New Delhi, December 17 (IANS). During his tenure of the last 11 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken India-Africa relations to a strong strategic partnership. This relationship of mutual cooperation has existed between India and Africa for centuries. This partnership has been further strengthened under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Last year alone, he further strengthened India’s ties with the continent through several high-level visits. This in turn strengthened the diplomatic engagement and development relations between India and Africa. In this context, Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ethiopia is considered important. PM Modi visited South Africa in November this year, Ghana and Namibia in July, Mauritius in March and Nigeria in November 2024. Glimpses of strategic outreach led by the Prime Minister are visible in these tours. During his ongoing visit to Ethiopia, Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday emphasized that India and Ethiopia have thousands of years of contacts, interactions and transactions and both the countries, rich in languages ​​and traditions, are fellow passengers and partners of the Global South. Prime Minister Modi held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali at the Ethiopian National Palace in Addis Ababa. In this conversation, PM Modi said that after going to Ethiopia for the first time, his heart was really filled with happiness. This visit of Prime Minister Modi was also special because both countries elevated their relations to strategic partnership. During this period, both the leaders signed several agreements with the aim of deepening cooperation in different fields such as education, health, AI and technology. Earlier in November, Prime Minister Modi met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg and discussed the partnership between the two countries. During PM Modi’s visit, discussions were held to increase trade, culture, investment ties between the two countries and to increase cooperation in technology, skills, AI, essential minerals and other areas in various ways. Meanwhile, during his visit to Ghana in July, Prime Minister Modi said that the country, as the world’s largest democracy, remains a pillar of support not only for the global South but for everyone in these new and difficult times, ensuring that India remains a committed partner in Africa’s development journey. In a historic speech in the Parliament of Ghana, Prime Minister Modi said, “A stronger India will contribute to a more stable and prosperous world.” PM Modi himself also visited Namibia in July. During this, the Prime Minister and Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah held high-level talks and signed two MoUs in the field of health and enterprise. In addition, it was announced that Namibia has joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance. Earlier, PM Modi visited Mauritius in March. During this he met the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam. The two leaders, after detailed discussions on all aspects of bilateral relations, agreed that the relationship between the two countries has deepened following the transformation of their special and close bilateral partnership into a strategic partnership. The Prime Minister of Mauritius thanked India for its continuous assistance on grant basis for the repair of Coast Guard Ships Victory, Valiant and Barracuda. At the same time, Prime Minister Modi said that Mauritius is a special maritime partner of India under Vision Sagar and reiterated the commitment of India’s continuous support and cooperation to meet the defense and security needs of this island nation. PM Modi visited Nigeria in November last year. Here he spoke with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. PM Modi was awarded the country’s highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) 3. Both leaders emphasized the longstanding good relations between Nigeria and India. They discussed the scope for further improving relations in security, energy, technology, trade, health, education and other areas. Prime Minister Modi’s outreach to African countries shows the acumen of a well-thought-out foreign policy. The objective of this foreign policy of PM Modi is to enhance cooperation for development and the voice of the Global South in the changing geopolitical environment. –IANS KK/AS

The Saudi stock market continued to be under pressure after wiping out all the gains it had made in the previous session since the bottom it hit last September, in light of the dominance of speculation and investors’ anticipation of the financial results of listed companies, together with growing fears about the impact of the drop in oil prices on the profits of energy companies. Mary Salem, a financial analyst at Al Sharq, believes that the Saudi market is currently facing increasing competition from the Gulf and international markets that offer more attractive investment opportunities, at a time when the local market lacks clear incentives, despite the solid fundamentals of companies. She added that speculation dominates market movement at the current stage, while overall sentiment does not remain positive, in light of developments related to oil prices, global trade and interest rates, in addition to the availability of investment alternatives in other markets. Also read: “Nomura”: Saudi shares have not yet reached attractive valuation levels. The general index “TASI” fell 0.3% at the opening, recording 10,420 points, with all leading shares falling, except for “Aramco” share, which achieved slight gains. Correlation with oil prices Oil prices improved slightly in morning trading after Brent crude fell below $60 in the last session for the first time since last May, while West Texas Intermediate crude traded near its lowest levels since 2021. Salem explains that these price levels don’t raise investors’ concerns about the fundamentals of the energy sector as much as they reinforce their impact on their worries about the business. Youssef Youssef, director of financial data development at the “Arqaam” portal, for his part, expected that the slight improvement in oil prices today will be reflected in the performance of energy sector shares, but only temporarily. The energy sector index rose by a limited percentage in early trading. Stimuli are expected in 2026. The two analysts agreed that the market needs strong stimuli, including the financial results of companies and the expected adjustments in foreign ownership policy during the next year. Youssef said during an intervention with Al-Sharq that “the results are sufficient to reform the outlook on the market.” He added that the telecom sector holds great opportunities, given that it is the only one to have posted profits during the current year, thanks to the cumulative growth in profits over the quarters, the large spending and infrastructure, and companies diversifying their activities by entering technology. Regarding the banking sector, which is characterized by heaviness, Youssef explained that “the pressure to which it is exposed in the current period stems from the data of the Saudi Central Bank, which showed a slowdown in the rate of profit growth, In addition to the decrease in demand deposits compared to future deposits, which raised some concerns about the liquidity available for lending.” The banking index was down 0.6% in early trading.

