Breaking news: In New York, booster dose recipients to get $100

‘Pubs, restaurants and other eligible hospitality and leisure businesses will be able to claim cash grants worth up to 6,000 pounds each,” Sunak said on Tuesday, according to news agency Bloomberg

UK  PM Boris Johnson in next 48 hours may announce if the govt is planning to bring forth stringent regulations to tackle the Omicron variant, Reuters reported citing The Sun. 

The New York City mayor de Blasio made the announcement on Tuesday, reported Reuters

The US govt will distribute hundreds of millions of free Covid tests to tackle the Omicron spread

Maharashtra detected 11 new cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 virus on Tuesday. Out of these, eight patients were found at the Mumbai airport surveillance while the rest one each from Pimpri Chinchwad, Osmanabad and Navi Mumbai area.

Till date, a total of 65 patients infected with Omicron virus have been reported in the state.

Of this, 34 patients have been discharged after negative RT-PCR report.

Union Health Secy Rajesh Bhushan wrote to all states and UTs urging even greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment action are required at the local as well as district level

At least two killed, over 30 injured in fire at Indian Oil Corporation refinery in West Bengal’s Haldia, news agency PTI reported. 

The Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russia has ‘nowhere to retreat over Ukraine’, news agency Reuters reported. Russia has gathered tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine and have asked NATO not to accpet the country as a member and disallow deployment of troops in the region. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has been ordered by High Court in London to settle the custody battle with his ex-wife over their two children by paying $733 million. 

People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD)’s MY Tarigami said that the outfit will hold a peaceful demonstration in Srinagar on January 1

UN team reaches to investigate the migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border but not granted access by authorities of either nations. 

Pope Francis in his yearly peace message also asked for a better balance between a free market economy and the need to help the needy and protect the environment.

Israel publicly acknowledged that it was involved in the American airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, news agency AP reported

Rajya Sabha passes electoral reforms bill by voice vote. The bill proposes linking Aadhar to voter rolls

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali tests positive for Covid-19

PM Modi says women have the option of availing free medical treatment of up to ₹5 lakh

“When we took on the task of taking the country forward we took upon the task of uplifting the women of the country and made schemes that would help right from their birth to becoming financially self reliant,” says PM Modi

The Prime Minister says that through initiatives like Bank Sakhi,  the UP govt empowered women and the double engine govt ensured that women have adequate safety. 

PM says he is privileged to transfer crores of rupees to the accounts of more than one lakh women benficiaries

Prayagraj has been the land of confluence of Ganga-Yamuna-Saraswati, the symbol of our mother power for thousands of years. Today this city is witnessing a wonderful coming together of women power

The Omicron variant of coronavirus was detected in Odisha on Tuesday after two patients were found infected with it. Both patients, who recently returned from Nigeria, are reported to be in stable condition.  

The Japanese Police said on Tuesday that the suspect in the fire at a mental health clinic in Osaka last week might have had copied the Kyoto Animation studio arson which happened in 2019. 

Sensex has surged by over 1,000 points to 56,830 while Nifty is nearing 17,000, news agency PTI reported on Tuesday. 

The Union health ministry said on Tuesday that India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 1.38 billion. 

The Kerala high court on Tuesday dismissed a petition to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photograph from Covid-19 vaccine certificates. 

The Union health ministry said on Tuesday that the total number of cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in India have climbed to 200 with Maharashtra and Delhi as the leading contributors. 

The ruling Trinamool Congress is currently leading in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections in 114 wards, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with two wards.  

India on Tuesday saw a major dip in its daily tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after 5,326 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 34,752,164, according to the Union health ministry’s update. Read more

United States President Joe Biden has tested negative for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the White House said on Monday. Biden was tested after a White House staff member contracted the infection earlier on Monday morning. Read more

Cold to severe cold wave conditions are likely to continue till Wednesday in parts of northwestern India. Read more

Health officials in Texas said the state recorded the first death related to the Omicron Covid-19 variant, news agency Reuters said citing a report by ABC News on Monday. Read more

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a meeting of its parliamentary party on Tuesday, in the final week of Parliament’s winter session. Read more

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) national convener Arvind Kejriwal will begin his two day visit to poll bound Goa from Tuesday. 

The Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC), which was examining the Personal Data Protection Bill, is expected to table its report on the floor of the House on Tuesday, according to news agency PTI. Read more

The Omicron variant accounts for 73{a78e43caf781a4748142ac77894e52b42fd2247cba0219deedaee5032d61bfc9} of Covid-19 cases in the United States, news agency AP reported citing federal health officials. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week.