New Delhi (PTI): Republic Media Network will soon launch a Kannada news channel, following its acquisition of VRL Media that runs the Dighvijay 24x7 news channel.

Republic Media Network chairman and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami made the announcement of the group's fourth television channel as it sought to break language barriers and reach new audiences.

"We want to break through all language barriers and reach the people of India as widely and as quickly as we can. So, for the very first time, this network has chosen to grow inorganically," he said.

Republic Kannada will have the tagline 'Nimma Dhwani' or 'Your Voice'.

"Republic Kannada will change the news media landscape in Karnataka. We will be as always the voice of the people, 'Nimma Dhwani', and work to represent the aspirations of the people of this great state," Goswami said.

Republic Media Network's entry into the market of Kannada news comes alongside the expansive acquisition of all the television assets of one of the largest news players in Karnataka which runs the popular news channel Dighvijay News, a statement said.

"As Dighvijay 24x7 News channel becomes Republic Kannada, I am happy to hand it over to him and the Republic Media Network," Anand Sankeshwar, MD, VRL Media Pvt Ltd, said.

Republic Media Network now beams news channels in four languages English, Hindi, Bengali and Kannada and has an intricate network of reporters across 28 states and eight Union territories, according to the statement.

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Chennai, Nov 2: A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday.

Test results from both the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here and the Pune-based National Institute of Virology have show negative for Mpox virus, the minister said.

Subramanian had earlier in the day told reporters that result was awaited for the sample that had been dispatched to the NIV while test result from King Institute ruled out monkey pox.

On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, the young man displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to a government hospital.

Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said.

Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the test result from the government-run King Institute indicated Chickenpox and marked negative for presence of Mpox.

Screening at airports for passengers arriving from foreign countries is going on continuously in the state and international airports have dedicated isolated rooms.

Special wards are ready in government medical college hospitals, including those in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, to provide treatment for Mpox, in case anyone tests positive for the infection, the minister added.