Scientists now claim that our current situation with satellites in space is similar to a ‘house of cards’, where one solar storm can lead to what is called the Kessler syndrome, a theoretical event in which satellites collide, leading to a destructive situation in Earth’s orbit. A satellite in orbit. Image for representation. (Pixabay) Amid Elon Musk’s Starlink getting its final approval to launch in India and even reports of prices surfacing, it’s high time to see how sustainable the space congestion problem is as an increasing number of satellites squeeze Earth’s orbit. Scientists now claim that our current situation with satellites in space is similar to a ‘house of cards’, where one solar storm can lead to what is called the Kessler syndrome, a theoretical event in which satellites collide, leading to a destructive situation in Earth’s orbit. A filing by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2023 shows that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites have made about 50,000 collision avoidance maneuvers in the past four years, and the number could rise to a million every six months by 2028, according to University of Southampton astrophysics professor Hugh Lewis. With the number of collision avoidance maneuvers constantly increasing, the margin of error keeps getting smaller and smaller. If Kessler Syndrome, which is only theory so far, does happen, it could mean a complete stop to sending spacecraft into orbit, as their chances of colliding with space debris would also skyrocket. Solar storms could be tipping point Solar storms could be the tipping point that makes Kessler syndrome a reality, according to a team of researchers at Princeton University. Solar storms heat the atmosphere, which consequently increases atmospheric resistance. This results in more fuel requirement for satellites to continue to remain in orbit as well as to perform collision avoidance maneuvers. The researchers pointed to the “Gannon Storm” that occurred in May 2024, which caused more than half of Earth’s satellites in low orbit to use up parts of their fuel for repositioning purposes. Solar storms can also damage the communication and navigation systems of satellites, thereby increasing the chances of orbital collisions. What is the CRASH Clock? The researchers came up with a measure called the CRASH (Collision Realization and Significant Harm) clock to highlight the problem of increasing congestion in space. This measure describes the amount of time in which a catastrophic collision can occur if a solar storm causes all satellite operators to lose the ability to communicate as well as to avoid collisions by performing evasive maneuvers. According to calculations, the CRASH Clock is currently at 2.8 days, and in comparison it was 121 in 2018. This huge difference is mainly because SpaceX started lifting its mega-constellation Starlink satellites into space in 2019. The paper has been pre-printed on arxiv.org.

