NATIONAL NEWS
Multi-disciplinary Central teams to be deployed in 10 states
The Union Health Ministry has sent multi-disciplinary central teams to be deployed in 10 states including Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab. The decision was taken in the wake of increasing number of Omicron and Covid-19 cases or slow vaccination pace.
7-day mandatory home quarantine for Dubai passengers in Mumbai
In the latest order issued by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, a seven-day home quarantine has been made mandatory for those travelling from Dubai to Mumbai in Maharashtra due to the tally of Omicron cases breaching the 100 mark on December 24th. The passengers will have to undergo an RT-PCR test on the seventh day of their quarantine.
Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar market to operate on an odd-even basis on Dec 25, 26
The Delhi Government has ordered the Sarojini Nagar market to operate on an odd-even basis on December 25 and 26 to avoid it from becoming a COVID-19 super spreader. All shops and street vendors in the market have been asked to follow the odd-even rule over the weekend.
PM Modi to virtually address Gurpurab celebrations at Gujarat gurudwara
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the Gurpurab celebrations at Gurudwara Lakhpat Sahib in Kutch of Gujarat on December 25, 2021. PM Modi will address the Gurpurab celebrations at around 12:30 pm through video conferencing. The Sikh Sangat of Gujarat celebrates the Gurpurab of Guru Nanak Dev Ji at the Gurudwara every year from December 23 to December 25.
President Kovind, PM Modi pay tribute to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tribute at ‘Sadaiv Atal’ Samadhi in the national capital to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary on December 25, 2021.
India vs South Africa first test tomorrow
The first test of the 3-match test series between India and South Africa will get underway on December 26, 2021 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. South Africa is the only country where India is yet to win a Test series.
Decision on holding Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls next week, says CEC
A day after the Allahabad High Court requested the Election Commission to postpone the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls due to the threat of the Omicron variant, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said on Friday the EC would visit the State next week to review the situation. Mr. Chandra was speaking at a press conference in Dehradun during a two-day visit to Uttarakhand to review the preparations for the Assembly elections in the State, also scheduled for next year. The EC had visited Punjab and Goa recently for similar reviews and is set to visit U.P. next week. When asked about the Allahabad High Court’s request, Mr. Chandra said he had been informed that Uttarakhand had one case of Omicron so far. He reiterated the EC’s measures for making elections COVID-safe and said the Commission would take action as per the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
World Economic Forum annual meeting postponed
World Economic Forum 2022 annual meeting will be postponed due to the continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak. The meeting was scheduled to take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland in January 2022. The meeting of the World Economic Forum is now likely to take place during early summer.
UK Queen’s Christmas speech set to be particularly personal
Queen Elizabeth II is expected to offer a particularly personal Christmas Day message to the nation this year after Buckingham Palace released a photo of the monarch recording the speech alongside a picture of her and her husband, who died earlier this year. The image provided by the palace showed the queen in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, with a framed photograph of Elizabeth and Prince Philip arm in arm in the foreground. In both photos, she is wearing the same sapphire chrysanthemum brooch. This Christmas marks the first since the death of Prince Philip, who died in April, two months shy of his 100th birthday. Coronavirus restrictions in place at the time of his funeral meant that Elizabeth sat alone – a poignant symbol of how she would spend her life going forward as a widow. The televised Christmas Day message is a tradition in Britain, a moment when the monarch reflects on the holiday’s meaning and the challenges facing the country. While recording this year’s message, Elizabeth wore an embossed wool shift dress in Christmas red by British designer Angela Kelly. An illuminated Christmas tree glowed behind her. Last year, the queen used the opportunity to convey a message of hope during the depths of the coronavirus pandemic and to praise the “indomitable spirit” of scientists, emergency workers and others who had risen to the challenges created by COVID-19.
