UK Pension Intervention Will Unlock Capital, Tech Minister Says
The London Stock Exchange is under-capitalized and the UK government's plan to intervene in pension funds — forcing them to invest in private companies — will boost the amount of money being pumped into the economy, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Investigators searching Air India crash site find digital flight data recorder
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has recovered the digital flight data recorder, or the black box, of the Air India flight that fell from the sky and killed 241 people on board and several people on the ground. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when it fell in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday. The plane's black box was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site Friday and the investigation bureau said it has begun its work with 'full force.' The black box recovery marks an important step forward in the investigation, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a social media post. Separately, the country's civil aviation regulator issued an order directing Air India to do additional maintenance and enhanced safety inspections of its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners equipped with General Electric's GEnx engines. The key inspections include fuel parameters, cabin air compressor, engine control system, hydraulic system and a review of takeoff parameters, according to the order. Investigators on Friday continued searching the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger a day after the crash. DNA testing was being conducted to identify bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition. More victims are expected to be found in the search at the crash site. There was no information on whether the black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — had been recovered. The plane hit a building hosting a medical college hostel and burst into flames, killing several students, in the city that is the capital of Gujarat, Modi's home state. 'We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,' Modi said on social media after visiting the site. 'We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.' The survivor was seen in television footage meeting Modi at the government hospital where he was being treated for burns and other injuries. Viswashkumar Ramesh told India's national broadcaster he still can't believe he was alive. He said the aircraft seemed to become stuck immediately after takeoff. He said then the lights came on, and right after that it accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before it crashed. He said the side of the plane where he was seated fell onto the ground floor of a building and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane. 'When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,' he said. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating, and the U.S. participants in the probe are expected to include people from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric. Prof. Graham Braithwaite, director of Aerospace and Aviation at Cranfield University, said the primary goal of the investigation would be 'to find opportunities to prevent future accidents.' 'The multinational, multidisciplinary team will work together and can also involve specialists from the manufacturer or operator,' he said, 'but under very strict controls to ensure the independence of the investigation.' Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, the president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, Akshay Dongardiv, said. Meanwhile, grieving families gathered outside the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday. Two doctors at the hospital said the bodies of four medical students killed on the ground after the plane crash were handed to their families. They said at least 30 other injured students were still admitted in the hospital and at least four of them were critical. Modi held a meeting with senior officials Friday and met some of those injured on the ground during the hospital visit. Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. According to experts, there are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation. Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled national carrier to private ownership after decades of government control. Since the takeover, Air India has ordered hundreds of new planes, redesigned its branding and livery and absorbed smaller airlines Tata held stakes in. Residents living in the vicinity, who were among the first to rush to the crash site and help with rescue, described the scale of damage like they had never seen. 'In the beginning, I couldn't understand anything, it was only smoke everywhere. We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning,' Indrajeet Singh Solanki said. Solanki said he and many others helped the injured people and rushed them to hospitals. 'We had only one aim: to save lives no matter what happens,' he said. The tragedy has left him shaken. 'It will be hard to sleep for the next few days at least,' Solanki said. A bomb threat message on Air India flight AI 379, which was bound for New Delhi from Phuket International Airport in southern Thailand, was found in a lavatory shortly after the plane took off Friday, officials said. The plane requested an emergency landing back at Phuket and all 156 passengers were evacuated before authorities began an inspection of the plane, the airport said. Thai authorities said the plane, passengers and luggage were thoroughly inspected and they found nothing suspicious. The airport and airline said the pilot wished to resume the flight and the plane took off again in the afternoon without one passenger who did not want to continue. ___ Roy reported from New Delhi and Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Thailand, and Piyush Nagpal in Ahmedabad, India, contributed to this report.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
OpenAI to Continue Working With Scale After Meta Deal, CFO Says
OpenAI said it will continue working with Scale AI after Meta Platforms Inc. made a multibillion-dollar investment in the startup, as it seeks to maintain a broad ecosystem of data sources. 'We don't want to ice the ecosystem because acquisitions are going to happen,' OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said at the VivaTech tech conference in Paris on Friday. 'If we ice each other out, I think we're actually going to slow the pace of innovation.'