The National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday approved Vedanta Ltd’s plan to split its India operations into five separate companies. Summary The NCLT has cleared Vedanta’s long-delayed plan to split into five listed companies. The ruling erases regulatory uncertainty, shifting focus to timelines, debt allocation and investor gains. Vedanta Ltd received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday to proceed with the proposed demerger of its operations into five separately listed entities, marking a major milestone in billionaire Anil Agarwal’s two-year effort to unlock value from the resources major. The approval clears the key regulatory hurdle for the restructuring, which has faced repeated delays, and sets the stage for Vedanta to complete the exercise by March 2026, one year later than its original guidance. Vedanta shares rallied after the NCLT order, closing 3.5% higher at ₹569.35 on the BSE on Tuesday. The stock rose another 2% today to hit a fresh high of ₹580.45 per share. Mint breaks down what happens next. What did the order say? The National Company Law Tribunal has approved Vedanta Ltd’s plan to split its India operations into five separate companies. The petroleum and natural gas ministry has objected to the demerger plan, claiming Vedanta misrepresented its oil and gas assets and failed to fully disclose its liabilities. The tribunal rejected these objections and approved the demerger, ruling that the plan was fair, legal and not against the public interest, and that all legal requirements had been met. The NCLT also dismissed the government’s charge of non-disclosure and agreed with Vedanta that it had shared all necessary information and received approval from over 99.9% of its shareholders and creditors. The order ends a series of delays to the proposed demerger caused by pending approval by the tribunal. Vedanta has now guided for the completion of the restructuring by March 2026. What happens next, and what is the likely timeline? Analysts believe the mining conglomerate must now inform and seek approval from the stock exchanges. Vedanta must set a record date on which all existing shareholders will be eligible to receive shares in the new entities, said Suman Kumar, assistant vice president for metals and mining at brokerage Philip Capital. After this, shareholders will be allotted one share of each of the five spin-off companies for each share of Vedanta Ltd, and these companies will be listed on the stock exchanges to trade independently, he said. While the revised timeline for completion is March 2026, Amit Lahoti, chief metals and mining analyst at Emkay Institutional Equities, estimates that the spin-off should not take more than one to two months beyond this deadline if it is not completed by then. What will the new companies be, and how will Vedanta’s debt be divided? The five proposed companies are: Vedanta Ltd.: The flagship company, which will hold shares of subsidiary Hindustan Zinc, Sterlite Copper, as well as international companies such as Zinc International and Konkola Copper Mines. Vedanta Aluminium: This entity will house the company’s aluminum business, including refining operations. It is the largest producer of the metal in the country. Vedanta Oil & Gas: The business of Cairn India, a leading oil and gas exploration and production company with key assets in Rajasthan, will be housed under this company. Vedanta Iron and Steel: This company will include the steel business under ESL Limited as well as the company’s iron ore mines. Vedanta Power: Vedanta’s commercial power business, including the Talwandi Sabo power station in Punjab, will be part of this entity. A key monitor for shareholders will be how Vedanta distributes its debt of around ₹66,000 crore across the five new companies, as this will determine the health of their respective balance sheets. Emkay’s Lahoti estimates that the bulk of the debt, around ₹30,000 crore, goes to the aluminum business, as it generates the most cash among the group’s businesses. The second largest share, around ₹ 20,000 crore, is expected to sit with flagship Vedanta Ltd, given its dividend receipts from Hindustan Zinc. Iron and Steel (₹4,500 crore), Oil & Gas (₹4,000 crore) and Power (₹7,000 crore) are expected to absorb the remaining debt, according to Lahoti’s estimates. Why is Vedanta pursuing a split? Announcing the spin-off in 2023, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta said it aimed to unlock value by simplifying its corporate structure and creating sector-focused independent businesses. The move will allow investors to invest directly in each pure-play company rather than through a diversified conglomerate structure. “By spinning off our business units, we believe it will unlock value and potential for faster growth in each vertical,” Agarwal said in a statement at the time. What are analysts saying, and how should investors read the move? Philip Capital’s Kumar views the NCLT order as an incremental development rather than a transformational milestone. There is no significant reward from the restructuring or remodeling, and the exercise is mainly aimed at monetizing some non-core assets or bringing international companies into pure-play businesses through a joint venture or equity investment route, he said.

