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India’s prime minister turns a religious event into a political one, Jeff Bezos challenges a tabloid newspaper and music’s biggest stars get ready for the Grammys. Here’s the latest:
Every six years, tens of millions of Hindus make a religious pilgrimage to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh to take a dip in the holy waters of the Ganges River — one of the holiest events in the Hindu calendar and among the world’s largest gatherings of humanity.
This year’s festival aligns with national elections that are expected to be held in April or May, providing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist bloc, the Bharatiya Janata Party, with a prized opportunity to woo voters and deflect from political and economic woes.
By the numbers: Mr. Modi and his close ally, Yogi Adityanath, a monk turned chief minister of the state, have spent $600 million to turn this Kumbh into the most lavish one yet, adding nine new highway flyovers; 22 bridges; 20,000 trash cans; 122,500 toilets; and a new airport terminal.
Analysis: Critics argue that Mr. Modi and his party have politicized religion in a secular country, often catering to a Hindu base at the expense of minority communities, such as Muslims.
Separately: A nun’s accusations of rape against a bishop in Kerala have shaken the country’s Catholics, driving a wedge between those who have called for reforms and those who want to maintain unity amid rising a riding tide of Hindu nationalism.
Sheikha Latifa — one of 30 children of the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum — tried to escape to the U. S. via India last March, informing her friends that she would be free soon.
Less than a week later, she went silent and, in December, her family released photos of her back at home. Her mysterious case has since become a stain on Dubai’s globalized image.
Background: In a secret video she recorded before her planned departure from Dubai, Sheikha Latifa described her life of constricting privilege.
She said she first tried to escape the kingdom many years ago but was taken back immediately and held in solitary confinement for more than three years in which she was frequently beaten and deprived of medical care.
At 19, when she was released, she still wasn’t free: She could spend her money only on hobbies and sports. She wasn’t allowed to study medicine, as she wanted, or travel.
Analysis: Like the accounts of women who have tried to escape Saudi Arabia, Sheikha Latifa’s case has marred Dubai’s glittering image, reminding the world of the few freedoms women have there, regardless of status or nationality.
In other news from the region: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia said in 2017, the year before the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Turkey, that he would use “a bullet” on Mr. Khashoggi, according to current and former American and foreign officials with direct knowledge of intelligence reports.
In a surprise blog post last week, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, accused the tabloid newspaper The National Enquirer of “extortion and blackmail,” spurring federal prosecutors to review his claims.
