Hockey India names men’s squad for Asian Champions Trophy

India has said that it will continue to make every effort to seek justice for the families of the victims and the martyrs of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. External Affairs Ministry said it is a matter of deep anguish that even after 13 years of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the families of victims from 15 countries across the globe still await justice. The Ministry said Pakistan is showing little sincerity in bringing the perpetrators to justice. It has once again called on the Government of Pakistan to give up its double standards and to expeditiously bring the perpetrators of the horrific attack to justice. It said this is not just a matter of Pakistan’s accountability to the families of the innocent victims who fell to terrorists, but also an international obligation as the terrorist attack was planned, executed, and launched from Pakistani territory.

-The Centre has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled international commercial passenger services were suspended by India on March 23  last year. Directorate General of Civil Aviation in a circular said that the matter has been reviewed and the competent authority has decided to resume the scheduled commercial international passenger services to and from India with effect from 15th of next month. It said, the services will remain suspended till 2359 hours of December 14. It further said that the resumption of scheduled international passenger services would imply revision to bilaterally agreed capacity entitlements and termination of air bubble arrangements. The countries from where travellers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India including post-arrival testing includes UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. The decision has been taken in consultation with the Union Health Ministry in light of the COVID situation across the world. The decision has been taken at a time when a new variant of Coronavirus has been found in countries like Botswana, Hong Kong and South Africa. 

-After a fresh surge in COVID cases in Rajasthan, the State Home Department has issued new guidelines on Friday. Both the doses of COVID vaccine have been made mandatory for the academic and non-teaching staff of all educational institutions in the new guidelines. Now, it will be mandatory for all the students to take written permission from their parents or guardian before joining educational institutions. As per new guidelines, educational institutions are not allowed to force the students to attend offline classes. The schools will also have to continue the facility of online teaching for the children. Any gathering along with Prayer meetings will not be allowed while schools canteens will also be closed till further orders. A Joint Enforcement Team of District Administration, Police and Municipal Corporation will be formed to ensure strict compliance of COVID Appropriate Behavior at public places. In the last twenty days, the number of active cases has increased from 40 to more than 150 in the state. Thirty-one students of different schools have also been tested positive for COVID So far. 

-The first domestic flight from the recently inaugurated Kushinagar international airport took off for Delhi from Friday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated everyone on this occasion. In a tweet, Chief Minister said that it is not just a flight of any aeroplane but it's a fight of the comprehensive development of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh had two international airports, in Lucknow and Varanasi, until recently. The Kushinagar airport which the state's third international airport, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 20. From next month, flights for two more cities Kolkata and Mumbai will take off from the airport. The flight to Delhi will be operational four days a week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

-Hockey India on Friday named 20-member men’s squad for the Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist India will begin their campaign on 14th of December against Korea, followed by their match against hosts Bangladesh on 15th of December.Their third match will be against arch-rivals Pakistan on 17th of December and the very next day, India will take on Malaysia followed by their match against Japan on 19th of December.