Here are the top 5 news updates of July 31, 2021:
1. Amid Assam-Mizoram row, CM Himanta Sarma announces resolution of border dispute with Nagaland
Amid the Assam-Mizoram rift, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that border dispute with Nagaland has been resolved.
He said that both the sides have arrived at an understanding to withdraw states' forces from border locations.
"In a major breakthrough towards de-escalating tensions at Assam-Nagaland border, the two Chief Secretaries have arrived at an understanding to immediately withdraw states' forces from border locations to their respective base camps," he said.
India's poster girl for badminton, PV Sindhu, seeded sixth, lost Badminton Women's Singles Semifinal 18-21,12-21 in 40 minutes to second seed Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei. Sindhu will now face He Bingjiao in the Bronze Medal match on Sunday.
With sharp drop shots, Tzu-Ying, the World No. 1, used Sindhu' height to her advantage to boss the game and eventually put an end to PV Sindhu's impressive campaign at Tokyo Olympics.
3. Maharashtra's longest-serving MLA Ganpatrao Deshmukh passes away
Maharashtra's longest-serving MLA Ganpatrao Deshmukh passed away on Friday. He was 96. Deshmukh, who was the MLA for a record eleven times, represented Sangola seat in Solapur district.
Deshmukh was from the Shetkari Kamgar Party and worked with the first Maharashtra chief minister Yashvanrao Chavan and also with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. However, he declined the request from his supporters to contest the 2019 Assembly election due to his age.
Ganpatrao was first elected to the Maharashtra Assembly in the 1962 elections, and since then he won every election, except for the 1972 and 1995 elections.
He first became a minister of state for a brief period when Sharad Pawar split from Congress and formed Progressive Democratic Front government in 1978, and the second time was in 1999, when the Shetkari Kamgar Party supported the Congress-NCP alliance.
Several politicians, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Guv Bhagat Singh Koshyari, condoled Ganpatrao Deshmukh's demise.
4. Karnataka cabinet expansion by early next week, says CM Basavaraj Bommai
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said that the cabinet expansion will take place could happen early next week. He said that he has explained the necessity of an early cabinet expansion in the meeting with BJP president JP Nadda.
"We will get the nod within next week. I have not discussed the list of probable ministers in today's meeting. But told the need of early decision on this issue," the 61-year-old leader told reporters in Delhi.
He further said that he will be meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund for last year and this year. "I am meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today regarding the Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund for last year and this year also," said Karnataka Chief Minister.
5. Apple CEO Tim Cook 'refused to meet', says Tesla chief Elon Musk but denies he was abused
Was there a Tesla-Apple deal in the offing? It is referred to in a new book written by Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins on Elon Musk and his firm Tesla titled, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century.
Higgins claims that Apple CEO Tim Cook abused Musk when he mooted an idea to become the CEO of Apple. Musk has denied the claims and said instead that he has never met Tim Cook.
There are a series of tweets by Mark Gurgan, a Bloomberg-affliated journalist, who quotes from the book.On his part, Musk does confirm in a tweet that Cook 'refused' to meet him but says he neither spoke or met with Cook.
What Musk says about not meeting with the Apple CEO was echoed by Tim Cook in an interview with New York Times. In that interview Cook denied having spoken to Musk ever. “You know, I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he’s built,” Cook said.
Higgins, though, goes on to retweet a picture of a meeting where both Musk and Cook are present.
