Ratan Tata, the 86-year-old Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group and a pioneering figure in Indian industry, was laid to rest with traditional Parsi rituals in Mumbai on Wednesday. He passed away at Breach Candy Hospital and was given a state funeral by the Maharashtra government to honour his immense contributions to the nation. The late business magnate’s body was kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Nariman Point for the public to pay their respects before the final rites. His funeral was attended by a large gathering of friends, family, and dignitaries. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present on behalf of the government to pay tribute to Tata’s remarkable legacy. Parsi Funeral Traditions In accordance with the Zoroastrian traditions followed by the Parsi community, Ratan Tata’s body was first prepared for the final rites. As per custom, the body was washed and dressed in traditional Parsi attire by the Nassesalars, specialized pallbearers trained in handling the deceased. The body was then wrapped in a white shroud, known as the sudreh (a cotton vest), and kusti, a sacred cord worn around the waist. Noel Tata poised to lead $165 billion Tata Group! Before being taken for the final rites, Parsi priests performed prayers and blessings designed to help the soul of the deceased transition smoothly into the afterlife. Family members and close relatives gathered to pay their respects and participate in these solemn prayers. Traditionally, Parsi bodies are taken to the Tower of Silence, or Dakhma, where they are exposed to natural elements and scavenger birds, typically vultures. This practice, known as Dokhmenashini, is believed to prevent the contamination of the sacred elements of fire, earth, and water. The vultures consume the flesh of the deceased, while the bones eventually fall into a central well within the tower, where they decompose naturally. Modern Adaptations However, given the decline in vulture populations and the changing environmental landscape, many Parsi families, especially in urban areas, have begun adopting alternative methods. In some cases, solar concentrators are used to aid the decomposition process. In recent years, with the growing scarcity of vultures, electric cremation has emerged as a practical and environmentally friendly option for many Parsi families. If the traditional Dakhma method is not feasible, the body is taken to an electric crematorium. Here, the cremation is conducted in a manner that respects Zoroastrian principles of not contaminating the earth, fire, or water. A State Funeral for Tata The Maharashtra government’s decision to grant Ratan Tata a state funeral highlights the significant role he played in shaping modern India’s industrial landscape. His contributions to business, philanthropy, and nation-building have left an indelible mark on the country’s development. Ratan Tata: A life of achievements and unfulfilled love stories After the public viewing at the NCPA, his body was taken to the Worli crematorium at 3:30 pm for the final rites. The ceremony was attended by prominent personalities from the worlds of business, politics, and civil society, all paying their last respects to the man who guided the Tata Group to global prominence. As the nation mourns the loss of a visionary leader, Ratan Tata’s passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.    

The Nobel Prize in literature was awarded Thursday to South Korean author Han Kang for what the Nobel committee called “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” Han becomes the first South Korean writer to win the Nobel literature prize. Nobel committee chairman Anders Olsson praised Han’s “physical empathy for the vulnerable, often female lives” of her characters. He said her work “confronts historical traumas and in each of her works exposes the fragility of human life. She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in a poetic and experimental style, has become an innovator in contemporary prose.” Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to 3 scientists for work on proteins, building blocks of life Han, 53, won the International Booker Prize in 2016 for “The Vegetarian,” an unsettling novel in which a woman’s decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences. At the time of winning that award, Han said writing novels “is a way of questioning for me.” “I just try to complete my questions through the process of my writing and I try to stay in the questions, sometimes painful, sometimes - well - sometimes demanding,” she said. With “The Vegetarian,” she said, ”I wanted to question about being human and I wanted to describe a woman who desperately didn’t want to belong to the human race any longer and desperately wanted to reject being human, (humans) who commit such violence.” Her novel “Human Acts” was an International Booker Prize finalist in 2018. The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers of style-heavy, story-light prose. It has also been male-dominated, with just 17 women among its 119 laureates until this year’s award. The last woman to win was Annie Ernaux of France, in 2022. AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield win Nobel Prize in Physics Six days of Nobel announcements opened Monday with Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun winning the medicine prize. Two founding fathers of machine learning — John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton — won the physics prize on Tuesday. On Wednesday, three scientists who discovered powerful techniques to decode and even design novel proteins were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Oct. 14. The prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the award’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.

With the passing of Ratan Tata, the $165 billion Tata Group is at a pivotal juncture as it seeks a new leader. Noel Tata, the half-brother of Ratan Tata, is seen as a strong contender to take over the top post of Chairman at Tata Trusts, which holds a 66% stake in the group’s holding company, Tata Sons. Ratan Tata: A life of achievements and unfulfilled love stories Noel Tata, currently the Chairman of Trent, Voltas, Tata Investment Corporation, and Tata International, also serves as the Vice Chairman of Tata Steel and Titan. His presence on the board of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust further solidifies his position as a potential successor. This role, by virtue of its influence over Tata Sons, will allow the new Chairman to steer the group through ongoing global and domestic challenges. Despite the familial ties, the Tata Group is considering multiple candidates. Mehli Mistry, a director of the Meherji Pallonji Group and a cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry, is also in contention. As Tata Sons Chairman, N Chandrasekaran, who has successfully led the group post-Cyrus Mistry's exit, is not on the board of Tata Trusts, the decision remains uncertain. Indian industrial Icon Ratan Tata passes away The Tata Group, which generated over $165 billion in revenue in 2023-24, is facing challenges due to the global economic downturn and pressures on key businesses like TCS, Tata Steel, and Tata Motors. Whoever takes the reins will need to navigate these issues with a clear vision for the future. With Noel Tata’s extensive experience and presence in multiple group companies, he stands out as a strong candidate to maintain the legacy and drive the group’s future growth.      

Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for deeper market integration with Southeast Asia on Thursday during annual summit talks where territorial disputes in the South China Sea are likely to be high on the agenda. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations' meeting with Li followed recent violent confrontations at sea between China and ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam that raised unease over China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters. Li didn't mention the row in his opening speech at the summit talks but said that intensifying trade relations between Beijing and ASEAN — a market of 672 million people — are beneficial for the bloc. China, at UN, warns against 'expansion of the battlefield' in Ukraine war "The global economy is still seeing a sluggish recovery, protectionism is rising and geopolitical turbulence has brought instability and uncertainty to our development," Li said. "An ultra large-scale market is our greatest foundation for promoting economic prosperity. Strengthening market coordination and synchronization is an important direction for our further cooperation," he said. China is ASEAN's No. 1 trading partner and its third-largest source of foreign investment — a key reason why the bloc has been muted in its criticisms of Chinese actions in the South China Sea. ASEAN leaders have repeatedly called only for restraint and respect for international law. China wants to invest in solar panels manufacturing; deepen ties with Bangladesh ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei along with Taiwan have overlapping claims with China, which claims sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea and has become more aggressive in its attempts to enforce its claims. ASEAN members and China have been negotiating a code of conduct to govern behavior in the strategic waterway for years but progress has been slow. Sticky issues include disagreements over whether the pact should be binding. Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly this year, and Vietnam said last week that Chinese forces assaulted its fishermen in a disputed area of the sea. Beijing has said it was defending its offshore territories. China has also sent patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as exclusive economic zones. The Philippines, a longtime U.S. ally, has been critical of other ASEAN countries for not doing more to get China to back away. The U.S. has no claims in the South China Sea but has deployed Navy ships and fighter jets to patrol the waterway and promote freedom of navigation and overflight. China has warned the U.S. not to meddle in the disputes. ASEAN leaders, who held a summit among themselves on Wednesday, also separately met with new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol before convening an ASEAN Plus Three summit along with China. The bloc will also hold individual talks with dialogue partners Australia, Canada, India, the U.S. and the United Nations that will culminate in an East Asia Summit of 18 nations including Russia and New Zealand on Friday. China test-fires intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will fill in for President Joe Biden at the meetings, is expected to arrive in Vientiane later Thursday. Former ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said that despite challenges in addressing disputes in the South China Sea and the Myanmar civil war, ASEAN's central role in the region is undisputable. "ASEAN and its diplomatic maneuvers have sustained the relative peace and progress of Southeast Asia to date. ASEAN will continue to be useful in that regard. Big powers cannot do what they wish in the region," said Ong, who is now deputy chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. After the Myanmar army ousted an elected government in 2021, fighting there has descended into a civil war that has killed nearly 6,000 people and displaced more than 3 million. The military has backtracked on an ASEAN peace plan it agreed to in late 2021 and fighting has continued with pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic rebels. Less than half of the country's territory is believed to be under the army's control. Myanmar's top generals have been shut out of ASEAN summits since the military takeover. Thailand will host an informal ASEAN ministerial-level consultation on Myanmar in mid-December as frustration grows in the bloc over the prolonged conflict.

