The Centre had on Thursday asked all states and union territories to conduct rigorous screening and testing of all international travellers coming from or transiting through South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana, where the B.1.1.529 variant has been detected.
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party of weakening the country by spreading fear and hatred, and said only the Congress can unite the country and take it to the path of progress.
Why did we go into nationwide lockdown when we were adding 100 cases a day and why are we not going into lockdown but allowing cricket stadiums, political rallies and Kumbh Melas when we are adding 40,000 cases a day? asks Aakar Patel.
The Pakistani military may shortly give Imran Khan the boot, substituting him with another puppet, predicts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Strongly condemning the terrorist strikes in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, India has told the United Nations Security Council that these attacks reinforce the need for the world to stand unitedly against terrorism and all those who provide sanctuaries to terrorists.
Here's your weekly digest of photographs that prove that it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there!
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, charged the government with not delivering on its various promises, including generating two crore jobs per year.
World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo is of the opinion that he would be considered one of the greatest footballers of all time in history by the time he retires.
'They (the ransomware attackers) are not after any VVIP data.' 'Had that been the case, they would have quietly installed a different malware.'
After winning accolades for its 'Kerala model' of combating the contagion about a year ago, the state is now seeing daily fresh cases between 12,000 to 15,000 with no end in sight to the 'prolonged surge', as some experts put it.
Photographs of the skywriting were widely shared online but it was unclear who was responsible for them. But the Australian Grand Prix authorities were adamant that Albert Park would welcome thousands of motor sport fans from Thursday when practice sessions and qualifying commence for lower-profile touring car series.
'Tibetans will participate in future conflicts with India (in all probability, some were already present in Galwan).' 'As nobody in India would like to have a deadly fight with Tibetan soldiers and officers, the issue needs to be closely followed,' observes Claude Arpi.
Within three weeks of lifting its mask mandate, the Delhi government on Friday made masks mandatory at public places with immediate effect, and imposed a fine of Rs 500 for any violation as coronavirus cases rise in the city again.
Issues such as the economy's health and the government's ability to produce an environment where jobs are available are not of particular concern to us as voters, asserts Aakar Patel.
Anmol Ambani, the eldest son of industrialist Anil Ambani, has lashed out against a new round of lockdowns being imposed amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, saying such restrictions do not concern health but control and that they destroy the very backbone of the society and economy. The 29-year-old former executive director of Reliance Capital Ltd in a series of tweets lambasted the new semi-lockdown rules hurting small businesses and daily wage earners. "Professional 'actors' can continue shooting their films. Professional 'cricketers' can play their sport late into the night. Professional 'politicians' can continue their rallies with masses of people. But YOUR business or work is not ESSENTIAL. Still don't get it?" he said in a tweet.
Recent studies in China and Europe observed that the infection might relapse in those people who have already recovered from earlier phases.
Perry said she had been in touch with the local organising team on a daily basis as they prepare to start the tournament on October 19, pending government approval and confirmation that players will be able to travel.
Though the lockdown has been lifted, local officials continue to ask people to stay indoors.
The people will view it from their viewpoint, their immediate interest, historical experiences, their insecurities, he said.
'Why did your generals try to grab a few square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh?' 'And what happened to the hard work that you and Prime Minister Modi put into the Wuhan and Mamallapuram meets?' Claude Arpi writes a letter to Xi Jinping, China's self-styled supreme leader, who turns 68 today, June 15.
In an address at a leading think-tank in Paris, Shringla mentioned two recent terrorist incidents in France, one of which he said had its origins in Pakistan, noting that the civilised world needs to act with firmness to address the threat of terrorism.
It's a man-made marvel! After several delays and budget overruns, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge was officially opened on Tuesday, marking the completion of the longest sea-crossing bridge ever built, nine years after construction began. Here's everything you needed to know about this bridge of steel.
Pakistan made an "error" in ignoring terrorist sanctuaries in its tribal areas, a senior Pakistani diplomat said.
The bizarre challenge started in China but has followers all over the world.
Noida SEZ has 400 units and around 100,000 workers, and was shut down on March 23.
'On January 17, we had our first meeting with the Cabinet secretary.' 'Different secretaries belonging to different departments attended it.' 'It was only two weeks when China had said there is a new disease.' 'So, we gave the quickest response.'
Laxmi Sorte and Kaustav Ghosh, who travelled across 29 Indian states and five Union territories in 101 days, recommend a list of lesser known places in India to add to your travel bucket list.
We once again present a special feature on the ten worst earthquakes that had shaken the world and caused immense damage in the past 25 years.
About 87.2 per cent of Indians are most optimistic about their lives for the next five years, according to a global survey by AXA Asia-Life, part of the AXA Asia Pacific Holdings of the global insurer.
The media has created a new paradigm for its news perspective. It will write about issues that concern and directly affect its readers.It will also present news, whatever be its content or significance, provided that news is offered to it by the establishment, be it the state or the advertising community.
The US move came after the Justice Department said that hackers working with the Chinese government targeted firms developing vaccines for the coronavirus and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies across the world.
'It came out of China and it could have been stopped and I wish they had stopped it and so does the whole world wish they had stopped it'
Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said it has become very difficult for Nepal to contain the spread of the deadly virus due to the flow of people from outside.
The coronavirus dominated the opening minutes of the Trump-Biden face-off in Nashville with US President Trump terming the contagion a "worldwide problem".
Fourteen photos from events that defined the world in the week gone by.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday appealed to Indians to boycott Chinese goods in view of the 'repeated' incursions by the neighbouring country along the Line of Actual Control. "We appeal to people to boycott Chinese toys, edibles and electronics and other material in our country as China is daily violating our territory on the ground and in the air in Ladakh and North-East," said VHP president Ramakant Dubey.
Ashish Kurme, an MBBS student studying at a university near Wuhan, tells the grim story of ground zero of the coronavirus outbreak.
'Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the economic sphere as well.' 'To do this, he needs to shed the simple-minded nostrums about economic growth and swadeshi that he learnt in the Sangh Parivar,' suggests Virendra Kapoor.
The ISSF said there will no ranking points in the tournament scheduled to be held from March 15 to 26 as the organisers are not in a position to guarantee participation of all athletes owing to the extraordinary situation.
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