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Air India crash death toll reaches 270 as families await bodies
Families are increasingly upset by the delays in delivering badly burned bodies from the crash in Ahmedabad, a city in western India. After takeoff, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport started losing height and then exploded in a fiery fireball when it hit the buildings below. This was the worst aviation accident in 10 years. Dhaval gameti, President of the Junior Doctors Association of B.J. Medical College, said reporters. The plane hit the hostel of the Medical College as it fell, killing many passengers and crew. The crisis has escalated cast a shadow Air India has struggled for years to rebuild its reputation and upgrade its fleet since the Tata Group acquired the airline in 2022 from the Indian Government. Tata chairman said that the group is trying to figure out what happened but, "we don't really know at this time." Air India and Indian government looked at The crash has many aspects Reports have raised a number of issues, including those related to the thrust generated by the engine, the flaps and the reason why the landing gear was left open when the plane landed and took off. Dozens Anxious family members Doctors were busy collecting dental samples to perform identification checks and DNA profiles on the dead. Families waiting to pick up the bodies of their loved ones who died in the accident. Rafiq Abd Hafiz Memon said that he had lost four family members in the incident and that he did not get any answers from the authorities. He was also "very harassed". "We lost our children. We don't understand anything." Please help us find out more about our children. "Tell us when they will release their bodies," Memon asked. A father complained about not being able to retrieve the body of Harshad, his son. He said he had been told by the authorities that DNA profiling would take 72 hours. "The authorities are doing their best to assist, but our patience is wearing thin," he said. The majority of the bodies were severely charred, and authorities used dental samples for identification checks. Jaishankar Pillai is a forensic dental expert who told reporters Friday that they have the dental records for 135 victims whose teeth were charred. These records can be matched with previous dental charts, radiographs, or other records.
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What do we know about the Air India crash investigation?
Air India's fatal plane crash, which killed at least 271 people, has sparked a wave speculation as to what caused the worst aviation disaster of the decade. However, authorities are narrowing their investigation areas. Experts say that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has an excellent safety record with no fatal accidents in its past. What is known so far about the crash? Visual Evidence Investigators are examining a 59-second CCTV clip which clearly shows the takeoff of the plane and its crash from the Sardar Vallabhbhai patel International Airport, located in Ahmedabad City, Gujarat State. The CCTV camera was on the left side of the runway, near a barbed-wire wall. The video shows the Tata Group's Air India aircraft take off, gain some altitude, fly flat for a few seconds, then start descending with its rear down. After take-off, the descent begins approximately 17 seconds later. When the plane starts to descend, there is no visible fire around the engine. The landing gear is visible throughout the video. The plane crashed into a massive fireball in just 33 seconds after wheels-up. Where did the plane fall? B.J. Medical College hostel Images taken shortly after the incident show that the wheels of the aircraft were embedded in the wall, and debris, belongings, and clothing of students lay on the floor. On the few tables left intact, there were still plates and tumblers with food on them. On Friday, a strong smell of jet fuel was in the air as authorities removed charred debris and trees using cranes. POSSIBLE CAUSES Air India officials, along with scores of Indian government agents and investigators, have been on the crash site ever since Thursday. According to a direct source, no initial findings have yet been made, but investigators continue to look at three main possible issues. Investigators are looking into any possible issues with engine thrust. This is the force that the engine produces to propel it through the air. Investigators also look at possible issues related to flaps. Investigation teams also included anti-terror squads. Officials also assess why the landing gear remained open so long after takeoff. The investigation is not focused on a possible bird strike. Sources added that officials were also investigating any possible fault of Air India including possible maintenance issues. Where is the black box? India's Aviation Ministry has confirmed that investigators and rescue workers have recovered the digital flight recorder, one of two black boxes in the plane, from the roof of the building where the jet crashed. The cockpit voice recording, the second black box, is crucial for the investigation. The Indian aviation regulator conducted additional maintenance on Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 equipped with GEnx engine, including a "one-time" check of the takeoff parameters prior to every flight departure from midnight June 15th. Also, the airline was asked to perform engine fuel and electronic engine control checks.
