India Quashes Chinese Media Claim of meeting between Rajnath Singh and his counterpart; Army Engages in 'Positive & Cordial' Talks With China
China's state-run Global Times claimed its Defence Minister Wei Fenghe may meet his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on Wednesday in Russia. However, Singh's office in New Delhi rejected the claims, saying no such meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. The development comes as India and China attempt to de-escalate tensions at the Line of Actual Control.
Consensus: The Army termed the marathon talks with China to ease tensions between the countries over the Galwan Valley clashes as “positive and cordial” in the first official statement. “The Corps Commander level talks between India and China were held at Moldo in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere.” the army said. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the two sides had a "candid and in-depth exchange of views on the outstanding issues and agreed to take necessary measures to cool down the situation".
In Other News
Espionage concern: The central government has decided to reduce the staff strength in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi by 50 percent and will, in a reciprocal move, scale down its own presence in Islamabad to the same proportion. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the move would be implemented within seven days. The usual strength of the High Commission in Delhi is 110, and it will now come down to 55.
Covid Tally: Delhi's count of COVID-19 cases crossed the 66,000-mark Tuesday with the biggest single-day jump of 3,947 fresh infections, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 2,301. And in Mumbai Metropolitan Region the cases crossed the 1 lakh-mark. And the cases across Maharashtra rose to 1,39,010 with 3,214 new patients being reported, a health official said.
Stop advertising: The AYUSH ministry Tuesday asked yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to "provide at the earliest" the composition and other details of the medicine it claimed is for the treatment of COVID-19, ordering the company to stop advertising the product until the issue is examined. Patanjali Ayurved earlier launched the 'Coronil and Swasari' medicine, claiming it has discovered a cure for COVID-19.
‘Humanitarian grounds’ : Jamia Coordination Committee member Safoora Zargar, who was arrested under the anti-terror law UAPA in April, has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court on ‘humanitarian grounds’ in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi. Zargar, an M Phil student of Jamia Millia Islamia, is 23 weeks pregnant.
Sportsperson affected: Seven More Pakistan Players Including Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz Test Positive for COVID-19, while Shoaib Malik, Cliffe Deacon and Waqar Younis have not yet been tested for the novel coronavirus. Moving to the world of tennis, Novak Djokovic and his wife tested positive for the virus, but did not show any symptoms previously. They were tested on arrival after the Adria Tour exhibition tournament in Belgrade and Zadar.
‘It’s unfair’: The United States has described as "discriminatory and restrictive" the Indian government not allowing American carriers to operate chartered flights on Indo-US routes. And in a strong decision, US announced that it has barred Air India from operating chartered flights between India and the United States from July 22. However, In an apparent move to simmer down the tension, the Aviation Ministry announced that India is considering establishing "individual bilateral bubbles" and allowing airlines of each country in the pact to operate international passenger flights.
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Number game: India’s three megacities – Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi (M-C-D) account for nearly 40 per cent of the country’s total Covid-19 cases. While the cases in the national capital have tripled since Unlock 1.0, the growth in Chennai is marginally slower and Mumbai’s rate of growth has significantly dipped, Nikhil Narain explains the exponential growth in the number of cases across metropolitan cities.
Immigrants worried: In a major setback for Indians, US President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to "reform" the H-1B visa system and shift towards merit-based immigration. The move has left immigrants worried and netizens took to Twitter to express their worry. Not just Indians, the H-1B debate rocked persons of different nationalities that may come under scanner after Trump's decision. In fact, SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk, Google CEO Sunder Pichai disagreed with the ban, News 18’s Buzz staff writes.
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