Global News Archives

Plane Crashes Killed 334 in 2024

Plane crashes killed 334 people in 2024 worldwide, according to preliminary data from the German Air Traffic Industry Association (BDL), German news agency (dpa) reported.

The fatalities included passengers, crew and seven people on the ground.

In comparison, only 80 deaths were reported in 2023, the second lowest number since 1970.

The BDL statistics cover accidents involving aircraft with at least 14 seats. Incidents involving smaller aircraft and military flights are excluded from the report.

Although the number of aviation fatalities hit a record low in 2017, there has been an increase in the following years, the association said.

However, long-term data shows significant safety improvements.

“The aviation industry was about 53 times safer last year (2024) than in the 1970s,” said BDL Managing Director Joachim Lang.

In 2024, 17 accidents involving passenger and cargo aircraft were investigated, the association said.

The deadliest accident occurred on December 29 when a Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air crashed while landing at Muan Airport in South Korea. The crash killed 179 passengers and two crew members survived. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident.

According to projections by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), about 4.7 billion passengers will fly worldwide in 2024, more than 10 times the average since the 1970s, when only 440 million people flew annually.

In other words, civil aviation is still the safest mode of transportation.

Cybertruck Explodes Outside Trump Towers, 1 Killed

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Trump Towers in Las Vegas. At least one person, the vehicle’s occupant, was confirmed to have been killed while another seven suffered minor injuries, according to Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

He called the explosion “an isolated incident” and said there is no indication that it was linked to ISIS.

The Sheriff also said gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters and large firework mortars were found in the back of the vehicle after the explosion, which occurred about 15 seconds after the vehicle pulled in front of the building. It’s still unclear how the explosives were ignited, he said.

The Cybertruck, a 2024 model, pulled up to the hotel’s glass entrance doors, McMahill said. Smoke began emerging from the vehicle, and then a large explosion occurred.

He added further that the truck was rented in Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning. It appears to have been rented via the Turo peer-to-peer car rentals app. It is the same app that a source said was used by the New Orleans attacker to rent the pickup he used. In a statement, a Turo spokesperson said: “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents. We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”

The explosion occurred hours after a deadly New Orleans attack, when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people. The FBI said “weapons and a potential IED,” or improvised explosive device, were found in his vehicle, which was flying an ISIS flag.

In a post on X, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk said “The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this.”

In another post a few hours later, he said the blast “was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.”

In the past year, Musk became a major donor and close adviser to Trump, with the billionaire tasked to head up Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk, along with his co-leader of DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, are aiming to cut billions in federal spending.

The case is now being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.

Tunnelling Work for Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, World’s Longest Roadway Tunnel Completed

Tunnelling work for the the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world’s longest expressway tunnel, has been completed on Monday morning. The completion will facilitate the opening of a new shortcut linking southern and northern parts of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

The 22.13-kilometer tunnel, “Shengli,” which means “victory” in Chinese, will reduce the time it takes to drive across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes once operational, according to Xinhua.

The mega project’s design features a dual-direction, four-lane tunnel with a design speed of 100 km/h. It is located in the remote depths of the Tianshan Mountains, at an average altitude of over 3,000 meters, the China Media Group (CMG) reported on Monday.

Over the past four years, more than 3,000 workers have toiled continuously in high-altitude, low-oxygen environments, while tackling numerous geological challenges and risks such as rock bursts, large deformations in soft rock, and collapses, according to the CMG report.

The project faces severe environmental conditions and highly complex geology. Typically, it would take about 72 months to complete the tunnel using conventional methods. However, the builders successfully completed it in just 52 months, according to CMG.

The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel is a key project of the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, which runs from the regional capital of Urumqi in northern Xinjiang to Yuli County in southern Xinjiang. The expressway is expected to be fully completed and open to traffic in 2025. The driving time between the two locations will be reduced from about seven hours to just over three hours, according to Xinhua.

Aprilia RS125, Aprilia Tuono 125 Refreshed for 2025

While we have quite a large offering of Aprilia motorcycles in Malaysia, there are several models missing from the line-up, namely the Aprilia RS125, Tuono 125, RX125, and SX125. These are available in Europe especially since the continent has A1 and A2 license rules. They seem to be selling well over there and Aprilia has refreshed them for 2025.

Starting with the engine, the single-cylinder, four-valve, liquid-cooled powerplant (shared among the four models) has now been overhauled to meet Euro5+ standards. The engine produces 14.8hp at 10,500rpm and 11Nm at 8500rpm, which at the limit of A1 license regulations. For comparison, the Aprilia 125cc engine’s power output sits in between the Yamaha 135LC’s (12hp) and Y15ZR’s (15.1hp).

