Business
Apple raises starting salary for retail workers amid unionisation push

Alarmed at unionisation efforts at its own retail stores, Apple is reportedly increasing the hourly salary of its retail and corporate employees.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is increasing the hourly rate for retail workers from $20 to $22 per hour and some regions will start higher.
The tech giant is also increasing starting salaries amid rising inflation, a tight labour market and unionisation pushes, the report mentioned.
The iPhone maker told employees in an email that the company is increasing its overall compensation budget.
“Supporting and retaining the best team members in the world enables us to deliver the best, most innovative, products and services for our customers,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement to WSJ.
“This year as part of our annual performance review process, we’re increasing our overall compensation budget.”
Earlier reports said that the tech giant’s vice president of people and retail, Deirdre O’Brien, was trying to dissuade retail workers from joining a union.
Three of Apple’s own stores — one each in New York, Maryland, and Georgia in the US — are planning to form a union.
While the Apple store in Georgia will vote starting June 2, Apple’s retail store in Maryland will vote starting June 15 to form a union.
To date, no Apple store has successfully formed a union.
Apple recently hiked benefits for both part-time and full-time retail employees.
Crime
Delhi Police arrest notorious cyber stalker in Palam

CRIME
New Delhi, July 2: A 21-year-old man was arrested in Delhi’s Palam village for allegedly harassing a college student by creating fake Instagram accounts and using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate objectionable content.
The accused was persistently stalking and defaming the victim, a college-going girl, through multiple fake Instagram profiles, Amit Goel, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South West District, said in a statement.
The complainant approached the Cyber Police Station, West District, on June 16, reporting that the accused was daily creating new accounts using her photographs, posting them with derogatory captions, and targeting her and her followers.
Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“In view of the seriousness of the matter, a dedicated team led by SI Priyanka was formed to identify and apprehend the accused,” the statement added.
A team of PS Cyber, South-West District, arrested the notorious cyber stalker and recovered the smartphone used in the commission of the offence, the statement read.
During the investigation, it came to the fore that the accused was impersonating a female using a profile picture taken from the victim’s public Instagram account, the police said.
The police said the accused further used AI tools to convert the images into sexually explicit content and uploaded these edited pictures through fake Instagram stories.
Despite efforts to mask his identity by not linking any accounts to verifiable mobile numbers or Gmail IDs, the cyber team used advanced technical analysis to track the suspect to the Palam area of South-West Delhi. Multiple raids were conducted before he was successfully arrested.
The accused, whose identity has been withheld, confessed to the crime during interrogation, the police statement read.
Further investigation is underway.
National
Ashish Shelar Orders Timely Honorarium Disbursal And SOP Reinforcement For Senior Folk Artists

Cultural Affairs Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar on Tuesday directed the department to re-communicate instructions to all District Collectors regarding the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for disbursal of honorarium to senior folk artists. He also instructed that every senior artist must receive a written response to their application within the prescribed timeframe.
A review meeting was held at Mantralaya to assess the remuneration process for senior artists, during which Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar issued key directives. The application process for this year’s honorarium disbursal began today.
Noting that several complaints are received annually regarding delays and inconsistencies, the Minister instructed the Director of Cultural Affairs to ensure time-bound redressal of all grievances. He emphasized that every senior artist must receive a written response to their application within the stipulated timeframe to build trust and transparency in the system.
Minister Shelar also pointed out that the formation of remuneration committees for senior artists is still pending in many districts. In light of this, he stressed the need to re-communicate the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to all District Collectors to ensure uniformity and accountability in the implementation of the honorarium process across the state.
Deputy Secretary of the Cultural Affairs Department Mahesh Vavhal, Director of the Directorate of Cultural Affairs Bibhishan Chavare, Joint Director Shriram Pande, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
National
Ravindra Chavan, Trusted Lieutenant Of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Appointed BJP State Unit President

Mumbai: Ravindra Chavan, known as a trusted lieutenant of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will take over as BJP’s state unit president on Tuesday.
The incumbent, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, will hand over charge at a party conclave in Mumbai. The mantle is being handed to Chavan, whose grassroots planning ensured BJP’s impressive electoral performance in Thane and the Konkan belt, with an eye on the coming elections to the local bodies, according to party sources.
Chavan was the only candidate who filed his nomination papers on Monday at BJP state headquarters in the presence of Fadnavis, Bawankule and the party’s Maharashtra in-charge Arun Singh. Union minister Kiren Rijiju was present as the central observer.
Chavan represents Dombivali for the fourth term in the Assembly. He was a member of the Fadnavis cabinet between 2014 and 2019 and the Eknath Shinde-led government from 2022 to 2024. There was speculation of his elevation to the key party post started when he was denied a Cabinet berth after last year’s Assembly elections. He has been officiating as the working president of the state unit for the last few months.
The BJP is eyeing maximum number of municipal bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) comprising 8 municipal corporations. With the elevation of Chavan, known for his aggressive politics, BJP seems to be sending out a message to deputy CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which is likely to ask for lion’s share of seats for the civic polls. As an experienced leader, Chavan will shoulder his responsibilities with vigour and strength, Fadnavis asserted.
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