Modi Heads to Delhi as Outgoing India PM Singh Makes Farewell Address

Hindu nationalist, BJP leader and prime minister-designate Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses his supporters during a public meeting in Vadodra in the western Indian state of Gujarat.Reuters

India's prime minister-designate Narendra Modi is heading to capital Delhi to hold a party meeting as the outgoing premier Manmohan Singh makes a final address to the nation.

Modi will fly from his home state of Gujarat to attend Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) board meeting following the party's unprecedented victory in the parliamentary elections.

The imminent premier is expected to hold a victory procession in the capital while travelling from the airport to the party headquarters.

Votes are still being counted but the BJP has already comfortably crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats, which are required to form the federal government. The BJP-lead coalition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has secured 337 seats so far.

The BJP board comprising 12 senior figures from the party will decide on crucial matters including finding a replacement for Modi in Gujarat. The cabinet formation will also be discussed during the meeting.

Modi is also likely to visit Varanasi, one of the two constituencies he won from, to address a public rally later in the day.

Modi said in his victory address earlier: "The age of divisive politics has ended, from today onwards the politics of uniting people will begin. We want more strength for the wellbeing of the country ... I see a glorious and prosperous India."

"I want to take all of you with me to take this country forward... it is my responsibility to take all of you with me to run this country."

Meanwhile, the departing premier Singh has made his farewell televised remarks on Saturday (17 May) morning.

He said: "In the last ten years, we as a country have seen many successes and achievements that we should be proud of. Today, India is a far stronger country in every respect than it was a decade ago. I give credit for these successes to all of you. However, there is still vast latent development potential in our country and we must collectively work hard to realise it."

Singh's Indian National Congress has been routed in the latest elections falling short of seats to even be able to nominate an opposition leader in the Lok Sabha (lower house).

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Pictures of the Week: Best Photos of Past Seven Days

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A man dressed as Charlie Chaplin walks on the beach during the 67th Cannes Film Festival.Reuters

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A man looks out of his window surrounded by a recently-created mural depicting the Kremlin, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the Russian flag, on the wall of a residential building in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.Reuters

A Sotheby's employee poses with a Royal Worcester 'Aesthetic' teapot (dated 1882) at Sotheby's auction house in London.Reuters

Conchita Wurst, representing Austria, performs the song Rise Like a Phoenix at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen.Reuters

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Riot police practise crowd control during an FBI-run training session for troops providing security for the 2014 World Cup, in Rio de Janeiro.Reuters

People take 'selfies' with David Cameron and Boris Johnson in Harrow, northwest London, during campaigning ahead of European Parliament and local elections.AFP

New priests lay on the floor as Pope Francis leads their ordination ceremony during a solemn mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.AFP

A balloon flies past Pope Francis during his general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican.AFP

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An inflatable doll with a swastika on her arm and a Yulia Tymoshenko hairdo adorns a pro-Russian militia checkpoint in Slovyansk, Ukraine.Getty

An anti-government protester jokes with a military officer during a rally at an Air Force base in Bangkok.Reuters

Rays of light burst through holes in the roof of Maskuf covered market, or Souk, in the Old City of Homs.Joseph Eid/AFP

Emergency workers help rescue a boy stuck under the rubble following a bombing on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.AFP

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People sit in a boat after rescued evacuated from their flooded houses in the Serbian town of Obrenovac.Reuters

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Prince Andrew Boycotts Bahrain PR Conference in London

Bahraini Pro-Democracy Activists Stage Protest against King Hamad.IBTimes UK

Prince Andrew has withdrawn, at the last minute, from a controversial Bahraini-funded PR conference in London promoting the Gulf Kingdom as a place of freedom and tolerance.

The Duke of York has maintained good relations with the Bahraini regime, with frequent visits as Britain's former special representative for trade and investment.

He caused controversy when speaking during a visit to Bahrain last month, when he claimed that what's happening in the archipelago is "a source of hope for many people in the world".

"He has already committed to attend an economic event at Bloomberg and regrettably it wasn't possible to attend both events," said a royal official, according to the Telegraph. "The Duke is, however, a long-standing supporter of the UK's bilateral relationship with Bahrain."

The surprise withdrawal was welcomed by Bahraini pro-democracy activists, who staged a protest in response to the Gulf Kingdom's PR campaign to highlight what they think are the regime's human rights violations, repression and unrest.

"Prince Andrew withdrew from this conference this morning and there is no high-level person at this conference today, so pretty much what we were striving for has happened," Maryam Al-Khawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), told IBTimes UK.

"It has become too embarrassing [for the Duke of York] to appear publicly with them".

Strong relationship

The meeting Prince Andrew was meant to open is called "This is Bahrain!" and is arranged by the Bahrain Federation of Expatriate Associations, part of an attempt to further strengthen the ties between Britain and the island kingdom.