The sportier pair in the foursome, the RS125 sportbike and Tuono 125 naked continue to use the same aluminium twin spar frame as before – making them the only bikes in their class without steel frames. They come with upside-down forks, aluminium swingarms, radially mounted front brakes, and LED lighting all-round.

Colour choices for each are now Kingsnake White or Cyanide Yellow for the RS, and Viper Yellow or Mamba Grey for the Tuono.

The other two variants in the Aprilia 125 lineup are the SX125 supermoto and RX125 dirtbike. The former uses 17-inch wheels front and back, while the latter has a 21-inch front wheel and 18-inch rear wheel. Both these use steel frames. Both machines come in Cubozoa White or Varanus Black.

Prices for the Aprilia RS125, Tuono 125, SX125, and RX125 have not been revealed. Wonder if these will be in Malaysia some day.

2025 Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally to Defend Aprilia’s Africa Eco Race Win

Aprilia had won the Africa Eco Race rally in 2023 in their first attempt with the Tuareg 660. And now, they will be back to defend the win with a 2025 Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally.

The race will take place from 28 December and conclude on 12 January, again with Jacopo Cerutti, Francesco Montanari and Marco Menichini. It was Cerutti who won last year’s race.

The Rally version of the Tuareg 660 is new for 2025 and features new distinctive race graphics, going alongside the standard 660 which receives the usual Aprilia Racing colourway and several other variants including a ‘Dakar Podium’ colour scheme, Martian Red, Acid Gold, Indaco Tagelmust and Canyon Sand.

Montanari is no stranger to the Africa Eco Rally as he joins the fold for the 2025 edition, while Menichini is a new entrant to the race and will feature as part of the ‘Junior class’ which is designed for riders under 25 years of age.

Ahead of the event, Cerutti said: “The dream is to win again, in spite of the fact that there are almost 4,000 km of timed sections extremely demanding along the way where anything can happen. In the Africa Eco Race, navigation is always a huge challenge and each day can hold surprises all the way to the last mile.

Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola also spoke about the upcoming event as the Noale-based brand is keen to make another statement. “After last year’s outstanding performance, it’s hard not to be optimistic about this edition, although being defending champs comes with great responsibility. It won’t be easy to repeat the performance, partly because our rivals are even more prepared. Jacopo is in grand form and he is determined to demonstrate his full potential.

“We are also counting on Montanari’s experience, who showed us his value last year, and on Marco Menichini’s skills in the Junior class. We are confident in the Guareschi Team’s great performance.”

Benelli BKX 125 and Benelli BKX 125 S Revealed

Benelli has launched a slew of new models for 2025, including these interesting-looking small capacity ones, called the Benelli BKX 125 and Benelli BKX 125 S.

Both are built around the same platform i.e. shared engine, frame, suspension, and brakes. The differences are the BKX 125 is a lightweight adventure motorcycle, while the BKX 125 S is a naked/supermoto type of bike. Hence, the the former has a 19-inch front wheel and 17-inch rear wheel with wire spokes, while the latter uses cast 17-inch wheels on both ends. There is a single 280mm brake disc up front.

The engine is a 125cc, single-cylinder, SOHC, liquid-cooled unit, which produces a humble 14hp at 9,500 RPM and 12Nm of torque at 7,500 RPM. Compression ratio is 12.0:1, and complies to the Euro5+ emission standard. Its peak power is at the limit of the European A1 license.

The exterior asserts a unique style that is typical of Benelli, and is equipped with a vertical LED headlight and a triangular position light. In addition, the BKX 125 comes standard with a rally tower-like meter visor, a large shroud on the tank side, and a handlebar cover, giving it a silhouette that is just like an adventure machine. The fuel tank has a capacity of 12 litres.

The Benelli BKX 125 and Benelli BKX 125 S actually look similar to the BKX 300 and BKX 300 S. Prices have not been announced.

Royal Enfield Sales up 21%, Increases Production

Despite a slowdown in the global motorcycle market, Royal Enfield (RE) surprised everyone by selling 21% more motorcycles from the start of 2024 to October compared to the same period last year. In terms of figures, that was 565,353 motorcycles, of which 52,624 were exported.

In fact, RE sold 110,574 motorcycles in October 2024 alone, which was almost double of Ducati’s annual sales in 2023. It marked a 31% increase compared to October last year.

The increase can be traced to the several new models in the middleweight segment, as well the increase in production facilities around the world.

Although the core of RE’s production facilities are located at Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal near Chennai, India, they also have five Completely Knocked Down (CKD) assembly facilities in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Bangladesh and Nepal with a new CKD facility just opening up in Thailand, bringing the number up to six.

Enfield’s new Thai plant, which is located at Samut Prakan province in Bangkok and has the capability to make 30,000 bikes a year, is the firm’s first in the region and will give them even greater access to the lucrative Asia-Pacific markets, which is a hotbed for the mid-sized bikes Enfield are focused on making.

“Our strategic intent is to have an international expansion strategy of investing in markets with huge potential to grow. Thailand assembly plant caters to this vision,” CEO, B. Govindarajan said.

Benelli Leoncino Bobber 400 Launched

The Benelli Leoncino Bobber 400 has been launched. It sports a V-Twin engine, and slots in between the single-cylinder Leoncino 125 and parallel-Twin Leoncino 500.

Highlights:

The engine is a 385cc, SOHC, 60° V-Twin which produces 34.5hp at 8,000 RPM, and 36.6Nm at 4,500 RPM. This is what you would expected from a V-Twin cruiser.

Engine power is sent through a six-speed transmission and belt final drive.
Designed by the Centro Stile Benelli in Italy, the maker is trying to instil a powercruiser styling in the Leoncino Bobber 400. Although it looks like a combination of the Fat Boy and XR1200 to us.

16-inch wheels, front and rear. The front has a width of 130mm, the rear is 150mm.
Each wheel has a single disc brake, the front ius 300mm while the rear is 240mm. ABS is standard.

Seat height is just 735mm, curb weight is 180kg.
The tank holds 15 litres of fuel.

Classic style, round TFT screen.

That is all the data that was released and the it is a simple bike, anyway. The price of the Benelli Leoncino Bobber 400 has not been revealed.

Benelli TRK902 Explorer Takes on Off-Road Segment

The Benelli TRK902 Explorer has been launched as the company’s entry into the rugged middleweight adventure segment.

Although technical details are scant at the moment, we do know that the TRK902 Explorer uses a new engine, based on the old 754cc 4-valve. The stroke and bore have been increased to take it up to 904cc. Benelli claims the engine produces 98.6hp and 90.0Nm of torque. Not bad.

Benelli has adventure bikes prior to this but the TRK902 Explorer is the most rugged TRK thus far. The frame is the usual tubular steel trellis type, with fully-adjustable 50mm upside-down forks. The rear monoshock is adjustable from spring preload and rebound damping. Both ends have 200mm travel, which in turn gives the bike a generous 230mm ground clearance. However, Benelli gives the bike 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels instead of a 21-inch and 18-inch combo.

Pirelli Scorpion Rally tyres are standard fitment and the twin 320mm discs are gripped by Brembo four-piston monobloc calipers with an ABS system that has a dedicated off-road mode.

There is no mention of a traction control system or variable power modes, but they are likely to be fitted as it runs a ride-by-wire throttle. Benelli claim a dry weight of 235kg with a seat height of 865mm.

When it comes to practicality, the Benelli TRK902 Xplorer features a 7-inch TFT colour dash with connectivity and a navigation function, two fog lights integrated into its design, tyre pressure monitors, a 22-litre fuel capacity and even an electronically-adjustable screen.

Its price has not been revealed.

Monster Energy Yamaha Team Drops VR46 Racing Apparel

The Monster Energy Yamaha Team will drop VR46 Racing Apparel as their team apparel’s supplier beginning the 2025 MotoGP season. It is the end of a 4-year partnership.

Instead, Italian sportswear brand Macron will be the team’s official apparel partner. Macron will take on the role of sponsor and official supplier of team clothing, designing and producing official products and corporate uniforms, including racewear and travel gear. The company will also provide new uniforms for the Yamaha Motor Corporation and Yamaha Motor Racing.

This separation with VR46 Apparel adds to the list of Yamaha’s severance with Valentino Rossi’s various business projects. Previously, Yamaha also announced the termination of the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, a young racer development program based at the VR46 Riders Academy facility for their Moto2 racing team.

As a step forward, Yamaha will rely on cooperation with its new satellite team, Pramac Racing, to develop young talent at pre-MotoGP level.

This decision also breaks rumors that the VR46 Racing Team will become a new Yamaha satellite team. On the other hand, VR46 chose to stay with Ducati, considering that the performance of Ducati motorbikes is much more competitive than Yamaha.

In fact, the relationship between VR46 and Ducati is increasingly close. Starting next season, VR46 will be the only Ducati satellite team that is supplied with the latest motorbikes, on par with the factory team. Full support will be given to Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Franco Morbidelli, a former Yamaha racer, will use a Ducati motorbike from this season.

CFMoto 750SR Revealed Prior to Launch

Looks like the Chinese motorcycle makers know that sportbikes represent the pinnacle of engineering prowess, despite the ever growing popularity of adventure and sport-touring motorcycles. Just look around and you will see every Chinese motorcycle manufacturer having at least one sportbike in their line-up: Benelli, QJMotor, Kove, Zontes, and of course, CFMoto. Among them, the latter is the most aggressive, and has since filed the type approval for a CFMoto 750SR four-cylinder sportbike.

