Covid-19: India reports 268 new cases, two deaths in a day

NEW DELHI : The pandemic-led shift to remote work, which fuelled massive demand for PCs and laptops in the last two years, is starting to fade. Analysts and IT industry experts expect sales to weaken further due to a slump in consumer demand driven by inflationary pressures. This, in turn, will force brands to cut prices of consumer laptops and offer either discounts or bundled offers for commercial deals.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Fifteen organizations representing the professionals in the public sector have warned that if the government does not withdraw its unjust tax regime, strict action will be taken following pay day, which is tomorrow (25).These professional bodies have already declared a Black Protest Week against the tax regime they term as unjust.The Collective of Professionals' Trade Unions represented by multiple organizations including the Government Medical Officers' Association, Federation of University Teachers' Association, Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union, and the Ceylon Bank Employees Union convened a media briefing in Colombo.The Sri Lankan government has already decided to impose a tax regime of 6% to 36% on monthly earnings over Rs.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A writ application was filed with the Court of Appeal on Tuesday (24) seeking an order to invalidate the Cabinet Decision to impose an electricity tariff hike with effect from the 1st of January 2023.It was filed by several factions including the Electricity Users' Association, its secretary Dhammika Sanjeewa, The Center of Environmental Justice, its Executive Director Hemantha Vithanage.The Minister of Power and Energy, The Ceylon Electricity Board, The Cabinet of Ministers among others were named as respondents.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Spokesperson for the Samagi United Trade Union Balavegaya Ananda Palitha, and Secretary of the Electricity Users' Association Dhammika Sanjeewa, who visited the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka recently to inquire about the attempt to hike electricity tariffs, were arrested on Monday (23) night and were produced in court on Tuesday (24).They were charged with criminal influence and were remanded to the 26th of January 2023 by Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage.The case was filed against them for protesting against the members of the Public Utilities Commission during a protest opposite the PUCSL in Colombo.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Power & Energy Secretary and the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission were informed to appear for an inquiry at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on Wednesday (25) at 10:30 AM.The summons were sent as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka had observed that its directive to the  Power & Energy Secretary, and the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission to take necessary measures to prevent power outages during the period of the Advanced Level examination had been disregarded.On Monday (23), the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka informed the Power & Energy Secretary and the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission to take necessary measures to prevent power outages during the period of the Advanced Level examination, citing that power outages could negatively impact the studies of the candidates. The 2022 Advanced Level examination got underway on Monday (23), and will continue to the 17th of February.Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Cabinet Spokesperson announced that the daily power outages will be limited to two-hours.Speaking at the media briefing to elaborate on cabinet decisions, Minister Bandula Gunawardena noted that the two-hour power outage will only take place after 4 PM during the period of the G. C.

(Reuters) – The Export-Import Bank of China has offered Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its debt and said it will support the country's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.India wrote to the IMF earlier this month, saying it would commit to supporting Sri Lanka with financing and debt relief, but the island nation also needs the backing of China in order to reach a final agreement with the global lender.China's Jan.

A meeting of the Constitutional Council will be held on Wednesday (25) at 9.30 am, Chief of Staff and Deputy General Secretary of the Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera said, according to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.Meanwhile, the President appointed the non-members of Parliament as members of the Constitutional Council based on the nominations submitted by the Speaker with the agreement of the Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Accordingly, Dr. Pratap Ramanujam, Dr.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

Colombo (News 1st) – Former President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa has applied for restoration of his US citizenship, the Hindustan Times reported. Quoting a foreign newspaper, the Hidustan Times reported, "This comes as he failed to get asylum in any country. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled Sri Lanka in July last year.

State Pension provides essential financial support for nearly 12.5 million older people across the UK, including 981,399 living in Scotland. This regular payment is available for those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is now 66 for both men and women, and have paid at least 10 years worth of National Insurance Contributions.

