Iraq's Supreme Court ordered a manual recount of the legislative elections held in May, a process expected to take weeks although Parliament's mandate runs out at the end of this month.
According to experts on Iraqi politics, the recount due to suspicions of electoral fraud, however, would not significantly affect the overall outcome.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist Dies
Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist has died at age 68.
Krauthammer's New Republic essays won him the "National Magazine Award for Essays and Criticism" The weekly column he began writing for The Washington Post in 1985 won him the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1987.
Krauthammer is credited with coining the term "The Reagan Doctrine" for President Reagan's policy of aiding anti-Communist movements worldwide. He was a leading advocate for the Iraq War and a prominent critic of President Barack Obama.
Rising Bedrock Could Slow Antarctic Ice Sheet Melting
An international team of researchers has found that the bedrock below the remote West Antarctic Ice Sheet is rising much more rapidly than previously thought, in response to ongoing ice melt.
The study, "Observed rapid bedrock uplift in the Amundsen Sea Embayment promotes ice-sheet stability," reveals new insights on the geology of the region and its interaction with the ice sheet. The authors noted that the findings have important implications in understanding and predicting the stability of the ice sheet and Earth's rising sea levels.
As part of its attempts to rationalise stock market regulations, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the rules related to public issues, takeovers and buy-backs based on feedback received from various market participants.
The board of the capital markets regulator decided to give companies more time for the upward revision of open offer price and announcing the price band for an initial public offer (IPO).
Taiwanese Companies Urged to Set up Base in Telangana
The Telangana government, which is setting up a dedicated 200-acre park for Taiwanese companies, has urged technology companies from Taoyuan, Taiwan, to consider setting up base in Telangana.
The plea was made by Telangana chief secretary S. K. Joshi, who is heading a delegation to the Taoyuan-India Exchange Forum 2018.
The visit comes after Taoyuan and Telangana had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in February 2018.
Payworld Partners with Reliance MF
Payworld, which specialises in providing financial services for the semi-urban and rural consumers has partnered with Reliance Mutual Fund for financial inclusion of low-income households at the bottom of the pyramid.
Under this partnership, Payworld will facilitate the investments, while the partner asset management company - Reliance Mutual Fund will manage the investments garnered by Payworld. Initially, around 400 retailers will be trained and certified in the first phase.
Fashion e-tailer Myntra launched its "Blink Go" first smart wearable device at Rs. 4,199.
The device allows users to monitor their fitness parameters and set personal fitness goals that include activity tracking -- such as steps, distance, calories, sleep and heart rate sensor.
First Ancient Syphilis Genomes Decoded
An international research team has recovered the first historic genomes from the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis. It was previously not thought possible to recover DNA of this bacterium from ancient samples. In the study, the researchers were able to distinguish genetically between the subspecies of the disease that cause syphilis and that cause yaws, which are not readily distinguishable in skeletal remains.
Croatia eased into the World Cup knockout stage after defeating Argentina 3-0 in their Group D match.
Croatia's second win in the group guarantees it a top two place while Argentina has one point and needs to win its last group game against Nigeria to boost its chances of advancing.
France beat Peru 1-0 to book their place in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Essel Group America's YO1 Nature Cure Centre Inaugurated
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Essel Group America's YO1 - the largest nature cure centre - in the United States via video-conferencing. PM Modi, while highlighting the importance of Yoga in his speech, said that the word 'Yoga' symbolises connection.
The PM also lauded the Essel Group initiative, which will provide direct employment to 500 people and to more than 1500 people indirectly.
NSG Sent to J&K
Ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, the central government has sent a team of National Security Guards (NSG) to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir to deal with any terror-related incident.
According to sources, the commandos have been asked to be prepared to deal with any hostage-like situation. Apart from this, they will also be stationed at Srinagar airport to tackle any eventuality. About two dozen NSG snipers have been camped at BSF headquarters in Humhama Srinagar. The NSG commandos' presence in Kashmir was reportedly cleared in April by the Home Ministry.
First Strategic 2+2 Dialogue
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold the first strategic 2+2 Dialogue with their US counterparts in July in Washington.
Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will host the Indian ministers at the meeting that "will focus on strengthening strategic, security, and defence cooperation as the United States and India jointly confront global challenges.