India

Avani Dias said that she had been denied a visa renewal for weeks because of her reporting on the Sikh separatist movement. Indian officials disputed her account.

The brazenness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vilification of India’s largest minority group made clear he sees few checks at home or abroad on his power.

The direct language used against the country’s largest minority was a contrast to the image Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents on the world stage.

April is typically hot in South and Southeast Asia, but temperatures this month have been unusually high.

The attacks occurred in Manipur, a northeastern state that has been troubled by ethnic unrest. Witnesses reported that voting booths were captured and bogus ballots cast.

But in this year’s elections, the scion of India’s most storied political family is still trying to unseat Modi — and change the nation’s course.

Plus, a “tortured” Taylor Swift.

More than 960 million Indians are eligible to vote as the world’s most populous country elects a new Parliament in this general election.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party got less than 40% of the vote in the last election. But his fractured and dysfunctional rivals have struggled to capitalize on that.

Few doubt the popular prime minister will win a third term in voting that starts Friday. His strong hand is just what many Indians seem to want.