MUMBAI/SINGAPORE, Dec 17 (Reuters) – No currency has been hit harder by U.S. tariffs than India’s rupee – and there could be more downside as investors pull out of the country until they see a trade deal with Washington sealed. The rupee has been one of the worst performing currencies globally this year, falling 6% against the dollar as a widening trade deficit, punitive 50% US tariffs and investment outflows dragged it to a record low of 91.075 per dollar. Measured against a basket of trading partner currencies, the real effective exchange rate of 96 is the lowest in more than a decade, according to Citi. That’s well below a decade average of 103, and a usually reliable signal that it’s overdue for a rebound. But this time is different, according to money managers who have driven pressure on the currency by pulling a record $18 billion out of Indian stocks this year and say the mood is unlikely to reverse quickly, even if the rupee looks cheap. “I think the market’s patience in general is running out,” said Vivek Rajpal, Asia macro strategist at investment advisory firm JB Drax Honore, as months of trade talks with the US have so far yielded no deal or tariff relief. This is a good entry point for Indian assets, he said, but first the market needs to have confidence that the tariffs are only temporary. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations through much of 2025, although India’s chief economic adviser said in a Bloomberg interview last week that he expected an agreement to be reached by March 2026. Still, much of Asia already has agreements or at least moratoriums in place with the US, leaving India particularly exposed and the rupee as the shock absorber. Rupee weakness here to stay A falling currency can soften the blow from rates by lowering dollar prices for exports. But at 50%, US tariffs are so high that economists expect more weakness in the rupee to offset them, plus there is added pressure on the currency from a relatively wide trade deficit and portfolio outflows. Absent a trade deal, none of these factors are seen to reverse in the near term and a Reuters report that the central bank does not plan to stand in the way of fundamentals has reinforced expectations of further weakness. HSBC analysts said the sharp rupee depreciation was a significant risk to an otherwise encouraging setup for Indian equities, which they said was worth revisiting thanks to improving valuations and economics. They also see Indian markets as a hedge against the AI ​​rally. Other brokerages, including Citi, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, have also upgraded Indian stocks in recent weeks, expecting a turnaround in the Indian market’s fortunes in 2026 with a boost from rate cuts and, to be sure, some recovery in the rupee. “The recent rate of depreciation has been partly driven by geopolitical risk and its influence on current account expectations,” said Jean-Charles Sambor in London, head of emerging markets debt at TT International Asset Management, with more than $5 billion in assets under management. “We believe that some of this risk may now be overestimated,” Sambor said. He declined to disclose positioning and neither performance nor flow suggests investors are snapping up rupees. Dilemma for global investors Indian stock markets, dominated by banks and IT outsourcing firms, have also lagged peers in 2025, with the benchmark Nifty 50 up about 10% year-to-date compared with a 26% gain in the MSCI Emerging Market Index, hurt by a lack of clear AI bets. In dollar terms, comparisons are even more unfavorable with MSCI’s India stock index up less than 2% this year versus a nearly 30% rise in MSCI’s China index, a rival for foreign investors’ allocations. Investors are also turning to China’s experience in US President Donald Trump’s first term in office for a guide to how far the rupee could fall. Jitania Kandhari, deputy chief investment officer of the solutions and multi-asset group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management compared the drop in rupee to the Chinese yuan’s depreciation due to trade tensions between the US and China during Trump’s first term, saying the rupee may have to continue to weaken if the rates remain in place. The yuan fell by around 12% between March 2018 and May 2020 due to a series of tit-for-tat rate announcements. Her firm, which manages $1.8 trillion in client assets, maintains an overweight position on Indian stocks, even as it has reduced its holdings and found value elsewhere. “Rupee depreciation is necessary to improve the competitiveness of Indian exports,” said Kunjal Gala, head of global emerging markets at Federated Hermes, which has been underweight on India since the start of 2024. “However, a depreciating rupee creates a dilemma for global investors indexed against the dollar.” (Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra and Dharamraj Dhutia in Mumbai and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Jyoti Bansal sold AppDynamics to tech giant Cisco for $3.7 billion, according to Forbes estimates. This increased his wealth to several hundreds of millions of dollars. Jyoti Bansal, Co-Founder AppDynamics and Harness(Bloomberg) Jyoti Bansal moved from India with an engineering degree from IIT Delhi with a dream of becoming an entrepreneur in the US, but quickly learned that you are not allowed to start a company while on an H1-B visa. From there, the