◾ A tailor was in Udaipur hacked to death by two people today allegedly for releasing a social media statement in favor of suspended BJP spokesman Nupur Sharma, who had made controversial remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. As the city is tense after the killing, internet services have been suspended and 600 police officers along with senior officials are being sent to Udaipur. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has called for peace. “Strict action will be taken against all criminals involved in this incident and the police will investigate the crime. I appeal to all parties to keep the peace,” he said.
◾ Meanwhile, in Delhi, co-founded Alt News Mohammed Zubair was taken into police custody for four days about a 2018 tweet allegedly hurting religious sentiments. At Zubair’s arrest Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes: “The arrest of journalist Mohammed Zubair in Delhi is pettiness, revenge and oppression unleashed on a society that once aspired to freedom. It is also a distillation of the way Narendra Modi’s government draws energy from a thorough disregard for liberty, decency, constitutional values and the opinion of the international community.”
◾ In Maharashtra, where the political turmoil continues, Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray appealed to return to rebelling Shiv Sena MLAs and said he was “concerned” for them. “Don’t fall for anyone’s missteps. The honor that Shiv Sena bestows on you is nowhere to be found. If you come forward and speak, we’ll work things out. As party chief and head of Shiv Sena’s family, I still worry about you. Come here to have a dialogue,” he said. His appointment came hours after rebel leader Eknath Shinde announced he would return to Mumbai soon.
◾ In other news from around the city, four people were killed after a Helicopters in service for the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) Forced landing off the coast of Mumbai. The helicopter, with nine people on board, was stranded in the sea 60 nautical miles from Mumbai near the Sagar Kiran oil rig on Tuesday morning.
◾ In business news that The GST Council today approved tax rate changes on some goods and services, while allowing states to issue an E-Way invoice for the domestic transportation of gold and precious stones. The council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also approved a set of compliance procedures for GST-registered companies, as well as a GoM report on high-risk taxpayers to review tax evasion.
◾ Mukesh Ambani has resigned from the board of his group’s telecom arm, Reliance Jio and handed the reins of the company to elder son Akash, a move the 65-year-old billionaire sees as succession planning. In a stock filing, Reliance Jio Infocomm said the company’s board of directors “approved the appointment of Akash M Ambani, non-executive director, as chairman of the company’s board” at a June 27 meeting.
political pulse
◾ The BJP is hoping for gains beyond the immediate as it storms the seats of Samajwadi party Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha in recent by-elections. The planning and strategy to secure the constituencies, which sources say will be overseen by senior leader Amit Shah, has damaged the SP’s confidence in its loyal Muslim Yadav voting bank. The results also align with the BJP’s plans for Mission 2024, which it has already launched. Having posed a notable challenge to the SP in the recent general election, the BJP knows the party is unbeatable in state, and those two seats were their best chance to send a message to the party. Liz Mathew reports.
◾ From the Urdu Press: When a major political turmoil rocked Maharashtra with a power struggle within Shiv Sena and brought down the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray, the country’s leading Urdu newspapers provided extensive coverage in their news and comment pages. In their reporting and analysis, they also focused on the July 18 presidential election, the Supreme Court’s dismissal of Zakia Jafri’s appeal case, in which SIT’s clean testimony to then-Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others in the 2002 Gujarat riots challenged, and shed light on the subsequent arrests of activists – journalist Teesta Setalvad and ex-DGP RB Sreekumar.
Express explained
◾ “Hermit” is the latest sophisticated spyware in the news and is believed to have targeted iPhones and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan. The use of Hermit – the spyware was developed by an Italian vendor called RCS Lab – was first reported by cybersecurity researchers from Lookout, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity firm. What is Hermit, what exactly does it do on a device and how can users protect themselves? we to explain.
◾ The G7 countries, which are meeting in Germany during the ongoing Leaders’ Summit, have officially launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investments (PGII), a joint initiative to finance infrastructure projects in developing countries. Launched on June 27, the project is seen as the bloc’s counterpart to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. What is PGII, where is the plan going and how did China react to the announcement? Read here.
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