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Boeing resumes China delivery with 787-9 aircraft to Juneyao Airlines. Yicai reports
Chinese media outlet Yicai reports that Boeing delivered a new 787-9 to China's Juneyao Airlines Saturday as tensions in trade between Beijing and Washington have eased. This delivery comes just two days after a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers crashed into a fireball in western India shortly after takeoff. Boeing and Juneyao Airlines didn't immediately respond to requests for comments on the Yicai Report. In April, the U.S. Aerospace giant suspended all new aircraft deliveries to China as President Donald Trump escalated his tariff war between the two world's largest economies. Boeing announced at the end May that the deliveries will resume this month, after tariffs are temporarily reduced for 90 days. China and the U.S. ended two days of talks in London, Tuesday, to resolve important trade issues. Washington and Beijing reached an agreement on a framework for tariff rates. A new Boeing 737 MAX painted with the livery for Xiamen Airlines landed on Monday in China. This is another sign that Boeing has resumed deliveries to China. Boeing's backlog in China is about 10%, and it is a growing and important aviation market. Boeing said that customers in China were not going to take new planes because of the tariffs, and it was planning to resell dozens of aircraft. (Reporting from Ziyi Tang and Kane Wu, in Beijing; Editing by William Mallard).
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Sources say that buyout firms are interested in buying US trucker Forward Air.
People familiar with the situation said that private equity firms such as Blackstone and Apollo Global Management are interested in buying U.S. trucker Forward Air. Signing confidentiality agreements allowed them to receive information and review documents to help shape a possible bid. Platinum Equity and Clearlake Capital can also review materials after signing agreements, according to the sources. Sources said that the initial takeover bids will be submitted in the first week of the month of July. However, they noted that there was no guarantee four buyout firms would make offers. It is possible that other bidders will emerge. Sources spoke under condition of anonymity in order to discuss private discussions. Blackstone, Apollo and the company all declined to comment. Platinum and Clearlake did not respond to requests for comment. Forward Air, a company that specializes in hauls that do not require a full truckload of space, announced earlier this week its commitment to moving forward with the strategic alternatives review. The review was first announced in January, and it could include selling the company. The market value of the Greeneville-based company has fallen from $610 million to about $20. Analysts said that the enterprise value of the company is closer to $2 billion when viewed on a fully-diluted basis. This includes net debt. Private equity investors are interested in Forward Air as they see the potential for growth. The company is already a dominant player in the niche transportation market but has fallen on hard times since a bad acquisition in 2024. Analysts said that the company acquired freight forwarder Omni Logistics through a deal which was not approved by shareholders. This added to debt and caused operational disruptions. Several investors began to pressurize the company shortly after the deal had been finalized in January 2024. This led to the company's announcement in January 2025. Ancora Holdings (4% shareholder) was frustrated by the lack of visible progress on the review. In May, it launched a campaign against three long-serving board members, whom they blamed for approving the Omni deal and slowing down the sales process. The campaign to withhold approval was successful and the three directors resigned after the annual meeting of the company this week. (Reporting and editing by Edward Tobin; Svea Herbst Bayliss)
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Brazil's coffee harvest is behind last year's pace, but sales are still up
The Brazilian coffee harvest for 2025/26 accelerated in the last week to 35% but remained lower than the level in 2024. Sales of the anticipated output were on par with last year's, at 22%. Safras & Mercado reported that the robusta bean harvest increased by seven percentage points in the week ending June 11. The dry weather favored the robusta beans. Rains have slowed down the work on arabica fields in the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Parana in the southeast. This is two percentage points less than the level of 37% seen at the same time last year. However, it is still above the five-year average 33%. Safras & Mercado, in a separate report, said that the Brazilian 2025/26 coffee crop sales have increased in recent weeks. Brazil is the largest coffee exporter in the world. Analyst Gil Barabach stated in the report that in general, Brazilian coffee producers are better capitalized following recent price increases, which has led to a slowdown in sales. Safras & Mercado reported that although sales were in line with those of the same period of last year, they were nine points below the average five-year level of 31%. Barabach explained that "this difference reflects the change in behavior of Brazilian producers over the past few years. Until the 2021 frost Brazilian producers were more aggressive in their sales in advance." (Reporting and editing by Brendan O'Boyle; Roberto Samora, Andre Romani)
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ISS advises against six Keisei Electric Railway Candidates in the fight with Palliser
Institutional Shareholder Services, a U.S.-based proxy advisory firm, urged Keisei Electric Railway shareholders to vote against six nominees for the management board of directors on Friday. This included the current CEO. Palliser Capital, a UK activist, has been urging the railway operator to improve governance and reallocate capital for years. The Keisei annual meeting, which is one of the main routes from Narita Airport into Tokyo's center, will be held on June 27. Palliser has "made a compelling argument that a governance revamp at Keisei will be necessary to restore management trust," ISS wrote. The hedge fund argues that insiders are a major reason for the underperformance of the company. Palliser now wants to block six elections and reduce the size of the board to nine members from fifteen, making it more agile. Palliser is against the reelection of two insiders and Keisei president and CEO Toshiya kobayashi. Palliser does not target Takao Amano, who will take over from Kobayashi as CEO when he becomes board chair at this year's Annual Meeting. Glass Lewis, a prominent proxy advisory company, had recommended earlier in the week that investors vote against Kobayashi and two other directors.
