Deal to create one of world’s largest airline groups gets approved

Singapore Airlines has received approval from the Indian government to proceed with its merger with Air India, a key step towards completing a deal to create one of the world’s largest airline groups.

First announced in November 2022, the deal will see Singapore Airlines acquire a 25.1 per cent stake in the Indian flag carrier.

Vistara, a full-service carrier jointly owned by India’s Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, will be absorbed into Air India as part of the deal and cease operating its own flights from 12 November. Air India is also owned by the Tata Group.

Singapore Airlines said its acquisition of a quarter of Air India was approved by India’s government under foreign direct investment (FDI) laws, which regulate investment in India-based businesses from the rest of the world. The merger had alredy been approved by competition authorities in both Singapore and India.

“The FDI approval, together with anti-trust and merger control clearances and approvals, as well as other governmental and regulatory approvals received to-date, represent a significant development towards the completion of the proposed merger,” Singapore Airlines said in the filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange on Friday.

“SIA will make the necessary announcement(s) upon completion of the proposed merger or in the event that there are other significant developments,” the filing said on Friday.

In September last year, the Competition Commission of India said: “CCI approves the merger of Tata SIA Airlines into Air India and acquisition of certain shareholding by Singapore Airlines (SIA) in Air India subject to compliance of voluntary commitments offered by the parties.”

The parties are discussing an extension to the merger’s long stop date, which was initially set for 31 October 2024.

The Tata Group re-entered the Indian airline market in 2013 with the launch of Vistara and AirAsia India. In January 2022, the Tata Group also acquired Air India and Air India Express.

The merger will allow Singapore Airlines greater access to the Indian aviation market – a high-growth sector in India.

On X, Vistara shared a note, saying: “We are merging with Air India for you to fly #ToLimitlessPossibilities! Vistara flights, starting 3-Sep-24, will progressively not be available for bookings for travel after 11-Nov-24.”

It said that “12-Nov-24 onwards, you will be required to book with Air India. Stay tuned for further updates.”

Discovery of ‘hidden camera’ in girls’ toilet sparks student protest

Protests have erupted at a college in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after a hidden camera was reportedly discovered in a girls’ hostel bathroom.

Students at SR Gudlavalleru Engineering College in the state’s Krishna district staged a protest after they said they discovered a hidden camera, which they allege had been recording videos that have gone on to be sold.

The state government has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Andhra Pradesh’s human resources development minister, Nara Lokesh posted on X: “I have ordered an inquiry on the hidden cameras allegations. Stringent action will be taken against the culprits and people responsible.”

He added: “I directed officials to ensure that these kinds of incidents do not recur in colleges.”

Late on Thursday, NDTV reported that hundreds of students gathered on the campus and chanted “We want justice” as they demanded accountability.

A group of female students reportedly found the hidden camera in their restroom on Thursday evening, causing immediate alarm and distress among the students.

The discovery soon sparked a protest that began at around 7pm and continued through the night.

Videos and photos from the college showed hundreds of distressed female students, holding up mobile phone torches and shouting slogans for justice.

The Hindustan Times reported that the police arrested a senior student from the boys’ hostel in connection with the incident. His laptop and mobile phone have been seized, but no leaked videos have been discovered so far.

Police have played down the incident, questioning whether a hidden camera was really found and referring to the spread of “rumours”.

“We did not find any cameras hidden in the girls’ hostels during our probe. We searched the suspected student laptops, mobile phones and other devices in front of the students and college staff. No videos were found. Girl students need not worry,” SP Gandadhar Rao, a senior police official from Krishna district, told the reporters.

The female students are reportedly unconvinced by the police statement.

Earlier this month, customers at a popular coffee shop in Bengaluru discovered a phone hidden in the women’s washroom dustbin, allegedly used to record videos.

A content creator brought the incident to light, revealing that the camera was concealed in a bag with a hole, continuously recording footage.

This comes in the wake of massive protests in Kolkata in eastern India after the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor during her 36-hour shift at a prominent state-run hospital, triggering conversations across the country as a whole about the way women are treated.

Indigenous teen dies by suicide at Australian youth detention centre

An Aboriginal teenager died by suicide at a detention centre in Western Australia after calling out from his cell.

The 17-year-old boy died inside Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre on Thursday night, just two days after arriving at the facility. The teenager was the second minor to die in custody in less than a year.

He was found unresponsive in his cell when staff went to check on the boy, according to state premier Roger Cook. The staff entered the cell and performed CPR but were unable to revive the boy, ABC reported.

