Mumbai, India | AFP | Transgender mystic Zoya Lobo turns over three oracle cards, studies them for a minute and looks up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will definitely win India’s general election this summer, she proclaims. Clairvoyant Larra Shah also predicts a victory for Modi owing to his “extremely powerful …
Read More »Indian journalist jailed after Modi Facebook post
New Delhi, India | AFP | An Indian journalist has been jailed for a year after he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook, in the latest example of what critics claim is a clampdown on free speech. Kishorechandra Wangkhem was arrested last month in the remote northeastern state of …
Read More »Supreme Court backs Modi over Rafale jet deal
New Delhi, India | AFP | India’s Supreme Court dismissed Friday calls for an investigation into a controversial French fighter jet deal, in a move seen as a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 2016 multi-billion dollar deal between the Indian government and French aircraft manufacturer Dassault has become …
Read More »‘Humbled’ Modi suffers defeats ahead of 2019 India polls
New Delhi, India | AFP | India’s ruling party suffered stinging election defeats in at least two stronghold states, results showed Tuesday, in a big blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi before national polls in 2019. The votes held earlier this month and in November were seen as a dress …
Read More »Modi’s visit to Kampala
A tale of a bond sealed with blood Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed at Entebbe International Airport on July 24, very few Ugandans possibly recalled that he had been here before – in 2007. The visit back then was the result of a …
Read More »India’s Modi twice as popular on Facebook as Trump: study
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | US President Donald Trump may rule the roost on Twitter, but he lags far behind Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook, according to a study published Wednesday. Modi is by far the most followed world leader on the gargantuan social networking platform, counting 43.2 …
Read More »In UAE, India’s Modi inaugurates a summit and a temple
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi capped a whirlwind visit to the UAE on Sunday, giving a keynote address as guest of honour at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Modi praised the United Arab Emirates, home to 3.3 million Indian nationals, for having …
Read More »Modi becomes first Indian PM to visit West Bank
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Narendra Modi on Saturday became the first Indian prime minister to visit the occupied West Bank where he held talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of a Middle East tour. The visit, which came weeks after Modi hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin …
Read More »India’s PM Modi faces test as his home state votes
Ahmedabad, India | AFP | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat began voting on Saturday, in a key electoral test of his popularity after a series of controversial economic reforms. Voters, with their election cards in hand, started lining up at polling booths early in the morning …
Read More »China’s Xi urges ‘healthy’ India ties after border spat: Xinhua
Xiamen, China | AFP | Chinese President Xi Jinping sought Tuesday to move past a tense border dispute with India, telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi the two nuclear-armed neighbours should pursue “healthy, stable” relations, according to China’s state media. The exchange occurred on the sidelines of the just-ended summit of BRICS …
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