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Vijay Mallya-promoted beleaguered airline Kingfisher will not resume operations for another week as it failed to resolve an impasse with staff over salaries.

Prakash Mirpuri, a spokesperson for the Kingfisher Airlines, said that the airline was extending the lock-out to Friday, October 12, or to up to earlier date on which the strike ends.

Continuing to display its commitment to economic reforms, the Union Cabinet on Thursday raised foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in insurance sector and opened up the pension sector to foreign investors.

The Cabinet gave a nod to hike the FDI cap in the insurance sector from existing 26 per cent to 49 per cent, and also foreign investors to own up to 26 per cent in pension funds.

The Association of British Insurers ha said that it should be made mandatory for new drivers to spend at least a year driving with their L-plates on vehicles before being allowed to sit for a driving test.

It pointed out that the young people must be allowed to start learning six months ahead of reaching legal limit to drive. The association said that the one year learning period will allow young drives to have enough time to get more supervised practice. It also advocated a graduated driver licensing for the first six months after clearing a driving test.

Global charity, Oxfam is urging the World Bank to stop funding for the deals involving acquisition of tracts of property.

Oxfam asked the global financial institution to place an immediate moratorium on funding for such deals, citing its figures showing large pieces of land were being sold to foreign investors. Estimates show that the World Bank has significantly increased its lending to land deals during the previous decade to more than $8 billion.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that it will no longer contest the Judicial Review about how the West Coast Main Line (WCML) franchise was awarded in August.

Authorities in Hong Kong have announced a three-day mourning period in the city to mourning the deaths of victims of a ferry collision, which is Hong Kong's worst maritime accident in four decades.

Flags around the city flew at half mast on Thursday, when Chief executive Leung Chun-ying will hold a three minutes of silence at the government headquarters. Schools and other public institutions are also expected to fall silent at noon.