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 …
Read More »Modi, Netanyahu seek to deepen ties on first visit by an Indian PM
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday on the first ever visit by an Indian premier to Israel as they sought to deepen ties beyond high-priced defence deals. The two leaders presented a series of agreements between India and Israel for cooperation on …
Read More »Modi set to become first Indian PM to visit Israel
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Narendra Modi becomes the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel when he arrives on Tuesday, the result of growing ties that have led to billions of dollars in defence deals. Israel, in constant search of allies to vote in its favour at UN bodies as …
Read More »Bromance as Trump and Modi hail friendship at first talks
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced each other as friends and partners Monday, pledging their quest for economic growth would strengthen rather than undermine ties between the world’s two largest democracies. While Trump’s relations with some traditional allies had …
Read More »Indian state to challenge Modi’s cow slaughter ban
New Delhi, India | AFP | A southern Indian state announced Sunday it would go to the supreme court to challenge a federal ban on the sale of cows for slaughter, stepping up a showdown with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Cows are considered sacred by Hindus and the Hindu nationalist …
Read More »TRAFFIC: India bans red car beacons to end elitist culture
New Delhi, India | AFP | India said Wednesday it will ban ministers and senior officials from using red beacons on their cars to cut through traffic, a longstanding privilege that has caused resentment and accusations of elitism. From May 1 only emergency services will be allowed to use …
Read More »Indi-Rwanda partnership
Rwandair, Agriculture, Energy, Defense to benefit Rwanda President Paul Kagame while on a visit to India invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Jan.10 to work out collaboration on exploring the methane reserves in his country. India which is in the midst of an energy quest, according to news reports there, …
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 …
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