Britain sold Bahrain military equipment worth £18m in 2013, according to the Campaign against the Arms Trade (CAAT), and wants to sell Bahrain Typhoon jet fighters estimated at £1bn.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa is expected to attend the Royal Windsor Horse Show next Sunday, to watch the Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy.

Yet the Gulf Kingdom is plunging deeper into sectarian conflict, between the ruling Sunni-al-Khalifa minority and the neglected Shia majority.

Al-Wefaq, the country's main opposition party, reported that 170 protesters, including 29 children, were arrested by government security forces in April. At least 58 protesters were injured, mostly by birdshot.

The Bahrain independent commission of inquiry, set up by the Bahraini government itself and headed by UN war crimes expert Cherif Bassiouni, found that detailers are tortured using more than a dozen different techniques, including electric shock, sleep deprivation and threats of rape.

"At a time when we're still seeing people teargassed, beaten on the streets, and tortured at the criminal investigation department...we're seeing a conference which has been put up in London which is whitewashing the regime and promoting them as this peace-caring, interfaith and inter-civilisation, which is very far from the truth," said Al-Khawaja.

New allegations

The Bahraini King's son Prince Nasser is facing a London court bid to overturn his immunity from prosecution over torture allegations.

A Bahraini citizen sought the arrest of the son of Bahrain's king following allegations that he was directly involved in the torture of three prisoners in Bahrain during the pro-democracy uprising in 2011.

The Bahraini government reacted saying that it never sought from the British Court "either anonymity or sovereign immunity for anyone in respect of this case.

"The Government simply refutes in the strongest possible terms the factual basis for the underlying allegations which it maintains are unfounded, false and politically motivated," reads a statement.

Agency Apologises for Running Mattress Ad Featuring Malala Yousafzai Being Shot

The poster shows Malala's Yousafzai being shot by the Taliban when she was 14(Ogilvy)

An advertising agency has apologised for using a cartoon of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai being shot in the head by the Taliban to promote mattresses.

The poster campaign, made by the Indian offices of international agency Ogilvy & Mather for bedding company Kurl-On, features the schoolgirl being shot and falling onto a mattress before recovering to receive an award.

The poster shows her gradually falling onto the bed with an intravenous drip hooked up to her, before making a full recovery by the time she bounces back up off the mattress. The advert ran under the strapline "Bounce Back".

Greg Carton, Ogilvy's press spokesman for Asia Pacific, said the company "deeply regrets" the advert and wanted to personally apologise to Malala and her family.

The company has apologised for running the "sick" advertOgilvy

He added: "The recent Kurl-On ads from our India office are contrary to the beliefs and professional standards of Ogilvy & Mather and our clients.

"We are investigating how our standards were compromised in this case and will take whatever corrective action is necessary.

"In addition, we have launched a thorough review of our approval and oversight processes across our global network to help ensure that our standards are never compromised again."

The other two posters in the "Bounce Back" campaign show Mahatma Gandhi being fired from his role as a barrister before rising up as India's independence leader, and Steve Jobs being kicked out of his own Apple company before returning with an iPad.

Carton said that only the Jobs advert went live to the general public, running in a local Indian newspaper, with the other two only featuring in an advertising industry website.

The Pakistani teenager was shot in the head by the Taliban when she was 14 for writing a blog which detailed her life under the regime in which she declared she wanted an education.

After making a remarkable recovery from her injuries, she went on to become a spokesperson for education and human rights. She has also received awards for her activism, including a Nobel peace prize nomination.

The other two posters in the campaign featured Steve Jobs and Mahatma Gandhi(Ogilvy)

Nairobi Gikomba Market Blasts: Latest Photos of the Bomb Attacks in Kenya's Capital

Two explosions ripped through a market in Nairobi earlier today, killing 10 people and injuring 70 more in the latest in a string of increasingly frequent terror attacks.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack but the capital has been besieged with attacks by the al-Qaida-affiliated Islamist group al-Shabaab.

The group are waging an insurgency against the Kenyan government because of the presence of Kenyan troops in neighbouring Somalia.

The attack comes just a day after British officials warned tourists to leave the coastal resort of Mombasa because of a heightened risk of terrorism.

A woman walks near a damaged vehicle at the scene of twin explosions at the Gikomba open-air market in NairobiReuters

Police inspect a damaged public transport van after the blasts at the Gikomba open-air marketReuters

Traders who were injured in a twin explosion are evacuated from the Gikomba open-air marketReuters

Kenyan police stand guard at the scene of the explosions in NairobiReuters

Abandoned second-hand clothes are piled at the scene of twin explosions at the Gikomba open-air marketReuters

British tourists queue at the departure gate as they are evacuated from Moi International Airport in the Kenyan coastal city of MombasaReuters

An injured man shows his wounds at a hospital near the scene of the explosionAFP

Police investigators comb through the scene of an explosion on the outskirts of Nairobi's business districAFP

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