ABP Live News Shots: NCP Split, Violence In Bengal To 'Cocaine' In White House — Top Headlines The Past Week

ABP Live News Shots: From NCP split to cocaine in White House and violence in heated Bengal Panchayat poll — bringing to you all the big news that made headlines this past week, in case you missed it.

ABP Live News Shots brings you most talked-about news of the week that grabbed headlines in India, world, sports, and entertainment. ( Image Source :ABP Live )

This week saw some massive events unfold in the world of domestic and international politics. From an unprecedented split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with Ajit Pawar and his faction of leaders joining the Eknath Shinde-led Government in Maharashtra to the extreme violence which marred the Panchayat polls in Bengal which the ruling TMC and opposition BJP trading barbs at each other of the law and order situation in the state. While, US President Biden defended his decision to supply controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine, controversy erupted over suspected 'cocaine' being found at the White House. In the world of sports, Rinku Singh of IPL fame will fly to Ireland for the three-match T20I series against Ireland.

INDIA

Since the announcement of rural elections in Bengal, violent clashes and murders have been reported and the same continued even on the day of polling on Saturday. Several died in the violence on the voting day as the BJP, TMC, Congress and CPI(M) blamed one other for the troubled situation of the state. Visuals of ballot boxes being set ablaze, and bombs being hurled did the rounds on social media. Eleven people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal since midnight as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said. 

Days after Ajit Pawar led a rebellion from within the NCP and joined the Shinde Sena-BJP coalition, Sharad Pawar said all the rebel NCP MLAs will be disqualified. He also said that he was not retired and that in fact, in his words, 'I am fire', in response to Ajit Pawar's remark on his age. According to ANI, when asked about Praful Patel's allegations that he gave all powers to his daughter Supriya Sule, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that party workers wanted Supriya Sule to come to politics, and hence she fought Lok Sabha polls and won.

The CBI has arrested three Railways officials, all posted in Balasore district, in connection with the Odisha train accident in which 293 people died. The arrested officials -- senior section engineer Arun Kumar Mohanta, section engineer Mohammad Amir Khan and technician Pappu Kumar -- have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and destruction of evidence, PTI reported.

WORLD

US President Joe Biden has defended his decision to send the controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine saying it was a “difficult decision” but Kyiv “needed them”. On Friday, Biden approved the deployment of US cluster bombs to Ukraine, with the weapons being drawn down from Defence Department inventories on Friday. “It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,” Biden said in an interview with CNN. 

OcenGate, the operator the submersible that imploded on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic, said on Thursday that it was suspending all exploration and commercial operations, AP reported. The organisation posted on its website that it would no longer be sending individuals down to the wreckage of the Titanic. On June 18, the Titan submersible made its descent in the North Atlantic. However, 1 hour and 45 minutes into its descent, it lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported the craft to the location in the North Atlantic.

A suspicious substance found inside the White House turned out to be cocaine which was found in a cubby hole in a West Wing entry area. The Secret Service was probing the matter, said the White House. "They're checking visitor logs and ... looking at cameras. Those are the next steps. Cross-checking," Reuters reported, quoting a source as saying. The US Secret Service searched for the suspicious substance found that resulted in a brief evacuation as a precautionary measure, as per a Washington Post report. 

SPORTS

After getting ignored for the upcoming series against West Indies, Rinku Singh will fly to Ireland for the three-match T20I series against Ireland, set to be played on August 18, 20, and 23, as per the Indian Express report. Rinku had a brilliant IPL 2023 for Kolkata Knight Riders and yet failed to make it into the Indian squad for the upcoming Caribbean tour. Apart from Rinku, Ruturaj Gaikwad will also travel to Ireland to participate in the series. Since the Asian games is on the card, the selection committee wanted to assess players on a series-by-series basis. Ajit Agarkar led the selection team and has requested BCCI to conduct more India A tours.

BCCI Approves Asian Games Participation, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Set To Have IPL's Impact Rule

The participation of men's and women's cricket teams in the Hangzhou Asian Games in September-October was approved at the BCCI Apex Council meeting on Friday (July 7). The men's event will begin on September 28 in which a second-string Indian team, consisting of new talent and some domestic players, will take part as the main team will prepare for 2023 ODI World Cup, while a full-strength squad will participate in the women's event, which begins on September 19. The schedule of Hangzhou Asian Games collides with the ICC Men's 2023 ODI World Cup in India, starting on October 5 onwards. The Asian Games are to be organized from 23rd September to 8th October.

India clinched their 9th SAFF Championship title after defeating Kuwait in the final. The score was levelled at 1-1 at full time and remained the same after the extra time with Lallianzuala Chhangte's 38th-minute strike cancelling out Shabib Al Khaldi's 14th minute goal that had put Kuwait in the lead. The Blue Tigers eventually went on to win 5-4 on penalties. Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Subhashish Bose and Mahesh Singh scored for India in the shootout even as Udanta Singh missed.

BUSINESS

Financial literacy is absolutely important. It is crucial for a wide range of applications, from day-to-day expenses to managing long-term budgeting and investing. If you want to make correct decisions at the right time, understanding this mechanism is indispensable. From taking loans to long-term investment in various schemes, financial literacy helps individuals avoid making mistakes or repeating the same error time and again. Hence, the subject will make you understand the basic economic intricacies. Financial illiteracy may lead you to a number of pitfalls, such as accumulating unsustainable debts, either through poor spending calls or a lack of long-term preparation. This may lead to poor credit, bankruptcy, and other negative consequences. In this article our experts and analysts will talk about why a financial literacy programme should be introduced in school education and how it can be a game changer for all of us.

