Thursday, September 10, 2026
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Vistara becomes first Indian airline to introduce WiFi on-board

New Delhi (NVI): In a first for Indian carriers, Vistara will offer in-flight Wi-Fi internet connectivity onboard international flights operated on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from today.

The service will initially be available on flight between Delhi and London Heathrow.

As part of Vistara’s introductory offer the service will be available free of cost to all flyers for a limited period.

Furthermore, Vistara is also planning to introduce the in-flight Wi-Fi internet service on its Airbus A321neo aircraft as well.

The wireless connectivity system by Panasonic Avionics on Vistara’s Dreamliner allows passengers to access the internet on all Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.

Passengers can now stay seamlessly connected at 35,000 feet above the ground, send an email, access information, use social media, and more.

During the limited period of the free offering, Vistara will gather information on system functionality and feedback on the overall customer experience to further fine-tune the service. The airline will announce the tariff plans for the service in due course.

In addition to this, Vistara has the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system. Through this, flyers can also access a rich multimedia library of nearly 700 hours of wide-ranging engaging content that includes movies, TV shows, and audio compilations of various genres as well as games.

“We are delighted to offer on-board WiFi internet connectivity which takes our on-board travel experience to truly global standards. We are also glad to be the first Indian carrier to be able to offer this service to our customers. We truly hope our customers enjoy this new addition as we continuously strive to surpass their expectations,” Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan said.

Vistara has a fleet of 43 aircraft, including 34 Airbus A320, one Airbus A321neo, six Boeing 737-800NG, and two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

-CHK

Rajya Sabha passes Homeopathy Central Council Amendment Bill

File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The Rajya Sabha today passed the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020, after a long discussion.

The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on September 14, which is now an Act, amends the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973.

The Act sets up the Central Council of Homoeopathy which regulates education and practice of Indian medicine system, including ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy. However, the Bill replaced the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated on April 24 this year.

Speaking on discussion of the Bill, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in the Upper House that the Centre is committed to ensuring that all kinds of medicines are available to the citizens.

“The government is committed to ensure that all kinds of medicines are available to the citizens. We also have the National Digital Mission and new medical institutes are opening under which there are blocks dealing with Indian medicines,” he said.

Vardhan also said that Yoga and Naturopathy need a separate national medical commission, adding that, the National Medical Commission for modern medicine will be functional soon. He said Yoga and Naturopathy will be promoted in due course as these are the ancient medicine systems and have the scientific basis.

Apart from this, the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 has also been passed in the Rajya Sabha.

 

Putin dials PM Modi on his B’day

Russia
(File)

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a telephone call from Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday as the latter conveyed his greetings to PM on his 70th birthday. The two leaders also reiterated their strong commitment to further strengthen the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ between India and Russia.

Prime Minister Modi expressed his warm appreciation for the gesture. During the conversation, both the leaders expressed appreciation for the continued momentum in bilateral interactions despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, they referred to the recent productive visits to Moscow by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

PM Modi thanked President Putin for the successful Russian Chairmanship of the SCO and BRICS this year. He conveyed his eagerness to participate in the forthcoming SCO and BRICS Summit later this year, as well as the Council of SCO Heads of Government to be hosted by India, the PMO said.

Modi also thanked Putin for his personal commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with India, and said that he looked forward to welcoming President Putin in India for the next bilateral summit at a mutually convenient date.

This is the second time that the two leaders have spoken since July, in this year. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and EAM S Jaishankar attended the SCO summit in Moscow recently where they also met their Chinese counterparts to resolve the tense border situation along LAC.

-ARK

India records highest single-day Covid recoveries at 87,472

corona
(File/Representational image)

New Delhi (NVI): India has reached a record high in the number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus, achieving a peak of 87,472 COVID-19 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

In a offical statement, the Ministry of Health said, 87,472 and been discharged in the past 24 hours from home or facility supervised care and hospitals.

“India has been consistently reporting a very high level of daily recoveries of more than 70,000 since the past 11 days,” it added.

The total recovered cases thus stands at 41,12,551. With this, the recovery rate has further escalated to 78.86 per cent.

However, recovered cases are 4.04 times higher the number of active cases as recoveries outnumber the latter by 30,94,797, the ministry said.

The ministry noted that the top five states with high active caseload are also the ones which are presently reporting a high level of recoveries.

“Nearly 59.8 per cent of the active cases are being reported from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. These states are also contributing to 59.3 per cent of the total recoveries,” it added.

There are 16 states and Union Territories which reported 90 per cent of new recoveries.

“Maharashtra contributed 22.31 per cent of the new recoveries while the states of Andhra Pradesh (12.24 per cent), Karnataka (8.3 per ), Tamil Nadu (6.31 per ) and Chhattisgarh (6.0 per cent) followed with 32.8 per cent of the recoveries,” the ministry said, adding that, these states together contribute 55.1 per cent of total new recoveries.

The ministry further said that, the continuous streak of very high level of recoveries is a testimony of the effective clinical management and treatment protocols issued by the government which have been updated from time to time with the emergence of new evidence.

