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Junior minister accuses tech firm of violating country’s IT laws with ‘downright malicious’ answersA response from Google’s AI platform suggesting that some experts believe the policies of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, polices to be “fascist” has provoked a confrontation between the company and the government.The journalist Arnab Ray last week put the question as to whether Modi was a fascist to Google’s...

Inquiry ordered after 50-carriage freight train set off on its own when driver disembarked at station in JammuIndian Railways has ordered an investigation after a runaway freight train loaded with gravel travelled 43 miles (70km) without a driver.About 50 carriages set off solo on Sunday, from the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, before being brought to a halt by wooden blocks...

Controversy in West Bengal centres around Akbar and Sita, named for a Hindu deity, being placed in the same enclosureAn Indian Hindu nationalist organisation has launched a court petition to stop two lions named after a Hindu deity and a 16th-century Muslim emperor from sharing a zoo enclosure.Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a prominent rightwing Hindu organisation, went to court in the state of West...

Bullet hole found in Inderjit Singh Gosal’s house, reigniting fears of apparent campaign of violence targeting Sikh separatistsThe house of a Sikh activist in Canada has been hit by gunfire, in the second such incident this month, reigniting fears of an apparent transnational campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists.A construction crew found a bullet hole in a window of an unfinished house...

Fear of crime in UK capital is one of biggest concerns of rich Indians, says entrepreneurIndian business people are avoiding being out and about in Mayfair over fears they could be mugged for their expensive watches after a 27% rise in “theft from a person” in London, an entrepreneur has said.Devin Narang, an entrepreneur, told a meeting attended by David Lammy, the shadow foreign...

Exclusive: $9bn port, airport and military base on Great Nicobar Island will cause ‘genocide’ of isolated Shompen, academics warnAcademics from around the world have urged India to cancel a huge construction project on Great Nicobar Island, warning it would be “a death sentence” for the Shompen hunter-gatherer people who live there.The $9bn (£7bn) port project, planned to transform the Indian Ocean island of 8,000...

Reality TV star reveals social media stunt and says she is proud of what ‘death news has been able to achieve’An Indian model who faked her own death in a publicity stunt to raise awareness about cervical cancer has defended her actions, saying in a social media post that she was proud of what her “death news has been able to achieve”.Poonam Pandey, a...

Fears decision on Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi could increase religious tensions and inspire more claimsAn Indian court has ruled that Hindus can worship inside a contested mosque, a verdict that it is feared will increase religious tensions and galvanise further claims against other Muslim places of worship.Gyanvapi mosque, in the holy city of Varanasi, was built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor...

Foreign minister draws comparison to similar claim in Canada and says India must be held to accountPakistan has said it has credible evidence that Indian agents carried out two assassinations on Pakistani soil, and drawn comparisons to the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.In a press briefing on Thursday, the foreign secretary, Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, said India was running a “sophisticated and...

Two Delhi restaurants both claim to have the right to call themselves the home of the original butter chicken recipeIt’s one of India’s most beloved dishes and can be found bubbling on kitchen stoves or served on silver in restaurants across the country.But exactly who came up with the recipe for rich and creamy butter chicken has long been a matter of dispute –...

Owner says shutting Welsh blast furnaces will cut emissions, but it is opening a new one in IndiaThe owner of the Port Talbot steelworks has been accused of “gross hypocrisy” as it prepares to open a new blast furnace in India, while citing a cut in carbon emissions for its decision to close two blast furnaces in south Wales, costing thousands of jobs.Tata announced...

Narendra Modi hails controversial opening as fulfilment of ‘dream that many have cherished for years’More than three decades after a mob of militant Hindu radicals razed a mosque to the ground in the Indian town of Ayodhya, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has inaugurated the new Hindu temple that will stand in its place.For some, the inauguration marks a hugely significant religious moment....

Annapoorani: the Goddess of Food criticised for depiction of deity and member of vegetarian caste cooking and eating meatNetflix is embroiled in a backlash in India from rightwing Hindu groups over a film accused of offending religious sentiments for its depiction of a deity and a member of a traditionally vegetarian caste cooking and eating meat.Annapoorani: the Goddess of Food, a film made in...

Maldivian envoy summoned and flights suspended after insults about Indian PM’s visit to Lakshadweep islandsA row has erupted between India and the Maldives after the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, visited the Indian islands of Lakshadweep to promote tourism.The visit was perceived by some in the Maldives as an attempt to draw tourists away from the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, whose economy is...

After four-month journey, Aditya-L1 will measure and observe sun’s outermost layersIndia’s solar observation mission has entered the sun’s orbit after a four-month journey, the latest success for the space exploration ambitions of the world’s most populous country.The Aditya-L1 mission was launched in September and is carrying an array of instruments to measure and observe the sun’s outermost layers. Continue reading...

Photograph taken at wildlife reserve shows baby nestled with his mother after his return A baby elephant who was separated from his mother and the rest of his herd in a wildlife park in Tamil Nadu, south India, has been reunited with them by park officials.An aerial photograph taken by officials shows the mother and calf, three days later, enjoying a nap on a...

Zomato rider resorts to horsepower in Hyderabad after truckers’ strike causes fuel shortage and traffic jamsAn Indian food delivery driver frustrated by long queues for petrol has resorted to horsepower to make his deliveries.A video clip shows the man trotting through the busy streets of Hyderabad in southern India on a bay horse with the distinctive red bag of the food delivery app Zomato...

There was outrage when the vice-president was mocked last month by an opposition MP, but social commentators say India is increasingly a country that cannot take a jokeIt is rare for India’s politicians to laugh at themselves, but a row over an act of mimicry has exposed the extent of the lack of humour and intolerance of satire in the country’s political and public...

Turkey also affected by fog, with 10 killed and 57 injured in serious road crash involving three busesDuring the Christmas period, parts of South America experienced intense showers and thunderstorms, resulting in substantial rainfall in various regions. On Monday, more than 100mm of rain fell in the Catamarca province in Argentina, which led to flash floods. A sudden surge in river water levels then...