The UK's health authorities have confirmed that a new and "most significant" variant of COVID-19 is officially under investigation in the country as the government on Friday added six countries to its travel ban red list from southern Africa, where B.1.1.529 strain was first identified.
The train crash happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday, prompting the Railway Ministry to order a probe.
'Maybe the State wants to be watching people all the time. But when they are watching, others too may be watching!' 'The State is becoming more and more secretive while throwing people to the wolves.'
Amid mass layoffs in the tech sector, the federal agency for immigration services has said it is wrong to assume that sacked workers holding the much-sought-after H-1B visas have to leave the country within 60 days, asserting they have multiple options to stay in the US. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
India achieved a major milestone in its vaccination programme against COVID-19 as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 200-crore mark on Sunday.
Alert to the looming threat from the 'Omicron' variant, states began to re-tighten curbs and urgently trace people who arrived from abroad in the last one month while a demand to not allow flights from the affected countries was made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
"There was 90 percent blockage in one of his coronary arteries and one stent was placed successfully. He is absolutely fine," Dr Sudhir Bhandari, principal of the SMS medical college, told reporters.
In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also said that existing protocols for curbing the spread of COVID-19 will continue till November 30.
Claims of a spike in poverty and inequality in India during the Covid-19 pandemic are patently false as such claims are based on uncomparable different surveys, according to a paper co-authored by eminent economist Arvind Panagariya. The paper also noted that inequality fell in the country during Covid years, both in rural and urban areas as well as nationally. Panagariya, Columbia University Professor and former vice chairman of NITI Aayog and Vishal More of Intelink Advisors, New Delhi have co-authored a detailed paper 'Poverty and Inequality in India: Before and After Covid-19'.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 82 crore on Tuesday, the Union health ministry said.
The ministry said this will also ensure early detection, isolation and hospitalisation of such "false" negative cases. It has also been reiterated in the joint letter that while the RAT is being used to increase access and availability of testing in the field, RT-PCR remains the gold standard of COVID tests, the ministry said.
Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com looks at some of the most interesting heath products presented at the latest edition of the Consumer Electronics Show.
Infosys announced acquisition of digital commerce company Kallidus for $120 million.
The World Bank must become Archimedes's lever to help change the world into a more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable planet in the 21st century. The change in leadership now provides that opportunity, observes Ajay Chhibber.
Centre has sent an advisory to states on HFMD (Hand Foot and Mouth Disease), commonly known as Tomato Flu, stating that it's a self-limiting illness targeting mostly young children aged 1-10 years and immune-compromised adults and no specific drug exists to treat it.
Here's what some states are doing to get a grip on the situation. Ruchika Chitravanshi & Aneesh Phadnis report
As the country eagerly awaits an expected coronavirus vaccination drive in January, at least 125 intended beneficiaries each in four states who had registered on the Co-WIN App were on Monday sent SMSes informing them about the time and place of their 'COVID-19 vaccination' under a mock-drill to administer the shots at designated centres.
According to the health ministry, the block task force would be tasked with resolving bottlenecks, thus de-centralising planning and preparedness for vaccine introduction.
The South African authorities said the detected cases and percentage of people testing positive are both increasing quickly, particularly in particularly in most populated province of Gauteng, North West and Limpopo regions of the country.
The donations will go to two wards at Lisbon's Santa Maria hospital and one ward at the Santo Antonio hospital in Porto.
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.
Due to globalisation, growing economy, aging population and changing lifestyle, India will face a tsunami of chronic diseases such as cancer.
Doctors attending on him said that his vital and clinical parameters are stable and he is being closely monitored.
Amid an uptick in daily cases of COVID-19 in Delhi and the positivity rate going beyond two per cent, there has been a rise of nearly 48 per cent in the number of home isolation cases in the last one week, according to official data.
The ministry said that states can also develop their own protocol with regards to quarantine and isolation as per their assessment.
Mental health coach Anu Krishna offers advice on how parents and students can overcome the stress caused by online education.
When computing moved to the cloud, it brought a lot of advantages of managing data at scale. Computation of large sets of information sourced from several locations allowed experts to interpret data at scale with flexibility. Artificial intelligence (AI) played a critical role in helping understand patterns which could lead to business insights. In the new scenario, using AI in the cloud is not enough anymore.
South African experts have expressed concern about the rising number of COVID-19 infections among young children, even as the country recorded a further 16,055 infections and 25 deaths overnight on Friday.
The WHO's move came nearly three weeks after India objected to the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an 'Indian Variant' in media reports with the Union Health Ministry pointing out that the UN's top health organ has not used the word 'Indian' for this strain in its document.
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday replaced his 'Team-11', a group of officials tasked with managing the crises, with a new nine-member set of ministers and bureaucrats.
The Saturday stampede that killed 12 people occurred 'due to a scuffle between two groups of pilgrims', the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) said in a statement, emphasising only 35,000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed for the yatra against the normal capacity of 50,000 in view of the pandemic.
In a review meeting by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, these states and the union territory were asked to continue with rigorous vigil so as to contain the spread of infection as well as take steps to reduce fatalities.
FDA said as of now it has issued an emergency use authorisation to allow hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine products donated to the Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$ 1.5 billion (around Rs 11,185 crore) loan to India for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
Now, class 12th exams will be held by end of May, while 10th standard exams will be in June.
The new design begins with a layer of thermally conductive material that rests on the skin and spreads out the heat.
The B.1.617 variant was first detected in India and was divided in three lineages -- B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3.
President Ramaphosa contracted COVID-19 infection on a day when the country recorded a new high of 37,875 new infections overnight, dramatically up from the previous day's 17,154 new cases.
Race Across America -- which spans a little over 3,000 miles, from the west coast of the US to its east -- is often called the toughest race in the world. Indian cyclists are now returning multiple finishes at RAAM including podium positions within age categories, discovers Shyam G Menon.
After a long hiatus of more than 20 months, the government had on November 26 announced the resumption of scheduled international commercial flights from December 15.
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