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Omicron Scare: Here’s the list of countries where new Covid-19 variant has spread, including India, US

South Africa was the first nation to detect the new variant of Covid-19 and since then the Omicron strain has spread to 38 countries. Following is the list of Omicron-affected countries.

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Top News Live Updates: India reports 2,58,089 COVID-19 cases, 385 deaths in last 24 hours

The latest variant of Covid-19 has taken the world by storm. According to World Health Organization, the Omicron variant has spread to 38 countries up from 23 countries in two days. It has been earlier reported that this variant is more contagious than delta.

The Union Minister of Health on Thursday also reported that India has also become the target of the Omicron variant. India has reported the new omicron variant in two middle-aged men from Karnataka.

As per WHO, there is no death reported due to the new Covid-19 variant so far but the heavily mutated new strain can damage the global economic recovery just like Delta did. Adding further it also reported that it is still very early to detect how infectious this variant is and how effective the vaccines are against it.

South Africa was the first nation to detect the new variant of Covid-19 and since then the strain has spread to 38 countries. The researchers from South Africa in a preliminary study said that this variant is more likely to cause reinfections compared to the Delta or Beta strains.

Doctors in South Africa claimed that since Omicron was discovered, there had been an increase in the number of children under the age of five admitted to hospitals, but that it was too early to say whether young children were especially susceptible.

The frequency in children under the age of five is now second-highest, second only to that in people over 60, said Wassila Jassat of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

Read Also: Omicron: Amid new variant scare India reports 8,603 new Covid cases and 415 deaths in last 24 hours

The latest countries to confirm the Omicron variant is the United States and Australia. The two cases detected in the US were of those people who have no recent international travel history- showing that Omicron is already circulating inside the country.

Read Also; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9RzcoW-mg

Following is the list of a few countries where the Omicron variant has spread:

India – 2 cases

South Africa – 183 cases

Botswana – 19 cases

The Netherlands – 16 cases

Hong Kong – 7 cases

Israel – 2 cases

Belgium – 2 cases

United Kingdom – 32 cases

Germany – 10 cases

Australia – 8 cases

Italy – 4 cases

Czechia – 1 case

Denmark – 6 cases

Austria – 4 cases

Canada – 7 cases

Sweden – 4 cases

Switzerland – 3 cases

Spain – 2 cases

Portugal – 13 cases

Japan – 2 cases

Reunion (France) – 1 case

Ghana – 33 cases

South Korea – 3 cases

Nigeria – 3 cases

Brazil – 2 cases

Norway – 2 cases

United States of America – 1 case

Saudi Arabia – 1 case

Ireland – 1 case

United Arab Emirates – 1 case

According to the researchers, Pfizer and Moderna say it will take around two weeks to find out how omicron affects current vaccines.

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Hemant Soren urges PM Modi to clear Jharkhand’s Rs 1.36 lakh crore coal dues

“I would also appeal to my BJP colleagues, especially the MPs, to help Jharkhandis in getting our dues,” Soren posted on X, sharing a copy of a letter to the Prime Minister.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to clear Rs 1.36 lakh crore coal dues to the state.

PM Modi and Shah are scheduled to visit poll-bound Jharkhand. The Prime Minister will address two rallies on November 4 while Shah will address three public meetings on November 3.

In a post on X, Soren said, “The PM and the home minister are coming to Jharkhand. I once again request them with folded hands to clear the outstanding (coal dues) of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to Jharkhandis. This amount is crucial for Jharkhand.” Soren also appealed to BJP MPs to facilitate clearance of the amount.

Soren stressed that the outstanding payments owed by central public sector undertakings, particularly Coal India, are legitimate entitlements of Jharkhand and argued that “the delay in payment is causing irreparable harm to the state’s development.”

“I would also appeal to my BJP colleagues, especially the MPs, to help Jharkhandis in getting our dues,” Soren posted on X, sharing a copy of a letter to the Prime Minister.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, he stated, “I, Hemant Soren, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, would like to bring to your attention a grave issue that is obstructing the development of our state. Our dues from coal companies amount to Rs 1.36 lakh crore.”

He added that, despite legal provisions and judicial verdicts, coal companies have failed to make any payments. “These issues have been raised at various forums, including your esteemed office, the Finance Ministry, and NITI Aayog, yet the compensation of Rs 1.36 lakh crore remains unpaid,” Soren mentioned.

A recent decision by a nine-judge Supreme Court bench reaffirmed the state’s right to collect its mining and royalty dues. Soren pointed out that the non-payment of these dues is hindering vital socio-economic projects in Jharkhand, which is already an under-developed state.

“Numerous socio-economic development projects are being stalled due to the non-payment of our legitimate claims,” he noted.

