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G7 summit, key European engagements on agenda as PM embarks on three-nation tour

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is set to commence a three-nation tour on Sunday. During this trip, he will take part in the G7 Summit in Canada, and also visit Cyprus and Croatia to boost India's working relationship with these two countries. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday that this will be "the first ever visit by an Indian prime minister to Croatia, marking an important milestone in the bilateral relationship." However, Modi's first destination will be Cyprus on June 15-16, following an invitation from the country's President, Nikos Christodoulides. "This will be the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Cyprus in over two decades," the MEA stated. While in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with President Christodoulides and address business leaders in Limassol, as per the MEA. "The visit will reaffirm the shared commitment of the two countries to deepen bilateral ties and strengthen India's engagement with the Mediterranean region and the European Union," the statement added. Next, as the second part of his trip, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Kananaskis, Canada, on June 16-17. He will participate in the G7 Summit there, having been invited by the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. It's significant that this will be Mr Modi's sixth consecutive attendance at the G7 Summit. "At the Summit, the prime minister will exchange views with the leaders of G7 countries, other invited outreach countries and heads of international organisations on crucial global issues, including energy security, technology and innovation, particularly the AI-energy nexus and quantum-related issues," the MEA said. The Prime Minister is also expected to hold several separate bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summit, PTI reported. The Group of Seven (G7) comprises seven of the world's most economically advanced nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US, and the UK, along with the European Union. Mark Carney, an economist and a newcomer to the political top job, became Canada's Prime Minister in March, after Justin Trudeau left the role. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi received a call from Mr Carney, during which the latter invited the Prime Minister to attend the G7 meeting. "The call was also an occasion for the two prime ministers to reflect and talk about India-Canada relations and how they can be taken forward," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on June 12. Describing India and Canada as "vibrant democracies," the external affairs ministry also stated that New Delhi believes the upcoming meeting between the two prime ministers during the G7 Summit will provide an important chance to exchange views and "explore pathways" to "reset bilateral ties." According to PTI, the MEA spokesperson also "asserted that the 'reset' of the relationship is based on mutual respect, shared interests and sensitivity to each other's concerns." Finally, the MEA statement confirmed that for the last part of his tour, Prime Minister Modi will make an official visit to Croatia on June 18. This visit is at the invitation of the European country's Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Plenkovic and also meet the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic. "The visit to Croatia will also underscore India's commitment to further strengthening its engagement with partners in the European Union," the statement concluded. (With inputs from PTI)

17 June,2025 09:11 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Indian students in Tehran await evacuation amidst escalating conflict, living in fear of air raid sirens and blackouts. File Pic.

Indian students evacuated from Iran amid escalating conflict with Israel

Mehreen Zaffar, an Indian student at Iran's Tehran University of Medical Sciences, has been living in fear amidst sounds of air raid sirens and blackouts. She is among more than 70 Indian students awaiting evacuation from Iran, which is engaged in a military conflict with Israel. "Iran is on black alert. We do not know what is happening. We have been kept in a basement for safety purposes, but we are scared," she told PTI in a distressed voice. The third-year MBBS student, currently in Iran's capital Tehran, described the situation as "horrible." "Since the internet is weak, we are unable to even contact our family members. Back home, they are worried for our safety," she added. "We have been calling for help but have not received anything. We do not know anything. We want evacuation," Zaffar pleaded. "We have full hopes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and we need help. We cannot stay like this." Faizan Nabi, a 21-year-old student at Kerman University of Medical Sciences, said he has started packing his bags. "The situation is not as bad here (Kerman) as in Tehran. But there is still fear. We are hoping that we will be relocated to some safe location soon," he added. Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, Indian students in Tehran have been moved out of the city. Huzaif Malik, a student at Urmia University of Medical Sciences, was among those evacuated to Armenia by Indian authorities. "We were in Urmia, which was relatively safe. We have reached Armenia," he confirmed. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association, all 110 Indian students who crossed the Iran-Armenia border have now safely reached the capital city, Yerevan. They have been received and accommodated at designated hotels. Their flight from Armenia to Delhi is scheduled for Wednesday, with all necessary arrangements being facilitated in coordination with the Indian authorities. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, reiterated that the Indian Embassy remains continuously in touch with the community to extend all feasible assistance. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

