LEAD

After a case of JN.1, a subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 —  was detected in Kerala, the central government issued a health advisory to states Monday asking them to constantly monitor the situation.

In its advisory Monday, the central government asked states to maintain a state of constant vigil, monitor and report district-wise severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI), and ensure adequate testing.

The detection of JN.1 comes at a time when some states, especially Kerala, are reporting a surge in respiratory illnesses, which has also put neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on high alert.

Upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival in Varanasi, his convoy came to a halt to make way for an ambulance. This is not the first instance of the Prime Minister stopping his convoy to prioritize an emergency vehicle. Last year, a similar incident occurred as he was traveling from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar. On December 17, PM Modi reached his Parliamentary constituency to inaugurate various development projects. Over the course of his two-day visit, he is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for projects totaling more than ₹19,150 crore. During the visit, the Prime Minister visited the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra Exhibition at Cutting Memorial Inter College in Varanasi, interacting with attendees. 

The group responsible for a shocking breach of Parliament’s security wanted to create anarchy in the country and compel the government to meet their “illegal” demands, investigators told a Delhi court on Friday, as the probe’s focus shifted to the fifth accused, Lalit Jha, who was described as the brain behind the conspiracy.

Jha, who was sent to seven days in police custody, surrendered to the police before being arrested late on Thursday. Delhi Police’s Special Cell is now probing the role of two people allegedly associated with Jha – identified as brothers Kailash Kumawat, 27, and Mahesh Kumawat, 32, residents of Nagaur in Rajasthan.

With both houses of Parliament witnessing ruckus over yesterday's security breach, the Lok Sabha Speaker today suspended 14 opposition MPs while Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar suspended TMC MP Derek O'Brien from the house. 

Those suspended from the Lok Sabha include DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, Benny Behanan, VK Sreekandan, Mohammad Jawed, PR Natarajan, K Subrahmanyam, SR Parthiban, S Venkatesan and Manickam Tagore. The MPs were suspended for 'unruly conduct'.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India in collaboration with the United States Embassy and the United Service Institution of India organised a workshop on collaboration on Cyber Security under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework(GCTF) on 11 and 12 December 2023. It was conducted in a hybrid seminar cum interactive discussion format, covering core aspects of cybersecurity, information infrastructure and processes need to sustain the increasingly digital base of economic activity and development. The workshop was attended by key policy makers, technical specialists, and the private sector with an international background.