Tunisians head to the polls on july 25  to vote on a new constitution — a controversial initiative spearheaded by Tunisian President Kais Saied that critics say will formalize his power grab and reverse hard-won democratic gains in the North African nation.

July 25th's referendum marks one year to the day that Saied froze Tunisia's parliament and dismissed his government — a move derided by critics as "a coup" but celebrated by Tunisians who had grown exasperated with the country's political elites and years of economic stagnation. In the year since then, Saied has given himself the power to rule by decree and has fired dozens of judges, decisions that have provoked a series of protests.

The new constitution gives the office of the president all executive powers and removes key checks and balances. The power of Tunisia's judiciary and parliament would be greatly reduced.

Critics warn that Saied's new political structure could pave the way to a new autocracy in the country that rose up against former autocratic strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and kicked off the Arab Spring pro-democracy protests. Tunisia is the only nation to emerge with democracy from those protests.

Before his spectacular falling-out with Boris Johnson, former finance minister Rishi Sunak was on a rapid rise that could still end with him installed as Britain's first prime minister of colour.

It would be a historic landmark if the Hindu descendant of immigrants from Britain's old empire in India and East Africa were to take command of the world's fifth largest economy.

But after making the final run-off following a series of votes by Conservative MPs, Sunak must first convince the party's grassroots members -- and hope Johnson loyalists overlook his role in toppling the scandal-tainted leader.

A details-oriented policy wonk, Sunak, 42, was an early backer of Brexit and took over as chancellor of the exchequer in February 2020. It was a baptism of fire for the Tory rising star, as the Covid pandemic erupted.

He was forced to craft an enormous economic support package at breakneck speed, which he now says needs to be paid off. In India, Sunak has been better known through his wife Akshata Murty. She is the daughter of Indian tycoon Narayana Murthy, the billionaire co-founder of information-technology group Infosys.

The Sunaks met while studying in California and they have two young daughters -- along with a photogenic dog. The ex-ministers Instagram-friendly profile earned him the media nickname of "Dishy Rishi".

Sunak's grandparents were from Punjab in northern India and emigrated to Britain from eastern Africa in the 1960s.

Automaker Jaguar Land Rover forecast the company's electric vehicle sales to be approximately 27 per cent globally by the financial year 2025-26, before rising to above 60 per cent by the end of this decade.

In the financial year 2021-22, just 3 per cent of the total sales were a pure-electric vehicles, the auto company stated in its annual report for 2021-22.

Between 2020 and 2030, it aims to reduce emissions by 46 per cent across vehicle manufacturing and logistics, and by 54 per cent per vehicle, from purchased goods, services, and use of products.

Over the next four years, Land Rover will welcome six all-electric variants across two architectures, which will help the company to meet unprecedented policy shifts and an exponential rise in customer demand for electric vehicles across its key markets.

With growing concerns about extreme weather events due to climate change, sustainability is at the core of almost every company operating in the manufacturing sector. India too is leading in this initiative.

At the COP26 summit at Glasgow in late 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to an ambitious five-part "Panchamrit" pledge, including reaching 500GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, to generate half of all energy requirements from renewables, to reduce emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030.

India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070.

During an event last week, CEO NITI Aayog Parameswaran Iyer highlighted that rapid development of the electric vehicle ecosystem, increased participation from the industry, international collaboration, and supportive government policies, will bolster India's EV adoption to grow exponentially over the next decade.

The US-based Panattoni will invest USD 200 million (around Rs 1,597 crore) in India to develop four industrial and logistics parks across major cities as it sees huge growth potential amid rising demand for warehouses.

Panattoni, a global leader in industrial & logistics real estate development, has debuted in the Asian market with its entry in India.

The Indian venture, Panattoni India Development Pvt Ltd, is headquartered in Bengaluru.

The proposed investments include land, construction and other costs. The fund will be raised at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level to be created separately for the development of each project.

The company will also follow its global strategy to exit from each project after it completes development as well as leasing of spaces to tenants.

With 46 offices across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, Panattoni has developed 544 million square feet of space for over 2,500 global clients.

·         The rupee appreciated 9 paise to 79.81 against the US dollar in early trade on july 25, supported by the fall in crude oil prices.

·         At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 79.86 against the American dollar. In initial trade, the local currency witnessed a high of 79.81 and a low of 79.87 against the US dollar.

·         In the previous session, the rupee had closed at 79.90 against the American currency. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10 per cent to 106.62.

