French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in India’s Jaipur city to a red-carpet reception on Thursday as he began his two-day state visit to the country, where he is the chief guest at the 75th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
Mr Macron landed in Jaipur, known as the ‘Pink City’ in the western state of Rajasthan, around late afternoon and was received by India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and a welcome parade by elephants.
He spent the day visiting historical monuments including the 16th century Amer Fort, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Mr Macron was greeted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a banquet and a motorcade. He then travelled to New Delhi where he will attend India’s Republic Day celebrations on Friday.
Mr Modi and Mr Macron are seen as having friendly personal relations. The two leaders have reinvigorated France-India ties.
The two countries are “strategic partners”, and the trip will “consolidate and deepen diplomatic and economic relations,” said the French President's office in a statement.
Mr Modi was the chief guest at France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations in July 2023, months before Mr Macron came to New Delhi to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
The whole of the Indian city was decked up with billboards of the two leaders, while around 20,000 schoolchildren lined up along the route to the historic Amer Fort to greet the French President.
He waved at the enthusiastic children who chanted “Welcome, Macron”.
Mr Macron and Mr Modi later took out a motorcade rally, waving from the top of the vehicle at the hundreds of people gathered along the route.
They visited the Alberta Hall Museum, the 18th-century astronomical observation site the Jantar Mantar, and Hawa Mahal Palace, a palace with over 950 windows, also a Unesco World Heritage site.
Military and energy deals
The leaders later had dinner at the Rambagh Palace hotel, where they discussed bilateral and multilateral issues, according to media reports.
They are expected to finalise deals on India procuring 26 Rafale Marine combat aircraft from France as well as outline steps on the construction of three submarines in India, according to media reports.
New Delhi had initiated the $6 billion deal for the acquisition of the aircraft last year.
It has already procured 36 Rafale jets from France for its Air Force.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the ways to speed up the construction of six nuclear power plants in Jaitapur in India’s western state of Maharashtra.
India is building six nuclear power plants of 1,650 Megawatts. It is also proposing the construction of the largest clean energy plant with a total capacity of 9,900MW of electricity, in partnership with France.
The project is stalled due to technical, financial, and civil nuclear liability issues, according to the Indian government.
Republic Day celebrations
Mr Macron will attend the Republic Day parade on Friday morning.
A 95-member contingent from the French Foreign Legion and a 33-member band contingent from France will march down the Kartavya Path – the newly refurbished 3km boulevard connecting the President’s house to the India Gate.
India has a long-standing custom of inviting leaders from other countries to be chief guest for its Republic Day – the day it celebrates the adoption of the constitution in 1950.
Mr Macron is the sixth French leader to attend the event.
He will also visit a popular Muslim shrine in New Delhi before concluding his trip.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
more from Janine di Giovanni
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
1971: The Year The Music Changed Everything
Director: Asif Kapadia
4/5
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
McIlroy's recent struggles
Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)
The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)
The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)
US Open Missed the cut (78)
Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