“Clearly a failure has taken place and we will undertake the important task of understanding the circumstances,” the premier said on Friday.

The teenager was placed in the facility’s intensive supervision unit but was considered low risk concerning self-harm, the authorities said.

Brad Royce, the commissioner of corrective services, said the boy was checked 10 times after being moved to a general unit, and on the 11th turn he was found unresponsive. Mr Royce said he had reviewed body camera footage and that he was “satisfied” with the way staff reacted.

Mr Royce said the boy had called out from his cell prior to his death but the cries had “no suggestion of harm”. “It was low-level stuff, innocuous. I’d rather not go into it, but it had no impact on this,” he said.

The teenager arrived at the facility “intoxicated”, the authorities said, adding that he had been potentially “taking illicit drugs as well”.

The teenager spent most of the afternoon outside of his cell and returned sometime after 6pm (local time).

His death comes just two weeks after a report delivered by the Commissioner for Children and Young People condemned the “systemic failure of successive governments that did not put the needs of children and young people as their primary consideration” at the facility and Unit 18 youth detention centres.

Last year, a 16-year-old died by suicide in his cell at Unit 18, a facility inside the adult Casuarina Prison youth detention unit for young adults deemed dangerous.

“How many more Aboriginal children will die before the WA government closes down these inhumane, dangerous youth prisons?” asked Kacey Teerman, Amnesty International’s Indigenous Rights Campaigner.

Mr Cook said on Friday that he had “more confidence than ever before in terms of the way we are managing our juvenile detention facilities.”

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.

Life for labourers who built pyramids was even harder than we thought

Ancient Egyptian labourers who built the pyramids in Giza were likely poisoned by exposure to high levels of copper, marking what could be the earliest example of metal contamination, archaeologists say.

A new analysis of soil samples from the Giza plateau reveals copper and arsenic contamination dating back over 5,000 years from using metal tools, especially those used to build the pyramid complex.

The study, published in the journal Geology, assessed a sediment core drilled at the foot of the pyramids near the ancient Khufu Harbor, close to the Nile River.

Archaeologists suspect this now-disappeared arm of the river made it possible to transport building materials used in constructing the pyramids over 5,000 years ago.

A massive workforce of about 7,000 to 20,000 people, including scribes, masons, metal workers, carpenters, and foremen, worked on-site to complete the pyramid-building project, according to the new study.

Research hints that the copper tools used by labourers were alloyed with arsenic to strengthen the blades, chisels, and drills.

They say the harbour played a key role in transporting materials for the construction of the necropolis, and was also the site of a major copper toolmaking industry.

The findings trace the origins of metal contamination at the site to around 3265 BC, much earlier than initially anticipated.

Metal contamination appears to have peaked 750 years later around 2500 BC when pyramid construction was in late stages, persisting till about 1000 BC.

“We found that significant local contamination occurred during the regnal years of Kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, consistent with metalworking during the preparation and construction of the edifices,” scientists wrote.

The levels of metal contamination seem to be about five to six times higher than their natural background amounts detected in the environment, researchers say.

The discovery also suggests construction of the pyramid complex in Giza likely began earlier than previously thought, coinciding with a time when Nile levels began to drop.

Even as the Nile River receded and the Khufu Harbor shrank further, metalworking seems to have continued.

Copper contamination remained high even during a period of civil unrest around 2200 BC when the Nile reached its lowest level, hinting that the workforce was resilient.

While copper in limited quantities is essential for human life, exposure to higher levels as discovered at the site may have caused adverse effects on both humans and wildlife such as vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea.

It remains unclear if ancient Egyptians faced these symptoms due to metal contamination or how they coped.

“While the pyramid complex led to the creation of an outstanding cultural legacy for humanity, it also marked the onset of significant human-caused metal contamination at Giza,” researchers concluded.

World’s largest film piracy network shut down in police bust

An international anti-piracy coalition has shut down Fmovies, a large illegal streaming operation based in Vietnam, in a major victory for the entertainment industry.

The coalition, which includes major Hollywood studios and is led by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), revealed on Thursday that it worked with police in Hanoi to shut down Fmovies and a host of affiliated sites.

The operation also saw the shutdown of video hosting provider Vidsrc.to and its affiliated sites, which were operated by the same suspects.

Two Vietnamese men were arrested by Hanoi police in connection with the case but have not yet been charged, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Charles Rivkin, chairman of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and ACE, praised the shutdown as a big moment for the global creative community. In a statement, he called it “a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe”.

