DUBAI, July 24:  Dubai-based low cost airline flydubai will operate direct flights to Mumbai from October 28, bringing the total number of destinations served by the carrier in India to seven.
In June, flydubai doubled its network in India with the start of flights to Delhi, Kochi and Trivandrum.
The new flights were a result of the expanded bilateral agreements that India has signed with Dubai over the past 12 months.
Commencing in October 28, flydubai will operate direct flights five times a week between Dubai and Mumbai while also increasing the frequency of its flights to Delhi to five weekly.
“India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have enjoyed close historic relations and have been dynamic trade partners. We are excited to contribute further to additional growth in the travel and trade segments with the launch of our flights to Mumbai,” Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said.
“We remain committed to serving the market with affordable and reliable travel options,” Ghaith said.
According to reports published by the Consulate General of India, India-UAE trade was valued at USD 180 million per annum in the 1970s and today it is valued in excess of USD 44 billion, making the UAE one of India’s leading trade partners.
Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent, Africa) for flydubai, said: “We are pleased to see progress being made this year towards strengthening the trade, travel and tourism links between Dubai and India by adding additional seat capacity between these markets.”
“Flydubai’s flights to Mumbai, Delhi and the five other destinations in the market will give more options to passengers from India to connect through Dubai’s efficient aviation hub to other destinations on our network or further afield.
“Our recently launched Business Class is now available on all our new routes to India: Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Trivandrum,” he said.
The budget carrier also operates for Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Lucknow. (PTI)

MELBOURNE, July 24:  A 31-year-old Indian is facing trial in Australia on charges of stalking two women in 2012 and 2013.
The court heard that Sandesh Baliga was influenced by Bollywood films that he believe his persistence with women would pay off.
Bollywood films contributed to his belief that if you persist, a woman would eventually fall in love with you, according to ABC news.
The court heard the accused began texting, calling and approaching the women excessively after single, chance meetings.
Baliga kept ignoring the requests from both of the women to stop his following them.
The court heard that the women reported to the police after he started referring to himself as their boyfriend.
His lawyer Greg Barns said Baliga was from a remote part of India and had only been in Tasmania for two years.
The defence said the Indian culture had contributed to his behaviour and now he realised that this was not the social norm in Australia.
The case will be heard again in September this year. (PTI)

UNITED NATIONS, July 24:  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his outrage over rockets found in a UN-administered school in Gaza, calling for a full review of the incident which he said could turn schools into “potential military targets” and endanger lives of innocent children.
Rockets, found in a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school in Gaza subsequently went missing.
Ban demanded that militants groups, who are responsible must stop such actions and should be held accountable for endangering the lives of civilians.
The Secretary-General is “alarmed to hear that rockets were placed in an UNRWA school in Gaza and that subsequently these have gone missing. He expresses his outrage, and regret, at the placing of weapons in a UN-administered school,” a statement issued by his spokesperson said.
Ban has directed the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to immediately develop and implement an effective security plan for the safe and secure handling of any weapons discovered in UN premises.
He also directed UNMAS to immediately deploy personnel with expertise to deal with this situation.
Ban said by placing weapons in schools, “those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities, and anyone using the UN schools as shelter”.
He called on all of those with influence over militant groups to send an “unmistakable message that this is unacceptable”.
The Secretary-General noted that such conduct is inconsistent with UN Security Council resolution that calls for the prevention of arms smuggling.
Ban has called for a full review of the incidents.
“The United Nations is taking concerted action to increase its vigilance in preventing such episodes from happening again,” the statement said. (PTI)

WASHINGTON, July 24:  America’s aviation authority has lifted a ban on US flights to Israel, which was imposed due to concern over the risk of planes being hit by Hamas rockets.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had banned US airlines from travelling to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv following a rocket landed about a mile away from Israel’s largest airport.
“Before making this decision, the FAA worked with its US government counterparts to assess the security situation in Israel and carefully reviewed both significant new information and measures the Government of Israel is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation,” FAA said in a late night statement.
The FAA’s primary mission and interest are the protection of people travelling on US airlines.
The agency will continue to closely monitor the very fluid situation around Ben Gurion Airport and will take additional actions, as necessary, it said.
FAA initially instituted the flight prohibition on July 22, in response to a rocket strike that landed approximately one mile from the airport.
It was initially for 24 hours and then extended by another 24 hours. (PTI)

LONDON, July 24:  Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington will be honoured for his contribution to cinema at the upcoming San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain in this September.
The presentation will take place ahead of the European premiere of the 59-year-old ‘Training Day’ star’s new movie, ‘The Equalizer’, which will be screened during the film festival, reported Contactmusic.
Previous winners of the the coveted award include Julia Roberts, Ian McKellen, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and last year’s winner Hugh Jackman. (PTI)

LONDON, July 24:  Mitch Winehouse, who lost his singer-daughter Amy to alcohol poisoning in 2011, says he still feels her presence around him.
Mitch Winehouse said he can still sense Amy is close by and hears her words of encouragement whenever he takes to the stage, reported Contactmusic.
“She’s standing next to me, every time I go out on that stage. She’s there all right, I feel her, sense her. She’s in here now saying, ‘Just get on with it, Dad’. I’m always speaking to her, all day, every day,” he said.
Although Mitch says life is still difficult without the 27-year-old ‘Back To Black’ hitmaker, he believes establishing his charity, the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which trains recovering addicts to go into schools and speak of their experiences, has made him a better man.
“Before she passed I wasn’t very industrious but now I’m a different person. It changed my life. After Amy died, I wanted to do something that mattered, which is how the Amy Winehouse Foundation came about.
“Who would have thought that three years on we would have achieved so much? I know Amy is very proud. She would not have wanted us to wallow in grief,” Mitch said. (PTI)