Breaking News, January 6

National Commission for Women (NCW) writes to Delhi Commissioner of Police Rakesh Asthana on viral video showing hairstylist Jawed Habib allegedly spitting on a woman's hair, urges him to take action in the matter. NCW to send a notice to Jawed Habib.

Liquor shops, restaurants, hotels serving liquor in Puducherry and Karaikal regions shall be closed on January 15 and January 18 on account of 'Thiruvalluvar Day' and 'Vallalar Jothi Day', respectively.

An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 occurred 68 km southwest of Thimphu, Bhutan at 8:16 pm, National Center for Seismology informed.

On assuming the command of Fire and Fury Corps, Lt General Anindya Sengupta laid a wreath at Leh War Memorial, the Indian Army said.

Supreme Court decides to hear from January 7 all matters in virtual mode only and all judges to work from their residential offices.

Supreme Court through a circular says that only extremely urgent mentioned matters, fresh matters, bail matters involving stay, detention and fixed date matters will be listed before the Court from January 10, ANI reported.

Assam: Notification for special casual leave for government employees for two days - January 6 & 7 "to spend time with parents or in-laws"

Regarding reports of a bridge being made by China on Pangong Lake, the government of India is monitoring this closely. This bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupation by China for around 60 years. The government is taking steps to ensure our security interests are protected, MEA said.

The media reports on this are not factually correct. Media houses in India have released pictures contradicting the claim, MEA on videos of Chinese soldiers allegedly in the Galwan Valley.

Supreme Court reserves order on pleas relating to Centre's decision of providing 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% for EWS category in All-India Quota seats for the admission in NEET for all medical seats. NEET-PG counseling is on hold as the case was pending before the top court.

India has taken up the early release of the Indian fishermen with the Srilankan authorities. As a result, 12 fishermen have been released. India & Sri Lanka are in consultation on an early holding of the joint working group on fisheries, said MEA.

Neeraj Bishnoi, the main conspirator & creator of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub brought to Delhi by Delhi Police Special Cell. He was arrested from Assam by Delhi Police Special Cell's IFSO team.

Srinagar-Leh highway passing through Zoji-La closed for civilian vehicular movement till further orders, due to continuous spell of snowfall and extreme weather, says Ladakh Administration.

An independent panel of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) has recommended Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 booster shots for children aged 12 to 15 amid an unprecedented surge of infections across the country. "A single Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for persons aged 12 to 17 years at least 5 months after primary series under the FDA's emergency use authorization," said the recommendation on Wednesday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to quickly sign off on the committee's endorsement to make it effective. The advisers made the recommendation after hearing research on rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in young people who have received Covid-19 vaccines and noting that many parents are concerned about long-term side effects of vaccines.

Neeraj Bishnoi, arrested from Assam by Delhi Police Special Cell's IFSO team, is the main conspirator & creator of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub & the main Twitter account holder of the app. He is being brought to Delhi: DCP (IFSO) KPS Malhotra.

All the important facilities and passes of Ladakh being kept open during harsh winters under most difficult weather conditions by the Border Roads Organisation: BRO. 

WATCH: Uttarakhand: Tourist places in Chamoli including snow sports sites Auli, Raini, Brahmatal covered under the blanket of snow. 

President Ramnath Kovind expressed concern on the security breach in PM’s Punjab visit. PM to meet the President shortly: Govt Sources.

'Bulli Bai' app case: The main conspirator arrested by Delhi Police’s IFSO special cell from Assam. 

The law on national resistance, envisaging the increase in the number of troops by 11,000, came into force in Ukraine, the country's parliament announced. The legislation also allows, if necessary, to involve the entire population of Ukraine in the protection of their homeland, reports xinhua news agency. The law was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament and signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in July 2021 amid the armed conflict in the eastern Donbas region. "The creation of a system of national resistance in Ukraine is a powerful signal to everyone that our country will defend itself," Zelensky was quoted as saying.

NIA has declared cash reward against 10 cadres of People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF), the agency says. 

In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the Rajasthan government has extended closure of schools for classes 1-8 coming under the municipal areas of Jaipur and Jodhpur till January 17. However, online education shall continue in these areas. Earlier, the schools in these areas were ordered to remain closed till January 7. Late Wednesday night in a Covid review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, it was decided that the District Collectors will take a decision on operation of educational institutes in their areas after consulting additional chief secretary, education.

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in Kolkata tomorrow: PMO. 

