Mangaluru: Flights to Gulf return as airspace closed amid Middle East tensions
Mangaluru: Heightened tensions in the Middle East have led to the closure of regional airspace, forcing flights from Mangaluru to Gulf destinations to be diverted and subsequently return.
According to officials at Mangaluru International Airport, several outbound flights were rerouted due to airspace restrictions in the region. An Air India flight bound for Dammam on Monday evening was diverted to Muscat, while an IndiGo flight en route to Abu Dhabi was made to land in Mumbai.
Both flights returned to Mangaluru on Tuesday morning after being unable to continue to their intended destinations.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mamata demands PM's apology over 'Bankim da' remark in Lok Sabha
Cooch Behar (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he has insulted novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by calling him "Bankim da".
Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar district, Banerjee said the PM was not even born when the country achieved Independence and yet chose to address one of Bengal's greatest cultural icons casually.
"You did not even show him the minimum respect he deserves. You should apologise for this, to the nation," she said.
The flashpoint was PM's reference to the author during a discussion in Lok Sabha on Monday to commemorate 150 years of the national song, Vande Mataram, written by Chattopadhyay.
TMC MP Saugata Roy objected to the use of the suffix 'da' and urged the PM to say 'Bankim babu' instead.
Modi immediately accepted the sentiment, saying, "I will say Bankim 'babu'. Thank you, I respect your sentiments," and asked in a lighter vein whether he could still address Roy as 'dada'.
Targeting the BJP, Banerjee claimed that it will destroy Bengal's culture, language and heritage if it comes to power in the state.
She also claimed that the assembly elections in the state will be declared soon after publication of the final electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, so that no one can challenge it in court.
