News Headlines.-

 News Headlines.-

1.India’s High Commission in Ottawa on Tuesday issued an advisory asking Indian citizens in Canada to exercise caution due to the ongoing truckers protest against Covid-19 restrictions in the capital and across the country.-hindustantimes.com

2.Amid the looming terror of COVID-19 and the new variant Omicron, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics began last week with a bang but unfortunately, five new cases of coronavirus have already been recorded. On February 8, the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympics 2022 stated that a total of five new cases of COVID-19 were reported among games-related personnel. -dnaindia.com

3.External affairs minister S Jaishankar left for the Quad ministerial via Qatar on Wednesday with India being clear that the security grouping should consolidate its gains and reflect policies on ground before talking about expansion of the arrangement.-hindustantimes.com

4.External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will begin a visit to Australia on Thursday and attend a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Quad (India, Australia, United States, Japan), which is expected to discuss cooperation on vaccines, technology and regional security issues including related to China.-thehindu.com

5.The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) this week launched a pair of 120-metre-long Orthotropic Steel Decks (OSDs) on the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), a 22 km-long sea link that will connect south Mumbai with Navi Mumbai.-theindianexpress.com

6.A 48-year-old woman working in a cooperative bank in Navi Mumbai lost Rs 45.91 lakh after a fraudster impersonating a doctor from the United Kingdom befriended her and asked her to pay for the “expensive gifts” he sent, the police have said.-theindianexpress.com

7.A geomagnetic storm has knocked up to 40 out of 49 SpaceX high-speed internet satellites on February 4, a day after they were launched to a low deployment orbit, 130 miles above Earth. The incident was believed to mark the largest collective loss of satellites stemming from a single geomagnetic event and was unique in the way it unfolded, Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said on Wednesday.-hindustantimes.com

8.Government is open to considering the restaurant industry's demand of shifting back to higher goods and services tax (GST) along with benefit of tax credit on their inputs, revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Wednesday.Currently, a 5 per cent tax is levied on restaurant services, irrespective of whether it is air-conditioned or not, without the benefit of the input tax credit (ITC).-ndtv.com

9.ITC has launched an app for ITC Hotels for services such as room and restaurant reservations, food delivery and takeaway, and loyalty membership , across its own hotels and its Welcomhotels and Fortune Hotels in some locations.The app, the company said, will enable its patrons to book stays in about 55 of its hotels and resorts. The company, in a release said, business travellers can also book stays at their organizations' contracted corporate rates via the app.-livemint.com

10.The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has submitted a representation to the Maharashtra Government requesting for an immediate rollback of the 15% hike in the Excise Licence Fee for FY 2022-23. Citing the unpredictable nature of restrictions and other measures that may come into effect, if and when another pandemic wave breaks out, the Association has also requested that the Government offers a 50 per cent waiver on the fee for FY 2022-23.-hotelierindia.com

11.Guests can enjoy rewards with Sun International’s new leisure loyalty programme.-One Discovery Dollar (D$) equals the value of one US dollar. Members can earn and redeem D$ by staying at any hotel in the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), whether it is in South Africa or abroad. Membership to Sun GHA is free, and members are recognised equally at partner hotels.-hotelierindia.com