Residents of the national capital woke up to a foggy Thursday morning, with the maximum and minimum temperatures being recorded at 20 and 12 degrees Celsius, respectively, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast. The IMD has further forecast light rain with a generally cloudy sky for the next three days. There would be a wet spell over northwest and central India till January 9 and no cold wave conditions are likely over north India during the next 6-7 days, the Department had said earlier this week. In a bulletin, the IMD said, "There is a Western Disturbance as a trough in westerlies in lower & middle tropospheric levels with its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level. Under its influence, an induced cyclonic circulation has formed over southwest Rajasthan and adjoining Pakistan at lower tropospheric levels.

North Korea on Thursday announced that it has successfully conducted a test-firing of a hypersonic missile a day earlier, three months after it first showcased the new weapons system. On Wednesday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea from the northern province of Jagang, reports Yonhap News Agency. The missile made a "120 km lateral movement" from the initial launch azimuth and "precisely hit a set target 700 km away", Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday but did not disclose the speed of the projectile. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the firing.

A 10-year-old boy was buried alive when a portion of the roof attached to a community toilet next to a government primary school collapsed on him in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district. The toilet was constructed over a year ago but was never opened for use. The boy, Shailesh Kumar, was playing with his friends when the incident took place in Rafatpur village on Wednesday. The boy's father, Guddu Singh, has lodged a complaint with police against the village head and local contractor. An FIR is yet to be registered. The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy in the evening.

Sensex opens 491 points lower at 59,731; Nifty slips 216 points to 17,708. 

West Bengal BJP Mahila Morcha president and MLA, Agnimitra Paul tests positive for COVID-19

All flights at Srinagar Airport are delayed due to low visibility: Airport authorities. 

Former Tamil Nadu Minister Rajendra Balaji, who was arrested by police in an alleged job scam yesterday, was produced before a court in Virudhunagar today morning. 

After the Congress cancelled its Pink Marathons and rallies in view of the surge in the cases of Covid, the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) have also cancelled their election programmes. According to official sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed rally in Lucknow on January 9 is likely to be cancelled in view of the Covid situation and also inclement weather conditions. "We have been informed of the cancellation through an official communication in this regard is awaited," said a party functionary. The Samajwadi Party has also cancelled its Vijay Rath Yatra on January 7, 8 and 9 which was to be led by party chief Akhilesh. As per the schedule, Akhilesh was to address public meetings in Gonda, Basti and Ayodhya on January 7, 8 and 9, respectively.

Sri Lanka will unveil its vaccination drive to children aged between 12 and 15, from January 7, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said here on Wednesday. In a statement, the minister said that starting from Friday, the Covid-19 vaccines will be available for the children in the age group, Xinhua news agency reported. Health officials said the children will be administered the Pfizer doses. According to official figures from the health ministry, nearly 70 per cent of Sri Lanka's total population have been fully vaccinated with China's Sinopharm, followed by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Sputnik V.

Following a break over the holiday season, European countries are witnessing skyrocketing new Covid-19 infections as the Omicron variant continues its onslaught across the continent. France, Greece and Croatia have broken new Covid-19 case records while the two neighbouring countries of the Netherlands and Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 per cent and 79 per cent respectively, Xinhua news agency reported. In Greece, despite a tightening of measures during the holiday season, cases have skyrocketed. The National Public Health Organization (EODY) confirmed on Tuesday 50,126 infections within 24 hours, an all-time high. Greek experts expect the number to continue rising this month, with daily cases possibly reaching 80,000 in the coming days.

Delhi: Fire breaks out at Lajpat Rai Market in Chandni Chowk; 12 fire tenders rushed to the site for firefighting. 

Delhi: Air Quality Index (AQI) is presently at 380 (overall) in the 'very poor' category, as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR)-India. 

Daily Covid-19 infections in Germany surged to 58,912 cases on Wednesday, around 18,870 more than a week ago, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said. Since late December, Germany's national seven-day rate per 100,000 inhabitants has been rising steadily, reaching 258.6 on Wednesday. This was up from 239.9 the previous day, and 205.5 a week ago, according to the RKI, Xinhua news agency reported. Covid-19 infections with the Omicron variant increased by 7,027 within one day, or 20 per cent, to a total of 42,556, RKI said. More than 19,000 of these cases were found in the 15-34 age group.

Haryana reported 35 more cases of #Omicron variant of COVID19 yesterday: Health department. 

Maharashtra: Migratory birds begin to arrive at Nandur Madhmeshwar wetland sanctuary in Niphad, Nashik district. "More than 30,000 birds including flamingos, cranes have come here.Birds from Siberia, Europe come here to escape the harsh winter conditions," said the Forest officer. 

Maharashtra: A total of 230 resident doctors from various hospitals in Mumbai have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 3 days, says Ganesh Solunke, president of JJ Hospital, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors.