Ali Khan

Operations at the city airport were affected for the third consecutive day today, with flights delayed by 15 minutes due to heavy rains throughout the day.

“Flights are delayed by 15 minutes and there have been two go-arounds today,” an airport spokesperson said.

Two flights of private carrier Jet Airways coming in from Bangkok and Bengaluru, respectively, had to do the “go around”, she said.

A Dubai-Pune flight also had to be diverted to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, she said, without specifying the airline or reasons for the diversion.

A SpiceJet flight with 159 people on board suffered a tyre burst while it was taxiing for take-off at Amritsar airport this evening.

The Mumbai-bound flight SG345 from Srinagar was scheduled to take-off at 5 PM, official sources at Guru Ramdas international (Rajasansi) Airport said.

As the aircraft moved on the runway, one of its tyres burst following which the take-off was aborted, the sources said, adding, since the aircraft was moving at a slow pace, the pilot immediately applied brakes to stop it.

Launching the observance of first International Yoga Day, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today emphasised on the importance of yoga in daily life and underscored the need for incorporating it as an integral part of life.

Pradhan launched the observance of first International Yoga Day at Cuttack, Odisha, today where more than 1,000 people including officials from various walks of life participated, an official release said.

Addressing the gathering at the Cuttack Indoor Stadium, Pradhan stressed on the importance of yoga in daily life.

Officials in Iraq say separate bombings have killed at least five people outside of Baghdad.

A police officer says a bomb went off today in an outdoor market in the town of Mahmudiyah, about 30 kilometres south of Baghdad, killing three civilians and wounding nine. Another officer says a second bombing killed two tribal fighters and wounded three in the town of Madain, about 20 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.

Inside Baghdad, authorities found the bodies of three men dumped in the streets, all shot in the chest and head with their hands and legs tied. None had identification cards.

Mumbai University Vice Chancellor designate Sanjay Deshmukh said here today that during his five-year term, he would work to make the varsity globally renowned.

Speaking at a felicitation function at the Shreerang Housing Society where he resides immediately after his name was announced by the Governor last evening, Deshmukh said that

He said that he is not a supporter of any political party.

Advocate Madhavi Naik, who is president of the state BJP women’s wing welcomed the guests, while BJP corporator and former deputy mayor Milind Patankar also spoke on the occasion.

China and India will open the Nathu La border point in Sikkm tomorrow to enable pilgrims to travel Kailash-Manasarovar by bus from the border without the ordeal of trekking and travelling on horse backs.

The first batch of 44 pilgrims and support staff will tomorrow enter China from this point, about 31 km from here.

An elaborate ceremony has been planned to welcome them, which will be attended by Chinese Ambassador to India Le Yucheng and diplomats from the Indian Embassy in Beijing.

The toll due to consumption of spurious liquor in Malad area of Mumbai climbed to 97 today with the death of seven more persons in the last 24 hours even as police arrested two bootleggers in connection with the incident.

“The death toll has risen to 97 while 46 persons are still undergoing treatment in various hospitals of the city,” Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Dhananjay Kulkarni told PTI.

The state government has announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Singer Lily Allen has suffered “minor burns” in a “terrifying” gas explosion.

The 30-year-old singer took to her Instagram account to reveal she’d been involved in an accident while staying in a caravan near the Glastonbury music festival site in Somerset, south west England.

Alongside a close-up photograph of her face, she wrote, “I was in a gas explosion in my caravan today and I have minor burns and singed my eyelashes considerably. It was absolutely terrifying and I wouldn’t want anyone to go through anything similar.

“American Horror Story: Hotel” writer Ryan Murphy says pop star Lady Gaga has a pure acting role in the upcoming show.

Gaga will be seen in the upcoming season alongside franchise veterans Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates and Chloe Sevigny.

The casting of Gaga and stage veteran Cheyenne Jackson apparently led some to suspect a musical theme for Hotel, but writer Ryan Murphy is now confirming that this is not actually the case, reported Deadline.

This year’s Glastonbury Festival has yet to open its gates, but the headline acts for 2016 have already been booked.

Emily Eavis said that the big names for next year’s event are in place, before the music event takes its scheduled year off in 2017, reported Digital Spy.

“We’ve got three headliners for next year, so that’s completely sorted,” Eavis said.

“We’re in a really good position in that respect because it means we can now focus on the rest of the bill.”

“Downton Abbey” may be ending with its sixth season later this year but the ITV drama may continue as a live music event.

Series composer John Lunn recently revealed that he and “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes are in discussions to create a touring event featuring the show’s music and cast in an interview with Billboard.

“There’s talk of Julian Fellowes and I and some of the cast doing a live tour the way Doctor Who did,” Lunn said.

“Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan wants Bryan Cranston to do a cameo in spin-off “Better Call Saul” just as much as you do.

“Better Call Saul” is based around the early years of Breaking Bad’s sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), as he was climbing the ladder of success.

Fans have long clamoured for a cameo from Cranston as drug kingpin Walter White, even though the two characters seemingly never met before the events of “Breaking Bad”.

Gilligan said he remains convinced that an appearance from Walter White in “Better Call Saul” should happen.

Rapper 50 Cent has revealed he is keen to work with former One Direction star Zayn Malik because he thinks they could make each other a lot of money.

The 39-year-old rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, is keen to tempt the former One Direction star away from his long-time mentor Simon Cowell with the promise that they could make millions together, reported Daily Mirror.

“I want it to happen. I can make him a lot of money and he can make me a lot of money. The point I am making is he needs to be working with the right producers, artists, and people in the genre.

Double defending champion Roger Federer trumped Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 to win an eighth title at the ATP Halle tournament on Sunday.

The title was the 33-year-old Swiss world number two’s fourth of the season after Brisbane, Dubai and Istanbul, and 86th of his career.

It was also Federer’s 15th career title on grass, coming just over a week away from Wimbledon, where he will be bidding to win for an eighth time.

“I hope this is a good omen for Wimbledon,” said Federer, who won the last of his 17 majors at the All England Club in 2012.

Three Congress workers were briefly detained by the city police for protesting outside the sports complex in Sama area of the city, where International Yoga Day celebrations were held today, a police official said.

According to Sama police inspector R R Rathva, these Congress workers were released on bail after the celebrations ended.

These Congress workers gathered outside the venue of Yoga Day celebrations wearing black T-shirts to protest against selection of the venue by authorities for the event, the police official said.

Twelve fishermen, who had ventured into the Bay of Bengal from Kakinada five days back, have reportedly gone missing and government authorities have launched a search operation to trace them.

“Twelve fishermen had ventured into the Bay of Bengal on June 17 from Kakinada in two boats. Some other fishermen were sailing along with them in other boats. However, family members of these twelve fishermen received a message yesterday stating that the engines of their boats developed a technical snag,” East Godavari District Collector Arun Kumar said today.

Amidst opposition in some quarters to observing International Yoga Day, VHP International Executive President Dr Praveen Togadia today said that the discipline was never secular and was more of “Vedic and sanatan”.

He also said that Surya Namaskar was an essential part of the exercise form and no performance of yoga was complete without it.

“Om and Surya Namaskar, two exercises of yoga, are very necessary and without them, yoga is incomplete,” Togadia told reporters at a VHP event here.

A 40-year-old Dubai-based man today stood on his head for 61 minutes in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record to mark the first International Yoga Day.

Ivan Stanley, a Dubai-based advertising professional, broke his own previous record of 34 minutes of Shirsasana.

“It feels nice but a little disorienting. Those last five minutes were impossible, perhaps the longest of my life,” Stanley was quoted as saying by the Emirates 247 News.

Chelsea Tyler and fiance Jon Foster tied the knot in Carmel, California.

All of Tyler’s siblings and half-siblings, including Liv Tyler, Mia Tyler, and Taj Monroe Tallarico, attended the ceremony last week, reported Us magazine.

The daughter of Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler and the younger brother of actor Ben Foster formed the electronic soul band Kaneholler.

Jon is also an actor and has appeared in “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”. Chelsea is the daughter of Steven’s second wife Teresa Barrick.

Australian researchers have made the first real breakthrough in 50 years in understanding how cancers of the head and neck develop, shedding new light on one of the most deadly forms of the disease.

The study by Monash University’s Central Clinical School has identified a new gene that is critical for the growth squamous cell cancers (SCC) of the head and neck.

“Disruption of this key gene sets up a pathway of changes in cells in the mouth and oral cavity that induces rapid cell growth, the hallmark of cancer,” said lead researcher Stephen Jane.

A special event marking the first International Yoga Day was held in Egypt and was attended by people from all walks of life, including Egyptian officials, celebrities and Indians here.

The guest of honour at the event organised by the Indian Embassy was the well-known Egyptian football player Emad Meteb, who was representing his leading football team Al-Ahly.

“Yoga is the pundit that brings peace and harmony to us and makes a balance between the body, the mind and spirit,” Indian Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharyya said during the event.

Former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo has revealed she will be fine soon post her split from Nick Jonas.

Culpo, 23, opened up about heartbreak via Instagram, reported Us magazine.

“Your heart just breaks, that’s all. Heartbreak is hard but you find more and more things to be grateful for every day. One of those things is all of you,” the 23-year-old captioned a photo of a sunset.

She added, “Thank you all. Yes I’m going to be okay and I love you guys so so much every day is a blessing.”

Culpo and Jonas, 22, parted ways after two years of dating.

Actor Chris Hemsworth enjoys movie date nights with his wife Elsa Pataky.

The 31-year-old actor’s wife Elsa Pataky has revealed the pair regularly enjoy film-based date nights, reported Comtactmusic.

“As you can imagine, Chris and I love watching films, so on Saturday we decided to go to one of our favourite cinemas in London. It’s called Electric and I wanted to tell you about it because it’s a very different and unusual way of watching films.

Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep is proud that her daughters pursued acting careers.

The 65-year-old actress said she knows that living up to her own success and achievements is a “burden” for Gracie and Mamie Gummer, reported Contactmusic.

“I’m so proud of Gracie and of Mamie, who were willing to follow in their mother’s profession despite all the pressure and attention that comes of being Meryl Streep’s daughters.

A Singapore Airlines aircraft from Mumbai to Singapore was forced to make an emergency landing in Malaysia after it received a cargo fire warning message, a report said today.

Flight SQ425 made the landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday when a cargo fire alarm warning went off.

The warning was sounded towards the end of its flight, just 20 minutes before the descent into Singapore, according to a report by The Straits Times.

Singapore Airlines spokesman said that the aircraft, a Boeing 777, landed in Kuala Lumpur without incident at 4.01 pm (local time).