New Delhi, June 14: Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Air India and IndiGo, two of India’s leading airlines, have issued public advisories to alert passengers about flight delays and reroutes due to the closure of Iranian airspace. Air India on Saturday said that it has rerouted several flights due to airspace closures. The airline announced that some of its flights are now operating on longer, alternative routes to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.

Air India, the national carrier, shared an official update on social media platform X, stating: “Due to the emerging situation in Iran and parts of the Middle East, the subsequent closure of airspace, and in view of the safety of our passengers, some of our flights are operating on alternative extended routes. We are doing our best to minimise any inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen airspace closure. We would like to reiterate that at Air India, the safety of our customers and crew remains top priority.”

The advisory comes as airspace over Iran and nearby regions remains closed, following a series of regional escalations.

The situation has significantly impacted several international air routes that usually traverse Iranian skies, particularly those operating between India and Europe, or India and North America.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, also issued a statement through X warning passengers of potential disruptions.

“Airspace over Iran and surrounding areas continues to be unavailable. Certain flight paths may need adjustments, leading to extended travel durations or delays,” the airline said in its advisory.

IndiGo has advised all passengers to check their flight status via its website or mobile application before heading to the airport to avoid last-minute surprises. The airline assured that its customer service teams are actively assisting travellers affected by these delays.

Both airlines are working to reroute affected flights via alternative air corridors, which may result in longer flying times. As a result, several services to and from Europe, the Gulf, and Central Asia are experiencing delays ranging from 30 minutes to several hours.

Passengers have been urged to stay updated on real-time flight schedules and remain in contact with the respective airline helplines.

The current geopolitical uncertainty follows Iran’s response to recent Israeli airstrikes, which triggered broader concerns over regional security and airspace safety. Aviation authorities in multiple countries have already issued NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen), advising airlines to avoid the region until further notice.

While airlines assure that passenger safety remains their utmost priority, industry experts say the airspace disruption could continue for several days or even weeks, depending on how the situation evolves diplomatically.

For now, travelers flying to the West or through the Middle East are advised to plan ahead, allow extra time for transit, and remain patient as airlines navigate the complex airspace restrictions.

Kolkata, June 14: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed fresh evidence indicating the direct involvement of Azad Mullick, a Pakistani national arrested in Kolkata in April, in a major racket involving fake Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs), in addition to earlier charges of passport fraud and hawala operations.

According to ED sources, the agency has launched a deeper investigation following specific leads that point to Azad’s key role in facilitating fake EPICs, especially for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Mullick is already facing two serious allegations — involvement in a fake Indian passport syndicate and operating an underground hawala network from Kolkata.

The latest findings suggest that Azad had managed to penetrate local administrative networks to obtain and distribute forged voter IDs.

The ED has formally sought details of 78 EPIC cardholders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.

Investigators suspect that at least 55 of these cards were arranged by Azad, with recipients primarily from the bordering districts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia.

The CEO’s office has, in turn, asked the district magistrates of these areas to verify the identities of the listed individuals, and a comprehensive report is expected to be submitted to the ED by the end of this month.

During interrogation, Azad reportedly admitted to being listed as a voter in the Dum Dum-Uttar Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas — one of the seven assembly segments under the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat.

He is believed to have voted in both the 2021 and 2024 elections. The ED has requested the CEO’s office to furnish documents based on which Azad procured his EPIC.

The issue of foreign nationals acquiring Indian voter IDs has emerged as a politically charged matter in West Bengal, particularly ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.

In a related development on Friday, the CEO’s office reportedly removed Newton Das — a person holding dual citizenship of India and Bangladesh — from the electoral rolls.

Das, who was active in the student movement in Bangladesh last year, had been registered as a voter in the Kakdwip Assembly constituency of South 24 Parganas district.

Azad’s case, however, is even more complex. When the ED arrested him in April, seized documents initially indicated that he was a Bangladeshi national who had acquired Indian documents — including a passport — using fake credentials.

But on April 29, the ED informed a special court in Kolkata that Mullick had confessed to originally being a Pakistani citizen. He reportedly admitted to first obtaining Bangladeshi citizenship through forged documents, and subsequently using the same modus operandi to acquire Indian identity documents.

Washington, June 14: US President Donald Trump has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to halt raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, by significantly shifting the direction on mass deportation campaign, according to a media report.

According to The New York Times report, the move was made as the mass deportation campaign hurt industries and constituencies that President Trump doesn’t want to lose, which is the central focus of his Presidency.

The report suggested that Tatum King, a senior ICE official, had sent an email on Thursday to regional leaders of the ICE department issuing the directive.

“Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants, and operating hotels,” read the message.

However, the email mentioned continuing investigations which involve “human trafficking, money laundering, and drug smuggling into these industries.”

Additionally, it directed the agents not to take anyone into the custody of “noncriminal collaterals,” referring to people who are undocumented but have no criminal records.

The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed the recent developments.

“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” Tricia McLaughlin, a department spokeswoman, said in a statement.

The directive came after agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies raided several locations in southern California, which sparked mass protests.

Earlier this week, a protest against immigration raids in Santa Ana, 50 km east of downtown Los Angeles, resulted in several injuries and arrests after demonstrators clashed with federal authorities and local police.

The protest was triggered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids during the day across Santa Ana, the capital of Orange County, with a population of over 300,000.

Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento told the Orange County Register newspaper that the immigration officials appeared to have targeted day labourers waiting for work.

At least 200 protesters, waving flags and carrying signs, gathered outside a federal building in downtown Santa Ana, which houses ICE offices and other federal department offices, to protest the raids that occurred.

Later, the situation escalated and took a chaotic turn after law enforcement reportedly shot at the crowd.

California sued the Trump administration after the President ordered the deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles without the state’s permission in response to the protests.

Nearly 400 people in immigration protests have been arrested or detained by the Los Angeles Police Department since Saturday, media reports said.

The arrested and detained include 330 undocumented migrants and 157 people arrested for assault and obstruction, quoting the media News.

On the first night of curfew starting Tuesday night in the US second largest city, there were 203 arrests for failure to disperse and 17 arrests for curfew violation, said the Los Angeles Police Department in a press release.