DH Evening Brief: June 28, 2021

Here are the top headlines this evening.

Twitter displays Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh as separate countries

Amid a stand-off with the Indian government over compliance with new IT rules, the Twitter website is displaying a wrong map of the country that shows Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh as separate country. The glaring distortion, which appears on the career section of Twitter website under the header ‘Tweep Life', has triggered a heavy backlash from netizens who are demanding strict action against the microblogging platform. Read more

More than 50% children in Mumbai have Covid-19 antibodies: Sero-survey

More than 50 per cent of the paediatric population in healthcare settings in Mumbai has antibodies to Covid-19, according to a sero-survey conducted ahead of the third wave. Moreover, it is found that the proportion of the paediatric population having antibodies increased as compared to earlier sero-survey conducted during the first wave and second wave. Read more

Rs 1.1L cr loan guarantee scheme for Covid-hit sectors

To help revival of the economy battered by Covid-19, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a slew of measures, including Rs 1.1 lakh crore credit guarantee scheme for improving health infrastructure, and enhancing the limit under the ECLGS by 50 per cent to Rs 4.5 lakh crore for the MSME sector facing liquidity crunch. Readmore

Most Covid-19 patients in Delhi hospitals are critical

As Delhi prepares for Unlock 5.0 and more relaxations in the Covid-19 lockdown from June 29, hospitals still spell a bleak picture for the national capital as the number of Covid patients in the ICU and on ventilators are far higher than those in general wards. Read more

Bengal Governor corrupt, was charge-sheeted in Hawala Jain case, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday called Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar a "corrupt man" and questioned the purpose of his recent tour of North Bengal, alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched to divide the northern part of the state. Read more

Dr Reddy's announces launch of Covid-19 oral drug 2-DG

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has announced the commercial launch of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) on Monday.

2-DG is an anti-Covid-19 drug developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory. Read more

Even gold-obsessed Indians are pouring billions into cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency aficionados’ mantra that Bitcoin is equivalent to digital gold is winning converts among the world’s biggest holders of the precious metal.In India, where households own more than 25,000 tonnes of gold, investments in crypto grew from about Rs 14,85.9 crore to nearly Rs 2.97 lakh crore in the past year, according to Chainalysis. That’s despite outright hostility toward the asset class from the central bank and a proposed trading ban. Read more

5 lakh tourists visiting India to get free visas

The government will provide free visas to 5 lakh tourists visiting India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. Announcing measures to revive the tourism sector battered by Covid-19, Sitharaman said financial support would be provided to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides, travel and tourism stakeholders. Read more

Karnataka SSLC 2021 exams to be held on July 19, 22

Amid fears of the possible third-wave ofCovid-19, the Karnataka government on Monday announced the examination timetable for the SSLC (10th standard) board exams affiliated to the state board of Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination (SSLC). The examination will be held on two days—July 19 and July 22. Read more

2 JeM militants involved in killing of J&K SPO, his kin

Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, including a foreigner, were involved in the killing of a special police officer (SPO), his wife and daughter in Pulwama district, police said on Monday.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said SPO Fayaz Ahmad's wife and daughter tried to save him but they were also fired upon by the militants. Read more

Karnataka sees below 3,000 Covid-19 cases first time since start of second wave

Karnataka reported less than 3,000 single-day Covid-19 cases for the first time since the beginning of the second wave. Daily rise in Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours was recordedat 2,576 cases. Read more