Australians dazzled by southern lights after powerful solar storm

Australians were treated to a dazzling display of southern lights on Tuesday following a powerful geomagnetic storm – and they may see more spectacular auroras tonight.

Auroras are caused when charged particles expelled from the Sun’s corona, known as coronal mass ejections, interact with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Since the Earth’s magnetic field is stronger near the poles, auroras are seen more distinctly in the skies above higher and lower latitudes.

The phenomenon is known as aurora australis in the southern hemisphere and aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere.

Australians took to social media to share pictures of the sky as pink, purple, yellow, and green lights sparkled in the dark.

Geomagnetic storms that cause auroras are denoted by the letter G and rated from 1 to 5, with 1 a minor event and 5 an extreme one.

G2 and G3 storms can interfere with power grids and lead to voltage fluctuations and solar storms of longer duration may even cause damage to transformers.

Tuesday’s aurora was the most vivid since May, when skygazers at even mid-latitudes could see the northern lights due to an intense solar storm.

Australian minister Julie Collins shared a photo of the aurora on X glowing in yellow and gold colour.

“Even the aurora australis last night turned out in green and gold for our Olympians!” Ms Collins said.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said geomagnetic activity could make auroras visible in the country’s southern states from 29 to 31 July.

“Several coronal mass ejections may impact Earth within the next 24 hours, possibly causing G1 and G2 geomagnetic storming with a slight chance for G3,” the agency said.

“If geomagnetic activity does eventuate, aurora may be visible during local nighttime hours in Tasmania and southern Victoria on 31 July.”

Auroras could also be seen in the skies above Australia on 1 August, the bureau said, but at a “reduced probability”.

People in New South Wales and Western Australia, however, may miss out on the spectacle due to cloudy conditions, the agency said.

Young people struggle to rebuild their lives after Beijing’s crackdown

After spending five months in jail for publishing seditious Instagram posts, Joker Chan returned to a harsh reality.

Chan, 30, was sentenced in 2022 for posts containing slogans like “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” which were popularly chanted during massive anti-government protests in the city in 2019. Authorities said such slogans could imply separating Hong Kong from China — a red line for Beijing.

Upon his release, Chan’s criminal record barred him from returning to the hotel industry, where he previously worked as a chef. Tattoos on his arms, legs and the sides of his neck — some related to the protests — made his job search more difficult. Now, he works as a part-time waiter, earning about half of what he used to make.

Some of his friends severed ties with him, fearing their association might lead to police investigations. His family also expressed disappointment in him, and when he went out with other former protesters they asked him whether he planned to stir trouble.

“I felt helpless. I can’t understand this,” he said, wearing a black t-shirt that read “I am Hongkonger” and with a tattoo of his inmate number on his arm.

Five years after the protests erupted, the lives of some young people who were jailed or arrested during Beijing’s political crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement remain in limbo. Unlike famed activists, these former protesters usually receive little attention from most of the city, even though their activism for the same democratic goals has exacted a similarly heavy toll.

Since the protests broke out five years ago, more than 10,200 people have been arrested in connection with the often-violent social unrest sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would have allowed suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China. According to police, about one-fifth of them have faced or were facing “legal consequences” as of the end of May.

The government crackdown expanded after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 and the enactment of similar, home-grown legislation in March. About 300 others were arrested under the two security laws and other offenses linked to endangering national security as of June, with half of them already convicted by courts, the city’s security bureau said.

Chan fought for a more democratic Hong Kong, a goal that many in the city have yearned for since the former British colony returned to China in 1997. Reflecting on his actions, Chan said he would have been more cautious if he could go back in time, but he doesn’t regret what he did.

“Regret can lead you to overturn what you originally firmly stood for,” he said.

Chan was an exception in agreeing for his full name to be published in this article. Two other interviewees The Associated Press spoke with asked to be identified only by partial names over fears of government retribution.

