Online gaming cos seek review of 28% GST; Chanelling the animal flow

Crypto company Binance has reportedly laid off more than 1,000 people in recent weeks amid federal investigations and regulatory crackdowns in the United States. The global cuts included about three dozen customer-service employees in India, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Unseeded Marketa Vondrousova defeated Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 to win the Wimbledon women's singles final. Novak Djokovic will try to win his fifth straight Wimbledon title against Carlos Alcaraz today. 

Elon Musk said Twitter's cash flow remains negative because of a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load. 

Speaking of slowdowns, Meta’s Threads recently created a world record by clocking 100 million users in just five days. The app’s user engagement, however, seems to have cooled now.  

In other news, the beginning of July was the hottest week on record for the planet. India, South Korea, and Japan have seen fatal floods over the past week while southern Europe is preparing for a heatwave. Scientists say that climate change is driving these extreme weather events around the world. 

Oh, and the moon is gradually slipping away from Earth’s grasp. Researchers have found that the moon is edging away at a rate of 1.5 inches (3.8cm) every year. And as it does so, our days are getting ever so slightly longer.

And finally, here are 25 hilarious entrants of the Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2023. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Online gaming cos seek GST review
• Channeling the animal flow 
• Minnie Bhatt’s design philosophy 

Here’s your trivia for today: In which year was the first Wimbledon tournament held?

Gaming

Online gaming companies urge govt to reconsider 28% GST

A group of 127 online gaming industry representatives, including industry federations, have urged the government to reconsider the GST Council’s recommendation to impose a 28% tax on the full amount of money bet on online gaming platforms. They say the tax burden can have devastating implications, including a shutdown of businesses.

Key takeaways:

• On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance announced its decision to levy 28% GST on online gaming, horse trading, and casinos, drawing a sharp reaction from industry players.
• Talking specifically about online gaming, the authorities said the tax will be imposed at full value, regardless of whether the games are based on skill or chance.
• Companies have pointed out that the industry employs around one lakh people, across engineering, marketing, design, and research jobs, besides supporting lakhs of content creators and game streamers who belong to smaller cities. 

Health 

Channel the animal flow

Among several diets and viral workout trends that have gained popularity, the animal flow has recently emerged as a hot favourite—finding favour among several Bollywood celebrities such as Varun Dhawan, Vidyut Jammwal, Rakul Preet and Mrunal Thakur, among others.

Crouching tiger:

• Developed by Mike Fitch, a fitness educator and movement coach based in the US along with his Co-founder Karen Mahar, animal flow entails flowing from one movement to another like an animal.
• Animal flow emphasises functional exercises that include crawling, jumping, hopping, and more. These movements are designed to increase mobility, flexibility, stability, power, and endurance.
• There are only about 28 master instructors of animal flow in the world.

Lifestyle

Interior designer Minnie Bhatt’s design philosophy

Minnie Bhatt, Founder and Design Director at Minnie Bhatt Design, has been at the helm of some of the most aesthetic spaces in the country–from the residences of celebrities and industrialists such as Ronnie Screwvala and B K Modi to iconic restaurants such as Burma Burma, Ishaara, and La Poz. 

Sentient spaces:

• Bhatt recently hit a milestone with her 100th project, encompassing two ventures–Butter in Pune and Burma Burma in Bengaluru’s REX Mall.
• Her approach to design involves utilising pure materials such as wood veneer and actual brick, instead of laminate and imitations.
• Among one of her upcoming projects, Bhatt will be designing a private villa cum event space by the serene backwaters of Kerala. 

News & updates

• Data theft: Microsoft said that Chinese hackers misappropriated one of its digital keys and used a flaw in the company's code to steal emails from U.S. government agencies and other clients.
• Tax overhaul: Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers expressed optimism on Saturday about progress on a long-awaited overhaul of global corporate taxation at a meeting of Group of 20 (G20) nations in India.
• US heatwave: A blistering US heatwave is forecast to intensify this weekend, with warnings issued across the southwest. Heat advisories late on Friday affected at least 113 million Americans, from Florida to Texas to California, up to the north-western state of Washington.

In which year was the first Wimbledon tournament held?

Answer: 1877.

We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail [email protected]. 

If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our Daily Capsule page here.