Sunita Williams unfurls tricolour in space

August 15, 2012

sunitha_william

New Delhi, August 15: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams displayed the tricolour on board the International Space Station and wished Indians a very happy Independence Day.


"I wish India a very happy Independence Day for August 15... India is a wonderful country and I am very proud to be a part of India," Williams said in her message.


"Of course, you know that I am half Indian. My father is from Gujarat. India is a very colourful and wonderful place and I am very proud to be from there. Happy Independence Day to everybody in India," she added.


This history-making event occurred on the annual program hosted by Riti Sunshine Bhalla, when the Indian American Astronaut called out from the International Space Station. It was for the first time in 65 years since India gained freedom, an astronaut, Sunita Williams, greeted the people of India and the Indian people around the world from outer space.


"Thank you Riti Sunshine for inviting me to join in your Indian Independence celebration," said Williams, while displaying the tricolor on board the International Space Station. She also gave a guided tour of the Space Station.


The unique celebration of the 65th anniversary of India's independence in the International Space Station is the brainchild of Varinder Bhalla, producer and director of the program.


Extensive planning and coordination was done with the help of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"Riti worked very hard for this program all summer," said Varinder Bhalla.


"Riti and I traveled to Boston to interview Dr. Deepak Pandya, the father of the Astronaut as well as the Governor of Massachusetts, where Williams grew up. We then traveled to Mumbai to videotape greetings from Bollywood celebrities for Sunita, all in a span of ten days," added the proud father of the teen host.


Over 100 million viewers across India are likely to watch the Astronaut's greetings, on 80 national and regional TV channels in India.


"Five years ago, we started the program with the intent to pay homage to the freedom fighters who gave up their lives so India could be free. This year, we are dedicating our Independence Day Special to Sunita Williams, who has made a billion people of India so proud," said Riti Sunshine.


Bollywood celebrities Yash Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Anushka Sharma also offered their greetings to Williams on the Riti Bhalla Special, the TV program named after the teen host, a student of New York University.


Bhalla, 18, started her annual Independence Day in 2008, when she was only 13 years old.


U.S. Senator Bob Menendez joined Riti Sunshine in the celebration for the fifth time in he last five years.


Congressman Steve Israel, a strong supporter of India on Capitol Hill, also participated in the televised celebration. Both offered their best wishes to the Indian American Astronaut and shared their pride with the people of India.


Since 2008, 10 governors of America, 22 senators and congressional leaders as well as the former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, have appeared as guests on her Independence Day show, which is telecast in 23 countries.


Williams, 46, along with Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide left for the ISS aboard a Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M on July 15 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.



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Agencies
June 28,2020

Paris, Jun 28: More than 10 million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially declared around the world, half of them in Europe and the United States, according to an AFP tally on Sunday based on official sources.

At least 10,003,942 infections, including 498,779 deaths, have been registered globally.

Europe remains the hardest hit continent with 2,637,546 cases including 195,975 fatalities, while the United States has 2,510,323 infections including 125,539 deaths.

The rate of infections worldwide continues to rise, with one million new cases recorded in just six days.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases and some do not have the capacity to carry out widescale testing.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Islamabad, May 7: Pakistan's COVID-19 cases have crossed 24,000 after 1,523 new infections were detected, while the death toll has jumped to 564 with 38 more people succumbing to the coronavirus, health officials said on Thursday.

Even as the country is seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases and fatalities, Prime Minister Imran Khan will discuss the easing of lockdown restrictions with his top aides on Thursday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said that out of the 24,073 total cases, Punjab reported 9,077, Sindh 8,640, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 3,712, Balochistan 1,495, Islamabad 521, Gilgit-Baltistan 388 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 76 cases.

After 38 more deaths on Wednesday, the total coronavirus patient death toll jumped to 564. Another 6,464 have recovered. A total of 1,523 new patients were added in a single day, the ministry.

So far, 244,778 tests have been conducted, including 12,196 in the last 24 hours, it said.

Prime Minister Khan will chair the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on easing the lockdown restrictions in the country. The meeting will be attended by all chief ministers.

The issue was debated in the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday and in the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Planning Minister Asad Umar said that different proposals to allow certain businesses to open were prepared and will be presented before the Prime Minister for a final decision.

Earlier, Khan, undeterred by the mounting number of deaths and the new cases, announced that he was against a lockdown as it hits the poor people badly.

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News Network
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Washington, May 1: The United States on Thursday recorded 29,625 new coronavirus cases, and 2,035 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The total number of coronavirus cases has reached 1,069,534 and the death toll stands at 63,001, CNN reported.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 3.2 million people and killed at least 233,000 globally, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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