Another former inmate, also surnamed Chan, said he panicked every time he saw police on the streets after he finished serving his sentence in 2022, worrying he would be arrested again. Chan, who is in his 20s, refused to provide more details about his prosecution since he feared being identified by authorities.

Before he landed his current job in the creative industry, he sent applications to about 40 companies seeking employment, with only a handful offering him an interview. He said one interviewer was concerned that convicted people like him could affect their corporate image.

Even when he secured a position at another firm, he said he was treated unfairly by former pro-China colleagues. He said they also did not allow him to work on certain projects.

“Some (who were jailed) for political cases like me, when released, are treated as pariahs in society in a hidden manner,” he said.

Others who did not go to jail have also lived in fear for years. Nick, a former protester who was arrested in 2019, said he didn’t know for years whether he would be charged until police this year confirmed they had dropped his case.

Brandon Yau, secretary of the prisoners’ support group Waiting Bird, said while some former inmates could return to the industries they previously worked in, many teachers, medical professionals and social workers — whose positions are linked to a license or public sector organizations — face greater challenges in returning to their old sectors.

Convicted students who were formerly jailed are concerned about whether schools will accept them. Some institutions have been unsupportive of their students after they were arrested, Yau said.

According to his group, many of the hundreds of convicts they supported are expected to be released in the next two years. Yau said the city should plan for ways to accommodate them.

Official data show hundreds of people were sent to correctional services facilities each year over offenses linked to the protests or for allegedly endangering national security between 2020 and 2023. By the end of 2023, about 780 people were in custody for such offenses, up nearly 50% from a year earlier.

Hong Kong’s security minister Chris Tang previously said many young people who were jailed over civil disturbances were influenced or incited by others and went astray. He said local society won’t give up on them as long as they “genuinely” want to turn over a new leaf.

But critics say Tang’s remarks overlook the deeper grievances and aspirations that drove young people to protest five years ago.

Paul Yip, a professor at The University of Hong Kong’s department of social work and social administration, said local employers were becoming more accepting of these young people, possibly after seeing former inmates perform well in their jobs.

Yip, also the director of a suicide prevention research center, said the young people he hired were enthusiastic about their future and usually had a strong sense of responsibility.

He said it is important to help such people get back on track.

“We say young people are our future. They are the young people. If you don’t give them a future, then how will we have a future?” he said.

Australia first country to offer babies peanut allergy treatment

Australia has become the first country to offer oral immunotherapy treatment to babies with peanut allergies in an effort to build immunity.

Ten paediatric hospitals in five states have partnered with the National Allergy Centre of Excellence, or NACE, to run a nationwide peanut oral immunotherapy programme.

Allergic babies will be given small daily doses of peanut powder for two years under supervision and doses will be increased over time to reduce sensitivity to peanuts, officials said on Wednesday.

It is the first national peanut allergy treatment programme outside of a clinical trial, said Kirsten Perrett, head of oral immunotherapy at NACE.

“Ultimately we want to change the trajectory of allergic disease in Australia so more children can go to school without the risk of a life-threatening peanut reaction,” Ms Perrett was quoted as saying by the ABC.

She said the children will be followed in routine clinical care for at least 12 months to evaluate the quality of life and longterm outcomes. A food allergy test will be conducted at the end of the two years to determine if the treatment led to a remission.

Tim Brettig, head of the programme, said peanut powder is introduced to the babies with other food in a small amount.

“Under supervision, each child has increases in dose each month at a level that should not cause a reaction for that child,” he told the ABC.

“Eventually they will reach a maintenance dose, where they will then stay and continue this dose for up to two years before stopping to see if this treatment has been effective.”

The free programme however is only available to children under 12 months diagnosed with a peanut allergy and receiving care from an allergist at one of the participating hospitals.

Three out of 100 Australian children develop a peanut allergy before turning one and only about 20 per cent outgrow their allergy by teenage, according to government data.

