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The Maldives is facing a boycott by Indian tourists after three of the island nation’s young ministers made derogatory remarks about Narendra Modi’s photographs.
The ministers, who have since been suspended, called India’s prime minister a “clown”, a “terrorist” and a “puppet of Israel”, after Modi posted pictures on X of his holiday in Lakshadweep, an archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. The comments caused widespread upset in India, with reports that “thousands of Indian travelers have canceled trips” and a major booking site has suspended flights to the Maldives, said CNBC.
Indian tourists are “one of the largest contributors” to the income of the Maldives, with the sector as a whole contributing to a third of its economy, said the BBC. And the Maldives also relies on its neighbour for “food, infrastructure building, and technological advancement”.
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Richard Windsor is a freelance editor at The Week Digital. He began his career as a journalist writing about politics and gaming while reading at the University of Southampton. He then worked at football publications before specialising in cycling for almost nine years, covering primary races and adding the Tour de France and interviewed some of the sport’s most productive cyclists. He led Cycling Weekly’s virtual platforms as editor for seven of those years, helping to transform the publication into the UK’s largest cycling website. He now works as a freelance editor and publisher and consultant.