1. The Uttarakhand Police has decided to scrutinise social media behaviour before giving their clearance for people applying for passports. 

Justifying the decision, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, said the measure is needed to stop growing misuse of social media platforms. He also said that he is only enforcing a clause already there in the passport law.

2. Pfizer has decided to withdraw its application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in India.

Pfizer was the first pharmaceutical firm to seek an emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for its COVID-19 vaccine, after it secured such clearance in the UK and Bahrain.

3. Airfare bands are not going to be permanent and will be done away with as soon as normal flight operations resume, said civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.

4. A total of 16 out of 25 high courts in the country have resumed physical hearings which had stopped following the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the Rajya Sabha that 9 high courts in the country are still functioning through virtual hearing only.

5. 45% of India’s total healthcare workers have been vaccinated till now.

As per reports, 13 states have vaccinated more than 50% of their healthcare workers, the top three states being Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tripura.

6. A 9-year-old girl was sexually abused, thrashed and killed in Kolkata.

The body of a 9-year-old girl was recovered from the staircase of a residential building in Kolkata. According to the police, the girl was first sexually abused and then killed.

7. Canada has extended a ban on cruise ships entering its waters through February 2022 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The ban applies to ships carrying more than 100 people.

8. U.S. voting rights activist and Democratic Party politician Stacey Abrams has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her work to promote non violent change.

9. The government’s proposed spending on education has been cut by Rs 6,000 crore in the budget.

The total education budget was slashed by 6% from Rs 99,311 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 93,224 crore-the lowest in three years-with school education taking the biggest cut of almost Rs 5,000 crore.

10. President Joe Biden is ending US military support for the war by its Saudi allies in Yemen.

The end of US military support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen reverses former president Donald Trump’s policy of providing logistical assistance and selling huge amounts of advanced weaponry.

11. An analysis of air pollution levels in Delhi revealed that Delhi’s air quality is significantly influenced by air pollution sources outside the NCR where most industries have not shifted to natural gas yet.

The analysis was done between March 25 and May 31, 2020.

12. Around 9,000 to 10,000 aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins get snagged by mechanised fishing vessels every year across India, according to the Union environment ministry.

13. Over 21% of the population, aged 10 years and above, showed evidence of past exposure to COVID-19 in the ICMR’s latest national serosurvey.

14. The Uttar Pradesh police have booked relatives of a 32-year-old farmer for draping his body in the tricolour before his last rites.

Baljinder Singh, the farmer, reportedly died in a road accident while he was on his way to join the farmers’ protest in Ghaziabad. 

15. The Allahabad High Court granted interim protection from arrest to Amazon Prime Video’s India Content Head Aparna Purohit in a case lodged against her in connection with the web series Tandav.

How many of these did you miss?