Assistant minister for health Ged Kearney described the programme as a big step towards combating peanut allergies.

“This new model of care might be the gamechanger we have all wanted to stop this terrible allergy in its tracks,” the minister said.

A nine-month-old baby enrolled in the programme developed hives after having peanut butter at six months old.

“We are taking part in the programme to try and improve his chance of being able to safely eat peanuts in the future,” the baby’s mother Kirsten Chatwin said.

“Many families are desperate to protect their children from allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. To have this programme available and free at public hospitals is a gamechanger.”

The 1975 sued by Malaysian festival for $2.4m over kissing controversy

The 1975 have been sued by organizers of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival after frontman Matty Healy protested the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws by kissing bassist Ross MacDonald during their performance last July.

The band’s members are also individually named in the suit, which seeks damages of $2.4m (£1.9m) because the band’s actions led to the festival being shut down.

In court documents filed in the UK High Court and seen by Variety, festival organizers Future Sound Asia claim that The 1975 and their management team had been made aware of various restrictions surrounding the performance.

The band had previously performed at the festival in 2016, and organizers say they were repeatedly reminded of restrictions around swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol on stage, removing clothes and discussing politics or religion.

The organizers also maintain that the band was aware of specific rules issued by the Malaysia Central Agency for the Application for Foreign Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL) that prohibit “kissing, kissing a member of the audience or carrying out such actions among themselves.”

They say that the band was paid $350,000 to perform and agreed to abide by these rules.

The lawsuit also states that PUSPAL had at first rejected the band’s application to perform in Malaysia in 2023 due to a 2018 article about Matty Healy’s past drug addiction. The band was able to overturn the decision after an appeal by promising that Healy would follow “all local guidelines and regulations.”

The suit goes on to claim that the band decided the night before the festival that they would not perform, then changed their mind and went ahead with “a completely different setlist” while acting “in way that were intended to breach the Guidelines”.

This included Healy making a “provocative speech” denouncing the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and taking part in a “long pretend passionate embrace” with MacDonald “with the intention of causing offence and breaching the regulations and the terms of the agreement.”

The 1975’s performance was cut short, and the following day the organizers’ license was revoked. The remaining two days of the music festival, which had been set to include a performance by The Strokes, were canceled.

At the time, Malaysia’s government called the band “extremely rude” and added that they would not be permitted to perform in the country again.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil tweeted that the government had “called the organisers” of the festival before it was then cancelled outright.

Healy poked fun at the controversy on his Instagram Stories after sharing Good Vibes Festival’s cancellation statement.

The singer added: “Ok well why don’t you try and not make out for Ross for 20 years. Not as easy as it looks.”

The Independent has approached the 1975 for comment.

Taiwan says China invasion would be worse crisis than Ukraine or Covid

Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te has warned that a Chinese invasion of the self-governed island would have worse global impacts than either Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine or the Covid pandemic.

Mr Lai was speaking on Tuesday during the largest-ever gathering of foreign lawmakers and dignitaries in Taipei, at a summit chaired by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. The coalition, with hundreds of members from parliaments in more than 35 countries, is focused on monitoring Beijing’s threats to democracy and human rights.

Lawmakers met on Monday and held panel discussions on Tuesday at the event, attended by The Independent, which is taking place despite intense pressure against participants from the Chinese government.

Mr Lai said he hoped the summit would “allow the world to understand that any conflict in the Taiwan Strait will have a more profound economic impact on the world than the Russia-Ukraine war and Covid-19”.

MPs from countries including the UK, Australia, Japan and South Korea have travelled to Taipei for the talks, and at least eight of those invited have spoken out about being contacted by Chinese officials urging them not to attend. Some were even offered invitations to visit the Chinese mainland instead – or asked to explain why they were planning to travel to Taiwan.

The Taiwanese president praised those attending the talks for showing up despite China’s blocking tactics, which he described as part of a broader campaign of intimidation designed with one ultimate goal: Xi Jinping’s “authoritarian external expansion” to seize control of Taiwan.

