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UAE joins Pacific Islands Forum as Strategic Partner

Koror, Palau: The United Arab Emirates has joined the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as a Strategic Partner, marking a new chapter in the UAE’s longstanding relationship with Pacific Island nations and building on years of close cooperation. The decision was confirmed at the PIF Leaders’ Retreat, held as part of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Koror, Palau. The UAE joins 12 other Strategic Partners of the Forum: China, the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and the European Union. The announcement follows the participation of Noura bint Mohamed Al Kaabi, Minister of State, on behalf of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting, held from 30 August to 4 September 2026 in Koror. The UAE’s recognition as a Strategic Partner reflects its longstanding ties across the Pacific, including cooperation with Small Island Developing States in renewable energy, climate resilience, education, and sustainable development. Strategic Partner status will provide a platform for closer engagement with PIF member states, opening new opportunities for trade, investment, and business partnerships, while expanding knowledge exchange in areas such as the energy transition, digital transformation, connectivity, and climate resilience. Reflecting on this milestone, Al Kaabi said: "This recognition builds on years of close cooperation with the nations of the Pacific, grounded in mutual respect and a shared commitment to sustainable development. This new chapter in our partnership holds particular significance for the UAE and reflects the strength of the relationships we have developed across the region. We look forward to deepening our partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum and its members in the years ahead, advancing our shared priorities for sustainable development and prosperity across the Pacific.” Omar Shehadeh, Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Caribbean and Pacific States, added: "Our engagement with the Pacific has always been guided by the vision and directives of our wise leadership. Strategic Partner status creates new avenues for collaboration with Pacific nations, strengthening connectivity and working towards our shared goals for a more resilient and prosperous future.”

MBMobile Business•WAM18 Sept

UAE President and Indian Prime Minister discuss bilateral ties and regional developments

Abu Dhabi: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a phone call today with His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, to discuss opportunities to further strengthen bilateral ties under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and India. His Highness also congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his birthday, wishing him continued good health and further success in advancing India’s progress and fulfilling the aspirations of its people. Prime Minister Modi thanked His Highness for his kind sentiments and reaffirmed his commitment to continuing to work together to further strengthen bilateral relations for the benefit of both countries and their peoples. The two leaders also discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, particularly efforts to strengthen regional security and stability.

MBMobile Business•WAM18 Sept
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FlyOne Asia Closes Tashkent – Delhi Bookings From Nov 2026

Published at 1000PDT / 1700GMT 18SEP26 FlyOne Asia in the last few days closed reservations to its planned service to India, initially scheduled to commence on 06NOV26. The airline previously filed 2 weekly Tashkent – Delhi flights with Airbus A320 aircraft. Previously filed schedule as follows. 7Q1421 TAS1620 – 1935DEL 320 15 7Q1422 DEL2035 – 2250TAS 320 15 Revised launch date and the re-opening of reservations remain unknown at this time.

AAeroRoutes•AeroRoutes - Jim Liu18 Sept

Transparent Tribe Deploys New Rust Backdoor Using Private GitHub Repositories for C2

The Pakistan-aligned threat group tracked as Transparent Tribe (aka APT36 and Earth Karkaddan) has been attributed to a fresh set of cyber attacks targeting government and defense entities in India and Afghanistan. The attacks, per Zscaler ThreatLabz, involve the use of previously undocumented tools called RUSTYSHADE, RUSTYMOVE, PSNATCH, and BASHNATCH. The activity has been codenamed Operation

The Hacker NewsThe Hacker News•info@thehackernews.com (The Hacker News)18 Sept

British Sikh man granted bail in India nine years after arrest

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Scotland, was arrested after wedding in Punjab on alleged terrorism offences Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh man who was arrested in India in 2017 in connection with alleged terrorism offences, has been granted bail by a Delhi court. Johal, from Scotland, was arrested for his alleged role in funding the Khalistan Liberation Force, which had carried out targeted killings in India’s Punjab region. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor18 Sept

India finds Nestle baby food sample substandard, takes legal action

NEW DELHI: India's food regulator said on Friday it had found a Nestle baby food sample to be substandard and was pursuing legal action against the Swiss company in one of its biggest growth markets. Nestle said its products are "fully compliant with all the applicable regulations" and that it will continue to work closely with the regulator, ⁠without specifically commenting on the finding of a substandard sample. The scrutiny is the latest in a crackdown on India's $100 billion food industry which has included surprise factory visits and product testing. Officials found a sample of Nestle "follow-up formula", which is a milk product for infants, ‌was "sub-standard with respect to biotin", the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said. The regulator specifies a standardized reference range for biotin, more commonly known as vitamin B7, in baby food. "A re-analysis" ‌of the sample found it was "non-conforming" with respect to prescribed biotin ‌requirements under Indian laws, the regulator said in a social media post. The FSSAI did ‌not say whether it would order ‌a recall of the product. Nestle faces legal cases Nestle, whose shares in India fell almost 3% following news of the action, counts India as a key ‌growth market. Milk and nutrition products, including infant formulas and baby foods, were ⁠Nestle India's biggest revenue category in the year ending March 2026, generating a third of its product sales worth $2.4 billion. The FSSAI said it has also filed cases over two other Nestle baby food products, NAN ⁠Excella Pro Stage 1, ⁠and Lactogen Pro 1, for making misleading claims in breach of regulations. "Three separate adjudication cases have been filed against Nestle," the FSSAI said. In response to the notice, Nestle India said ⁠it has again submitted its detailed response to the authorities regarding statements appearing on the label, "which are factual in nature, and supported by scientific literature." The labels "were approved by the expert committee of FSSAI," it added. Nestle also fell foul of India's food regulator in 2015, when authorities banned its popular Maggi noodles over alleged excess lead levels and labelling lapses, ‌triggering a massive recall. Maggi later returned to shelves after fresh tests. Debate over food safety in India has intensified since Reuters reported last month that the government opted for a weaker labelling regime after lobbying by Coca-Cola and groups backing Nestle and PepsiCo, which argued that warning labels were ineffective. Many companies, however, have implemented such measures voluntarily in European markets.

