On Day 2 of the tour, PM Modi will meet the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, at his official residence, the Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the world’s largest palace. The palace has its name registered in Guinness World Records and boasts of 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms and 44 staircases made of 38 kinds of marble.
The Sultan is the second-longest reigning monarch in the world after the late Queen Elizabeth II. With an estimated net worth of around $30 billion, he was once the world’s richest person.
PM Modi and the Brunei Sultan met for the first time on the sidelines of 25th ASEAN Summit at Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014 and again during the 2017 East Asia Summit held in Manila.
“I look forward to my meetings with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other esteemed members of the Royal family to advance our historical relationship to new heights,” said PM Modi in a statement.
The historic visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei.
At 8.50 am (IST), the prime minister will engage in bilateral discussions focussing on areas of cooperation like defence, trade and investment, energy, space technology and health. The two nations are also expected to sign several MoUs.
The prime minister will be then hosted by the Sultan for a banquet lunch at Istana Nurul Iman Palace before he departure for Singapore at 11.20 am.
After his arrival, PM Modi will meet members of the Indian community in Singapore before being hosted for dinner his counterpart PM Lawrence Wong.
On Tuesday, PM Modi visited the renowned Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Brunei, considered one of the most iconic structures in the region. The prime minister also inaugurated the new Chancery of the Indian High Commission in Brunei.
PM Modi also interacted with the local officials, scholars and members of the Indian community who had gathered in large numbers.

Hours after a case was registered against Malayalam filmstar Nivin Pauly (40) in Kerala’s Ernakulam district based on a complaint filed by a woman, the actor on Tuesday denied the charges and said that he will go to any extent to fight the case.

In her complaint, the woman claimed that she was cheated on promises that she would be given a chance to act in films. She also claimed that she was sexually assaulted outside India by a group of six persons, including Mr Pauly who has been arraigned as the sixth accused.

Speaking to the media at a hurriedly called press conference on Tuesday evening, Mr Pauly said, “I don’t know who she is, I have never seen her or spoke to her. This is a baseless news and I will go to any extent to prove the charges wrong,” Mr Pauly said.

“It will take time for the truth to eventually come out, and for that I will cooperate with all. Forty-five days back, the police called me stating that there is a complaint against me. I said I have never seen or met the woman complainant following which the police closed the case.

“There might be a conspiracy behind this… There might be others involved in levelling such allegations (against me). My family is behind me. I first called my mother who said there’s nothing to worry. I will fight this case not for me alone, but for all those who are in trouble due to such fake allegations. Except for one person, a producer, I do not know the rest who have been named in the case,” the actor said, adding that he had met the producer in Dubai.

The actor also took to social media platform X and said: “I have come across a false news report accusing me of abusing a girl. Please know that this is entirely untrue. I’m determined to go to any extent to prove these allegations are baseless and will take all necessary steps to bring those responsible to light. Thank you for your concern. The rest will be handled legally.”

As per sources, the complaint said that following the surfacing of the Hema Committee report last month, she heard about the numerous complaints that were being filed and hence she decided to lodge a fresh complaint against Mr Pauly.

The Oonukal police in Ernakulam district have registered the case against Mr Pauly which will be passed to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Kerala government to probe all cases of sexual exploitation of women involving the Malayalam film industry.

Mr Pauly, who has won two Kerala Film Awards, started as a software engineer before joining the film industry in 2010. He has done over 50 films with several of them going on to become box office hits.

He turned producer with ‘Action Hero Biju’ in 2016 under his banner Mr Pauly Jr. Pictures, which turned out to be a super grosser.

Trouble has been brewing in the Malayalam film industry ever since the release of the Hema Committee report after long delay last month, revealing rampant sexual exploitation of women in the film world.

Kerala Police have so far registered FIRs against 11 people, including nine from the film industry, based on complaints lodged by actresses.

Those who are in the dock include actor-turned-CPI-M legislator Mukesh Madhavan, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Maniyanpilla Raju, directors Ranjith and V.K. Prakash, and production executives Vichu and Noble.

Actor Baburaj and director Tulasidas have been named too, but no FIRs have been registered against them so far.