African-American actress and singer Mary Millben praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he stands for women and is the best leader for India and the progress of Indian citizens.

Ms Millben made the remarks while reacting to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s use of derogatory language in the state assembly to explain the role of education and women in population control.

Ms Millben said the 2024 election season has commenced across the world, in America, and certainly in India. “Election seasons present an opportunity for change, to put an end to outdated policies and non-progressive people and replace them with voices and values that inspire and truly align with all citizen’s convictions, and what is best for the collective future of a nation.”

She further said: “Many people ask why I support Prime Minister Modi, and follow India affairs so closely. The answer is simple. I love India… And I believe Prime Minister Modi is the best leader for India, and the progress of Indian citizens. He’s the best leader for the US-India relationship and for the global economic stability of the world… The PM stands for women.”

On Wednesday, Ms Millben slammed Nitish Kumar for his derogatory remarks in the state assembly. Millben then called on a “courageous” woman to “step up” and declare her candidature for Bihar Chief Minister.

Ms Millben also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “empower a woman to lead in Bihar.”

“After #NitishKumar Ji’s comments, I believe a courageous woman needs to step up and declare her candidacy to run for Chief Minister of Bihar. If I were a citizen of #India, I would move to Bihar and run for Chief Minister. The BJP should empower a woman to lead in Bihar. This would be the true sentiment of women’s empowerment and development in response. Or #Bihar, do as #SRK admonished in #Jawan, ‘vote’ and bring change,” Mary Millben posted on X.

Brothers and sisters of India, Namaste ??

The 2024 election season has commenced across the world, here in America and certainly in India. Election seasons present an opportunity for change, to put an end to outdated policies and non progressive people, replaced with voices and… pic.twitter.com/yaetjrhgqk

— Mary Millben (@MaryMillben) November 8, 2023

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on Nitish Kumar over his derogatory remarks against women in relation to population control and said crass words were uttered in the state assembly and there was “no shame”.

Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi did not name Nitish Kumar but referred to his remarks made on Tuesday.

The Bihar Chief Minister on Tuesday sparked controversy after he used derogatory language in the state assembly.

Nitish Kumar was speaking during the winter session of the Bihar Assembly. The Chief Minister made the remarks while underscoring the need for girls’ education to check population growth.

Following an uproar over his remarks, Mr Kumar on Wednesday apologised and said he was taking back his words.

“If my words were wrong, then I apologise for that. If anyone got hurt by my words, I take them back,” Mr Kumar told reporters.

His remarks also drew outrage from the National Commission for Women (NCW), which asked him to tender an unconditional apology.

One of Pablo Picasso’s masterpieces, “Woman with a Watch,” was sold at auction Wednesday night for $139.3 million by Sotheby’s in New York, the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist.

The 1932 painting depicts one of the Spanish artist’s companions and muses, the French painter Marie-Therese Walter, and had been valued at over $120 million before going on the block, according to Sotheby’s.

The painting is part of Sotheby’s special sale this week of the collection of the wealthy New York patron of the arts Emily Fisher Landau, who died this year at the age of 102.

Julian Dawes, the house’s head of impressionist and modern art, called the Picasso canvas “a masterpiece by every measure.”

“Painted in 1932 — Picasso’s ‘annus mirabilis’ — it is full of joyful, passionate abandon yet at the same time it is utterly considered and resolved,” he said.

Walter was considered Picasso’s “golden muse”, and features in another of his works going under the hammer on Thursday at Christie’s: “Femme endormie,” or “Sleeping Woman”, estimated to sell for $25-$35 million.

Walter met Picasso in Paris in 1927, when the Spaniard was still married to Russian-Ukrainian ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova, and when Walter was 17.

She also featured in “Femme assise pres d’une fenetre (Marie-Therese)”, which was sold in 2021 for $103.4 million by Christie’s auction house.

In 2021, Sotheby’s also sold another Picasso featuring Walter, for $103 million. The couple had a daughter together who died last year.

Fifty years after his death in 1973 aged 91, Picasso remains one of the most influential artists of the modern world, and is often hailed as a dynamic and creative genius.

But in the wake of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault, his reputation has been tarnished by accusations that he exerted a violent hold over the women who shared his life and inspired his art.

Sotheby’s is hoping to net around $400 million in sales for pieces from Landau’s collection, which also includes works by Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol.

Pakistan Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said on Wednesday that there has been an increase in terror incidents in Pakistan since the Taliban came to power in 2021, Dawn reported.

Kakar linked the ongoing deportation drive of illegal immigrants to counter-terrorism actions, reported Dawn, a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

The Pakistan Caretaker Prime Minister, while addressing the media in Islamabad, said, “After the establishment of the interim Afghan government (Taliban) in August 2021, we had a strong hope that there would be long-term peace in Afghanistan. […] Strict action would be taken against Pakistan-opposing groups, especially the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and they would absolutely not be allowed to use Afghan soil against Pakistan.”

“But unfortunately, after the establishment of the interim Afghan govt, there has been a 60 per cent increase in terror incidents and 500pc rise in suicide attacks in Pakistan,” he said.

He further said: “In the past two years, 2,267 innocent citizens’ lives have been lost to this tragic bloodshed, for which the terrorists of TTP are responsible who are conducting cowardly attacks on Pakistani using Afghan soil.”

“During this time, 15 Afghan citizens were also among the people involved in suicide attacks. Other than this, till now, 64 Afghan citizens were killed while fighting Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies during the counterterrorism campaign,” he added.

Kakar did not provide any further details about the alleged involvement of Afghan nationals in any specific terror attack.

His statement comes after the country witnessed a sharp rise in terror incidents during the past week, including at Mianwali Training Air Base claimed by the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan and an ambush in Gwadar claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Front, while no group claimed responsibility for attacks in Dera Ismail Khan, as per Dawn.

Kakar went on to recall that the above details were in the knowledge of the Taliban.

The premier said that according to a monitoring report released in July this year by the United Nations, there was “clear mention of TTP centres in Afghanistan and increase in its activities against Pakistan”.

The prime minister added that even after reassurances from the Afghan government of taking action against the TTP, “no actions were taken against anti-Pakistan groups”. “Instead, in a few instances, clear evidence of enabling terrorism also came forward,” he said without providing further details, as per Dawn.