Extending his wishes on the New Year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wished joy and good health to everyone. “Happy 2022! May this year bring abundance of joy and good health in everyone’s lives. May we keep scaling new heights of progress and prosperity, and work even harder to fulfil the dreams of our great freedom fighters,” he tweeted.
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While Indian tourists celebrate New Year’s with beach party in Goa, Bengaluru witnessed no New Year celebrations on MG Road, Brigade Road over Omicron threat.
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Around the world, South Africans cheered its government’s decision to lift the midnight curfew in place after nearly two years of Covid-19 restrictions, a relief for businesses and citizens just ahead of New Year celebrations. On Thursday, South Africa became the first country to say that it believed it had passed the peak of a wave of coronavirus infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Australia and New Zealand lit up with fireworks in Sydney and Aukland respectively as they ushered in the New Year 2022. With the Omicron virus surging across India and the world, various restrictions have forced people to stay back at home this New Year’s Eve. As we bid farewell to the old year on Friday, the night might be much quieter around the country with curbs kicking in across all states.
As the New Year rings in, most countries are either on the verge of or in the middle of a new wave of coronavirus infections, courtesy the Omicron variant of the virus. While both the US and UK have been reporting record number of cases each day, experts in India believe that the country is on the verge of a third wave. Restrictions have been clamped across India on New Year celebrations. While festivities have been completely banned in states like Delhi and Karnataka, others have brought in strict restrictions, such as curfews, to control the spread of the virus.
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Over 600 people were fined by the Delhi Police on New Year's eve for violations such as drunk and dangerous driving, officials said on Saturday. Thirty-six challans were issued for drunk driving, 103 for dangerous driving, 370 for driving without helmet, 48 for triple riding and 100 for other violations, according to police. The total number of challans issued is 657, they said. --PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday prayed for peace and prosperity of all and urged people to follow Covid-19 protocols as they welcomed 2022.
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"Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! May 2022 turn out to be a year that fills your lives with peace and prosperity. May all your dreams come true. May God bless you and your loved ones. Please remember to follow all COVID protocols as you celebrate," the TMC supremo tweeted.
A month after they got back their son who had been given up for adoption against their will, Anupama S Chandran and Ajith Kumar got married on Friday. On the eve of the New Year, with their 14-month-old son and close friends watching, the two who were kept apart by Anupama’s parents, with allegedly police and the party (her parents are senior leaders of the ruling CPM) helping, tied the knot at the office of a sub-registrar in the city. Read More
Nearly 31,000 complaints of crimes committed against women were received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) last year, the highest since 2014, with over half of them from Uttar Pradesh.
There was a 30 per cent rise in complaints of crimes against women in 2021 as compared to 2020 when 23,722 complaints were received.
Of the 30,864 complaints, a maximum of 11,013 were related to the right to live with dignity that takes into account the emotional abuse of women, followed by those related to domestic violence at 6,633 and dowry harassment at 4,589, according to official NCW data. (PTI)
Actor Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli rang in the New Year in South Africa, where the Indian cricket team is playing against the host team in a Test and ODI series. Posting a photo of their celebrations from Centurion, Gauteng, and wishing their fans, Anushka wrote on Instagram, “The year that got us the greatest happiness I’ve known. So, deepest gratitude 2021, thank you!” In the picture, the couple posed in front of a cake at the New Year party hosted at their hotel. Read More
Extending his wishes to the people of India to mark the New Year, PM Narendra Modi tweeted: "May we keep scaling new heights of progress and prosperity, and work even harder to fulfil the dreams of our great freedom fighters."
Gurugram, Haryana: Patrolling team got malls & other places celebrating New Year evacuated, in adherence to night curfew from 11 pm- 5am. "500 addt'l forces deployed to ensure guidelines are followed. We got malls, clubs cleared at 10:30 pm," said Maqsood Ahmed, DCP,East Gurugram. (Source: ANI)
Delhi: Heavy deployment of police personnel at Connaught Place for the New Year. (Source: ANI)
Amritsar, Punjab | SAD leaders Sukhbir Badal, Harsimrat Badal pay obeisance at Golden Temple to mark the New Year. "Wishing everyone a prosperous year ahead.People faced hardships due to COVID; there was farm movement in the bygone yr.Hoping this yr to be a hopeful one," they say. (Source: ANI)
Jharkhand | Ranchi SSP Surendra Kumar distributed sweets to police personnel on night patrolling to mark the New Year. "I wish everyone a prosperous year ahead. Tight security arrangements have been made for tonight," he says. (Source: ANI)
Telangana: Hyderabad Police City Commissioner CV Anand cut a cake to mark the New Year.
An Auckland light show featured nearly 90,000 LEDs illuminating over the city’s Sky Tower and Harbour Bridge as they welcomed the New Year.