Mr Lai said the island has a detailed action plan in the event of an invasion from China, and praised the conduct of “unscripted, actual-combat” drills earlier this month to bolster his defence forces, but said this would not be Taiwan’s preferred outcome. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are closely related to global democracy, peace and prosperity,” he said.

“Taiwan will make every effort to work with its democratic partners to build a ‘democratic umbrella’ to protect democratic partner countries from the threat of authoritarian expansion,” he told the gathering of lawmakers, journalists and analysts.

On Monday, before the start of the discussions proper, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the visiting lawmakers on a diplomatic tour of the island – an excursion that was punctuated by China sending at least a dozen warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

Amid the looming threat of Chinese military action, Taiwanese vice-president Hsiao Bi-khim met the lawmakers for “candid discussions” and spoke “very persuasively” about the importance of maintaining stability in the region, according to IPAC’s director Luke de Pulford.

“There were a lot of different opinions about different scenarios that can happen around the Taiwan Strait. What they do seem to agree on is that [an invasion] must not be allowed to happen, it must be deterred from happening and [we must] use everything that we can in our diplomatic toolbox and otherwise to prevent it from happening,” he told The Independent.

The IPAC director also addressed China’s attempted interference with the summit, telling Beijing: “You don’t get to decide the travel plans of foreign politicians.”

“They tried to bully the global South countries. They wouldn’t dare to do it in Western, richer democracies. They think they can bully and coerce, which is even more deplorable. China’s intimidation tactics did not work.”

Why do trains keep getting derailed in India?

Two people were killed and 20 injured after a passenger train derailed in eastern India on Tuesday, the latest in a series of railway accidents that has caused widespread safety concerns.

The train from Howrah in east India was on its way to Mumbai on the west coast when 22 of its coaches came off the rails at Barabamboo in Jharkhand state at around 3.45am local time on Tuesday.

Railway authorities are investigating the latest accident amid conflicting news reports about a collision.

“Two passengers died. Their bodies were recovered from the bathrooms after a coach was cut with gas cutters,” Prabhat Kumar Badiyar, a senior local administrative official, was quoted as saying by the daily Hindustan Times.

“The Howrah Mumbai Mail rammed a goods train from behind and about a dozen of its coaches derailed. A rescue operation is ongoing,” he said.

The Indian Express, however, quoted an anonymous railway official as saying that “there was no collision”.

“The derailment could be due to an operational error or some mechanical failure of the tracks, wheels. All possible angles are being investigated,” the official told the paper.

A series of deadly train collisions and derailments has caused widespread safety concerns in the country and prompted opposition leaders to accuse the Narendra Modi government of misgovernance.

Tuesday’s was the second fatal railway accident in northern India in July. At least four people were killed and 20 injured on 18 July when a train derailed in Uttar Pradesh. Ten people were killed last month when a freight train rammed into a stationary passenger train in the eastern state of West Bengal.

And in one of the country’s deadliest train accidents, over 280 people were killed in eastern Odisha state last year.

Calling the latest tragedy a “disastrous rail accident”, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked, “Is this governance?”

“This series of nightmares almost every week, this unending procession of deaths and injuries on railway tracks, for how long shall we tolerate this?” she asked.

“Will there be no end to the callousness of the government of India? My heart goes out to the bereaved families, condolences to the next of kin.”

The main opposition Congress party issued sharp criticism of federal railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said the “fail minister” has “overseen three accidents” since June resulting in 17 deaths, yet there is “no accountability”.

India’s railway network is undergoing a £24bn transformation with new trains and modern stations under Mr Modi’s push to boost infrastructure and connectivity, Mr Vaishnaw said while presenting the new rail budget on 23 July, adding that nearly £10bn will be spent to enhance the safety of the national carrier.