·         Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.54 per cent to USD 102.62 per barrel.

Axar Patel's career-best 64 not out lifted India to a series-clinching two-wicket win with two balls to spare over the West Indies in the second One-Day International of a three-match series at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on july 24.

After Shai Hope’s assured 115 in his 100th ODI paced the home side to a competitive 311 for six batting first, the tourists were indebted to Patel's bludgeoning innings off just 35 balls in his first ODI for five years.

Three fours and five sixes highlighted the left-hander's spectacular effort in which 100 runs came off the last 58 deliveries of the match to give India an unbeatable 2-0 lead and extended their winning streak against the West Indies to 12 matches dating back to November, 2018.

Kyle Mayers, who had taken two early wickets and featured in two other dismissals, was entrusted with the final over with India runs away from victory.

He looked on course to deny the visitors until a full-toss was smashed for a straight six by Patel to obliterate the previous record of 272 by the West Indies against Pakistan in 1988 as the highest success ODI run-chase at the venue.

Shreyas Iyer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) had gotten India back on course after early setbacks, but it was Patel's intervention which made all the difference.

Hope's 13th ODI century earlier in the day, just his second in the Caribbean, came off 227 balls and was decorated with eight fours and three sixes.

He received good support from Nicholas Pooran as the home captain stroked 74 in a 117-run fourth wicket partnership with the opening batsman to justify his decision to bat first.

Mayers, West Indies top-scorer in the first match two days earlier which India won by just three runs, again set the pace with a brisk 39 in an opening stand of 65 with Hope.

Seam bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur was the leading wicket-taker with three for 54, removing Pooran, Rovman Powell and then Hope to peg back their opponents who looked on course for a total closer to 330.

Q1. Name the West Bengal minister who has been  arrested in connection with an alleged school jobs scam?

1. Pulak Roy
2. Swapan Debnath
3. Partha Chatterjee
4. Firhad Hakim
5. None of These

Q2. The European Union has  approved  smallpox vaccine for use against

1. Malaria
2. Hepatitis C
3. Dengue
4. Tuberculosis
5. None of These

Q3. Name the Turkish President  who has  criticized Greece for allegedly violating a settlement that has governed relations between the rivals for nearly a century ?

1. Süleyman Demirel
2. Ahmet Necdet Sezer 
3. Abdullah Gül
4. Recep Tayyip Erdogan
5. None of These

Q4. The Tunisians headed  to the polls on july 25  to vote on a new constitution — a controversial initiative spearheaded by Tunisian President

1. Kais Saied
2. Moncef Marzouki
3. Beji Caid Essebsi
4. Mohamed Ennaceur
5. None of These

Q5. Which among the following is the currency of Sweden ?

1. Franc
2. Pound
3. Krona
4. Dollar
5. None of These

Answers

1----------------------3    Partha Chatterjee

2-----------------------5    None of These Ans    monkeypox

3-----------------------4   Recep Tayyip Erdogan

4-----------------------1   Kais Saied

5------------------------3     Krona

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Mother nature is in deep agony and the climate crisis can endanger the very future of this planet, outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind said in his farewell address to the nation on  july 24 as he appealed to all to protect the environment for the coming generations.

Emphasising that the country is getting equipped to make the 21st century "the century of India", Kovind highlighted the importance of healthcare and education and said these, along with economic reforms, would enable citizens to pursue happiness by discovering their potential.

President-elect Droupadi Murmu will be sworn in as the country's 15th President on july 25 .

He said the National Education Policy will go a long way in making it possible for young Indians to connect with their heritage and also find their feet in the twenty-first century.

The president made a special mention of the threat to the environment and asked all citizens to take care of it for future generations.

President Kovind also hailed the trinity of ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, saying they must not be mistaken as abstractions beacause they ''are lofty, noble and uplifting''.

During his address, the president went down memory lane to highlight the inherent power of vibrant democratic institutions.

In his farewell speech on the eve of his completing five-year tenure as the president, Kovind said the founders of our modern nation exemplified the meaning of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity with hard work and an attitude of service, and "we only have to follow in their footsteps and keep walking".

President Kovind said in modern times, the glorious journey of the country commenced with the awakening of nationalist feelings during colonial rule and the launch of the freedom struggle.

When Gandhiji returned to the motherland in 1915, the nationalist fervour was gaining momentum, Kovind said, mentioning Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Syama Prasad Mookerjee among others.