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		<img align="" alt="Amarinder Singh" class="imgCont" height="464" src="https://bsmedia.business-standard.com/_media/bs/img/article/2021-12/17/full/1639742189-2137.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #DDD; margin-right: 10px; padding: 1px; float: left; z-index: 0;" title="Amarinder Singh" width="620">
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'This is yet another milestone in our fight against COVID-19, Covovax is now WHO approved for emergency use, showing excellent safety and efficacy,' tweets Serum CEO

Amarinder Singh

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	<strong>Latest live news:&nbsp;</strong>Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourns House for the day, urges the government and opposition parties to arrive consensus on the suspension of 12 lawmakers.&nbsp;<br />
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		The House has been held up since start of the Winter Session, as Opposition parties protest to express support for the 12 MPs who were suspended in the last day of the previous session.</div>
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		&quot;Today I had a talk with Leader of House and some senior members of Opposition. I&#39;d like to appeal to each one of you, please arrive at some consensus to see that the House functions normally,&rdquo; said Naidu.</div>
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		Ten new cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus reported in Delhi to take the total number to 20, says state health minister.</div>
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	Work at banks across India <strong><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/banking-services-impacted-as-900-000-employees-go-on-two-day-strike-121121600601_1.html" target="_blank">is likely to suffer</a></strong> on Friday as lakhs of public sector bank (PSB) employees continue their two-day strike protesting privatisation of state-owned lenders.</div>
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	Services such as deposits and withdrawals at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals were affected Thursday. ATMs at many places were working. About 2.04 million cheques worth Rs 18,600 crore could not be transacted, said a union leader.</div>
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	A joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on data protection <strong><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-rolls-back-proposals-in-draft-power-bill-drops-subsidy-abolition-121121700056_1.html" target="_blank">suggested widening the scope</a></strong> of the law to cover non-personal data, mandatory mirroring of sensitive data locally, regulation of content on social media platforms and treating platforms that are not intermediaries as publishers.</div>
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LIVE: WHO approves Covovax for emergency use; 8 new Omicron cases in Maha

Business Standard

'Gennova mRNA vaccine is moving very well through Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials'

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		Gennova mRNA vaccine is moving very well through Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials. It is stable at the normal temperature. It is a remarkable possibility and technology on the horizon: Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog <a href="https://t.co/GMPDd8yk3g">pic.twitter.com/GMPDd8yk3g</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471817422902476800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Amarinder announces alliance with BJP for Punjab elections

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		After 7 rounds of talks, today I confirm that BJP &amp; Punjab Lok Congress are going to fight the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections together. Topics like seat share will be discussed later: Union Minister &amp; Punjab BJP in-charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat <a href="https://t.co/WErOFbzwnb">pic.twitter.com/WErOFbzwnb</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471808325150863360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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		Met union minister &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/BJP4India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BJP4India</a> incharge for Punjab, Shri <a href="https://twitter.com/gssjodhpur?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gssjodhpur</a> in New Delhi today to chalk out future course of action ahead of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. We have formally announced a seat adjustment with the BJP for the 2022 Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. <a href="https://t.co/cgqAcpW2MW">pic.twitter.com/cgqAcpW2MW</a></p>
	&mdash; Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) <a href="https://twitter.com/capt_amarinder/status/1471809614144368644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Anti-viral Covid pills need to be given very early: DG ICMR

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		We have been discussing these anti-viral COVID19 pills. We have found that these pills need to be given very early, even before the diagnosis of the disease. Scientific data is still not supported in a big way that the pills will be useful at the moment: Dr. Bhargava, DG ICMR <a href="https://t.co/JAa8RK3MEJ">pic.twitter.com/JAa8RK3MEJ</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471800410302074886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Genome sequencing of every sample is not possible: Paul

