Friday, March 13
Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world's busiest travel hub, is expected to handle close to 100 million passengers this year, its operator said on Wednesday, building on a record performance in 2025.Dubai Airports forecasts 99.5 million passengers in 2026, it said in a statement, as demand strengthens across several major markets.DXB handled 95.2 million passengers last year, up 3.1% from 2024. India, Saudi Arabia and Britain remained among its largest markets, while China, Egypt and Italy recorded double-digit growth.Dubai, home to the world's tallest tower and palm-shaped islands, is the Middle East's biggest tourism and trade hub. It is also a key connecting point for flights between Europe and Asia, and last year welcomed 19.6 milli
Air New Zealand said on Wednesday it had cancelled 46 wide-body long-haul services ahead of a planned two-day strike by cabin crew over stalled negotiations.The cancellations have affected 9,500 travellers, Air NZ said in a statement, adding that the domestic and regional network would operate as normal, with some cargo-only flights also scheduled.In a separate statement, local union E tū said the airline's cabin crew would strike on February 12 and February 13 after talks failed to resolve their concerns, urging Air New Zealand to make "a fair and realistic" offer."The work done by wide-body cabin crew is demanding and often misunderstood," E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh said."They are also shift workers whose rosters change every month.
Polling was underway on Wednesday in elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana, a three-way contest between the ruling Congress, and opposition parties, BJP and BRS.Polling began at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm. A total of 52.17 lakh voters, including 25.50 lakh men and 26.67 lakh women, are eligible to cast their votes. The Telangana State Election Commission said 10,719 candidates are contesting for 2,569 wards in 116 municipalities. In the seven municipal corporations, 2,225 candidates are in the fray across 412 wards. The SEC has said over 41,000 polling personnel have been deployed, and 16,382 ballot boxes would be used for the election. Counting of votes is scheduled for February 13. After a major success in the gram panchayat elections in Dec
