National
COVID spike continues; no respite yet
Delhi reported a marginal decline in COVID cases in the last 24 hours, at 1,530 against 1,534 recorded on the previous day. With new COVID cases, the total caseload of the city has jumped to 19,22,089.
Additionally, the positivity rate has jumped to 8.41%, while the number of active cases has risen to 5,542. With 1,104 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the total number of recoveries has gone to 18,90,315, while the death toll has reached 26,232. There are 241 Covid containment zones across the city.
Nationally, there are more than 12,000 active cases, the highest in the past 3 months. The worst affected states are Maharashtra, Kerala, and Delhi NCR region. Even UP has been pretty badly hit, with Lucknow showing 300 new cases.
IMD predicts heavy rain in Chennai, adjoining districts
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy rain in Chennai and the adjoining districts. On Sunday night, heavy downpour inundated several parts of the state capital, including the Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam localities.
An upper air circulation caused the steady spell of rain which started only as a drizzle on Sunday evening that later turned into heavy showers. The heavy rain on Sunday is an indication of more thunderstorms in the coming days in Chennai and suburbs. The rain has brought an interlude from the scorching heat in Chennai.
Finance
Bear Market continues; Investors lose, market trends change
After having closed this week on a negative note, Indian domestic equity benchmark indices are likely to trade with a downside bias next week. This comes as a result of the aggressive monetary policy stance by the US Fed potentially triggering the fear of a recession.
The US central bank, earlier this week, raised the key policy rates by 75 basis points, addressing the multi-decade high inflation in the country. Typically, high inflation in advanced countries, has a negative bearing on other emerging markets, including India.
In India, retail inflation has been over the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance band of 6%. The Indian central bank projects that it would stay high till the third quarter of the current financial year. During the current week, the benchmark index Sensex declined nearly 3%.
As there are no other major domestic or international macroeconomic events in the coming week, the Indian indices are expected to be jittery, moving in tandem with the global peers. Investors should remain cautious and begin making small, selective investments in fundamentally superior companies.
International
Chile confirms first monkeypox case; Canada confirms 168 cases
The Ministry of Health has confirmed Chile’s first case of monkeypox in a young adult who visited Europe. The patient, a resident of Chile’s Metropolitan region, came down with a sudden vesicular rash accompanied by swelling lymph nodes.
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam confirmed a total of 168 cases of monkeypox in the country as of Friday. All cases in Canada were male and aged between 20 to 69 years.
Health officials recommended that “people who have travelled abroad and have had close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse, and have a sudden onset of inexplicable skin lesions, with one or more symptoms such as fever, swollen glands, muscle or back pain, and weakness,” should consult a doctor.
“Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease” caused by viruses transmitted from animals to people. It belongs to the same family as smallpox, a virus eradicated in 1980, and produces similar symptoms, “but less severe.”
Heat Wave in Europe grips Nations
As Europe is facing an unusually early and intense heatwave coming from Northern Africa, many governments have issued warnings and instructions to the public on how to “survive” it.
France
In France, monthly heat records were recorded in several cities. An absolute record for the seaside city of Biarritz was recorded at 42.4˚C, with an average of 35˚ in other regions. Orange and Red heatwave alert have been issued in majority of areas in France so far.
The French government has also set up a “heat” line to help people in need in case of emergency.
Britain
Across the English Channel, Britain’s Met Office has issued a level-three warning, the second highest, for the heatwave in London, southeast and east England, as the temperature rose to 33˚C, highest since summer 2020.
The UK Health Security Agency has issued a level-three heat-health alert across London, the southeast and east England.
Italy
The heatwave has also swept across Italy this week, sparking emergencies in at least four cities and putting half of the agricultural production in the north at drought risk.
An orange heat emergency, the second highest emergency level, was declared in the cities of Brescia, Turin, Florence and Perugia. Temperatures in some parts of the north topped 40˚C
Spain
In Spain, temperatures reaching 42˚C that have put 11 of the country’s 17 autonomous communities under an orange alert for high temperatures, continue to fuel a series of wildfires that have destroyed around 13,000 hectares of forest and scrubland over the past three days.
The fire has also led to the evacuation of 650 people from their homes in several small towns, after being started by a lightning strike on June 15.
Technology
WhatsApp will let users hide profile pictures, ‘Last Seen’ from specific people
WhatsApp has announced that it is rolling out new options to privacy control settings protecting users’ privacy online. Users can select who from their contact list can see Profile Photo, About, and Last Seen status.
You can set your last seen, profile photo, about, or status hidden in three ways.
-
Everyone: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status will be available to all WhatsApp users; My Contacts: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status will be available to your contacts from your address book only.
-
My Contacts Except… : Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status will be available to your contacts from your address book, except those you exclude.
-
Nobody: Your last seen, profile photo, about, or status won’t be available to anyone. The company also said that be mindful of what you share.
Sports
IND v SA: KSCA announces 50% refund for ticket-holders after rain washes out decider
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) announced a 50% refund for ticket holders after persistent rain forced the abandonment of the series decider T20I between South Africa and India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
The fifth and final T20I was abandoned after just 3.3 overs of play, when India were 28/2, with right-arm pacer Lungi Ngidi taking out openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Eventually, rain played spoilsport in the series decider, with India and South Africa sharing the trophy as the final scoreline read as 2-2.
The rain, which had been predicted for the match day, had earlier caused a delay of 50 minutes in the start of play, reducing it to a 19-over per side affair.
After the home series against South Africa, India’s white-ball side will play two T20I matches against Ireland on June 26 and 28.
