A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Centre asks states to increase testing, tighten containment measures amid Omicron variant concerns: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has asked the states to take additional measures for travellers coming from “at risk” countries. The government has also decided to review the decision to resume scheduled commercial international passenger flights from December 15.
  2. BJP wins 217 of 222 seats in Tripura civic polls, Trinamool demands elections be declared invalid: In 11 of the 14 urban local bodies, including the capital city’s Agartala Municipal Corporation, the BJP won all seats.
  3. ‘Hatred won, an artist lost,’ says comedian Munawar Faruqui as his Bengaluru show gets cancelled: The city’s police wrote to the organisers saying that several organisations were opposing show and it could potentially disturb public peace. In an Instagram post, Faruqui suggested that he might not do any more shows.
  4. Opposition parties demand discussion on price rise, Pegasus row in Winter Session: Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped an all-party meeting held ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament scheduled to commence from Monday. The Opposition parties also demanded that a law guaranteeing minimum support price for crops should be made.
  5. Tripura chief minister asks police to review UAPA cases lodged against lawyers, journalists after violence in state: Meanwhile, the Editors Guild of India said it will be sending a three-member fact-finding team to Agartala as the press body was concerned about the use of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to stop the media from reporting about violence in Tripura.
  6. Three Kashmiri traders assaulted in Jharkhand, allegedly forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’: According to the complaint by trader Rizwan Ahmad, a group of 25 persons gathered around him and his two friends – who are also Kashmiri – when they were on their way to Ranchi’s Hamru area. The group of miscreants allegedly asked them to shout “Jai Shri Ram” and “Pakistan murdabad”.
  7. Schools, colleges closed in seven districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Monday due to rains: The weather agency predicted “very heavy” rainfall in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts and “heavy” rainfall in Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi.
  8. Former government officers criticise statements against civil society by Modi, other top officials: In an open letter, 102 former civil servants noted that the civil society is being demonised and held in the same category as terrorists and insurgents.
  9. Eighteen people die in road accident in West Bengal’s Nadia district: A vehicle in a funeral procession rammed into a truck on the Hanskhali highway.
  10. India’s recovery rate from coronavirus highest since March 2020: The country recorded 8,774 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, while the number of active cases stood at 1,06,691.