But despite such efforts to upgrade infrastructure, former Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai told the BBC, derailment remains a “bugbear”.

According to a report by the Commission of Railway Safety, the number of railway accidents increased from 35 in 2021-22 to 48 in 2022-23, with serious accidents doubling in successive years.

From 2013-14 to 2019-20 in contrast, there was “a declining trend” in railway accidents.

The report noted that derailments caused the majority of the accidents, accounting for 75 per cent of the total in 2022-23 and over 77 per cent in 2021-22. Collision and fire were the next biggest causes.

Train derailment could be caused by an ill-maintained track or “a coach could be faulty or there could be an error in driving”, Mr Sahai said after the Odisha accident.

According to Hindustan Times, derailments mostly occur due to “rail fractures” from expansion or contraction during extreme summer or winter conditions. “While technology and funding issues are there, the big problem is that adequate time to carry out routine maintenance of tracks is never available as drivers are under stress to run more trains in lesser time,” Sanjay Pandhi, of the Indian Railways Loco Running Men Organisation, told the daily in 2016.

Swapnil Garg, professor of strategy management at the Indian Institute of Management, Indore, however, told IndiaSpend that “one particular incident cannot cause a derailment”.

“It has to be a combination of three, four or five different mistakes before a derailment happens,” he said.

“When there is a signalling failure, mechanical failures and civil engineering failures, we find that these collectively result in a derailment.”

Indonesian man stabs friend to death over chicken or egg debate

A man in Indonesia allegedly stabbed his friend to death over the classic disagreement: which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The suspect, identified as DR, stabbed Kadir Markus, 47, from Muna Regency in Southeast Sulawesi province, 15 times after they got into an argument over the riddle on 24 July, investigating officer La Ode Arsangka said.

DR invited Markus, who had come to repay a debt, for a drink and began posing a series of riddles, local media reported.

Markus left when the argument started, but DK grabbed a dagger and chased him on his bike and then on foot before stabbing him multiple times, police said.

The suspect has been arrested, Tongkuno police chief Iptu Abdul Hasan was quoted as saying by the Strait Times.

“The suspect has been charged with murder and faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted,” Mr Hasan said.

DK reportedly used a badik, traditional dagger of southern Sulawesi’s coastal tribes like the Bugis and the Makassarese, to commit the murder.

Dogs locked up in Bangkok house without food eat body of dead owner

More than two dozen dogs that ate their dead owner’s body to survive for days in a locked house were finally rescued over the weekend from a Bangkok suburb.

The dogs were trapped for at least a week after their owner Attapol Charoenpithak, 62, died inside the house of medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, police said.

Thai police found the man’s body on Saturday after his neighbour told police his car had not moved for several days. Sompong Phasuksri said Attapol usually drove his car to the local market every day.

The neighbour grew suspicious when he rang Attapol’s bell but got no response even though the lights were on, The Nation reported.

When police went in, they found the house littered with garbage and dog excreta. The police then contacted an animal rescue group, the Voice Foundation, to rescue the dogs.

The foundation rescued 28 dogs but two had died from lack of food.

“Initially, it was reported that there were about 15 dogs surrounding the uncle’s body. But when the team and doctors arrived to the area they found them scattered around the house and two dead bodies were found,” the charity said on Instagram.

A video shared by the charity showed the petrified canines, a mix of chihuahua and Shih Tzu breeds, being rescued from around the house.

“All the 28 siblings have been rescued at the hospital. To get checked, treated and spayed before proceeding to find a home,” the foundation said.

The dogs reportedly survived by “eating the left leg of the owner”.

Supawadee Srithassanakarn of the Voice Foundation, who led the rescue work, said Attapol had agreed to hand over the dogs to the charity following complaints.

He has been seen driving the dogs around in cages, which alerted animal charities to the potential exposure of his pets to heat.

In another post on Sunday, the charity said the dogs were weak due to lack of food and water and asked for donations to “take care of these children”.