Breaking News, December 28 | Highlights

Resident doctors of Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya Hospital protest over delay in NEET-PG counselling.

"My child is ill. They are not letting us in. A huge number of patients are waiting to be treated," says a father of a patient.

A yellow alert has been sounded in Delhi under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and restrictions will be imposed accordingly, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday as Covid cases rise in the city. He said Covid cases are mild and there is no increase in the consumption of oxygen or the use of ventilators despite the rise in numbers.

Sourav Ganguly, BCCI President, got admitted at Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital on December 27 with Covid status. He received monoclonal anti-body cocktail therapy and is currently stable, said Dr Rupali Basu MD & CEO, Woodlands Hospital, Kolkata.

Every nation has a message to deliver, a mission to fulfill, a destiny to reach, said PM Modi while addressing the convocation ceremony of IIT-Kanpur.

"This era, this 21st century, is completely technology-driven. Even in this decade, technology is going to increase its dominance in different fields. Life without technology would now be incomplete in a way. This is the age of competition of life and technology and I am sure you will definitely come out ahead in this, PM Modi said.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien tests positive for Covid-19 with moderate symptoms.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the 54th convocation ceremony of IIT Kanpur.

"Doctors under the banner of JARD protest over delay in NEET-PG counseling. We've been demanding for the last 1 month that counseling for NEET 2021 should be done but govt is not doing anything. We will boycott services for 2 hours today," Dr Amit Yadav said. 

Sensex jumps 320.31 pts to 57,740.55 in opening session, Nifty surges 94.70 pts to 17,180.95.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold a high-level review meeting today on the prevailing COVID19 situation

A team of the Election Commission of India will be on a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh from December 28 to take stock of the poll preparedness ahead of the State Assembly elections in 2022

PM Narendra Modi to visit Kanpur today, to address the  54th convocation at IIT Kanpur after which he will inaugurate the completed section of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project & the Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project

The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday announced that polls to four municipal corporations -- Siliguri, Chandannagar, Bidhannagar, Asansol -- will be held on January 22.

The commission left out Howrah Municipal Corporation, amid the ongoing row between the Mamata Banerjee government and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar over a bill seeking its bifurcation.

Making the announcement at his office here, State Election Commissioner Saurav Das said that nomination filing for the January 22 polls, to be held from 7 am to 5 pm, will commence on December 28.

"The last date for submitting nomination is January 3. The papers will be scrutinised the day after. January 6 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawing the nominations," Das told reporters.

A 15-year-old boy was allegedly shot dead in Rohini's Budh Vihar area, police said on Monday. The incident took place around 9.30 pm on Sunday, they said.

The boy and his six-seven friends were partying at one of their friend's rented place. Suddenly, a bullet was fired and he sustained a gunshot injury on the right side of the chest, a senior police officer said.

Under what circumstances did the boy get injured is still part of investigation which cannot be disclosed right now, he said.

A bird flu outbreak in northern Israel has killed at least 5,200 migratory cranes and forced farmers to slaughter hundreds of thousands of chickens as authorities try to contain what they say is the deadliest wildlife disaster in the nation's history.

Uri Naveh, a senior scientist at the Israel Parks and Nature Authority, said the situation is not yet under control.

“Many of the birds are dead in the middle of the water body so it's difficult for them to be taken out.” he said Monday.

Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg called the crisis “the most serious damage to wildlife in the history of the country.” “The extent of the damage is still unclear," she tweeted.

US President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law Monday, authorising USD 768.2 billion in military spending, including a 2.7 per cent pay raise for service members, for 2022.

The NDAA authorises a 5 per cent increase in military spending, and is the product of intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over issues ranging from reforms of the military justice system to COVID-19 vaccine requirements for soldiers.

“The Act provides vital benefits and enhances access to justice for military personnel and their families, and includes critical authorities to support our country's national defense,” Biden said in a statement.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that to substitute import of petroleum as fuel and provide direct benefits to farmers, the automobile manufacturers in India have now been advised to start manufacturing Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFV) and Flex-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV) complying with BS-6 norms in a time-bound manner within a period of six months.

In a series of tweets, he said that in line with Prime Minister's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the government's policy on promoting ethanol as a transport fuel, Flex Fuel Vehicles are capable on running on a combination of 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent bio-ethanol and their blends, along with strong Hybrid Electric technology in case of FFV-SHEVs.

The minister said this move will drastically reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions from vehicles on a well-to-wheel basis, helping India to comply with its commitment made at COP26 to reduce the total projected carbon emissions by One Billion Tonnes by 2030.