17 June,2025 09:07 PM IST | New Delhi | PTI
Emergency protocols were activated, with thorough inspections carried out, leading to delays and precautionary cancellations across multiple airports. Representational pic

Mid-air scares and bomb threats trigger multiple flight cancellations

Several flights across major airports in India were either cancelled or delayed on Tuesday due to a combination of technical snags and bomb threats, causing widespread disruption and panic among passengers.  Lufthansa Hyderabad-Frankfurt A Lufthansa flight to Hyderabad that was forced to make a U-turn and return to land at Frankfurt Airport due to a bomb threat landed in the Telangana capital on Monday night local time. A passenger on board told PTI that the plane had "landed safely", with the pilot apologising for the "inconvenience caused" by the delay due to matters "beyond their control". "The flight took off and is expected to land at 23:18 hrs," Lufthansa said in response to a query earlier. Flight tracker website Flightaware.com data showed Sunday's aborted flight en route to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Flight LH752 had earlier departed from Germany on Sunday afternoon local time and was scheduled to land at the Hyderabad airport in the early hours of Monday, but Lufthansa said it had to be turned around over a bomb threat, with passengers provided overnight accommodation. Repeated cancellations and delays of @airindia flights due to technical issues are deeply unsettling. For travelers, these disruptions go beyond inconvenience—they raise fears about the reliability of the national carrier. To address this, Air India should urgently enhance its… — Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) June 17, 2025 Air India Ahmedabad-London flight Air India's flight to London from Ahmedabad, which has started operating with a new code the post-June 12 AI171 plane crash, was cancelled on Tuesday due to unavailability of aircraft, resulting from airspace curbs and additional precautionary checks, the airline said. The Tata Group-owned airline denied claims that a technical snag led to the cancellation and maintained it has made alternative arrangements to fly affected passengers to their destination and is offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted for by them. Air India San Francisco to Mumbai An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai suffered a technical snag in one of its engines, due to which passengers had to be deplaned during a scheduled halt at the city's airport early on Tuesday. Flight AI180 arrived on time at 0045 hrs at the airport, but the technical snag in the left engine resulted in the takeoff getting delayed. At about 5.20 am, an announcement was made in the aircraft asking all the passengers to deplane. Air India Delhi-Paris flight Air India has cancelled its Delhi-Paris flight on Tuesday after some problems were identified during pre-flight checks, according to the airline. Air India further said that the "issue" is being addressed. Consequently, the return flight AI142 from Paris to Delhi of June 18 also stands cancelled, it said. Flight AI143 from Delhi to Paris (on) June 17 has been cancelled. The mandatory pre-flight checks identified an issue which is presently being addressed. "However, in view of the flight coming under the restrictions on night operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport, the said the flight has been cancelled," Air India said. The airline said that it is providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling, if opted by the passengers. (With PTI inputs)

17 June,2025 07:34 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Maithili Patil, a crew member aboard the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad, was among the 241 lives lost in the incident. Pic/PTI

