Pukhrāyān, India | AFP | Eight-year-old Sejal Yadav was pulled from the wreckage of a derailed train in northern India and rushed alone to hospital. Hours later she was reunited with her brother — thanks to WhatsApp. As survivors were rescued from the mangled carriages of the Indore-Patna Express on …
Read More »At least 120 killed as Indian train derails
Pukhrāyān, India | AFP | Emergency workers raced to find any more survivors in the mangled wreckage of an Indian train that derailed Sunday, killing at least 120 people, in the worst disaster to hit the country’s ageing rail network in recent years. Shocked passengers recalled being jolted out of …
Read More »India eases cash rules for weddings
New Delhi, India | AFP | India announced new measures Thursday to allow farmers and marrying couples to withdraw more money from banks, as frustration mounted over a cash crisis triggered by the withdrawal of all high-value notes. The shock move last week, which saw 85 percent of the cash …
Read More »Tycoon hosts big, fat $75 million Indian wedding amid cash crunch
Bangalore, India | AFP | A controversial Indian mining tycoon has taken over a royal palace and flown in Brazilian dancers at a reported cost of $75 million to celebrate his daughter’s wedding on Wednesday, as the country reels from a cash crisis. Up to 50,000 people are expected at …
Read More »Nepal PM phones India’s Modi over rupee chaos
Kathmandu, Nepal | AFP | Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi Tuesday to find out how Nepalis could exchange Indian rupees they hold in the now banned denominations. The two countries share a long border and close cultural ties, and many Nepalis hold large …
Read More »ANALYSIS: How did India’s Modi pull off bold rupee shake-up?
Mumbai, India | AFP | Months of planning by a select few sworn to secrecy and then cash-laden trucks on the streets. But this was no bank robbery — rather an audacious plan to issue new notes across India. There are 1.25 billion people in India but only a handful …
Read More »Tension as India withdraws 500, 1,000 rupee notes to fight graft
New Delhi, India | AFP | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation on Tuesday in a shock announcement designed to tackle widespread corruption and tax evasion. Modi said that while people could exchange their old notes for new bills at …
Read More »Saree-clad May says post-Brexit opportunities in India
Bangalore, India | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday there was a “world of opportunities” for post-Brexit Britain in India, as she donned a saree during a temple charm offensive in Bangalore. May said that Britain would not need to ease visa restrictions — a key demand …
Read More »Theresa May lays groundwork for post-Brexit India trade deal
New Delhi, India | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would become the ultimate free trade champion as she laid the groundwork Monday for a potential post-Brexit deal with India, the world’s fastest growing major economy. In her first bilateral trip outside Europe since taking office in July, …
Read More »Party drugs haul worth $450 mn seized in India, Bollywood producer held
New Delhi, India | AFP | Millions of tablets of a recreational drug with an estimated street value of nearly $450 million have been seized and a Bollywood film producer has been arrested in western India, officials said Wednesday. More than 20 million tablets of the banned drug Mandrax were …
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