Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador to India, impressed everyone at the US embassy in New Delhi with his Bollywood dance skills on Friday. Mr Garcetti danced to the hit song ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ during a Diwali celebration event at the embassy.

The original song, which came out in 1998, featured Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora grooving on a train. Mr Garcetti took the stage in a blue kurta and a pair of shades as the audience clapped and cheered.

The video was shared and applauded by several users on X (formerly Twitter).

“I applaud the jovial spirit of US Ambassador to India, Mr Eric Garcetti, for showing delightful interest in Diwali celebrations. Let there be light and happiness in the relationship of US and India like this forever!” said Satnam Singh Sandhu, the founder chancellor of Chandigarh University.

I applaud the jovial spirit of US Ambassador to India, Mr. @ericgarcetti, for showing delightful interest in Diwali celebrations. Let there be light and happiness in the relationship of US and India like this forever!@USAmbIndia pic.twitter.com/8COlQ5EGlQ

— Satnam Singh Sandhu (@satnamsandhuchd) November 10, 2023

Since being appointed in May, Mr Garcetti has wholeheartedly soaked in the Indian traditions and recently celebrated Durga Puja at Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park with enthusiasm and vigour. He visited a pandal at CR Park and enjoyed traditional Bengali delicacies. The US diplomat also performed Dhunuchi Naach, which is referred to as a dance dedicated to Goddess Durga.

Earlier this week, Mr Garcetti paid a surprise visit to the US visa centre in Delhi to interact with applicants. His visit came at a time when waiting periods for a US visa appointment are as high as 511 days.

To address the surging demand for US visas, the United States has made substantial investments in its operations in India. The US Mission has expanded its workforce to streamline visa processing, upgraded facilities at the US Consulate in Chennai, and inaugurated a new Consulate building in Hyderabad.

Last year, over 1.2 million Indians visited the US, solidifying this as one of the world’s most substantial travel relationships. Indians now account for over 10% of all visa applicants worldwide, with 20% seeking student visas and 65% applying for H&L-category employment visas.

In a landmark medical achievement, doctors at New York University Langone Health conducted the world’s first surgery involving a complete eye and partial face transplant for a 46-year-old military veteran hailing from Arkansas. Aaron James, who survived a high-voltage electrical accident, underwent a 21-hour surgical procedure that replaced fifty percent of his facial structure.

As per a release by the hospital, the surgery included transplanting the entire left eye and a portion of the face from a single donor, making this the first-ever human whole-eye transplant in medical history and the only successful combined transplant case of its kind.

The outcome of regaining vision in his newly transplanted left eye is still uncertain.

The medical team at NYU Langone Health also dedicated their efforts to improving the appearance of his new face by providing structural support to the transplanted eye socket and eyelid.

The surgery was conducted on May 27 by a team of more than 140 surgeons, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, led by Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, director of the Face Transplant Program, the Helen L. Kimmel Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, and chair of the Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone.

“Aaron has been extremely motivated to regain the function and independence he lost after his injury. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect patient,” said Dr Rodriguez. “We owe much of our success in this monumental endeavour to the exceptional institutional support we receive at NYU Langone and the unwavering dedication of our world-class team to delivering the highest level of care to our patients. This achievement demonstrates our capacity to embrace the most difficult challenges and drive continuous advancements in the field of transplantation and beyond.”

This groundbreaking milestone paves the way for new opportunities in the development of future breakthroughs in vision therapies and other related fields of medicine.

Air quality across Delhi remains in the “poor” category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a day after rain in the national capital and surrounding areas washed away the toxic haze, bringing some relief to residents and improving air quality marginally. 

The Air Quality Index (AQI) today in Anand Vihar, RK Puram, Punjabi Bagh, and ITO was recorded at 282, 220, 236, and 263, respectively.

Delhi was gasping for air after a week of suffocating pollution, with levels of harmful particles up to 100 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit. The city was the world’s most polluted last Thursday.

To reduce pollution in Delhi and ensure adherence to anti-pollution measures, the Delhi Police inspected trucks carrying non-essential goods at the Ghazipur and Tikri borders on Friday night, as part of the GRAP 4 regulations.

Delhi’s air pollution control plan (GRAP Stage IV) only allows CNG, electric, and BS VI-compliant vehicles from other states to enter the city, except for essential services.

Delhi Police inspected trucks entering the city at the Ghazipur border on Friday night, enforcing GRAP 4 regulations that permit only CNG and electric trucks to enter. Another team of Delhi Police at the Tikri border checked the trucks entering the national capital.

The weather department forecasts partly cloudy skies with mist or shallow fog in the mornings on Sunday and Monday, followed by mainly clear skies with shallow fog in the mornings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

An IMD official said following the passage of the western disturbance, wind speeds are expected to increase from the current 5-6 kmph to around 15 kmph on November 11. This anticipated increase in wind speed could help disperse pollutants and improve air quality ahead of Diwali. The weather department has predicted “mainly clear skies with shallow fog” for today. 

Delhi-NCR’s air quality plummeted over the past week due to falling temperatures, stagnant winds that stifled pollution dispersion, and a surge in post-harvest paddy stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana.

Delhi’s air quality is one of the worst among capital cities globally, with a University of Chicago report finding that air pollution reduces life expectancy by almost 12 years.