Highlights: Parag Agrawal to succeed Jack Dorsey as Twitter CEO, reports Reuters

Padma Shri awardee and teacher Nanda Prusty was admitted to a hospital in Odisha's Jajpur district on Monday, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

Prusty has been ill for the past month and is suffering from fever, cough and other old-age ailments, a doctor at the district hospital told PTI.

Fire on Monday broke out at scrap godowns and shanties in Delhi's Neb Sarai area, reported news agency ANI. "20 fire engines were sent to the spot. Fire is almost extinguished. No injuries or casualties have been reported. Still, we will check thoroughly once again," an official from the Delhi Fire Service told ANI.

Parag Agrawal is likely to succeed Jack Dorsey as Twitter CEO, reported Reuters.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday chaired a high-level meeting on the new Covid-19 variant 'omicron' in Dehradun."We had a meeting regarding COVID-19 variant Omicron and we will start it with the RT-PCR test of corona warriors first. Random testing will be done at airports and railway stations. We will review again a week later. We will also increase testing," he said.

The United Kingdom has extended the Covid-19 vaccine booster programme to all adults, according to a report carried by news agency AFP. This came after two cases of omicron variant of Covid-19 were detected in the country on Saturday.

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., is stepping down, a person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg.

Dorsey, 45, is also the head of payments company Square Inc. and has been taking an increasing interest in cryptocurrencies recently.

The Suspended MPs of the Rajya Sabha are expected to meet chairman of the house, M Venkaiah Naidu, on Tuesday to tender their apology, news agency ANI reported on Monday, citing government sources.

Senior government scientist Anthony Fauci said Monday the United States was on "high alert" for the new Covid-19 variant and urged people to get vaccinated after Canada confirmed its first cases of the new strain, news agency AFP reported. 

Air India pilots have given an ultimatum of three days to its management, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

In a letter addressed to the aviation secretary (also Air India CMD), the pilots warned that if they do not see the “illegal” pay cut-related issues being addressed within three days, they will seek justice through "industrial action".

In the wake of the worrying new variant of Covid-19 ‘omicron’,  the Lucknow administration on Monday issued protocols for passengers arriving at Lucknow Airport.

“Passengers showing symptoms in the thermal scanning will be subjected to free RT-PCR test. RT-PCR test of 10% passengers arriving on all domestic flights to be done on random basis,” news agency ANI quoted the Lucknow DM as saying.

BioNTech said on Monday it has started work on a vaccine tailored to Omicron, the worrying new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, reported news agency Reuters. It was, however, not yet clear if it would have to rework its established Covid-19 shot.

At least 2 people were killed after a toxic gas leaked at Ramky Pharmacity in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. “Toxic poison gas leaked out of the pump house, opened by the deceased; both bodies were sent for a post-mortem. Situation now under control & probe has been launched,” news agency ANI quoted an official as saying. 

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday said farm laws have been a disease and it’s good that they are revoked. “Let the President put the stamp on the bill then we will discuss other issues like 750 farmers who died, MSP, and quashing the cases lodged against farmers,” news agency ANI quoted Tikait as saying. 

A total of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs have been suspended for 'obstructing business of House' during Monsoon session of Parliament.

Omicron, the new coronavirus variant, appears to be more transmissible than its predecessors, but existing vaccines are still likely to offer good protection against severe illness and death, according to scientists advising the South African government, reported Bloomberg.

At least 43 girls studying in Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Backward Classes Welfare School in Sanga Reddy district of Telangana have tested positive for Covid-19, news agency ANI quoted DM & HO of Sangareddy district, Dr. Gayatri, as saying. Students have been kept in isolation and are receiving medical treatment, the official further informed.

The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed farm laws repeal bill 2021 amid ruckus.

The Union environment ministry in a written reply in Lok Sabha said that the AQI data suggested Delhi's air quality improved from the year 2019 to 2020, as the number of days in 'Good', 'Satisfactory', 'Moderate' conditions increased in 2020 as compared to 2019, reports ANI. 

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray might speak is expected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the Centre to suspend flights from seven counties.

The state cabinet, after its presentation on the Omicron Covid-19 variant, has urged Thackeray to speak to Modi.

Lok Sabha passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, without any discussion, amid ruckus by Opposition ministers. Leader of Congress Party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded discussion on the bill in the house, reports ANI. 

As many as 19 people from different government departments, including seven police personnel, have been found positive for Covid-19 so far, who were on duty during President Ram Nath Kovind's visit (in Haridwar Rishikesh), reports ANI citing Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait has reiterated that the protesting farmers won't return home before minimum support price and other demands are discussed by the government, reports ANI. 

Supreme Court directs Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab governments to immediately comply with all the directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas. The court also sought compliance reports from all the states and posted the matter for further hearing for Thursday.

No cases of the omicron Covid-19 variant has been detected yet in India. Also, two clusters are under investigation for the new variant currently— one in Maharashtra and another in Karnataka.

The Supreme Court has expressed its concerns about the rising air pollution levels in Delhi and the adjoining National Capital Region. The top court observed that the pollution levels are rising amid the problem of Covid-19 pandemic, reports ANI.