Crew member Maithili Patil's mortal remains brought home in Raigad

The mortal remains of Maithili Patil, a crew member aboard the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad, were brought to her home in Nhave village, Raigad district, on Tuesday. She was among the 241 lives lost in the tragic accident. #WATCH | Maharashtra: Mortal remains of Maithili Patil, who was a crew member on the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight, brought to her residence in Nhave village of Raigad. She was one of the 241 people onboard who died in #AhmedabadPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/vyLs1Sw9ol — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2025 Earlier, the mortal remains of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, one of the pilots of the ill-fated Air India flight, were brought to his residence in Powai, Mumbai, on Tuesday. The mortal remains were later taken for the final rites, with Captain Sabharwal's father, Pushkaraj, paying an emotional tribute to his son outside their residence. Captain Sabharwal lost his life in the tragic accident that occurred on June 12 when the London-bound flight crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad. On Monday, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi confirmed that DNA samples of 144 victims in the Air India plane crash had been successfully matched. The minister visited the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gandhinagar, where DNA testing of the deceased was being conducted by teams from the FSL and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU). Earlier, a memorial ceremony was held by the Indian High Commission in London to honour victims of the Air India AI171 crash. Dignitaries, including India's Ambassador Vikram Doraiswami and UK Deputy PM Angela Rayner, joined diaspora members to pay tribute. India's Ambassador to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Canadian High Commissioner to the UK, Ralph Goodale, serving and former MPs, and members of the Indian diaspora gathered to pay tribute to the departed souls. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed into a hostel complex shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 241 passengers and crew, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. On June 12, the Al-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport. The crash claimed 241 lives out of the 242 people onboard, which included 230 passengers and 12 crew members. The lone survivor, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, is currently undergoing treatment for his injuries.  (With ANI inputs)

17 June,2025 05:54 PM IST | Raigad | mid-day online correspondent
Collapsed Pune bridge. Pic/Filepic

Indrayani river bridge collapse: Ex-minister seeks probe

Following the Pune bridge collapse tragedy, former Maharashtra minister Ravindra Chavan on Tuesday demanded a probe into why the construction of a new bridge over the Indrayani River in Pune did not commence, despite Rs 8 crore being sanctioned for it last year. The BJP leader's remarks came two days after four persons died and 18 were injured in the collapse of a 35-year-old bridge on the Indrayani River in Pune's Maval tehsil. As reported by PTI, the Pune bridge that collapsed on Sunday afternoon in the Kundamala area was built in 1993 and was not fit for use. People who gathered there ignored warning signboards, and more than 100 persons got onto the structure, officials earlier said. While speaking to reporters at the BJP headquarters, Maharashtra minister Chavan said that when he was the Public Works Department (PWD) minister during the previous Mahayuti government, he sanctioned about Rs 8 crore in October 2024 for the construction of a new bridge at the same site, as the existing one was old and unsafe.He also added, "Today, I spoke to PWD minister Shivendraraje Bhosale and other officials, requesting them to conduct a probe into this accident." "Issues like why the bridge construction work was not undertaken will be probed. If any official is found responsible for deliberate delay, action will be taken," he said. On Monday, the Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi also said the tender for a new bridge to come up in place of the one that eventually collapsed was floated some months back, while the work order was issued a week ago.It takes 15 days to start the work from the date of the work order, so construction will begin shortly, he added. Pune-based social activist Vijay Kumbhar, however, claimed the date on the work order was written by hand and not typed like the rest of the text. "A committee will be formed to probe lapses, if any, on the part of the local administration and to check if standard operating procedures should have been implemented. The incident occurred despite warning signs and an existing order banning large gatherings in the area," he said. Maharashtra Minister of Disaster Management Girish Mahajan earlier said the bridge collapsed under the weight of a large number of tourists. "The bridge was meant for pedestrians only, and there was a warning board stating that it cannot be used by two-wheelers. It seems people on the bridge did not heed these instructions, which caused the incident." (With PTI Inputs)

17 June,2025 05:17 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondent
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic.

CM Fadnavis pledges sustainable livelihoods for tribals with 'Bamboo Mission'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has expressed his government's commitment to provide a sustainable livelihood to tribals in the state and bring them into the mainstream. The CM, along with 70-year-old tribal Raghu Aware, who had been a victim of bonded labour, planted a bamboo sapling on land allotted to the latter at Vasai in Palghar district on Monday amidst rains. This initiative was part of the 'Bamboo Mission', aimed at planting one crore bamboo trees across Thane and Palghar districts, as per a release issued by a social organisation run by former MLA Vivek Pandit, who heads the state committee for reviewing tribal welfare schemes. The release said Fadnavis greeted the tribal man with folded hands and said, "Raghu is no longer a victim of bonded labour. Today, he becomes Maharashtra's first bamboo farmer under the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)." The CM emphasised that the programme, which will be executed under the employment guarantee scheme, is designed to change the lives of tribals, offering them a sustainable livelihood and bringing them into the mainstream. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

