The African Union has been granted permanent membership to the G20, host nation India has announced, in an historic expansion of the economic bloc. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi invited the president of the 55-member African Union (AU) to take a seat at the table among permanent members at the …
Read More »Modi’s BJP party on track to lose southern India Karnataka state polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party was set to lose Karnataka, the only southern India state it governs, according to an early vote count Saturday that showed opposition Congress party leading in the crucial state polls. With vote counting continuing, India’s Election Commission said the Congress was leading in …
Read More »US President Joe Biden to host Indian PM Modi for state visit on June 22
US President Joe Biden will host India Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit on June 22 that will affirm the two countries’ “deep and close partnership,” the White House announced Wednesday. The visit, the highest level of diplomatic reception at the White House, will boost Washington and New …
Read More »Biden, Modi to meet Pacific leaders in Papua New Guinea: PNG PM James Marape
US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Papua New Guinea in May to attend a meeting of Pacific leaders, the island nation’s premier said on his government’s official Facebook page. Biden will meet with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, as well as 18 …
Read More »India’s Rahul Gandhi appeals defamation conviction with hearing set for April 13
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi appealed against his conviction for defamation on Monday, seeking to overturn a judgment that resulted in his expulsion from parliament a year before a general election is due. Gandhi, 52, was convicted last month in a case brought by a state lawmaker from Prime Minister …
Read More »Rahul Gandhi to appeal jail sentence
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will appeal a two-year jail sentence in a defamation case brought against him by lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local media reported on Sunday. Gandhi, the 52-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and leader of the Congress party, was …
Read More »India temple accident: At least 35 killed after falling into underground stepwell
At least 35 people were killed and 16 were injured after the roof of a stepwell in a temple complex collapsed in central India, a local government official said on Friday (March 31). The incident occurred in the central Indian city of Indore after a concrete slab covering the roof …
Read More »India’s Rahul Gandhi loses parliament seat after conviction
Top opposition figure Rahul Gandhi was expelled from India’s parliament on Friday, a day after his defamation conviction for a remark seen as an insult against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi’s government has been widely accused of using the law to target and silence critics, and the case in the …
Read More »Indian police detain students over Modi documentary screenings
The documentary alleges that Modi ordered police to turn a blind eye to deadly riots while he was Gujarat state’s chief minister. Police have detained many students in the Indian capital, New Delhi, over the screening of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role during the deadly …
Read More »India accuses BBC of ‘colonial mindset’
The BBC documentary features the findings of a British inquiry into the 2002 deadly riots, which reveals PM Modi failed to stop the violence. India’s foreign ministry on Thursday dismissed a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that questioned his leadership during the deadly 2002 Gujarat riots as “propaganda”. …
Read More »Indian PM Modi tells Russia’s Putin now ‘is not an era of war’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertiliser, and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present. “I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken …
Read More »PM Modi visits Indian-controlled Kashmir amid tight security
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Himalayan Kashmir on Sunday his first public event since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy and took direct control in 2019. Modi remotely inaugurated a tunnel and work on two hydropower projects before delivering a speech that was punctuated by his government’s developmental …
Read More »Indian farmers end year-long protest
Indian farmers who have been staging a year-long protest in New Delhi announced on Thursday that they are ending their demonstrations after the government U-turned on controversial farm legislation. Announcing the decision, Balbir Singh Rajewal, a senior farm union leader, stated that the group has “received a letter from the …
Read More »India, Russia sign 28 investment deals -foreign secy
India and Russia signed 28 investment pacts on Monday, including deals on steel, shipbuilding, coal, and energy, India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. India has also begun to receive S-400 missiles from Russia this month, Shringla said, adding that supplies would continue.
Read More »Indian farmers hold mass rally, make additional demands to keep pressure on Modi
Flushed with victory after Prime Minister Narendra Modi caved in to demands for agricultural reform laws to be repealed, Indian farmers held a mass rally on Monday to demand minimum support prices be extended to all products, not just rice and wheat. The protest movement launched by farmers more than …
Read More »India’s Modi backs down on farm reforms in victory for protesters
In a surprise announcement on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would repeal agriculture laws that farmers have been protesting against for more than a year, sparking celebrations for what farmers called a hard-fought victory. Modi’s decision is a significant climb-down for the combative leader and comes as …
Read More »Modi meets Pope Francis, invites him to visit India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked Pope Francis to visit India, a significant opening towards the head of the Catholic Church who has long sought an official invitation to the Hindu-majority country. Modi, who is in Italy for the G20 summit, invited Francis during a meeting at the Vatican, …
Read More »India tightens security in Kashmir after death of independence leader
India has tightened restrictions on movement in the part of Kashmir that it administers to contain protests after the burial of a top independence leader. Dozens of armed soldiers patrolled the streets of Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar ahead of midday prayers on Friday as tensions ignited in the disputed …
Read More »Modi says India will soon unveil $1.35 trln infrastructure plan
India will launch a 100 trillion rupee ($1.35 trillion) national infrastructure plan that will help generate jobs and expand use of cleaner fuels to achieve the country’s climate goals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday. The infrastructure program, called “Gati Shakti”, will help boost productivity of industries and boost …
Read More »Anti-Muslim slogans raised in Indian capital suspects in custody
Five accused, including ex-BJP spokesman, in police custody over a controversial event held in the heart of New Delhi. At least five people, including a former spokesman of India’s governing right-wing party, are in police custody over anti-Muslim slogans raised in the capital. A protest, organised on Sunday by former …
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