Rupee falls to fresh 16-month low, drops 25 paise against dollar

Tehran, May 17: As many as 310 Indian pilgrims departed from Tehran, Iran for New Delhi by Mahan Air on Saturday. The group hails from Ladakh and will later go home to Leh by special flights.

"A group of 310 Indian pilgrims, hailing from Ladakh, departed Tehran for New Delhi by Mahan Air tonight (16th May). 
Thereafter, they'll go home to Leh by special flights," Embassy of India in Iran wrote on Twitter.

On Saturday, Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri said that over 13,000 people have returned under the Vande Bharat repatriation mission till date.

"More than 13,000 people have already returned on various flights under Mission Vande Bharat so far. Today, 812 citizens have returned on Air India and AirIndia Express flights from Newark, London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. More flights continue," Puri wrote on Twitter.

Vande Bharat Mission, which started on May 7 to bring back stranded Indian nationals back home from other countries, initiated its second phase of the operation from Saturday (May 16) by sending three Air India flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Under the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission a total of 149 flights, including feeder flights, will be operated to bring back Indians from 40 countries. 

Lucknow, Jul 2: After a video showing health workers allegedly tossing bodies of coronavirus victims in a large pit in Karnataka, BSP President Mayawati on Wednesday stated that the incident is the "height of cruelty and insult to humanity".
The former UP Chief Minister demanded that the guilty must be punished.

"The tragedy that the bodies of COVID-19 victims being thrown into trenches in Ballari, Karnataka is the height of cruelty and an insult to humanity. Though incidents related to inhuman cruelty with corona patients are rampant but guilty of Ballari must be punished by the state government," Mayawati said in a tweet.

Also, in another tweet, she asked the Central government to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

"In order to check ignominy of starvation on account of long unprecedented hardship & unemployment due to coronavirus and the subsequent nationwide lockdown, the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna must continue not till November but till the end of the pandemic, this is the demand of BSP," she tweeted. 

New Delhi, May 31: Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday said the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights will continue till midnight on June 30, hours after the Home Ministry announced fresh guidelines pertaining to the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is once again reiterated that foreign airlines shall be suitably informed about the opening of their operations to or from India in due course," the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

Domestic passenger flight services resumed in the country from Monday after a hiatus of two months since the lockdown was announced on March 25, when all scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended in India. International flights continue to remain suspended even now.

The Home Ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in the country from June 8 under which the nationwide lockdown effectuated on March 25 will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will remain in place till June 30 in the country's worst pandemic-hit areas.

International air travel shall remain suspended, the MHA order said, adding that a decision on when to resume it would be taken after making an assessment of the situation.