New Delhi: A group of high-ranking Sri Lankan Buddhist Monks, who were on a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya recently, is now seeking His Holiness Dalai Lama's visit to Sri Lanka, which is reeling under a severe economic crisis.They met the Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya on December 27 and were overwhelmed by witnessing a large gathering at the holy city.Most Venerable Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Mahanayake Thero, Mahanayake Thero, Sri Sambuddha Sasanodaya Sangha Sabha told ANI in an interview, "His Holiness came to India and people should know why he came to India. Why he settled down in India? India helped His Holiness, and now because of His Holiness, we know thousands of tourists are in Bodh Gaya."He added, "These days, Bodh Gaya is very cold and people usually don't come, but people are there because of His Holiness.

COLOMBO (News 1st): President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his new year message stated that Sri Lanka has gone through the "bleakest of times" and thanked the public for their "patience and courage" in the face of measures taken to stabilise the economy. "2023 will be a critical year in which we plan to turn around the economy," stated the President while wishing all Sri Lankans a "happy and peaceful new year."The Head of State admitted that the cries of the youth for a system change "cannot be ignored" adding that "proposed social, economic and political reforms" need to be implemented boldly. President's New Year Greeting "We are looking at the New Year 2023 after having undergone the bleakest of times, immense hardships, as well as the uncertainties and hopelessness of the last year. I understand the great burdens that are placed on all of us and the setbacks that a majority of us have suffered due to the country’s abject economic collapse.

Covid-19: Currently, India's active caseload stands at 2,670. India saw a decline in daily Covid-19 cases as the country reported 173 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 4.46 crore (4,46,78,822), according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.  On Sunday, the country logged 265 fresh coronavirus infections.  Currently, India's active caseload stands at 2,670, that comprises 0.01% of the total infections.

A company linked to the husband of Scottish businesswoman Michelle Mone ploughed tens of thousands of pounds into the Conservatives.

THE Pogues singer Shane MacGowan has shared an alarming health update after being taken to hospital. The 65-year-old star went to hospital earlier this month, as revealed by his wife Victoria May Clarke. Victoria, 56, did not say what was wrong with the star at the time, but he’s known to have faced health problems in recent years.

Victims’ families set out to find killers as authorities grapple with shift in clearance rates When homicides surged across America during the pandemic, murders of Black women and girls rose more dramatically than other groups.

Risk profile!

COLOMBO (News 1st): Notorious underworld gangster Mohamed Najim Mohamed Imran alias ‘Kanjipani’ Imran sneaked into Rameswaram days after his release on bail by a court in Sri Lanka according to police sources, reported The Hindu.The Tamil Nadu intelligence has sounded an alert to senior police officers across the State to mount vigil along the coastal districts and look for him and his associate who landed along the Ramanathapuram district coast on December 25, 2022.Imran, wanted by the Sri Lankan authorities for various offences, including murders and criminal intimidation, was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and deported to the Island Nation. He was in judicial custody till a local court granted him bail on payment of two sureties, each 5 million local currencies.The State intelligence had a specific input from central intelligence agencies and reliable sources that Imran was planning to enter India after his release on bail.

As the first case has been found in India, here are five things you must know about this new Covid strain - XBB.1.5 variant. Experts believe that the new Covid version XBB.1.5 in the scene is the "next big thing" and has the potential to trigger a significant upsurge globally.

On Friday, Covid guidelines were revised by the Centre for passengers arriving on international flights. Negative RT-PCR tests will be mandatory from January 1 to enter India from countries that are seeing massive COVID surge currently. These countries include China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.

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Jonathan Ross, 62, has given an update on the health of his daughter Betty, 31.The presenter’s daughter suffers from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and POTS syndrome.Jonathan shares three children with his wife Jane Goldman, 52: Betty, Harvey, 29 and Honey, 25.Speaking on Loose Women, the talk show host discussed how his eldest child is showing signs of improvement following her treatment. He spoke about how it had been a “tough couple of years" following Betty's fibromyalgia diagnosis.The NHS describes Fibromyalgia as “a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body”. Jonathan went on to explain how his daughter struggles with depression and how she is now using an electric wheelchair.“She has fibromyalgia and she has chronic fatigue syndrome and POTS syndrome as well, which is where your heart rate shoots up,” he told Loose Women panellists Kaye Adams, Frankie Bridge, Dame Kelly Holmes and Denise Welch.Speaking about the way Betty’s illness had affected the family, he said: “She still can't walk very far. “We got her an electric wheelchair in the summer, so we can at least go out and go for walks with the dogs and that's lifted her spirits a lot. “Because that's the problem, if anyone out there who knows or who's got someone with a long term illness, you know, it's the depression."Being stuck indoors and not being able to join in with things because even stairs are a challenge to her."So if we're going out we have to give her plenty of time to get ready, get downstairs and then have a rest before we go to the next step, you know."“It does have an impact but the good news is she's definitely showing improvement and feeling better in herself.So we're relieved and we're happy with that.”However, Jonathan

