Daily news wrap | Rail labour strikes in the UK derail economy; India reports 12,294 new Covid cases

National

India reports over 12,000 new COVID cases

India reported 12,249 new COVID cases in a span of 24 hours, which is a rise from the previous day's count of 9,923, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said today.

In the same period, the country reported 13 more Covid deaths, taking the nationwide toll to 5,24,903. Meanwhile, the active caseload of the country rose to 81,687 cases.

India's daily positivity rate has also risen to 3.94%, while the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 2.90%. So far, over 3.58 crore adolescents have been administered the first dose of Covid-19 jab.

Business

RBI extends timeline for compliance of card-issuing directions

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday extended the timeline for implementation of certain directions relating to credit and debit card businesses.

The RBI, in a notification, said the timeline for adherence to certain directions has been extended till October 1. It had issued the directions on April 21, and these were to come into effect from July 1.

The Rules: The extended timelines are for directions, including that card-issuers shall seek One Time Password (OTP) based consent from the cardholder for activating a credit card. If no consent is received for activating the card, card issuers shall close the credit card account without any cost to the customer within seven working days.

The card issuers will be responsibile to ensure that the credit limit sanctioned is not breached at any point without seeking explicit consent from the cardholder.

Finance

Equity indices decline, Sensex slips over 300 points

Sensex and Nifty declined during the morning session on Wednesday with weakness in US futures contracts.

A Downward Trend: Today, sensex was at 52,226.91 points, down 305.16 points, whereas nifty was at 15,529.00 points, down 109.80 points. Besides, Asian markets are trading on a mixed note as investors react to the bounce in the US markets.

Top Losers: Among the individual stocks, Hindalco, ONGC, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and Bajaj Finserv were the top five losers among the Nifty 50 companies.

Gainers: Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddys, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, and Brittania remained the top five gainers, National Stock Exchange data showed.

On Tuesday, benchmark Sensex surged 934 points, powered by across-the-board buying support on account of positive global cues. Notably, domestic indices had declined during the majority of the sessions in June.

International

Rail Labour Strikes in UK derail Economy

A railway job crunch reported in the United Kingdom. As per the reports, there aren't enough workers to keep its economy running, and many employees are angry about inflation taking a large chunk of their paychecks.

Thousands of rail workers went on strike over demands for better pay and working conditions, making this the biggest walkout on the railways in 30 years. More strikes are set for Thursday and Saturday, CNN reported.

All Sectors Affected: A separate strike by workers on London Underground also halted tube services. On the other hand, teachers, nurses and other workers could walk out as their pay falls behind soaring rates of inflation, now forecast to peak above 11% later this year.

This month's rail strikes alone could cost the tourism, leisure and theatre industries more than $1.2 billion.

US lawmakers come to terms: Bipartisan bill on gun safety

The new bill aims to take firearms away from dangerous people and provide billions of dollars in new mental health funding.

Change for a Cause: Lawmakers have crafted the legislation to prevent mass shootings, such as the mass-casualty events that left 10 people dead at a Buffalo, New York and 21 dead at the Robb Elementary School in Texas.

The bill does not ban assault-style rifles or significantly expand background-check requirements for gun purchases, but it gives states more resources to take guns away from dangerous individuals. It also provides billions of dollars in funding for mental health treatment.

Technology

OnePlus Nord 2T to arrive in India on June 27

The OnePlus Nord 2T, is the latest entrant into the OnePlus' mobile phone lineup. There were few announcements from the brand until now, but nothing about a release date or price. However, a latest leak suggests the launch date is expected to be June 27.

According to GSM Arena, there will be two RAM options available - 8/128 GB with a starting price of ₹28,999, while the 12GB RAM variant will be INR 31,999. The Nord 2T will reportedly sport the dimensity 1300 chipset and 80W fast charging. The phone also comes with three cameras, a 6.5-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display and a 4500mAh battery.

Sports

Rumeli Dhar announces retirement from all formats of Indian Cricket

India's pace all-rounder Rumeli Dhar announced her retirement from all formats of the game, ending a career where she starred with crucial match-winning contributions for the national side. She was their captain for 15 years since her debut against England in 2003.

In all, she represented India in four Tests, 78 ODIs and 18 T20Is from 2003 to 2018. She also had the rare achievement of opening both the batting as well as bowling for India in a T20I against the West Indies in 2012.