Last month, he proposed a direct debit arrangement from Coal India’s account to the state, similar to what was established for the Jharkhand State Electricity Board’s dues to the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

“This continued delay in addressing our rightful demands has compelled me to reach out to you, as this negligence inflicts irreparable damage on Jharkhand and its people. Many social sector initiatives in education, health, women’s and child development, clean drinking water, and last-mile connectivity cannot be implemented due to insufficient funding,” Soren asserted.

He previously accused the central government of being indifferent to the challenges faced by the state, drawing attention to the unequal treatment regarding outstanding dues. The Jharkhand Assembly elections are set to take place in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.

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Congress demands probe over BJP’s use of blackmail to bring Ajit Pawar into NDA fold

“The BJP’s washing machine is an all-India phenomenon, but perhaps nowhere is it more powerful than in Maharashtra,” Ramesh said.

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The Congress on Saturday demanded a probe into alleged blackmail and coercion used to bring NCP leader Ajit Pawar into the NDA fold and said the BJP’s washing machine was nowhere more powerful than in Maharashtra.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh highlighted recent comments from Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to assert that the situation encompassed not only coercion and blackmail but also a breach of confidentiality and the Official Secrets Act.

“The BJP’s washing machine is an all-India phenomenon, but perhaps nowhere is it more powerful than in Maharashtra,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh recalled that prior to 2014, the BJP had accused Ajit Pawar, who was then the state’s irrigation and water resources minister, of corruption amounting to Rs 70,000 crore. According to him, Ajit Pawar has now acknowledged that the BJP used blackmail and coercion related to these allegations to persuade him to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

He noted, “The non-biological Prime Minister himself led the charge, famously labeling the NCP—now an ally at both the state and national levels—as a Naturally Corrupt Party.”

Furthermore, Ramesh indicated that after becoming Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis presented Ajit Pawar with a file suggesting an open inquiry into the alleged irrigation scam, implying a threat of compliance or consequences.

Ajit Pawar, along with several other MLAs, separated from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by his uncle Sharad Pawar and allied with the Shiv Sena-BJP government last year.

Ramesh stressed that the allegations constitute a serious issue involving coercion, blackmail, and breaches of confidentiality. He has called for a thorough investigation into these claims.

These comments from Ramesh followed Ajit Pawar’s assertions that he was backstabbed by former colleague and then Home Minister R.R. Patil, who initiated an inquiry against him concerning the alleged multi-crore irrigation scam.

Ajit Pawar mentioned that a file reflecting Patil’s inquiry order was shown to him by BJP leader Fadnavis after he assumed the Chief Minister’s role in 2014. He conveyed these points while campaigning for NCP candidate Sanjay Kaka Patil in Tasgaon, Sangli district.

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PM Modi says Congress badly exposed after Kharge’s comments on election promises

“Now, they stand badly exposed in front of the people!” the Prime Minister said.

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Reacting apparently to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s comment on poll promises, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the grand old party, saying they are badly exposed in front of the people.

In Karnataka, Congress is busier in intra-party politics and loot instead of even bothering to deliver on development, the Prime Minister said in a post on X. “Not only that, they are also going to roll back existing schemes,” he claimed.

The Congress Party is realising the hard way that making unreal promises is easy but implementing them properly is tough or impossible, Modi said. “Campaign after campaign they promise things to the people, which they also know they will never be able to deliver. Now, they stand badly exposed in front of the people!” the Prime Minister said.

Earlier, Kharge made the guarantees remark while pulling up Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar over his statement that the state government would review the ‘Shakti’ guarantee.

“If we do not go as per the budget, we will go bankrupt and there will be no money to even develop roads. If this government fails, there will be nothing left to pass on to the next generation (of Congress leaders) except for the bad name and the latter has to bear the brunt for another 10 years,” he said while interacting with reporters.

However, Shivakumar on Friday said his statement on the ‘Shakti scheme’ was distorted and presented as if the Congress government in the state wanted to withdraw it.

“Check any state where the Congress has Governments today – Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana- the developmental trajectory and fiscal health is turning from bad to worse. Their so-called Guarantees lie unfulfilled, which is a terrible deceit upon the people of these states,” PM Modi said.

The victims of such politics are the poor, youngsters, farmers and women, who are not only denied the benefits of these promises but also see their existing schemes diluted, he added.

“The people of the country will have to be vigilant against the Congress sponsored culture of fake promises! We saw recently how the people of Haryana rejected their lies and preferred a Government that is stable, progress oriented and action driven. There is a growing realisation across India that a vote for Congress is a vote for non-governance, poor economics and unparalleled loot. The people of India want development and progress, not the same old,” said PM Modi.

In Himachal Pradesh, salaries of Government workers are not paid on time, PM Modi claimed. The Prime Minister said, in Telangana, farmers are waiting for the waiver they promised.

Previously, in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan Congress promised certain allowances which were never implemented for five years, he said. The Prime Minister said there are numerous such examples of how the Congress works.

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