The two met through Choi’s father, Choi Tae-min, back in the mid-1970s. A dubious character with a checkered background and multiple pseudonyms, the elder Choi had by that point established a cult-like Christian sect known as the Church of Eternal Life, calling himself a pastor and claiming he could heal people. The following account of Park’s long and convoluted relationship with the Choi family comes mostly from the Virginia-based blogger known simply as “TK” (“The Korean”) who runs the well-known politics and culture site Ask a Korean.

During PM Modi’s visit in August last year, the two countries had condemned efforts, including by states, to use religion to justify, support and sponsor terrorism against other countries, or to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Trade is another important component of the bilateral ties as UAE is India’s third largest trading partner after China and the United States. Bilateral trade between UAE and India is around $60 billion.

The 2016 US Presidential election will soon come down to turnout. No stratagem can surmount the indigenous obstacles that remain for each contestant. September’s early polling reveals that Republican Party’s Donald Trump will win by a landslide, because the election is a referendum on incumbent president Barack Obama’s tenure, although dynamics appear to change with the beginning of TV debates.