News Flash (25th June 2020): Top 12 Stories Of The Day

1. IIT Bombay 1st institute to conduct next semester in Online mode

IIT Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri has announced that the institute has decided to not conduct face-to-face lectures for the next semester and conduct lessons “purely in the online mode so that there is no compromise on the safety… of the students.” He also called for donations to help students from economically weaker backgrounds equip themselves with IT hardware for the lessons.

2. ICSE Class 10, ISC Class 12 exams scheduled to be held in July cancelled

The pending ICSE Class 10, ISC Class 12  which were scheduled to take place from July 1 to 15 have been cancelled due to the concern for the safety of students amid pandemic, Centre told the Supreme Court today. 

3. China brings back tents at Galwan Valley, tensions resurface

New satellite images appear to show that the Chinese have built a “defensive position” at the Galwan Valley face-off site, where 20 Indian soldiers were martyred. The images from Maxar, a space technology company, are from June 22. “Tented camps, military vehicles, heavy trucks and bulldozers are…visible on the riverbed,” said Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).

4. Hindustan Unilever to stop using ‘Fair’ in ‘Fair and Lovely’

Hindustan Unilever said that it would stop using the word “FAIR” in the brand, adding that  the new name was awaiting regulatory approvals.The company said the brand celebrates all tones. Unilever’s Fair & Lovely brand carries significant weight in the market. Several companies were slammed for marketing products promoting colourism after Black Lives Matter protests gained steam in recent days.

5. Indian Railway to sell coronavirus essentials to passengers

Coronavirus essentials like masks, gloves, sanitisers, bedroll kits will now be sold at the multi-purpose stalls at railway platforms, railway officials said Thursday.The stalls, run by private contractors, carry most items that travellers could require, like toiletries, books, medicines and packed eatables. The stalls will now also be able to sell essential items required to protect passengers from coronavirus infection, according to a set of instructions issued by the Railway Board.

6. Salim Merchant backs Sonu Nigam, says singers are called and later dumped

Singer Sonu Nigam recently put out a vlog where he was talking about favouritism and also pointed out “music mafias” in the music industry. Salim supported him and said that it is not just the singers who are having a tough time, but it is also the composers who have suffered because of these music labels favouring a few people over the rest.He highlighted how even though directors and producers of films want to work with composers like himself, it all comes down to the record label’s decision.

7. Shortage of Oxygen equipments in Hospital: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that hospitals are facing a shortage of oxygen concentrators needed to support the breathing of COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory distress. “Many countries are now experiencing difficulties obtaining oxygen concentrators…Demand is currently outstripping supply,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

8. US refers to Reliance Jio as ‘clean telco’ for rejecting China’s Huawei

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has listed Reliance Jio as a “clean telco” for refusing to use equipment of China’s Huawei. “The tide is turning against Huawei as citizens around the world are waking up to the danger of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state,” Pompeo said. Several US-based investors recently invested in Jio Platforms, which owns Reliance Jio.

9. WikiLeaks Founder ‘Assange’ conspired with ‘Anonymous’ Hackers

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange conspired with members of hacking groups, including LulzSec and “Anonymous”, to obtain government secrets, as per the new indictment by the US Justice Department. An Anonymous and LulzSec-affiliated hacker stole emails through a data breach of a US intelligence consulting company that were published in WikiLeaks, the US added. Assange is detained in the UK.

10. Tanzania miner becomes millionaire after finding biggest Tanzanite gemstones

A small-scale miner, Saniniu Laizer in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire after selling two rough Tanzanite stones . Tanzanite is only found in Northern Tanzania and one of the rarest gemstones on earth.Geologist estimates that its supply maybe entirely depleted in 20 years. Laizer mined the stones weighing 9.2 Kg and 5.8 Kg. 

11. App to order blood in Delhi-NCR launched by Health Ministry, Indian Red Cross

The Indian health ministry in collaboration with the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) on Thursday launched a mobile app eBloodServices for easy access to blood for transfusion. The app was launched by federal health minister Harsh Vardhan.

12. NASA HQ named after its 1st black female engineer Mary Jackson

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said Jackson had helped to break down barriers for African Americans and women in engineering and technology. Born in Hampton, Virginia, she died in 2005. Mary Jackson was recruited in 1951 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which was succeeded by NASA in 1958. She worked under Dorothy Vaughan – whose story was also told in Hidden Figures – in the segregated West Area Computing Unit at Langley, Virginia.Jackson died in 2005 and in 2019 she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.”She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation,” she said.