By TNV Desk

This is a weekly foreign media digest that tells you how India has been covered in the global media from December 24 – December 30

Reuters – Workers bedeck Indian town with flowers amid preparations for temple opening

• Less than a month before a grand Hindu temple opens, India’s northern town of Ayodhya is buzzing with activity as finishing touches are put on a project seen as the centrepiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election campaign.
• Once a sleepy temple town in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, Ayodhya has received a new airport and roads in a $6-billion facelift as Modi prepares to inaugurate the temple to Lord Ram, one of Hinduism’s most revered deities.
• A day before Modi was set to inaugurate the airport and a renovated train station, workers decorated the streets with flowers, amid a swarm of police. “Soon our Lord will be in his original place,” said Girish Sahastrabhojane, who worked on the design of the temple, which forms part of a sprawling 70-acre (28-hectare) complex ofcarved pink sandstone and white marble.
• “Our Lord Ram was born here and the Hindus of India, and also abroad, have been waiting for it since 1992,” the engineer involved in the construction told visiting reporters.

For a detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/workers-bedeck-indian-town-with-flowers-amid-preparations-temple-opening-2023-12-29/

Associated Press – A rebel group in the Indian state of Assam signs a peace accord with the government

• A rebel group that fought for decades to free India’s northeastern state of Assam from New Delhi’s rule on Friday signed a peace accord with the government pledging to end the insurgency in the region.
• The United Liberation Front of Asom or ULFA, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, concluded 12 years of negotiations with the Indian government. The signing ceremony in New Delhi was attended by India’s Home Minister Amit Shah and the top elected official of Assam state Himanta Biswa Sarma.
• ULFA, formed in 1979 demanding a “sovereign Assam,” carried out a reign of terror in Assam state in the late 1980s, including extortion, kidnappings and killings, especially targeting the state’s flourishing tea companies. It killed several tea planters.

For detailed report click on : https://apnews.com/article/india-ulfa-rebels-assam-peace-accord-94dbded44cd992f08adf4f437f7c13f3

BBC – Qatar commutes India ex-navy officers’ death penalty

• A court in Qatar has commuted the death sentences of eight former Indian naval officers, India’s foreign ministry has said.
• A ministry statement said the “sentences have been reduced” but did not specify what new penalty they would face. Neither Qatar nor India have revealed the specific charges against the men.
• “Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. Families of the imprisoned officers said they would appeal in Qatar’s top court for reducing their sentences, the Indian Express newspaper reported on Friday.
• In October, India said it was “deeply shocked” after the men were sentenced to death. It later filed an appeal against the court verdict.

For detailed report click on : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67831563

Gulf News – India hands over second tranche of $2.5 million to support Palestinian refugees

• India released the second tranche of $2.5 million to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Thursday.
• With this, India also fulfilled its annual contribution of $5 million for 2023-24, the Indian Embassy in Palestine said in a statement.
• The contribution was handed over by Chargee d’Affaires Mrs. Elizabeth Rodrigues. This is aimed to support the Agency’s core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services provided to Palestinian refugees.

For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/india-hands-over-second-tranche-of-25-million-to-support-palestinian-refugees-1.1703786772715

New York Times – Indian Envoy Meets With Putin, Bypassing Western Pressure

• India’s foreign minister is on a five-day diplomatic trip to Moscow to reinforce economic and defense ties, though some strains in the countries’ relationship are showing.
• President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday met with the Indian foreign minister at the Kremlin, highlighting Russia’s attempts to break through its isolation from the West by pivoting to an increasingly powerful Asian nation.
• From the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine, India has taken a neutral stance, citing its longtime ties with Moscow and insisting on its right to navigate a multipolar world its own way.
• Russia has long been the most important military supplier for India, and as international sanctions in response to the war began constricting Russian oil sales, India rapidly expanded its purchases to become one of the chief buyers of discounted Russian petroleum. In doing so, India has frustrated American efforts to isolate Russia since the Ukraine war began in 2022, providing a much-needed financial boost to Moscow’s coffers.
• “Everything is in your hands,” Mr. Putin said, “and I can say that we are successful because of your direct support.”

(For detailed report click on : https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/world/asia/india-russia-ukraine-energy.html

Reuters – India has asked Pakistan to extradite Mumbai suspect Hafiz Saeed – foreign ministry spokesperson

• India has formally requested Pakistan to extradite Hafiz Saeed, suspected of involvement in the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, for trial in India, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters in a briefing on Friday.
• “We have conveyed a request along with relevant supporting documents to the government of Pakistan,” Bagchi told reporters.

For detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-has-asked-pakistan-extradite-mumbai-suspect-hafeez-saeed-foreign-ministry-2023-12-29/

BBC – Chandrayaan, Aditya-L1, Gaganyaan: The year India reached the Moon – and aimed for the Sun

• In India, 2023 will be remembered as the year we went to the Moon. On 23 August, massive celebrations broke out across the country when Chandrayaan-3 touched down in the lunar south pole region – an area on the Moon’s surface that no-one had reached before.
• With this, India also joined an elite club of countries to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.
• In the following months, India continued its journey into space – by sending an observation mission to the Sun and then by carrying out a key test flight ahead of its planned mission to take astronauts into space in 2025.

For detailed report click on : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67769454

Gulf News – COVID-19 JN.1 variant: India records six deaths, 692 new cases in 24 hours

• India recorded 692 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. The total active caseload increased by four, reaching 4,097, according to Union Health Ministry data.
• As per official data, six deaths have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours – two in Maharashtra, and one each in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal.
• On Wednesday, Delhi reported its first case of the COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1. “Delhi reports the first case of JN.1, a Sub-Variant of Omicron. Out of the three samples sent for Genome Sequencing, one is JN.1, and two are Omicron,” Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
• Notably, the JN.1 sub-variant is a descendant of the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.86 or Pirola. The first case of the JN.1 variant of COVID-19 was reported in Kerala.
• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has issued guidelines for COVID-19 suspected or positive cases that will be reported at hospitals following the sudden surge in the cases of Coronavirus in the country. AIIMS Delhi director held a meeting with all heads of departments of the hospital on COVID-19 contingency measures on Wednesday. In the meeting, policies on COVID-19 testing, the areas to be designated for positive patients, and their hospitalization were discussed.

For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/covid-19-jn1-variant-india-records-six-deaths-692-new-cases-in-24-hours-1.1703744446267

The Guardian – Wave of drug-carrying drones flying into India from Pakistan, officials say

• Border officers say most drones carry opium and heroin, fuelling a drugs crisis in Punjab, while others drop weapons
• Indian border security have said they are battling an unprecedented “drone menace” infiltrating the border with Pakistan, fuelling the drugs crisis in the state of Punjab and raising serious security issues.
• Officials from India’s border security force (BSF) in the border state of Punjab told the Guardian they had intercepted 90 drones from Pakistan so far in 2023, the highest on record. They said the number was “increasing every month”.

For detailed report click on :

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/27/wave-of-drug-carrying-drones-flying-into-india-from-pakistan-officials-say (The Report is curated by Dr Vinay Nalwa)