There’s scarcely any critical evaluation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India’s mainstream television channels and most newspapers as the world’s most populous nation heads toward a general election.

India is set to begin the world’s largest general elections today, held in terrain sweeping from the icy Himalayas to humid jungles, with nearly a billion people eligible to choose 543 members of the lower house of parliament.

The BJP, the world’s largest political outfit with nearly 180 million members, was born out of the Jan Sangh party, an offshoot of a men-only Hindu nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). After struggling on the political margins early after it was formed in 1980, the BJP delivered its first prime minister 16 years later in an unstable government that lasted 13 days.

Nearly 1 billion Indians will be eligible to vote in the world’s biggest election starting today. Opinion polls predict an easy win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which would give him a record-equaling third straight term.

The World Health Organization voiced alarm Thursday at the growing spread of H5N1 bird flu to new species, including humans, who face an "extraordinarily high" mortality rate

Sydney's Bondi Westfield mall on Thursday reopened for the first time since a man with a knife killed six people there on Saturday before police shot him

Time said that "for 108 days, Motaz Azaiza acted as the world's eyes and ears in his native Gaza. Armed with a camera and a flak jacket marked 'press', the 25-year-old Palestinian photographer spent nearly four months documenting life under Israeli bombardment."

The 2023 airport of the year and 12-time winner, Singapore's Changi Airport, dropped down to second spot in the ranking by the London-based research firm

Polling booths across India will open tomorrow for the first leg of parliamentary elections, with voting to be held in 102 constituencies across 21 states and union territories

A storm hit the United Arab Emirates and Oman this week bringing record rainfall that flooded highways, inundated houses, grid-locked traffic and trapped people in their homes

Researchers in Germany estimate that climate change will shrink global GDP at least 20% by 2050. Scientists said that figure would worsen if countries fail to meet emissions-cutting targets

Eight people were reported injured Thursday after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off southwestern Japan, but there appeared to be no major damage or tsunami

Indonesian rescuers raced to evacuate thousands of people Thursday after a volcano erupted five times, forcing authorities to close a nearby airport and issue a warning about falling debris that could cause a tsunami

The fall of Myawaddy means that Myanmar's two most important land border crossings are in resistance hands, after the rebels last year claimed control of Muse, near the Chinese border.

China is bolstering its space capabilities and is using its civilian program to mask its military objectives, the head of the US space agency NASA said Wednesday, warning that Washington must remain vigilant

Queen bumblebees can surprisingly withstand days underwater, according to a study published yesterday, suggesting they could withstand increased floods brought on by climate change that threaten their winter hibernation burrows.

Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a spokesperson for the military government told media.

Israeli air strikes hit a playground and busy market in Maghazi refugee camp. Another strike on Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood killed at least seven people and wounded 20 others.

Australia unveiled its first National Defence Strategy yesterday, signalling a new focus on deterring China’s “coercive tactics” in a region seen as lurching towards conflict.

Pakistan’s interior ministry said yesterday it blocked access to social media platform X in February on national security concerns, confirming a long-suspected shutdown.