Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar holds talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow BRICS members agree on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)-led cooperation BRICS member countries agree to a Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)-led BRICS Innovation Cooperation Action Plan (2021-24) proposed by India –WhatsApp tells Delhi HC it won’t compel users to opt for new privacy policy till data protection bill comes into force Country’s foreign exchange touch a lifetime high of $610.012 billion in the week ended July 2 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participates virtually in G20 High-Level Tax Symposium on Tax Policy and Climate Change Bharat Dynamics Ltd signs Rs 499-crore deal with IAF for surface-to-air Akash missiles of range 30 kms NFRA (National Financial Reporting Authority) extends deadline for comments on consultation paper till July 30 Norway’s Telenor quits Myanmar over military coup At least 52 people died in a fire that engulfed Hashem Food and Beverage Ltd. factory in Rupganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka Oxfam: 11 people die of hunger each minute around the globe UNICEF inks deal with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV to supply of 220 mn Covid-19 vaccine doses of Johnson & Johnson to all 55 member states of the African Union (AU) by the end of 2022 US: Zaila Avant-garde (14) becomes first African-American to win National Spelling Bee contest in its 96-year history Cases were reported after genome sequencing of samples at Lucknow’s King George medical college. Genome sequencing is a laboratory process which is instrumental for characterising mutations and tracking covid-19 disease outbreaks. Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 was also found in 107 samples. Both variants of Covid-19 are not new in state. It is this virus and respiratory illness responsible for COVID-19 pandemic. World Health Organization had declared this outbreak as Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020. Later, on March 11, 2020 it was declared as pandemic. SARS‑CoV‑2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus