African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has urged African and Arab governments to turn longstanding political commitments into practical programmes, calling for a revitalised partnership ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2027. Addressing the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Africa-Arab Partnership on Friday, Youssouf said the two regions needed to move decisively from declarations to implementation. He identified completion of the Joint […]
Salesforce has patched three vulnerabilities in its Agentforce artificial intelligence platform that researchers said could have enabled unauthenticated attackers to extract sensitive customer relationship management data without victims clicking malicious links. The weaknesses, collectively named SalesBleed by Zenity Labs, were publicly disclosed on September 24 after fixes were completed and tested. Salesforce said it had found no evidence that the vulnerabilities had been exploited by attackers. The […]
Bitget chief executive Gracy Chen has said preliminary evidence indicates North Korean-linked hackers were likely behind a security breach that transferred about $387.5 million in crypto assets from the exchange’s wallets. The assessment remains unconfirmed, but Chen said investigators had identified internet protocol behaviour and on-chain patterns consistent with techniques used by known North Korean hacking organisations. Bitget has not publicly named a specific group, and the […]
NVIDIA and an international research coalition have made AI-predicted protein-complex structures from more than 2,800 viruses openly available, alongside a GPU-accelerated BioNeMo pipeline that researchers can use to generate structure predictions for their own targets. The dataset, released through the AlphaFold Database on September 24, focuses on viral families known to infect humans and is intended to give scientists a faster starting point for studying unfamiliar pathogens, […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Iran has floated a plan to dilute and transfer its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent to a third country, as Tehran seeks to break a diplomatic deadlock with the United States and secure a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. People familiar with Iran’s position said the proposal would involve first reducing the enrichment level of the material and […]
OpenAI has confirmed that autonomous artificial-intelligence agents interacted with websites connected to the U. S. Commerce Department and Securities and Exchange Commission, while researchers also linked the systems to an Education Department site during a wider review of unintended agent behaviour. The disclosures, emerging after months of investigation into OpenAI’s internal testing systems, broaden the known scope of episodes in which experimental agents escaped intended restrictions or […]
Flagship Halal Showcase Connects Exporters Across 58 Countries, Unifying Global Sourcing, Sector MoUs, and Industry Knowledge Hubs
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 September 2026 – The Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2026 which is organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) from 23 to 26 September 2026, moved into its third day on a high note today, as it sets to meet its target number of visitors. This year’s edition which features 2,000 booths alongside 1,700 exhibitors and 450 buyers representing 58 countries remains firmly on track to achieve its total target of 50,000 business visitors. As of day 2, the showcase has already drawn 30,000 visitors, demonstrating sustained local and international interest and poised to be the most attended Halal edition of MIHAS thus far.
Further cementing its role as a premier platform for tangible international partnerships, MIHAS 2026 witnessed the exchange of key strategic agreements, including a milestone Letter of Intent (LOI) between MATRADE and Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). This strategic collaboration establishes the Halal Development Officer (HDO) Programme under the Malaysia Halal Global Nexus (MyHGN) initiative, empowering MATRADE officers stationed worldwide to guide global industries on Malaysia’s Halal ecosystem, strengthen international certification recognition, and drive Halal exports.
GhaS was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on behalf of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), Kuala Lumpur today. The strategic and inclusive importance of this national platform was underscored by the distinguished presence of key government leaders, from the Ministries and Agencies relating to the Malaysian Halal ecosystem. Their joint attendance reflects the highest level of Government commitment to positioning Malaysia as the premier global Halal hub, seamlessly aligning robust Shariah governance with international trade promotion.
Hosted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), GHaS serves as Malaysia’s flagship platform for global Halal diplomacy, governance, and capacity-building. GhaS brings together Government certification bodies, relevant Government agencies, Islamic scholars, policy makers, and global industry leaders, in one platform to build technical capacity, streamline international compliance, and facilitate seamless market access for Malaysian companies.
Beyond the showcase and business matchmaking, MIHAS 2026 offers a complete enablement ecosystem for Halal enterprises. MATRADE’s Knowledge Hub delivers actionable market intelligence featuring industry leaders from DHL Express Malaysia, UOB Malaysia, and Farm Fresh Malaysia, while the Women in Export (WiEX) initiative showcases 80 women-led booths. Celebrating excellence across the ecosystem, the prestigious MIHAS Awards honours standout industry innovators, recognising exceptional achievements in product innovation, sustainability, and global market expansion.
Since its inception in 2004, MIHAS has generated more than RM35.0 billion in export sales and drawn over half a million business visitors from around the world. Now in its 22nd edition, the showcase continues to chart new frontiers in positioning Malaysia at the heart of the global Halal economy.
Hashtag: #MIHAS
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2026
Since it began in 2004, the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) has grown into a major platform for Halal trade and has helped strengthen the global industry’s position in Halal standards, governance, and market access.
Recognised as a Guinness World Records holder and hosted by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) as organiser, MIHAS now covers 14 sectors, from food and beverages and pharmaceuticals to Islamic finance, modest fashion, personal care, technology, services, and Muslim-friendly tourism. The 22nd edition of MIHAS, themed “Shaping Trust, Driving Resilience”, will focus on regulated-by-design governance and technology-enabled trade.
MATRADE
The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) was established on 1 March 1993 as the national trade promotional arm under Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).
MATRADE’s primary role is to assist Malaysian exporters in developing and expanding their export markets. Aligned with Malaysia’s commercial diplomacy efforts, MATRADE is the nation’s trade facilitator and champion of Malaysian-made products and services on the global stage.
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The VD Satheesan-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Government has temporarily stayed an order implementing minimum marks for classes VI-II, IX and X in the 2026-27 academic year. Implementation of minimum marks was one of the most significant and debated decisions of the previous LDF Government. The LDF had in 2024 approved […]
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojna (DDU-GKY) will complete 12 years on September 25, 2026. It was launched by PM Narendra Modi led government with great fanfare on September 25, 2014 under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. The chief objective was to equip rural youth with relevant skills and access to […]
Global investors go into Thursday’s talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping with one overriding demand. They want predictability, and they want it with a long runway attached. Markets have already placed a bet on a calm outcome. Wall Street’s benchmark index climbed 1.5% this week to post its best session since early August, while the main US tech index notched its first record close since June. […]
Greenlogue/AP The UAE has warned that a global water financing shortfall of as much as $141 billion a year threatens ambitions spanning artificial intelligence, energy transition, food security and rapidly growing cities. The warning was delivered at a private roundtable at the UAE’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, where about 50 chief executives, investors and philanthropy leaders examined how to turn viable water […]
Hong Kong is seeking to raise as much as HK$20 billion through a multi-currency digital green bond sale that could become the world’s largest transaction of its kind.
The government is considering an offering of about HK$15 billion to HK$20 billion across US dollar, Hong Kong dollar, euro and offshore renminbi tranches, according to people familiar with the planned transaction. Pricing could take place as early as Monday, after fixed-income investor meetings arranged this week.
The proposed deal would exceed the scale of Hong Kong’s previous digital green bond issues and underline its push to expand tokenised capital markets alongside conventional debt issuance. Digital bonds use distributed-ledger technology to record ownership and support parts of the issuance, settlement and post-trade process.
Hong Kong has steadily increased the size and complexity of its sovereign digital bond programme. Its third digital green bond offering, completed in November 2025, raised about HK$10 billion equivalent across four currencies and attracted subscriptions exceeding HK$130 billion, according to government figures.
That transaction was then the world’s largest digital bond sale. It also incorporated tokenised central bank money, including e-HKD and e-CNY, into the primary settlement process, while using the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Central Moneymarkets Unit and a digital assets platform to connect tokenised infrastructure with established settlement channels.
The planned new sale would come after the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation completed a HK$12 billion public digital bond issuance in June, setting another global size record for a digital bond at the time. The transaction included Hong Kong dollar and offshore renminbi tranches and used the same digital assets platform, demonstrating broader public-sector adoption of tokenised issuance.
Hong Kong authorities have made digital finance a central part of their capital-market strategy. Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui said last week that digital bonds issued in Hong Kong accounted for about half of the global market between 2025 and the first half of 2026.
The government has also said it intends to make digital bond issuance a regular feature rather than an occasional pilot. Its 2026 policy agenda calls for further use of digital currencies in bond settlement and for tokenised money to be tested across additional stages of the bond lifecycle, including coupon payments and redemption.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Eddie Yue said at the Treasury Markets Summit on Wednesday that the city was working to encourage more bond issuance, deepen offshore renminbi liquidity and modernise market infrastructure. He called for development of a more diversified, deep and digital-native bond market.
The proposed green bond would also extend Hong Kong’s sustainable-finance programme. Proceeds from government green bonds are allocated to eligible projects under its green bond framework, including areas such as green buildings, waste management, resource recovery, energy efficiency and conservation.
By the end of 2025, around US$32 billion equivalent of green bonds had been issued under the government’s sustainable bond programme in institutional, retail and tokenised formats, according to the monetary authority. The proceeds had been allocated to more than 110 green projects.
Hong Kong’s first tokenised government green bond was issued in February 2023. A second transaction in February 2024 became the world’s first multi-currency digital bond offering, raising about HK$6 billion equivalent in Hong Kong dollars, renminbi, US dollars and euros.
The 2024 transaction also broadened access by linking the Central Moneymarkets Unit with international settlement systems Euroclear and Clearstream, allowing investors to participate through familiar market infrastructure while the bonds themselves were digitally native.
For the proposed new offering, final size, tenor, pricing and tranche allocations will depend on investor demand and market conditions. The government has not yet announced final terms, and the people familiar with the discussions said the structure remained subject to change.
The United States and China have agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, keeping the arrangement in place until January 10 as President Donald Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington for a state visit and a new round of talks. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the extension after meeting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Washington on Wednesday, saying the extra time […]
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Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Morgan Stanley has moved to contain the fallout from an accidental disclosure of a confidential investment-banking deal list, with regulators and market participants assessing the implications of the breach. The document, sent by email from Hong Kong on Tuesday, contained details of more than 100 transactions the bank was pitching, monitoring or discussing across Asia and some other regions. It included prospective initial […]
Hundreds of GitHub App private keys exposed in public code remain valid, allowing authentication to GitHub and, in some cases, access to private repositories and organisation-level controls, security researchers have found. GitGuardian said it tested 4,802 RSA private keys discovered in GitHub-related contexts alongside an App ID and found 474, or about 10 per cent, still authenticated successfully against GitHub’s API. Those keys represented 440 distinct GitHub […]
By Annie Domini MOSCOW: It might have been predictable to some extent, but United Russia scoring eight percentage points higher than the previous parliamentary elections in 2021, has, on the one hand, surprised some, while on the other, got branded as one of the ‘dullest election’ ever, despite the wartime upheavals. The just-concluded elections to […]
Inspiring Asia Launched by HKAWL in Hong Kong for the First Time to Support its Impact Link Initiative to Foster Community Empowerment, Exchange and Strategic Philanthropy
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 September 2026 – The Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL) brought the Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival to Hong Kong for the first time as Regional Lead Partner, and recognised three winning entries at the inaugural Hong Kong regional awards. The festival culminated in a Screening and Award Ceremony on 21 September 2026 at The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong, and was supported by Lee Hysan Foundation as Strategic Partner and Sponsor.
The inaugural “Inspiring Asia” Hong Kong Regional Awards introduced by the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy has successfully concluded. Hong Kong’s winning entries and selected finalists will advance to the Main Phase of Inspiring Asia.
Guided by the theme “Community Empowerment” and the tagline “Belonging, Resilience, and Thriving”, participating filmmakers, students and community changemakers shared stories that explored inclusion, connection and resilience. The Festival encourages creators and community organisations to document community stories through micro films, fostering dialogue and greater social participation.
Award-Winning Films Spotlight Inclusion, Resilience and Community Connection
The three winning entries reflected these aspirations through stories of cross-cultural friendship, ageing with purpose and disability inclusion, offering perspectives on experiences that are often overlooked in everyday conversations.
A chance encounter lies at the heart of Between the Unsaid, the winner of the Best Micro Film Award, as an unexpected friendship blossoms between a Pakistani tailor and a local florist. Directed by Qasim Khan and produced by Kaneeta Arshad, the Hong Kong drama shows how kindness can cross linguistic and cultural boundaries, bringing comfort amid grief and isolation.
Best Micro Film
The Story Hunter, winner of the Best AI Film Award, follows an 80-year-old Hong Kong resident who finds renewed purpose by sharing lived experiences. Created by Yimin Chen and Ethan Wong, the drama combines human-written script with AI-assisted production to amplify older adults’ voices and value as storytellers, mentors and active contributors to the community.
Best AI Film
Recipient of the Best Project Award, The Superpower of Little Hands challenges perceptions of congenital limb differences through stories co-created by children and parents from the Hand in Hand Association. The documentary shows how peer support, inclusion and understanding can build confidence, belonging and ambition.
