Nipah virus outbreak, ‘Big Beautiful Bill' passage, Himachal Pradesh cloudburst and more: The week in 5 charts
Kerala recorded two cases of the Nipah virus in Malappuram district as of Friday last week (July 4, 2025). The State sees a resurgence in the virus on a seasonal basis every year for the past couple years. India has recorded seven outbreaks of the virus since 2001. The place of the outbreak has shifted from West Bengal to Kerala since 2018.
The virus originates from fruit bats, infecting humans who come into contact with the infected animals or fruits. Case fatality rate can range from 40% to 75% in laboratory-confirmed cases. Kerala's Health Department sounded the alert in three districts - Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad - and listed 425 people in the contact list of both infected people combined.
(2) PM Modi's five-nation tour kicks off on July 2
Starting Wednesday, July 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five-nation tour across two continents, covering Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. With a wide range of discussions and plans in each country, Mr. Modi's focus areas will be on defence, rare earth minerals, cooperation on counter-terror and south-south cooperation during the tour.
This will be the fourth time Mr. Modi is visiting Brazil as the prime minister and during his visit, PM Modi will also attend the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7. In Brazil, Mr. Modi is expected to participate in discussions on defence cooperation between the two countries.
This will be the first time Mr. Modi will visit Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago. PM Modi will address the parliaments of Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Namibia during this 8-day tour. The interactive below displays the route of the five-nation tour along with highlighting some key areas of focus for each country.
Ghana Trinidad and Tobago Argentina Brazil Namibia
Click on the buttons to see issues up for discussion in each country
(3) 'One Big Beautiful Bill': Trump secures major victory
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (July 3, 2025) secured a major political victory when Congress narrowly passed his flagship tax and spending bill, cementing his radical second-term agenda and boosting funds for his anti-immigration drive.
The bill underlined the President's dominance over the Republican Party, which had been wracked by misgivings over a text that will balloon the national debt and gut health and welfare support.
A small group of opponents in the party finally fell into line after Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral dissenters in the House of Representatives behind the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.'
The bill squeezed past a final vote 218-214.
Flanked by Republican legislators and members of his Cabinet, Mr. Trump signed the multitrillion-dollar legislation outside the White House on the nation's Independence Day (Friday, July 4), and then banged down the gavel that House Speaker Mike Johnson gifted him that was used during the bill's final passage Thursday.
The bill is a sprawling 900-page legislative package combining tax cuts, social programme reductions, and expansive federal enforcement funding. The bill seeks to impose 1% excise tax on all remittance transfers.
The U.S.' share in overall remittances reaching India stood at 27.7% in 2023-24.
(4) At least 43 dead in Himachal Pradesh in two weeks due to rain fury
At least 43 people have been killed and 37 gone missing in Himachal Pradesh due to the ravages of weather — cloudburst, flash floods, landslide — since the onset of monsoon last month, Chief Minister Sukhu on Friday (July 4, 2025) said.
Amid widespread destruction caused by incessant rains and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday announced a series of relief measures, including ₹5,000 per month as rental assistance for families displaced by the natural calamity.
Addressing the media in Shimla after a high-level review meeting with the deputy speaker and other ministers, the Himachal CM stated that the State is facing 'disaster like a war'.
Between June 26 and July 2, the district of Mandi received 482% more rainfall than average, as shown in the map graphic above.
Search and rescue operations are underway with drones and sniffer dogs being used to trace 30 people who went missing after cloudbursts, flash floods and landslips wreaked havoc in the Thunag, Gohar and Karsog subdivisions of Mandi district last week, officials said on Monday (July 7, 2025).
About 250 personnel from the National and State Disaster Response Forces, Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Home Guards, along with the administration and locals, are undertaking the search and rescue work. Besides, 20 teams are gathering information and distributing ration and medical kits in inaccessible areas, officials said.
(5) Dalai Lama turns 90 after week of celebrations
The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, turned 90 on Sunday (July 6, 2025) after a week of celebrations by followers during which he riled China again and spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after dying.
The Nobel laureate is regarded as one of the world's most influential religious leaders, with a following that extends well beyond Buddhism, but not by Beijing which calls him a separatist and has sought to bring the faith under its control.
Fleeing his native Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the 14th Dalai Lama along with hundreds of thousands of Tibetans took shelter in India and has since advocated for a peaceful 'Middle Way' to seek autonomy and religious freedom for the Tibetan people.
Thousands of followers from around the world, celebrities, and officials from the United States and India, will attend his birthday celebrations in Dharamshala, the small Indian town in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Dalai Lama lives.
In a birthday message on his website on Sunday (July 6, 2025), the Dalai Lama said he was 'just a simple Buddhist monk' and that he will continue to focus on his commitments of promoting human values and religious harmony.
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