| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Kozhikode crash: Passengers included stranded tourists; many who had lost jobs The Air India Express plane from Dubai that crashed in Kozhikode late on Friday was a repatriation flight operated under Vande Bharat, and those on board were returning after being stranded for several months. As many as 56 of the 175 passengers on board were stranded tourists reuniting with their families after months, a copy of the passenger manifest showed. There were 10 infants, as well as six crew members on the flight, taking the total to 191. There were many who were forced to return after they lost their jobs, as well as those whose visas had expired. Some were students, while at least two were returning to get married. Air India Express lost two of its pilots, Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe and First Officer Akhilesh Kumar in the crash. Their families were escorted from Mumbai and New Delhi to Kozhikode early on Saturday. Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, 59, and the commander of the flight, was a highly decorated pilot. An accomplished fighter pilot, he had joined Air India Express in 2013. The Kerala government has announced ₹10 lakh compensation to the families of those who died in the Air India crash. The medical expenses of those under treatment will be taken over by the state government, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Currently, 149 people are in various hospitals of Malappuram and Kozhikode. Of these, 23 are in critical condition. Corrective action will be taken: AAI The Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Arvind Singh on Saturday said "corrective action" will be taken after receiving the probe report on the Air India Express plane crash at Kozhikode airport. A combination of bad weather and a 'table top' runway with almost zero margin for error are believed to be factors behind the crash. Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the accident. High-level teams of Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), AAI and Air India have also reached Kozhikode for investigations.  A view of the table top runway of the Calicut airport. A day after the crash and despite concerns about the safety of the two runways at Kozhikode international airport, it was back to work as usual. Official sources said the length of the runway could not be altered because of lack of availability of land, though this had been recommended after the Mangaluru crash of 2010 that claimed 158 lives. Officials present at the accident site and investigating the crash said there was no need to temporarily shut down the airport as mitigation measures for the table top runway were already in place. Apart from Kozhikode, the other table top runways in India are in Mangaluru, Lengpui in Mizoram, Pakyong in Sikkim, and Simla and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments As of August 7, nearly 200 doctors, the majority of them general practitioners, have lost their lives to Covid-19, according to information released by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). Deaths of doctors due to Covid-19 from various States include Tamil Nadu (43 deaths), Maharashtra and Gujarat (23 each), Bihar (19), Karnataka (15), Andhra Pradesh and Delhi (12 each). Of the 196 doctors who lost their lives to the virus, 170 were above the age of 50 years, with general practitioners accounting for around 40% of the deaths.  A health worker rests at a graveyard in New Delhi on August 7, 2020 before the burial of a woman who died of COVID-19. The IMA, which represents 3.5 lakh doctors spread across the country, said there have been disturbing reports of doctors and their families not getting beds for admission, and have also lacked drugs in many cases. It has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to urgently ensure that these "at risk healthcare workers and their families at least get assured treatment when infected". Meanwhile, the number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 21,43,326 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 43,387. India, China hold Major General-level talks over Depsang A meeting between India and China at the Major General-level got underway today at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO). On the agenda were issues concerning the strategic Depsang plains, a defence source said on Saturday. The talks began around 11 a.m. and were limited to Depsang to discuss issues of varying claims and also the blocking of patrols by each other, a defence source said.  Depsang Plains is the most crucial issue apart from Pangong Tso in the ongoing India-China standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. Depsang Plains is the most crucial issue apart from Pangong Tso in the ongoing stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. This is the first Major General-level meeting since the stoppage of all established meetings at Colonels, Brigadiers and Major General level following the violent clash at Galwan on June 15, after which military talks were limited to Corps Commander level. Stalin writes to PM urging him to stop implementation of NEP DMK President M.K. Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, urging them to halt the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, until the situation is conducive to follow the due process enshrined in the Constitution. His concerns seemed to be primarily two-fold: erosion of federalism, and the return of the three-language formula. "While the country is reeling from the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic and the economy is stagnating, the unilateral decision to approve the NEP 2020 without discussion or deliberation in Parliament undermines the foundational principles of our democracy," he said in the letter, adding, "the unilateral move by the Central government to have a larger say on education policy has serious repercussions on the idea of federalism, which is the mainstay of the Indian union." Stalin pointed out that the proposed policy threatens the progress made in educational attainment, access and quality in the country by undermining not just the authority of States but also setting up additional barriers to social justice and equity in our country. He further said that the three-language formula proposed in the new education policy with a compulsory option of Sanskrit at all levels of education cannot be accepted. "This move undermines the glory and dignity of Tamil language and is an affront to the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu." Rahul calls for 'do or die' fight against 'injustice' on Quit India anniversary Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that on the 78th anniversary of the Quit India movement, Mahatma Gandhi's slogan of 'do or die' will have to be given a new meaning. "Gandhi ji's slogan of 'do or die' will have to be given a new meaning on the 78th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. 'Fight against injustice, do not be afraid!'" Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942 to demand an end to British rule. In Brief: Former Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Girish Chandra Murmu on Saturday took charge as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Murmu was sworn in as the CAG by President Ram Nath Kovind, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a communiqué. A 1985-batch retired IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, Murmu will have a tenure up to November 20, 2024. He replaces Rajiv Mehrishi, who was completing his tenure this week. Four days after a huge explosion left at least 158 dead, thousands of Lebanese, furious with their political leaders, have again taken to the streets in protest, the BBC reported. An economic crisis and a collapsing currency had triggered massive anti-government protests in October last year. This week, two ministers who attempted to visit badly damaged neighbourhoods in recent days were chased out, and police fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters who tried to break through a barricade preventing access to the parliament building. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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