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SP Hinduja, billionaire head of Britain’s richest family, dies at 87

Srichand Hinduja, the Indian-born billionaire leader of a global business empire and the patriarch of Britain’s wealthiest family, has died aged 87, his daughters said on Wednesday.

Hinduja, known by his initials SP, was suffering from dementia and his family said he had “passed away peacefully this morning.”

He was chairman of the eponymous business group which owns public companies in India with interests in banking, chemicals, software and commercial vehicles.

Hinduja and his younger brother Gopichand, 83, topped the Sunday Times Rich List in 2022 for a fourth time, with an estimated net worth of 28.5 billion pounds ($36 billion) that includes property worth millions in central London.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our father,” Hinduja’s daughters Shanu and Vinoo said in a statement.

“SP was a visionary titan of industry and business, humanitarian and philanthropist … He touched countless lives on his path, and we are forever grateful for the time we cherished with him.”

The Hinduja Group, which employs 200,000 people across more than 30 countries, was founded in 1914 by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, who traded in carpets and dried fruit from Iran before his sons Srichand and Gopichand shifted their base to Britain in the 1970s.

More recently the brothers have been embroiled in a feud over the future of their business empire and Gopichand had challenged the legitimacy of a lasting power of attorney granted to Srichand’s daughters.

Gopichand and Srichand’s daughters had reached an apparent truce, but a lawyer representing Srichand’s interests told a London court last month that that agreement was at risk.

“Amongst other things, SP will be remembered for his great contributions in bringing India and its culture to the global stage through his work and philanthropic efforts,” Hinduja’s daughters said.

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Myanmar junta travel restrictions are holding up vital aid to cyclone-hit communities

Myanmar’s military junta is holding up humanitarian access to some cyclone-hit communities in western Rakhine state after Cyclone Mocha devastated the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the poorest parts of the country.

United Nations agencies said Wednesday they were still negotiating access to parts of the state four days after Mocha slammed into Myanmar’s coast on Sunday as one of the strongest storms ever to hit the country.

Hundreds of people are feared to have died and thousands more are in urgent need of shelter, clean water, food and health care as a clearer picture of the devastation is beginning to emerge.

While rescue groups have warned of “a large scale loss of life,” the exact number of casualties is hard to know due to flooding, blocked roads, and downed communications.

Widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure has been reported throughout Rakhine, home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

Storm damage has hampered efforts to access rural and hard-to-reach areas while pre-existing travel restrictions imposed by the junta have delayed the delivery of vital aid to communities in urgent need.

“Humanitarian actors have made clear that the need to secure travel authorization is impeding their response to the cyclone,” said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar.

“It seems that many agencies haven’t even been able to conduct needs assessments, let alone deliver aid, because SAC (junta) officials have not granted travel authorization. This is extremely worrying.”

The UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) said Wednesday it was still waiting for access to be granted by the junta to reach communities in Rakhine state in order to “start coordinated field missions to gauge the full scope of the humanitarian situation.”

“The bureaucratic access constraints are affecting all partners, including the UN and NGOs,” said Pierre Peron, UN OCHA’s regional public information officer. “To deliver, we will need access to affected people, relaxation of travel authorization requirements and expedited customs clearances for commodities.”

About 5.4 million people in Rakhine and the northeast are estimated to have been in the path of the cyclone, which crashed into the state as an equivalent category 5 hurricane, with winds of over 200 kilometers per hour (195 mph). Of those, more than 3 million people are most vulnerable, according to UN OCHA in its latest update.

The priority is to assess the damage in Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung and Sittwe townships, it said.

“The road between Yangon and Sittwe has now reopened, potentially providing a transport route for much-needed supplies, if approved. It is also hoped the Sittwe airport will reopen on Thursday,” UN OCHA said.

Another roadblock to relief efforts is a severe lack of funding, with a $764 million humanitarian response plan less than 10% funded.

“Colleagues simply will not be able to respond to these additional needs from the cyclone and continue our existing response across the country without more financial support from donors,” said UN OCHA’s Peron.

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India’s ruling BJP has lost its only southern stronghold. What does it mean for Modi?

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost its only stronghold in the country’s south after voters in Karnataka state rejected the Hindu-nationalist policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in crucial local elections last week.

Karnataka had been perceived as a “laboratory” for the BJP’s right-wing Hindu-nationalist ideology – known as Hindutva – and some analysts say the defeat is a sign of trouble for Modi as he aims to secure a momentous second decade in power.

The opposition Congress party won 135 seats in the state’s legislative assembly, versus 66 for the BJP, giving Modi’s opponents a boost as they prepare to challenge India’s populist leader in next year’s general election.

On Wednesday, veteran Congress politician Siddaramaiah – who goes by one name – was announced as Karnataka’s new chief minister, ending days of speculation over who will lead the state.

“The Congress has proved it can win a head-to-head battle with the BJP despite the saffron party using Modi as the headliner of its campaign,” wrote The Wire, an independent news outlet, calling the victory “a personal defeat for Modi’s brand of politics.”

The vote in Karnataka was the first of five state elections scheduled for this year, which are often seen as a litmus test for voter sentiment in a national poll.

But despite the heavy loss, Modi’s “national stature remains intact and the BJP ought to be going into the general elections next year as frontrunners,” said Rohan Venkat, non-resident visiting scholar at the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.

“Were they to lose some or all of the remaining state elections this year, including three big states in the (central and northern) Hindi belt, that may be further indication of waning support,” he said.

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Thai opposition parties form coalition to take on military establishment

Bangkok, ThailandCNN — 

Opposition parties intent on preventing the military establishment from remaining in power in Thailand have formed a coalition with the hopes of forming a new government that could radically transform the kingdom if they are successful.

Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which won the largest share of seats and the popular vote in Sunday’s election, said Thursday seven other parties had joined him in a coalition.

Pita, a 42-year-old Harvard alumni, called the coalition “the voice of hope and the voice of change” and said all parties had agreed to support him as the next prime minister of Thailand.

Together, they secure a majority 313 votes in the lower house, according to Pita, who said: “We definitely will be able to form a government.”

The eight parties include Move Forward, Pheu Thai, Thai Sang Thai, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai, Pheu Thai Ruam Palang, FAIR Party, and the Plung Sungkom Mai Party.

Party members in the new coalition will now develop a memorandum of understanding, which will be presented on May 22.

The progressive coalition now needs to win a majority of 376 seats in both houses of Thailand’s parliament to elect a prime minister and form a government.

It will take at least 60 days for that process to begin and there are still significant hurdles to overcome in a nation where the military have ensured they maintain a significant say in who can form a government.

Despite winning a landslide, a roadblock to the progressive camp’s win is the unelected 250-seat senate, which is chosen entirely by the military and has previously voted for a pro-military candidate.

Move Forward had gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, which included radical plans to amend the country’s strict lese majeste laws despite the taboo surrounding any discussion of the royal family in Thailand.

The party’s proposed structural changes to the military include getting rid of the draft, reducing the budget, making it more transparent and accountable, and reducing the number of generals.

On Tuesday, Pita told CNN he will work to “demilitarize, demonopolize and decentralize” Thailand.

“With the three-prong approach, that’s the only way that we can fully democratize Thailand and make sure that Thailand is back to business, Thailand is back in the global arena, and make sure that the country … is contributing but also benefiting by the definition of globalization,” he said.