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		Genome sequencing of every sample is not possible. It is a surveillance and pandemic assessment &amp; tracking tool, not a diagnostic tool as of now. We can assure sufficient systematic sampling is being undertaken: Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog on Omicron <a href="https://t.co/JFjQYEOAHh">pic.twitter.com/JFjQYEOAHh</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471799641461059584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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A new phase of the pandemic is being experienced in Europe: V K Paul

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		A new phase of the COVID19 pandemic is being experienced in Europe with a steep rise in cases: Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog on Omicron threat <a href="https://t.co/7v3zoK3uZZ">pic.twitter.com/7v3zoK3uZZ</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471797739545530371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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This is the time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings: ICMR DG

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		This is the time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings and it is very important to observe low-intensity festivities: Dr. Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR on the emergence of Omicron variant of COVID19 <a href="https://t.co/dk29MXM91f">pic.twitter.com/dk29MXM91f</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471796342691352576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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There are 101 Omicron cases across 11 states in the country: Govt

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		There are 101 Omicron cases across 11 states in the country: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry <a href="https://t.co/2OPjHBQ38b">pic.twitter.com/2OPjHBQ38b</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471794830875316224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Omicron variant reported in 91 countries in the world: Govt

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		Omicron variant reported in 91 countries in the world. WHO has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low. It&#39;s likely Omicron will outpace Delta variant where community transmission occurs, WHO added: Lav Agrawal</p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471794322202791938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Kerala contributes 40.31% to the total number of active cases in the country: Govt

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		New daily cases were recorded below 10,000 for the past 20 days. The case positivity for the last 1 week was 0.65%. Currently, Kerala contributes 40.31% to the total number of active cases in the country: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry on COVID19 situation <a href="https://t.co/74Z8Z29HOY">pic.twitter.com/74Z8Z29HOY</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471792005541871616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Two more Omicron cases reported in Telangana

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	Two more Omicron cases have been reported in Telangana, taking the total number of cases of the new coronavirus variant recorded at the city&#39;s international airport to nine, a health official said on Friday.</div>
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	The nine includes a boy from West Bengal who flew to Kolkata with his family members without entering the city after his samples were collected at the international airport.</div>

I apologize from the bottom of my heart: Congress MLA KR Ramesh Kumar

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		If it hurts the sentiments of women, I&#39;ve no problem apologising. I apologize from the bottom of my heart: Congress MLA KR Ramesh Kumar in Karnataka Assembly on his &#39;rape&#39; remark made in the House yesterday.<br />
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		&quot;He has apologized, let&#39;s not drag it further,&quot; says Speaker VH Kageri. <a href="https://t.co/7u3HeaSbLr">pic.twitter.com/7u3HeaSbLr</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471722042995003398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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		President Kovind departs from Dhaka after his State visit to Bangladesh<br />
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		He attended Bangladesh&#39;s 50th Victory Day celebrations as guest of honour &amp; had delegation-level talks with Bangladesh Pres Abdul Hamid. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina &amp; Foreign Min AK Abdul Momen called on him <a href="https://t.co/2Oht3CfNid">pic.twitter.com/2Oht3CfNid</a></p>
	&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471751536275427328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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SC stays proceedings of Bengal panel probing Pegasus scandal

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	The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the work of a committee set up by the West Bengal government and headed by former Supreme Court judge M B Lokur to probe the Pegasus spyware allegation, PTI reported. A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli took note of a plea that despite the assurance of the West Bengal government that the Lokur panel would not proceed with the inquiry, the commission has commenced its work.</div>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">10 new cases of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OmicronVariant?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OmicronVariant</a> reported in Delhi, taking the total number of cases of the variant here to 20. A total of 10 people, out of these 20, have been discharged: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain<br><br>(File photo) <a href="https://t.co/hCPDrlpv7N">pic.twitter.com/hCPDrlpv7N</a></p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1471726869284151297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Rajya Sabha adjourned till Monday. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu appeals lawmakers to &quot;arrive at some consensus&quot; on getting house to function. Rajya Sabha has been held due to protests by Opposition lawmakers in support of 12 suspended MPs.