China loses private jets as other Asian growth spots emerge; Singapore and India among front runners now

SINGAPORE (Reuters): A sharp fall in the number of private jets based in China in recent years shows the impact a weakening domestic economy, anti-corruption drives and the pandemic have had on the country's wealthiest, according to business aviation industry data and experts. At the end of last year there were a third fewer private jets...

Calls to criminalise marital rape in India renewed, as judge frees man accused of raping wife

NEW DELHI: Back in 2019, a lower Indian court in the central Indian state Chhattisgarh convicted a 40-year-old man of rape and “unnatural sex” with his wife, who died within hours of the alleged assault. Her husband was held guilty of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” and sentenced to “rigorous imprisonment” for 10 years. But in...

Avalanche in Indian Himalayas kills four and another four workers still trapped

NEW DELHI (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Four workers have died, and a search operation is ongoing to rescue five others after an avalanche struck the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in northern India, Anadolu Ajansi reported officials said Saturday. Authorities launched a large-scale rescue effort in the Chamoli district after an avalanche buried over 50 workers from the Border...

Mysterious disease kills 14 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri village, neurotoxins found in samples

NEW DELHI: Medical experts have so far failed to trace the cause of death of 14 people, including children and women, due to some mysterious disease in the Badhal village in the border district of Rajouri. Fourteen of the 38 affected persons have died since Dec 7, 2024. Mass burial of three children, Zahoor Ahmad (14), Mohammad...

India’s palm oil import duty hike a ‘temporary challenge’, says ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: The tariff change in palm oil import duty by India is a "temporary challenge" for Malaysia's resilience and the competitiveness of its palm oil export, says the Plantation and Commodities Ministry. "From experience, these tariff changes are usually temporary, and their impact on Malaysian palm oil... is only short-term," it said in a parliamentary...

Singapore Airlines pilots forget to apply parking brake, plane rolls back at Delhi Airport, a cabin crew sustains injury

NEW DELHI: A Singapore Airlines (SIA) Airbus A380 on Monday (Nov 25) night rolled back at Delhi Airport at the parking bay as the pilots allegedly forgot to put on the parking brake. Fortunately, it did not hit any other plane or ground crew vehicles. The pilots quickly applied the brakes once they realised the mistake, reported...

India flexes military muscle with ‘Poorvi Prahar’ tri-services exercise along China border

NEW DELHI: Just days after reaching an agreement with China on de-escalation and patrolling along disputed areas in eastern Ladakh’s Demchok and Depsang, India is set to display its military prowess with a major tri-services exercise along its eastern border with China. This joint exercise, named “Poorvi Prahar,” will commence on Sunday (Nov 10). The exercise will...

Mumbai mourns Indian icon Ratan Tata

MUMBAI: Crowds of mourners gathered in India's financial capital Mumbai on Thursday (Oct 10) for the funeral of industrialist Ratan Tata, hailed as a "titan" who led one of the country's biggest conglomerates. Tata, who died aged 86 on Wednesday, transformed the Tata Group into a sprawling international enterprise, with a portfolio ranging from software to...

Search continues for missing M’sian doctor feared drowned in India

GEORGE TOWN: The search for Dr Balraj Sethi, who was swept away while trying to rescue his father in the Alaknanda River in Uttarakhand, India on Sept 24, will be extended until Nov 20. His brother Suraaj Sethi, 32, said the Indian police and the state disaster relief force personnel have agreed to continue with the...

Alleged conman with many wives arrested by Odisha CID

NEW DELHI: The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Odisha police, on Friday (Sept 13), arrested a man, who allegedly pretended to be an officer of the Central government to marry multiple women from the state and across the country. Identified as Biranchi Narayan Nath, a native of Chhendipada in Angul District, the accused is said to...