The new bike would probably be called the 750SR or 750SR-R (and 750SS in the US) has been filed as “CF750-2” in the type approval documents. Notice the “-2”? It could very well mean there will also be a naked 750NK variant.

What tips us off that this will be a four cylinder engine is due to the engine’s codename of “472MV.” Under Chinese type-approval conventions, the first digit – “4” in this case – alludes to the number of cylinders, while “72” here tells us about the engine’s bore size of 72mm. The CFMoto 675SR’s three-cylinder engine also has 72mm bores, so it may well mean the 750SR’s engine shares the smaller engine’s pistons, valves, and combuster chamber design.

CFMoto says that the 749cc engine produces a certified 110hp. Apart from that that, curb weight is listed at 213kg, and a maximum speed of 230km/h. Its ABS system is the Continental MK100. There is also a linkage to suggest a quickshifter.

That is all the information we have now. We are sure that it will not take long for the CFMoto 750SR to be launched.

2025 Triumph Bobber TFC Launched

The Bonneville Bobber became Triumph’s best-selling model when it was launched at the end of 2016. It has gone through several refreshers besides spawning the Triumph Factory Custom (TFC) model along the way. So, here is another Bobber TFC to usher in the new year, the 2025 Triumph Bobber TFC.

Of course, the TFC variant receives some high-end bling and components such as carbon fibre bodywork, two-tone gold black finish, retuned 1200cc engine, suspension, and electronics.

The engine’s mapping is more aggressive, moving the peak horsepower point down to 6,000 RPM from 7,000 RPM. Likewise, the peak torque of 106Nm was also moved to 3,750 RPM from 4,000 RPM. This is what is called a “cruiser” powerband – more tractable torque and power at lower RPMs. Capping off the performance shift, Triumph fitted a pair of Akrapovič silencers.

The 2025 Triumph Bobber TFC also receives Brembo M50 radially-mounted calipers, 310mm brake discs, and Brembo master cylinder. Up front are fully-adjustable Öhlins 43mm NIX 30 upside-down forks. The monoshock at the rear is adjustable for preload and rebound.

The standard Bobber has Road and Rain riding modes, so Triumph added a Sport mode for the TFC. The rear lights are integrated into the signal indicators. The front wheel is 19-inches and the standard handlebar is replaced with a clip-on type.

Apart from these, there are find hand-painted marble gold elements on the tank and side panels, with the underside of nine-litre fuel tank hand signed on the by the artist that painted it.

Other touches further include an embossed leather seat, carbon fibre mudguard stays, gold fork lowers, billet machined engine cover badges, and even a gold chain.

Price of the 2025 Triumph Bobber TFC in the UK is £17,195 (RM96,807.35) and it is limited to 750 units only.

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Global News

Plane Crashes Killed 334 in 2024

Cybertruck Explodes Outside Trump Towers, 1 Killed

Tunnelling Work for Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, World’s Longest Roadway Tunnel Completed

Aprilia RS125, Aprilia Tuono 125 Refreshed for 2025

2025 Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally to Defend Aprilia’s Africa Eco Race Win

Benelli BKX 125 and Benelli BKX 125 S Revealed

Royal Enfield Sales up 21%, Increases Production

Benelli Leoncino Bobber 400 Launched

Highlights:

Benelli TRK902 Explorer Takes on Off-Road Segment

Monster Energy Yamaha Team Drops VR46 Racing Apparel

CFMoto 750SR Revealed Prior to Launch

2025 Triumph Bobber TFC Launched

Kawasaki is Building a Turbocharged Two-Stroke Engine

Harley-Davidson Introduces 2 New and 6 Refreshed Models

Stefan Pierer Steps Down as CEO of Pierer Mobility and KTM

Zontes 703F to Enter UK Market

Revamped 2025 BMW R 18 Announced

BMW Motorrad Sales Broke Records in 2024

Triumph Thruxton 400 Prototype Spotted

Goodyear Sells Dunlop to Sumitomo

Aprilia Tuareg 660 Rally Wins Africa Eco Race Again

Vespa 946 Snake Limited Edition Launched in Italy

70-Year-Old KTM Controlled Foundry goes Bankrupt

Bajaj Hit 3.1 Million Registrations in 2024

Archive

Revamped 2025 BMW R 18 Announced

Triumph Thruxton 400 Prototype Spotted

Stefan Pierer Steps Down as CEO of Pierer Mobility and KTM

KTM Dumps MV Agusta?

2025 Ducati Panigale V4 Tricolore Launched

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