A pilot killed when a helicopter crashed on the roof of an Australian hotel two months ago was affected by alcohol and was not qualified to fly at night, an investigation concluded. Two hotel guests were briefly hospitalized for smoke inhalation and 400 people had to evacuated from the hotel following the crash in the tropical city of Cairns on Aug. 12. The four-minute flight had not been authorized and there were no airworthiness factors that likely contributed to the Robinson R44’s crash, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in its final report Thursday. Turkish Airlines pilot dies mid-flight , forcing emergency landing The pilot, Blake Wilson, a 23-year-old New Zealand citizen, had been employed by the helicopter’s operator Nautilus Aviation since April. He had Australian and New Zealand commercial pilot licenses and had flown R44 helicopters before. But he was employed by Nautilus as a ground handler and did not have qualifications to fly at night, the report said. “The flight was a purposeful act, but there was no evidence to explain the pilot’s intentions,” the report said. Wilson had been due to be transferred by Nautilus on the day he died to an island 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Cairns. He had been drinking with colleagues and friends at several Cairns bars before returning to his apartment the night before his intended departure. A toxicology report indicated he had a “significant blood-alcohol content” when he died. The report doesn't specify a level of concentration, but said he was “affected by alcohol.” Wilson had traveled from his apartment to Cairns Airport, used as security code to enter a Nautilus hangar then flew a helicopter toward Cairns, a city of 150,000 people and a popular tourist gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. He flew over his apartment twice, a wharf complex and along the waterfront before the crash. Security camera footage showed the helicopter pitched up before descending steeply on to the hotel roof, where most of its wreckage remained. Mozambique votes for president as ruling party could extend its 49 years in power While pilots are required to remain at least 1,000 feet (304 meters) above the highest feature of a built-up area in Australia, Wilson’s flight never flew higher than 500 feet (152 meters). The bureau's Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said Wilson had switched off the helicopter’s strobe lights which made his flight difficult to detect from the airport’s air traffic control tower. “We do know that the pilot did take significant measures to conceal the nature of the flight,” Mitchell told reporters. “This is quite an exceptional set of circumstances for the ATSB to be investigating,” he added.

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of one of India's biggest conglomerates Tata Group, has passed away. He was 86. He was admitted to the hospital due to age and health-related issues, according to the Times of India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over Ratan Tata’s demise, describing him as a visionary business leader, a compassionate individual, and an extraordinary human being. Maggie Smith, a favourite among fans of 'Harry Potter' and ‘Downton Abbey,’ dies at 89 "Shri Ratan Tata Ji was a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being. He provided stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business houses. At the same time, his contribution went far beyond the boardroom. He endeared himself to several people thanks to his humility, kindness and an unwavering commitment to making our society better," Modi wrote in a post on X.  