MBMobile Business•Reuters18 Sept

India’s Clean Energy Boom Halts Coal Power Growth

India’s coal power generation did not grow between the first half of 2024 and the first half of 2026, for the first such two-year period in over 50 years in which coal power has remained flat in the world’s second-largest coal consumer, a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Carbon Brief showed. “The period from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2026 saw the largest increase in non-fossil power generation on record in India,” Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for…

OilPrice.comOilPrice.com•Tsvetana Paraskova18 Sept

What to know about Tata Group clash: Tata Sons vs Tata Trusts over Chandrasekaran, listing and Air India losses

India's Tata Group, which owns Jaguar Land Rover and Air India, is facing its worst crisis in years, pitting the board of its holding company against its controlling charity arm and raising questions about the future of the 158-year-old conglomerate. Here is an ‌explainer on the complex dispute that has embroiled the salt-to-aviation group, which has annual revenues of over $180 billion. What is the tussle about? Tata Sons and its controlling charity arm, Tata Trusts, have been at odds for months over issues including a potential listing of Tata Sons, Air India's mounting losses and a planned exit of a minority shareholder. The board of Tata Sons, the group's holding company, reappointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as its chairman for another five years on Thursday, despite opposition from the head of Tata Trusts. After the decision, Tata Trusts publicly protested against Chandrasekaran's reappointment, calling it in breach of internal rules, and also opposing any ⁠stock market listing of Tata Sons, warning it would "destroy" the character of a group majority-owned by charities. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons speaks during the foundation stone laying ceremony for India's First AI-enabled Semiconductor Fab manufacturing facilities in Dholera, Gujarat, India, March 13, 2024. (Reuters) Who runs powerful Tata Trusts and what's the history? Tata Trusts owns 66% of Tata Sons, and is led by Noel Tata, a member of the conglomerate's founding family. Dividends received from the operating companies flow through the Trusts into public charity. The Tatas are Parsis, descendants of Zoroastrians who fled Persia and are believed to have settled in western ‌India from around the eighth century. Chandrasekaran is not from the Tata family but joined the group in 1987. If trusts are so powerful, why can't they assert their demands? The Tata Trusts have problems of their own that are currently blunting their control over the conglomerate. The Trusts are an umbrella of affiliated charities, and one of the two ‌biggest - Sir Ratan Tata Trust - alone owns 23.6% of Tata Sons. A charity regulator has barred that trust ‌from convening its trustees in a dispute over how they were appointed, leaving it unable to take decisions. On the face of it, the charity ‌arm's 66% stake would let it override almost any decision ‌of Tata Sons. But the regulatory bar means it cannot hold a meeting, and so cannot push its agenda for now. How big is the Tata Group and who are its clients? Tata Group was founded in 1868 and operates in more than ‌100 countries across six continents. Tata Sons controls more than 30 Tata companies including IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services, Tata ⁠Motors and one of the world's oldest steelmakers, Tata Steel . It counts Apple and Tesla among its clients, and Starbucks as its partner. Tata companies generated combined revenue of $185 billion in the last financial year. Its 26 listed companies had a combined market capitalisation of $277 billion as of March 31, 2026, Tata's website says. Each of these businesses runs with an independent ⁠board and management. Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, attends an event in Mumbai, India, May 11, 2026. (Reuters) What is the charity arm's view ⁠and disconnect with the Tata Sons board? Tata Trusts has argued that a chairman's appointment and any decision on listing at Tata Sons required the vote of both Trusts nominees on the board - Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan, the other key player in the saga. Noel Tata disagreed with the chairman's reappointment, but Srinivasan did ⁠not - showing divisions within Trusts nominees. Noel Tata is arguing the reappointment is illegal as the two trustee votes diverged. The Tata Sons view is there is nothing wrong as the reappointment was done through a majority vote. Why is a public listing such a big sticking point? The dispute comes days after the Reserve Bank of India rejected Tata Sons' request for an exemption from rules that would require it to list. The Tata Sons board is agreeable to a stock market listing, it decided during Thursday's board meeting, but Noel Tata is not. In a statement late on Thursday, ‌Tata Trusts said the holding company must explore alternatives, arguing the Tata operating structure was unique as its majority shareholder is a charity, and a "listing will destroy its character and strike at the heart of this principle." Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the second-largest shareholder in Tata Sons, backed a potential listing of the holding company. The group is headed by Shapoor Mistry, whose sister is married to Noel Tata. What happens now? Legal experts say Tata Trusts can approach a court to seek overturning the reappointment of the Tata Sons chairman and the board's decision to consider a stock market listing, despite the opposition of the majority shareholder. Tata Trusts could also use an upcoming annual general meeting of Tata Sons in December to block Chandrasekaran's reappointment, but ‌they first need to resolve their internal disputes.

MBMobile Business•Reuters18 Sept