“We took down the mothership here,” he was quoted as saying by Variety. “There was a time when piracy was Whac-a-Mole… Today, we go after piracy at its root.”

ACE includes members like Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon and Walt Disney Studios.

Larissa Knapp, a senior executive at the MPA, emphasised that the action serves as a strong deterrent and expressed a commitment to ongoing collaboration with various authorities to prosecute those responsible.

“We look forward to ongoing joint efforts with Vietnamese authorities, US Homeland Security Investigations and the US Department of Justice International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program to bring the criminal operators to justice,” she said.

The operation included other sites like Bflixz, Flixtorz, Movies7, and Myflixer, and was described as the largest pirate streaming network in the world, with over 6.7 billion visits from January 2023 to June 2024.

At its peak in 2023, Fmovies ranked as the 11th most popular website worldwide in the TV, movies, and streaming category, according to the data analytics company SimilarWeb.

Fmovies has been on the US Trade Representative’s “notorious markets” list for counterfeiting and piracy since 2017. The USTR’s latest report states that Fmovies is linked to more than 60 domains involved in “significant piracy operations”.

Many consumers who visit piracy sites like those operated by Fmovies “don’t even realise that it’s wrong,” Mr Rivkin said.

“Some of these sites are as clean and beautiful as, say, a Netflix. It seems to be too good to be true — and it is.”

He added that the MPA is advocating for US legislation that would enable nationwide blocking of piracy sites, similar to laws already in place in over 60 other countries.

In a statement, Marc E Knapper, US ambassador to Vietnam said: “Strengthening intellectual property rights is an important element of the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership. These prosecutions demonstrate Vietnam’s commitment to intellectual property rights enforcement, contributing to an economic ecosystem where creators and inventors can thrive.”

India approves Disney-Reliance merger deal to create new media giant

India’s Competition Commission has approved Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) £6.43bn merger with key entertainment assets of The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) in India, subject to voluntary changes.

The deal, announced in February, will merge Viacom18’s assets from RIL with Star India Private Limited (SIPL), a Disney subsidiary.

Viacom18 is part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s RIL group.

After the merger, SIPL will be a joint venture among RIL, Viacom18, and Disney subsidiaries, creating a new media giant in India.

The commission has yet to detail the terms of the modifications it is seeking, but has previously expressed concerns about the merged entity’s potential dominance in cricket broadcasting.

Disney and RIL competed fiercely in the recent bidding for multi-year IPL rights, driving the deal’s value to approximately $6bn. Cricket, India’s most popular sport, has provided a significant boost to subscriber numbers in the country for both the companies’ streaming platforms. Together, RIL and Disney hold a dominant position in Indian cricket broadcasting rights.

K K Sharma, a former head of mergers at the CCI, had previously said that the deal, if approved, would create “a big fish in the broadcasting market” which would practically be a “monopoly on cricket advertisement revenues”.

SIPL will contribute its TV broadcasting division, content production assets, streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar, and advertising operations to the merger. Star Television Productions Limited (STPL), a Disney entity based in the British Virgin Islands, will be included in the deal.

The merger, which also needs approval from the National Company Law Tribunal and shareholder votes, will significantly impact the Indian media landscape by combining major players and creating a substantial presence in TV and streaming services.

The merger will establish India’s largest entertainment entity, positioning it to compete with Sony, Netflix, and Amazon, with a portfolio of 120 TV channels and two streaming services.

The merger is expected to be finalised within the next six months and will reportedly be overseen by Nita Ambani, Mr Ambani’s wife.

Earlier, Bob Iger, the chief executive of The Walt Disney said: “India is the world’s most populous market, and we are excited for the opportunities that this joint venture will provide to create long-term value for the company.”

In February this year, Mr Ambani had hailed the merger as “a new era in the Indian entertainment industry,” and added that they are looking forward “to deliver unparalleled content at affordable prices to audiences across the nation”.

Asia has a new richest person as India’s Mukesh Ambani is unseated

Gautam Adani and his family are now worth Rs11,600bn (£104.4bn), making him the richest person in Asia, according to the Hurun India Rich List.

Mr Adani’s wealth has surged by 95 per cent, going from Rs4,740bn (£42.66bn) to Rs116,000bn, recovering well from the Hindenburg Report.

Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, who was Asia’s richest man and recently threw an extravagant wedding for his youngest son, saw his overall wealth increase by 25 per cent to Rs10,140bn (£91.26bn).

