LIVE: Centre to review flight resumption as new Covid variant sparks alert

Latest live news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on his pre-recorded radio show Mann Ki Vaat, will later attend meeting of political parties before Winter Session of Parliament.

10:17 AM

Indonesia bans arrivals from 8 African countries

Indonesia will ban the arrival of travellers who have been in eight African countries, to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, Reuters reported quoting an official document. Indonesia, home to popular tourist island Bali, will not allow people who have been in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini or Nigeria in the past 14 days.

9:49 AM

Singapore says Omicron could lead to return of some curbs

Singapore is watching the impact of the new omicron variant “very closely” and may be forced to roll back some easing measures it had taken to open up the economy, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

9:22 AM

India logs 8,774 new cases of Covid-19

India recorded 8,774 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, said the health ministry on Sunday as the country steps up testing for a new variant of the virus that causes the disease.

8:58 AM

Tripura counting votes after municipality elections

Tripura is counting votes cast in elections to civic bodies, including Agartala Municipal Corporation. The elections were held a political fight between the state's ruling BJP and the Trinamool Congress. A three-tier security is in place for the counting, a senior police officer told PTI on Saturday.

 

8:17 AM

Six injured in Puducherry in explosion

Six people were injured when an explosion hit a building in Puducherry on Saturday, police said. The cause of the blast could not be known immediately, PTI reported.

7:56 AM

Australia proposes laws to force media platforms to unmask online trolls

 Australia will introduce legislation to make social media giants provide details of users who post defamatory comments, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. The government has been looking at the extent of the responsibility of platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, for defamatory material published on their sites and comes after the country's highest court ruled that publishers can be held liable for public comments on online forums, Reuters reported.

7:25 AM

South Africa says it is being punished for detecting omicron early

South Africa on Saturday said it was being "punished" for detecting new variants of Covid-19 variants, reacting as several countries imposed travel ban on it due after it reported finding the omicron strain. South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in a statement urged world leaders not to implement “knee-jerk” policy decisions, PTI reported.

5:35 AM

Paytm’s Q2 loss widens

One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent of digital payments firm Paytm, said on Saturday its net loss for the three months through September  widened by 8.4 per cent as expenses rose. Paytm, reported its earnings publicly for the first time since this month's stock market debut, has a consolidated net loss of Rs 4.74 billion compared with Rs 4.37 billion in the same period a year earlier.

 

5:28 AM

Paytm’s Q2 loss widens

One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent of digital payments firm Paytm, said on Saturday its net loss for the three months through September  widened by 8.4 per cent as expenses rose. Paytm, reported its earnings publicly for the first time since this month's stock market debut, has a consolidated net loss of Rs 4.74 billion compared with Rs 4.37 billion in the same period a year earlier.