LIVE: Over 30 mn income tax returns for current fiscal filed, says FinMin

Live news: India's eastern coast braces for a weakened cyclone Jawad; Nirmala Sitharaman says legislation will regulate crypto.

Live news: Nagaland’s government has ordered a 'thorough probe' after security forces gunned down 11 civilians Saturday evening, mistaking daily-wage labourers as militants of a banned group.

The India Army said it "deeply regretted" the deaths. "A high-level SIT constituted by the State govt will thoroughly probe this incident to ensure justice to the bereaved families,” said home minister Amit Shah on Twitter, referring to special investigation team.

India reported its fourth case of Omicron on Saturday when a 33-year-old man who had travelled to Mumbai from South Africa via Dubai and Delhi late last month tested positive for the coronavirus variant near Maharashtra’s capital.

Before that, a 72-yeard-old man who returned from Zimbabwe was found infected with Omicron in Gujarat's Jamnagar. India reported 8,603 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the total to 34.62 million. Deaths rose by 415 to 470,530.

Speculation in cryptocurrencies is "not healthy at all," said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she talked about a Bill the government will introduce before Parliament to regulate the digital assets.

The Bill prohibits all private cryptocurrencies in India, but allows exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.

Odisha and West Bengal evacuated thousands of people living on the coast as they prepared for cyclonic storm Jawad that will hit the temple town of Puri Sunday afternoon after weakening over the sea.

8:33 PM

Digvijay terms Scindia betrayer after Union minister's maiden rally in his home turf

A war of words erupted in Madhya Pradesh after Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia addressed a public meeting at Raghogarh, the home turf of Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who termed the former a "betrayer" for quitting Congress with MLAs and joining BJP.

Addressing his first rally in Singh's pocket-borough on Saturday, Scindia, without naming his ex-colleague in Congress, said the former was not interested in politics and had no passion for development.

During Scindia's rally, several Congress workers, including the son of a former MLA, joined BJP.

8:31 PM

Pakistan conducts successful flight test of ballistic missile: Report

Pakistan on Thursday conducted a successful flight test of surface to a surface ballistic missile.

The test flight was aimed at re-validating certain design and technical parameters of the weapon system, Express Tribune reported.

The flight test was witnessed by Lieutenant General Nadeem Zaki Manj, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Dr Raza Samar, Chairman NESCOM, Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command and the scientists and engineers of strategic organizations.

8:31 PM

Pakistan conducts successful flight test of ballistic missile: Report

Pakistan on Thursday conducted a successful flight test of surface to a surface ballistic missile.

The test flight was aimed at re-validating certain design and technical parameters of the weapon system, Express Tribune reported.

The flight test was witnessed by Lieutenant General Nadeem Zaki Manj, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Dr Raza Samar, Chairman NESCOM, Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command and the scientists and engineers of strategic organizations.

7:10 PM

AAP continues attack on Punjab CM Channi over 'sand mining' in his constituency

Keeping up the attack on the Congress-led government in Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday questioned Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi whether he visited a different mining site which has not been mentioned by Raghav Chadha.

Kejriwal tweeted on Sunday, "Is it true that Channi sahib went to a different mining site today n not the one visited by Raghav yesterday? And Channi sahib declared it as legal, whereas the one visited by Raghav is a different site and is illegal. How can a CM be sooo blatant?"

A day ago, Delhi MLA and Punjab co-incharge for AAP, Chadha had alleged that Charanjit Singh Channi is a sand mafia. He had alleged illegal sand mining is being carried out under the patronage of the Punjab CM in his own constituency Chamkaur Sahib.

5:54 PM

Odisha registers 189 new Covid cases, 2 more fatalities

Odisha on Sunday reported 189 new COVID-19 cases, four less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 10,50,249, a health department bulletin said.

Two more fatalities from Khurda and Cuttack raised the coronavirus death toll to 8,422, it said.

Fifty-three other COVID patients have so far died due to comorbidities, the bulletin said.

Twenty-five children were among new patients, and 11 of 30 districts of the state did not report any fresh case.

5:19 PM

SP to conduct caste census if voted to power in 2022 UP polls: SBSP chief

SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday said the Samajwadi Party will conduct a caste census and give representation to all sections of the society as per their numbers, if voted to power in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Rajbhar, whose party entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the polls, told reporters in Rasra that Akhilesh Yadav will be the chief minister if the alliance comes to power.

Asked to comment on his idea of five chief ministers and 20 deputy chief ministers on a rotational basis, he clarified that his statement was applicable in case the Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha had formed the government.

5:07 PM

Iran's proposals lead to pause in Vienna nuke talks, mounting uncertainty

The talks aimed at reviving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal was adjourned in Austria's capital Vienna, after which diplomats returned to their capitals for consultations before they will reconvene next week.