17 June,2025 05:11 PM IST | Palghar | PTI
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. File Pic.

Bihar expands air connectivity to six new cities, approves five-star hotels

Six more cities in Bihar will gain air connectivity, as the state cabinet on Tuesday approved the signing of an agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Officials stated that the new airports will be developed in Madhubani, Birpur in Supaul, Munger, Valmiki Nagar in Bettiah, Muzaffarpur, and Saharsa under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. The cabinet, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, gave its go-ahead for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state's Directorate of Aviation and the AAI for developing these airports. "A total of Rs 150 crore has been allocated, with Rs 25 crore for the development of each airport," Additional Chief Secretary S Siddharth told reporters. This decision comes with just a few months remaining until the assembly elections in the state. The cabinet also approved the issuance of the Letter of Award (LoA) to Kumar Infratrade Enterprises Ltd for the construction of a five-star hotel near Income Tax Golumber in Patna, he said. "The hotel will be developed on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, and the land will be given on a 90-year lease. The bidding process for the construction of two more five-star hotels, near Bankipore Bus Stand and near R Golumber in Patna, is also being finalised," he added. Furthermore, the cabinet fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for chana at Rs 5,650, mustard at Rs 5,950, and masoor at Rs 6,700, Siddharth confirmed. It was also decided that the contract of 1,717 retired army personnel recruited in the Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) will be extended until 2025-26. Finally, the cabinet approved guidelines for the recruitment of clerks and librarians in government schools and libraries. "Under the new rules, 50 per cent of clerical posts in the Education Department will now be filled through compassionate appointments, while the remaining 50 per cent will be filled through direct recruitment," the officer said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

17 June,2025 04:54 PM IST | Patna | PTI
Chaotic situation inside Air India Flight from San Francisco to Mumbai was grounded due to engine snag. Pic/Screengrab from PTI Video

Engine snag grounds Air India San Francisco-Mumbai flight in Kolkata

Air India terminated its San Francisco-Mumbai flight at its scheduled stopover at Kolkata on Tuesday morning after one of its engines developed a technical snag. The termination led to chaotic scenes at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport as the 211 passengers on the Boeing 777-200 LR tried to convince officials to let them reach their destination at the earliest. The Tata Group-owned carrier did not issue an official statement. The incident comes days after an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed seconds after takeoff, killing over 270 people onboard and on the ground on June 12. Sources said Air India is making "special arrangements" to fly the stranded passengers to Mumbai. No further details were available.Usually, the carrier flies directly to Mumbai from San Francisco but the ongoing geopolitical events, including closure of Pakistani airspace, has led AI to reroute it and take a "technical halt" in Kolkata. Flight AI180 landed in Kolkata at the scheduled time of 12.45 am, even though it took off one hour late from San Francisco.According to sources, a technical issue was detected during routine post-landing checks, and the airline decided to do a comprehensive check.It was scheduled to depart for Mumbai at 2 am, but passengers came to know of the problems only after 2.40 am, when the crew announced there was a problem with the left engine, according to a PTI reporter who was on the flight. VIDEO | Kolkata: An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata suffered a technical snag in one of its engines, requiring passengers to be deplaned during a scheduled halt at the city airport early on Tuesday. Flight AI180 arrived on time at the city airport at… pic.twitter.com/0MSUiiwPdZ — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 17, 2025 However, this announcement was accompanied by a specific promise, that the snag will take up to 25 minutes to get sorted, the reporter said.However, as the clock ticked by, distraught passengers having connecting flights from Mumbai started enquiring about the progress of the work with the cabin crew, but there was no clear response, the reporter said. With the Ahmedabad accident being fresh, some passengers also said a delay is better than a mishap, while some wondered how an aircraft which had travelled thousands of kilometres could face problems in the last leg from Kolkata to Mumbai. The next announcement came at 4.20 am, where the pilots sought another 15-20 minutes for rectification of the problem. The engineers could be seen working on the left engine even as a drizzle continued, but the problem persisted. Finally, around 5.20 am, the pilots announced that a resolution is not possible and asked all passengers to deplane. After disembarking, and passing the mandatory immigration, collecting baggage and passing the customs channels, the passengers were asked to sit in a designated area. A few passengers pleaded with officials asking for the earliest option to travel to Mumbai. Some got lucky, while others continued to wait.Finally, an Air India official announced that Mumbai-bound flights were mostly full and convinced a bulk of the passengers to check into a hotel.Food arrangements for the passengers were done, and the process of checking into the hotel had been initiated at the time of publishing this story.  This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

