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☆ Independents Win 47 of 106 Seats Counted in Pakistan Poll, Most Backed by Imran Khan - Geo News
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Independent candidates contesting Pakistan's national election, most of whom are backed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, won in 47 of 106 parliamentary seats as counting progressed on Friday, according to projections by broadcaster Geo News. Results have been declared by the Election Commission of Pakistan in a total of 57 seats so far, according to the panel's website. Elections were held to 264 of the 265 seats in the national assembly and a political party needs 133 seats for a simple majority. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)(PML-N), which has won at least 17 seats so far, may form a coalition government with independent candidates, Sharif's aide Ishaq Dar suggested on Friday, Geo reported. "I am confident that we will form a government," Dar said, adding that his party would concede if any other party emerged a clear winner.

Persons: Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif's, Nawaz, Sharif's, Ishaq Dar, Geo, Dar, Asif Shahzad, Sakshi Dayal, YP Rajesh Organizations: Pakistan's, Geo, Former, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, YP Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan

☆ Pakistan's Political Art on Trucks Hurt by Preference for Posters
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Fayaz Aziz and Mushtaq AliPESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Colourful trucks with paintings of political leaders that once dotted Pakistan's roads and highways ahead of elections are missing this poll season, replaced mostly by the printing on posters and banners. Kaleidoscopic murals of flowers, Islamic motifs, calligraphy, snow-capped Himalayan peaks, local mosques and popular figures are renowned examples of Pakistani truck art. Before printing posters became widespread, truck paintings of leaders, particularly in the run-up to elections, were a much sought after campaign medium. The city in Pakistan's northwest is one of the country's major hubs for the art form. Ahmad said painters are now limited to regular truck art, with business also being hurt by rising prices.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Mushtaq Ali, Shakeel Ahmad, Imran Khan's, Imran Khan, Ahmad, Zaffar Ali, Nawaz Sharif, Ali, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sohail Ghuri, Bansari Mayur, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, Supreme, Pakistan, YP Locations: Mushtaq Ali PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Peshawar, Pakistan's, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

☆ Costs, Crackdown Put a Damper on Pakistan's Election Campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Ariba ShahidKARACHI (Reuters) - Higher living costs and political uncertainty have muted Pakistan's once boisterous election campaigns, with both candidates and those who supply them with materials bemoaning the need to do more with much less. Syed Arsalan Haider, a Karachi printer, said the cost of a square foot of banner was up by 130% since the last election. Khan, whose party won the last election, says the military wants to keep him from power, which the military denies. Meherbano Qureshi, a PTI candidate and daughter of the party's jailed vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said people were scared to show their support and hang campaign material. (Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi and Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Editing by YP Rajesh and Miral Fahmy)

Persons: Shahid, Imran Khan, Jawad Jiwani, Syed Arsalan Haider, Abdul Aziz, Taj Haider, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Faisal Subzwari, Khan, Meherbano Qureshi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Khurram Sher Zaman, They're, Ariba Shahid, Mubasher Bukhari, YP Rajesh, Miral Organizations: Monetary Fund, Pakistan People's Party, PTI, Mubasher, YP Locations: Shahid KARACHI, Pakistan, Karachi, festooned, Lahore

☆ India Counts Down to Opening of Grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"The construction of the Ram Temple is an instrument to unite the country," Modi said in a message published on newspaper front pages ahead of a spectacle that will be watched by millions of Indians at home and abroad. India's Hindus say the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram, and was holy to them long before Muslim Mughals razed a temple at the spot to build the Babri Masjid, or mosque, in 1528. Nearly 8,000 people are expected to attend the invitation-only ceremony, from top business leaders to movie stars and sportspersons. More than 10,000 police personnel have fanned out across the city of 3 million people to provide security and keep out gatecrashers. The temple opens to the public on Tuesday and its management expects at least 100,000 visitors a day for the first few months.

