Breaking highlights: Gujarat reports 9 more Omicron cases, state's tally reaches 23, reports ANI

Breaking news updates December 22, 2021: Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour.

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• 22 Dec 2021, 11:56:48 PM IST

  Gujarat reports 9 more Omicron cases, state's tally reaches 23

  Gujarat has reported 9 more cases of Omicron, taking state's tally of infections from the new variant of Coronavirus to 23.

• 22 Dec 2021, 10:58:17 PM IST

  US health regulator authorises Pfizer's Covid-19 pill

  US health regulator authorises Pfizer's Covid-19 pill, reports AFP.

• 22 Dec 2021, 10:07:19 PM IST

  UK reports record 106,122 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

  Great Britain has reported yet another record 106,122 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, AFP reported.

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:46:24 PM IST

  Telangana records 14 more Omicron cases, tally shoots up to 38

  Telangana on Wednesday recorded as many as 14 more cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant. With this, the southern state's cumulative tally went up to 38.

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:38:17 PM IST

  Uttarakhand reports first Omicron case

  Uttarakhand reports first case of Omicron variant of Covid-19 after a 23-year-old woman, who had returned from Scotland, tested positive.

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:30:13 PM IST

  Haryana brings down minimum age to consume liquor to 21 from 25

  Haryana brings down minimum age to consume liquor to 21 from 25, ANI reported citing the government.

• 22 Dec 2021, 08:59:05 PM IST

  Mercury levels dip in Shillong in Meghalaya, and Tawang in Arunachal

  Hailstorm and snowfall both happened in Shillong, while Tawang received fresh spells of snow.

• 22 Dec 2021, 08:28:54 PM IST

  Maharashtra records 1,201 new Covid cases amid Omicron spread

  Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 1,201 new cases of Covid-19 today, making it the first time single-day caseload has surpassed the 1000-mark since November 17.

• 22 Dec 2021, 07:52:30 PM IST

  Haryana reports two Omicron cases

  Haryana reported two Omicron cases on Wednesday, after a 33-year-old man with travel history to Portugal, tested positive for the new variant of Covid-19 in Karnal and another with travel history to Canada tested positive in Faridabad.

• 22 Dec 2021, 07:02:18 PM IST

  Police officer shot at by terrorists succumbs to injuries in J&K

  Assistant sub inspector (ASI) Mohammad Ashraf succumbed to his injuries after being shot at by terrorists in sub-district hospital, Bijbehara in Jammu and Kashmir's (J&K) Anantnag district, police has tweeted now.

• 22 Dec 2021, 06:34:31 PM IST

  Kerala reports 9 more Omicron cases, state tally now at 24

  Kerala reports 9 more Omicron cases, state's tally now at 24, ANI reported.

• 22 Dec 2021, 06:17:47 PM IST

  Civilian shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar's Eidgah area

  Civilian shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar's Eidgah area. The deceased has been identified as Rouf Ahmad of Nawakadal. Moreover, an assistant sub inspector, identified as Mohammad Ashraf, was also shot at in sub-district hospital, Bijbehara.

• 22 Dec 2021, 06:04:05 PM IST

  Punjab govt staff won't get salary without Covid vaccine certificates

  The finance department of Punjab government has asked their staff to update their Covid-19 vaccination status on the Integrated Human Resource Management System (iHRMS) portal, failing to do which will result in them not getting their salaries.

• 22 Dec 2021, 05:27:14 PM IST

  Delhi sees another big single-day Covid cases jump with 125 infections

  Delhi reports yet another massive single-day Covid-19 caseload with 125 infections. This comes as Omicron cases in the national capital stands at 54. Read here.

• 22 Dec 2021, 04:24:06 PM IST

  Delhi govt bans Christmas, New Year gatherings as Omicron cases rise

  The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has banned all gatherings ahead of Christmas and New Year in wake of rising Omicron cases in the city, ANI reported. Notably, the national capital has so far confirmed 54 cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

• 22 Dec 2021, 04:15:14 PM IST

  Anti-conversion bill to be taken up for discussion in K'taka assembly tomorrow at 10am

  The discussion on anti-conversion bill in Karnataka assembly will be taken up tomorrow (December 23) at 10am, ANI reported quoting Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.

• 22 Dec 2021, 03:43:40 PM IST

  Mumbai police yet to submit enquiry report on drugs-on-cruise case

  A senior officer of Mumbai Police on Wednesday said that the special enquiry team (SET) it had formed to probe the drugs-on-cruise case, is awaiting some documents and is yet to submit the enquiry report. However, the officer said the enquiry is not halted yet.