17 June,2025 04:47 PM IST | Kolkata | PTI
Representational Image. File Pic

Air India Ahmedabad-London flight cancelled due to operational issues

Air India's flight to London scheduled to depart from Ahmedabad on Tuesday afternoon was cancelled due to "operational issues", an airport official said. The Air India's official website also confirmed that the AI-159 flight from Ahmedabad to the Gatwick airport at London stands cancelled. The plane was scheduled to depart at 3 pm from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. #WATCH | Ahmedabad | Passengers of Air India flight AI-159 from Ahmedabad to London, Gatwick say the flight has been suddenly cancelledAn AI-159 flight passenger says, "I was going to Gatwick, London, by the 1 p.m. Air India flight, but I have just learned that the flight has… pic.twitter.com/XnKUWOMWhI — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2025 "We have been informed that the flight has been cancelled due to operational issues. The original flight from Ahmedabad to London, having code AI-171, resumed operation from Monday with a new flight code AI-159," said the airport official. The official did not elaborate on "operational issues" that caused the flight cancellation. Flight AI-171, which crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, has been replaced with a new code AI-159. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew members on board the flight AI-171 were killed in the crash. Some passengers who were supposed to board the London-bound flight from Ahmedabad, while speaking with the reporters said that as soon as we entered the airport, we were informed that the flight had been cancelled. However, no reason was justified for the flight cancellation.  A passenger who was travelling from Ahmedabad to London on the Air India flight told ANI, “I booked my Air India flight from Ahmedabad, which was supposed to take off at 1:30 am on June 17, 2025. However, when I reached the airport, the staff told me that the flight had been cancelled. When I asked about the reason for the cancellation, the airport staff and the airline were not able to give any answers whatsoever.” He added that “Although Air India is providing hotel accommodations for the time being, this does not solve our problem. #WATCH | Ahmedabad | Passenger of now cancelled AI-159 flight to Gatwick, he says, " I am travelling with my wife and two children. We have no answers from the airline company for the flight cancellation..." pic.twitter.com/g1EKnt72Dh — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2025   He added that “Although Air India is providing hotel accommodations for the time being, this does not solve our problem. Another person told ANI “After reaching that airport, we found out that our flight had been cancelled; however, authorities are not giving any answers about the ticket refunds or rescheduling the flight.”He added that “The cancellation of the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London might be because of the Ahmedabad plane crash which happened on June 12, 2025. #WATCH | Ahmedabad | Passengers of Air India flight AI-159 from Ahmedabad to London, Gatwick say the flight has been suddenly cancelledAn AI-159 flight passenger says, "I was going to Gatwick, London, by the 1 p.m. Air India flight, but I have just learned that the flight has… pic.twitter.com/XnKUWOMWhI — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2025

17 June,2025 04:44 PM IST | Ahmedabad | mid-day online correspondent
Meanwhile, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar, scheduled for Tuesday, also stands cancelled. Representational pic

'Ahmedabad-London flight cancelled due to aircraft unavailability, not snag'

