Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Omicron: India's daily Covid-19 cases rise by 22,775

Omicron: India's daily Covid-19 cases rise by 22,775

INDIA on Saturday (1) reported 22,775 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, health ministry data shows, adding to concerns for authorities around the country about the rising number of cases.

The data indicates that thickly populated metros, such as the national capital New Delhi, financial centre Mumbai and Kolkata in the east, are seeing some of the sharpest rises.


In the eastern state of West Bengal, infections rose to 3,450 in the last 24 hours with at least 1,950 cases reported in Kolkata, the capital. Sixteen Omicron cases have been reported in West Bengal.

Kolkata's municipal corporation declared 17 micro containment zones in residential clusters where more than five infections have been reported.

People living in the zones are not allowed to leave the area to try to contain the spread of the disease.

Ajoy Chakrobarty, the state's director of health services, said he was holding meetings with private hospitals to ensure health facilities are ready to deal with the rising number of cases.

India witnessed a devastating second wave of Covid-19 last year when the daily average number of new cases peaked at around 400,000.

Caseloads had dropped significantly since then. For many months the national tally remained well under 10,000 cases a day.

Now, officials and medical experts fear the Omicron variant might fuel a third wave of the disease.

(Reuters)

More For You

JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

Sarju Khushal

Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

A MAN who supplied controlled drugs on a ‘wholesale’ scale across Leicestershire has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sarju Khushal, 30, was arrested in 2022 after investigations revealed he had been transporting drugs from Lancashire into the area.

Khushal, formerly of Hazeldene Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to several charges, including the supply and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced at Leicester crown court last Thursday (6).

Keep ReadingShow less
Tamil Nadu Education

Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people

Getty images

Education or imposition? Tamil Nadu battles India government over Hindi in schools

A war of words has erupted between Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin and the federal government over the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends a three-language formula in schools, with two of the three being native to India. Stalin has voiced strong objections, claiming that the policy could lead to the imposition of Hindi, a northern Indian language, in non-Hindi-speaking states like Tamil Nadu. The issue has reignited old tensions between southern states and the central government over the privileging of Hindi.

Historical resistance to Hindi

Tamil Nadu has a deep-rooted history of opposing the promotion of Hindi, dating back to the 1960s. Protests broke out in the state when the federal government attempted to make Hindi the sole official language, leading to a compromise that allowed the continued use of English. Language in Tamil Nadu is not merely a means of communication but a powerful symbol of cultural identity. Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people. As a result, any perceived threat to its prominence is met with strong resistance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

Thangam Debbonaire

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

FORMER Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire has taken her seat in the House of Lords after being awarded a life peerage last month.

The 58-year-old, who represented Bristol West for Labour from 2015 until July’s general election, wore the traditional scarlet robes during her introductory ceremony. She will now be known as Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.

Keep ReadingShow less