Breaking News, January 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with the chief ministers of all states on the COVID-19 situation. PM Modi said Omicron is spreading rapidly as compared to other variants and is more transmissible. Prime Minister also added that there is a need to stay alert but also ensure that panic is not created. READ MORE

Punjab Congress state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday said that he is not running for any post in the upcoming elections but the fight is to change this system which has eroded Punjab-like terminates and is being run by Mafias in connivance of mischievous politicians. | READ MORE

Bikaner Express train derailed near New Domohani railway station at around 5 pm. At least 12 coaches of the Guwahati-Bikaner Express train (15633) derailed in West Bengal. The accident took place near New Domohani railway station. Here are the helpline numbers issued by the railway department - 03612731622, 03612731623 | READ MORE

At least 3 passengers have died and several others are feared trapped after 12 coaches of Guwahati-Bikaner Express train (15633) derailed near Domohani at around 5 pm, in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district on Thursday. READ MORE

Union Home Ministry directs all the states and UTs to ensure that the Martyrs' Day is observed with "due solemnity".

Former minister and BJP MLC CP Yogeshwar on Thursday demanded the arrest of Congress President DK Shivakumar. Yogeshwar is considered to be the arch rival of Shivakumar. Both hail from the same district. "Mekedatu padayatra was a farce. The ruling BJP government cannot budge before the 'goondaism' and utter negligence of Shivakumar. "He is a corrupt brigand. That is why he was not considered for the post of cabinet during the Congress rule," he charged. "Since four days the padayatra was being carried out by Shivakumar and gang. People were roped in by bribing them. The government will not bend before their dominance," he said. "Shivakumar should be taught in his own language. He should be arrested immediately. The padayatra was being taken up to promote the Congress party in southern Karnataka. Siddaramaiah did not take Shivakumar into the cabinet for a period of one year considering his criminal background. Now, Siddaramaiah is appearing to be weak," he maintained. "Corona is spreading rapidly in the state. Padayatra was nothing but self-promotion of Shivakumar and there was nothing called public interest in the padayatra," he charged.

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided that schools violating the Right to Education (RTE) Act rules will now face action. The basic education department has decided to initiate the process of withdrawing recognition of schools not complying with RTE rules. Nearly one lakh students from 'weaker' sections of society have been admitted in private schools under RTE provisions for academic session 2021-22. Additional Director, basic education, Lalita Pradeep, said that complaints had been received against several schools who were not complying with RTE rules. Under RTE Act, children belonging to economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups are admitted in recognised unaided private schools to the extent of 25 per cent of the total capacity of their entry-level classes, either pre-primary or Class one. The department has received complaints pertaining to school management harassing parents for unnecessary documents, striking off names of children without reason, not allowing children to attend school even after their names were approved by the government, charging money from students and not giving them receipts.

The chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech International Limited Krishna Ella on Thursday made an offering of Rs two crore at the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala on the occasion of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival. After offering prayers at the temple, Krishna Ella, CMD of Hyderabad headquartered Bharat Biotech International Limited, producer of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, along with wife Suchitra handed over a demand draft for Rs two crore to the TTD Executive Officer KS Jawahar Reddy and Chairman YV Subba Reddy of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs the ancient shrine, an official told news agency PTI.

The effectiveness of face masks has been a hotly debated topic since the emergence of Covid-19. However, a new study shows that masks could also help reduce social distancing.Researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) found that face masks reduce the distance airborne pathogens could travel, when speaking or coughing, by more than half compared to not wearing a mask. The findings, appearing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, are important as airborne viral pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, can be encapsulated and transmitted through liquid droplets and aerosols formed during human respiratory functions such as speaking and coughing.

Police on Thursday said they have arrested five people, including two employees of a mobile accessories firm in North Delhi, on charges of robbing over Rs 17 lakh belonging to the firm and showcasing it to be a robbery. Police said they have recovered about about 95 per cent of the money. After executing the robbery, Deepak, the prime accused, filed a complaint at the Bara Hindu Rao police station that his colleague Rahul and he were returning to their office in Karol Bagh in an auto-rickshaw after collecting a payment of Rs 17.71 lakh from a client in Fatehpuri when two motorcycle-borne men attacked them. They said the attackers fled away with the money and their mobile phones. Believing Deepak, his employer, too, accompanied him to the police station to file the complaint. Based on his statement, a case was registered and a special team formed to crack the case, police said. They said they grew suspicious about Deepak after visiting the alleged crime scene.

