Hundreds gather to pay last respects to India’s iconic business tycoon Ratan Tata

Hundreds gather to pay last respects to India’s iconic business tycoon Ratan Tata
Although in recent years Tata was not as active in the day-to-day running of the group, he was consulted on big decisions by the Tata Sons leadership, a senior company executive told Reuters. (AP)
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Updated 10 October 2024
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Hundreds gather to pay last respects to India’s iconic business tycoon Ratan Tata

Hundreds gather to pay last respects to India’s iconic business tycoon Ratan Tata
  • Although in recent years Tata was not as active in the day-to-day running of the group, he was consulted on big decisions by the Tata Sons leadership, a senior company executive told Reuters

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of people, including corporate leaders, politicians and celebrities, gathered in Mumbai on Thursday to pay their last respects to one of India’s most respected business tycoons, Ratan Tata, who died aged 86.
Known for his exemplary business acumen and philanthropic nature, as chairman he led various companies under the Tata conglomerate for more than 20 years, which had revenue of $165 billion in 2023-24.
Although in recent years Tata was not as active in the day-to-day running of the group, he was consulted on big decisions by the Tata Sons leadership, a senior company executive told Reuters.
Tata had been in a Mumbai hospital since Monday, but the cause of his death was not immediately made public.
After his death, tributes poured in from around the world, underlining his popularity that transcended boundaries and generations.
“India and the world have lost a giant with a giant heart,” US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said on X.
“He ... was instrumental in mentoring and developing the modern business leadership in India. He deeply cared about making India better,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said.
Draped in the Indian national flag, Ratan Tata’s body was kept at a cultural center in Mumbai, and his funeral will be conducted later in the day with full state honors.
India’s central bank governor Shaktikanta Das, Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla were among early visitors to pay their last respects to the Padma Vibhushan awardee — India’s second-highest civilian honor.
A licensed pilot who would occasionally fly the company plane, Tata never married and was known for his quiet demeanour, relatively modest lifestyle and philanthropic work.
“We will remember his legacy of transformative giving to Cornell,” his alma mater Cornell University said on X, calling Tata their most generous international donor.


Spain unveils $11 bn aid plan after catastrophic floods

Spain unveils $11 bn aid plan after catastrophic floods
Updated 25 sec ago
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Spain unveils $11 bn aid plan after catastrophic floods

Spain unveils $11 bn aid plan after catastrophic floods
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a series of measures including aid to small and midsize businesses, self-employed workers and households
Tax relief and a three-month postponement to repaying mortgages and loans were also among the announcements

VALENCIA: Spain on Tuesday announced an aid package worth 10.6 billion euros ($11.5 billion) to rebuild regions devastated by its worst floods in a generation that have killed 219 people.
The exceptional Mediterranean storm that lashed eastern Spain a week ago triggered surging torrents of muddy water that have left a trail of destruction and an unknown number of missing.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a series of measures including aid to small and midsize businesses, self-employed workers and households that have suffered deaths, incapacity and damage to homes and belongings.
Tax relief and a three-month postponement to repaying mortgages and loans were also among the announcements, which Sanchez likened to the state’s intervention during the Covid-19 pandemic to protect the economy and livelihoods.
The government would take on all emergency spending by local councils linked to clearing mud, debris and ruined property and restoring drinking water, Sanchez told a news conference.
Spain has also requested aid from the EU solidarity fund, he added.
Security forces and emergency services personnel are working around the clock to repair damaged infrastructure, distribute aid and search for bodies in Spain’s largest peacetime deployment of its armed forces.
Sanchez said almost 15,000 troops, police officers and civil guards were in the eastern Valencia region that has suffered most of the deaths and destruction, up from 7,300 on Saturday.
Firefighters combed through piles of damaged vehicles and pumped water from inundated garages and car parks where more victims may be discovered, AFP journalists saw.
Maribel Albalat, mayor of the ground-zero town of Paiporta, told public broadcaster TVE they were doing “better, but not well” with many streets still inaccessible and residents struggling to get a phone signal.
Rescuers in the southeastern town of Letur have found one of the missing bodies they were looking for, announced the central government’s representative in the Castilla-La Mancha region, Pedro Antonio Ruiz.
Two Chinese citizens, two Romanians and an Ecuadorian are among the dead, authorities in those countries have said. The floods also claimed three British victims, UK media have reported.
Many survivors are furious with the authorities for failing to warn the population on time last Tuesday and provide urgent rescue and relief work.
That anger reached a breaking point in Paiporta on Sunday when crowds heckled and hurled mud at King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Sanchez.
The outrage was also palpable in Valencia — Spain’s third-largest city that was unharmed despite being a stone’s throw from the hardest-hit zones — when AFP visited on Tuesday.
Local humorist Jose Antonio Lopez-Guitian, 61, had just returned from the town of Massanassa with his boots covered in mud and said residents were left to fend for themselves.
The situation was “a national disgrace” and “a dereliction of duty by all the institutions,” he said.
The floods affected more than 4,100 hectares (10,100 acres), the civil protection service said on X, using a map provided by the European Union’s Copernicus satellite.
Storms coming off the Mediterranean are common during this season. But scientists have warned that human-induced climate change is increasing the ferocity, length and frequency of extreme weather events.
“Climate change kills... we have to adapt to this reality,” Sanchez said at his news conference, lashing out at the “irresponsible discourse of deniers.”

Two UK mpox cases first local transmission in Europe: WHO

Two UK mpox cases first local transmission in Europe: WHO
Updated 05 November 2024
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Two UK mpox cases first local transmission in Europe: WHO

Two UK mpox cases first local transmission in Europe: WHO
  • The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed late Monday that the two new cases were household contacts of Britain’s first case identified last week
  • The WHO warned that European states should be prepared for “rapid action” to contain the latest mpox variant

LONDON: Two new cases of the mpox variant clade 1b detected in the UK are the first locally transmitted cases in Europe and the first outside Africa, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed late Monday that the two new cases were household contacts of Britain’s first case identified last week, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to three.
The WHO warned that European states should be prepared for “rapid action” to contain the latest mpox variant, which spreads through close physical contact including sexual relations and sharing closed spaces.
The two cases are also the first to be locally transmitted outside Africa since August 2024, when the WHO declared the outbreak of the new variant an international public health emergency — its highest level of alarm.
Those affected are under specialist care and the risk to the UK population “remains low,” UKHSA said.
The original case was detected after the person traveled to several African countries on holiday and returned to the UK on October 21.
The patient developed flu-like symptoms more than 24 hours later and, on October 24, started to develop a rash that worsened in the following days.
Mpox, a viral disease related to smallpox, has two types, clade 1 and clade 2. Symptoms include fever, a skin rash or pus-filled blisters, swollen lymph nodes and body aches.
The WHO first declared an international public health emergency in 2022 over the spread of clade 2. That outbreak mostly affected gay and bisexual men in Europe and the United States.
Vaccination and awareness drives in many countries helped stem the number of worldwide cases and the WHO lifted the emergency in May 2023 after reporting 140 deaths out of around 87,400 cases.
In 2024, a two-pronged epidemic of clade 1 and clade 1b, a new strain that affects children, has spread widely in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The new strain has also been recorded in neighboring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, with imported cases in Sweden, India, Thailand, Germany and the UK.


Trump snaps at reporter when asked about abortion: ‘Stop talking about it’

Trump snaps at reporter when asked about abortion: ‘Stop talking about it’
Updated 05 November 2024
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Trump snaps at reporter when asked about abortion: ‘Stop talking about it’

Trump snaps at reporter when asked about abortion: ‘Stop talking about it’
  • The former president was asked twice after casting his ballot in Palm Beach
  • Pressed a second time, Trump snapped at a reporter, saying “you should stop talking about it”

FLORIDA: Donald Trump is refusing to say how he voted on Florida’s abortion measure — and getting testy about it.
The former president was asked twice after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday about a question that the state’s voters are considering. If approved, it would prevent state lawmakers from passing any law that penalizes, prohibits, delays or restricts abortion until fetal viability — which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks.
If it’s rejected, the state’s restrictive six-week abortion law would stand.
The first time he was asked, Trump avoided answering. He said instead of the issue that he did “a great job bringing it back to the states.” That was a reference to the former president having appointed three conservative justices to the US Supreme Court who helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
Pressed a second time, Trump snapped at a reporter, saying “you should stop talking about it.”
Trump had previously indicated that he would back the measure — but then changed his mind and said he would vote against it.
In August, Trump said he thought Florida’s ban was a mistake, saying on Fox News Channel, “I think six weeks, you need more time.” But then he said, “at the same time, the Democrats are radical” while repeating false claims he has frequently made about late-term abortions.
In addition to Florida, voters in eight other states are deciding whether their state constitutions should guarantee a right to abortion, weighing ballot measures that are expected to spur turnout for a range of crucial races.
Passing certain amendments in Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota likely would lead to undoing bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access to more than 7 million women of childbearing age who live in those states.