TESTS Not all countries are imposing tests. European Union members, in particular, are divided. Over the past days, officials in France, Germany and Portugal have said they saw no need for now for new restrictions, while Austria has stressed the economic benefits of Chinese tourists' return to Europe.

AB-HWCs also encompass wellness sessions on yoga, zumba, cyclathons, walkathons and provide guidelines on diet, physical activity, positive parenting, tobacco, alcohol cessation among other aspects to imbibe a mindset for community well-being New Delhi: In a significant achievement demonstrating strengthening of the country’s health infrastructure, India has surpassed a notable landmark- 150,000 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) have been operationalised before 31 December, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the efforts of the nation in accomplishing this feat before the set deadline and said that these centres will help provide citizens easy access to primary healthcare facilities.

The show did go on for Perth Theatre’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk after two days of panto performances were cancelled due to a COVID outbreak among the cast.

The civil aviation ministry has asked the airlines to modify check-in systems ahead of new Covid norms for travellers from China, 5 other countries The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to modify their check-in systems for international passengers coming into India as part of the revised Covid guidelines, which makes a negative Covid test report a must for travellers coming from China and five other countries from Sunday. The ministry's direction comes a day after the health ministry decided to make RT-PCR negative test reports compulsory for passengers coming on all international flights from six high-risk countries --China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.

(With inputs from PTI)

Indonesia has decided to scrap the mask mandate, ending the coronavirus pandemic restrictions Indonesia will do away with indoor mask mandates and remove the requirement to show proof of vaccination when entering buildings, becoming one of the last few countries to completely end Covid-19 restrictions.  The changes will take effect from Friday and decision was taken as almost all of Indonesia’s population had immunity against the virus, said President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi.   “We once failed in containing Covid, but now we are among the few countries that did not experience a pandemic wave in past 10 to 11 consecutive months," he told a media briefing in Jakarta.

BBC – A Myanmar military court has sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to a further seven years in prison, taking her overall jail time to 33 years.The country's former democratically-elected leader has been under house arrest since a military ousted her government in a coup in February 2021.Since then she's faced 18 months of trials on 19 charges – which rights groups say are a sham.The UN Security Council called for her release last week.On Friday she was sentenced on the final five charges she faced. A court found her guilty of corruption because she had not followed regulations in renting a helicopter for a government minister.She had already been convicted of 14 different crimes including breaching Covid public safety rules, importing walkie-talkies and violating the official secrets act.Her trials this year have been set behind closed-doors where the public and media are barred access and her lawyers are also banned from speaking to journalists.

Covid-19 update: The death toll stands at 5,30,699 with one fatality reported from Maharashtra in the last 24 hours. India has been witnessing an increase in daily Covid-19 cases, with the country recording 243 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.  With this, the country's cumulative tally has gone up to 4.46 crore (4,46,78, 158) and active cases have increased to 3,609, the ministry said.  The death toll stands at 5,30,699 with one fatality reported from Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.11 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.16 per cent.

HONG KONG : Beijing called on foreign governments to abide by scientific principles in setting travel protocols, after the U.S.

Moves by several countries to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough. There have been no reports of new variants to date, but China has been accused of not being forthcoming about the virus since it first surfaced in the country in late 2019. The worry is that it may not be sharing data now on any signs of evolving strains that could spark fresh outbreaks elsewhere.

