after July 31. The rest of the States are pitching for a date in September or beyond.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Indian American votes are crucial for ‘battleground’ states. 

Less than 4 months are left for the elections and the democrats urged the Indian-American community to vote and support presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden emphasizing his character and history of support for the India-U.S. relationship. Tom Perez said that a significant difference in the elections can be made by the vote of Indian-American and the AAPI  ( Asian-American and Pacific-Islander community).  There are approximately 1.3 million American-Indian voters in 8 battleground States. These are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

B) China has crossed its 1960 claims along the LAC. 

Chinese troops are currently present on the north bank of Pangong Lake in Ladakh in an area that is beyond what  China described as its official boundary during talks with India in 1960, official records show. China’s tent which is set up on the bend of the Galway River, which sparked the violent face-off resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese personnel on June 15, was also beyond China’s territorial claims, as per the 1960 records. The records contradict China’s current claims of where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) runs. In 1960, India certainly viewed China’s presence in areas where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed in May as being beyond Beijing’s own territorial claims.

C) UN draft declaration goes soft on demand for reform.

Despite India’s repeated demands for reform of the UN Security Council, the process of the expansion of the membership is expected to slow down this year. The General Assembly at the meeting which was held on September 15, 2008, had decided to proceed with the modalities so as to prepare and facilitate intergovernmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation. They also decided to increase the membership of the Security Council and other matters which are related to the Council.  The Resolution of 2005 had expressed the strong global will to stop the misuse of military power. 

D) Twitter disables Trump tweet over a copyright issue. 

Twitter disabled a campaign-style video that is retweeted by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 19, citing a copyright complaint. The video included music from the group Linkin Park was disappeared from the  Twitter feed of President late on 19 July with the notification that this media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner. Twitter began challenging the tweets made by Donald Trump in May and since them, twitter has repeatedly clashed with him. Twitter has disabled or commented on tweets made by Donald Trump because there were copyright complaints or violations of a policy against threatening violence.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) Brathwaite, Brooks defy England.

Off-spinner Dom Bess removed nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph with his second ball of the day, having him caught by Ollie Pope at short-leg for 32. Shai Hope, whose only two Test hundreds came at Headingley in 2017, helped Brathwaite add 53 before he was caught behind jabbing at a Sam Curran cutter. After Chris Woakes had bowled the 41st over of the West Indies innings, umpire Michael Gough was quick to notice that Dom Sibley had used saliva on the ball. The umpires pulled out a sanitised tissue to clean the ball on both sides. The fielding side will get a warning if saliva is used. If a team does it more than twice, it will be given a five-run penalty.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 JULY 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Rajasthan turmoil: Vasundhara Raje speaks up. 

Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mrs. Vasundhara Raje has spoken up for the first time on the political turmoil in Rajasthan. She said that it was unfortunate that the state was paying for the discord in the ruling party. She went on to list the problems the state was grappling with. Meanwhile, some hours after the BJP demanded a CBI enquiry into alleged phone-tapping of Rajasthan legislators, the Congress said that the Bhartiya Janta Party had admitted in front of the entire nation, its role in the conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government.

B) Covid-19 advisory for gated communities. 

The Health Ministry has issued a Covid-19 advisory for gated residential complexes by asking them to make provisions for sanitizer dispensers at all the entry points and in work areas as well.  The thermal screening of the people visiting is to be carried out at the entry points and only asymptomatic individuals shall be allowed to enter the premises. Vendors, household help, car cleaners, and delivery personnel will also undergo such screening daily. Social distancing and Physical distancing of at least six feet are to be followed as far as possible at all locations and at all times in all common areas, including parks, corridors, lift lobbies, gyms, and clubs. The advisory also recommends that all persons above 65 years of age, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 should stay at home and they do not keep any contact with the visitors or the staff as far as possible or the contract should be kept minimum.

C) Mathematician C.S. Seshadri passes away. 

One of the leading mathematicians of independent India C.S. Seshadri had passed away in Chennai late on July 17. He was 88 years old. He was a leader in the field of algebraic geometry. He made breakthroughs that lie at the base of many branches of this discipline. He began his career at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research as one of the first batches of graduate students. Then he moved to Chennai in 1984 to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences. In 1989, C. S. Seshadri also got an opportunity to start the School of Mathematics as a part of the SPIC Science Foundation which has now evolved into the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI).

D) CERT-In writes to Twitter on hi-profile hacking.

The cyber-security nodal agency of India, CERT-In has issued a notice to Twitter. The agency in its notice was asking the twitter for full details of the recent global hack targeting high-profile users. It asked for the complete information on all the Indian users affected. CERT-In has also asked Twitter for information on the number of users from India who have visited those malicious tweets and links and also whether the affected users have been informed by the platform about unauthorized access to their Twitter accounts or not. 

E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 10,73,109 with the death toll at 26,787. Tamil Nadu has sharply ramped up testing. However, the test positivity ratio still remains roughly around 10, with a marginal decline. Chennai still accounted for one in four tests performed in the State. With the state not releasing district-wise data on testing, the geographical spread of the testing remains unclear.

F) Thackeray moves SC against final year exams. 

The cabinet minister of Maharashtra Mr. Aditya Thackeray has moved to the Apex Court on 18 July against the decision of center to hold final year exams for colleges and universities in September. The exams had earlier been postponed due to the global pandemic of novel coronavirus and lockdown. The petition has been filed by Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiva Sena.  Thackrey tweeted that the petition is for each and every student across the country who was being forced to appear for an examination in an absolutely bizarre judgment of the situation by the UGC. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Govt. mulls Australia’s entry into Malabar drill. 

On 17 July, a key meeting of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has discussed the issue that whether  Australia should be invited for the trilateral Malabar naval exercise with Japan and the United States or not. The final decision has not been taken after the discussion yet. The final decision is likely to become before the exercise, which could take place towards the end of the year 2020.

B) The naval exercise has been delayed this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

On July 18, the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani has said that nearly 35 million Iranians may be infected from covid19 because the country still did not have herd immunity although 1/8th  of the population may have already been infected. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has killed more than 5,88,000 people and infected nearly 14 million around the world since first being detected in China late last year. Iran has been battling a revival of COVID-19. The figures show a rise in both the new infections and deaths since May. The overall toll is 13,979 dead out of 2,71,606 cases since Iran reported its first cases in mid-February. The rising numbers have prompted the authorities to re-impose restrictions in the provinces where the spread is maximum after being lifted country-wide in April, with Tehran extending them for an extra week on Friday.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
18 JULY 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Human trials for Covaxin

Three volunteers were administered Covaxin, the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by Bharat Biotech, at Post-Graduate Institute (PGI) of Medical Sciences in Rohtak today. The Senior Professor and Head of Department of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine told that three volunteers were picked from a shortlist of eight people. The candidates were given health checks to ensure proper liver function and the absence of infection and then administered the vaccine. Dr. Chaudhry said that all three persons tolerated it well. There were no complaints. They observed them for two hours before releasing them. The immediate component of any type of allergic reaction has been taken care of. They will now look for any soreness at the local site over the next 24-48 hours. 

B) No one can touch an inch of India’s territory: Rajnath Singh. 

Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Line of Control (LoC), said on July 17 that no country in the world can occupy or even touch the Indian territory. He also said that while talks should resolve the border issue with China, there was no guarantee about the extent to which they may do so. His comments came during his address to the troops at Lukung Border Observation Post (BOP) near Pangong Tso. He said that if anyone tries to harm India through any means then we will not tolerate that and will give a befitting response to them. 

C) Opposition parties oppose the digital-only campaign in Bihar.

Just after one day,  the Election Commission announced its decision to extend postal ballot facility to voters above 65 years of age, 9 Opposition parties met in Delhi in order to oppose the panel’s move to permit only digital campaigns for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Together, the parties came up with a joint memorandum opposing the decision of the election commission to prohibit the traditional mode of the campaign and allow only a virtual election campaign. The memorandum contended that as per TRAI, only 34% of Bihar voters are having a smartphone.

D) COVID Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 10,37,267 till 16 July with the death toll at 26,279. The Health Ministry today said that less than 1.94% of all Covid-19 cases are in ICUs, 0.35% are on ventilators, and 2.81% are on oxygen beds. Meanwhile, the ICMR has asked the States and Union Territories to identify and approve all government and private facilities for conducting rapid antigen testing for Covid-19.

E) Pilot saga: The plot thickens

The Congress has alleged that ₹500 crores is being readied by Maharashtra BJP leaders to help topple the Rajasthan government. Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant has demanded that the state home department probe this allegation. Meanwhile, the move to disqualify Sachin Pilot and other rebel MPs has been put off for now, with the Rajasthan High Court deferring any action against them by the Speaker till Tuesday. It’s evident that Gehlot and the party apparatus in Rajasthan are determined to ensure his removal from the party. At the same time, there also seem to be constant overtures from the party’s central command and its senior leadership. Sachin Pilot was reported to have spoken to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on 15 July and to former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 16 July.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Nepal’s Ayodhya claim takes archaeological turn. 

The Department of Archaeology in Nepal is holding various cross-ministerial meetings in order to find an archaeological site in Thori, which is situated near the border town of Birgunj. The development comes just four days after Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli said the original birthplace of Lord Ram is not located in India but in Thori village around Birgunj. Thori village is known to have a group of ancient Hindu religious sites that seeks attraction of pilgrims from different parts of Nepal. In a interview, the l historian of Nepal, Jagman Gurung said that as per the geographical descriptions provided in Valmiki’s Ramayana, it seems that Ayodhya was situated near Janakpur. With different ministries, the department has been holding several meetings so as to discuss the possibility of starting archaeological studies in Thori village. 

B) U.S. officials have ‘lost their minds’: China.

In the latest verbal outburst between the two superpowers, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on 16 July said that U.S. officials have lost their minds and they have gone mad in their dealings with Beijing. Huge tensions have run high between Washington and Beijing this year and some of the most outspoken critics of China in American Congress were this week hit with sanctions. This happened some days after the U.S. imposed visa bans and asset freezes on several officials of China. U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr accused Beijing as well of mounting an economic onrush so as to replace Washington as the world’s pre-eminent power and also to spread its political ideology around the world, this added fuel to the fire. 

C) Security agencies can’t have unfettered access to online data: German court.

On 16 July, Germany’s highest court  said that the security services had too much free access to people’s online data and ordered legislation to be revised to set higher hurdles. German intelligence services and police agencies currently possess the right to ask telecom and Internet companies for info of their users which can be their names, birth dates, passwords and IP addresses as well. This was done to help their investigations. But the Constitutional Court situated in Karlsruhe agreed with complaints which are brought by privacy activists.  They contended in their complaints that the access to data was unconstitutional and is a violation of the right to telecoms privacy of the citizens. Judges held that the current powers to retrieve data were unreasonable. They further contended that they agreed that intelligence bodies are sometimes needed to get personal data from smartphones or other devices to maintain public security, but this should only be done in cases in which there is a specific danger and not in general. Until the end of 2021,German legislators have amended the telecommunications law in order to include thresholds for the use of these powers.