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the prestigious 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics to two visionary researchers, Dr Geoffrey Hinton and Dr John Hopfield, whose pioneering work in artificial intelligence has redefined the boundaries of human knowledge and technological innovation. This remarkable honour is a testament to their trailblazing contributions that laid the groundwork for the development of machine learning, a field that is reshaping the future of humanity with unprecedented promise and peril. Dr Hinton, often heralded as the “Godfather of AI,” and Dr Hopfield, a towering figure in both physics and computational neuroscience, have been celebrated for their foundational contributions to artificial neural networks — intricate computational systems inspired by the human brain. This milestone accolade places AI’s influence on par with the monumental discoveries of classical physics, underscoring the transformative power of interdisciplinary research. Dr Geoffrey Hinton, a dual citizen of Canada and the United Kingdom, currently affiliated with the University of Toronto, is renowned for his innovative work in deep learning and backpropagation — a learning mechanism that enables computers to self-improve by repeatedly fine-tuning their processes until perfection is achieved. His groundbreaking research in the 1980s not only changed the trajectory of AI but also served as a beacon for countless researchers and innovators across the globe. The Nobel Committee recognised Dr John Hopfield’s equally pivotal role in the 1980s, particularly his development of associative memory models capable of storing and retrieving complex data patterns. The Nobel Prize in physics is being awarded, a day after 2 Americans won the medicine prize Dr Hopfield, now an emeritus professor at Princeton University, has long been celebrated for bridging the realms of physics, biology, and computer science to unravel some of the most intricate puzzles of the human mind. “The work of these two gentlemen has not only paved the way for the current explosion in artificial intelligence but has also challenged and expanded our understanding of what it means to learn, to know, and to reason,” said Nobel Committee member Mark Pearce. “They have built the very bedrock upon which the modern era of AI stands.” Shaping the Future While the announcement has brought jubilation to the global scientific community, it also arrives at a time of heightened introspection. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has sparked fervent debate about its implications for society, with even the laureates themselves voicing deep concern over the unintended consequences of these powerful systems. In his acceptance remarks, Dr Hinton, who recently stepped down from a high-profile position at Google to speak more openly about his concerns, warned that AI’s meteoric rise poses profound challenges for the future. “We have no experience of what it’s like to have something smarter than us. And it’s going to be wonderful in many respects,” Hinton observed with a mixture of awe and caution. “But we also have to worry about a number of possible bad consequences, particularly the threat of these things getting out of control.” Nobel Prize in medicine honors American duo for their discovery of microRNA Dr Hopfield echoed these sentiments, drawing parallels between AI’s disruptive potential and past revolutionary scientific breakthroughs such as nuclear energy and virology. “With great power comes great responsibility,” he said somberly, invoking imagery from George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984 and Kurt Vonnegut’s cautionary tale Cat’s Cradle. The laureates stressed the need for ethical guidelines and societal dialogue to harness AI’s vast benefits without compromising human values and autonomy. Dr Hinton, in particular, has long advocated for greater scrutiny and oversight, predicting that AI’s impact could be comparable to the Industrial Revolution in scale and scope. A Celebration and a Call to Action The Nobel Prize, which includes a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (£900,000), will be formally presented to Dr Hinton and Dr Hopfield at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. As the world applauds their monumental achievements, the laureates’ reflections serve as a powerful reminder that while technology can elevate society to new heights, it can also bring forth profound ethical dilemmas that demand our collective wisdom and vigilance. Dr Hinton’s words to the younger generation of researchers were tinged with both inspiration and caution: “Don’t be put off if everyone tells you what you are doing is silly. But remember, in the rush to build, we must also take the time to think.” With this year’s Nobel Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has not merely recognised two individuals but has also ushered in a new era where the blurred lines between science, technology, and philosophy are explored with the hope of shaping a brighter, safer, and more enlightened future for all. Source: With inputs from AP 

The Nobel Prize in physics is being awarded Tuesday, a day after two American scientists won the medicine prize for their discovery of microRNA. Three scientists won last year's physics Nobel for providing the first split-second glimpse into the superfast world of spinning electrons, a field that could one day lead to better electronics or disease diagnoses. The 2023 award went to French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, French scientist Pierre Agostini and Hungarian-born Ferenc Krausz for their work with the tiny part of each atom that races around the center and is fundamental to virtually everything: chemistry, physics, our bodies and our gadgets. Nobel Prize in medicine honors American duo for their discovery of microRNA Six days of Nobel announcements opened Monday with Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun winning the medicine prize for their discovery of tiny bits of genetic material that serve as on and off switches inside cells that help control what the cells do and when they do it. If scientists can better understand how they work and how to manipulate them, it could one day lead to powerful treatments for diseases like cancer. The physics prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the award's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. It has been awarded 117 times. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. Nobel announcements continue with the chemistry physics prize on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Oct. 14.