Saudi Arabia has launched 22 new routes this year as part of tourism drive, ACP’s CEO says

The CEO of the Air Connectivity Program Majid Khan speaks at the Umrah+ Connect event in London on Monday November 4, 2024. (AN
The CEO of the Air Connectivity Program Majid Khan speaks at the Umrah+ Connect event in London on Monday November 4, 2024. (AN
Updated 05 November 2024
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Saudi Arabia has launched 22 new routes this year as part of tourism drive, ACP’s CEO says

The CEO of the Air Connectivity Program Majid Khan speaks at the Umrah+ Connect event in London on Monday November 4, 2024. (AN
  • Kingdom has attracted 12 new airlines to date in 2024

LONDON: Saudi Arabia has launched 22 new routes from various destinations to the Kingdom this year, increasing tourist seating capacity by nearly 2 million, the CEO of the Air Connectivity Program has said.

Speaking at the Umrah+ Connect business-to-business event in London on Monday, Majid Khan said the Kingdom had attracted 12 new airlines to date in 2024.

Khan said: “There has been good expansion out of the UK. Virgin Atlantic is going to start daily flights from Heathrow to Riyadh in March; British Airways launched flights to Jeddah yesterday; Wizz Air will also be operating Gatwick to Jeddah flights daily.

“We are definitely focusing on our own carriers as well, because they are definitely our first priority; Flynas, flyadeal, Saudia, and Riyadh Air in the future.

“But we are also proactively working with international carriers in order to help us to get a higher share of inbound tourism to the Kingdom, as they have their sales and marketing channels in this part of the world.

“We know that the majority of BA travelers are not Saudis. They are actually travelers from the UK market, from their network in Europe and North America.”

Saudi Arabia has a strong, strategic location and travelers can reach more than half of the world within a six-hour flight, Khan said. He added that the ACP was working to deliver 150 million tourists to the Kingdom as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

He said: “Saudi Arabia is like one continent. We have 1,700 km of coastline, the new Maldives that’s actually the Red Sea, the two holiest sites for Muslims in the world, and mountainous regions.

“In the south we have Abha and Jazan, which I would personally call the Switzerland of Saudi Arabia. So it’s definitely an untouched wonder.”

An exhibition at the event highlighted new tourism developments in the Kingdom that British pilgrims can enjoy, including religious sites and activities that promote an understanding of Saudi cultural heritage.

Khan said the ACP was trying to revolutionize the way pilgrims travel, allowing them to holiday in the Kingdom after performing their religious rituals.

He said: “If we take the UK market, travelers typically have one Umrah ticket in their pocket to perform the minor pilgrimage with their family and friends. They then come back again to the UK, and have a separate ticket to either Dubai, Istanbul, or Malaga.

“This is something we would like to change. Travelers can perform Umrah, see the sacred places, and then save their tickets and continue to travel around the Kingdom. That’s the way we try to position Saudi Arabia.”

Rashid Mohammed, the organizer of Umrah+ Connect, said that Monday’s event had provided an opportunity for Umrah travel agents to network and grow their businesses.

Rashid Mohammed, the organizer of Umrah+ Connect (fourth from right), poses with the team from the Pilgrim Experience Program. (Umrah+ Connect)

Mohammed said: “We’ve brought you a diverse experience here in London, and it’s for you to use these tools, through connecting with people, to create packages that enhance and enrich pilgrim experiences.

“We’re also grateful for the support of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, and the Umrah and Ziyarah Forum, who are here today and have really backed us to put on this show.”


Father accused of Sara Sharif’s murder denies responsibility for death in UK trial

Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking.
Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking.
Updated 05 November 2024
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Father accused of Sara Sharif’s murder denies responsibility for death in UK trial

Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking.
  • Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns and bite marks

LONDON: The father of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in Britain, denied responsibility for his daughter’s death as he gave evidence at his murder trial on Tuesday.
Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, after what prosecutors say was a campaign of “serious and repeated violence.”
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns and bite marks.
Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, his wife and Sara Sharif’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are on trial at London’s Old Bailey court charged with her murder.
The trio are charged with causing or allowing the death of a child. All three deny the charges against them and blame each other for her death, prosecutors have said.
Emlyn Jones told jurors earlier this month that Urfan Sharif said to police: “It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”
Sharif entered the witness box on Tuesday and was asked by his lawyer Naeem Mian whether he was responsible for Sara’s death. He replied: “No.”
He became emotional as he was asked by Mian to describe what Sara was like, saying she was “beautiful, an angel” and that her favorite color was pink.
Sharif accepted slapping Sara on “a few occasions” to discipline her, but denied beating her in a regular or sustained way.
Mian had said to the jury that Sharif had wrongly been painted as a “villain,” rather than Batool, for slapping Sara.
Batool’s case, prosecutors have previously said, is that Urfan Sharif was a “violent disciplinarian” and that she was scared of him.
The trial is expected to run until December.