The civil aviation ministry has operationalised a round-the-clock Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) to address air travellers’ grievances more promptly, amid recent flight disruptions caused by operational issues and weather-related delays, PTI reported. The control room, which became functional on December 10, brings together officials from the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airlines and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to monitor flight operations, attend to passenger complaints and coordinate real-time assistance. The PACR was set up in the aftermath of large-scale operational disruptions faced by IndiGo earlier this month and continuing challenges such as fog-related delays at several airports. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the initiative has led to a marked improvement in grievance redressal and has received a positive response from passengers and other stakeholders. “Over 13,000 passenger grievances, received through AirSewa, social media and call channels, have been resolved, with cases expedited and prioritised through close monitoring at the Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR),” Sinha said in a statement. According to the ministry, grievances raised across multiple platforms are now being channelled through the PACR in New Delhi, enabling quicker resolution through close coordination with airline representatives. Explaining the rationale for the initiative, Sinha said persistent issues such as frequent flight delays, inadequate or delayed refunds, long queues, poor passenger facilities at airports and incidents of lost baggage had continued to affect passenger experience across the aviation ecosystem. “These concerns highlighted the need for a structured, systematic and coordinated response rather than ad-hoc interventions,” he said. During a visit to the control room, officials and airline representatives said complaints handled at the centre range from flight cancellations and delays to lost baggage and onboard service issues. IndiGo’s Director of Customer Experience Pratik Arjun Sen said the airline receives a mixed set of passenger queries at the PACR and efforts are made to resolve grievances at the earliest. Since the disruptions earlier this month, Sen said IndiGo’s customer experience team has been working to address issues such as ticket refunds, with noticeable improvement. Ajeet Tiwari, Assistant Manager of Operations at SpiceJet, said flight delays are among the most common grievances flagged by passengers, adding that workflow at the control room has been smooth. Lisa Agarwal from Air India Express’s Customer Happiness Team said complaints often relate to lost or damaged baggage and meals not being served onboard, with most issues targeted for resolution within 72 hours. Akasa Air’s Senior Customer Service Agent Shahbaj Alam said the airline receives around 15–16 passenger queries daily at the centre, largely related to service issues, flight cancellations and refunds. Ministry official Ravneet Kaur said enquiries primarily concern ticket refunds and baggage-related issues, and are being addressed promptly through the PACR, which operates on a 24×7 basis.

A YouTube thumbnail featuring a before-and-after image of Janhvi Kapoor has snowballed into a major social media controversy. The image was used by Dhruv Rathee in his video discussing “fake beauty” and cosmetic procedures, prompting sharp reactions online. Matters escalated when several users alleged that the video was a reaction to Janhvi’s recent post supporting Bangladeshi Hindus, with timing and visuals fuelling speculation.

Viral claim sparks outrage

The narrative gained momentum after a social media post went viral with the caption, “Wake Up Hindus. Janhvi Kapoor posted for Bangladeshi Hindu & Dhruv Rathee made a video questioning her beauty.”

Soon after, timelines were flooded with criticism, with many users assuming intent without watching the video or verifying the sequence of events.

“Tumhe Bhagwan ne dimag diya hai,” says Rathee

Addressing the allegations head-on, Rathee released a clarification video and questioned why people were believing viral posts without basic logic. Reacting sharply, he said, “Tumhe Bhagwan ne dimag diya hai, kyun nahi istemal karte iska? Matlab BJP ke IT cell wale jo post dalte rahenge, tum usse andhadhun yakeen karte rahoge.” (God has given you a brain — why don’t you use it? You’ll keep blindly believing whatever posts the BJP’s IT cell puts out.)He further pointed out the timeline mismatch, adding, “Pehli chiz toh jis din Janhvi Kapoor ne post daali, usi din maine aadhe ghante ka video dal diya. Kya yeh realistically possible hai?” (First of all, I uploaded a half-hour-long video on the very same day Janhvi Kapoor shared her post. Is that even realistically possible?)

On Bangladeshi Hindus and ‘indirect criticism’

Rathee dismissed claims that he was targeting Janhvi for her stand on Bangladeshi Hindus, calling the allegation illogical.“Dusra maine khud Bangladeshi Hindus ke upar reel banayi, toh main uss chiz ko lekar kyun criticise karunga?” (Secondly, I myself made a reel about Bangladeshi Hindus, so why would I criticise someone over that?)Taking a swipe at those accusing him of indirect attacks, he added, “Main tum logo ki tarah nahi ho ke kisiko indirectly criticise karta. Main jo bolna hota hai muh pe bolta hoon. Naa main tumhare papa se darta aur naa hi main kisi Bollywood celebrity se darta.” (I’m not like you people who criticise someone indirectly. I say whatever I have to say directly to their face. I’m not afraid of your father and I’m not afraid of any Bollywood celebrity either.)

“The video is about plastic surgery, not Janhvi”

Clarifying the core subject of his content, Rathee stressed that the video focused purely on cosmetic procedures and their societal impact.“Yeh pura video plastic surgery ke upar hai, ke uska kya impact padhta hai society pe. Iss poore video mein maine Janhvi Kapoor se koi sawaal nahi kiya.” (This entire video is about plastic surgery and the impact it has on society. Throughout the video, I did not question Janhvi Kapoor at all.)He explained that Janhvi was featured in the thumbnail because she is among the few Bollywood actors who have openly spoken about undergoing cosmetic enhancements.