Persons: Saurabh Sharma, Rajesh AYODHYA, Lord Ram, Narenda, Modi, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Supreme Court, Indian Express, YP Locations: India, Ayodhya, Ram

☆ Factbox-What Are the Contentious Events Behind India's New Ram Temple?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

(Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a ceremony on Monday to consecrate a grand new temple to the Hindu god-king Ram, delivering on a campaign promise his political party made more than three decades ago. Legal battles ended in 2019 with the Supreme Court deciding to allow a Hindu temple to be built there, on condition that Muslims received another plot to build a mosque. In Dec. 1949, authorities seized the mosque after Hindu activists placed idols of Ram inside the disputed structure. Hindu and Muslim groups tried unsuccessfully to resolve the dispute through talks, before Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a nationwide campaign in 1990 to build the temple. He rode to the office of prime minister in 2014 on a Hindu nationalist platform that included the promise to build the temple.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Ram, Modi, Modi's, Nripendra Misra, Lord Vishnu, Babur, India's, Lal Krishna Advani, Krishn Kaushik, Krishna Das, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, YP Locations: India, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Gujarat

☆ New Mosque Construction in India's Ayodhya to Begin in May, Muslim Group Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The dispute had scarred relations between the communities for decades and the destruction of the mosque sparked nationwide riots that killed 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. India's top court said in 2019 that the razing of the mosque was unlawful, but ruled that evidence showed there was a non-Islamic structure beneath it. It ordered that the site be given to Hindu groups to build a temple and Muslim community leaders be given land elsewhere in the city for constructing a mosque. While construction of the $180 million temple began within months and the first phase is set to open on Monday, Muslim groups have struggled to raise funds and begin work at a desolate site about 25 km (15 miles) away. A crowd-funding website is expected to be launched in the coming weeks, said Shaikh, who is also a BJP leader.

Persons: Shivam Patel, Haji Arfat Shaikh, Ram, Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, Narendra Modi's, Athar Hussain, Shaikh, Muhammed bin Abdullah, Prophet Mohammad, Babur, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: DELHI, Islamic Cultural Foundation, Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, YP Locations: Indian, Ayodhya, India's, India, Babri

☆ Religious Spectacle to Mark Opening of Ram Temple by India's Modi
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

It is also being seen as the virtual launch of the deeply religious strongman Modi’s re-election campaign for general elections due by May. India's majority Hindus say the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram, and was holy to them long before Muslim Mughals razed a temple at the spot and built the Babri Masjid or mosque there in 1528. Some of India’s top business leaders, movie actors and sportspersons have also been invited for the consecration, organisers said. The inauguration has also sparked a political controversy with major opposition parties, including the main opposition Congress, declining invitations to attend saying it had been converted into a political, Modi event. “The construction of the temple is going on as per the direction of the Supreme Court, so we welcome it.

Persons: Saurabh Sharma, Rajesh AYODHYA, Lord Ram, Narendra Modi, Modi’s, Modi, ” Modi, “, ”, Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi, Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, Shivam Patel, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Supreme Court, Krea University, Islamic, Foundation, YP Locations: India, Ayodhya

☆ Indian, Chinese Troops Clashed Twice in 2022 Even as Peace Talks Were On
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in clashes in the area two years previously, in mid-2020. Details of the new clashes emerged after the Indian Army awarded gallantry medals to some of its soldiers, who it said challenged Chinese troops trying to enter Indian territory in at least two incidents in 2022. During physical jostling, an Indian soldier wounded at least four Chinese troops and snatched their rifles, “forcing them to go back”, it said. In the second incident in November, 2022, Indian troops pushed back “a group of 40 to 50 soldiers of (PLA)” who were trying to enter Indian territory. A unit of Indian soldiers attacked and injured them, “thus foiling the enemy’s plan to capture the post”, another citation said.

Persons: Krishn Kaushik, ”, “, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Krishn Kaushik NEW DELHI, Indian Army, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, YP Locations: New Delhi, Beijing, India's Ladakh, Ladakh, India, China

"After these results, it looks like there is no stopping Modi," said Yashwant Deshmukh, poll expert with C-Voter agency, adding that stopping Modi would be a "herculean task". The BJP won the regional votes in three of four major states, including central Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh which were ruled by Congress. One of the challenges facing the opposition are the factious ties within the INDIA alliance. Congress refused to share seats in state polls with key regional ally the Samajwadi Party. "The future of the alliance is good if the Congress party works on it with full commitment," he said.

Persons: India's, Narendra Modi, of Home Affairs Amit Shah, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Yashwant Deshmukh, Rahul Gandhi, Manish Tewari, Manoj Kaka, Gandhi, Baijayant Panda, Saurabh Sharma, Miral Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian, Union, of Home Affairs, Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, Voter, Congress, Reuters, Samajwadi Party, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, DELHI, Britain, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, INDIA, Lucknow

"We always said we will win the heartland states," BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda told Reuters. However, a 28-party opposition alliance led by the Congress party has come together to jointly fight BJP, posing a new challenge. But the alliance did not feature in the state polls due to internal rivalries and it was a direct contest between BJP and Congress. Politicians and analysts say state elections do not always influence the outcome of the general elections or accurately indicate national voter mood. Results of the last round of state elections before national elections have been misleading in the past.

