Endeavor Careers Choicest Blogs: Weekly Current Affairs: July 2022, Week 02

Welcome to the Endeavor Editors’ Weekly Current Affairs Choicest Blog series. Get a weekly roundup – of news from business, economy, markets, policy, and more. A quick capsule format news summary and update to keep you abreast with all the latest current affairs.

1) International News and Global Economy

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dies after being shot by a gunman

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe passed away after being shot by a gunman at a campaign event. Abe was making a campaign speech outside a train station in the western city of Nara when two shots rang out. The shooting is a stunning development in a country with famously low levels of violent crime and tough gun laws, involving perhaps Japan’s best-known politician. Abe had been delivering a stump speech at an event ahead of Sunday’s upper house elections when the apparent sound of gunshots was heard. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020. Abe launched his “Abenomics” policies to lift the economy out of deflation, beefed up Japan’s military, and sought to counter China’s growing clout in a historic two-term tenure.

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Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe dies after being shot | DW News

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Boris Johnson resigns as UK PM

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced his resignation after he was abandoned by ministers and most of his Conservative lawmakers. After days of battling for his job, the scandal-plagued Johnson had been deserted by all but a handful of allies after the latest in a series of scandals broke their willingness to support him. The crisis comes as Britons are facing the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with soaring inflation, and the economy forecast to be the weakest among major nations in 2023 apart from Russia.

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Boris Johnson’s Rise and Fall | WSJ

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Joe Biden signs executive order on Abortion, Contraception access in the US

US President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court decision overturning the right to an abortion was an exercise in “raw political power” and signed an executive order on Friday to help protect access to services to terminate pregnancies. Biden, a Democrat, has been under pressure from his own party to take action after the landmark decision last month to overturn Roe v Wade, which upended roughly 50 years of protections for women’s reproductive rights. The president’s powers are constrained because U.S. states can make laws restricting abortion and access to medication, and the executive order is expected to have a limited impact. The White House is not publicly entertaining the idea of reforming the court itself or expanding the nine-member panel, an option pushed by Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Representative Pramila Jayapal. In Friday’s speech, Biden instead laid out how abortion rights could be secured by voters if they elected more pro-choice senators, and noted the Supreme Court majority opinion referred to women’s “political power.”

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Biden signs executive order aimed at safeguarding abortion rights

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Sri Lanka opposition meets to name new gov’t amid turmoil

Sri Lanka’s opposition parties met Sunday to agree on a new government a day after the country’s president and prime minister offered to resign following the most dramatic day of monthslong political turmoil, with protesters storming the leaders’ homes in a rage over the economic crisis. Protesters remained in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence, his seaside office, and the prime minister’s home, saying they would stay until the resignations are official. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday. Pressure on both men had grown as the economic meltdown set off acute shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to obtain food, fuel, and other necessities. If both president and prime minister resign, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena will take over as temporary president, according to the constitution.

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Ukraine reports heavy Russian missile strikes in the east and south

Russian missile and rocket strikes have caused more widespread damage in towns and cities across eastern and southern Ukraine, regional officials say. Ukrainian officials reported Russian missile strikes on parts of Kharkiv, in the north, Mykolaiv in the south, and Kryvyi Rih, a southern city north-east of Mykolaiv. The US says it is supplying four more high-precision rocket systems to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky says the HIMARS rockets are being used to hit ammunition depots and warehouses in Russian-held territory, making Moscow’s attempts at resupply much harder. In the UK, British Army bases are now being used to train Ukrainians in combat, the UK government says. It aims to train up to 10,000 Ukrainians over the coming months.

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End Ukraine “War of Choice”: West’s “Strong Chorus” against Russia At G20

The United States and Western allies pressured Russia at G20 talks in Indonesia Friday over its “unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice” in Ukraine, but Moscow’s envoy remained defiant. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov joined colleagues for day-long talks in their first meeting since the outbreak of war, with the host immediately telling them the conflict must end through negotiations. Blinken shunned a meeting with Lavrov and instead accused Russia of triggering a global food crisis, demanding Moscow allow grain shipments out of war-battered Ukraine. Blinken’s efforts to have a powerful Western stance against Russia at the meeting were diluted after British Foreign Minister Liz Truss pulled out following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation as leader of his party on Thursday. She flew out of Indonesia on Friday morning and was replaced by the former British ambassador to the European Union Sir Tim Barrow, a British official told AFP.

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2) India

15,000 rescued, 40 still missing after Amarnath Cloudburst

About 15,000 pilgrims have been moved to safety from near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath after a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst swept away scores of people, killing at least 15. More than 40 people are still missing, officials said. The Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, or ITBP, continued the rescue operation throughout the night as they looked for missing persons in the cloudburst-affected area at the lower Amarnath Cave site. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has three teams comprising about 75 rescuers, an official said.

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Foreign minister Jaishankar meets US’ Anthony Blinken and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov in Bali

Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Friday held talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Bali on a wide range of issues, including the Ukraine conflict and Afghanistan. With Lavrov, Jaishankar discussed steps to further the bilateral economic and security agenda following last week’s call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. India has also been in touch with several leading powers, including Russia, on the situation in Afghanistan. Last month, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital. India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power last August following concerns over their security. India has not recognized the new regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul, besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country. Russia, while hosting a Taliban representative, has not allowed the Afghan embassy in Moscow to display the Taliban flag.

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Scientists discover material that can convert infrared light to renewable energy

Scientists have discovered a novel material that can emit, detect and modulate infrared light with high efficiency, making it useful for solar and thermal energy harvesting as well as for optical communication devices. The discovery has significant potential in the strategic arena of defence and space as well as the power sector. “Researchers discovered a material called single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN) that can emit, detect, and modulate infrared light with high efficiency,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on Tuesday. The team comprised experts from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, and the University of Sydney.

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India sees massive fall in employment in June: CMIE

India’s total employment fell by a massive 13 million to 390 million in June 2022 compared to 403 million in May, the lowest level since July last year. This is largely due to the decline of 8 million jobs in rural India on the back of a sluggish monsoon followed by a loss of 2.5 million salaried jobs, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said. CMIE further said that the fall of 2.5 million jobs among salaried employees in June 2022 exposed the growing vulnerability of this sector. “The government shrunk the demand for armed personnel and opportunities in private equity funded new-world jobs also started to shrink,” it said, cautioning that the economy needs to grow at a faster pace than it may in the near future to save and generate such jobs.

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The trade deficit jumps to a record $25.63 billion in June

India’s trade deficit swelled to a record $25.63 billion in June driven by imports of petroleum, coal, and gold, and slow exports, raising concerns about a further slide in the rupee and a bigger current account deficit (CAD). Official data released on Monday showed that India’s merchandise exports in June rose 16.8% on year to $37.9 billion, slower than 20.5% in May, while imports rose at a faster 51% to $63.58 billion. The trade deficit in June 2021 was $9.61 billion. “Given the global headwinds and dollar strength, coupled with the rising trade deficits, the INR may well weaken to 80-81/USD in Q2,” according to Aditi Nayar, the chief economist at ICRA.

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Former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is India’s new G20 Sherpa

Former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has been appointed as the new G20 Sherpa as India takes over the G20 presidency later this year. He replaces Union minister Piyush Goyal. Kant was Niti Aayog CEO for almost six years, completing his extended term last month. G20 is a grouping of 19 major developed and emerging economies and the European Union. Its members account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of global trade, and 60% of the global population. India will take over the G20 presidency from Indonesia on December 2. The sherpas are in charge of carrying out negotiations and building consensus among Leaders. They are also responsible for convening working groups, and special events throughout the year.

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3) Economy

Europe stares at recession; Russia appears to be on track beating predictions

Possibilities of European recession hit stock markets on Tuesday as the euro dipped to a two-decade low and the pound fell to its lowest since the current pandemic. Meanwhile, Russia appears to be on track for a much shallower recession than was initially expected this year, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing experts. Surging oil shipments have blunted the impact of US and EU sanctions, experts said. According to Bloomberg, economists from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and other big banks are slashing their outlooks for the drop in output this year to as little as 3.5%. Russian officials, some of whom foresaw a contraction of as much as 12%, are now preparing to update their forecasts to less than half of that.

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The recession threat hangs over Europe’s fragile economic growth

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Inflation is expected to cool from October says, Shaktikanta Das

October will see inflation easing, minimizing the need for aggressive RBI action, Governor Shaktikanta Das said at an economic conclave on Saturday. The governor’s outlook may spur expectations of revisions in coming policy updates. In June, the bank said inflation was expected to average 6.7% in the year to March, and while prices will start to cool from the second half, starting in October, the mandate could be met only in the January-March quarter. Downside risks to inflation are materializing with the cooling of commodity prices, and the RBI’s inflation forecast may get revised down, said Rahul Bajoria, India economist of Barclays Plc. Bajoria expects inflation at 6.5% for the fiscal year ending March, against the RBI’s current 6.7% projection.

