Rush Hour: Airlines to make 60% seats free of selection charge, Assam Congress MP joins BJP and more

The Union government directed airlines to allocate a minimum of 60% of the seats on every flight without selection charges to ensure fair access. Airlines are also required to seat passengers travelling on the same Passenger Name Record together “preferably in adjacent seats”, according to the orders issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Additionally, airlines have been instructed to make the process of transporting sports equipment and musical instruments more transparent and passenger-friendly. They were further told to publish clear policies on the carriage of pets. Read on.

A day after quitting the Congress in the run-up to Assam Assembly elections, Pradyut Bordoloi joined the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Bordoloi is one of the Congress’ three Lok Sabha MPs from Assam.

He stated that he made the decision as he had felt humiliated on certain matters. The Congress described his resignation as “very unfortunate”.

Before he resigned, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had invited Bordoloi to join the BJP, though he claimed that there had been no direct communication between them. Read on.

Israel claimed that it killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib in an airstrike in Tehran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorised the country’s military to “[eliminate] any senior Iranian figure…without the need...

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