Pradhan To Grace Slew Of Events In Sambalpur, Dhenkanal From Tomorrow

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Union Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is scheduled to attend government and social programmes at various places in Sambalpur and Dhenkanal districts from tomorrow.

Bhubaneswar, Jan 19: Union Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is scheduled to attend government and social programmes at various places in Sambalpur and Dhenkanal districts from tomorrow.

On Saturday, the Union Minister will attend separate credit outreach programmes at Remed in Sambalpur and Palishree Mela Padia (Fair Ground) in Dhenkanal. Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhury will attend these events along with Union Minister Pradhan. Apart from this, on January 21, Pradhan will inaugurate the 'Kaushal Mahotsav' by NSDC at Dhankauda in Sambalpur. This event is being organised to provide employment and training opportunities to the youth. Later, the Union Minister will inaugurate the 'Book Fair' at the PHD Grounds at Ainthapalli.

On January 22, on the occasion of the consecration ceremony of Ram Lala in Ayodhya, the Union Minister is scheduled to attend the temple consecration ceremony at Gopinathpur Malihata in Salepur area in Cuttack district.

Read More Odisha News

Nimapara MLA Samir Ranjan Dash Joins BJP Hours After Quitting BJD

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, May 19: In a major jolt to Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) amid the ongoing general elections, former Minister and incumbent MLA from Nimapara, Samir Ranjan Dash joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Sunday, hours after quitting the BJD.

Dash, former School And Mass Education Minister and a three-time legislator , joined the saffron party at the party's State headquarters in the presence of BJP Odisha unit president, Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders.

Also Read: Nimapara MLA Samir Ranjan Dash Quits BJD

Earlier in the day, Dash sent his resignation letter to the BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

In the last two months, several BJD leaders including sitting MP and MLAs quit the BJD and joined the saffron party.

The assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha are being held across four phases--from May 13 to June 1.

Nimapara assembly segment under Puri Lok Sabha seat will vote on May 25.

The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Read More Odisha News

Captain Gopichand, Five Others Set To Fly To Edge Of Space Aboard Blue Origin Mission

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, May 19: Captain Gopichand Thotakura, along with five others, is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's crewed flight mission on Sunday evening.

The launch window by billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space venture for the 11-minute flight opens at 6.30 a.m. PT (7 p.m. India time).

"We're 'Go' to proceed to launch, Sunday, May 19. The #NS25 launch window opens from Launch Site One in West Texas," the company posted on X social media platform.

The reusable New Shepard rocket is set to take the six-person crew to space above the Karman line which is an internationally recognised boundary of space that lies 100 km above the Earth's surface.

It's been more than two since Blue Origin's last crewed flight.

The six travellers include 90-year-old Ed Dwight, Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller and Thotakura.

With this mission, Thotakura will become the second Indian to visit space, after Rakesh Sharma's journey aboard Russian Soyuz T-11 in 1984.

After Sharma, three people of Indian origin have reached space -- Kalpana Chawla (1997), Sunita Williams (2006), and Raja Chari (2021) as NASA astronauts.

Blue Origin's NS-25 mission is set to lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas in the US.

The company has undertaken six human flight missions to date, and launched 31 people to the Karman line.(IANS)

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Air India Express Flight's Engine Catches Fire, Makes Emergency Landing

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, May 19: The Air India Express flight from Bengaluru to Kochi had to make a full-scale emergency landing at Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) due to a fire in one of its engines.

The sources said that the crew members alerted the Air Traffic Controller after a fire was noticed soon after the take off.

"As flames were seen emanating from the right engine after takeoff, the Bengaluru- Kochi flight elected to return and carried out a precautionary landing at Bengaluru on Saturday night. The ground services also reported flames, resulting in an evacuation," said Air India's spokesperson.

"The crew accomplished an evacuation with no injuries to any guests. We regret the inconvenience this has caused and are working to provide alternative arrangements for our guests to reach their destination as soon as possible,” said the spokesperson.