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Sonal Varma & Chetan Ahya on will both Inflation & the Rupee get a bit of a respite | Indianomics

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4) Markets, Banking, and Finance

Fintech companies, NBFCs funded by Chinese money generated Rs 950-cr slush funds in India: ED

A number of fintech companies and NBFCs “backed by” Chinese funds have generated proceeds of crime worth more than Rs 940 crore by indulging in predatory lending activities and violating RBI guidelines while operating in India, the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday. “ED has been conducting a money-laundering investigation against a number of NBFC companies which are in the business of instant personal micro loans.” “It was found that various fintech (financial technology) companies backed by Chinese funds have made agreements with these NBFC companies for providing instant personal loans of term ranging from 7-30 days,” the agency said in a statement. Fintech companies brought the funds to be lent to the public, did MoU (memorandum of understanding) with “defunct” NBFCs for their lending license, it said.

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5) Business

Elon Musk pulls out of $44 Billion Twitter deal, Now faces a legal threat

Billionaire Elon Musk pulled the plug on his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, accusing the company of “misleading” statements about the number of fake accounts. Twitter’s chairman, Bret Taylo, said the board will pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement,” Mr. Taylor tweeted. The terms of the deal require Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk to pay a $1 billion breakup fee if he does not complete the transaction.

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Elon Musk backs out of Twitter Deal

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Explained: Why does Elon Musk want to terminate the $44 billion Twitter deal and what happens next?

Musk’s action to bail out of the deal marks the latest twist in a long-running saga after he decided to buy Twitter in April. Musk has claimed that Twitter has not provided him with necessary information on the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on its platform, a concern he had first raised in May. At the time, he had said that the deal was “temporarily on hold” until he received the data from Twitter, which had asserted that spam and bot accounts make up less than 5 percent of its total users. Musk also said he was pulling out because Twitter fired senior executives and a third of its talent acquisition team, breaching Twitter’s obligation to “preserve substantially intact the material components of its current business organization.” Musk and Twitter could be looking at a lengthy legal battle, as the social media platform has made it clear that it will pursue legal action to enforce the terms of the deal.

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Adani confirms entry into telecom spectrum race; to use 5G spectrum for PVT network

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group on Saturday confirmed its entry into the race to acquire telecom spectrum, which it said will be used to create a private network to support its businesses from airports to power as well as data centers. “As India prepares to roll out the next generation of 5G services through this auction, we are one of the many applications participating in the open bidding process,” the group said in a statement. “We are participating in the 5G spectrum auction to provide private network solutions along with enhanced cyber security in the airport, ports, and logistics, power generation, transmission, distribution, and various manufacturing operations,” the statement said.

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ONGC, OIL big winners of OALP-VII bid round; govt offers 10 blocks in OALP-VIII

State-owned ONGC NSE -1.62 %, OIL, and GAIL NSE 0.33 % walked away with most of the eight blocks offered for exploration and production of oil and gas in the OALP 7th bid round even as the government launched the next bidding round, expecting USD 600-700 million investment in the 10 areas on offer. The 10 blocks under the present bid round are spread across nine sedimentary basins and include two on-land blocks, four shallow-water blocks, two deep water blocks, and a similar number of ultra-deepwater blocks. “It is expected that OALP Round VIII would generate immediate exploration work commitment of around USD 600-700 million,” the statement said.

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6) Technology

Razorpay-Alt News Controversy turns Spotlight again on Data Security, User Consent & Deplatforming

With the growing controversy around payments unicorn Razorpay and the suspension of the payment links for donations to fact-checking platform Alt News, the focus is now on the sanctity of payments data of individuals and companies sharing such data with authorities without user consent. The concerns have grown louder as the government has looked to keep a tighter lid on financial data generated from India over the past two years, with changes such as platforms saving card data for recurring payments, card tokenization, and storage of payments data within India and more. And even as Razorpay has claimed to be abiding by the law, there has been plenty of outrage over why data for all donors to Alt News was shared when the company could have requested authorities for a narrower scope. The company’s failure to directly inform users whose data has been shared is another point that some critics of Razorpay have highlighted.

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7) Politics

Who’s new PM Yair Lapid as Israel heads for 5th poll in 3 yrs & again under Bibi Netanyahu’s shadow

As Israel moves to its fifth election in three years, Shekhar Gupta explains how the Israeli coalition government collapsed. This episode looks at what led to the collapse of the Bennett-Lapid coalition in Israel.

