Air India's Receives 1st Legacy B777 Plane Back After Heavy Refresh

Air India on Wednesday received the first of its legacy Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft after heavy refresh and the refresh of the remaining 12 planes is expected to be completed by year-end, according to officials.

Since the refit of the legacy B777 aircraft, which was to start last year, has been delayed due to supply chain issues, the airline decided to go for heavy refresh of these planes.

Heavy refresh of an aircraft includes having new carpets, seat covers, cushions and fixing broken seats.

Air India has a total of 40 legacy wide-body planes -- 13 B777s and 27 B787s.

The heavy refresh of the B777-300 ER was done in Singapore and completed in around 50 days. The heavy refresh of all the legacy B777s is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the officials said.

The refreshed aircraft will be deployed on the domestic route for one or two days and later for ultra-long operations.

The B777s are mainly deployed for ultra long haul flights connecting Toronto, Vancouver (Canada) and San Francisco, Chicago, Newark and New York (US).

Ultra-long haul flights are those having a duration of over 14 hours.

Air India has 13 legacy Boeing 777-300 ERs in its fleet of 198 planes. Some of these legacy planes have first-class cabins.

There are a total of 67 wide-body aircraft in the fleet -- 19 B777-300 ERs (including 6 leased from Etihad Airways), 8 B777-200 LRs (including 5 leased from Delta Air Lines), 27 legacy B787-8s, 7 B787-9s and 6 A350-600s.

The first legacy B787 will be flying out for retrofit in April.

The airline also has narrow-body planes -- 14 A321 neos, 13 A321 ceos, 94 A320 neos, 4 A320 ceos and 6 A319s.

Last month, Air India MD and CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline expects to complete the upgradation of all legacy wide body aircraft by mid-2027.

Under the USD 400 million retrofit programme for narrow-body and wide body planes, the first retrofitted A320 neo aircraft is already back in operations. The airline expects to refit all of the 27 A320 neo aircraft by the third quarter of this year.

While talking about the supply situation, Wilson had also said there were pinch points everywhere such as there are no engines for some narrow-body aircraft, there are issues with seat suppliers as well as availability of components and parts of fuselage.

"Reality is that it is going to remain a supply-constrained market, not just for Air India, India, (I am) talking about worldwide... for another 4-5 years," he had said.

In the context of the supply chain woes, he had also said, "We are victims of the circumstances as is every other airline".

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Lalu Prasad Yadav Admitted To AIIMS-Delhi For Treatment

RJD president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad was on Wednesday admitted to AIIMS in Delhi for treatment, sources said.

The 76-year-old leader has been admitted to the Cardio Critical Care Unit of the Cardio-Neuro Centre under Dr Rakesh Yadav, Professor of Cardiology at AIIMS, they said.

A team of doctors is monitoring his condition, the sources said.

He was brought to AIIMS for treatment at around 9.35 pm after being admitted to a hospital in Patna for a brief period.

Talking to reporters in Patna, his son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said Prasad had developed sores on his back and an arm, which he hopes to get operated upon in Delhi.

"Lalu ji had reached the airport in the afternoon to board his flight for Delhi. My mother Rabri Devi is accompanying him. A sudden drop in blood pressure was noted following which we rushed him to the Paras Hospital," the former deputy chief minister said.

According to Prakash Sinha, who led the team of doctors treating Prasad, "He was kept in the emergency ward where his condition improved after intravenous therapy. He wanted to know if he could go to Delhi in an air ambulance. We asked him to go ahead." Yadav, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, said, "My father is a man of courage. He chose to travel by a normal flight".

The young leader, however, admitted that the family was concerned about the ailing septuagenarian, who has been a diabetic for many years and has also undergone heart surgery and a kidney transplant.

Prasad was convicted in fodder scam cases and has been out on bail for several years on health grounds.

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Petition Filed In Allahabad High Court To Stop Justice Yashwant Varma From Taking Oath

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench on Wednesday seeking a directive to its Chief Justice to refrain from administering the oath to Justice Yashwant Varma, court sources said.

The PIL cited the ongoing in-house inquiry ordered by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) into the recovery of "four to five semi-burnt sacks" of Indian currency notes from the residence of Justice Varma following after a fire incident last month.

Justice Varma was recently transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court in the midst of the cash stash row.

The PIL, filed by Vikash Chaturvedi, is expected to be heard on April 4, the sources said.

Advocate Ashok Pandey, representing Chaturvedi, argued that since the CJI has reportedly "directed the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma during the ongoing inquiry, there is no justification for proceeding with the oath ceremony".

The petitioner has also challenged the central government's notification dated March 28, 2025, which accepted the Supreme Court collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court.

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All Local Workers, US Diplomats To Be Fired From USAID: Report

Elon Musk's cost-cutting team is finalizing the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development, ordering the firings of thousands of local workers and American diplomats and civil servants assigned to the agency overseas, two former top USAID officials and a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

On Friday, Congress was notified that almost all of USAID's own employees are being fired by September, all of its overseas offices shut, and some functions absorbed into the State Department.

The latest move by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effectively will eliminate what is left of the agency's workforce.

"This is definitely the final closing out," said one of the former senior USAID officials.

US President Donald Trump and Musk in February began the process of shuttering USAID and merging its operations into the State Department to ensure they conformed with Trump's "America First" policies. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The former officials and source familiar with the situation said on condition of anonymity that USAID's human resources office told regional bureaus in a conference call that layoff notices were going to all of the more than 10,000 locally-hired foreign nationals, effective in August.

