Indian tycoon, son killed in Zimbabwe
plane crash
Harare, Oct 2: An Indian billionaire, with vast gold, diamonds and coal mining interests in Zimbabwe, and his son were among six individuals who tragically lost their lives in a plane crash in the southern African nation. Harpal Randhawa, the owner of RioZim, an integrated mining and metallurgical company, was flying from capital Harare to the Murowa diamond mine in southwestern Zimbabwe when the plane crashed on September 29, state-run Sunday Times newspaper reported. The mid-air crash is suspected to have been caused by a mechanical fault. RioZim, which was previously part of the British-Australian mining group Rio Tinto, confirmed the crash and said it was working with relevant authorities to gather more information. Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), told local media that they were still in the process of collecting additional details. Randhawa is also the founder of the $4 billion private equity firm GEM Holdings. (IANS)
Indian-origin lawyer booked for Singapore poll-eve posts
Singapore, Oct 2: A police report has been filed against a suspended Indian-origin lawyer for publishing multiple posts on social media during the cooling-off period before the Singapore presidential election. Ravi Madasamy, 54, had repeatedly published election advertising material online during the cooling-off period of the election, the Elections Department (ELD) said on Monday. Following this, the Assistant Returning Officer lodged police reports against Madasamy for potential offences committed under Section 42C of the Presidential Elections Act, The Straits Times newspaper reported. In Singapore, it is illegal to put up paid or unpaid election advertising on the eve of polling day, or cooling-off period, for the presidential election. On the cooling-off day, he shared four videos on Facebook with similar content, and one of them was by Iris Koh, founder of anti-vaccine group Healing the Divide. Report has also been filed against Koh for sharing the video on TikTok. Madasamy also published a fifth video and another post on Facebook, both containing such content, on the day of the polling as well. (IANS)
25 injured in Egypt police
HQ fire
Cairo, Oct 2: At least 25 people were injured after a massive fire erupted at the police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Ismailia on Monday, state media reported. According to the state-run Nile TV, local civil defence and armed forces were deployed to put off the fire, while the cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, reports Xinhua. Meanwhile, 30 ambulances rushed to the scene to transfer the injured to the nearest governmental hospital. The Nile TV report added that the facade wall of the headquarters was damaged by the blaze that reached four floors. All workers in the building were ordered to evacuate until the containment of the blaze. (IANS)