1. Jagdeep Dhankhar elected new V-P of India: The polling to elect India’s next Vice-President began this morning at 10 am and ended by 5 pm at the Parliament House. NDA candidate and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar got 528 votes and defeated opposition nominee Margaret Alva who received 182 votes.
2. Centre alerts seven states as Covid cases surge: With the rise in Covid19 cases, the Union health ministry has asked authorities in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana to increase surveillance. The states have also been instructed to ramp up testing and vaccination.
3. Chhattisgarh probes ‘unknown illness’ that purportedly killed many in Regadgatta village: A health team is probing an ‘unknown illness’ that residents of the Regadgatta village in Chhattisgarh claim killed 61 people in the last three years. Health officials are testing the presence of heavy metal elements in water and soil and the possibility of chronic alcoholic behavior among the villagers as many suffer kidney-related ailments.
4. IMD predicts heavy rainfall in Odisha: IMD has predicted heavy rains in Odisha due to meteorological activity in the Bay of Bengal. An orange alert has been given for several districts, including Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, and Khordha.
5. Varsha Raut appears before ED: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha Raut appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) this morning to record her statement on the Patra Chawl money laundering case. Sanjay Raut, arrested by ED, will stay in custody till Aug 8.
6. Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw warns BSNL workers to perform: A audio from Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw with BSNL employees has got leaked. The minister can be heard threatening the employees to perform or face voluntary retirement.
7. Colombo requests China to defer the visit of Yuan Wang 5 vessel: Sri Lanka has asked China to defer the visit of its Yuan Wang 5, supposedly a research and survey vessel, to the country’s Hambantota Port. India had raised its concern over the docking of the Chinese vessel, stating that it’s a dual-use spy ship with space and satellite tracking facilities.
8. IDF strikes inside Gaza: Israel on Friday carried out strikes inside Gaza, claiming it eliminated ’15’ terrorists, including senior militant Tayseer al-Jaabari. However, local health officials said more than ten people, including a five-year kid, were killed and 55 injured in the strikes.
9. Russia and the US discuss prisoner swap: American Basketball star Brittney Grainer’s nine years prison sentence by a Russian court prompts the US to initiate talks on a prisoner swap. The negotiation between the two countries would happen through a special channel.
10. Spain asks its citizens to restrict gas usage: With the threat of Russian gas cut looming large, Spain has asked its citizens to cap cooling at 27 Degrees Celcius in summer and heating no more than 19 Degrees Celcius during the winter.
Image: PTI