journey to becoming a billionaire was never easy, says a Forbes article that interviewed Bansal. At 21, Bansal told Forbes he hopped on a plane to California with nothing but a few hundred dollars and a big dream to become an entrepreneur. But getting a green card and starting a business required him to work first. This prompted Jyoti Bansal to work for seven years as an engineer at three small enterprise technology companies, which sponsored his H1-B visa. A green card and a dream come true Seven years later Jyoti Bansal finally got his hands on the long awaited green card – a path to follow his passion to start a business. That’s when Bansal came up with AppDynamics in 2008 – a troubleshooting platform for complex websites like Netflix, which made it easier for their engineers to reduce downtime related to technology issues. The entrepreneur scaled AppDynamics over six fundraising rounds for more than a decade after facing initial rejections and wanted to take it public when the company started making more than $200 million in revenue. But instead, Bansal sold the platform to tech giant Cisco for $3.7 billion, according to Forbes estimates. This increased his wealth to several hundreds of millions of dollars. “I strongly believe that to build a company, you have to spend a lot of time on it,” he told Forbes in the interview. “At least ten years.” Come out of retirement, become a billionaire After the sale, Jyoti Bansal wanted to retire. “I tried to retire,” he said. “People say, ‘Once I retire, I’m going to do what I enjoy. I asked myself, ‘Did I enjoy playing golf all the time or being on the beach all the time?’ I don’t really. I realized why not just go back to what I enjoy, to build a company.” After traveling across countries for nearly half a year, Rajasthan-born Bansal got tired and thought he could follow his passion and start more companies. This led to the birth of Harness, an AI-based software delivery platform, which recently raised $240 million in a funding round. I strongly believe that to build a company, you have to spend a lot of time on it. At least ten years. The funding, backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Institutional Venture Partners and Menlo Ventures, valued Harness at $5.5 billion, effectively making Bansal a billionaire. According to Forbes estimates, Jyoti Bansal’s net worth is now around $2.3 billion, thanks to an estimated 30% stake in Harness. Much of his wealth also comes from the cash he raised after selling his first company.

Summary Each BNP release elicits both cheers and skepticism. But the real problem is our aging statistical apparatus. As a base-year revision of our GDP series planned for 2026 approaches, here are five reforms we should adopt to improve data accuracy. Every release of gross domestic product (GDP) data in India follows a familiar script: an initial wave of headline enthusiasm, followed by doubts about manufacturing strength, real-nominal gaps and statistical discrepancies. But these debates miss a key point. India’s core methodology for GDP estimation is generally sound and internationally aligned; the real weakness lies in the broader statistical ecosystem—data sets that have not kept pace with structural shifts, outdated reconciliation tools, and price measures that struggle to reflect rapidly changing production and consumption. The result is an over-interpretation of the header number without the context needed to read it properly. Unless we modernize this architecture, we will continue to debate symptoms rather than the underlying issues that matter for interpreting GDP data in a rapidly evolving economy. Manufacturing—an 80-20 measurement split that distorts the story: Two core indicators, manufacturing gross value added (GVA) and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), often appear to differ. This is not a contradiction, but a feature of the system. About 80% of the manufacturing VAT comes from the organized corporate sector, estimated from quarterly submissions from about 1,500 firms reporting sales, input costs and operating expenses. This is in line with global practice and recent data shows solid momentum: corporate manufacturing has grown by 10-20% this year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rising by around 9.6%. The remaining 20% ​​consists of quasi-corporate, unincorporated and informal units, and is more difficult to measure. These enterprises do not file quarterly accounts, so the statistics ministry uses the IIP as a proxy, applying volume growth and converting it to current prices via the wholesale price index (WPI). But the IIP tracks physical output, not value added; it misses margins, input costs, product upgrades and service intensity. It cannot really reflect value addition. The result: earnings look strong and VAT remains high, but the IIP moves differently. This divergence reflects our statistical design, not economic stress. We need better ways to track the informal sector. GDP discrepancies reflect data gaps: The widening gap between production-based and expenditure-based GDP has raised valid concerns. While the global norm is to keep such disparities within 3% of GDP, India has recently crossed that mark. The variance stems from uneven data quality. Production GDP uses regular, high-detail sources—corporate filings, administrative data, and sectoral statistics, while expenditure GDP relies on lower-frequency consumption