Weekly Update: June 28, 2021 - July 02, 2021

People often say that motivation doesn't last.
Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar
(November 06, 1926 - November 28, 2012; American Author)

Let's start!

Here's a Fun Fact that may not, or may, know: The Earth is neither flat nor round. It has the shape of a flattened sphere, also known as oblate spheroid.

Image Credit: Google

The poles of Earth are flat but the equator bulges due to its rotation, giving it the shape of a flattened sphere.

June 28, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 3,02,79,331
Recovered - 2,93,09,607
Deceased - 3,96,730

:::Slice, a Bengaluru-based fintech start-up, raised ₹148 crores from its existing investors Gunosy and Blume Ventures, to name a few. Slice targets the younger population of the country to issue credit cards and payment cards at zero joining or annual fee. The members are not required to pay any minimum amount every month either. Rajan Bajaj, one of the co-founders, confirmed that the services of the start-up were being used by around three million users. He also highlighted the goal of the start-up which is to turn the plastic card into a larger financial instrument by introducing various rewards for its members.

Image Credit: Entrackr

Slice was co-founded by Rajan Bajaj along with Deepak Malhotra.

:::WhatsApp hired Manesh Mahatme as the Head of its payments services in India. Manesh Mahatme has been hired to improve the experience of WhatsApp users in terms of payment and grow the business of the company. He has experience of seventeen years in digital financial services and payments.

Image Credit: TV9 Bharatvarsh

Manesh Mahatme was previously with Amazon India as a Director & Board Member. He has also worked with Citigroup as a Product Manager and with Bharti Airtel as the Head of Product & Marketing of Airtel Money.

June 29. 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 3,03,16,897
Recovered - 2,93,66,601
Deceased - 3,97,637

:::Cyber Cell of Delhi Police filed an FIR against Twitter over child pornographic content. The FIR was lodged by Priyank Kanoongo, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) under the relevant sections of the POCSO Act and IT Act. The case was formally registered after links about child exploitation were found available on Twitter.

Image Credit: OpIndia

Priyank Kanongo and his team have also written a letter to the Central Government asking the Central Government to not give access to Twitter to children till the time the platform is considered safe for their use.

:::The additional charge of Delhi Police was given to Balaji Srivastava, who is currently the Special Commissioner of Police Vigilance. Balaji Srivastav is a 1985-batch AGMUT cadre officer. He will succeed SN Shrivastava, who has retired on June 30, 2021.

In Pic: Balaji Srivastava; Image Credit: NDTV

Balaji Srivastava will hold the additional charge of Delhi Police till the time a regular incumbent is appointed, or until further orders are issued.

June 30, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 3,03,62,848
Recovered - 2,94,27,330
Deceased - 3,98,454

:::Aircar, a prototype of the convertible flying car, completed a test flight of thirty-five minutes. The test flight was conducted in Slovakia between the international airports of Nitra and Bratislava. The prototype has been created and was piloted by Stefan Klein. As per his claims, Aircar can fly up to 1,000 km at a height of 8,200 ft with a single refuel, converts in 135 seconds, and has a maximum cruising speed of 190 km/hr. The convertible flying car is powered by a BMW petrol engine.

Image Credit: Klein Vision | YouTube

It took 20 years and 140 test flights to successfully develop Aircar.

:::Guinness World Records confirmed Emilio Flores as the world's oldest living male. Emilio Flores is a 112 yrs young citizen of Puerto Rico. He was born to Alberto Flores Melendez and Margarita Marquez-Gracia. He has four children from his wife Andrea Perez, to whom he was married for 75 years. She died in 2010 due to age-related issues. He is a grandfather to five grandchildren and great-grandfather to five great-grandchildren.

In Pic: Emilio Flores; Image Credit: Guinness World Record

Emilio Flores was born on August 08, 1908, and currently lives in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.

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July 01, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 3,04,11,634
Recovered - 2,94,88,918
Deceased - 3,99,459

:::Abhimanyu Mishra, an Indian-origin American, became the youngest chess Grandmaster (GM). He achieved the title at the age of 12 yrs, 4 months, & 25 days by winning the Vezerkepzo Grandmaster Mix in Budapest. The title of the young GM was previously held by Sergey Karjakin, a Russia-based GM, who won it at the age of 12 years & 7 months. The other two major achievements of Abhimanyu Mishra include becoming the youngest National Champion at 7 years and the youngest National Mater in the United States of America (USA) at 9 years.

In Pic: Abhimanyu Mishra; Image Credit: Chess.com

Abhimanyu Mishra was 2-and-a-half-years young when he was introduced to chess by his father, Hemant Mishra.

:::The Global Cyber Security Index 2020 was released by the United Nation's International Telecommunication Union. As per the index released, India jumped thirty-seven places to rank at the tenth position globally and fourth position in the Asia-Pacific region with a score of 97.5 points out of 100. The index has been topped by the United States of America (USA) and it is followed by the United Kingdom & Saudi Arabia jointly at the second position.

Image Credit: Sectigo Store

The parameters that were considered to rank countries in the index were: Legal Measures, Technical Measures, Organizational Measures, Capacity Development, and Cooperation.

July 02, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 3,04,58,251
Recovered - 2,95,48,302
Deceased - 4,00,312

:::Karsten Warholm became the fastest man to run a 400-meters hurdle race by completing it in 46.70 seconds. He broke the previous record of 46.78 seconds that was set by Kevin Young in 1992. Karsten Warholm said that it might take another world record to win the Olympics.

In Pic: Karsten Warholm; Image Credit: NBC Sports

Meanwhile, Femke Bol won her second back-to-back Diamond League 400-metres hurdles race by completing it in 53.33 seconds, her personal best.

:::Fujifilm, a Japan-based photo giant, issued a statement saying that it would close four facilities that are located in South Carolina, the southeastern US state, by 2022. As a result of this closure, nearly 400 positions held by 50% of its employees would go vacant. Fujifilm has cited the decline in demand for recyclable cameras, photographic paper, and digital printing plates as reasons for the closure of its four facilities in South Carolina.

Image Credit: Fujifilm

Fujifilm, however, has decided to retain around 300 employees to work in the warehouse, Human Resource, Finance, and Environmental Components.

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That is all for this week.

Do share this blog with everyone you know. You can connect with me on Instagram @sachdev_ankur.

I hope that the blog was useful and it helped you in catching up with what happened this week. If you have anything to contribute, then please feel free to comment. Do share this blog with everyone you know and help them too.

*Disclaimer: The information has been presented in this blog after reviewing various news articles. In case you find any article, or if you have any article, that states some facts differently, then share them in the comment section. Please keep the publishing date of the article in mind as it may be an update on the article which was published previously, or it may contain outdated information if it was published before the date mentioned in this blog. The blogger is not responsible for any transaction that happens between the reader and the brand.