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Congress constitutes Political Affairs Committee for Karnataka ahead of the 2023 Polls

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has constituted a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) for the Karnataka Assembly polls due in 2023. The political affairs committee will also have seven invitee members. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed five new secretaries attached to the general secretary in charge. The party has also relieved two secretaries, Kuldeep Rai Sharma and Raminder Singh Awla, from their positions. Five new secretaries include Abhishek Dutt, Roji M John, Mayura S Jayakumar, D Sridhar Babu, and PC Vishnunadh. The move comes a day after the Congress party formed a state-level war room team to coordinate in the run-up to the party’s campaign for the 2023 assembly elections in Karnataka. The AICC has also approved some appointments in the Communications department of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

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“Fight For Life”: Aaditya Thackeray leads protest against Metro Car Shed

Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Lena leader, and former Maharashtra minister, today led a protest against the state government’s move to shift the proposed Metro-3 car shed to Mumbai’s Aarey Forest. After taking over as the Maharashtra Chief Minister last week, Eknath Shinde announced that the car shed for Mumbai Metro Line 3 would be moved back from Kanjurmarg to Aarey Forest. The issue dates back to 2019 when the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation sought the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) permission to fell trees at Aarey Colony. This was opposed by environmental activists and sparked massive protests in Mumbai. According to environmental activists, the forest not only provides fresh air to the people of the city but is also a key habitat for wildlife, including some endemic species. The forest has some five lakh trees, and also has a couple of rivers and some lakes flowing through it. As activists stepped up their agitation, then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the area identified for the Metro car shed was not categorized as biodiversity or forest land and also reasoned that the Metro would reduce carbon footprint.

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8) Sports

Wimbledon: Elena Rybakina beats Ons Jabeur in women’s singles final

Elena Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam title by beating Tunisian third seed Ons Jabeur in a gripping Wimbledon final. Rybakina, 23, fought back to win 3-6 6-2 6-2 and become the youngest Wimbledon singles champion since 2011. After a shaky first set, she improved and pressured Jabeur into errors. World number 23 Rybakina has won two WTA titles and reached the highest ranking of 12th in January.

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Novak Djokovic was crowned Wimbledon champion after beating Nick Kyrgios

Novak Djokovic produced a returning masterclass to surge to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) championship match victory against Nick Kyrgios on Sunday at Wimbledon and claim his fourth consecutive crown at the grass-court major. Djokovic’s seventh triumph in London draws him level with legendary American Pete Sampras’ tally of singles trophies won at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The 35-year-old Djokovic is now just one behind Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon triumphs, and one Grand Slam title behind Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 major crowns.

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Twitter reacts as India wins Edgbaston T20I to seal the series vs England

India National Cricket Team won the second match by 49 runs against England National Cricket Team to get an unassailable lead of 2-0 and the last match of the series will be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Sunday, July 10. Earlier, England won the toss, opted to field first in the match and they made two changes to the playing XI as David Willey and Richard Gleeson replaced Tymal Mills and Reece Topley.

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9) Opinion

Lack of transparency to Dodgy Underwriting Models: Why is RBI wary of BNPL Industry?

What perhaps made the RBI take a more serious note of the BNPL model was FLDG or ‘First Loan Default Guarantee’. FLDG is an arrangement under which a certain portion of the risk is underwritten by the digital partner. With a rise in defaults in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, FLDG came into question. The regulator was uncomfortable because digital partners were outside the regulatory capital buffer requirement. “Banks and NBFCs are well-equipped in terms of credit underwriting, collection infrastructure, and ensuring compliance. The lender-fintech partnership needs to utilize its respective strengths and complement each other. NBFCs should utilize their strength in underwriting, collection, and compliance rather than transferring risk to fintech,” said Pallav Jain, co-founder, and CEO of ShopSe. If adequate risk assessment is not done, the fintech companies run the risk of engaging in lending practices which may lead to higher risks in the ecosystem, he added.

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10) Weekly special

With Shardeum, WazirX founder aims to achieve infinite blockchain scalability

In 2022, Nischal Shetty and Omar Syed teamed up to launch Layer 1 blockchain Shardeum. The project claims to be the only network to employ auto-scaling, where it can increase and decrease shards in an automated manner, and achieve infinite scalability. In the blockchain community, scalability has been the common goal to bring Web3 to mainstream adoption. A key concern, however, is whether the technology can effectively grow to a global level while maintaining security, speed, and decentralization. WazirX Co-founder and CEO Nischal Shetty and US-based blockchain architect Omar Syed wanted to solve the problem of scalability.

For details visit here.

With that, we come to an end of our Weekly Current Affairs July 2022 -Week 2. Hope you have liked it. Write your feedback in the comments below and let us know if there is anything else you would like us to cover.

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