Modi— the tea seller’s son who became India’s populist hero

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters to celebrate the party’s win in country's general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 09 June 2024
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Modi— the tea seller’s son who became India’s populist hero

  • Modi was recently humbled in India’s recent election which forced his party into coalition with allies
  • He was born in 1950, the third of six children whose father sold tea at a railway station in Gujarat 

NEW DELHI: Once shunned and now eagerly courted by the West, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has steered his country away from its secular traditions and toward the Hindu-first politics he has championed for decades.

Modi’s political ascent was marred by allegations of his culpability in India’s worst religious riots this century, and his tenure has dovetailed with rising hostility toward Muslims and other minorities.

A decade after first sweeping to national office, the 73-year-old was humbled in just-concluded elections when his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forced into a coalition government following a worse-than-expected showing.

He begins a third term in office on Sunday forced to rely on a motley assortment of minor parties to govern.

Supporters revere Modi’s tough-guy persona, burnished by his image as a steward of India’s majority faith and myth-making that played up his modest roots.

“They dislike me because of my humble origins,” he said in rallies ahead of 2019 elections, lambasting his opponents.

“Yes, a person belonging to a poor family has become prime minister. They do not fail to hide their contempt for this fact.”

Modi was born in 1950 in the western state of Gujarat, the third of six children whose father sold tea at a railway station.

An average student, his gift for rousing oratory was first seen with his keen membership of a school debate club and participation in theatrical performances.

But the seeds of his political destiny were sown at the age of eight when he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a hard-line nationalist group.

Modi dedicated himself to its cause of promoting Hindu supremacy in constitutionally secular India, even walking out of his arranged marriage soon after his wedding aged 18.

Remaining with his wife — whom he never officially divorced — would have hampered his advancement through the ranks of the RSS, which expected senior cadres to stay celibate.

The RSS groomed Modi for a career in its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which grew into a major force through the 1990s.

He was appointed chief minister of Gujarat in 2001 but the state was rocked by sectarian riots the following year, sparked by a fire that killed dozens of Hindu pilgrims.

At least 1,000 people were killed in the ensuing violence, with most of the victims Muslims.

Modi was accused of both helping stir up the unrest and failing to order a police intervention.
He later told a BBC reporter that his main weakness in responding to the riots was not knowing “how to handle the media.”

A probe by India’s top court eventually said there was no evidence to prosecute Modi, but the international fallout saw him banned from entering the United States and Britain for years.

However, it was a testament to India’s changing political tides that his popularity only grew at home.
He built a reputation as a leader ready to assert the interests of Hindus, who he contended had been held back by the secularist forces that ruled India almost continuously since independence from Britain.

Critics have sounded the alarm over a spate of prosecutions directed at Modi’s political rivals and the taming of a once-vibrant press.

India’s Muslim community of more than 200 million is also increasingly anxious about its future.

Modi’s rise to the premiership was followed by a spate of lynchings targeting Muslims for the slaughter of cows, a sacred animal in the Hindu tradition.

But Western democracies have sidestepped rights concerns in the hopes of cultivating a regional ally that can help check China’s assertiveness.

Modi was accorded the rare honor in the United States of a joint address to Congress and a White House state reception last year at President Joe Biden’s invitation.

He has taken credit for India’s rising diplomatic and economic clout, claiming that under his watch the country has become a “vishwaguru” — a teacher to the world.

Only now is India assuming its rightful global status, his party contends, after the historical subjugation of the country and its majority faith — first by the Muslim Mughal empire and then by the British colonial project.

Modi’s government has refashioned colonial-era urban landscapes in New Delhi, rewritten textbooks and overhauled British-era criminal laws in an effort to erase what it regards as symbols of foreign domination.

The project reached its peak in January when Modi presided over the opening of a new Hindu temple in the town of Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to a centuries-old Mughal mosque razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.

Modi said during the elaborate ceremony that the temple’s consecration showed India was “rising above the mentality of slavery.”

“The nation is creating the genesis of a new history,” he added.


Philippines’ ‘last ecological frontier’ battles demand for nickel

Updated 5 sec ago
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Philippines’ ‘last ecological frontier’ battles demand for nickel

MANILA: Home to several endemic species like the endangered Philippine pangolin, the province of Palawan has faced threats to its biodiversity for decades from illegal wildlife trafficking to deforestation.
Now the island’s forests and communities are vulnerable to mining for its nickel, with the Philippines ramping up operations to meet global demand for metals and minerals to support the green energy transition.
“When you mine nickel, you have to remove the topsoil and forest vegetation, displacing wildlife and causing deforestation,” said Grizelda Mayo-Anda, director of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center, a legal group promoting environmental rights.
In response, Palawan Gov. Dennis Socrates signed a 50-year moratorium in March on all applications for mining agreements and exploration permits in the province.
But Mayo-Anda said it remains to be seen if the ordinance will be implemented following a change in provincial leadership after elections in May.
The Philippines is the world’s second largest producer and biggest exporter of nickel, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles, and is critical in the transition to green technologies like wind turbines and solar panels. The International Energy Agency has predicted a 65 percent increase in demand for nickel by the end of the decade.
Palawan has 11 active mines, three of which are large-scale nickel mines spanning four towns, but companies planning to open new mines now cannot get the necessary endorsement from the local government.
Considered by some to be the last ecological frontier of the Philippines, Palawan holds almost half of the country’s old-growth forest, 30 percent of its remaining mangroves and 40 percent of its coral reefs, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Nickel in the Philippines is primarily mined from laterite deposits commonly found near the surface and extracted through open-pit mining methods, and Mayo-Anda said thousands of trees have been cleared in Palawan for mining.

FASTFACTS

• Philippine province’s biodiversity threatened by mining and deforestation.

• Local ordinance bans new mining permits for 50 years.

A study by Conservation International, a nonprofit environmental group, on Palawan’s Mt. Mantalingahan protected landscape found in 2008 that the $5 billion value of its ecosystem goods and services — such as clean water, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation — far outweighed the value of minerals, then placed at 15 billion pesos ($262 million).
Church resistance
Mayo-Anda, an attorney who has conducted field-based legal advocacy in Palawan for decades, said some farmlands are no longer productive due to disruptions in water cycles and soil erosion she attributed to mining.
“Mining companies may have built schools, tribal halls and roads, but communities, including our politicians, do not have a good cost-benefit analysis of the economic value [of the destruction],” she said.
The local church has stood against new mining activities as well.
“As is often the case, mining companies exploit natural resources, take control and benefit from the natural wealth,” Bishop Socrates Mesiona of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa said.
Bishops in Palawan oppose mining due to its environmental and social impacts that they say could displace communities and affect the poor.
“But the crucial question is whether they have empowered local economies and communities so that when they are gone, the latter can continue to survive decently,” said the bishop.
The three bishops of Palawan, including Mesiona, have also called for a ban on new mining applicants, which number about 68.
“If they are all allowed to operate, then it will surely be the end of Palawan being called ‘the last ecological frontier,’” Mesiona said.
While national law gives local governments the authority to assess mining projects and express concerns, it is unclear whether the national government will approve the new mining applications in Palawan after the moratorium.
A recently publicized ruling of the Supreme Court rejected a 25-year moratorium on large-scale mining imposed by another Philippine province, Occidental Mindoro, citing the limited powers of the local government in regulating mining projects.

 


African armies turn to drones with devastating civilian impact

Updated 8 min 5 sec ago
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African armies turn to drones with devastating civilian impact

  • Remotely piloted aircraft offer African militaries more affordable and flexible access to air power

PARIS: The Easter period usually offers a rare respite in Gedeb, in Ethiopia’s deeply troubled north, but on April 17 death rained from the skies in this sleepy town caught up in a war between rebels and the army.

On this important holiday for Ethiopian Orthodox and Protestant Christians, many families had gathered in the morning to repair the local primary school.
But out of the blue, shortly before 11:00 a.m. (1400 GMT), “a drone fired on the crowd and pulverized many people right in front of my eyes,” a resident said.
Ethiopia and many other African nations are increasingly turning to drones as a low-cost means of waging war, often with mixed military results but devastating consequences for civilian populations.
Last year, Ethiopia carried out a total of 54 drone strikes, compared to 62 attacks in Mali, 82 in Burkina Faso and 266 in Sudan, according to data collected by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a US-based monitor.
According residents, the strike killed “at least” 50 people, others said more than 100 — a figure corroborated by several local media outlets.
It is one of the deadliest in a series of drone attacks since the conflict began in August 2023, pitting the Ethiopian army against the Fano, the traditional “self-defense” militias of the Amhara ethnic group.
A shoe seller at the scene, whose nephew was killed instantly, also blamed an armed drone that continued to “hover in the air” some 20 minutes after the strike.
“The sight was horrific: there were heads, torsos and limbs flying everywhere and seriously injured people screaming in pain,” he recalled.
Ethiopian authorities have not released any information about this attack in Amhara, where the security situation makes some areas very difficult to access and communications are subject to significant restrictions.
The Ethiopian army’s use of drones, which began during the bloody Tigray War (2020-2022), has since spread to the Amhara and Oromia regions amid multiple insurgencies.
In the Amhara region alone, now the hardest-hit, at least 669 people have been killed in more than 70 drone strikes since 2023, according to ACLED.

HIGHLIGHT

Ethiopia and many other African nations are increasingly turning to drones as a low-cost means of waging war, often with mixed military results but devastating consequences for civilian populations.

Remotely piloted aircraft used for reconnaissance and strikes — low-cost technologies now ubiquitous in current conflicts and particularly in Ukraine — are generating massive interest in Africa.
Some 30 African governments have acquired drones, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies “Military Balance” and the Center for a New American Security’s Drone Proliferation Dataset.
For decades, wars in Africa had been fought on land, conducted primarily by light and mobile infantry units.
“Drones offer sub-Saharan African militaries more affordable and flexible access to air power, which has been out of reach until now due to its cost and operational complexity,” said Djenabou Cisse, a west African security specialist at the Foundation for Strategic Research.
Countries like China, Turkiye and Iran have the advantage of selling drones “without attaching any political conditionality related to respect for human rights,” she added.
Among African military commands, the most popular is undoubtedly the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone, which, along with its big brother, the Akinci, has dethroned the Chinese Wing Loong in recent years.
The TB2 made a notable appearance in 2019 in Libya, the first African theater of drone warfare, between the Government of National Accord and its eastern rival, the Libyan National Army.
The following year, its deployment in the Karabakh region during the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and then in Ukraine starting in 2022, boosted its popularity.
Orders soared and waiting lists grew. While contract details are kept secret, experts estimate that a “system” of three drones costs nearly $6 million — significantly less than the several tens of millions for a fighter jet or combat helicopter.
This offsets its rather average performance, with a range limited to 150 km.
The TB2 is produced by private company Baykar. 
After severing ties with former colonial ruler France, the military regimes of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned to Turkish drones to attack rivals.
In December last year, the Malian army eliminated a leader and several members of the Azawad Liberation Front, a pro-independence coalition, in a drone attack.
In November 2023, drones played a decisive role in the recapture of the northern Malian city of Kidal from predominantly Tuareg rebels.
In Chad, four Turkish drones have replaced French fighter jets at the forward bases they occupied until N’Djamena ended its military cooperation agreements with France at the end of 2024.
The latter had repeatedly provided air support to help the Chadian government halt the advance of rebels threatening the capital.
The capital N’Djamena is equipped with only five Russian Sukhoi aircraft and as many aging Mi-24 helicopters.
Contrary to Franco-Chadian relations, “there is no military cooperation agreement (between N’Djamena and Ankara) but a trade agreement that allows us to acquire military equipment,” a Chadian officer said.


UK’s Starmer, Oman’s sultan agree to deepen ties in energy, defense and tech

Updated 19 min 5 sec ago
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UK’s Starmer, Oman’s sultan agree to deepen ties in energy, defense and tech

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said agreed on Wednesday to deepen collaboration across energy, technology, defense and security, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
During talks in London, the leaders also called for urgent humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, saying the current situation “cannot continue.”


UK flights delayed after air traffic control ‘technical issue’

Updated 30 July 2025
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UK flights delayed after air traffic control ‘technical issue’

  • The National Air Traffic Service says glitch happened at its control center and required the service to limit the number of aircraft flying to ensure safety

LONDON: A technical issue briefly caused flight delays in Britain on Wednesday before engineers were able to restore the system, the air traffic control operator said.
The National Air Traffic Service, or NATS, said the glitch happened at its control center at Swanwick, southwest of London, and required the service to limit the number of aircraft flying to ensure safety.
Gatwick Airport said the issue affected outbound flights across the UK Some inbound flights were put into holding patterns or diverted.
About 20 minutes after issuing an initial alert, the agency said engineers had fixed the problem and that it was “in the process of restoring normal operations.”
The NATS system has suffered several software-related failures since it opened in 2002.
In August 2023, a glitch meant flight plans had to be processed manually, rather than automatically. Hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled at the height of the summer holidays and some 700,000 passengers affected.


Trump announces 25 percent tariff on India and unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil

Updated 30 July 2025
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Trump announces 25 percent tariff on India and unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil

  • India “is our friend,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, but its tariffs “are far too high” on US products
  • The Indian government said Wednesday it’s studying the implications of Trump’s tariffs announcement

WASHINGTON: The United States will impose a 25 percent tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India’s purchasing of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said Wednesday.

India “is our friend,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, but its tariffs “are far too high” on US products.

The Republican president added India buys military equipment and oil from Russia, enabling Moscow’s war in Ukraine. As a result, he intends to charge an additional “penalty” starting on Friday as part of the launch of his administration’s revised tariffs on multiple countries.

The Indian government said Wednesday it’s studying the implications of Trump’s tariffs announcement.

India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a “fair, balanced and mutually beneficial” bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and New Delhi remains committed to that objective, India’s Trade Ministry said in a statement.

Trump’s view on tariffs

Trump’s announcement comes after a slew of negotiated trade frameworks with the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia — all of which he said would open markets for American goods while enabling the US to raise tax rates on imports. The president views tariff revenues as a way to help offset the budget deficit increases tied to his recent income tax cuts and generate more domestic factory jobs.

While Trump has effectively wielded tariffs as a cudgel to reset the terms of trade, the economic impact is uncertain as most economists expect a slowdown in US growth and greater inflationary pressures as some of the costs of the taxes are passed along to domestic businesses and consumers.

There’s also the possibility of more tariffs coming on trade partners with Russia as well as on pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would announce the Russia-related tariff rates on India at a later date.

Tariffs face European pushback

Trump’s approach of putting a 15 percent tariff on America’s long-standing allies in the EU is also generating pushback, possibly causing European partners as well as Canada to seek alternatives to US leadership on the world stage.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday in the aftermath of the trade framework that Europe “does not see itself sufficiently” as a global power, saying in a cabinet meeting that negotiations with the US will continue as the agreement gets formalized.

“To be free, you have to be feared,” Macron said. “We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.”

Seeking a deeper parternship with India

Washington has long sought to develop a deeper partnership with New Delhi, which is seen as a bulwark against China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established a good working relationship with Trump, and the two leaders are likely to further boost cooperation between their countries.

The Census Bureau reported that the US ran a $45.8 billion trade imbalance in goods with India
last year, meaning it imported more than it exported.

At a population exceeding 1.4 billion people, India is the world’s largest country and a possible geopolitical counterbalance to China. India and Russia have close relations, and New Delhi has not supported Western sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

The new tariffs could put India at a disadvantage in the US market relative to Vietnam, Bangladesh and, possibly, China, said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations.

“We are back to square one as Trump hasn’t spelled out what the penalties would be in addition to the tariff,” Sahai said. “The demand for Indian goods is bound to be hit.”

The new tariffs on India could complicate its goal of doubling bilateral trade with the US to $500 billion by 2030. The two countries have had five rounds of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. While US has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the country’s population for livelihood, Indian officials said.

When Trump in February met with Modi, the US president said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas.

Trump discussed his policies on trade and tariffs with reporters accompanying him Tuesday on the flight home following a five-day visit to Scotland. He declined to comment then when asked about reports that India was bracing for a US tariff rate of at least 25 percent, saying, “We’re going to see.”

Trump also said the outlines of a trade framework with India had not yet been finalized. Once back at the White House on Tuesday, Trump indicated that there were no plans to announce new tariff rates on Wednesday, a claim that turned out to be inaccurate.