Houthis seize more Red Sea islands, attack Saudi’s King Khalid Air Base Houthi rebels said on Monday they have captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea and hit a major Saudi Arabian airbase in Khamis Mushait chennai l tuesday l september 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION TN gets `12,300-cr investment boost Oppn flays CM’s UK visit over deal with Indian firm E x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai During Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s official visit to the United Kingdom, a Tamil Nadu state delegation signed multiple agreements in London on Monday, securing investment commitments worth `12,300 crore. The projects span key sectors, including advanced manufacturing, electrical equipment production, and Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and are expected to create approximately 10,000 highvalue jobs across the state. A major part of the investment comes from Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd, which, alongside its European and UK joint venture partners, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest TOURISM SUMMIT 2026 Where India meets Bharat Tourism summit to be held in Chennai today The second edition of The New Indian Express’ Tourism Summit, to be held in Chennai on Tuesday, will focus on the challenges and opportunities in the domestic travel sector, while showcasing the best of Indian states | P5 CM C Joseph Vijay during the signing of an MoU in London on Monday | Express `11,000 crore. The mega-project is expected to create nearly 7,000 employment opportunities for the TN workforce. The MoU was signed by Barrie Painter, Global Head, Marketing and Communications, Samvardhana Motherson International Group, and Deepak Jacob, Managing Director, Guidance, Tamil Nadu government. The proposed investment will cover design, engineering, manufacturing, assembly and logistics facilities and is expected to strengthen Tamil Nadu’s position as a hub for ad- Opposition parties, including the AIADMK and DMK, questioned the CM’s UK trip to sign an MoU with Samvardhana Motherson International Limited, an Indianheadquartered company, for an investment of `11,000 crore in TN. DMK mouthpiece Murasoli also questioned the TVK govt over claims of attracting over `1 lakh crore investment in 100 days | P4 vanced manufacturing, engineering and automotive-related activities. The Motherson commitment is the first major investment announcement from London since the CM arrived in the UK capital as part of his visit to attract investments to TN.  P5 Govt mulls special Parl session before festive season, reaches out to Oppn PREET H A NAIR @ New Delhi Cong taps INDIA allies WITH Parliament yet to be prorogued, the Centre has reached out to the Opposition parties over a proposal to convene a special session of Parliament before the festive season to push through the delimitation-linked women’s reservation Bill, it was learnt. Sources said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s office has reached out to Congress chief and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to explore whether the session can be held Sources said Congress has reached out to its INDIA bloc allies, including SP and the TMC, to formulate a common position if government proceeds with the session before October 11, when the Navratri season begins. Kharge’s office is yet to respond to the latest outreach, sources said. The move comes amid Opposition questions over the government’s unusual delay in proroguing Parliament more than a month after both Houses were adjourned sine die. The delay has kept speculation about a special session alive, though the government has made no formal announcement about its timing or agenda. The buzz of a special session intensified last week after Rijiju said Parliament could convene a session to discuss delimitation-related proposals. Following this, Kharge wrote to Rijiju, reiterating the demand that the government convene an all-party meeting and disclose the proposed agenda before taking a decision. Arab states call off Iran meeting The capture of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the Yemen-based, Iran-backed rebels’ swift advance around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz and a key passage for Saudi oil shipments. In response to the fresh attack by the Tehranbacked outfit, Arab states in the Gulf called off a meeting with Iran scheduled for Monday | P9 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ Mocha Saudi-backed forces are trying to retake this port city from houthis Wholesale, retail inflation up in August ■ probe begins CBI registers FIR in Disha death case after HC prod PUS H PITA DE Y @ New Delhi express news service INFLATIONARY pressure in the economy is slowly building up, with both retail and wholesale inflation inching up. Retail inflation rose to an eight-month high of 4.82% in August from 4.45% in July driven by higher , food prices. Wholesale inflation rose to 9.9% in August from 9.8% in July . With retail inflation breaching the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 4.7%, the prospects of a rate hike in the October monetary policy review have brightened. According to government data, higher prices of cereals, sugar, milk and other essential food items contributed to the increase in household expenses. Elevated global crude oil prices have also pushed up fuel and transportation costs. Food inflation emerged as a key driver of the rise in headline inflation, increasing to 5.95% in August from 5.52% in July, due to erratic weather conditions and supply-side disruptions affecting prices of several agricultural commodities. The prices of onion, ginger and garlic rose by more than 40%. Higher inflation was not restricted to food, with the hospitality sector also witnessing a significant rise. According to economists, although 4.82% remains within the RBI’s statutory 2-6% tolerance band, the combination of accelerating food prices and evidence of firming core inflation leaves less room for monetary easing. “Inflation is still below 5%; it is unlikely that the credit policy will see any change in the repo rate. However, the inflation threat remains... 11 of the 36 regions had inflation above 5%,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda. In wholesale inflation, major groups such as primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products recorded 7.76%, 22.93% and 8.37%, respectively in August. , The CBI has registered an FIR into the death of Disha Salian, former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and begun recording statements as part of its probe, officials said. The FIR, registered on September 13, does not name any individual as an accused or prime suspect, in compliance with directions issued by the Bombay High Court. The agency has invoked provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating t o cr i m i n a l c o n s p i r a c y, gang-rape, Disha Salian murder, causing disappearance of evidence and public servants disobeying the law or preparing incorrect records to shield offenders. The case follows a HC order directing the transfer of relevant records from the Mumbai Police to the CBI. The order came on a petition filed by Salian’s father, Satish Salian, who disputed the police version that his daughter took her own life. CBI recorded Satish Salian’s statement on September 11. Disha, 28, died after falling from a residential building in Malad on the intervening night of June 8 and 9, 2020. @ Mumbai/New Delhi The sharper rise in food inflation is worrisome since food has a large weight in household consumption Manoranjan Sharma, chief economist at Infomerics Ratings Oil prices shoot up Oil prices rose 3% after fresh Houthi strikes on Saudi and Iranian attacks on ships compounded supply concerns following the closure of a key Saudi oil pipeline. Brent crude futures rose $3.21 to $107.82 a barrel. WTI gained $3.17 to $103.22 a barrel