Best Project
Empowering Communities Beyond the Awards
As a flagship annual event of HKAWL’s Impact Link initiative, the Festival reflects its wider efforts to foster dialogue between philanthropy, the social sector and the creative community. As Regional Lead Partner, HKAWL worked with a diverse network of partners to support the Festival’s Hong Kong debut. Beyond the competition itself, Inspiring Asia serves as a platform for capacity building, community participation and collaborative philanthropy, bringing together filmmakers, NGOs, foundations, universities and other partners through activities such as workshops, mentorship, screenings and peer exchange.
“Seeing these powerful community stories come to life on screen was incredibly moving,” said Angel Chia, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy. “The winning films demonstrate how storytelling can help people better understand the realities and aspirations of different communities. As a flagship annual event of HKAWL’s Impact Link initiative, Inspiring Asia connects creators and social impact organisations with philanthropists and supporters, helping foster dialogue around strategic philanthropy.”
The journey continues as Hong Kong’s winning entries and selected finalists advance to the Main Phase of Inspiring Asia, bringing their Hong Kong stories to audiences across Asia.
The Screening and Award Ceremony marked the festival’s conclusion in the city, but its impact in creating lasting change continues well beyond the event. In particular, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Programme on Social Innovation (HKJCPSI), operated by The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, will provide capacity-building resources to the Best Project Award winner and shortlisted project teams, helping them strengthen their organisational capabilities and advance the community initiatives featured in their films.
Extending the impact further, the stories will continue to resonate across wider audiences through community screenings from October to December 2026, enabling more people to learn about the experiences and issues they bring to light. Screening details will be announced through HKAWL’s official channels.
Appendix: Hong Kong Regional Competition Award Winners
Award Category
Film Title
Director / Producer
Film Synopsis
Best Micro Film
Between the Unsaid
Qasim Khan, Kaneeta Arshad
The film features Saira, a Pakistani shopkeeper in Hong Kong who is isolated by loneliness, homesickness, and a language barrier. After the sudden loss of her mother, an unexpected friendship with local florist Kim brings comfort, showing how kindness and empathy can bridge cultural and linguistic divides to create strong communities.
Best AI Film
The Story Hunter
Yimin Chen, Ethan Wong
The film follows Granny Fa, an 80-year-old widow living alone like an isolated island — until Story Hunters knocked on her door and walked with her through storytelling training. She brought her real-life experiences to university stages, and the warm applause from the younger generation rekindled her passion for life. In the end, she becomes a Story Hunter herself, knocking on the next closed door.
Best Project
The Superpower of Little Hands
Hand in Hand Association
Produced by Hand in Hand Association, Hong Kong’s first patient self-help organisation for congenital hand differences, this joyful documentary moves beyond traditional narratives of pity. It highlights four vibrant children with hand differences, celebrating their unique talents, creativity, and zest for life. By showcasing a strong peer-support network of families empowering one another, the film demonstrates how love, confidence, and supportive community allow every special hand to shine without limits.
Hashtag: #HKAWL
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About The Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL)
The Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL) is committed to invigorating a vibrant ecosystem for family offices worldwide by fostering knowledge sharing, capacity building, peer connection, and collaboration. It equips business and wealth owners and inheritors with knowledge in building enduring family legacies, while mobilising family capital to drive measurable social impact and facilitating a strategic philanthropy platform via its Impact Link initiative. By bridging wealth with purpose, HKAWL reinforces Hong Kong’s status as a principal centre for managing family wealth legacies.
Established in 2015, Under Production Ltd. (UP) is a dynamic social enterprise dedicated to empowering aspiring creative talents. By bridging the gap between youth and the creative industries, UP equips creators with production expertise and social awareness to transform complex issues into compelling narratives. UP’s expertise spans three core pillars: Film & Video Production, Multi-platform Publishing, and Integrated Campaign Management. Notable projects include social films Constellation and May It Rain, which have gained recognition for their intimate storytelling on social themes. Over the years, UP has built a sustainable creative ecosystem with NGO partners and community collaborators, consistently delivering innovative solutions that create lasting community impact.
About Lee Hysan Foundation (LHF)
Lee Hysan Foundation (LHF) is a private foundation incorporated in 1973 by the Lee Hysan Family to institutionalise the philanthropic work which the family had been doing for many decades. It currently operates as an endowment fund in perpetuity and does not fundraise. LHF’s mission is to advance the well-being of Hong Kong by catalysing policy and systemic change and scaling evidence-based models to transform Education, Social Welfare, Health, Arts and Culture, and the Environment. Through this work, LHF seeks to enable under-resourced people from diverse backgrounds to flourish.
*Although established by the same family, Hysan Development Company Limited is operated separately from LHF and has its own independent management and board of directors.