Why COVID projections have become harder During the early days of the pandemic, simple models could be used to project the number of COVID cases and the likely effect on the population, including demands for health care. Relatively few variables were needed to produce the first projections. That was because there was one main variant of COVID, the original strain, to which everyone in the world was susceptible.

With inputs from agencies

While the Central government has started random sampling and testing of 2% of foreign travellers at Delhi airport, in the last two days, more than 6,000 international travellers have been scanned, out of which 39 passengers have tested covid-19 positive. New Delhi: Government officials warned that the next 40 days would be crucial in determining the possibility of a resurgence of covid-19 cases in India as they urged people to follow safety protocols and complete their vaccination doses.

Italy is now sequencing those tests to see if there are new variants coming from China Italian health authorities will begin testing all arrivals from China for Covid after almost half of the passengers on two flights to Milan were found to have the virus.  The country is now sequencing those tests to see if there are new variants coming from China, the Health Ministry said in a statement. If a new strain is found, officials may impose stricter curbs on travel from China.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Police teams investigating the death of businessman Dinesh Schaffter were summoned by the Police Chief for a meeting on Wednesday (28).IGP C.D.

Next 40 days going to be crucial as India may see surge in Covid cases in January: Official sources citing previous trends, news agency ANI reported 

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department has commenced a study on the nine criminals who were arrested from the special camp for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees at Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli.The CID said that following the evaluation a decision will be taken on the suspects that need to be repatriated to Sri Lanka for prosecution.The Criminal Investigations Department said that reports on these criminals have been called for from all the police stations, and a CID team is expected to leave for India soon for investigations. The Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested nine Sri Lankans from the special camp for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees at Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli over their alleged involvement in drugs and arms smuggling to revive the LTTE.The agency said that two of the arrested men were in regular touch with a Pakistan-based drug runner, Haji Salim, who often travelled between Dubai, Pakistan and Iran. These men and Salim were working to revive the LTTE in Sri Lanka and India, the NIA said.The arrested men have been identified as:C.

North Lanarkshire councillors have chosen to have a single pandemic memorial installed in Motherwell’s Strathclyde Park rather than several smaller ones in various towns.

JERUSALEM (AP) - Majd Ramlawi was serving coffee in Jerusalem’s Old City when a chilling text message appeared on his phone."You have been spotted as having participated in acts of violence in the Al-Aqsa Mosque," it read in Arabic. "We will hold you accountable."Ramlawi, then 19, was among hundreds of people who civil rights attorneys estimate got the text last year, at the height of one of the most turbulent recent periods in the Holy Land.

A Scots council tenant fears for the health and safety of his family due to mouldy walls in his home.

Expert said that owing to the fact that samples are few, the chances of finding new variant is slim. With COVID continuing to surge worldwide, one of the biggest worries currently is the rise of new variants. All viruses mutate, and the higher the rate of the infection, the easier it is to mutate.

Crude prices also gained amid supply concerns in the US as winter storm has hit energy production across the country New Delhi: International crude oil prices rose on Tuesday as China’s plans to relax quarantine norms for inbound travellers revived hopes of demand recovery. The February contract of Brent on the Intercontinental Exchange was trading at $84.76 per barrel, higher by 1.00% from its previous close. The February contract of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.80% to $80.20 a barrel.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's President has appointed two new secretaries for key ministries.President Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed MMPK Mayadunne as the Secretary to the Ministry of Transport & Highways.

7) There is NO cause for alarm in India. [7/18] Explaining why, we continue to have > 98% population with natural immunity.

Name Change In another sign of downgrading the impact of the virus, the government changed the Chinese name of Covid-19 from “new coronavirus pneumonia" to “new coronavirus infections." Omicron’s much reduced virulence compared to the ancestral strain that emerged from Wuhan means most people are sickened with only mild upper respiratory tract infections, authorities said. “The new coronavirus will linger in nature for a long time to come," according to the statement.

₹800+ GST+ hospital charges according to sources. Bharat Biotech’s iNNOVACC is now available on CoWin, priced at ₹800 for private hospitals and ₹325 for a government hospitals. The country’s first intranasal covid vaccine will be rolled out in the fourth week of January as a booster dose for those above 18 years of age, said the company spokesperson.