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Air France-KLM CEO expresses confidence in Boeing 787
Air France-KLM's head expressed his confidence in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner while expressing condolences to Air India, and all those who were affected by the fatal crash of an Air India passenger jet bound for London in Ahmedabad last Thursday. Ben Smith, CEO, the Franco-Dutch airline, said at the Paris Air Forum on Friday that "we still have faith in the plane; we have 34 Boeing 787s in our fleet." The tragic accident, he added, is currently being investigated. Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, also offered condolences at the event to the families of those who died in the crash. It was the worst aviation accident of the decade. India's air accident investigation agency is looking into the cause of a crash that killed over 240 people. Safety experts cautioned that it was too early to speculate about the causes. An order from India's aviation regulator showed that the agency had ordered Air India on Friday to conduct safety inspections of its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet.
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Trump declares that it is not too late to reach a deal with Iran after Israel strikes Iran for the second night
Israel renewed its attacks on Iran on Friday evening, hours after it launched its largest ever attack on its long-standing enemy. The massive underground nuclear facility of Iran was destroyed and its top military leaders were all killed. Israel claimed that the strikes were just the beginning of "Operation Rising Lion". Iran responded by saying "the gates to hell will open". Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that it wasn't too late for Tehran if they reached a nuclear deal to stop their bombing campaign. Iranian media reported explosions as evening fell Friday. These were near Fordow, which is located close to the holy city Qom. This was a second nuclear site that had been spared during the initial wave of attacks. Israel's military claimed it had struck Iranian drone and missile launch sites. Isfahan was rocked by explosions and air defences activated in Tehran. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, said that the Israeli campaign aimed to defeat an existential Iranian threat. He compared the Israeli campaign with the failure of the Holocaust during World War Two. Israel's operation will continue "for as many days as necessary to eliminate this threat," he stated in a television address. "Generations will look back and remember that our generation stood firm, acted quickly, and secured our future." Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, said that Israel "unleashed" its "bloody and wicked" hand and would "suffer a bitter fate". In a telephone interview, Trump stated that it was unclear if Iran's nuke programme had survived. He said that the scheduled nuclear talks between Tehran, Iran and the United States on Sunday were still on his agenda, though he wasn't sure whether they would happen. Trump stated that he tried to prevent Iran from being humiliated and killed. Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that "Iran has to make a deal before there's nothing left." Tzachi Haengbi, Israel's National Security Advisor, said that military action alone would not destroy Iran’s nuclear program, but it could "create conditions for a longer-term deal led by the United States", to eliminate it. DECAPITATION Two sources in the region said that at least 20 Iranian military leaders were killed. This was a shocking decapitation, similar to Israeli attacks last year which quickly wiped out Lebanon's once feared Hezbollah Militia leadership. Iran said that six of its leading nuclear scientists were also killed. The chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salaami, and the chief of the Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri were among the generals who died on Friday. In a letter read on state TV, Major General Mohammad Pakpour vowed revenge in response to Salami's promotion to Guards commander. "The gates to hell will be opened for the regime that kills children." Iranians have described an atmosphere filled with fear and anger. Some people were rushing to exchange money, while others sought a safe way out. "People in my street ran out of their houses in panic. We were all terrified," Marziyeh said, 39, after a large blast woke her up in Natanz, which is home to an underground nuclear facility. Some Iranians hoped that the attack would bring about a change in Iran's hardline, clerical leadership. Others vowed to support the authorities. "I will die and fight for our right to have a nuclear program." Israel and America, its ally, cannot take away our right to a nuclear programme with these attacks," Ali said. Ali is a member in the Basij militia of Qom that supports the government. Iranian media showed images and described the destruction of apartment blocks. Nearly 80 civilians died in an attack that killed nuclear scientists asleep in their beds, while more than 300 were injured. The ability of Iran to respond with weapons fired by regional proxies was weakened over the last year with the fall of its ally Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, the decimation Hezbollah and Hamas and Gaza. On Friday evening in Jerusalem, air raid sirens were heard. Israel reported that it had detected a missile launch from Yemen. The Houthi militia is one of the few remaining Iranian-aligned groups capable of shooting at Israel. 'COWARDLY' Israel claimed that Iran launched 100 drones at Israeli territory on Friday. Iran denies this, and there are no reports of drones hitting Israeli targets. On Friday, the United Nations Security Council would meet at Tehran's invitation. Iran wrote to the Council informing them that it would take decisive and proportionate action against Israel's "unlawful", "cowardly", and "unjustified" actions. Fears of retaliatory attacks in a major oil producing region pushed the price of crude up, even though there was no evidence of damage to oil storage or production. OPEC stated that the escalation in price did not warrant any immediate changes to supply. A source in Israeli security said Mossad commandos were operating deep within the Islamic Republic prior to the attack. The Israeli spy agency as well as the military also conducted a series covert operations against Iran’s strategic missile range. Israel has also set up an attack drone base near Tehran. The military claimed to have destroyed "dozens of surface-to air missile launchers and radars" in Iran's air defences. Israeli officials have said that it could be some time until the extent of the damage is known to the underground nuclear facility at Natanz, where Iran refined uranium up to levels Western countries say are more suitable for bombs than civilian uses. Iran has insisted for years that its nuclear program is only for civil purposes. The U.N. Nuclear Watchdog concluded last week that Iran was in breach of its obligations under global non-proliferation. Tehran was in negotiations with the Trump Administration on a new deal to curtail its nuclear program to replace a previous one Trump had abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the previous U.S. proposal.