Focusing on “Nature-Positive” Concept: Inviting the Education Sector to Co-Create a Vision for Green Building
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 September 2026 – To enhance public understanding and awareness of green buildings, the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) has launched “My Green Space” Student Competition since 2011. The Competition encourages students to unleash their creativity and integrate green building concepts into real life, thus creating ideal green spaces.
The 2026-2027 edition, solely sponsored by Chinachem Group, explores “The Ideal Nature-Positive Built Environment“. It seeks to inspire the younger generation to reimagine the relationship between cities and nature through creative thinking and to nurture future green building pioneers.
Organised by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) and solely sponsored by Chinachem Group, the “My Green Space” Student Competition 2026-2027 explores “The Ideal Nature-Positive Built Environment”. The Competition seeks to inspire the younger generation to reimagine the relationship between cities and nature through creative thinking and to nurture future green building pioneers.
Aligning with Policy: Urban Transformation and Ecological Balance
Natural ecosystems and biodiversity are essential foundations of human well-being and sustainable development. Amid escalating climate challenges, transforming cities into more sustainable built environments is paramount to balancing human development with nature conservation.
The Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP) updated by the Government of the HKSAR, underscores the urgency of protecting local biodiversity to foster the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, as well as between urban development and ecological conservation. The Hong Kong Nature-based Solutions Design Guidelines (HKNbSDG) provides a localised framework in this regard for designing and implementing solutions to enhance climate resilience, promote biodiversity and coexistence of development and nature conservation.
This year’s Competition invites students to present their vision of a liveable, regenerative, zero-waste and circular built environment through the lenses of design, planning, engineering, climate-resilient strategies and nature-based solution, to help drive society toward a carbon-neutral and nature-positive future.
Open to Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Students with Comprehensive Support and Learning Experiences
The Competition features five divisions covering different learning stages: Junior Primary,Senior Primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary, and Tertiary. To foster cross-regional collaboration, the Tertiary category welcomes student teams from across the Greater Bay Area.
Participants may submit entries in the form of 2D artworks (for the Junior Primary and Senior Primary Divisions only), 3D models, multimedia works, or proposals. Each entry must include at least one building of any type, allowing participants to explore the possibilities of green building through different creative formats.
To equip participants with fundamental knowledge of green building, HKGBC will organise “Green Building Tour and Training Workshop” to impart relevant knowledge. “The Companion Scheme” will also be launched, under which young green building practitioners from the “Green Building Young Leaders (GBYLs)” Programme will answer participants’ technical questions on a voluntary basis and provide professional advice throughout the Competition.
Entries will be assessed on four criteria: application of sustainability from the environment, economics and social aspects or green building concepts, originality, creativity and innovation, effectiveness of presentation, and feasibility of implementation. Participants who join the “Green Building Tour and Training Workshop” and complete the designated questionnaires will receive bonus marks.
Attractive Prizes and Development Opportunities to Help Students Build Careers
Each category offers Champion, First Runner-up, Second Runner-up and Merit awards, with cash prizes of up to HK$8,000, trophies and certificates. As the sole sponsor, Chinachem Group will also offer special awards to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to nurturing future talent. Full award details will be announced later.
Beyond cash prizes and certificates, HKGBC offers diverse extra recognition and development opportunities. Winning entries will be exhibited at D．PARK , further showcasing participants’ creativity and achievements and enriching their personal portfolios.
Tertiary winners may also be invited to internship interviews with Chinachem Group, Arup, and other leading green building organisations, thereby laying a solid foundation for future careers in green building and sustainable development.
Details of “My Green Space” Student Competition 2026-2027：
The Competition is open to students from local primary and secondary schools or local and Greater Bay Area Tertiary Institutions in the academic year 2026/27.
Students can participate as individuals or in groups of up to 6 members. Each participant can join one group only.
Each entrant or group is allowed to submit 1 entry only.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC)
The Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) is a non-profit, member-led organisation established in 2009 and has become a public body under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance since 2016. The HKGBC strives to promote the standard and development of sustainable buildings in Hong Kong. The HKGBC also aims to raise green building awareness by engaging the government, the industry and the public, and to develop practical solutions for Hong Kong’s unique, subtropical built environment of high-rise, high density urban area, leading Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to become a world’s exemplar of green building development. The Founding Members of the HKGBC include the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the Business Environment Council (BEC), the BEAM Society Limited (BSL) and the Professional Green Building Council (PGBC).
