Omicron News Updates Live: Maharashtra reports four more cases of new COVID-19

Chauvin changes plea to guilty in George Floyd civil rights case

White former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty on Wednesday in a federal court in Minnesota to charges he violated George Floyd’s civil rights during the Black man’s murder, reversing his not-guilty plea in September. Chauvin, 45, entered his guilty plea in the U.S. District Court. Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Chauvin to 25 years in prison, which would run concurrent to his state sentence, adding on about 2 years, The New York Times reported.

Maharashtra: Four new cases of Omicron variant

State tally reaches 32

Canada to advise citizens against non-essential intl travel

Canada will advise citizens on Wednesday to avoid non-essential international travel to help reduce the threat from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, a government source said. The source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the announcement would be made at a briefing but did not give more details. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the premiers of the 10 provinces by phone on Tuesday to discuss ways of countering Omicron, which is spreading rapidly.

Congress issues whip to MPs to ensure presence in RS tomorrow

“Very important issues will be taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow, Thursday, December 16, 2021. All members of Congress party in Rajya Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11 am onwards till the adjournment of the House on Thursday without fail and support the Party stand. This may be treated as most important,” reads the Congress Three Lined Whip.

Andhra Pradesh: 163 fresh COVID-19 cases

Andhra Pradesh reported 163 fresh Covid-19 cases, 162 recoveries and three deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday. The state Covid-19 chart now showed 20,75,271 total positives, 20,58,979 recoveries and 14,471 deaths so far.

Canadian inflation rate stays at 18-year high on supply chain woes

Canada’s annual inflation rate remained at 4.7% in November, the highest since March 2003, as supply chain disruptions continued to exert upward pressure on prices, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the annual rate to remain at 4.7% in November.

Delhi Police allows traffic movement at Singhu border

Farmers started leaving the protest site on the Delhi-Haryana border on Saturday after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) suspended the agitation following the repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws and the government conceding to its other demands.

IAEA strikes deal with Iran on replacing cameras

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has reached an agreement with Iran on replacing its surveillance cameras at a centrifuge-parts workshop at Karaj, resolving a stand-off that threatened to scupper wider nuclear talks, three diplomats said on Wednesday.

India approves $170 million incentive to promote RuPay debit cards

India’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a 13 billion rupee ($170 million) incentive plan to promote domestic RuPay debit cards and low-value digital transactions, in a move that could challenge the clout of rivals such as Visa and Mastercard. Under the plan, the government will pay banks a percentage of the value of transactions done through RuPay debits cards and on low-value direct interbank transactions for a year starting April 2021, a government statement said. The scheme would cover reimbursement of processing fees on digital transactions up to 2,000 rupees ($26.20), government officials said, but added it was unlikely to have much impact on big players.

By March 2025, every house in the state will have smart prepaid electricity meters. These smart prepaid meters will help in fair usage of electricity and the consumer will be charged based on the units consumed only

– Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister

SBI, Indian Army renew MoU to offer benefits to army personnel

State Bank of India Wednesday said it has renewed its memorandum of understanding with the Indian Army to offer specially crafted benefits to all serving and retired Army personnel and their families through its Defence Salary Package (DSP) Scheme. Under the MoU, the bank offers complimentary personal and air accidental insurance (death) covers, additional cover in case of on-duty death, permanent total disability / partial disability covers. It also supports the education of children and marriage of girl child of the deceased Army personnel, the bank said in a release.

Putin and Xi cement partnership in face of Western pressure

Russia and China should stand firm in rejecting Western interference and defending each other’s security interests, presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping agreed in a video call on Wednesday. Their conversation, eight days after Putin spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden in a similar format, underscored…