and investment surveys, which are often revised significantly later. Two structural issues exacerbate this mismatch: A base revision lag, which means that weights no longer reflect the current economy, and the absence of regular ‘stock and use tables’ (SUTs), which are standard reconciliation tools across advanced economies. We have not produced input-output tables for 15-18 years and our SUTs are only compiled after annual estimates are released. But the global best practice is to compile SUTs before we finalize a year’s estimates and use them for quarterly and forecasting. This approach will eliminate differences in annual data and sharply reduce them in quarterly estimates. The paradox of the IMF’s ‘A’ versus ‘C’ rating: India’s statistical weaknesses become more apparent when viewed through global evaluations. Many emerging economies, including India, face a familiar paradox: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may award an ‘A’ for National Accounts but a ‘C’ for the overall statistical system. GDP methodology is just one element of the IMF’s review, which also covers the entire statistical ecosystem: public finance data, external-sector reporting, monetary and banking statistics, financial-sector disclosures and the reconciliation frameworks that link them. Gaps in fiscal coverage, delays in financial reporting, inconsistencies across administrative data sets and a poor SUT/input-output tabulation basis drag down the composite grade, even if our National Accounts meet global norms. In other words, India’s GDP meter is well designed, but the dashboard around it needs updating. Next year’s base year review provides us with a window to realign our statistical system with the economy it measures. Five reforms are particularly urgent: One, create a corporate manufacturing growth index: The ministry of corporate affairs can use MCA-21 database filings to create a transparent, high-frequency index that bridges the gap between GVA and the IIP. Such an index would track manufacturing, provide clarity to markets and reflect significant quarterly variations (often 10-20% across segments). Two, use the ASUSE to track the informal sector directly: The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) provides a basis for direct measurement of the informal sector VAT. Integrating this data with quarterly GDP after the 2026 revision will reduce our dependence on IIP proxies, three, institutionalize SUTs and restore input-output tables: Both of these are non-negotiable in advanced statistical systems. They reconcile production, expenditure and income accounts, remove discrepancies and support GDP interpretability. Four, update deflators: For more accurate estimation of real GDP growth, we need to use a broad range of producer price indices that include a producer price index (PPI) for goods and services, both for inputs and outputs (by industry where necessary). The WPI alone will not be sufficient. Five, invest in statistical capacity: Inter-agency platforms, modern IT systems, data engineers and other skilled statistical staff form the backbone of reliable measurement. We need to strengthen it. A modern economy needs a modern statistical system. Today, corporate performance looks strong, but we have no dedicated index to track it; deflators skew interpretation; contradictions widen because our instruments of reconciliation are outdated; and the informal sector is estimated by proxies that were never designed for that role. None of this discredits India’s GDP, but it does limit how precisely we can read the economy. India’s ambitions require sharper statistical clarity. The 2026 base year review is a chance to upgrade the system for the next decade. If we get this right, our data confidence will rise to match the economy’s maturity. The authors are respectively former Director General, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, and Chief Statistician, Pahle India Foundation (PIF); and senior fellow, PIF.

During his address to the Ethiopian Parliament, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the deep-rooted ties between India and Ethiopia, highlighting democracy and cultural ties while accepting the Grand Honor Nishan, the highest civilian award of Ethiopia. Prime Minister Modi addressed a joint session of the Ethiopian Parliament on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint session of the Parliament of Ethiopia on Wednesday. PM Modi has addressed the 18th parliaments worldwide so far. Calling Ethiopia the ‘land of lions’, PM Modi said he felt at home in the country, drawing a parallel with his home state of Gujarat, which is also home to lions. “It is a moment of great privilege for me to stand before you today. I feel honored to be here in the temple of democracy, in the heart of a nation with ancient wisdom and modern aspirations,” he said. The Prime Minister said he carried the greetings of 1.4 billion Indians with him and expressed deep respect for Ethiopia’s parliament, people and democratic journey. “In this great building, the will of the people becomes the will of the state. When the wheel of the state moves in harmony with the wheel of the people, the wheel of progress moves forward with hope and purpose,” he said. Prime Minister Modi also thanked Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for conferring on him the great honor Nishan of Ethiopia, the country’s highest civilian award. “I accept