Senior diplomats from the UK, France, and Germany on Friday expressed "disappointment and concern" at the latest proposals from Iran. These developments, analysts say, have led to the suspension of the meeting and mounting uncertainty for future talks, Xinhua news agency reproted.

"It was emphasised that the proposals of Iran on the removal of illegal and oppressive sanctions and the nuclear issue are on the table," Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani told Iranian media on Friday in Vienna.

5:06 PM

Centre taking measures to simplify justice delivery system: Rijiju

Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said the Centre is taking various measures to simplify the justice delivery system in the country.

Addressing a one-day legal-cum-medical literacy camp organised by the district legal services authority here, Rijiju said a large number of paralegal volunteers (PLV) has been appointed by his ministry to create necessary awareness among people so that they can take advantage of free legal camps to get speedy justice.

The Modi government is also working to ease the process of law to release those who are in jails for long due to non-hearing of their cases, he said.

3:53 PM

S African Prez says hospital admissions not rising despite spread of Omicron

Hospital admissions in South Africa are not on the rise, despite a jump in active COVID-19 cases triggered by the new Omicron coronavirus strain, the country's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, told reporters.

"Our hospital admissions are not increasing at an alarming rate meaning that people [who] may be testing positive are not in large numbers being admitted to hospitals," Ramaphosa told reporters, as quoted by South African outlet Eyewitness News.

The president, who is currently on an official visit to Ghana, has also criticized the nations that imposed travel restrictions on South Africa and a number of other African states after the detection of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country.

3:52 PM

UK adds pre-departure travel tests, bans travel from Nigeria amid Omicron fears

The UK has re-introduced compulsory pre-departure tests for all travellers entering the country and added Nigeria to its travel ban red list amid fears of the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The UK government said on Saturday that new analysis conducted by the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) indicates that the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant, which increases the efficacy of pre-departure testing as it is more likely to identify positive cases before travel.

Therefore, starting Tuesday morning, anyone arriving in the UK is required to provide a pre-booked negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or lateral flow test taken no earlier than 48 hours before departure. This applies to vaccinated passengers and children aged 12 and above.

3:28 PM

17 Omicron cases each likely in Mumbai, rest of Maharashtra: report

While a merchant navy engineer in Dombivli, near Mumbai, is confirmed to have been infected by the omicro variant of Covid-19, the reports of several others who have undergone tests are awaited, according to a Times of India report on Sunday, December 5. 

 

The report added that Mumbai has as many as 17 people suspected of being infected by the South African variant. Of these, 13 are travellers and the other four, their contacts.

 

The report quoted a Maharashtra government official saying an equal number of people are suspected to have been infected in other parts of the state.

 

It added that an update by the BMC has a list of 3,760 travellers to Mumbai from high-risk countries and 2,794 have been traced and tested for Covid-19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3:27 PM

Delhi gets first omicron case in traveller from Tanzania, India its 5th: reports

Delhi has reported its first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, according to some news reports. Quoting state health minister Satyendar Jain, The Indian Express reported that that an Indian-origin man had visited Delhi from Tanzania some few days ago and tested positive for new variant that has roots in South Africa. With this, India has five confirmed caes of Omicron, with one each in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi and two in Karnataka.

 

The country reported a single-day rise of 2,796 deaths on Sunday after Bihar reconciled its Covid data. This pushed the overall death toll to 473,326, the report added. 

 

The country also reported 8,895 new infections, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Sunday. India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases has increased to 34.63 million, according to the data updated at 8 am.

 

In Mumbai, a 33-year-old traveller from South Africa was found to be infected on Saturday. A 72-year-old NRI who flew in from Zimbabwe on November 28 became Gujarat’s first case. The first two cases of Omicron were reported from Bengaluru, of whom one flew out of the country.

 

3:25 PM

Mamata demands thorough probe into Nagaland firing incident

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Sunday demanded a thorough investigation into the killing of at least 11 civilians by security forces in Nagaland.

At least 11 daily wage labourers were gunned down by security forces in Nagaland's Mon district while they were returning home from work at a coal mine on Saturday evening, police said, adding that it was investigating whether the incident was a case of mistaken identity.

"Worrisome news from #Nagaland. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured. We must ensure a thorough probe into the incident and ensure that all victims get justice!" Banerjee tweeted.

 

2:52 PM

Cong names Lalsawta chief of its Mizoram unit

The Congress on Sunday named Lalsawta as the chief of its Mizoram unit after Sonia Gandhi accepted the resignation of former chief minister Lal Thanhawla from the post.

The party also appointed Thanhawla a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

Gandhi on Saturday accepted the resignation of Thanhawla as Mizoram Congress chief and had invited him to join the CWC as a member.

1:35 PM

Nagaland incident: What exactly is home ministry doing, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the Centre over the killing of civilians during an anti-insurgency operation in Mon district of Nagaland, saying the government must give a "real reply" as to what is the home ministry doing when "neither civilians nor security personnel are safe in our own land". Read more