New Delhi: Air India on Thursday cancelled at least three flights to the US, and certain services to Europe will face some delays due to Iranian airspace closure, according to a source.

At least three flights — two from the national capital to New York and Newark, and one from Mumbai to New York

the airline said that due to the emerging situation in Iran, the subsequent closure of its airspace, and in view of the safety of our passengers, flights overflying the region are now using an alternative routing, which may lead to delays.

“Some Air India flights where currently rerouting is not possible are being cancelled,” the airline said, and regretted the inconvenience caused to passengers due to this unforeseen disruption.

Air India uses Iranian airspace for flights to the US and Europe, and the alternative option is to fly over Iraq airspace.

Since using Iraq’s airspace will mean a longer duration, the aircraft will not have enough fuel to operate some of the services to the US, the source said.

With the Pakistan airspace closure, Air India is already taking longer routes for many of the West-bound flights.

Tensions are mounting between Iran and the US, with apprehensions that the situation could escalate into a conflict between the two countries.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative on Friday and interact with members of India’s vibrant startup ecosystem.

Startup India was launched on January 16, 2016, as a transformative national programme to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship and enable investment-driven growth, with the objective of making India a nation of job creators rather than job seekers.

On the occasion of National Startup Day, Prime Minister Modi will interact with members of India’s vibrant startup ecosystem, an official statement said. Select startup representatives will share insights from their entrepreneurial journey.

The prime minister will also address the gathering on this occasion.

Over the past decade, Startup India has emerged as a cornerstone of India’s economic and innovation architecture. It has strengthened institutional mechanisms, expanded access to capital and mentorship, and fostered an enabling environment for startups to grow and scale across sectors and geographies.

India’s startup ecosystem has witnessed unprecedented expansion during this period, with more than 2,00,000 startups recognised across the country, the statement said.

These enterprises have become significant drivers of employment generation, innovation-led economic growth and the strengthening of domestic value chains in diverse sectors, it added.

Bengaluru: Makara Sankranti, marking the Sun’s transition into Makara Rashi or capricorn sign, is being celebrated with traditional fervour across Karnataka on Thursday, with temples witnessing heavy footfall and households observing age-old rituals.

In Bengaluru, thousands of devotees thronged the historic Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple at Gavipuram in Basavanagudi from the early hours.

The temple holds special significance on Makara Sankranti as the setting Sun’s rays pass through the horns of the stone Nandi and illuminate the Shiva Linga inside the cave temple.

The Sun’s rays directly falling on the Linga in the afternoon on Makara Sankranti is a rare and unique occurrence, symbolising the cosmic alignment and Lord Shiva’s blessings, temple authorities said.

Police and temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements to regulate the crowd as devotees queued up to have a darshan of Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of the cave shrine.

Across the state, devotees offered prayers in temples and observed Sankranti rituals at home.

The festival is traditionally celebrated as Suggi in Karnataka, marking the harvest season.

On this day, festive dishes are prepared and ‘Ellu-Bella’, a mix of sesame seeds, jaggery, groundnuts and coconut is distributed to the near and dear ones wishing for their safety and good luck.

In rural parts of Karnataka, farmers celebrate the harvest with special pujas, cattle worship and community gatherings, reflecting gratitude for a good crop.

Cultural programmes and traditional games will also be organised on this day adding colour to the celebrations in several districts.

Flowers, jujube fruits and sugarcane were in great demand in the market as they are the key ingredients for the pujas.

Mumbai: Voting in 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra began on Thursday morning with spotlight on Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is locked in an intense battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins for control of India’s largest and richest civic body.

Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.

In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose annual budget is over Rs 74, 400 crore, 1,700 candidates are vying for 227 seats in elections being held after nine years, after a four-year delay. More than 25,000 police personnel have been deployed across Mumbai to oversee elections.

Except for Mumbai, the other urban bodies have multi-member wards. Vote count will take place on January 16.

These are the first BMC polls since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena when Eknath Shinde, now Deputy Chief Minister, broke away with a majority of the party’s MLAs and allied with the BJP to become the chief minister.

The undivided Shiv Sena held sway over India’s richest civic body for 25 years (1997-2022).

In a significant political turn of events ahead of the elections, estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, who head Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS, respectively, reunited last month after two decades in their bid to consolidate Marathi votes even as rival NCP factions forged a local alliance in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The Congress, once a formidable political force in Maharashtra, has asserted its presence in Mumbai by stepping out of the shadow of its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies – Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).

The grand old party has joined hands with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh in the state capital.

Elections to the 29 municipal corporations are being held after a gap of several years, with terms of most of them having ended between 2020 and 2023. Of these, nine fall in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the most urbanised belt in India.

Voting is underway in the following municipal corporations: Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.

Bengaluru: A search conducted by Lokayukta police on the directions of B Veerappa have exposed an alleged scam involving the illegal transfer of government land worth around ₹200 crore in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district, officials said.

According to The New Indian Express, Nagamangala taluk office allegedly forged, tampered with and fabricated documents to transfer about 320 acres of government gomal land to private individuals under the pretext of allotments through the Bagair Hukum Committee (BHC).

Acting on a tip-off about the racket involved in usurping the gomal land, the Upa Lokayukta issued warrants on Tuesday to conduct searches at seven places, including the residences of the persons involved, the government guest house, a hotel and the taluk office in Nagamangala, the assembly segment represented by Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy.

Following the recovery of incriminating documents, a complaint was filed by the Lokayukta police, based on which Nagamangala police registered a First Information Report (FIR) citing criminal conspiracy, cheating, dishonesty, tampering, fraudulently using forged documents, theft and criminal breach of trust.

Five officials of the land records branch were arrested. They have been identified as second division assistants Satish H V and Gurumurthy, shirastedars Ravishankara and Umesh, and Darakastu village assistant S Yogesh.

“The act of the officials shocks the consciousness of this authority,” said Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa.

A statement from the Lokayukta office said that prima facie, it was found that the accused fabricated documents, such as Saguvali Chit, grant ledgers and other land records were created in the Darakastu land records section to illegally transfer gomal land in villages including H N Kavalu, Chikkajataka, Doddajataka and Karadahalli in Nagamangala taluk.

Applications seeking grant of land were found in the car belonging to village assistant Yogesh. When the Lokayukta police, headed by Superintendent of Police Suresh Babu, questioned Yogesh, he revealed that records room staffers Vijay Kumar, Satish and Yashavanth, along with deed writer Chinnaswamy, were diverting government land since 2020.

The seized records disclosed that entries in the land grant ledger had been tampered with to add new names. While BHC rules allow a maximum allotment of 4 acres and 38 guntas per beneficiary, records showed that 9 acres and 27 guntas were allotted to one Prakrul Khan and 11 acres and 23 guntas to Kaleem Mulla. However, these entries are not found in the original records kept in the records room, where the search was conducted.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has issued notices to major quick-commerce platforms, including Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and Bigbasket, to overhaul their delivery policies, following a surge in traffic violations and reckless driving by their riders.

The notices have been served to the companies’ dark stores and platform operators, directing them to streamline and align their internal policies with road safety regulations within the next 15 days, a statement said here on Wednesday.

The department warned that failure to comply would invite further legal action.

The MVD pointed out that the growing practice of promising ultra-fast deliveries—within seven or 20 minutes—is contributing to unsafe driving behaviour on roads.

Speeding, rash riding and failure to wear safety gear such as helmets were identified as some of the most common violations among delivery riders, it said.

Other road users are often forced to avoid these riders due to the fear of accidents.

The department noted that riders are frequently under pressure to complete orders quickly in order to maximise their income and move on to the next assignment.

In many cases, unrealistic deadlines set by online platforms and aggressive marketing strategies that promise customers rapid delivery timelines are leading to compromised road safety.

Emphasising that public safety cannot be sacrificed for commercial competition, the MVD said online delivery platforms must ensure responsible business practices and strict adherence to traffic laws to prevent accidents and protect lives.