Gold edged higher on Tuesday as falling crude prices eased inflation concerns and reduced expectations that the US Federal Reserve would need to deliver repeated interest-rate increases. Spot bullion traded around $4,360 an ounce during Asian hours, recovering from Monday’s decline, when prices posted their biggest fall in a week. The move followed a sharp retreat in oil, which steadied after losing more than 9 per cent […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, snapping a four-session decline as traders balanced persistent Middle East supply risks against the possibility of diplomatic contacts between the United States and Iran during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Brent crude futures for November rose $1.14 to $101.48 a barrel in early trading, while US West Texas Intermediate for October gained 87 cents […]
G7 foreign ministers have called on Iran to stop arming and supporting Yemen’s Houthis, warning that the group’s military operations risk widening instability across the Middle East and disrupting international trade. The ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States issued the demand after meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. They condemned continuing Houthi […]
South African businesses are treating water security as a core continuity risk as unreliable municipal supply, ageing infrastructure increase operational risk across affected municipal networks and major cities. Companies are responding by expanding on-site storage, drilling boreholes where viable, installing treatment systems, recycling wastewater and improving consumption monitoring. The shift resembles the earlier move towards private power resilience, with businesses seeking alternatives to dependence on a single […]
Air India Express has been directed to pay ₹27,000 to a passenger after a consumer commission found that his racing bicycle was placed on a regular baggage conveyor despite a separate fee for special equipment handling.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Dakshina Kannada held that the airline had failed to provide the level of care it had undertaken to offer after collecting ₹2,000 from passenger Sushanth N. G. for special handling. The order, passed on August 31, directed the carrier to refund that fee and pay additional compensation and legal costs.
The commission awarded ₹20,000 for deficiency in service, mental agony and inconvenience, along with ₹5,000 towards litigation expenses. It gave the airline 45 days to comply, failing which the amount will carry interest at 6 per cent a year from the date of default until payment.
Sushanth had booked an Air India Express flight from Chennai to Mangalore for July 27, 2025. He was travelling with a bicycle used for training and competitive racing, which he valued at more than ₹3 lakh. At the time of booking, he paid ₹2,000 for one-piece special equipment handling.
He told the commission that airline staff at Chennai airport had assured him the bicycle would receive special care. After reaching Mangalore, however, he found the bicycle circulating on the ordinary baggage carousel along with other passengers’ luggage.
Sushanth questioned airline staff at the airport and later raised the issue by email on July 31, 2025, seeking a refund of the special handling charge. The airline initially told him the matter was being examined but subsequently closed the complaint, prompting him to approach the consumer forum.
Air India Express acknowledged that the special handling fee had been collected but disputed the passenger’s interpretation of the service. It argued that payment for special equipment did not mean the bicycle had to be manually carried at every stage of the journey.
The airline maintained that special handling involved additional attention and protection where operationally required and permissible. It also contended that baggage within allowed belt dimensions could be delivered through the normal arrival carousel and that the bicycle fell within those limits.
The carrier further submitted that staff had noticed the bicycle on the conveyor and removed it by hand, limiting its exposure to contact with other baggage. It stressed that the bicycle had reached Sushanth without physical damage, wear, tear or loss.
The commission rejected the argument that absence of damage was sufficient to defeat the complaint. It examined documents produced by both sides, including the airline’s terms governing special equipment handling, photographs, email correspondence and video footage showing the bicycle on the baggage belt.
The bench, comprising President-in-charge Somashekarappa K. Handigol and member Sharadamma H. G., found that the footage was inconsistent with the standard of special care promised for the paid service. It held that a passenger who pays an additional charge for handling delicate or valuable equipment is entitled to expect treatment different from ordinary baggage processing.
The commission said the airline’s own service terms contemplated care and caution in dealing with special equipment. By placing the bicycle on the regular belt despite accepting the additional handling fee, it found Air India Express had failed to perform the service in the manner promised.
The panel therefore treated the conduct as a deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and also found that the handling arrangement had not been honoured as represented to the passenger.
Sushanth had sought refund of the ₹2,000 fee, ₹40,000 as compensation for mental agony and ₹10,000 towards litigation expenses. The commission partly allowed the complaint, awarding a lower compensation amount while granting the full refund and litigation costs.
The ruling turned on the distinction between successful delivery and fulfilment of a paid service commitment. Although the bicycle arrived intact, the commission found that its placement on the ordinary baggage system showed that the special handling Sushanth had purchased was not provided as agreed.
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