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a wave of rockets into Israel as the nation mourned the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and set off a war that has engulfed Gaza and parts of Lebanon and threatened to ignite a wider regional conflict. Israel, which has focused increasingly on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon in recent weeks, warned people in over a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. The Hamas-led attack last year saw fighters stream into Israel, attacking communities and security outposts and battering the reputation of Israel's vaunted military and intelligence services. Today, many of those communities are struggling to rebuild. Around 100 of some 250 hostages that militants took that day have not been released. About a third of those remaining are thought to be dead. Much of Gaza, meanwhile, is in ruins in the wake of Israel's assault, with more than 41,000 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. It says more than half of those killed were women and children. Nearly the entire population of 2.3 million has has been displaced. Israel, which has focused increasingly on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon in recent weeks, warned people in over a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. Hezbollah began launching rockets into Israel just after the Oct. 7 attack, in support of Hamas. Here’s what to know: What is the status of the fighting in the Gaza Strip? The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate areas near the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after a Hamas rocket attack into Israel. Hamas claimed the attack, which lightly wounded two women and caused minor damage. The military said the rockets were fired from the area of Khan Younis. The military had also ordered an evacuation of the areas east of Khan Younis earlier in the war when it sent ground troops into the territory’s second-largest city. On Sunday, the military reiterated warnings for the entire population of northern Gaza to flee south. Hamas also said it attacked Israeli forces in other parts of Gaza. The Israeli military said it launched a wave of artillery and airstrikes overnight and into Monday to thwart what it said was an imminent attack. It said it targeted Hamas launch posts and underground militant infrastructure. What's the latest on Israel’s operations in Lebanon? Israel has widened warnings for people to evacuate parts of south Lebanon in recent days, as its forces continue their ground incursion backed by intense airstrikes. The warnings now include more than a dozen towns and villages, a provincial capital and the the coastal town where the U.N. peacekeeping mission is headquartered. Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a post on X told residents to immediately flee north. “You are not allowed to head southward,” the statement read. “Any movement to the south puts your lives at risk.” Lebanon’s government estimates that some 1.2 million people have been displaced in the fighting, and it’s struggling to support them. Israel says its aim is to weaken Hezbollah to allow displaced Israeli residents to move home. Hezbollah says it will stop firing rockets at Israel when there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, in solidarity with its ally Hamas. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed at least 10 firefighters on Monday. It said more people were buried under the rubble and the death toll may rise.

The Supreme Court said Monday it won’t hear an appeal from the social media platform X over a search warrant prosecutors obtained in the election-interference case against former President Donald Trump. The justices did not explain their reasoning and there were no noted dissents. The company, known as Twitter before it was purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, says a nondisclosure order that blocked it from telling Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights. The company also argues Trump should have had a chance to exert executive privilege. If not reined in, the government could use similar tactics to invade other privileged communications, their lawyers argued. Two nonpartisan electronic privacy groups also weighed in, encouraging the high court to take the case on First Amendment grounds. Prosecutors, though, say the company never showed Trump had used the account for official purposes so executive privilege wouldn't be an issue. A lower court also found that telling Trump could have jeopardized the ongoing investigation. Trump used his Twitter account in the weeks leading up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to spread false statements about the election that prosecutors allege were designed to sow mistrust in the democratic process. The indictment details how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to come to Washington on Jan. 6, pressured his Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification and falsely suggested that the mob at the Capitol — which beat police officers and smashed windows — was peaceful. That case is now inching forward after the Supreme Court’s ruling in July giving Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president. The warrant arrived at Twitter amid rapid changes instituted by Musk, who purchased the platform in 2022 and has since laid off much of its staff, including workers dedicated to ferreting out misinformation and hate speech. He also welcomed back a long list of users who had been previously banned, including Trump, and endorsed him in the 2024 presidential race.