Iran struck a fully loaded crude oil tanker anchored off Dubai’s port on Monday, setting it on fire and damaging its hull, Kuwait’s state news agency reported, citing Kuwait Petroleum Corp. The company also warned of a possible oil spill. The incident appears to be the latest in a series of attacks on commercial shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, involving missiles and explosive aerial and maritime drones, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.“The Kuwaiti giant crude oil tanker was subjected to a direct and malicious Iranian attack while in the anchorage area of Dubai Port in the UAE,” news agency KUNA reported, citing Kuwait’s state-owned oil company.Dubai authorities said they were dealing with a drone strike targeting the oil tanker in local waters, with maritime firefighting crews working to contain the blaze. No casualties have been reported, and all 24 crew members are safe, officials said, according to Reuters.Iran has made no comments on the strike yet.Two unidentified projectiles landed in the water near the container ship about 22 nautical miles (40.7 km) northeast of Ras Tanura at 1352 GMT, Reuters reported citing a representative of the Liberia-flagged Express Rome.The incidents occurred roughly an hour apart, and all crew members were safe, according to British maritime risk-management firm Vanguard.Vanguard added that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously claimed responsibility for an attack on the Express Rome on March 11.

NEW DELHI : The country’s industrial output growth accelerated in Feb, led by a recovery in the manufacturing sector, but the West Asia conflict is expected to weigh heavily on the crucial sector in the months ahead.Data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday showed the index of industrial production rose 5.2 per cent in Feb, a tad higher than the upwardly revised 5.1% in Jan. The manufacturing sector rose 6 per cent in Feb, higher than 2.8 per cent in Feb last year and above the 5.3 per cent in Jan.Within the manufacturing sector, 14 out of 23 industry groups grew in Feb compared to the same month a year earlier. The top three positive contributors in Feb were — manufacture of basic metals (13.2 per cent), manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semitrailers (14.9 per cent) and manufacture of machinery and equipment (10.2 per cent), according to the statistics office. The electricity and mining sectors remained sluggish, rising 2.3 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively.Experts expect the West Asia conflict to hurt factory sector expansion. Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA, said the agency expects IIP growth to decelerate to 3 per cent-4 per cent in March, amid the unfolding adverse impact of the West Asia crisis on some manufacturing segments, both through the price and availability channels, and weaker electricity performance in the month.

VARANASI: Swift action by the Bengaluru-Varanasi IndiGo flight crew averted a major tragedy by stopping a 30-year-old passenger, who claimed to be “possessed”, from opening the emergency exit door after takeoff and before landing.The passenger, Mohammad Adnan from Mau, was detained by CISF after the flight landed at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi and later handed over to Phulpur police. The flyer, who was coming to Varanasi from Goa via Bengaluru, left police and other agencies stunned with his bizarre claim that he was “possessed” and had no idea the button could open the exit door. An FIR was lodged against him under Section 125 (endangering human life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation has started, said Phulpur police station in-charge Atul Singh. Multiple agencies are investigating the incident.

During the initial investigation, it was found that about 15 minutes after the flight took off from Bengaluru around 8.15 pm, Adnan first tried to tamper with the emergency exit, but was prevented by the cabin crew.However, just before landing at LBSI Airport around 10.20 pm, Adnan again tried to hit the emergency gate button. Alerted by the cabin crew, the pilot took the aircraft back up as a precautionary measure. Panic gripped passengers, but they heaved a sigh of relief when it finally landed safely around 10.35 pm.

NEW DELHI : Bharti Airtel on Monday announced an investment of $1 billion by Alpha Wave Global, Carlyle and Anchorage Capital, through their affiliates, in Nxtra Data, the telecom company’s subsidiary in the data centre business.Airtel will also participate in the round as part of Nxtra’s efforts to expand its network across the country and accelerate growth.As part of the pact, Alpha Wave Global will invest $435 million, Carlyle $240 million, Anchorage Capital $35 million, with the rest coming from Airtel, the company said in a statement. “The investors’ final shareholding will be subject to finalised post-closing adjustments. Airtel will continue to retain a controlling stake in Nxtra,” it said.The data centre outfit plans to extensively scale its infrastructure and broaden its portfolio of services amid rapid growth in the sector.According to a Savills India report, India’s data centre market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of around 21 per cent between 2024 and 2030 to reach nearly 3,400MW of IT capacity.

Funds To Help Grow Biz, Increase Mkt Share

“At Nxtra, we have built one of India’s most advanced and sustainable data centre networks, designed to meet the evolving needs of enterprises, hyperscalers, and govt. With around 300MW capacity today, we aim to scale to 1GW in the few years, targeting around 25% market share,” Airtel VC Gopal Vittal said.