Janhvi Kapoor yet to respond

As the debate continues online, Janhvi Kapoor has not reacted to the controversy or Dhruv Rathee’s clarification video so far.

CHENNAI: Lottery operator Santiago Martin’s son, Jose Charles Martin, on Friday said his party, Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi (LJK), had expressed interest in an alliance with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, marking a shift from his earlier criticism of TVK president Vijay’s political messaging.“We have expressed our interest. Now the response has to come from their side. We have conveyed our willingness,” Jose told reporters when asked about the possibility of an alliance, citing Vijay’s stated position against corruption.Jose said he had not yet spoken directly to Vijay. “We have sent a request first. If they show interest, we will go and meet him,” he said, adding that any meeting would depend on a response from the actor-politician.Responding to questions on his earlier remarks that Vijay’s Erode speech lacked clarity, Jose said his position was being misread. “The speech he delivered last time was like that. We said that the response it received was of that nature because of how he spoke.”“When we say there is a lack of clarity, what we mean is that the people around him are not at that level,” he said. “That clarity is supposed to be provided by them, because the information they are giving him is incorrect.”He also cited Vijay’s limited physical presence in Puducherry as a factor. “He is not going to be here regularly,” Jose said. “The people who are here are the ones who can sit down, get involved, and assess things on the ground. In such a situation, for a local party like ours, it would be good if we have their support.”Jose did not name Aadhav Arjuna, Vijay’s aide and his son-in-law, whom he had earlier accused of misleading the TVK leadership.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he had a “productive telephone call” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ahead of a planned meeting in Florida with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.“I just had a very good and productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia” before the planned talks with Zelenskyy at Trump’s Florida estate at 1.00 pm local time (1800 GMT), the US leader said on Truth Social.Trump is set to host a crucial meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy on Sunday, an engagement can be seen as another effort to ease the ongoing war and push forward a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, now nearing four years since Moscow’s invasion.The talks will include Zelenskyy’s “20-point peace deal proposal”, which is “about 90% ready” as Ukrainian leader said.The meeting is scheduled for 1pm, the White House said late Friday. It comes against the backdrop of renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine, including heavy damage in Kyiv from large-scale missile and drone strikes.Ukrainian president’s spokesperson confirmed that Trump and Zelenskyy will call European leaders after meeting in Florida.On Saturday, Zelenskyy said on X that Russia used “almost 500 drones and 40 missiles” in its latest assault. He also wrote on Telegram, “Russia continues to mock our cities and people. Moscow has rejected even the proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and is increasing the ferocity of its missile and drone strikes. This is a clear signal of how they really feel about diplomacy… Therefore, Ukraine needs sufficient support. And sufficient pressure needs to be put on Russia.”Trump and Zelenskyy will meet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, where the US president is spending the holidays. Trump has been trying to position himself as a mediator since beginning his second-stint in presidency, although previous talks, including one with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, ended without progress.Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is doing everything it can to end the war but stressed that final decisions depend on support from partners. “These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year, and much can be resolved before the New Year, and we are doing everything for this, but whether there will be decisions depends on the partners,” he wrote on Telegram. He added that Ukraine’s allies must continue pressure on Moscow “so that the Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression.”Russia has increased strikes on Kyiv in the days leading up to the Florida talks. In another post on X, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war. We need to be strong at the negotiating table.” Responding to Russia’s attacks, he also wrote, “We want peace, and Russia demonstrates a desire to continue the war. If the whole world — Europe and America — is on our side, together we will stop” Putin.

India has taken a step towards cleaner farm mechanisation with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) rolling out the country’s first testing standard for electric agricultural tractors. The new standard, IS 19262:2025 titled Electric Agricultural Tractors – Test Code, was released on December 24 by Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi at Bharat Mandapam on the occasion of National Consumer Day, PTI reported. Developed by BIS, the standard lays down uniform testing protocols to assess the safety, reliability and performance of electric tractors, a segment seen as key to reducing emissions and operating costs in agriculture. The test code covers evaluation of power take-off (PTO), drawbar power, belt and pulley performance, vibration levels, and inspection of critical components and assemblies. It draws from existing standards for conventional diesel tractors and electric vehicles, suitably adapted for agricultural applications. “The implementation of this standard through authorised testing institutes would facilitate wider adoption of electric agricultural tractors, promote innovation in clean technologies, and contribute to reduced emissions,” an official statement said. Electric tractors, which run on battery packs instead of diesel engines, are seen as offering lower operating and maintenance costs, reduced noise and improved energy efficiency, while eliminating tailpipe emissions at the farm level due to fewer moving parts. The standard was framed following a request from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Mechanisation and Technology Division, with inputs from tractor manufacturers, testing agencies, research bodies and technical experts. Contributors included the ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Tractor and Mechanisation Association, and the Automotive Research Association of India. Although voluntary, the standard provides a scientific framework for evaluating the performance and safety of electric tractors. It is expected to support future acceptance criteria and conformity assessment schemes, while giving farmers greater confidence in adopting electric tractors as their use expands.