LIVE: Govt is alert, taking proactive action, says PM at Covid review meet

Centre on Thursday in an advisory cautioned states to observe all precautions and don't let the guard down in view of the rise in Omicron variant cases

12:05 PM

Iran reports 4 new cases of Omicron variant

Iran reported four new cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking its overall tally of the new strain to eight.

 

On Wednesday, it reported 2,103 new Covid cases, taking the country's total infections to 6,177,885. The pandemic has claimed 44 lives, taking the death toll to 131,211, an update by Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education said.

 

A total of 6,016,324 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 2,821 remained in intensive care units, Xinhua news agency reported citing the ministry's update.

11:48 AM

Diesel, petrol prices remain unchanged

Oil marketing companies on Thursday kept the prices of diesel and petrol unchanged across major Indian cities.

 

Notably, fuel prices have been steady for the past 50 days now.

 

Accordingly, diesel and petrol prices in Delhi stood at Rs 86.67 per litre and Rs 95.41 per litre on Tuesday, respectively.

 

In the financial capital Mumbai, the rates were unchanged at Rs 94.14 and Rs 109.98.

 

Prices also remained static in Kolkata at Rs 89.79 and Rs 104.67.

11:34 AM

Pakistan logs 359 Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours

Pakistan reported 359 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the country's National Command and Operation Centre said on Thursday.

According to the NCOC, at least two people have been died due to the coronavirus infection.

"Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 46,564 Positive Cases: 359 Positivity %: 0.77% Deaths : 2 Patients on Critical Care: 666," the NCOC said in a tweet.

11:14 AM

PM Modi to hold Covid review meeting

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a review meeting on the COVID-19 situation in the country on Thursday evening amid rising concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

 

Official sources said Modi will take stock of the pandemic situation across the country.

 

India has recorded 236 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 16 states and UTs so far out of which 104 people have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

11:04 AM

44 children among 241 new COVID-19 patients in Mizoram

Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,40,143 on Thursday as 241 more people, including 44 children, tested positive for the infection, an official statement said.

The coronavirus death toll of the northeastern state remained unchanged at 535 as no fresh fatality was registered, the statement issued by the state information and public relations department said.

The single-day positivity rate was 7.86 per cent as the fresh cases were detected from 3,066 samples, it said.

10:53 AM

Rajnath Singh greets farmers on Kisan Diwas, pays tributes to former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh

On the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh which is celebrated as National Farmers' Day (Kisan Diwas), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday extended his greetings to the farmers of the country.

Rajnath Singh called the former Prime Minister "top leader of farmers" who contributed to the development journey of India and worked lifelong for the empowerment of weaker sections of the society.

The Defence Minister tweeted, "The birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh ji is celebrated as 'Farmer's Day' all over India. Hearty congratulations to all the farmers. Congratulations to the farmers who have created crops in the field and happiness in the country with their hard work. The government of PM Shri @narendramodi is fully dedicated for the welfare of farmers."

10:53 AM

CBI arrests 11 in Rs 60,000 Cr Pearls Ponzi scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested 11 more persons, including businessmen and Pearls Group employees in connection with Rs 60,000 crore Pearls Ponzi Scheme case.

"Chander Bhushan Dhillon, Prem Seth, Manmohan Kamal Mahajan, Mohanlal Sehajpal, Kanwaljit Singh Toor are the employees of the Pearls Group who have been placed under arrest. Apart from them we arrested Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata-based businessmen Praveen Kumar Agarwal, Mannoj Kumar Jain, Akash Agarwal, Anil Kumar Khemka, Subhash Agarwal and Rajesh," said a CBI official.

10:44 AM

Omicron may double risk of getting infected on planes, IATA says

Aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 during a flight since the emergence of the omicron variant, according to the top medical adviser to the world’s airlines. 

 

The new strain is highly transmissible and has become dominant in a matter of weeks, accounting for more than 70% of all new cases in the U.S. alone. While hospital-grade air filters on modern passenger jets make the risk of infection much lower on planes than in crowded places on the ground such as shopping malls, omicron is rapidly spreading just as more travelers take to the skies for year-end holidays and family reunions.

10:35 AM

UP Govt orders probe after reports on kin of BJP leaders, officials grabbing land in Ayodhya

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a probe into reports of relatives of BJP leaders and government officials allegedly "usurping" land near the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

A news report has claimed that MLAs, mayors, relatives of the commissioner, SDM and DIG bought land in Ayodhya after the Supreme Court announced the verdict in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, clearing the way for construction of the Ram temple.

Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal told PTI on Wednesday that "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the revenue department to probe the matter thoroughly,"

10:30 AM

India records 7,495 new coronavirus cases, Omicron tally at 236

India has recorded 236 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 16 states and UTs so far out of which 104 people have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

Maharashtra has recorded the maximum 65 cases of the Omicron variant followed by Delhi at 64, Telangana 24, Karnataka 19, Rajasthan 21 and Kerala 15.

The ministry data updated at 8 am also showed that India recorded 7,495 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of cases to 3,47,65,976, while the active cases increased to 78,291.

The death toll has climbed to 4,78,759 with 434 fresh fatalities, the data stated.

10:29 AM

Biden says to run for president in 2024 if in good health

US President Joe Biden has said that he will run for reelection in 2024 if he is in good health at the time.

 

"Yes," he said when asked by host David Muir if he plans to run for reelection, in an interview aired Wednesday on ABC's World News Tonight, reported Xinhua news agency.

 

"But look, I'm a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I'm in the health I'm in now, if I'm in good health, then in fact, I would run again," he said.

10:12 AM

BJP seeks probe into Akhilesh Yadav's assets

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh has demanded that the income of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav income be investigated.

 

State MSME Minister and government spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh questioned Yadav's support to certain members of his party who were raided by the income tax department recently.

 

He accused Akhilesh Yadav of lying about the income tax raids and defending his party members on the pretext of elections and trying to gain sympathy in the name of raids.

10:10 AM

MP: Mahakal temple proposes 'prasad' counter at Indore airport

The administration of the famous Mahakaleshwar temple here in Madhya Pradesh has proposed to make available its 'prasad' at the Indore airport and Ujjain railway station, an official said.

The boxes of laddoos, prepared as 'prasad' (holy offering to God) at the temple's kitchen, are currently available for sale only in the religious complex here.

It is proposed that a counter of this 'prasad' be opened at the Indore airport and the railway station here, the temple's administrator, Ganesh Dhakad, said on Wednesday.

10:02 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 277.1 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 277.1 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.37 million and vaccinations to over 8.79 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 277,151,167 and 5,376,725, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 8,798,254,223.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 51,545,991 and 812,069, according to the CSSE.

9:52 AM

Modi to lay foundation stone of milk plant in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Varanasi on Thursday to lay the foundation stone of Banas Dairy Kashi Sankul at Karkhiyaon.

He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation of 22 other projects.

The Prime Minister was earlier in Varanasi on December 13 to unveil the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor project.