Air India’s flight from Ahmedabad to London, which resumed recently with a new flight code after the AI171 plane crashed last week, was cancelled on Tuesday owing to the unavailability of an aircraft. The airline attributed the cancellation to airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, reported PTI. The Tata Group-owned airline denied claims that a technical snag had caused the cancellation and said it had arranged alternative travel for affected passengers. It is also offering full refund or complimentary rescheduling to those who opt for it. Air India’s official website confirmed that flight AI159 – earlier AI171 – from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport in London was cancelled after being rescheduled. The aircraft was scheduled to depart at 3 pm from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA), reported PTI. "Flight AI-159 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick (London) has been cancelled today (Tuesday) due to the unavailability of the aircraft, resulting from airspace restrictions and additional precautionary checks, leading to longer than usual turnaround of aircraft, and not due to any technical snag as claimed," an AI spokesperson said. "We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers and have made alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination. We are providing hotel accommodation and also offering full refunds on cancellations or complimentary rescheduling if opted by passengers," he further stated. Meanwhile, flight AI170 from London Gatwick to Amritsar, scheduled for Tuesday, also stands cancelled, the airline added. Amid the ongoing conflict with Israel, Iran has closed its airspace, affecting several Europe-bound flights. Air India’s direct flight from Ahmedabad to London previously operated under the code AI-171. Airport sources said the flight code was suspended after the crash as a mark of respect for the 270 lives, which includes 29 people on the ground. The service on the route resumed on Monday, five days after the crash, with a new flight code—AI159, said an airport official. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad shortly after taking off at 1.39pm on June 12. While 241 people on board died, one passenger survived. "After the crash, the airline had suspended flights from Ahmedabad to London. The airline resumed the service on Monday, but with a new flight code, AI-159," said the official. He added that the return flight, coded AI160, landed at SVPIA on Tuesday afternoon as per schedule. According to Air India’s website, the first flight to London under the new code departed from Ahmedabad at 4.10pm on Monday following a three-hour delay, and landed at Gatwick at 9.45pm. However, the second flight, scheduled to depart at 1.10pm on Tuesday, was rescheduled to 3 pm but eventually cancelled. (With PTI inputs)

17 June,2025 04:09 PM IST | Ahmedabad | mid-day online correspondent
Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar. Pic/X

India must unite on languages for future prosperity, urges VP Dhankhar

India, an aspirational nation in the world, cannot afford to be divided on the issue of languages, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Tuesday. He appealed to the people to consider the future well-being of the country and "get over this storm." Additionally, he made a strong pitch for implementing the National Education Policy 2020 in letter and spirit, as it was a "game changer" in the education sector that could spur further development of the country. Speaking at Pondicherry University, Dhankhar, who is the chancellor of the varsity, lamented that there was opposition to languages, without naming anyone. "India is the most aspirational nation in the world as a result of phenomenal development in the last decade," the Vice President said and asked "how can we be divided on languages?" No country in the world was as rich as India when it came to languages. Sanskrit has global importance, and this language, along with Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Bengali, and Assamese, were 11 classical languages. "In Parliament, discourse is allowed by the members in 22 languages. Our languages indicate inclusivity. Sanatan teaches to be in togetherness for the same sublime purpose," Dhankhar added. He appealed to everyone to "soul search, be reflective and rise to the occasion and marvel at our great accomplishments." Further, he said: "Look at our destination, take into account the future and let us get over the storm." On the NEP, the Vice President urged the states that have not implemented it to enforce the policy as it was a national education policy, which was a "game changer." "I appeal to the states which have not adopted and those which are implementing to realise what is given in the policy. Let our boys and girls be fully aware of the benefit of the policy through workshops," he said. The NEP was the best policy in the world as it allowed students to fully exploit their talent and potential, besides offering the opportunity to pursue multiple courses and optimal utilisation of time. He pointed out that the political leadership should bear in mind that there was no room for confrontation and that disruption and disturbance were not the mechanisms which the framers of the Constitution taught us. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

17 June,2025 03:09 PM IST | Puducherry | PTI
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