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Mark Tully, BBC correspondent known as the ‘voice of India,’ dies at 90

NEW DELHI (AP) — Mark Tully, a longtime BBC correspondent who was widely known as the “voice of India” for his reporting on the South Asian nation, has died, the broadcaster said. He was 90.

Tully died Sunday at a New Delhi hospital after a brief illness.

Born in India’s Kolkata city in 1935, Tully joined the BBC in 1965 and was appointed its New Delhi correspondent in 1971. He later served for more than two decades as the BBC’s bureau chief for South Asia.

Tully reported on some of India’s most consequential events, including the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh, the siege of the Golden Temple in 1984, the 1991 assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque, which triggered nationwide riots.

Tully also reported from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Tully as “a towering voice of journalism.”

“His connect with India and the people of our nation was reflected in his works. His reporting and insights have left an enduring mark on public discourse,” Modi wrote on X.

Britain knighted Tully in 2002 for services to broadcasting and journalism. He also received two of India’s highest civilian honors, the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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