UK PM faces more COVID lockdown party revelations

The PM is feeling well, given the situation,” the spokesperson said.3 hours ago (08:41 GMT)Tens of thousands of devout Hindus, led by heads of monasteries and ash-smeared ascetics, took a holy dip into the frigid waters of the Ganges River in northern India despite rising COVID-19 infections in the country.Hindu pilgrims congregated at the Sangam, the confluence of three rivers – the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati – in Prayagraj city, 200km (124 miles) northeast of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, to participate in the Magh Mela festival, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism.Read more here.3 hours ago (08:32 GMT)A booster shot of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has shown 85 percent effectiveness in protecting against the Omicron variant for 1-2 months after it is received, according to the head of South Africa’s Medical Research Council (SAMRC).Glenda Grey presented the findings of a SAMRC study at a South African health ministry briefing on the COVID-19 fourth wave, which has been driven by the new variant.5 hours ago (07:21 GMT)The Australian government cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time, saying the world tennis No 1, unvaccinated for COVID-19, may pose a risk to the community.Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel Djokovic’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation and released him from immigration detention on Monday.“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Hawke said in a statement.Read more here.5 hours ago (06:34 GMT)Hong Kong International Airport has said passenger transit flights from countries considered high-risk because of the coronavirus will be suspended from January 16 to February 15.“Passenger transfer/transit services via Hong Kong International Airport for any persons who have stayed in Group A specified place(s) in the past 21 days will be suspended,” the airport said in a statement on its website.Hong Kong considers 153 countries as high risk.Read more here.6 hours ago (06:31 GMT)The eastern Chinese financial hub of Shanghai has suspended some tourism activities as part of its efforts to head off a handful of sporadic new local transmissions, while it also faces an increase in COVID-19 infections from overseas.Shanghai’s tourism and culture authority said travel agencies and online tourism companies must once again halt organising group tours between Shanghai and other provinces, regions or municipalities, after the city reported five new domestically transmitted infections, all linked to a previous arrival from overseas.The order, in line with a national guideline to cut tourist activities in provincial divisions where new infections have emerged, came less than a month after Shanghai lifted a previous suspension that had come into effect in November, according to local government statements and a report by a newspaper managed by China’s tourism authority.