The ministry, however, said it could not be sufficiently established yet if these variants were behind the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in some states.
Laxman Narasimhan, a veteran in leading and advising global consumer-facing brands, has been named as the new CEO of coffee giant Starbucks, joining a growing cohort of Indian-origin business leaders at the helm of global corporations.
Six hospitals in the national capital have exhausted their oxygen supply while seven others have less than five hours of oxygen left, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday.
The researchers analysed 2580,021 test results from nose and throat swabs taken from 384,543 participants aged 18 years or older between December 1, 2020 and May 16, 2021.
Nadal says Wimbledon ban on Russian and Belarusian players unfair
A World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil was suspended amid farcical scenes on Sunday after Brazilian health authorities accused a number of Premier League players of violating the country's COVID-19 quarantine rules.
A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said.
'Most vaccines do target the Spike protein, in which there are changes in the variants but vaccines stimulate our immune system to produce a wide range of protective antibodies'
Virgin Atlantic plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to London's Heathrow from September 2, while Mumbai services are planned to re-commence from September 17 with four flights per week. Both the destinations will provide connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner.
The Delta Plus variant have been detected sporadically in Maharashtra, Kerala and MP.
As Sachin turns 50, Rediff brings you 50 fascinating facts about the God of Cricket.
The diamond merchant wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank scam case, lost his legal battle against extradition as a UK judge ruled that he does have a case to answer before the Indian courts.
India took only six days to administer one million COVID-19 vaccine doses, a count which is higher than that of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday as the number of beneficiaries who have received the anti-coronavirus shots inched close to 16 lakh.
Pakistan on Monday banned travel from 15 countries, except under certain conditions, and tightened up travel restrictions on 13 other countries in wake of the threat of the new COVID-19 variant Omicorn.
'There is no data to show this virus is more deadlier.'
New Zealand pacer Iain O'Brien who now lives in the UK, was in New Zealand to deal with his mental health issues but his month-long trip was disrupted after countries went into a lockdown mode and borders were closed to control the rapidly-spreading coronavirus. After three of his flights were cancelled, O'Brien decided to seek donations to arrange the money for his ticket.
"The Prime Minister has been moved this evening [Thursday] from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery. He is in extremely good spirits," a Downing Street spokesperson said on Thursday.
The passenger belonged to a group of 19 holidaying in the hill resort town of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillance.
In the advisory, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said States and Union Territories may consider imposing need based, local curbs and restrictions, to control the crowd during the festive season.
"Vaccination is our big weapon in the fight against COVID-19," he said. He added that India is the fastest country globally to reach the landmark of 17 crore doses in 114 days and thanked all the states and UTs for their contribution in achieving this feat.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in a statement urged world leaders not to implement 'knee-jerk' policy decisions in response to the detection of the Omicron variant.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB) have mutually agreed to defer the three-match ODI series which began on Friday.
Women's T20 challenge is unlikely to go ahead this year
Local trains will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 7 pm, while all shopping malls and markets will be allowed to remain open till 10 pm but with half their capacities, he said.
Australia and West Indies are set to lock horns in five T20Is and three ODIs in July this year.
The government on Friday said there is no need to panic on the need for an immediate change in the dosage interval of Covishield vaccine, underlining that reducing the time gap requires proper scientific study in the Indian scenario.
Bengaluru has emerged as the world's fastest-growing mature tech ecosystem in the world since 2016, followed by the European cities of London, Munich, Berlin and Paris, with India's financial centre of Mumbai in sixth place, according to new research released in London on Thursday.
'WHO issued an emergency use listing for Covovax, expanding the basket of WHO-validated vaccines against COVID-19. The vaccine is produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax,' the world health body said in a tweet on Friday.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2.
The Serum Institute of India has stockpiled 40 mn-50 mn doses and is adding more every week. Most of these will come to India.
From 3.38 per cent in April, the fatality rate in the country has come down to 2.87 per cent as against 6.4 per cent globally.
Rishi Sunak on Wednesday clinched his place for the final leg of the race to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of Britain's Conservative party and prime minister, and will go head-to-head with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
Indian drug firms get a shot in the arm in the $12 bn Australian drug market as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia agrees to accelerate the drug approval process in that country for Indian players who already have an approved plant and product from one of the stringent regulatory authorities like US, EU or Canada. From current sales of $340 mn, the Indian firms can see a significant upside in sales; felt Dinesh Dua, former chairman of the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), and the MD of Nectar Lifesciences. He highlighted that only 12 percent of the Australian drug market is generic, as against 80-90 per cent in the US or EU. Of this $1.5 bn generic drug market in India, Indian companies have a small share.
Jayalalithaa was the third chief minister in Tamil Nadu to die in office, after her mentor M G Ramachandran (1987) and before that his mentor C N Annadurai (1969). The state government should have evolved protocols for the medical care of the incumbent, and institutional memory should have guided the government and officials in the matter, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the Indian son-in-law can become prime minister in another country, could the daughter-in-law have not become one here, especially considering that the Indian culture and tradition is for the bahu to live, think and act like her in-laws, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Major incidents have previously been called for the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terrorist attacks in the UK capital. A major incident is defined as an event or situation with a range of serious consequences which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder agency.
The European Arrest Warrant on rape charges against Assange was lifted in May last year but Scotland Yard had confirmed a British arrest warrant dating from 2012 remains in place, which they were obliged to execute should the campaigner step out of the embassy.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Sunday raised concerns over India's drugs regulator granting permission for restricted use of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine and asked the government to explain why mandatory protocols and verification of data has been dispensed with.
Calling for 'equal recognition of vaccines', COVAX on Thursday urged all governments to recognise as 'fully vaccinated' those people who have received COVID-19 vaccines deemed safe by World Health Organisation, saying any move that restricts travel of people based on the vaccines they have received is 'counter-effective, both in spirit and outcome'.
This year's Wimbledon Championships have so far survived the cull of the world's most prestigious sporting events due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it seems only a matter of time before they are postponed or cancelled. With London in its first week of lockdown, All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) officials are weighing up their limited options.