• 22 Dec 2021, 03:05:42 PM IST

  Haryana to impose curbs in public places to partially vaccinated from Jan 1 onwards

  Haryana health minister Anil Vij told the state assembly on Wednesday that the state government has decided to restrict access in public places such as restaurants, offices, and public transport, among others, from January 1 onwards to people, who are not fully vaccinated with both doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

• 22 Dec 2021, 02:39:18 PM IST

  Sputnik V shows neutralising activity against Omicron: Gamaleya Center's prelim lab study

  The Gamaleya Center’s preliminary laboratory study reveals that Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V demonstrates high virus neutralising activity (VNA) against Omicron variant, and is expected to give a strong defense against severe disease and hospitalisation, ANI reported.

• 22 Dec 2021, 02:20:06 PM IST

  No Omicron in Haryana till now, over 3 crore vaccine jabs given

  Haryana health minister Anil Vij said that till now, no Omicron case has been detected in Haryana, and the state government is geared up to “combat the spread of Omicron variant” along with any surge in the number of Covid-19 infections, according to ANI. “ [As many as] 3,11,86,292 vaccine doses administered till December 19 in the state,” he added.

• 22 Dec 2021, 02:03:30 PM IST

  AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria's fresh warning amid Omicron rise in India

  A day after the Centre wrote to all states and Union Territories to prepare for the battle against Omicron on a war footing, AIIMS Delhi director Dr Randeep Guleria said vaccine and Covid-appropriate behaviour are the only two ways to counter the increasing spread of the new variant. Read more

• 22 Dec 2021, 12:25:48 PM IST

  Second Omicron case detected in Andhra Pradesh

  A 39-year-old woman who came from Kenya to Chennai, and then travelled to Tirupati, tested positive for Covid on Dec 12. Her sample sent for genome sequencing declared Omicron positive today. Her family members tested negative: State govt

• 22 Dec 2021, 11:02:03 AM IST

  PM Modi to chair Covid-19 review meeting on Thursday

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a meeting to review the Covid-19 related situation in the country tomorrow, reports ANI citing sources.

• 22 Dec 2021, 10:11:38 AM IST

  At least 70 missing in Myanmar after landslide

  At least 70 missing after landslide at Myanmar jade mine, reports news agency AFP citing rescue team. "About 70-100 people are missing in a landslide that happened around 4:00am" at Hpakant mine in Kachin state, said rescue team member Ko Ny, according to the report.

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:58:28 AM IST

  Two earthquakes hit Karnataka district

  Two earthquakes of magnitude 2.9 and 3.0 were recorded in Chikkaballapura District today morning, says Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre. 

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:49:27 AM IST

  India's Omicron count climbs to 213

  India's Omicron count climbed to 213 on Wednesday with Delhi leading with 57 cases, says health ministry.

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:28:30 AM IST

  India's daily Covid tally climbs again with 6,317 new cases; new fatalities down by 318

  India's daily Covid-19 tally saw a rise of 6,317 as it reached 3,47,58,481. 

• 22 Dec 2021, 09:23:24 AM IST

  Sony, Zee sign definitive merger agreement amid shareholder spat

  Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., India’s largest listed television network, approved a merger agreement with Sony Group Corp.’s local unit amid a complicated boardroom and courtroom feud between Zee’s founders and its largest shareholder. Read More

• 22 Dec 2021, 08:19:27 AM IST

  Winter session of Parliament likely to conclude today

  The Winter session of Parliament is likely to conclude on Wednesday, a day before the schedule, news agency PTI has reported. The session had commenced on November 29 and was scheduled to end on December 23. Read more

• 22 Dec 2021, 07:28:20 AM IST

  Fire at vaishno Devi shrine area under control: Board

  A massive fire that broke out in Vaishno Devi Shrine forest area on Tuesday has been brought under control. The yatra to the temple remained unaffected, says Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

• 22 Dec 2021, 07:05:53 AM IST

  India blocks 20 YouTube channels linked to ‘Pak disinformation campaign’

  The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) on Tuesday said it has ordered the blocking of two Kashmir-related websites and 20 YouTube channels as they “belong to a coordinated disinformation network operating from Pakistan”.

• 22 Dec 2021, 06:26:11 AM IST

  ‘Anti-national’ not defined in Statutes, Govt tells Parliament

  The home ministry told Parliament on Tuesday that there is no legal definition for the term “anti-national”, though there is criminal legislation and various judicial pronouncements to deal with activities that are a threat to the country. Read more