LIVE: Children aged 15-18, frontline workers to get vaccine shots, says PM

In his address to the nation, PM Modi said that frontline health workers will be given supplementary dose from Jan 10

12:30 PM

Ladakh sees 23 fresh COVID-19 cases

Ladakh's coronavirus caseload increased to 22,059 on Saturday with 23 fresh infections, officials said.

 

Of the new cases, 13 were detected in Leh and 10 in Kargil district, they said.

 

So far, Ladakh has recorded 218 deaths -- 160 from Leh and 58 from Kargil.

12:30 PM

Three new cases take COVID tally of Andamans to 7,711

Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported three new COVID-19 cases, one less than the previous day, with the tally rising to 7,711, a health department official said on Saturday.

Two fresh COVID patients have travel history and one was detected during contact tracing, he said.

The death toll remained at 129 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.

12:12 PM

COVID puts a damper on Christmas Eve again around the world

From Bethlehem and Frankfurt to London and Boston, the surging coronavirus put a damper on Christmas Eve for a second year, forcing churches to cancel or scale back services and disrupting travel plans and family gatherings.

 

Drummers and bagpipers marched through Bethlehem to smaller than usual crowds after new Israeli travel restrictions meant to slow the highly contagious omicron variant kept international tourists away from the town where Jesus is said to have been born.

 

In Germany, a line wound halfway around Cologne's massive cathedral, not for midnight Mass but for vaccinations. The offer of shots was an expression of care for one's neighbor that was consistent with the message of Christmas, cathedral provost Guido Assmann told the DPA news agency.

 

Around the world, people weary from nearly two years of lockdowns and other restrictions searched for ways to safely enjoy holiday rituals.

 

11:37 AM

Rajasthan plans to make Covid vaccination mandatory

Amid rising Covid-19 cases, Rajasthan is planning to soon issue new guidelines to make vaccination against the virus mandatory in the state, and remove those from under the state government's beneficiary list who refuse to get inoculated.

 

Officials confirmed that the state government is preparing a list of those who are refusing to get vaccinated.

 

Furthermore, other initiatives such as strict enforcement of night curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 p.m. and wearing of masks will also be made mandatory.

11:30 AM

Maharashtra: With COVID restrictions in place, people offer Christmas prayers from church gate

With the Maharashtra government asking churches to permit devotees only uptil 50 per cent of their capacity for the midnight mass on the occasion of Christmas, some people flocked at a Mumbai church gate and offered prayers from the gate.

 

With their hands folded, some people stood at the gate of St. Michael's Church in Mahim, Mumbai and hummed small prayers. In the spirit of celebrating Christmas, few people arrived at the church with family and glazed at the illuminated church building.

11:28 AM

Canada's COVID-19 cases surpass 1.95 million

Canada reported 11,304 new COVID-19 cases Friday afternoon, raising the cumulative total to 1,957,058 cases with 30,139 deaths, according to CTV.

 

COVID-19 cases continued to increase in Canada, with the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island all reporting record-high numbers on Friday.

 

Ontario, the most populous province, reported 9,571 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number ever recorded in a single day since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in February 2020.

11:28 AM

Mizoram reports 173 new COVID-19 cases in last 24 hrs

Mizoram reported 173 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, said the state Department of Information and Public Relations on Saturday.

 

The total active cases stand at 1,569. The total number of deaths reported is 535 and the total number of active cases is 1,40,143.

 

As per the state government, the positivity rate in the Northeastern state is 9.37 per cent.

 

10:48 AM

UN planning USD 8 Billion aid to restart Afghanistan's economy

The United Nations (UN) is planning to aid Afghanistan's economy with USD 8 billion to rebuild governing systems and social services.

Saeed Shah, writing in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said that the plan would move beyond a purely humanitarian mission, taking on many government functions at a time when the Taliban regime remains under economic sanctions and lacks diplomatic recognition, according to international officials.

10:47 AM

UNSC exempts Taliban leaders from travel ban for 90 days

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has exempted Taliban leaders from the travel ban for a period beginning on December 22, 2021, and ending on March 21, 2022.

 

The list includes prominent leaders of the Islamic Emirate like First Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.

10:47 AM

'Spider-Man: No Way Home' becomes biggest movie of the year worldwide

Tom Holland-starrer 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' has become the biggest movie of the year worldwide.

 

It's set to cross the $1 billion mark on Christmas Day, reports variety.com.

 

At 11 days, it would be the second-fastest to hit that milestone (behind 2019's 'Avengers: Endgame' at five days and tied with 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity War'). It would also be the first theatrical release of the pandemic to join the billion-dollar club even without China, the largest box-office market in the world.

10:46 AM

Delhi's AQI improves to 'very poor' from 'severe'

After crossing the 400 or 'severe' mark a day ago, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) improved marginally on Saturday to 398, which is the lower end of the 'very poor' category.

"The air quality is likely to improve further but remain in the 'very poor' category on December 25 and 26. The outlook for subsequent five Days: The air quality is likely to improve significantly from December 27 when AQI to reach in 'poor/moderate' category," said the air quality and weather bulletin.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and between 401 and 500 is considered 'severe'.

10:16 AM

India's Omicron tally rises to 415

A total of 415 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in India so far, out of which 115 have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Saturday.

 

Maharashtra has recorded a maximum of 108 Omicron cases, followed by Delhi at 79, Gujarat 43, Telangana 38, Kerala 37, Tamil Nadu 34 and Karnataka 31.

 

India's Covid tally rose to 34,779,815 with 7,189 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, while the active cases have declined to 77,032, according to the data updated at 8 am.

 

The death toll climbed to 479,520 with 387 more fatalities, the data showed.

 

The daily rise in new coronavirus cases has been recorded below 15,000 for the last 58 days now.

10:16 AM

Omicron up to 70% less likely to need hospital care: Report

People getting infected with Omicron are 50 per cent to 70 per cent less likely to need hospital care compared with previous Covid-19 variants, says an analysis.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said its early findings are "encouraging" but the variant could still lead to large numbers of people in hospital, reports the BBC.

The Agency's latest analysis is based on all cases of Omicron and Delta in the UK since the beginning of November, including 132 people admitted to the hospital with the variant.

10:10 AM

World's most powerful space telescope ready to launch

James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful space telescope ever constructed, will lift off on Christmas.

The USD 10bn project spanning over three decades, a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, hopes to look further back in time than ever before - to find out more about the creation of the first stars and the beginnings of our Universe.

After several technical and weather delays the James Webb Space Telescope will take off on a European Ariane rocket from French Guiana, NASA announced.

10:07 AM

Despite low visibility, flight operations remain normal at Delhi airport

Despite low visibility on Saturday morning, the flight operations remain normal at Delhi airports.

The passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.

"Low Visibility Procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are presently normal. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information," said Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Saturday.