The 'data infrastructure market' is driving the hot M&A tech race in AI.
Dealmaking in most industries has been slowed down by geopolitical uncertainties and tariffs. The only exception is the less glamorous world of data infrastructure.
In the race to remain competitive with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, legacy tech companies such as Meta, Salesforce, or ServiceNow have made the companies that process data for advanced AI models their top targets.
Brian Marshall, Global Co-Head of Software Investment Banking at Citi, said that AI without data would be like life without air. It doesn't exist.
Marshall explained that AI is driving the current zeitgeist of data. Tech deals are among the few bright spots of a gloomy M&A industry. They account for $421 billion out of $1.67 trillion announced globally in the first five month of this year. This is about 25% of all M&A.
The data show that this is up from around 20% last year to 17% by 2023. The data shows that of all the tech deals, AI software makers represented almost three-quarters of the total value.
Speed Matters
Goldman Sachs' Managing Director Matthew Lucas focuses on M&A in all aspects of computing. He said that enterprise data as it relates to AI is "the most dynamic area right now in software M&A."
Lucas explained that there is a strong perception that getting to the destination first and speed are important factors. This lends itself well to M&A.
Software companies that assist businesses in managing their data through cloud-based platforms are becoming increasingly valuable as the number of potential targets shrinks. Investment bankers believe that legacy tech companies could target enterprise data infrastructure and analytics firms like Confluent. They say that these companies may help businesses better integrate, store, and analyze information.
The executives of Boomi, Dataiku Fivetran and Qlik said that they were not surprised at the attention.
"Siloed, messy data has undermined enterprise efforts to realize the transformative power of analytics for a long time. In light of the urgent need to deploy AI that is effective, Florian Douetteau said, "Fixing it has become a matter of life and death." Confluent and Sigma Computing didn't respond to requests for comment.
LEGACY TECH BOUGHT IN
In the past few weeks, several multi-billion dollar deals have been made or closed for companies that provide data infrastructure.
Meta announced a deal on Friday for $14.8 billion to acquire a 49% stake of the data-labeling firm Scale AI. Salesforce announced last month that it would be buying data integration company Informatica, for $8 billion.
Artificial intelligence is driving an unprecedented change in technology that has forced several of the biggest social media platforms, and software companies to purchase companies that support AI-backed systems. Gartner, a technology data provider, forecasts that generative AI will total $644 billion worldwide in 2025. This is an increase of 76.4 percent from 2024. ServiceNow, an IT management company, announced in early May that it would be purchasing Data.world's data catalog platform. This will help ServiceNow better understand the context of data. Salesforce's acquisition of Informatica announced late last month will enable Salesforce to better assimilate and analyze scattered data across internal and external systems, before feeding Einstein AI into its own AI system.
The very next day, IBM completed its acquisition of DataStax. IBM announced the February deal that would allow it to process and manage unstructured data prior to feeding it into its AI platform.
BAD ADVICE
These deals show how important it is for legacy software companies to control all aspects of the data management process. M&A can be the fastest and most efficient way to do this. They are instead acquiring data specialists who can help them organize, clean and connect data across their entire business, rather than building complex systems from scratch.
As was the case last week when Databricks announced its plans to purchase serverless database manager Neon, valued at $1 billion and a leader in AI, data processing, and AI, which was recently appraised at $62 billion.
Dealmakers cautioned that companies cannot just throw any data into an AI system, and expect to get good results. Air Canada was forced to refund airfare after its AI chatbot gave a bad recommendation last year. Tech dealmakers claim that these types of mistakes can occur if unfiltered data of the wrong type is fed into an AI engine.
(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Nick Zieminski) (Reporting and editing by Dawn Kopecki, Nick Zieminski, and Milana Vinn from New York)
(source: Reuters)