Covid LIVE: Maharashtra sees 46,393 new cases; Delhi reports 45 more deaths

Till date, a total of 2,759 patients infected with Omicron Variant have been reported in Maharashtra; out of these 416 cases were reported today.

9:52 AM

Malaysia ratifies RCEP regional trade pact

Malaysia has submitted its Instrument of Ratification (IOR) of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, the country's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.

The IOR was submitted to the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Secretariat on January 17, with the agreement coming into force for Malaysia on March 18, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement on Friday.

9:44 AM

Delhi records 10,756 new Covid-19 cases, positivity rate dips to 18%

Delhi logged 10,756 Covid cases in a single day and 38 more fatalities due to the infection, while the positivity rate declined to 18.04 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.

 

According to officials, 59,629 Covid tests were conducted on Thursday, as against 57,290 a day ago.

 

Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 Covid cases and 43 fatalities, while the positivity rate was 21.48 per cent.

9:36 AM

Nearly 100 employees at Islamabad airport infected with COVID-19

The fifth deadly wave of coronavirus in Pakistan has left approximately 100 employees at Islamabad airport infected with COVID, reported ARY News.

Initially, the Omicron strain was detected in some officers of the ATC control tower which infected the other officers and personnel at the airport.

The infected employees included senior officers including director, joint director, assistant director and ATC control.

9:24 AM

Open for post-poll alliance with any party except BJP in Uttar Pradesh: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said that the party is open for a post-poll alliance in Uttar Pradesh with any party except the BJP.

However, she accused both the Samajwadi Party and BJP of practicing a similar kind of politics.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Priyanka Gandhi said the party will continue to fight for issues that matter and will be the principal party in Uttar Pradesh that stands up for the issues of people.

9:23 AM

Malaysia ratifies RCEP regional trade pact

Malaysia has submitted its Instrument of Ratification (IOR) of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, the country's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.

The IOR was submitted to the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Secretariat on January 17, with the agreement coming into force for Malaysia on March 18, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement on Friday.

9:22 AM

Open for post-poll alliance with any party except BJP in Uttar Pradesh: Priyanka Gandhi

Open for post-poll alliance with any party except BJP in Uttar Pradesh: Priyanka Gandhi

9:04 AM

Coronavirus in India: Bengal Reports 9,154 New Cases, 35 More Deaths

 

West Bengal's COVID-19 tally rose to 19,49,074 on Friday as 9,154 people tested positive for the infection, 1,805 less than the previous day, a health bulletin said. The death count rose to 20,265 as 35 more patients succumbed to the infection, it said. The number of active cases dipped by 9,993 to 1,34,816, the bulletin said.

8:52 AM

UN Chief Antonio Guterres warns of '5-alarm fire' threatening humanity

Warning of a "five-alarm global fire" threatening humanity, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a philosophical call for the restoration of humanism at a time of the emergence of "the twilight of shared values".

 

Sounding more like a sage than a political leader, he called for overcoming "egoism" to quench the accelerants flaming the fires.

 

 

"Solidarity is a part of human nature. But egoism is also part of human nature. When egoism wins, everyone loses," he said at a news conference on Friday after a speech to the General Assembly about his priorities for 2022, during which he criticised most of the post-World War II international framework as inadequate for today's challenges. Read on...

8:49 AM

China records 23 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases

China on Friday reported 23 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, local media reported citing the National Health Commission as saying on Saturday.

According to the commission, Friday saw 10 new local infections in Beijing, six in Tianjin, four in Henan, and three in Guangdong, Xinhua reported.

Across the Chinese mainland, a total of 40 imported COVID-19 cases were also newly reported.

8:43 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 345.8 mn

Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has topped 345.8 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.58 million and vaccinations to over 9.76 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 345,813,395 and 5,583,886, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,764,354,039.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 70,209,352 and 864,553, according to the CSSE.

8:31 AM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with DMs of various districts today via video conferencing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with DMs of various districts today via video conferencing. He'll take direct feedback about the progress and present status of implementation of government schemes and programmes in the districts: PMO

 

8:21 AM

New Zealand reports 43 new community cases of COVID-19

New Zealand reported 43 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Among the 43 new community infections, 19 are in the largest city of Auckland, eight in Nelson Marlborough, six in the Lakes region, six in Hawke's Bay, and four in Waikato.

In addition, the country recorded 41 new imported cases of COVID-19 at the border, said the Ministry.

8:21 AM

4.0-magnitude quakes jolts J&K

An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale struck Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, with no immediate reports of any casualties or damage to property.

A disaster management official said the temblor occurred at 2.53 a.m., and the coordinates were latitude 36.06 degrees north and longitude 75.82 degrees east.

"The epicentre was located in Doda region 10 km inside the earth's crust," the official said.

8:12 AM

Delhi's air quality remains in the 'very poor' category

Delhi's air quality remains in the 'very poor' category, with overall AQI at 342 as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)-India

8:02 AM

Coronavirus in India: Gujarat reports 21,225 new cases

Gujarat reported 21,225 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, a drop from its all-time high recorded a day ago, taking the tally to 10,22,788, while 16 more patients succumbed to the infection, the state health department said. The tally was lower than the all-time high of 24,485 cases reported on Thursday but still the second highest spike since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020. A total of 16 Covid-19 patients died during the day, increasing the tally of fatalities to 10,215, said the department in a release. The state's tally of active cases rose further to 1,16,843 after crossing the 1-lakh mark a day ago.