The Centre has warned it is likely that the spread of the new variant will outpace the Delta variant where there is community transmission.
India is placed in Group B alongside debutants Uganda, South Africa and Ireland for the ICC Under-19 men's cricket World Cup, to be held in the West Indies across four countries from January 14 to February 5 2022.
Saina Nehwal was forced to retire midway through her opening match but India's young brigade produced a clinical display to notch up a fine 3-2 win over Spain and get off to a winning start in the Uber Cup in Aarhus, on Sunday.
'Those who worked with him or came to know him rated him as one of our best, with a sharp intellect, unfailing courtesy and ready wit.' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan fondly remembers Ambassador B S Prakash, wonderful human being, unusual diplomat and long-time Rediff.com columnist, who passed away into the ages on Monday, October 4, 2021.
The medals tally at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
The Taliban has its backers, notably Pakistan and China. Their purpose is to have a monstrous entity near India's northern borders to keep democratic, secular India off-guard, observes Amulya Ganguli.
"The 21st century peacekeeping must be anchored in a strong ecosystem of technology and innovation that can facilitate UN peacekeeping operations in implementing their mandates in complex environments," India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said
The medal tally at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The World record holder has now won four Olympic medals overall, having also taken 5,000m silver in 2008 and bronze in 2004.
On a night when American Allyson Felix also became the most decorated track and field athlete in Olympic history and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan's dream of an unprecedented Games treble disappeared, Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei wiped away his 10,000 metres disappointment with an impressive 5,000m win.
Normally a star-studded display teeming with celebrities, the Tokyo Olympics ceremony was low-key, with fewer than 1,000 people in attendance, strict social distancing rules and signs calling on spectators to "be quiet around the venue."
Uganda's chef de mission Aisha Nassanga also had no idea how Ssekitoleko got an India track jacket.
Japan's public has been lukewarm about the Games amid a resurgence in new coronavirus infections and worries that an influx of visitors may create a super-spreader event, straining an already-stretched medical system. Only around 20% of the population is fully vaccinated.
The coronavirus has however infected increasing numbers of athletes and others involved with the Games, and authorities were on Friday trying to track down a Ugandan weightlifter who went missing from his training camp.
Meanwhile in the women's event, Padmini Rout and R Vaishali joined compatriot Bhakti Kulkarni in the second round.
About 50 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama and Uganda, have shown interest in adopting CoWIN to run their vaccination drives.
About 50 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Nigeria and Panama, have shown interest in having a Co-WIN like system to run their vaccination drive, a senior official said on Monday, adding India is ready to share the open source software free of cost.
Alcohol sales have been restricted in and around Tokyo after health officials warned drinking would encourage close contact, loud speaking and mingling in bars that could help spread the virus.
Organisers are still considering whether alcohol will be served in venues, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said late on Monday.
India will share the development story of Co-WIN, the digital platform that helped it launch and implement a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme, with more than 20 countries that have shown interest in adopting the portal to run their own inoculation drives.
Organisers should be prepared to act swiftly to ban spectators or declare another state of emergency if needed, the experts said. If spectators are allowed, rules should be strict, such as limiting fans to local residents, the experts said.
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Paulina Porizkova and her 74-year-old mother prove that age is just a number.
The qualification for the 2022 edition of the age-group tournament had been delayed by a year due to COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining five spots will be determined by regional qualification.
Kenya's Kibiwott Kandie smashed the half marathon world record by 29 seconds on Sunday, becoming the first person to break 58 minutes at the Valencia Half Marathon.
Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei, American Ryan Crouser (shot put), German Johannes Vetter (javelin) and Norwegian Karsten Warholm (400m hurdles) were the other male finalists at the virtual ceremony.
The new appointment from the Pentagon comes a day after Trump fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper and designated the National Counter Terrorism Center Director, Chris Miller, as the Acting Secretary of Defence.
'It's official: we won. I'm going to Albany to fight to tax the rich, heal the sick, house the poor & build a socialist New York. But I can't do it alone. To win socialism, we'll need a mass movement of the multiracial working class as well. So let's build one,' Mamdani tweeted.
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.
Overt displays of physical machismo is the stamp of the strongman and it's a symptom that manifests itself in direct proportion to their sense of insecurity, says Kanika Datta.
The women receive no funding. When they play matches, the trainers pool money to buy a cheap cup as a prize. But they love what they do, and dream of starting teams all over Somalia.
Mira's films are alive, rocking and so true to the reality I know. They are gifts that I keep revisiting, and I cannot wait for what more she will share with us, notes Aseem Chhabra.
The world feels like complete panda-monium right now. But thanks to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, we can all take a brief break from the news cycle and focus on otter things -- like pictures of animals being complete goofballs. The animals were pictured by photographers competing in the sixth annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, which saw thousands of pictures entered, taken around the world. As well as providing a smile, the competition works alongside the Born Free Foundation to highlight a more serious matter -- the importance of conserving our planet's beautiful wildlife. We share a selection of the best finalists' photos...
Ugandan smashed Bekele's 16-year-old record at Monaco Diamond League on Friday.
The pandemic is set to become even more challenging, with migrant workers returning home, relaxations in lockdown rules, and the approaching monsoon. However, states are looking at community participation to ramp up testing and home treatment of patients
Senior officials, including those from a central team, were present during the night-long operation and a close vigil is being maintained on further movement of locusts, Katiyar said. Two fire brigade vehicles loaded with insecticide had been deployed in all four Jhansi tehsils besides six vehicles were kept ready at the district headquarter. Ten municipal employees with two insecticide spraying machines were posted in every block.