India's first space-based mission to the Sun, Aditya-L1, lifts off from Sriharikota

News Network
September 2, 2023

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India’s first space-based mission to the Sun, Aditya-L1, took off successfully from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on Saturday, September 2, 2023, nine days after the country’s ambitious Chandrayaan-3 made a safe and soft landing on the unexplored south polar region of the Moon.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s most reliable workhorse PSLVC-57 launched the Aditya L1 spacecraft weighing 1,475 kg at 11.50 am, amid loud cheers from scientists gathered at the Mission Control Room here. The cost of the mission is said to be Rs 420 crore.

Initially, the spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit, which will be made elliptical to launch Aditya L1 towards the Lagrange point L1 using on-board propulsion. As the spacecraft travels towards L1, it will exit the earths’ gravitational Sphere of Influence (SOI) and if all goes well, the spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system in 125 days.

The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from the Earth, just 1 per cent of the 150 million km distance between the two. The distance to be travelled by Aditya L1 is four times more than Chandrayaan-3, which landed on the Moon on August 23 and is coming out significant findings.
Reaching the L1 point will give India a greater advantage of observing the solar activities continuously. All the measurements will be made from the Lagrange point L1, while L5 is a good vantage point for studying the Earth directed CME events and assessing the space weather, scientists said.

Of the seven payloads – all indigenously developed and made by ISRO and other organisations -- four will directly view and study the Sun, while the remaining three will conduct in-situ studies of particles and fields around the L1 point.

Placing a satellite in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/ eclipses and provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather in real time, scientists said.

Through this mission, ISRO hopes to get important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium, while the payloads are expected to provide crucial information to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particle and fields.

By studying the Sun, ISRO said, scientists can learn much more about stars in the Milky Way as well as about stars in various other galaxies. Since various thermal and magnetic phenomena on the Sun are of extreme nature, Sun will serve as a good natural laboratory to understand those phenomena which cannot be directly studied in the lab.

The suit of Aditya L1 payloads are expected to provide most crucial information to understand the problems of coronal heating, Coronal Mass Ejection, pre-flare and flare activities, and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, study of the propagation of particles, and fields in the interplanetary medium.

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News Network
November 21,2025

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Local authorities say the Israeli military has expanded the so-called “yellow line” truce demarcation in Gaza City and repositioned its forces deeper into the territory in violation of a ceasefire agreement that came into force on October 10, besieging dozens of Palestinian families.

Gaza’s Government Media Office announced in a statement on Thursday that Israeli forces widened the boundary by shifting the markers, and advanced roughly 300 meters (984 feet) into the neighborhoods of Ash-Shaaf, An-Nazzaz and Baghdad Street.

The move pushed further into civilian areas, trapping families who were unable to flee as tanks rolled forward, it added.

“The fate of many of these families remains unknown amidst the shelling that targeted the area,” the office said, adding that the expansion of the yellow line shows a “blatant disregard” for the ceasefire deal.

On Friday, sources said the Israeli military carried out continued air and artillery strikes inside the so-called “yellow line” east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the reports, Israeli warplanes and tanks targeted areas within the zone. One Palestinian was reported killed and several others wounded in the strikes, the sources said.

The fresh aggression came only a day after 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis on Wednesday.

The media office reported that Israel has consistently violated the truce deal since its implementation last month, with near-daily attacks by air, artillery and direct shootings.

The office said over 400 violations have been documented. These breaches have resulted in the deaths of more than 300 Palestinians and left hundreds injured.

The Government Media Office in Gaza urged the guarantors of the ceasefire — the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — to take swift action to halt the ongoing violations and facilitate the delivery of food, shelter materials, medical aid, and infrastructure equipment.

The so-called “yellow line,” set out in the agreement between Israel and Hamas resistance movement, refers to a non-physical partition where the Israeli military repositioned itself when the truce deal took effect.

It has allowed Israel, which routinely fires at Palestinians who approach the line, to retain control over more than half of the Gaza Strip.

International bodies, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and other rights groups, have concluded that the Israeli war on Gaza amounts to genocide.

In the attacks in Gaza since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 69,546 people and injured 170,833 others, leveling large swaths of the territory and displacing almost all of the population. 

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
November 27,2025

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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday announced that he will convene a high-level meeting in New Delhi with senior leaders — including Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar — to resolve the escalating leadership turmoil in Karnataka and “put an end to the confusion.”

Kharge said the discussions would focus on the way forward for the ruling party, as rumours of a possible leadership change continue to swirl. The speculation has intensified after the Congress government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, reviving talk of an alleged 2023 “power-sharing agreement” between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

“After reaching Delhi, I will call three or four important leaders and hold discussions. Once we talk, we will decide how to move ahead and end this confusion,” Kharge told reporters in Bengaluru, according to PTI.

When asked specifically about calling Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to Delhi, he responded: “Certainly, we should call them. We will discuss with them and settle the issue.”

He confirmed that Rahul Gandhi, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and other senior members would be part of the deliberations. “After discussing with everyone, a decision will be made,” he said.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah held a separate strategy meeting at his Bengaluru residence with ministers and leaders seen as his close confidants, including G. Parameshwara, Satish Jarkiholi, H.C. Mahadevappa, K. Venkatesh and K.N. Rajanna.
Signalling calm, the Chief Minister told reporters, “Will go to Delhi if the high command calls.”

Shivakumar echoed a similar stance, saying he too would head to the national capital if summoned by the party leadership.

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