Notices also will be sent to US diplomats and civil servants assigned to work abroad for what has been the leading US foreign aid provider for more than 60 years, they said.

Trump has claimed without evidence that the agency was rife with fraud and run by "radical left lunatics," while Musk falsely accused it of being a "criminal" organization.

Thousands of USAID's own staff were placed on administrative leave - they received layoff notices on Friday - hundreds of contractors fired and more than 5,000 programs terminated, disrupting global humanitarian aid efforts on which millions depend.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, USAID maintains missions in more than 60 countries, with most of its funds going to humanitarian aid and health programs.

Top recipients included war-torn Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo, US ally Jordan, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the combat-shattered Gaza Strip.

A summary of the conference call circulated by one regional bureau and reviewed by Reuters confirmed the terminations of all locally-hired foreign nationals and American diplomats and civil servants on assignment with USAID abroad.

It said more than 600 US diplomats are on secondment to USAID overseas, but provided no figure for the number of US civil service members. Most are to be terminated in July, when the intent is to close "all programmatic work."

"Every position eliminated; 100 percent of the agency is rif'd (Reduction in Force) or will be," the summary said, and advised personnel that no one would be retained and to "focus on things to make sure you're getting the right benefits."

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Delhi Man Declares Living Son Dead To Claim Rs 2 Crore Insurance, Case Filed

A father falsely declared his son dead and obtained a fake cremation certificate to claim a term insurance amount of Rs 2 crore, DCP Dwarka said on Monday. An FIR has been registered against the accused.

DCP Dwarka Ankit Singh said, "In Najafgarh, on March 5, 2025, we received a PCR call of a man reporting his son's bike accident. Father Satish said that his son Gagan was dead and had been cremated. The case was suspicious. ACP Najafgarh asked for a detailed report. The Investigation Officer inquired thoroughly. It was revealed that there was no accident and there was no CCTV footage of one bike hitting another bike."

He further added that even local informers were unaware of any such accident.

"The caller was interrogated. The father said that his son met with an accident and was taken to a rural health centre. From there, he was taken to a private hospital. After his death, he was cremated in Hapur. He also showed a cremation certificate. During interrogation, it was revealed that the father had got his son's term insurance of Rs 2 crore done before 3 months. He orchestrated a plan with an advocate called Manmohan," he further said.

He revealed that the accused was under financial distress due to outstanding loans and debts.

"His financial condition was not good. The advocate supported him. The advocate suggested him to get false documents from a private hospital," he added.

An FIR has been registered in the case.

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PM Modi Announces "Yoga For One Earth, One Health" As 2025 Yoga Day Theme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced "Yoga for One Earth, One Health" as the theme of this year's International Day of Yoga and said the day had taken "the shape of a grand festival".

The United Nations proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga with an aim to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practising yoga. It was first celebrated in 2015.

Sharing India's vision for a healthier world population in his monthly "Mann ki Baat" radio broadcast, Modi said, "The theme of yoga day, 2025, has been kept as 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'. That is, we wish to make the whole world healthy through yoga." The prime minister noted that, alongside fitness, keeping a count was also becoming a habit, citing examples of people keeping tabs on the number of steps taken, calories consumed and burnt in a day.

"Amid all these counts, another countdown is about to begin. The countdown to the International Day of Yoga. Now, less than 100 days are left for yoga day. If you have not yet included yoga in your life, do it now. It is not too late yet," he said.

Noting the first International Day of Yoga was celebrated 10 years ago, Modi said, "Now this day has taken the shape of a grand festival of yoga. This is such a priceless gift from India to humanity, which is going to be very useful for future generations." "It is a matter of pride for all of us that, today, the curiosity about our yoga and traditional medicine is rising all over the world. A large number of youngsters are adopting yoga and Ayurveda as excellent mediums for wellness," the prime minister said.

Citing the example of Chile, he said Ayurveda was rapidly becoming popular in the South American country. "Last year, during my visit to Brazil, I met the president of Chile. We had a lot of discussions about the popularity of Ayurveda." Acknowledging the fast-growing popularity of Ayush systems across the globe and the contribution of key stakeholders, he said, "I have come to know about a team named 'Somos India'. In Spanish, it means 'We are India'. This team has been promoting yoga and Ayurveda for almost a decade. Their focus is on treatment as well as educational programmes." They are also getting information related to yoga and Ayurveda translated to Spanish.

"If we talk about last year alone, about 9,000 people participated in their myriad events and courses. I congratulate all the people associated with this team for their efforts," Modi said.

The prime minister also appealed to everyone to incorporate yoga into their routines and take pride in the country's traditional wisdom for overall wellbeing.

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35 Charged Over 'Palestine Unity' March In Maharashtra

Police registered a case and launched investigations after a group of people illegally took out a march in Mumbra town of Thane district under the banner of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for the unity of Palestine, an official said on Sunday.

A Mumbra police station official said 10 of 35 persons who participated in the protest on March 28 have been identified.

They are booked under section 223 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 126(2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the Mumbai Police Act.

They took out a march under the SDPI banner for the unity of Palestine and organised a dua (prayer) session. They waved flags and staged a protest in front of a mosque in Amrut Nagar of Mumbra, police said.

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