'India doesn't see Africa as only a source of raw materials': PM Modi in Namibia parliament

In the last leg of his five-nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Namibia and addressed its parliament in Windhoek. In his speech, PM Modi acknowledged Namibia recently electing its first woman president. In that context, he said India 'also proudly say Madam President', referring to President Droupadi Murmu.

"A few months ago, you celebrated a historic moment, Namibia elected its first woman president. We understand and share your pride and joy because in India, we also proudly say Madam President. It is the power of the Constitution of India that the daughter of a poor tribal family is the President of the world's largest democracy," PM Modi said.

"It is the power of the Constitution that gave a person like me, born in a poor family, the opportunity to become Prime Minister thrice. Those who have nothing, have the guarantee of the Constitution," he added.

Namibia condemned terrorism in all its manifestations, including Pahalgam terrorist attack: MEA Secretary Dammu Ravi

Namibia Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (Economic Relations) Dammu Ravi said Namibia condemned terrorism in all its manifestations, including the Pahalgam terrorist attack and expressed solidarity with India.

The collapse of the 45-year-old Gambhira Bridge over the Mahisagar River in Padra taluka in the early hours of Wednesday, which claimed at least nine lives, has triggered widespread public anger.

The incident has led to renewed scrutiny of the authorities' inaction, especially as several local media reports and videos highlighting the bridge's deteriorating condition have resurfaced on social media.

One such video, reportedly filmed just nine days ago by a local journalist, warned of the bridge’s poor state. The journalist noted that the structure, which connects Vadodara and Anand districts, routinely develops potholes during the monsoon season. Another video, allegedly recorded in April, clearly shows large cracks on the bridge's surface.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday said the electors of Bihar have enthusiastically participated in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list, with more than 56 per cent of the enumeration forms collected till Wednesday.

Addressing a group of booth-level officers here, Kumar said the enthusiastic participation of the voters of Bihar has resulted in the successful collection of more than 57 per cent of the enumeration forms under the ongoing SIR in the state till Wednesday, with 16 days of the exercise still remaining.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that India shouldn't be in trouble if some country stops export of fertilizer and called to establish robust supply chain in fertilisers, insecticide and pesticides.

He said that the Centre did not let fertiliser costs to increase and provided crores in subsidies to protect farmers by keeping fertiliser costs down.

His remarks comes after there were reports that India is facing an unexpected disruption in its supply of specialty fertilisers, with China quietly halting shipments to the country for over two months.

India and Namibia exchanged MoUs in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, on Thursday. The MoU focuses on setting up the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Namibia. The second MoU cooperation is in the field of health and medicine, reported ANI.

Further, Namibia formally joined two key initiatives: the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance. The letters of acceptance for these memberships were exchanged during Prime Minister Modi's visit.

A notable announcement was also made from Namibia regarding the launch of a digital payments system in the country later this year. This development is the result of a UPI technology licensing agreement signed between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Bank of Namibia in April 2024.

PM Modi conferred with 'Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis', highest civilian award of Namibia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred with the 'Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis', the highest civilian award of Namibia. President of Namibia, Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah presented the award to him. This makes it the 27th award for PM Narendra Modi and 4th award in this ongoing tour.

"By the power vested in me by the Namibian Constitution, I have the honour to confer the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis to Narendra Modi, PM of India who has significantly contributed to social-economic development and the promotion of peace and justice in Namibia and globally," said President of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Elon Musk’s Starlink has received approval from India’s space regulator, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), clearing the last regulatory hurdle to kick off commercial satellite broadband operations in the country.

India’s space regulator on July 8 granted Starlink authorisation to operate its non-Indian GSO and NGSO satellite constellation, specifically the Starlink Gen1 constellation for providing satellite broadband capacity over India. Read more

PM Modi to be conferred with highest civilian award by Namibia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Namibia in the last leg of his five-nation tour, will be conferred with its highest civilian award.

PM Modi laid a wreath at the national war memorial 'Heroes' Acre' in Namibia.

PM Modi meets Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Windhoek in last leg of five-nation tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome by Namibian President Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the State House in Windhoek, in the last leg of his five-nation tour on Wednesday. The two leaders exchanged greetings with a handshake and held delegation-level talks.

IAF jaguar fighter jet crash live: IAF confirms both pilot dead

Expressing deep regret, the Indian Air Force confirmed that both pilots died after a Jaguar fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed near Bhanuda village in Rajasthan’s Churu district.

"An IAF Jaguar Trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed near Churu in Rajasthan, today. Both pilots sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported. A court of inquiry has been constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident," the IAF wrote on X in a post.

This is the third incident of a Jaguar jet crash this year -- the first happened in March followed by another one in April.

A twin-seater trainer version of the Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed today near Churu district of Rajasthan. The aircraft had taken off from Suratgarh air base with two pilots onboard.

Following the incident, the Indian Air Force choppers have been sent to the crash site, said news agency ANI citing defence sources.

The aircraft crashed in an agriculture field in Bhanoda village around 1.25 pm, SHO Rajaldesar Kamlessh told PTI. He said human body parts were found near the crash site.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told ANI, "9 bodies have been recovered and 6 people have been rescued. CM sent a high committee to the spot in the morning itself and he has sought a report at the earliest. Taking this very seriously, the CM has directed a team of Roads and Buildings Department and other teams to go there and take concrete measures."

A section of the Gambhira bridge over the Mahisagar river in Vadodara district, Gujarat, collapsed, causing at least four vehicles - two trucks and two vans to fall into the river. The incident, which occurred around 7:30 am on a state highway, has resulted in at least three deaths, police said. Rescue teams have saved four people so far and continue searching for others who might be trapped.

The CBI successfully extradited alleged economic offender Monika Kapoor from the United States on Wednesday, bringing an end to her more than 25-year flight from justice, officials said. Kapoor, who had an Interpol Red Notice against her, was taken into custody in the US by a CBI team which has boarded an American Airlines flight AA 292 expected to land here Wednesday night, they said.

The Alipore Court on Tuesday sent all four accused in the South Kolkata Law College gangrape case to 14 days of judicial custody. The incident took place on June 25, when a student was allegedly gangraped inside the South Calcutta Law College in the Kasba area of Kolkata. Five days later, on June 30, Kolkata Police said that the three main accused in the case were arrested in less than 12 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for Namibia on Wednesday after wrapping up his two-day visit to Brazil. This marks his first trip to the African nation and the final leg of his five-country tour. The visit, only the third by an Indian Prime Minister, comes at the invitation of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brazil has yielded a raft of strategic outcomes, ranging from enhanced trade ambitions to critical mineral partnerships and an anti-terror pact, according to key government sources.

A key highlight was the establishment of a $20 billion bilateral trade target over the next five years, with both sides agreeing to diversify their trade portfolios beyond existing sectors.

Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse who is on death row after being convicted for the murder of a Yemeni national, will be executed next week on July 16. Last year, the President of Yemen approved the death sentence of Nimisha Priya, who is from Kerala.