11:15 AMNo fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh did not report any fresh COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, while 11 more persons recuperated from the disease, pushing the total number of recoveries to 54,851, a senior health official said here on Monday.
The COVID-19 tally in the frontier state remained at 55,180, he said.
The state now has 49 active COVID-19 cases, the official said.
11:13 AMUS lifts pandemic travel ban, opens doors to visitors
The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic.
Starting Monday, the U.S. is accepting fully vaccinated travellers at airports and land borders, doing away with a COVID-19 restriction that dates back to the Trump administration. The new rules allow air travel from previously restricted countries as long as the traveller has proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. Land travel from Mexico and Canada will require proof of vaccination but no test.
Airlines are expecting more travellers from Europe and elsewhere. Data from travel and analytics firm Cirium showed airlines are increasing flights between the United Kingdom and the U.S. by 21% this month over last month.
10:50 AMDelhi: Devotees take dip in toxic Yamuna water on first day of Chhath Puja
Devotees took a dip in the Yamuna river that had a thick layer of toxic foam near Kalindi Kunj on the first day of Chhath Puja on Monday.
The people expressed their disappointment with the quality of water in the river.
According to experts, the toxic foam is due to high phosphate content following the discharge of industrial pollutants including detergents into the river. Ammonia levels in the river have also been increasing.
10:24 AMActive COVID-19 cases in country lowest in 262 days
India logged 11,451 new coronavirus infections taking the country's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,43,66,987, while the active cases declined to 1,42,826, the lowest in 262 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
The death toll climbed to 4,61,057 with 266 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 31 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 134 consecutive days now.
10:02 AMUP sets record in direct benefit transfer
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has set a record of sorts in direct benefit transfer.
According to a spokesman, the state government has disbursed Rs 2.75 trillion through direct benefit transfer (DBT) under various welfare schemes in the last four-and-a-half years.
The government credited Rs 1,980 crore to the bank accounts of the parents of 18 million students for the purchase school uniforms, sweaters, bags, shoes and socks.
9:32 AM4 new cases take COVID-19 tally of Andamans to 7,664
Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported four new COVID-19 cases, three more than the previous day, with the tally in the Union Territory rising to 7,664, a health department official said on Monday.
The fresh cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.
The death toll remained at 129 as no new fatality due to the infection was recorded in the last 24 hours, the official said.
9:23 AMIntense rains in Chennai after years, Modi assures CM of Centre's support
Aided by cyclonic circulation during monsoon, Chennai and nearby regions experienced intense rains in about 24 hours, leading to inundation of most areas here on Sunday and opening up of sluice gates of three city reservoirs to let out surplus water.
Since the start of the Northeast monsoon in October, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry regions have experienced about 43 per cent excess rainfall.
Heavy to very heavy rains lashing the city in about 24 hours comes after about six years, while other regions of Tamil Nadu received mild, and or moderate rainfall.
9:19 AMMaharashtra: Thane logs 118 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death
Thane has added 118 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 566,749, an official said on Monday.
These new cases were reported on Sunday, he said.
The virus also claimed the life of one more person, which raised the death toll in the district to 11,543, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane is 2.03 per cent.
9:12 AMPM Modi, senior leaders greet Advani on 94th birthday
Former deputy prime minister and BJP's longest-serving president L K Advani turned 94 on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other leaders greeting him and lauding his contributions to the country and the party.
"Birthday greetings to respected Advani Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life. The nation remains indebted to him for his numerous efforts towards empowering people and enhancing our cultural pride. He is also widely respected for his scholarly pursuits and rich intellect," Modi tweeted.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed Advani as an inspiration and guide, and said he is counted among those most respected leaders whose scholarship, foresight and intellect are acknowledged by everyone.
9:10 AMFirst Chinese woman walks in space, scripts history
Wang Yaping on Monday became the first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in space as she moved out of the under-construction space station and took part in extravehicular activities for over six hours along with her male colleague Zhai Zhigang, official media here reported.
The two moved out of the space station core module called Tianhe and spent 6.5 hours of the spacewalk in the early hours of Monday and successfully returned to the module, Xinhua news agency reported.
This marks the first spacewalk in Chinese space history involving a woman astronaut, the China Manned Space Agency said in a statement.
9:09 AMPM Modi to lay foundation stone for Pandharpur highway projects
In an effort to facilitate the movement of devotees to Pandharpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for four-laning of five sections of Shri Sant Dnyaneshawar Maharaj Palkhi Marg (NH-965) and three sections of Shri Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi Marg (NH-965G) on November 8, said the Prime Minister's Office.
As per the PMO, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone at 3:30 pm via video conferencing on Monday.
Dedicated walkways for 'Palkhi' will be constructed on either side of these National Highways, providing hassle-free and safe passage to devotees.
9:09 AMGlobal Covid-19 caseload tops 250 mn
The global coronavirus caseload has topped 250 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.04 million and vaccinations soared to over 7.24 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
In its latest update on Sunday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and the total number number of vaccine doses administered stood at 250,610,452, 5,048,865 and 7,246,604,164, respectively.
The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 46,487,740 and 754,429, according to the CSSE.
8:05 AMFour CRPF personnel killed, three injured after firing by colleague in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district: Police
Four CRPF personnel killed, three injured after firing by colleague in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district: Police
7:31 AMUS reopens borders to visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from today
After 20 months of travel restrictions, the US is reopening its land and air borders to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from Monday.
The United States is flinging its doors wide open to vaccinated international travellers on Monday, welcoming many visitors who've been shut out of the country for 20 months, reported CNN.
The United States is largely wide open, although there are some state and local restrictions that still apply.
For example, there are mask mandates in Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Washington, DC and Puerto Rico also require masks in indoor public spaces.
Read on... 7:26 AMCCP to open key meeting today to discuss Xi Jinping's enhanced authority
China's Communist Party will be holding the 6th plenary session of the Central Committee from today to discuss resolution that would help enhance the authority of President Xi Jinping.
A four-day meeting will be held in Beijing and along with Xi, other top leaders will attend the gathering, together with more than 300 officials, reported NHK World.
Read on... 
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