China shipping firm Cosco to buy HK rival OOIL for $6.3bn

Chinese shipping giant Cosco is set to buy its Hong Kong rival OOIL for $6.3bn (£4.9bn).

The deal would make Cosco the world's third biggest shipping company, with more than 400 vessels.
OOIL's majority owner has accepted the bid, though the sale will still need regulatory approval.
It would be the latest in a wave of mergers, which has left the top six shipping lines controlling almost two thirds of the market.

Overcapacity struggles

OOIL's subsidiary OOCL is currently the world's seventh largest shipping line, with 3.2% of global market share, according to shipping database Alphaliner.
Cosco is offering $10.07 per share, a 38% premium over OOIL's closing price on Friday.
The family of Hong Kong's first Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa founded OOIL, and still holds a 69% stake in the company.
They have accepted the offer, but it still needs the approval of Cosco shareholders, as well as US and Chinese regulators.
Overcapacity and slowing demand is leading to major changes in the shipping industry.
Korean shipping giant Hanjin filed for bankruptcy last year, while France's CMA CGM bought Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines.

Indian man kills wife over dinner delay

Police in India say they have arrested a 60-year-old man who fatally shot his wife for serving his dinner late.

Ashok Kumar came home drunk on Saturday night and got into an argument with his wife, Rupesh Singh, a senior police officer in Ghaziabad city near the capital Delhi, told the BBC.
Sunaina, 55, was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to her head, but by then she had died, reports said.
Mr Kumar has confessed to his crime and now regrets his actions, Mr Singh said.
"The man [Mr Kumar] used to drink every day. On Saturday, he came home drunk and started having an argument with his wife. She was upset with his drinking habit and wanted to talk about it, but he wanted dinner immediately," Mr Singh said.
"He got frustrated with the delay and shot her," he added.
Domestic violence has been the most reported violent crime against women in the country every year for more than a decade now.
In 2015, an incident of domestic violence was reported every four minutes under the legal definition of dowry deaths, harassment over dowry related crimes, cruelty by husband or his relatives and domestic violence.
The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi says such violence is not unique to India - it occurs around the world - but what sets it apart in India from many other countries is the culture of silence and approval that often surrounds it.
According to a family survey carried out by the government, more than 54% of men and 51% of women said it was ok for a man to beat his wife if she disrespected her in-laws, neglected her home or children, or even over something as trivial as putting less - or more - salt in the food.

Credit: BBC

Aussie troops investigated over alleged war crimes against children

A SECRET Defence inquiry is examining the conduct of several Australian troops in relation to the alleged killing of at least two children, an ABC investigation has revealed.

It has been alleged that one of the boys, Khan Mohammed, 14, was collecting figs when he was shot dead by Australian special forces on morning patrol in 2012.
The boy’s body was reportedly left where it fell and later recovered by local villagers who claimed the killing was never reported up the official chain of command.
In a statement, an Australian Federal Police spokesperson confirmed the matter had been referred to the Australian Defence Force for investigation.
“On 2 September 2016 the Chief of Army Australia Defence Force (ADF) referred a matter to the AFP relating to an allegation of an unlawful killing by the ADF in Afghanistan in 2012,” the statement said.
“The AFP is undertaking an evaluation of the matter referred, and as such it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
Images obtained by the ABC show the young boy’s dead body alongside some of his belongings.
Khan’s family members told the national broadcaster that his body was discovered among large rocks.
The ADF has also confirmed the inquiry will probe the deaths of a second boy and an adult male.
Bismillah Azadi and his son Sadiqullah were killed in September 2013, allegedly following a raid by Australian SAS troopers in the Uruzgan province.
The troops have been cleared of any wrongdoing with a previous investigation ruling Bismillah was “almost certainly” a Taliban sympathiser. Azadi’s family has refuted the claims.
A decorated special forces veteran, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the allegations “underline his concerns about a culture of recklessness”.
“I saw innocent people killed who didn’t need to die or deserve to die, in circumstances that were unwarranted and ultimately avoidable. This behaviour was in direct conflict with what I believed it meant to be a special forces soldier,” the veteran said.
He also revealed that Australian special forces troops openly discussed “planting” weapons, such as “pistols or knives” on the bodies of death Afghans to falsely show they had been armed when killed.
The inquiry started last year and is being overseen by NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton.

Credit: Daily Telegraph