“In order to support and assist efforts of State and UT governments, the Centre has deputed central multi-specialist teams. Regular review has ensured adequate availability of medical oxygen in the health facilities,” it said.

These efforts have together have played a critical intervention role in India’s high recoveries and maintained low case fatality rate (CFR), which currently stands at 1.62 per cent across the country, the ministry added.

-RJV

Air India Express flights to and from Dubai suspended for 15 days

New Delhi (NVI): Air India Express flights to and from Dubai have been suspended for 15 days from September 18 until October 3, for ferrying coronavirus positive patients to Dubai twice during the last couple of weeks.

Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has stopped Air India Express from flying to Dubai for 15 days, starting today, alleging that two coronavirus positive passengers flew on board the flights to Dubai on two separate occasions despite having Covid-19 positive test reports.

As per the UAE government rules, each passenger travelling from India needs to bring original coronavirus-negative certificate from RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey.

The airline, which has been operating flights under the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate stranded Indians from the UAE, is also flying passengers eligible to return to the UAE from India under the air bubble agreement between the two countries.

The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority further added that boarding a coronavirus patient was in violation of the laid down procedures relating to the air travel to and from Dubai airports during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the resumption of the Air India Express flights to Dubai, Air India has been requested to submit a detailed corrective action or procedure implemented to prevent such incidents from occurring again.

-CHK

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

Covid variant
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India have reached 52,14,678 after 96,424 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, the biggest single-day rise, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 84,372 after 1,174 new fatalities were reported in the country during this period.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 11,45,840, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 6,01,462 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 5,25,420 cases.

Total positive cases in States/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 3,604

Andhra Pradesh- 6,01,462

Arunachal Pradesh- 6,851

Assam- 1,50,349

Bihar- 1,64,051

Chandigarh- 9,256

Chhattisgarh- 77,775

Dadra Nagar Haveli & Diu – 2,831

Delhi- 2,34,701

Gujarat- 1,18,926

Goa- 26,783

Haryana– 1,03,773

Himachal Pradesh- 11,190

Jammu and Kashmir- 59,711

Jharkhand- 67,100

Karnataka- 4,94,356

Kerala- 1,22,214

Ladakh- 3,576

Madhya Pradesh- 97,906

Maharashtra- 11,45,840

Manipur- 8,430

Meghalaya- 4,356

Mizoram- 1,534

Nagaland- 5,306

Odisha- 1,67,161

Puducherry- 21,428

Punjab- 90,032

Rajasthan- 1,09,473

Sikkim- 2,221

Tamil Nadu- 5,25,420

Telangana- 1,67,046

Tripura- 20,949

Uttarakhand- 37,139

Uttar Pradesh- 3,36,294

West Bengal– 2,15,580

State/UT wise total death toll:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 52

Andhra Pradesh- 5,177

Arunachal Pradesh- 13

Assam- 528

Bihar- 855

Chandigarh- 109

Chhattisgarh- 628

Dadra and Nagar Haveli- 2

Delhi- 4,877

Goa- 327

Gujarat- 3,270

Haryana- 1,069

Himachal Pradesh- 98

Jammu and Kashmir- 951

Jharkhand- 590

Karnataka- 7,629

Kerala- 489

Ladakh- 46

Madhya Pradesh- 1,877

Maharashtra- 31,351

Manipur- 51

Meghalaya- 31

Nagaland- 15

Odisha- 669

Puducherry- 431

Punjab- 2,646

Rajasthan- 1,293

Sikkim- 22

Tamil Nadu- 8,618

Telangana- 1,016

Tripura- 228

Uttarakhand- 460

Uttar Pradesh- 4,771

West Bengal- 4,183

However, a total of 41,12,551 people have been cured or discharged. Total active cases stand at 10,17,754.

-CHK

COVID-19 plunges 150 million more children into poverty: UNICEF

Nearly 20% of all children below the age of five in the developing world live in extremely poor households

New Delhi (NVI): As many as 150 million more children have plunged into poverty since the coronavirus pandemic struck earlier this year, according to a new UNICEF analysis.

With this addition, approximately 1.2 billion children worldwide are living in multi-dimensional poverty, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.

The analysis, conducted by UNICEF and child rights organization, Save the Children, reveals that there has been a 15 per cent increase in the multi-dimensional poverty faced by children since the start of COVID-19 outbreak.

The UN body said that access to education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water are taken to work out multi-dimensional poverty and the data from over 70 countries has been included for the analysis.

It also highlights that around 45 per cent of children were severely deprived of at least one of these critical needs in the countries analyzed before the pandemic.

However, the condition presented by UNICEF already is grave and the organisation warned of a worsening condition in the future.

“COVID-19 and the lockdown measures imposed to prevent its spread have pushed millions of children deeper into poverty,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

“Families on the cusp of escaping poverty have been pulled back in, while others are experiencing levels of deprivation they have never seen before. Most concerningly, we are closer to the beginning of this crisis than its end,” Fore added.

Apart from making more children poor, the UN report stated that already poor children have become poorer after the arrival of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Before the pandemic, the average number of severe deprivations per child was around 0.7, which is now estimated to have increased by 15 per cent to around 0.85, it added.

The report notes that child poverty is much more than a monetary value. While measures of monetary poverty such as household income are important, they provide only a partial view of the plight of children living in poverty.

Furthermore, the UN body suggests social protection, inclusive fiscal policies, employment, labour market interventions, among others to help families facing extreme poverty and preventing further devastation.

It also includes the expanding of health care services, providing the tools and technology for children so that education can be continued remotely and encouraging policies such as paid leave for child care as possible solutions.

-RJV

Global coronavirus cases surpass 3 billion-mark

Coronavirus cases

New Delhi (NVI): More than 30 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and 9,43,515 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. Some 20.4 million people have recovered.

In the US, the number of coronavirus infections rose to 6.67 million while the death toll crossed 1,97,000 in the country.

Brazil recorded 829 new deaths due to coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,34,106. New cases rose by 36,303 to 4,455,386.

Greece reported 135 cases of coronavirus infections among migrants and refugees made homeless by a fire at a large refugee on the island of Lesbos.

Australia’s coronavirus hot spot of Victoria reported its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections in more than a week as the state began relaxing lockdown restrictions. Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, reported five deaths from COVID-19 and 45 cases in the last 24 hours.

Health authorities in mainland China reported 32 new COVID-19 cases, all imported cases, marking the highest daily increase in more than a month and up sharply from nine cases reported a day earlier.

New Zealand reported no new confirmed cases of the coronavirus for the first time in more than five weeks as hopes rise that an outbreak discovered in Auckland last month has been stamped out.

One in seven cases of COVID-19 reported to the WHO is a health worker and in some countries that figure rises to one in three, according to the organisation.

-CHK

India’s Covid tally over 52 lakh, deaths nearing 85,000 mark

covid cases
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): India witnessed a single-day jump of 96,424 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 52,14,678, Union Health Ministry said.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 84,372 with 1,174 new fatalities being reported during this period.

So far, 41,12,552 patients have been cured and recovered all over the country while active cases stands at 10,17,754.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 11,45,840, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 6,01,462 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 5,25,420 cases.

Other states with high virus cases are Karnataka (4,94,356), Uttar Pradesh (3,36,294) and Delhi (2,34,701).

Maharashtra has also reported the highest number of death toll at 31,351 followed by 8,618 deaths in Tamil Nadu.

The death toll in the national capital surpassed to 4,877, while 1,98,103 patients have recovered so far, the healthy ministry data shows.

According to the Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 6,15,72,343 samples tested up to September 17 for COVID-19. Of these, 10,06,615 samples were tested yesterday.

Meanwhile, the government also said that around 60 per cent of the active cases are concentrated in only 5 most affected states. There are 13 States and UTs that even today have less than 5000 active cases.

-RJV

 

 

Targeted attacks on Shias continue in Pak as bank manager shot dead in Islamabad

New Delhi (NVI): As fears of sectarian violence grips Pakistan in the wake of attacks on Shia community, a 32-year-old bank manager was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad by two bike-borne assailants, exposing the failure of Imran Khan government on taking actions against such perpetrators and proscribed terror outfits.

Syed Raza Hussain Naqvi, a branch manager in a National Bank, was shot dead in the Pakistan capital just because he was a Shia. While some social media posts claimed that Extremists of ASWJ terror group were behind the attacks, some others have said that the attackers were from Sipah-e-Sahaba, a proscribed terrorist outfit in the country.

The CCTV footage of the incident also went viral on social media in which Naqvi can be seen coming out of a car and then two bike-borne assailants shot at him from behind, within seconds.

“Targeted attacks on the Shia community continue with impunity in Pakistan. In Islamabad Syed Raza Hussain Naqvi, a bank manager, shot dead in broad daylight. This follows the murder of Qaiser Imran in Kohat, attack on a procession in Okara and the systematic anti-shia campaign,” tweeted Naila Inayat, a Pakistan based journalist.


“Syed Raza Hussain Naqvi, a branch manager in a National Bank, ws shot dead in Islamabad coz he ws a SHIA. Extremists of ASWJ terror group are killing Shias in broad daylight. Imran Khan is alwyz concernd fr Kashmiris bt NO word of condemnation for #ShiaGenocide in #Pakistan!,” read another tweet from a user.

The killing also comes after thousands of people flooded the streets of Karachi on Friday last week in a massive anti-Shia demonstration which has sparked fears of sectarian violence in Pakistan. After the massive protests, the hashtag #ShiaGenocide began trending on Pakistani social media.

A large number of protestors were seen chanting “Shias are Kaffir” (disbelievers) and holding banners of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a terrorist organisation, linked to the killing of Shias over the years.

The massive rally took place after some major Shia leaders in the country allegedly made disparaging remarks against Islam in a televised broadcast of an Ashura procession last month, according to media reports.

-ARK

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