The Hindenburg report, titled “Adani Group: How the World’s 3rd Richest Man is Pulling the Largest Con in Corporate History” was published on 25 January last year, and accused them of fraud and other malfeasance. The Adani group denied the report, calling it “malicious”, “baseless” and full of “selective misinformation.”

“Rising like a phoenix after the Hindenburg allegations, Gautam Adani, 62, & family have secured the top spot in this year’s rankings, with a 95 per cent increase in wealth compared to last year, bringing their total to Rs11,600 bn (approximately £104.4bn),” read the report.

“As a self-made entrepreneur, Adani has recorded the highest wealth growth within the top 10 over the past five years, adding Rs10,216 bn, despite the challenges following the report.”

In 2023’s report, Mr Adani’s wealth declined by 57 per cent to Rs47,400bn, and Mr Ambani was way ahead with a fortune of Rs80,800bn (£72.72bn).

In the 2014 edition of the Hurun India Rich List, Mr Adani’s fortune was estimated at Rs440bn (£3.96bn), placing him at the tenth position among India’s richest.

In third place on the list are HCL’s Shiv Nadar and family, with a wealth of Rs31,400bn (£28.26bn), followed by the Serum Institute’s Cyrus S Poonawalla, with a fortune worth Rs28,900bn (£26.08bn).

Also making it to the list for the first time is Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, recording an estimated wealth of Rs73bn (£657m). A majority of his wealth comes from being the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, the reigning champion of the annual cricket league Indian Premier League (IPL). His production company Red Chillies Entertainment also aids in his wealth, with a revenue of Rs3bn (£27m) and a net profit of Rs850m (£7.65m) in 2023.

Khan also boasts several massive brand endorsements, from Indian fashion e-commerce company Myntra, and online grocery brand BigBasket, to Pepsi.

Several others from Bollywood followed Khan on the list, from Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Juhi Chawla, actors Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan, and director Karan Johar.

The report also showed that India’s billionaire count crossed 300 for the first time to hit 334, a 29 per cent increase from last year, therefore creating a new billionaire every five days over the past year.

“India is emerging as Asia’s wealth creation engine! While China saw a 25 per cent decline in its number of billionaires, India experienced a 29 per cent increase, reaching a record 334 billionaires,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher at Hurun India.

“For the first time, the Hurun India Rich List features 1,539 entrants, showcasing a diverse range of wealth creators – from family-run businesses and startup founders to private equity investors, angel investors, next-generation leaders, film stars, and more.”

The cumulative wealth of the entire list’s members exceeds Rs1,590,000bn (£1.431 trillion), exceeding the combined GDP of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.

Wave of sexual abuse allegations rock India film industry

Women in one of India’s key film industries have triggered their own MeToo movement after a government fact-finding committee discovered rampant sexual harassment.

The Malayalam language film industry is under intense scrutiny after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report – a 296-page study commissioned by the Kerala government in 2017 to investigate conditions for women in the industry.

The report is focused both on commercial and independent cinema made in the Malayalam language, widely spoken in the southern state of Kerala.

A female actor who primarily works in the Bengali language film industry in the eastern state of West Bengal filed a complaint against celebrated Malayalam film director Ranjith, after she revealed on 24 August that he had touched her inappropriately and made unsolicited sexual advances.

A day after she came forward another female actor, who works in the Malayalam film industry, accused veteran Malayalam actor Siddique – who is also the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) – of sexual misconduct.

The committee, headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court, submitted their report to the government in December 2019, which was finally made public on 19 August after several legal challenges.

The committee was set up after the sexual assault of a prominent female actor. The actor was kidnapped and assaulted by a group of men while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi in February 2017. Dileep, one of the biggest male actors from the industry, who had been in multiple films with the female actor, was named as an accused and charged with criminal conspiracy. He was released on bail, and the case remains on hold.

The report, which was filed after interviews with at least 80 women, states that the Malayalam film industry “is controlled by a group of male actors, producers, distributors, exhibitors and directors who have gained enormous fame and wealth”.

“No man nor woman dare to utter any word which may offend anyone belonging to the power group, because such persons will be wiped off the industry by the powerful lobby.”

The committee reportedly found evidence that proved that not only is “sexual harassment remains shockingly rampant” it also “goes on unchecked and uncontrolled”.

“Men in industry make open demands for sex without any qualms as if it’s their birthright. Women are left with very little options but to oblige – or reject at the cost of their long awaited dream of pursuing cinema as their profession.”

Women who enter the industry are told to make ”adjustments” and ”compromise” and be available for “sex on demand”, the report said.