The Karnataka government on Thursday began a crackdown on the Congress leaders participating in the Mekedatu padayatra, which has entered its fifth day. However, Congress MP D.K. Suresh stated on Thursday that the padayatra would continue unabated. Sources said Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and other senior leaders were holding a meeting at the Ramanagar Party office and will take a final call on future course of action. The authorities have served notice to state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar asking him not to take part in the padayatra. The notice warns that if he violates the provisions of the Natural Disaster Management Act (NDMA), then action will be taken. However, Shivakumar refused to accept the notice and the officers pasted the notice on the entrance gate of his residence in Kanakapura. The Ramanagar Rural police have booked a fourth FIR against Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, D.K. Suresh and other senior Congress leaders for violating curfew orders. The police have been stopping the vehicles from entering Ramanagar district to participate in the padayatra from other places since morning. The vehicles with stickers supporting padayatra are being stopped.

Six in 10 frontline workers in India worry that they could lose their jobs if they don't adapt to new technology, a new Microsoft report showed on Thursday. Nearly 88 per cent of frontline workers in India are excited about job opportunities tech creates. The top three reasons for considering a job change for them are to make more money, to look for a position to develop new skills, and for better employee benefits, according to Microsoft India's 'Work Trend Index' report. "Even as we continue to endure pandemic uncertainty right now, frontline workers are standing up to the challenge of keeping the wheels of the economy running," said Rajiv Sodhi, COO, Microsoft India.

BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting will start at the party headquarters in Delhi shortly to finalise the party candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. PM Narendra Modi will also join the meeting.

Greetings to all on Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Paush Parva. Highlighting unity in diversity that defines our country, these festivals underline our organic relationship with nature. May the festivals bring prosperity and happiness: President Ram Nath Kovind.

The Prayagraj Mela Authority, for the first time, has resorted to colour coding for easy identification of various facilities in the Mela township. Police stations, toilets, lost and found centres will either have specific colour tents or balloons to help the pilgrims identify them. These balloons have been designed so that the details of the place over which a given balloon would be floating in the air, would be mentioned in large, bold letters. Magh Mela official, Shesh Mani Pandey, said, "The details of the police stations and lost found centres will be written in the balloons flying over these places. With this, the devotees will be able to easily spot the direction and distance of the lost and found centre or police station."

Britain and India will on Thursday (January 13) formally launch free trade agreement talks in New Delhi, seeking freer movement of goods and people with a deal projected to increase bilateral trade by billions of pounds: Reuters. 

Delhi: Air Quality Index (AQI) is presently at 142 (overall) in the 'moderate' category, as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)-India.

Rajasthan recorded three deaths due to the coronavirus and 9,488 fresh infections on Wednesday, bringing the fatality count to 8,981 and the infection tally to 9,98,126, according to the state Medical and Health Department. As of Wednesday evening, a maximum of 3,659 fresh COVID-19 cases were registered in the state capital Jaipur, 755 in Alwar, 591 in Jodhpur, 495 in Bikaner, 423 in Udaipur, 406 in Kota, 364 in Bharatpur, 319 in Barmer, 287 in Ajmer. Rajasthan has 38,448 active cases of the novel coronavirus at present, official data showed. On Wednesday, 1,634 people recovered from the infection. According to the department, two patients died in Jaipur and one in Sikar due to the infection on Wednesday.

Two startups supported by DBT-BIRAC have received the World Bank Group and the Consumer Technology Association's Global Women's Health Tech Awards, which recognises innovative startups that leverage technology to improve women's health and safety in emerging markets. The two startups supported by the Department of Biotechnology's Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (DBT-BIRAC) are NIRAMAI Health Analytix Pvt. Ltd. and Inn Accel Technologies Pvt. Ltd. As per a statement by the World Bank, this year the Awards attracted more than 70 companies from 35 countries, which submitted their innovative products and services under three categories: reproductive health and pregnancy, general women's and adolescent health, and women safety and security. NIRAMAI Health Analytix Pvt. Ltd, a recipient of BIRAC's Women in Entrepreneurial Research Award 2019, was selected for its novel software-based medical device that in a simple and private way on women of all age groups, detects early-stage breast cancer and breast densities addressing a critical unmet need in cancer screening.