Persons: Stringer, Narendra Modi, Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gandhi, Supriya Shrinate, Gurmeet Chadha, Ira Dugal, Lincoln, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Telangana, Reuters, Developmental, Congress, Thomson Locations: Madhya Pradesh, Indore, India, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka, Mizoram, Mumbai

☆ 'Like Brothers': Rescued Indian Tunnel Workers Stayed Hopeful Through Ordeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

They went for daily walks and did yoga in the 2-km (1-mile) stretch of the highway tunnel in which they were trapped. But many said knowing they were not forgotten, and would be soon pulled out, was what really kept them hopeful and strong. "For the first day or so, everyone inside was very hopeless and sad," worker Birendra Kishku, 39, told Reuters. "We lived like brothers," Saba Ahmed, a worker of the private firm contracted to build the tunnel, told Modi. "My son was consoling me, telling me not to worry and assuring me that they would soon come out."

Persons: Saurabh Sharma CHINYALISAUR, Doctors, Birendra Kishku, Subodh Kumar Verma, Narendra Modi, Saba Ahmed, Modi, Sukanti Nayak, Raju, consoling, Jatindra, YP Rajesh, Miral Fahmy Organizations: Reuters, Authorities, YP Locations: India, Rishikesh, Sukanti, Bhubaneswar

☆ 'Like brothers': rescued Indian tunnel workers stayed hopeful through ordeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

One of the trapped workers is checked out after he was rescued from the collapsed tunnel site in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023. They went for daily walks and did yoga in the 2-km (1-mile) stretch of the highway tunnel in which they were trapped. But many said knowing they were not forgotten, and would be soon pulled out, was what really kept them hopeful and strong. A rescue mission is currently underway at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to free 41 workers who are stuck inside following a landslide. "We lived like brothers," Saba Ahmed, a worker of the private firm contracted to build the tunnel, told Modi.

Persons: Doctors, Birendra Kishku, Subodh Kumar Verma, Narendra Modi, Saba Ahmed, Modi, Sukanti Nayak, Raju, consoling, Jatindra, YP Rajesh, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Authorities, YP, Thomson Locations: Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India, Rishikesh, Sukanti, Bhubaneswar

☆ Indian rescuers say very close to reaching 41 men trapped in tunnel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rescue operations continue as evening approaches, where workers got trapped in a tunnel construction collapse in Uttarkashi, northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 27, 2023. The men, low-wage workers from India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5 km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12. "Sure, 100%," he said when asked if the men could be reached on Tuesday. Rescuers on Monday brought in the "rat miners", experts at a primitive, hazardous and controversial method used mostly to get at coal deposits through narrow passages. Authorities have not said what caused the cave-in but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Deepak Patil, Narendra Modi's Organizations: REUTERS, Authorities, YP Rajesh, Thomson Locations: Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India

☆ After machines fail, 'rat miners' to help rescue 41 men stuck in Indian tunnel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SILKYARA, India, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Rescuers on Monday brought in "rat miners" to drill through a narrow pipe and help pull out 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for more than two weeks after high-powered machines failed, officials said. The men, low-wage workers from India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12. The men have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicines through a pipe but efforts to dig a tunnel have run into a series of snags with machines. "Rat mining" is a primitive, hazardous and controversial method used in India mostly to remove coal deposits through narrow passages. Mishra visited the site and spoke to the trapped men through a communication link.

Persons: Rakesh Rajput, Francis Mascarenhas, Harpal Singh, Mahmood Ahmad, Narendra Modi's, P.K, Mishra, Sakshi Dayal, YP Rajesh, Ed Osmond Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Government, Organisation, Authorities, YP, Thomson Locations: SILKYARA, India, Uttarakhand, Uttarkashi, Char, New Delhi

☆ Drilling snag delays rescue of 41 men stuck in Indian tunnel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hindu priests pray at a makeshift shrine outside the entrance of a tunnel where workers are trapped after the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 23, 2023. The men, low-wage construction workers, have been confined in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov. 12. Attempts to pull them out by drilling through the debris of rock, stones and metal and pushing through an evacuation pipe have been slowed by snags. The collapsed tunnel is on the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. It aims to link four key Hindu pilgrimage sites with 890 km (550 miles) of two-lane road, at a cost of $1.5 billion.

Persons: Shankar Prasad Nautiyal, Rescuers, Deepak Patil, Narendra Modi's, YP Rajesh, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Authorities, snags, Reuters, National Highways Authority, YP, Thomson Locations: Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India

☆ Collapsed Indian tunnel had no safety exit, was built through geological fault - panel member
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Rahul Grover Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A tunnel which collapsed, trapping 41 workers in the Indian Himalayas this month, did not have an emergency exit and was built through a geological fault, a member of a panel of experts investigating the disaster said on Friday. Rescuers are still struggling to reach the construction workers 12 days after the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel caved in. Preliminary findings indicated the collapse may have been caused by a geological fault, known as a "shear zone", a member of the panel told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to the media. "Once the rescue operations are over, we will conduct detailed investigations to find out loopholes in the construction," the panel member said. The tunnel was being built by the state-run National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation which is under India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Persons: Rahul Grover, Vishal Chauhan, Narendra Modi's, Hemant Dhyani, Manoj Kumar, YP Rajesh, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Media, REUTERS, Highways, Infrastructure Development Corporation, India's Ministry of Road Transport, National Highways Authority of India, Supreme, Reuters, YP, Thomson Locations: Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India, DELHI

☆ Indian rescuers hope to reach 41 trapped in tunnel on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SILKYARA, India, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Rescuers in India hope to finish drilling through debris on Thursday and free 41 men trapped in a highway tunnel in the Himalayan region after a metal obstacle slowed progress, officials said. The men began the twelfth day of their ordeal confined in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov. 12. Once the drill breaks through, officials said they plan to send rescuers through the evacuation pipe, using stretchers on wheels, to bring out the trapped men. [1/2]An ambulance arrives at the tunnel where workers are trapped after the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Shankar Prasad Nautiyal Acquire Licensing RightsA rescue mission is currently underway at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to free 41 workers who are stuck inside following a landslide.

Persons: Atul Karwal, Bhaskar Khulbe, Shankar Prasad Nautiyal, Pushkar Singh, Gabbar Singh Negi, Saba Ahmed, Narendra Modi's, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Authorities, Force, Rescuers, REUTERS, National Highways Authority, YP, Thomson Locations: SILKYARA, India, Uttarakhand, Uttarkashi, Pushkar

☆ Indian rescue effort for 41 trapped in tunnel breaks through steel obstacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An ambulance arrives at the tunnel where workers are trapped after the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 23, 2023. Once the drilling is completed, officials plan to send rescuers through the evacuation pipe with stretchers on wheels to bring out the trapped men, they said. Authorities have not said what caused the tunnel collapse, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods. Efforts to bring the men out have been slowed by snags in drilling in the mountainous terrain. The collapsed tunnel is located on the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Persons: Shankar Prasad Nautiyal, Bhaskar Khulbe, Khulbe, Narendra Modi's Organizations: REUTERS, Authorities, Wednesday, National Highways Authority, YP Rajesh, Thomson Locations: Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India

☆ Safety of Defence Personnel 'Utmost Priority', Australia Says After China Warship Incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The safety and wellbeing of Australian defence personnel is Canberra's "utmost priority" and Australia expects all countries to operate militaries in a safe and professional manner, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday. Wong's comments came a week after an incident involving a Chinese warship and an Australian navy vessel in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which an Australian military diver was injured. HMAS Toowoomba - a long-range frigate - was conducting a diving operation on Nov. 14 to clear fishing nets from its propellers when the Chinese warship acted in a dangerous manner, Australia has said. India's relations with China have deteriorated since a 2020 border clash between their militaries in which 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed. Australia, she added, "will cooperate where we can, we will disagree where we must, and we will engage in our national interest".

Persons: Penny Wong, Wong's, Anthony Albanese's, Wong, Subrahmanyam, Richard Marles, YP Rajesh, Krishn Kaushik, Sharon Singleton Organizations: PLA Navy, Liberation Army Navy, PLA, Defence, Indian, YP Locations: DELHI, Australian, Japan's, New Delhi, Toowoomba, Australia, Beijing, Canberra, Ningbo, China, India

☆ First images from Indian tunnel show workers trapped for nine days
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SILKYARA, India, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The first images emerged on Tuesday of 41 men trapped for more than a week in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, showing them standing in the confined space and communicating with rescue workers. Efforts to bring out the 41 men have been slowed by snags in drilling through the debris in the mountainous terrain. A rescue mission is currently underway at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to free 41 workers who are stuck inside following a landslide. The trapped men are low-wage workers, most of them from poor states in India's north and east. "He said he is doing fine," Sunita Hembrom, the sister-in-law of one of the workers trapped in the tunnel, Surendra Kisko, told reporters after she spoke to him.

Persons: Saurabh Sharma, Abhishek Sharma, Sharma, Prem Pokhriyal, Sunita Hembrom, Surendra Kisko, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Authorities, YP, Thomson Locations: SILKYARA, India, Uttarakhand, Uttarkashi, India's

☆ How India’s Hindu nationalist BJP seeks Muslim vote in 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Specifics of the BJP's Muslim outreach strategy, such as the messaging it is using to target voters in these seats, have not been previously reported. The campaign is part of a larger push to woo India's 200 million Muslims, with whom the BJP and Modi have a long and fraught history. ECONOMY-FIRST AND MUSLIM VOTERSThe BJP's website states that secularism in India has become "minority appeasement ... at the cost of majority". They shared details of internal party strategy on condition of anonymity. BJP leaders such as Islam, a former India head of Deutsche bank, said the opposition has taken Muslim votes for granted and neglected their welfare.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Nafis Ansari, Ansari, Jamal Siddiqui, Modi Mitrs, Syed Zafar Islam, Siddiqui, doesn't, Hilal Ahmed, Yasser Jilani, Ujir Hossain, Mohammed, Hossain, Hossain Dada, Qasim, Amana Begam Ansari, Critics, Ahmed, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Tiwari, Rupam Jain, Katerina Ang Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Rivals, Analysts, Indian, Reuters, Centre, Congress, Deutsche, Samajwadi Party, Thomson Locations: Balasinore, Indian, Ahmedabad, Madhya Pradesh, India, Delhi, West Bengal, BJP

☆ How Modi's BJP seeks Muslim vote in India's 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

☆ India, US begin talks to boost partnership amid 'global challenges'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Defence remains one of the most important pillars of our bilateral relationship," Singh said in opening remarks at the meeting. "In spite of various emerging geopolitical challenges, we need to keep our focus on important and long-term issues." Austin said it was more important than ever that the world's two largest democracies exchange views, find common goals, and deliver for our people, "in the face of urgent global challenges". "Together we have been taking very concrete steps to deliver on the vision that our two leaders put forward," Blinken said. Jaishankar said the dialogue would help build "a forward-looking partnership while we construct a shared global agenda".

Persons: Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Rajnath Singh, Friday's, Singh, Austin, Narendra Modi's, Joe Biden's, Blinken, Jaishankar, Biden's, Xi Jinping, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: India's, Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swaraj Bhavan, Indian, Defence, Economic Cooperation, YP, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, United States, Washington, Gaza, Ukraine, South Asia, New Delhi, Japan, Australia, China, Asia, San Francisco . India, Delhi, Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference after participating in G7 ministerial meetings in Tokyo, Japan, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Pool Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI/WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will hold talks with India this week that officials say will focus on security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and concerns over China, rather than the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. U.S. officials were moving swiftly to deepen ties with India while pledging support for an investigation into the June killing on Canadian soil, an American official aware of the Indo-Pacific policy said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. India's ties with the U.S. have grown steadily stronger on several fronts, and it has close strategic links with Israel.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Jonathan Ernst, Lloyd Austin, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi's, Joe Biden's, Xi Jinping, Rick Rossow, Rossow, Krishn Kaushik, David Brunnstrom, Trevor Hunnicutt, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Officials, Ottawa, Indian, Economic Cooperation, Asia Society, South, U.S, Washington’s Center, Strategic, International Studies, Biden, YP, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, DELHI, WASHINGTON, India, China, Gaza, Ukraine, New Delhi, Canada, Washington, Asia, San Francisco, South Asia, Israel, Delhi, Russia, Washington and New Delhi, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal

☆ Indian states vote in key test for Modi and rivals ahead of 2024 general election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Rupam Jain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends an Innovation conference with Israeli and Indian CEOs in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 6, 2017. Modi and leaders of the main opposition Congress party headed by Rahul Gandhi have criss-crossed the five states, addressing campaign rallies and promising cash doles, farm loan waivers, subsidies and insurance covers, among others, to woo voters. But surveys suggest Modi remains popular after a decade in power and will likely win a third term. Votes in all five states will be counted on Dec. 3 and results expected the same day. The elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram states are mainly a contest between BJP and Congress.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Oded, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Gandhi, Raman Singh, Singh, Sachin, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Indian, REUTERS, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, Developmental Inclusive, BJP, Congress, Reuters, YP, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, DELHI, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram

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