1. Jagdeep Dhankhar is NDA’s VP candidate: Jagdeep Dhankhar, the governor of West Bengal, is the Vice President candidate of the BJP-led NDA. The VP election is slated for August 6, with the last day for filing nominations ending by July 19.
2. River Godavari near danger level: River Godavari is brimming close to danger levels following incessant rains. On Thursday, authorities in Bhadrachalam imposed a curfew and asked residents to stay indoors.
3. Saudi’s gesture towards Israel: Saudi’s civil aviation ministry has said it’s opening the Kingdom’s airspace for all air carriers meeting its aviation requirements for overflying. The move appears to be a positive gesture towards Israel ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
4. India to get CAASTA waiver for S-400s: The US House of Representatives passed a legislative amendment granting a CAASTA waiver for India’s purchase of the S-400 Missle Defence System from Russia. The amendment was passed through a voice vote.
5. SIT says Ahmed Patel was behind the conspiracy: Gujarat Police has accused the late Congress leader Ahmed Patel of plotting a conspiracy to topple the then Narendra Modi-led government in the state. It added that arrested activist Teesta Setalvad was part of the larger conspiracy.
6. Governments booster initiative gets a good response: The first day of the government’s 75-day free booster vaccination drive for all adults saw a sixteen-fold rise in doses administered compared to the day before.
7. Big Tech will be asked to pay original content: MoS for IT and electronics Rajeev Chandrashekar said that the center would moot regulatory interventions to make Big Tech majors like Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft, Amazon pay, Microsoft, and Apple pay for original content from newspapers and digital news publishers.
8. Twitter Inc wants trial on its lawsuit against Elon Musk expediated: The Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge has set July 19 to hear Twitter Inc’s plea to fast-track the trial of its lawsuit against Elon Musk. Twitter has blamed Musk for wrongfully canceling his proposed buyout.
9. Airtel tests 5G network: Airtel has completed its first 5G private network trials. It is also the first in the country to do so. The trials were carried out in Bosch Automotive Electronics’ facility at Bengaluru using the 5G trial spectrum allotted by the central government.
10. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has only 15 days’ permission to stay in Singapore: Authorities in Singapore have said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is on a ‘personal visit’ and that the embattled ex-president has neither sought asylum in the country nor granted one. According to some leading news outlets, Rajapaksa has approached India. However, it has denied his request.
Photo: Twitter@narendramodi