Ratan Tata, former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, dies at age 86

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Ratan Tata, former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, dies at age 86

2024-10-10 16:34 Last Updated At：16:40

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of people paid their last respects on Thursday to Ratan Tata, former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, in India’s financial capital ahead of a state funeral later in the day.

The veteran industrialist, hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a visionary business leader, died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night. He was 86.

Tata’s body was taken Thursday to Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, where the public, industrialists, state officials and celebrities lined up to pay their final respects.

Current Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described Tata as his “friend, mentor, and guide.” He did not provide a cause of death.

Tata was admitted this week to the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai, the city where he lived. Tata Group issued a statement on Monday saying there was no cause for concern regarding his health and he was undergoing checkups for age-related medical conditions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Tata as a visionary leader and a compassionate and extraordinary human being.

“He provided stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business houses. At the same time, his contribution went far beyond boardrooms,” Modi said on the social media platform X.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Tata left behind an extraordinary business and philanthropic legacy and was instrumental in mentoring and developing modern business leadership in India.

“He deeply cared about making India better,” Pichai said on X.

Cornell University, where Tata received a bachelor’s degree in architecture, said he was its “most generous international donor.”

“We will remember his legacy of transformative giving to Cornell,” the university said on X.

Tata Group is a sprawling collection of nearly 100 companies, including Tata Motors, the country’s largest automaker, Tata Steel, the largest private steel company, Tata Power, and the information technology company Tata Consultancy Services. They employ more than 350,000 people worldwide with a presence in over 100 countries.

Its products are ubiquitous in Indian homes and include daily necessities such as salt, tea and mineral water.

In June 2008, Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for $2.3 billion. A year earlier, it took over Britain-based steel maker Corus for $12 billion. At that time, Corus' annual steel production was four times higher than Tata Steel.

Tata Group pioneered commercial aviation in India by launching an airline in 1932 that later became Air India. The government later took it over. Tata Group then bought Air India from the government in 2021. It also started a full-service carrier, Vistara, with Singapore Airlines, but recently merged it with Air India.

In 2009, the company surprised the automobile industry by launching Tata Nano, a tiny vehicle with a rear engine costing about 100,000 rupees (then $2,000). Publicized as a “People’s Car,” it could seat up to five adults. Ratan Tata said at the time that it would provide a “safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport” for millions of middle- and lower-income Indian consumers.

However, due to low sales, the company stopped production of the tiny car in 2018.

Ratan Tata joined the Tata Group in 1961 and succeeded J.R.D. Tata as chairman after the latter’s retirement in 1991.

That followed the liberalization of India’s economy in 1990, bringing massive economic reforms and global investment in the country.

In December 2012, Tata retired as chairman of Tata Group. He briefly served as interim chairman beginning in October 2016 following the ouster of his successor, Cyrus Mistry. He returned to retirement in 2017 when Chandrasekaran was appointed chairman of Tata Group.

Tata never married and is survived by a brother, two half-sisters and a half-brother.

Associated Press writer Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, contributed to this report.

More than 3 million without power as Hurricane Milton slams Florida, causes deaths and flooding

2024-10-10 16:31 Last Updated At：16:40

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton plowed into Florida as a Category 3 storm, bringing misery to a coast still ravaged by Helene, pounding cities with winds of over 100 mph (160 kph) after producing a barrage of tornadoes, but sparing Tampa a direct hit.

The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key near Sarasota, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. The situation in the Tampa area was still a major emergency as St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of flash flooding there as well as other parts of western and central Florida.

Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, appeared badly damaged. The fabric that serves as the domed stadium's roof was ripped to shreds by the fierce winds. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Multiple cranes were also toppled in the storm, the weather service said.

St. Petersburg residents also could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service.

The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

Before Milton even made landfall, tornadoes were touching down across the state. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and some residents killed.

“We have lost some life,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News, though he wouldn’t say how many people were killed.

About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane came ashore, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By early Thursday, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph (135 kph) as it moved offshore and was about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Orlando.

Heavy rains were also likely to cause flooding inland along rivers and lakes as Milton traverses the Florida Peninsula as a hurricane, eventually to emerge in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. It is expected to impact the heavily populated Orlando area.

The storm slammed into a region still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage.

Officials had issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival.

“This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”

By late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts, suggesting that people who stayed behind hunker down instead. By the evening, some counties announced they had suspended emergency services.

Jackie Curnick said she wrestled with her decision to stay aat home in Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. But with a 2-year-old son and a baby girl due Oct. 29, Curnick and her husband thought it was for the best.

Curnick said they started packing Monday to evacuate, but they couldn’t find any available hotel rooms, and the few they came by were too expensive.

She said there were too many unanswered questions if they got in the car and left: Where to sleep, if they’d be able to fill up their gas tank, and if they could even find a safe route out of the state.

“The thing is it’s so difficult to evacuate in a peninsula,” she said. “In most other states, you can go in any direction to get out. In Florida there are only so many roads that take you north or south."

At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis described deployment of a wide range of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states; over 50,000 utility workers from as far as California; and highway patrol cars with sirens to escort gasoline tankers to replenish supplies so people could fill up their tanks before evacuating.

“Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t think there’s any way around that,” DeSantis said.

Heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of southern Florida starting Wednesday morning, with conditions deteriorating throughout the day. Six to 12 inches (15 to 31 centimeters) of rain, with up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) in some places, was expected well inland, bringing the risk of catastrophic flooding.

One twister touched down Wednesday morning in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado touched down in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station's canopy to shreds.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people. Officials warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, because first responders were not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system.

In Charlotte Harbor, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, clouds swirled and winds gusted as Josh Parks packed his Kia sedan with clothes and other belongings. Two weeks ago, Helene’s surge brought about 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water to the neighborhood, and its streets remain filled with waterlogged furniture, torn-out drywall and other debris.

Parks, an auto technician, planned to flee to his daughter’s home inland and said his roommate already left.

“I told her to pack like you aren’t coming back,” he said.

By early afternoon, airlines had canceled about 1,900 flights. SeaWorld was closed all day Wednesday, and Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando shut down in the afternoon.

More than 60% of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of gas Wednesday afternoon, according to GasBuddy. DeSantis said the state's overall supply was fine, and highway patrol officers were escorting tanker trucks to replenish the supply.

In the Tampa Bay area's Gulfport, Christian Burke and his mother stayed put in their three-story concrete home overlooking the bay. Burke said his father designed this home with a Category 5 in mind — and now they’re going to test it.

As a passing police vehicle blared encouragement to evacuate, Burke acknowledged staying isn’t a good idea and said he’s “not laughing at this storm one bit."

Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Holly Ramer in New Hampshire; Joseph Frederick in West Bradenton, Florida; Curt Anderson in Tampa; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Brenden Farrington in Tallahassee; Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico.