The International Day of Families, annually held on May 15, celebrates the importance of families and the work started during the International Year of Families.

What Do People Do?
A wide range of events are organized at local, national and international levels. These include: workshops, seminars and policy meeting for public officials; exhibitions and organized discussions to raise awareness of the annual theme; educational sessions for children and young people; and the launch of campaigns for public policies to strengthen and support family units. In some countries, tool kits are created to help people organize celebrations aimed at a particular section of the population, such as school children or young adults.

Public Life
The International Day of Families is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Three Special flights to bring back about 550 stranded Indians from Gulf countries under Vande Bharat Mission on Thursday.

Day eight of the Vande Bharat Mission will see one flight from Jeddah to Kochi and two separate flights from Dubai to Bhubneshwar and New Delhi. Nearly 550 passengers are expected to fly back on Thursday from Jeddah and Dubai.

The flight from Dubai to Bhubaneshwar will be the first flight to Odisha under the Vande Bharat Mission. Priority for repatriation is being given to workers in distress , elderly people, urgent medical cases, pregnant women and others stranded in difficult situation. Only those who are found asymptomatic will be allowed to board the flight.

Railway Ministry has said that regular passenger service including Mail, Express, Passenger and Suburban Services have been cancelled until further advice.

It said that all the booked tickets for the above trains for the period up to 30th June 2020 will be cancelled and full refund will be generated. However, the Shramik Special Trains and Special passenger Train services which started from 12th May of this month, shall continue to operate.

Railway has also issued order for the refund of fare in case passenger is not found fit for travel due to symptoms of corona. The order states that if during the screening a passenger has very high temperature and symptoms of corona virus, the passenger will not be allowed to travel despite having confirmed tickets.

Government  has announced the first tranche of stimulus packages, under the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Yojana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday made a clarion call of making India self-reliant and had announced the Atma-Nirbhar  Bharat Yojana. Addressing mediapersons yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave details regarding these financial packages equaling to 10 per cent of the national GDP and amounting to 20 lakh crore rupees. She said the financial stimulus will cater to various sections of the society including MSMEs, labourers, middle class and Industries.  

Ms. Sitharaman announced 15 special financial packages of 6 lakh 40 thousand crore  rupees benefitting a wide array of sectors including MSMEs, Discoms, Real Estate, Middle Class, Tax Payers and others. In a historical decision, the ambit of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been widened resulting in inclusion of many small and micro industries under this sector. This decision of changing the definition of MSMEs will increase competition and productivity in the sector. In a major boost to the MSME sector, collateral free loan of 3 lakh crore rupees has been announced with a moratorium of 12 months.

The FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup is all set to be held in India from February 17 to March 7, 2021, after the apex footballing body announced new dates of the showpiece tournament on Tuesday. The U-17 Women’s World Cup in India, which was originally scheduled to be held in November 2020, was postponed earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic with FIFA announcing new dates for the competition on Tuesday. 

In what comes as a huge relief for youngsters, FIFA has decided to keep the original eligibility criteria – players born on or after January 1, 2003, and on or before December 31, 2005. Hence, the teams and players need not worry about bringing in new faces into the squad. 

The World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai with the opener slated to be played at Bhubaneswar and final at Navi Mumbai.

Manmeet Singh Walia, the former National table tennis champion, died following a prolonged illness in Montreal, Canada on Monday.

Manmeet, whose solitary National championship title came in 1988-89 in Hyderabad, suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for well over a year before breathing his last.

Manmeet was one of the most consistent and prolific performers in Indian table tennis in the 1980s and represented the country at multiple international events.

When it came to the Nationals, however, Manmeet was unfortunate to have lost to the eventual champion four times in a row since 1981.

He broke the jinx in Hyderabad in 1988-89 by overcoming S. Sriram in the final. After retiring in the early 1990s, Manmeet relocated to Canada and stayed in touch with his old friends.

"Terrific player. We shared some amazing moments on and off the table. I think he is gone too soon, just like the way he retired too early," Kamlesh Mehta, his nemesis and a teammate at the Banks Sports Board then, told Sportstar.

China won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup following a 2-2 draw against USA on Sunday.

China, which lost to USA in the concluding league match on Saturday evening, was declared the winner on the basis of topping the points table in the round-robin stage.

China won $48,000, USA $36,000 and others received $24,000 each.

New Delhi: TV actor Shafique Ansari, who featured in several episodes of Sony TV’s popular show ‘Crime Patrol’, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday (May 10). He left for his heavenly abode after a long battle with cancer. Shafique started his career as an assistant director & writer and later switched to acting. CINTAA confirmed the actor’s death on its official Twitter handle.

According to a report in an entertainment portal, Shafique Ansari was battling cancer since the past few years.

“Shafique Ansari was suffering from stomach cancer for a few years and he lost the battle to the deadly disease today," a source told Tellychakkar.

MP Home Minister Dr. Narottam Mishra launched the country's first-ever 'FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana' in Bhopal today.

Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement such an innovative scheme. Launching the scheme at the new Police Control Room, Dr. Narottam Mishra said that now people would not be required to visit the police station to lodge an FIR.

'FIR Aapke Dwar' scheme has been started as a pilot project in 23 Police Stations including one urban and one rural Police Station at 11 Divisional Headquarters. Director-General of Police Vivek Johari informed that Dial 100 vehicles would have trained Head Constables to lodge FIR. FIRs in complaints of general nature will be lodged on the spot. In case of serious complaints, guidance will be sought from senior officers. Today, the first FIR of Sunil Chaturvedi of Jawahar Chowk, Bhopal was lodged by Dial 100.

The Minister also launched helpline 'Dial 112' on the occasion, to facilitate immediate availability of ambulance, police, and fire fighting services wherever needed.

ICN’s theme for International Nurses Day 2020 is "Nursing the World to Health", focusing on the true value of nurses to the people of the world. Each year, the International Council of Nurses lead the celebrations on International Nurses Day, which is usually held on May 12. This day also marks the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

The theme for 2020, Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health, demonstrates how nurses are central to addressing a wide range of health challenges. It will inspire nurses and make the public aware of their contribution in healthcare and health management.

International Nurses Day also provides information and resources that will help to raise the profile of the profession, so that the new generation can also know more about this noble profession.