Deadliest attack on forces in Kashmir kills 44 CRPF personnel

Jun 23: The U.S. government on Monday restricted charter flights from India, accusing the nation of "unfair and discriminatory practices" by violating a treaty governing aviation between the two countries.

Air India Ltd. has been making flights to repatriate its citizens during the travel disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, but also has been selling tickets to the public, the Transportation Department alleged.

At the same time, U.S. airlines have been prohibited from flying to India by aviation regulators there, the DOT said in its order. The situation "creates a competitive disadvantage for U.S. carriers," the agency said in a press release.

Air India is advertising a schedule that is more than half of pre-virus operations, the department said. "The charters go beyond true repatriations, and it appears that Air India may be using repatriation charters as a way of circumventing" that nation's flight restrictions, the U.S. agency said.

The order becomes effective in 30 days, the department said.

Indian airlines must apply to the DOT for authorization before conducting charter flights so that it can scrutinize them more closely, it said. The department will reconsider the restrictions once India lifts restrictions on U.S. carriers.

The action against India follows weeks of DOT restrictions against Chinese airlines after the U.S. agency accused that nation of unfairly banning American carriers in the wake of the virus. On June 15, the U.S. announced it would agree to allow four flights a week from China after it allowed the same number by U.S. carriers.

Attempts to reach Air India and the Indian embassy in Washington after business hours were unsuccessful.

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 27: Kerala Police social media team is using innovative methods to get people engaged in the home during the lockdown period. From conversing with people to giving them suggestions of must watch movies and sharing links of e-books Kerala police have become new 'chat friend' of people in the state.
"The traditional method of policing of interacting with people is not possible due to social distancing, so Kerala police is using the digital platform to reach out to people," Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Head Quarters Manoj Abraham, who is heading the social media wing told ANI.
"We used social media and tried to be different at the same time innovative. From creating awareness to taking precautions we through various videos like police dance, coronavirus animations etc reached out to people. We used film stars also and used local dialect. It has got good reach and public acceptance. The most important aspect is that they received the underlying message well and are staying home" he added.
Abraham also said that Social Media team of Kerala Police is also fighting the fake news and rumours being spread at the COVID- 19 times.
"Some people were misusing social media by spreading wrong information. We also went behind those who tried to sell medicines saying it is good against Coronavirus. We crushed them with an iron hand - registered cases and arrested them. We send a strong message in social media that no rumour-mongering will be allowed, " he said.
He said the Kerala Police realised that people staying indoors was one of the keys to winning the fight against COVID-19.
"We started a chat box with the public. People were in their houses and they used the time to chat with police on various aspects of lockdown. We provided them with the right information, " he said.
The social media team has prepared a list of e-books that can be downloaded and also has a list of must watch movies. Not only that the team also occasionally share jokes with people during chat sessions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease.

New Delhi, May 26: As India ranked 10th in the global infection list, overtaking Iran, which was an early hotspot of coronavirus, India's top medical body has said the human trials of COVID-19 vaccine may begin at least in six months.

Dr. Rajni Kant, Director Regional Medical Research Centre and Head at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said, "The virus strain isolated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) laboratory in Pune will be used to develop the vaccine, and this strain has been successfully transferred to the Bharat Biotech International Ltd. (BBIL). It is expected that the human trials of the vaccine will begin in at least six months."

Queried on the focus areas as India inches closer to 1.4 lakh COVID-19 cases, Kant said we should not get anxious about the rapid increase in numbers, especially in the past week, which saw 5,000 Covid-19 cases daily, instead focus on protecting the most vulnerable group.

"We should not fear from increasing Covid-19 cases. The elderly and people with comorbidities need protection. This is the highly vulnerable group, and we need to deploy resources and develop strategies to keep the mortality rate as low as possible in this group," said Kant.

Initially, it was assumed that the country would require thousands of ventilators, but last week, the health ministry said only 0.45 per cent of COVID-19 cases need ventilator support.

Kant insisted the focus should be on five per cent to 10 per cent serious patients. "We are testing more than one lakh daily and our case fatality rate is already one of the lowest in the world. In absence of vaccine, people should follow social distancing guidelines," he added

On the significance of the recovery rate, Kant said the increasing recovery rate of the COVID-19 patients, which is at 41 per cent, is a bright spot in India's fight against deadly viral infection.

Queried on large scale COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad, Kant said the population density in these regions is very high, which proves to be the just right environment for the viral infection.

He insisted on developing robust cluster management strategies in the hard-hit coronavirus spots, and the movement of people should be curtailed in these areas.

"Currently, a lot of people are moving around easily and avoiding social distancing norms. The first phase of the lockdown was very effective, but now things have changed," added Kant.