Tamil Nadu: Police personnel on patrolling distribute sweets to mark the New Year. Visuals from near Anna Flyover Bridge, Chennai.
People celebrate New Year with sparklers and crackers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Tourists welcome New Year with music, pep, and some fireworks in Panaji, Goa.
Fireworks visuals from Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab.
Amritsar, Punjab: Devotees flock to the Golden Temple to mark New Year celebrations.
Indian tourists celebrate New Year's with Goa beach party
Police patrolling across Bengaluru on New Year's Eve.
Deserted view of MG Road, Brigade Road on New Year's Eve due to no New Year celebrations over Omicron threat.
Parliament building, north block, and south block illuminatedon the eve of new year.
On this day: In 1907, the first ball dropped at midnight in Times Square.
South Africans cheered its government’s decision to lift the midnight curfew in place after nearly two years of Covid-19restrictions, a relief for businesses and citizens just ahead of New Year celebrations. On Thursday, South Africa became the first country to say that it believed it had passed the peak of a wave of coronavirus infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
In a message, the President has said “On the joyous occasion of the New Year 2022, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all our fellow countrymen, living in India and abroad.
May the new dawn of the New Year reinvigorate the spirit of peace, prosperity and fraternity in our lives. Let us resolve to bring in the new year with endeavour to usher in progress in our society and country.
May the New Year-2022 bring a lot of happiness and good health as well as success and prosperity in your life”.
London’s iconic Big Ben was tested ahead of New Year’s eve celebrations.
Mumbai's Juhu Beach wears a deserted look on New Year's eve as Mumbai Police imposed a curfew prohibiting entry to beaches, parks and other public places between 5 pm and 5 am till January 15 amid surge in Covid-19 cases. (Express video by Amit Chakravarty)
"Over 1.1L users on the app at the moment ordering food and groceries right now," says co-founder Sriharsha Majety while retweeting his 2015 tweet that shows, he was sharing his referral code to attract new customers to the App.
This New Year's eve, Swiggy is counting 6,610 orders per minute compared to 5,500 orders per minute on last NYE.
"Nothing beats the joy of breaking our own record! from 5500 orders per minute last NYE, to 6610 orders per minute already in 2021, it's been quite a journey," the Twitter handle of the Indian food delivery App says.
New York City is preparing to revive its annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. The city has said it will limit the number of in-person spectators to 15,000, fewer than the tens of thousands who typically gather, amid surging COVID-19 cases. --AP
Australia celebrates the New Year with fireworks display in Sydney.
Mexico City is getting ready for the new year with a little help from shamans and good luck amulets to ring in 2022.
New Zealand's Auckland welcomes the new year 2022 with fireworks.
Entry of public to all beaches in the city, including Tannirbhavi, Surathkal and Panambur, has been prohibited after 7 PM on Friday in the wake of the spread of Omicron variant of Covid-19.
In an order issued by Dakshina Kannada district administration, deputy commissioner K V Rajendra said any kind of New Year celebrations on beaches are not allowed after 7 PM.
The celebrations are not permitted in public places also, the order said. --PTI
Ilaiyaraaja wishes all a Happy New Year!
The New Year's Eve Ball in Times Square is ready for its annual drop.
Sydney, the Australian city worst-affected by the Omicron wave, will press ahead with New Year's Eve celebrations on Friday, with authorities encouraging revellers to come out and enjoy the festivities despite a record number of COVID-19 cases.
Thousands are expected to flock to prime harbourside spots to watch Sydney's famous fireworks, the traditional 12-minute pyrotechnic display to ring in the new year, with queues forming at many vantage points since early morning. Prime Minister Scott Morrison wished people to "enjoy the evening", while NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet urged everyone to "head out and enjoy New Year's" as daily infections in the state nearly doubled to a record 21,151 on Friday. Many countries have scaled back New Year celebrations in an effort to contain rampant contagion from the Omicron coronavirus variant, but celebrations will proceed in Sydney as normal after last year's plans were toned down due to Covid-19. (Reuters)
Amid the threat posed by the new variant Omicron and the rising Covid-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has banned any kind of New Year celebrations – inside or in open spaces — in Mumbai. The Mumbai Police have also issued orders prohibiting New Year celebrations and gatherings in any closed or open space, including hotels and restaurants, an official said Thursday. The orders were issued Wednesday under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 144 by Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) S Chaitanya. The order will be in force from Thursday till January 7, 2022, the official said. Read More
Last year, the predictions were somewhat easy. We said technologies around working from home would get better. And they did, from more features in all the videoconferencing software most of us now call office, to better front-facing cameras in the new computers that make us all look good at work. Yes, there was better access to doctors via online platforms even as we stayed away from hospitals as far as possible. The gadgets did get better as more companies took the Apple route to get their own silicon in place. But no, 5G is still somewhere in the air as far as India is concerned. Read More