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Is Your Website EAA Compliant? Six Web Accessibility Questions To Ask
Ran Ronen, Founder and CEO of Equally AI , the solution that helps teams create, test and ship better accessibility from start to finish. getty Digital leaders across industries are racing to meet the European Accessibility Act (EAA) requirements before the June 2025 deadline. Many organizations rely on basic web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) audits and accessibility plug-ins, and with that, assume their websites are "compliant enough." In reality, surface-level fixes may create the appearance of compliance but mask critical gaps that expose your business to serious non-compliance risks. Building on my previous articles about preparing for the EAA, including a checklist to meet EAA requirements, I would like to dive deeper into six strategic questions business leaders can ask to uncover hidden compliance gaps and build sustainable accessibility practices beyond the June 2025 deadline. If you're offering digital products or services in the EU, chances are you're covered. Even if your company is outside the EU, if EU consumers use your product or service, the EAA applies to you. Only true microenterprises (with fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million in annual turnover) may qualify for exemption, but even then, regulators expect documented justification, and I'd still strongly recommend voluntary compliance. Make sure to map out your products and services against the EAA's scope and requirements and understand your obligations. If you're claiming an exemption, back it with documentation that clearly outlines your eligibility, cost-benefit analysis and evidence that alternatives were explored. Also, ensure third-party vendors (e.g., digital agencies) provide accessibility-compliant components, backed by VPATs, to avoid liability. 2. What are the penalties for non-compliance with the EAA? Fines for EAA violations vary across countries, with amounts spanning from €5,000 up to more than €500,000, influenced by factors such as the seriousness of the breach and the scale of the business and how long the issue remains unresolved. Countries like Ireland may even impose both fines and jail time of up to 18 months for serious, ongoing non-compliance. But fines are only part of the penalties. Non-compliance can also trigger other penalties like market suspensions and public disclosure by regulations, which can disrupt operations and revenue streams, leading to long-term loss of market share and damaged customer trust. To mitigate these risks, I'd advise business leaders to prioritize compliance for high-risk assets like websites, apps and digital customer touchpoints. Ensure you keep full documentation of your accessibility efforts, even partial ones, to demonstrate good faith if audited. 3. How will the EAA impact small businesses? The EAA presents a dilemma for small businesses. While true microenterprises may be exempt, most small companies are expected to comply, and accessibility audits, remediation and staff training all demand serious investment. But the opportunity is equally real. Over 101 million people with disabilities across Europe remain underserved, and EAA compliance can open up new markets and strengthen your brand. My advice? Stay lean, but be strategic. Use free or low-cost accessibility audit tools like WAVE or Lighthouse to catch high-priority issues early, but pair them with expert-led manual audits and build accessibility into your core product development cycles to stay scalable. Partnering with industry peers or accessibility consultants can also stretch your resources further and reduce long-term risk. 4. Have we localized our compliance for each EU market we serve? While the EAA sets a unified standard, enforcement varies by member state, with each country setting its own timelines, documentation formats, complaint-handling processes and penalties. A compliance strategy that passes in one country might fall short in another, so if your business operates in multiple EU markets, you must account for these local variations to avoid compliance gaps. My recommendation: Assign regional compliance leads or cross-functional teams to track country-specific updates, adapt enforcement expectations into your operating procedures and ensure continuous alignment across jurisdictions. If your team lacks in-house oversight, consider partnering with legal or compliance teams who actively monitor these changes to ensure you're covering all the bases. 5. Do we have a clear role for who owns accessibility in our organization? In many organizations, accessibility responsibilities are distributed across multiple teams without clear ownership. Product leads may focus on features, legal on policies, designers on user interface (UI) patterns, etc. Under the EAA, accessibility spans all of these areas, and without a defined owner overseeing how they connect, it is almost inevitable that there will be compliance gaps. Along with the earlier-mentioned regional compliance leads or cross-functional teams, you also want to assign someone with decision-making authority to be accountable for aligning accessibility across teams and enforcing standards that tie to EN 301 549. That person (or team) should control priorities, sign off on risk and ensure decisions are followed through. If this structure doesn't already exist in your organization, your compliance efforts will be fragmented, putting your business at higher risk. 6. Are we prepared to maintain compliance post-June 2025? Many businesses are racing toward June 2025 with short-term checklists, but few are building systems to stay compliant after that. Accessibility requirements won't stop evolving once the deadline passes. New features, team turnover and tech stack changes can all break compliance if there's no plan to maintain accessibility over time. Make sure to build accessibility into your product and content teams' daily operations. That includes setting clear review cycles (my prescribed rule of thumb is monthly for new releases, quarterly for regressions and annually for full audits), using version-controlled design systems, and budgeting for ongoing accessibility updates. Conclusion The EAA deadline is now closer than ever, and organizations must understand that beyond demanding compliance, the law will fundamentally restructure what it means to operate in the European digital economy. As such, if your business treats accessibility as a late-stage checklist, you will always be reacting—patching gaps under pressure, losing ground to faster competitors and exposing yourself to regulatory risk you didn't plan for. The smarter path is to operationalize accessibility now: Embed it into product, engineering, customer experience and legal, and assign real accountability at the leadership level. The businesses that start asking hard questions today and build systems that hold up after 2025 won't just avoid penalties. They'll be the ones that define market leadership and accountability in the next phase of digital growth. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
