New Delhi, India | AFP | India gave away 27,000 tickets for the opening games of the Under-17 World Cup in New Delhi on Friday in a bid to avoid the embarrassment of empty stands when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends, an official said. Thousands of children filled the Jawahar Lal …
Read More »India central bank holds rates, cuts growth outlook amid slowdown
Mumbai, India | AFP | India’s central bank held interest rates at a seven-year-low on Wednesday as it downgraded growth forecasts for Asia’s third largest economy amid a slowdown following recent high-profile reforms. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate — the level at which it lends …
Read More »Tata wins bid to make electric cars for Indian government
New Delhi, India | AFP | India’s Tata Motors has won a bid to manufacture thousands of electric cars for the government as part of a push to promote battery-powered vehicles as the nation grapples with soaring pollution levels. State-owned energy efficiency services limited (ESSL) will procure 10,000 cars from …
Read More »‘World’s heaviest woman’ dies in Abu Dhabi hospital
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | AFP | An Egyptian believed to be the world’s heaviest woman died Monday morning of heart and kidney failure at an Abu Dhabi hospital. A team of more than 20 doctors had been caring for Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty since her arrival at Burjeel …
Read More »US calls N. Korea nuclear bomb test threat ‘shocking’
New Delhi, India | AFP | US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday it would be “shocking” irresponsibility for North Korea to carry out its threat to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific. The new comments, made while Mattis headed for India, followed a shrill war of words between the …
Read More »Indian priest thankful, even to abductors, after release from Yemen
Rome, Italy | AFP | An Indian priest kidnapped last year during a deadly attack by Islamist militants in Yemen thanked on Saturday all those involved in his release, and even had a kind word for his abductors for not harming him. “I thank in the name of the Lord God …
Read More »India’s first bullet train project fast-tracks Japanese ties
Ahmedabad, India | AFP | India’s first bullet train project, a $19-billion initiative linking Ahmedabad to Mumbai, was launched Thursday as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe hailed fast-growing ties between Asia’s two biggest democracies. The project is seen as emblematic of warming relations between New Delhi …
Read More »Indian teen rape survivor gives birth to baby boy
Mumbai, India | AFP | A 13-year-old rape survivor who was allowed to terminate a late pregnancy by India’s Supreme Court has given birth to a pre-term baby boy, a doctor said Friday. The teenager was 32 weeks pregnant, well beyond India’s 20-week legal limit after which terminations are only allowed …
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 »Trump announces ambassador picks to Germany, India
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump has announced a series of ambassador nominations to key capitals, including Berlin and New Delhi, more than seven months after taking office. In a statement released late Friday, the White House announced Trump intends to nominate Richard Grenell to be ambassador …
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