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India's announcement that it plans to deport its Rohingya population is an attempt to curry favour with Buddhist-majority Myanmar ahead of an official visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, writes Subir Bhaumik in Yangon. Three days before Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's Rakhine state, killing 12 members of the security forces and triggering an apparent military crackdown that has led to an ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, Indian junior home minister, Kiren Rijiju, announced that India would deport its entire Rohingya population, thought to number about 40,000. This number, he said, would include some 16,000 Rohingya who have been registered as refugees by the UN. "The UNHCR registration means nothing. For us, all of them remain illegal migrants," he said. After the police-post attack on 25 August, India's foreign ministry issued a strongly worded statement promising to stand firmly with Myanmar in its "fight against t...

Indian police are investigating the deaths of dozens of newborns at a hospital in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. Forty-nine children died at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in a month, including at least 30 who are said to have died from "perinatal asphyxia". The condition is caused by reduced oxygen levels during childbirth. In August at least 160 minors died at a Gorakhpur hospital, in the same state. Some of the deaths there were also allegedly caused by lack of oxygen. But senior government officials have denied that this was the case in either hospital. In the most recent investigation, a government report blamed medical staff for 30 deaths, prompting the launch of a police investigation. The Press Trust of India reports that those 30 died from an apparent lack of oxygen while in intensive care at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. Another 19 infants, who did not survive childbirth, were not part of the government report, the news agency said. All 49 ...

Car industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said used car sales figures released last week were not correct. It blamed the mix up on an incorrect algorithm when it crunched official raw data. In figures released on 16 August, the SMMT said used car sales had fallen sharply - 13.5% in the second quarter of this year. But the revised figures now show the fall was actually a more gentle 0.7%. When the figures came out last week, it added to speculation that consumers were nervous about the UK economy and reining back spending. But a SMMT spokeswoman said on Thursday: "[Our] data team discovered there was an issue with an algorithm they used to process the data." The car industry body gets its raw used car sales data from the DVLA, the UK's vehicle licensing agency. The error occurred at some point in crunching those numbers, the spokeswoman said. Rather than a fall from 2.12 million to 1.83 million secondhand car sales in th...

Ford has said it is in discussions with a Chinese company to create a new line of electric vehicles for the world's biggest market. Ford said it was exploring a joint venture with electric car maker Anhui Zotye Automobile Co. The firm is a major manufacturer of small, zero-emissions electric cars. The move comes as carmakers in China face new rules designed to boost electric car sales, part of the government's effort to fight pollution. China already has more electric cars on the road than any other country and Ford said it expects sales of all-electric cars in China to reach four million by 2025. Officials are also working on new rules that would require 8% of car sales to be electric next year and 12% by 2020. "Electric vehicles will be a big part of the future in China and Ford wants to lead in delivering great solutions to customers," said Peter Fleet, vice president and president for Ford Asia Pacific. Can China's electric c...

Korean carmaker Hyundai is wading further into the electric vehicle market, promising a car that can go 500km (311 miles) on each charge. Hyundai already has an electric model on the market, but its range lags behind its competitors' models. Along with its affiliate Kia, Hyundai is planning 31 eco-friendly models by 2020. The latest move comes amid increasing competition in the market for ecologically-friendly cars. Hyundai's environmentally-conscious new additions will include three plug-in hybrid vehicles, eight battery-powered cars and two fuel-cell vehicles. The company also has plans to develop its first dedicated facility for pure electric vehicles, which will allow it to produce a variety of cars with longer driving ranges. Its current electric model, the Ioniq, has a range of 280km, less than GM's Bolt or Tesla's Model 3, which both have ranges in excess of 350km. Automotive analyst Robin Zhu from Bernstein Research says Hyunda...

Aston Martin has announced a £500m trade and investment deal between the United Kingdom and Japan. The luxury car brand said on Wednesday it would step up its exports to Japan, open a number of new offices next year and expand its dealer network. The five-year deal will benefit its plants in St Athan in Vale of Glamorgan and Gaydon in Warwickshire. Prime Minister Theresa May said the investment was "vital" as Britain prepares to leave the EU. The announcement was made by the company's president and chief executive officer, Dr Andy Palmer, during his visit to Japan as part of the UK delegation accompanying Mrs May. The prime minister is aiming to allay Japan's concerns over Brexit and drum up trade during the visit. "As we prepare to leave the European Union, it is vital that we build on our existing ties with friends and allies," Mrs May said. "Aston Martin is a prime example of the innovative and world leading firms t...