Tag: India

Reliance, Disney announce giant India media merger

MUMBAI, Feb 29, 2024 (AFP) – India’s Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have agreed to merge their Indian media businesses, creating a $8.5 billion entertainment giant in the world’s most populous nation. India’s entertainment market is already one of the world’s biggest, with the merger expected to further shake up the multi-billion-dollar industry. The two companies had signed “binding definitive agreements” to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Reliance-backed Viacom18 and […]

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The Indians hired for Russia’s Ukraine war

By Arunabh SAIKIA NEW DELHI, Feb 27, 2024 (AFP) – An apple farmer, an airline caterer and an out-of-work graduate are among the Indian nationals hired by Moscow, with the help of recruiters around the world, for the Russian army in Ukraine. Two years into the war tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine, and Moscow is on a global quest for more combatants, sometimes with the assistance — complicit or oblivious […]

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Modi says India’s first astronauts will inspire nation

NEW DELHI, Feb 27, 2024 (AFP) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday toasted the four astronauts preparing for the nation’s first crewed orbital mission, saying the latest advance in spacefaring would inspire the next generation. “The countdown of the rocket inspires thousands of children in India, and those making paper planes today dream of becoming scientists like you”, Modi said. The Gaganyaan — or “Skycraft” — mission is slated to launch the astronauts […]

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Why are India’s farmers protesting again?

  By Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Thousands of Indian farmers on tractors are riding towards New Delhi in a revival of past protests that saw highways into the capital blockaded by agricultural machinery for more than a year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was pressed into a rare retreat in 2021 after a successful campaign by farmers demanding it repeal new laws deregulating agricultural markets. Farm union leaders say the […]

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Two dead after India madrassa demolition sparks religious clashes

DEHRADUN, India, Feb 9, 2024 (AFP) – Two people were killed in India and dozens more injured after religious clashes sparked by the destruction of a madrassa, officials said Friday, the latest in a spate of demolitions targeting Islamic structures. Municipal authorities in the northern state of Uttarakhand had bulldozed the buildings on Thursday, claiming they had been built without permission. Police said that Muslim protesters threw stones at them in the protests that followed, […]

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Eight dead, 80 injured in India firework factory explosion

NEW DELHI, Feb 6, 2024 (AFP) – At least eight people died and 80 were injured Tuesday in a giant explosion at a firework factory in India that saw balls of flames soar into the sky, officials said. Footage on Indian television showed a tower of flame after the explosion at the firecracker plant, with dozens of ambulances sent and army helicopters called in to evacuate the wounded. Senior district police official Rajeshwari Mahobia told […]

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India’s Bopanna becomes oldest world No.1, aged 43

MELBOURNE, Jan 24, 2024 (AFP) – India’s Rohan Bopanna will become the oldest number one in men’s doubles history after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday at the age of 43. Bopanna, who attributes his longevity to yoga, turned professional more than two decades ago and his previous highest ranking was third, which he reached in 2013. Wednesday’s win for Bopanna and Australian partner Matthew Ebden against Argentine pair Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni […]

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Sony ‘terminates’ Indian merger with Zee

By Simon Sturdee with Anuj Srivas in Mumbai TOKYO, Jan 22, 2024 (AFP) – Sony “terminated” on Monday the $10-billion merger of its Indian operations with local rival Zee Entertainment that would have created a new streaming giant in the world’s most populous nation. The joint entity with mooted annual revenue of $2 billion would have helped both firms better compete with Disney, Amazon and Netflix in the entertainment market of 1.4 billion people. But […]

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Maldives tells India to withdraw troops by March as row deepens

MALÉ, Maldives, Jan 14, 2024 (AFP) – The Maldivian president told India Sunday to withdraw its nearly 100 troops by March 15, a day after returning from China where he signed a raft of deals. New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence, but the Maldives has shifted into the orbit of China — its largest external creditor. The March deadline was set during talks with Indian officials in […]

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India navy rescues Arabian Sea crew after hijack attempt

By Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – India’s navy said Friday it had rescued 21 crew members from a vessel in the Arabian Sea after a hijacking distress call, the latest attack on commercial shipping in the region. Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a drone strike near India’s coast which the United States has […]

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Nepal signs hydro energy export deal with India

KATHMANDU, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Nepal signed a deal with India on Thursday for the Himalayan republic to export 10,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity over the next decade to its energy-hungry neighbour. More than four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity in 2000, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam building spree in the years since has helped connect nearly all of its 30 million people to the grid. It […]

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India navy says responding to Arabian Sea vessel hijack

NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – India’s navy said Friday it was responding to the apparent hijacking of a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea, the latest incident of attacks on commercial shipping in the region. Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a drone attack near India’s coast blamed on Iran by the United States. It comes […]

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