Daily News Wrap | Tata Group's Air India to expand fleet; S. Korea launches homegrown space rocket

National

Covid cases dip in some areas of India, spike remains in others

India witnessed a significant decline in new COVID cases, reporting 9,923 infections, against the previous day's 12,781 count, the Union Health Ministry said.

In the same period, 17 fatalities took the nationwide death toll to 5,24,890 Meanwhile, the active caseload has risen to 79,313 cases, accounting for 0.18% of the total positive cases.

While the daily positivity rate has come down to 2.55%, the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 2.67%. Also in the same period, a total of 3,88,641 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 85.85 crore.

Earthquake of 4.3 magnitude hits Andaman & Nicobar Islands

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 on the Richter scale occurred 183 km southwest of Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, informed the National Center for Seismology (NCS) on Tuesday.

The depth of the earthquake was 10 km which occurred at 7:15 am early in the morning. The NCS tweeted "Earthquake of Magnitude: 4.3, occurred on June 21, 2022, 07:15:47 IST, Lat: 10.39 and Long: 91.61, Depth: 10 km, Location: 183 km SW of Portblair, Andaman and Nicobar island, India."

Finance

Bitcoin surges past $20K, Ethereum crosses $1,100 per coin

After witnessing free fall for weeks, Bitcoin finally rose past $20,000 per digital coin, bringing a 16% gain over the weekend.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped below $18,000 on Sunday, a massive over 70% drop. The second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum also fell below $1,000, down nearly 80% since its all-time-high in November last year.

However, the market is showing signs of a comeback. On Monday, Ethereum rebounded to reach $1,133, a 20% gain over the past 24 hours. At the same time, Bitcoin rose 16%. However, the global market cap of cryptocurrencies sank below $850 billion, which recently hovered over $1 trillion.

Business

Tata Group's Air India to expand its fleet

Tata group's Air India plans to expand its flight fleet in a couple of year's time. The proposed new aircrafts will be a mix of narrow and wide bodied. As per the reports, Airbus and Boeing will be the makers of the aircrafts.

Currently, Air India's fleet is a mix of Boeing (777-200LR, 777-300ER and 787-800 Dreamliner) and Airbus (319, 320, 320Neo and 321) aircraft, which totals to 113 operating flights.

Air India has also given pilots the option of training in an A350, which means the airline plans to induct the same planes in its fleet for long haul flights.

Gaming-led global metaverse market to reach $28 bn by 2028

Fueled by gaming, the global metaverse market is projected to reach $28 billion by 2028, from $510 million this year, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 95%.

Valuates reports states that the growth of the metaverse market is expected to be aided by the expansion of the metaverse on social media platforms.

Based on application, the game industry is expected to be the most profitable. In order to participate in next-generation gaming, players are venturing into the world of the metaverse, the report noted.

Based on type, the desktop market is predicted to be the most profitable. The market is expanding as video game revenue rises and the number of players grows around the world. There is a huge demand for desktop devices that can be used for virtual reality games. It is a profitable market, and one that keen investors should keep an eye out for.

International

Spain sees worst wildfire in recorded history

A wildfire caused by a lightning strike in the province of Zamora, North-west of Madrid has become the worst forestfire ever recorded in the history of Spain.

The fire in the Sierra de la Culebra nature reserve has engulfed over 30,800 hectares of woodland and scrub areas with a perimeter of 120.88 kilometres. The reserve is environmentally important as it contains the highest concentration of wolves in the Iberian Peninsula, along with the populations of red and roe deer.

Hundreds of firefighters accompanied by members of the Spanish Military Emergency unit are now working to dampen down the area and establish fire breaks.

S.Korea successfully launched homegrown space rocket

South Korea on Tuesday launched its homegrown space rocket Nuri in the second attempt to put satellites into orbit.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the 200-tonne Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, blasted off from the Naro Space Centre in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung.

A successful launch makes South Korea the seventh country to have developed a space launch vehicle with a carry capacity of more than 1-tonne.

South Korea have secured the key independent technology for developing and launching space rockets carrying homegrown satellites. Nuri was loaded with a 162.5-kilogram performance verification satellite and four cube satellites meant to test the rocket's capabilities. South Korea, a relative latecomer to the global space development race, has invested nearly US$1.8 billion in building Nuri since 2010.

Technology

Apple could launch second generation AirTag model

Reports have suggested that Apple has progressively expanded shipments of the AirTag since its debut, according to a tweet by TFI International Securities.

In April 2021, Apple launched AirTag, a gadget that allows users to track lost personal items using their iPhones. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts AirTag shipments will reach 20 million units in 2021 and 35 million units in 2022, a 75% increase over last year.

While it's difficult to see how the original AirTag might be improved upon, Apple releases updates to all of its other hardware products regularly, so it'd be unusual if the AirTag were to be left out.

Sports

ESFI name 11-member Indian contingent for 14th World Esports Championships

Tekken7 star Hitesh Khorwal and Ritesh Sarda-led Team Wicked Gaming secured their places in the Indian squad as the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) announced a strong 11-member contingent for the 14th edition of the World Esports Championships (WEC), to be held in Bali from November 27 to December 7.

Khorwal and a five-member Team Wicked Gaming, comprising of skipper Sarda, Hrishikesh Shenoy, Anshul Ajay Adarkar, Shuvajyoti Chakraborty and Ninad Ramesh Sonare, sealed WEC berths after winning the Tekken7 and CS: GO titles respectively at the National Esports Championships.

A DOTA2 team, which qualified for the 2022 Asian Games, has been selected to represent India at the WEC as well. The team will consist of veteran athletes including Moin Ejaz, Shubham Goli, Ketan Goyal, Abhishek Yadav and Vishal Verenakar, who is included in place of Krish.

The Indian contingent will now take part in the World Esports Championships Regional Qualifiers, for which the dates will be announced soon by the IESF.