Women at film shootings that required overnight stay were at risk of assault if they did not have a family member with them as men entered their rooms “by force”, the report stated.

“That knocking will not be polite or decent but, they repeatedly bang at the door, by force. On many occasions, they felt that the door would collapse and men would make an entry into the room by force. So unless women take somebody from the family when they go for work, they fear that they will not be safe at the workplace.”

The report also found that the fear of retribution kept women from speaking up; the women were also afraid of being harassed online by incredibly toxic fan clubs.

“The experiences of many women are really shocking and of such gravity that they have not disclosed the details even to their close family members.”

In addition, the industry did not offer women actors and technicians basic facilities such as toilets and changing rooms, pay parity, food, or even basic transport or accommodation, it said.

“There are no toilets, so women have to go in the bushes or behind thick trees. During their periods, not being able to change their sanitary napkins for long hours and holding urine for long causes physical discomfort and makes them sick, in some cases needing hospitalisation,” it said.

Members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), whose petition to the government after the 2017 assault contributed to the formation of the committee, said that they had trouble finding work since they began demanding better working conditions for women on sets.

“Ever since I reported the incident, I was systematically deprived of work in the industry. The deposition before the committee only worsened the boycott, to the point that I had to leave the film industry,” a 32-year-old woman actor told Indian news daily The Indian Express.

The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) denied all allegations, with Siddique saying: “There is no such power lobby. No lobby can control the cinema in any manner. How can an industry function if there’s a group controlling all aspects? If there was such a power group, then there would not be good cinema.

“Ever since the report came out, there have been accusations generalising the entire Malayalam film industry and its people as bad, which is hurtful. Every job sector has issues but nobody comes up with remarks blemishing the entire sector.”

Since the release of the report, several other women have come forward with sexual harassment allegations. A total of 17 cases have been registered naming some of the Malayalam film industry’s biggest and most celebrated stars.

The Bengali actor recalled meeting Ranjith, 59, in 2009 over discussions for a role in a film he was directing, after which he allegedly sexually harassed her.

“During the course of discussion, he clutched my hand and later on attempted to spread his hand to other parts of my body with sexual intention. Realising that his intentions are not the discussion regarding the film and with sexual intent, I had to escape from the flat and returned to the hotel where I was staying,” she wrote in an email to the police.

Ranjith denied the allegations, calling them baseless and politically motivated. “They have been making up allegations against me since the time I took up the post. I will be moving legally. I need to prove my innocence before the public. The truth will come out one day,” he said. He has resigned from his position as chairperson of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, claiming moral responsibility for the situation, and the police registered a case against him on 26 August following the complaint.

In an interview with news agency ANI, the Malayalam actor described meeting Siddique, 61, when she was 21. He asked to meet her using the pretext of discussing a film role.

“Everything looked professional at first … after some discussion, all of a sudden his conversation turned sexual and by the time I realised it was a trap, the door was locked … I was helpless and I was scared,” she said.

In response, Siddique resigned as AMMA’s general secretary on Sunday and filed a complaint with the Kerala Police against the female actor, stating that there was a “criminal conspiracy to fabricate and spread false and scandalous allegations against him”.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Siddique on 28 August for for rape and criminal intimidation, both non-bailable clauses.

On Monday, another female actor from the Malayalam film industry alleged that she was a victim of sexual harassment by actors Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Edavela Babu. She added later that she had been receiving threatening messages since she had spoken up.

“I had a bitter experience while shooting… I went to the restroom and when I came out, Jayasurya hugged me and kissed me without my consent. I was shocked and I ran out,” she told Indian news website NDTV.

She added that she had been forced to leave the Malayalam film industry and relocate to Chennai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, due to the “bitter experiences”.

On 29 August, police charged actors Mukesh and Jayasurya with sexual asssault after she made a police complaint on Wednesday.

All other office bearers of the AMMA, including president Mohanlal, resigned on Tuesday, after allegations were made against three members of the body – Siddique, vice-president Jeyan R, and joint secretary Baburaj. Mohanlal is one of the biggest stars of the industry, with a career spanning over four decades and over 400 films to his name.

“In the context of the sexual harassment accusations levelled against some of the officials of the administrative committee of AMMA in the media after the release of the Hema committee report, the existing administrative committee of AMMA has decided to resign, accepting moral responsibility,” the AMMA said in a statement.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government would take strict action if any woman who contributed to the report chose to file a report, and constituted a seven-member panel of high-ranking police officers to investigate allegations on 25 August.

“No matter how big they are, they will be brought before the law,” he said.