Top stories this week: From Wayanad landslides, IAS aspirant’s death to Paris Olympics 2024; Catch all updates

This week was one of losses and wins—from the Wall Street exchange, to the Olympic grounds at Paris. While the Wall Street losses deepened on August 2, witnessing a sharp drop in US equities; India earned a total of three medals at the Paris games. Meanwhile, landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad claimed the lives of over 300. Take a look at the snippets:

SBI Q1FY25 earnings; Wall Street losses

The State Bank of India is scheduled to report its Q1 earnings for the financial year 2024-25, while mining major Vedanta has approved the second interim dividend of Rs4 per share with a face value of Re 1 for FY25.

Stock market experts expect SBI to report decent numbers in Q1FY25. They said margins might remain stable due to the Bundesbank's effective mitigation strategies.Speaking of the west, a weak jobs report fueled worries that the US Federal Reserve has been too slow to cut key interest rates, risking a more pronounced US economic slowdown.

Wayanad landslides; Mumbai Howrah derail

The Centre has issued a fresh draft, proposing 57,000 square kilometres of the Western Ghat across six states, to be declared as Ecologically Sensitive Areas(ESA). The move comes after the massive landslides in Wayanad claimed the lives of around 300 people, on July 30. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden condoled the lives of the deceased in the incident.

Another tragic incident hit India the same day, as 18 coaches of the Mumbai-Howrah Mail derailed in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district, claiming the lives of 20 people.

UPSC aspirant death news

The Delhi High Court had pulled up authorities over the deaths of three UPSC aspirants who drowned in the basement of a coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar in Delhi. Massive protests had erupted in the city following the death of the students who were later identified as Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni, and Nevin Dalvin.

Lakshya Sen’s victory at Paris Olympics 2024

Lakshay Sen scripted history as he became the first Indian to storm the semi-finals of the men's singles event at the ongoing Paris games. Lakshya became the first Indian shuttler to reach the semi-final stage in the men's singles event following his 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 win over Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen. Shooter Manu Bhaker also made a space for herself as entered the final round of the 25m pistol shooting event. India currently has a medal tally of 3 bronze medals.