this honor with folded hands and humility on behalf of the people of India,” he said. ‘World’s oldest civilizations’ The Prime Minister described Ethiopia as one of the world’s oldest civilizations and said history lives on in its mountains, valleys and in the hearts of its people. He also highlighted a cultural link, noting that both India’s national anthem, Vande Mataram and Ethiopia’s national anthem refer to the country as “mother”. “We are also an ancient civilization, confidently stepping into the future, guided by the call of ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas, Sabka prayas’. Our emotions for our motherland also reflect our shared perspective. India’s song Vande Mataram and the Ethiopian national anthem both refer to the land as mother. They inspire us to protect the cultural pride of the Modi and the Modi said. speech came a day after PM Modi held extensive talks with conducted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, during which India and Ethiopia elevated their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.At a banquet hosted in his honor on Tuesday, Ethiopian singers rendered Vande Mataram, a moment that PM Modi described as deeply moving, especially as India celebrates 150 years of the national song (With agency input) Get latest real-time updates Stay up to date with the latest Trending, India , World and US sessions of Ethiopian news of Ethiopia and shared civilizational ties More

Jakarta – The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov) through the DKI Jakarta Provincial Tourism and Creative Economy Service (Disparekraf) is once again holding Jakarnaval as an effort to strengthen the city’s tourist attraction through a large-scale annual festival that brings together entertainment, culture and a celebration of Jakarta’s identity. The organization of Jakarnaval is part of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government’s strategy to encourage the tourism sector. Head of the DKI Jakarta Province Tourism and Creative Economy Service, Andhika Permata, said Jakarnaval was an effort to increase tourist interest in Jakarta. “The organization of the Jakarnaval event is an effort to attract tourists who vacation in Jakarta, as well as to encourage the growth of the creative economy sector,” Andhika said in a written statement on Wednesday (17/12/2025). Scroll to continue content This annual event will be held on December 20, 2025 at Ancol Festival Beach. Performing the ‘Global City Creation Parade’, this year’s Jakarnaval 2025 highlights Jakarta’s role as a dynamic creative ecosystem ready to compete on the international stage. This theme reflects how Jakarta’s local cultural energy can be processed into global potential, without losing the city’s character and identity as the main source of inspiration. As an annual city festival, Jakarnaval has become a great platform for the public to celebrate Jakarta’s creativity and identity. In 2025, Jakarnaval will be present with a larger scale event and an increasingly globally oriented concept. One of the main highlights is the presence of 12 proud intellectual property (IP) in Jakarta, proving that local works are capable of growing into creative icons loved by the public. The 2025 Jakarnaval parade will start from the Symphony of the Sea, one of the icons of the Ancol area, and then move along the coastal area to the Ancol Festival Beach, where all participants, spectators and performances come together in one big city celebration. Various lively and beautiful attractions will fill Jakarnaval 2025, including: · Local IP-themed decorative car parade · Costume appearances of characters and artists · Cultural attractions and musical performances. A total of 12 local IPs will bring Jakarnaval 2025 to life, namely Je Ka Te, Oplet Si Doel, Mora & Olfi, Bandits of Batavia, Super Neli, Gugug!, Fun Cican Animation, Cutemonsters by Nindhita, Vernalta, Persija – Macan Kemayoran, Hai Dular Comics and Volt. In addition to sustainable creative growth, holding Jakarnaval 2025 is expected to increase tourist visits to Jakarta and strengthen Jakarta’s image as a creativity-based global city. (prf/ega)

Jakarta – As many as 115 residents in Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra), experienced symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting after eating free nutritious food (MBG). The victims were immediately rushed to the community health center for treatment. “Yes, the symptoms are nausea and vomiting. Yesterday it continued to increase until the total was about 115 people,” Central Mawasangka police chief Ipda Rabodding told detikSulsel on Wednesday (17/12/2025). The incident on Tuesday (16/12) targeted babies, residents and school students in the SPPG work unit area of ​​Central Mawasangka District, Central Buton. The police are still collecting data regarding residents who have become victims. Scroll to continue content “The victims included babies, toddlers, people from primary school, middle school and high school. After receiving the report, we went straight to the location,” he explained. Rabodding said the MBG menu served includes rice, eggs, tofu and pickles. It is currently suspected that the incident was caused by processed eggs eaten by residents. “Initially the suspicion was that it was eggs, but food samples were taken for laboratory tests. We are still waiting,” said Rabodding. Read the full news here. (rdp/idh)