When it comes to choosing where to deposit your hard-earned money, one crucial decision to make is whether to opt for a small bank or a larger public sector or private bank. Small finance banks often attract people with alluring interest rates on deposits, while public sector banks possess a long-established presence and a solid reputation. What are the key factors one should consider before opening an account or parking money in a fixed deposit (FD)? Research the bank's reputation, stability, and regulatory compliance, says Ashish Misra, chief operating officer- Retail Banking, Fincare Small Finance Bank. "Look for strong financial health, positive ratings, and a history of responsible practices. Ensure that deposit insurance is available to safeguard your funds in case of bank failure. Evaluate the bank's security measures to protect your transactions and personal information," he tells ABP Live. 

Retail tomato prices have further shot up in metro cities due to supply disruption caused by heavy rainfall in the tomato-producing regions. As per a PTI report, prices have reached as high as Rs 155 per kg across major cities. The report citing official data said that in metropolitan cities, the retail prices of tomatoes varied between Rs 58 and Rs 148 per kg. Kolkata recorded the highest price at Rs 148 per kg, while Mumbai had the lowest at Rs 58 per kg. In Delhi and Chennai, tomato prices were observed at Rs 110 per kg and Rs 117 per kg, respectively, as per the report. As per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry, the average all-India retail price was Rs 83.29 per kg, with a modal price of Rs 100 per kg, the report said. The highest Rs 155 per kg was in Siliguri, West Bengal, the data showed.

TECHNOLOGY

Threads, the much-awaited microblogging platform from Instagram, officially rolled out to users on July 6. Touted as a rival to Elon Musk’s Twitter, Threads will allow users to share mini posts, just like Twitter, but it will leverage all the elements from Instagram, including username, followers, and others. In case you were wondering how to sign up for Threads and use it, check out our quick guide for your perusal. 

Twitter has threatened to sue Meta after the latter launched the Threads app attracting users. As lar Twitter News, the micro-blogging platform is threatening to sue Meta over "systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation" of Twitter's trade secrets and IP, as well as scraping of Twitter's data. The same has been communicated to Mark Zuckerberg by Elon Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro. Reacting to the news, Musk said, "Competition is fine, cheating is not", hinting that a big legal battle is on the cards over Threads app.

Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill has received approval from the Union Cabinet and will be presented in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, as reported by PTI based on source inputs. The primary objective of this Bill is to hold entities accountable for the collection, storage, and processing of citizens' data, ensuring their right to privacy is protected. The draft of the DPDP Bill has been sanctioned by the Cabinet and will be tabled during the parliamentary session scheduled to take place from July 20 to August 11.

SCIENCE

In a breakthrough achievement, scientists have found the first evidence of gravitational waves at very low frequencies. While Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 in his general theory of relativity, these ripples in space-time caused by violent and energetic processes in the universe were discovered in 2015. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which is operated by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, physically sensed undulations in space-time caused by gravitational waves on September 14, 2015. About eight years later, researchers confirmed the first observation of very low frequency gravitational waves. Scientists speculate that these gravitational waves are responsible for undulations in the radiation emitted by pulsars, which are cosmic clocks. These gravitational waves across multiple frequencies have been described as a background "hum". The results recently appeared in a set of papers published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. ABP Live spoke to Professor Michael Lam, an astronomer at the SETI Institute, and one of the scientists involved in the research, and asked him about the cosmic hum. Professor Lam explained that we cannot "see" gravitational waves as we can electromagnetic waves but they can still be directly observed, and that the evidence of gravitational waves across multiple frequencies is as if astronomers are listening to a background hum.

Sodium fluoride is often added to toothpastes to protect teeth against decay. Now, scientists have found that compounds containing fluorine could power a next-generation battery for electric vehicles. Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a fluoride electrolyte which, they say, would increase the range of electric vehicles, and be more safe, because it is nonflammable. The battery has been described in a paper in Nature Communications.

Chandrayaan-3, the succeeding mission to Chandrayaan-2, is nearing its launch date. The two missions are almost identical, except that Chandrayaan-2 included an orbiter, but Chandrayaan-3 will not carry any orbiter. Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled for launch on July 14, 2023, at 2:45 pm IST, about four years after Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22, 2019. Chandrayaan-3 will be a repeat of Chandrayaan-2, but will not have an orbiter. Similar to Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 will be launched into space using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III. The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft consisted of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. While the lander, called Vikram, failed to make the desired smooth landing, the other aspects of the mission were successful. 

ENTERTAINMENT

Veteran actress Saira Banu has made her Instagram debut, sharing a heartfelt picture in remembrance of her late husband, the greatest actor ever, Dilip Kumar. Saira Banu's profound gesture invites us to reflect on Dilip Kumar's monumental talent and enduring legacy of about 50 years in the Film Industry, as he is still considered one of India's greatest actors ever. In her note, she beautifully embraced the digital realm with the legend's memory for generations.

Former actor Sana Khan shared a post on Instagram announcing the birth of her baby on Wednesday. She and her husband, Anas Saiyad, announced the birth of their child in a joint note to their friends and followers. To share the good news, she quoted an aayat from the Qur'an. “May Allah make us the best version of ourselves for our Baby. Allah ki amanat hai behtareen banna hai. JazakAllah khair everyone for your love n dua’s that made our hearts n souls happy on this beautiful journey of ours,” they wrote in their Instagram post.

On July 3, Dhanush was seen at the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, where he is currently filming the role of ‘Captain Miller’ under the direction of Arun Matheswaran. He took his two little boys, Yatra and Linga, as well as his mom and dad, to the temple. Dhanush, Yatra, and Linga not only had darshan first thing in the morning but also had their heads tonsured as a form of worship. Dhanush cut off his hair and thick beard and became completely bald.