More countries issue warnings against UK travel amid riots
Several countries have issued safety warnings to their citizens in the UK due to ongoing anti-immigration protests and riots.
Nigeria, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, the UAE and India have all sent out alerts, advising their nationals living in or visiting the UK to stay away from demonstrations.
India has become the latest of six countries to issue a warning to citizens travelling to the UK following days of violent riots.
The High Commission of India in London said they were “closely monitoring” the situation as they advised visitors from India to “stay vigilant and exercise due caution while travelling in the UK”.
Yesterday, Australia issued a similar warning and advised travellers to “avoid areas where protests are occurring due to the potential for disruption and violence” as it urged people to “monitor the media for information and updates”.
Follow our live coverage of riots across the UK.
The UAE embassy in the UK urged citizens to “exercise the highest level of caution” and “take the necessary precautions” in light of the unstable security situation.
A travel alert by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based in the capital Abuja, also stated that there is “an increased risk of violence and disorder occasioned by the recent riots in the UK”, noting that “the violence has assumed dangerous proportions”.
It went on: “Demonstrations by far right and other extra-parliamentary groups in parts of the UK in recent weeks have been large, and in some instances unruly.”
The High Commission of Malaysia in London posted a message online on Sunday which read: “Malaysians residing in or travelling to the United Kingdom are urged to stay away from protest areas, remain vigilant and follow the latest updates and guidance provided by local authorities.”
It also “strongly encouraged” people to register with it to “receive timely information and assistance”.
The Indonesian embassy in London also issued a warning, advising its citizens in the UK to avoid large crowds and increase their vigilance.
Violence has broken out in several towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland following the killing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport last week (29 July).
Almost 400 people have been arrested after far-right riots rocked Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Hull, Belfast, Stoke and other cities across the UK over the weekend.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
Kamala Harris’s uncle hits back at JD Vance over ‘childless cat lady’ comments
Kamala Harris’s uncle has fired back at JD Vance over his sexist “childless cat ladies” comments, brushing off Donald Trump’s running mate as not “a great thinker”.
Dr Gopalan Balachandran, a psephologist and expert on US-India relations who lives in India, spoke to The Independent about his niece’s chances of taking the White House in November, how her heritage could help her in the role and what he thinks about the personal attacks coming from her Republican rivals.
In the past couple of weeks, Vance has come under fire for his misogynistic comments branding Harris and other women “childless cat ladies”.
Balachandran told The Independent he doesn’t think comments like Vance’s are “worth responding to”.
“I don’t think he is a great thinker, not even a thinker,” he said.
Vance’s remarks, which were made in 2021 but resurfaced after he was named Trump’s vice presidential pick, represent just one of many personal attacks Harris has faced since President Joe Biden stepped down from the 2024 race and she launched her own presidential campaign.
Last week, Trump questioned Harris’s Black and Indian heritage, bizarrely claiming that she only recently “became Black” to win votes and questioning how she can be both “Indian or Black”.
Responding to Trump’s comments, Balachandran said: “I have no idea what Trump meant by ‘always Indian’. She went to school in Oakland, she was bused while in school, she went to Howard University, a historically black college.”
“Her early childhood photos show her in civil rights marches in which few Indians at that time were interested.”
He added: “Sure, her mother took her to temples in the Bay Area, etc., but she took her oath at various swearing-in ceremonies on the Bible along with her nearest family friends in the US, who were all black. In fact, as a journalist, I used to encounter a lot of Indians who were unhappy that she was stressing her ‘blackness’ more than her ‘Indianness’!”
Balachandran is one of the three surviving siblings of Harris’ mother Shayamala Gopalan, who hailed from the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
An academic and a political scientist himself, the 80-year-old often visits Washington for work and has been closely watching his niece’s march towards the highest office in the land from the early days of her career. He revealed that he last met up with Harris just days before Biden stepped aside.
Now, Harris has officially become the Democratic party’s nominee and is set to pick her own running mate early this week.
Balachandran said he believes her chances of becoming the next president are “very high” and voiced confidence in her ability to lead the US, framing her Indian heritage and experience of hailing from a multicultural background as her strength – even as her Republican rivals try to use it to talk her down, with some derogatively branding her a “DEI hire”.
“Her steadfast belief and commitment to her principles will help her lead the US to its full potential, hopefully,” he said.
“Her experience of India as one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world, with multiple major religions, languages, and customs, will help her guide the US also in attaining its potential as a country with multiple nationalities, languages, and customs.”
The vice president has often spoken of the importance of her Indian heritage and her family back in India, especially her grandfather Painganadu Venkataraman Gopalan, who she has called her “favorite person in the world”.
Locals back in Thulasendrapuram village in Tamil Nadu, where her grandfather was born, feel that the family has not forgotten its roots.
Back when Harris was elected vice president, the village saw it as a matter of pride and celebration. Writing for The Independent in November 2020, Balachandran said he hoped to one day see his niece go on to take the highest office. “It is a matter of great family pride,” he said at the time.
Fast forward four years and in the days after Harris launched her presidential campaign, a collection of giant blue posters appeared in the village adorned with her face, each wishing her – in the local Tamil language – luck for November’s election.
Harris was the first person of color to become the vice president. If she wins in November, she will be the first woman, woman of color and Indian American ever to be US president.
Speaking about the symbolism of a woman of Indian origin potentially becoming the US president, Balachandran said the impact “will be more in the US than in India.”
“India had a woman prime minister long before!” he said.
“On the other hand, the symbolism [in the US] will be very high and important, especially amongst girls from the Black, Indian American, and other minority communities.”
He added that for Indians in India, her win would perhaps also mean “some greater appreciation and understanding of their view of the US as an open society with full opportunities for immigrants and their own views on immigrants.”
Regardless of the excitment about Harris among the general public in India, how much her victory in November could impact the US-India relationship is yet to be seen.
As an expert on Indo-American relations and security in the Asia-Pacific region, Balachandran believes “how the India-US relationship develops depends as much on India as on the US, not all on US”.
Harris has not visited India since she became vice president – but she has previously indicated unease with the Narendra Modi government’s approach to the thorny issue of Kashmir, saying in 2019 that it was up to America “to remind Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world”.
“I do not foresee any major policy change on US towards India,” Balachandran told The Independent, adding: “Except, perhaps, some more emphasis on human rights issues.”
Man kills neighbour for taunting him about being single
A man in Indonesia killed his neighbour for persistently asking why he wasn’t married, police said.
Parlindungan Siregar, 45, attacked Asgim Irianto, 60, a retired civil servant, with a piece of wood around 8pm on 29 July, the Straits Times reported. The incident took place in Tapanuli Selatan in northern Sumatra.
Assistant police commissioner Maria Marpaung said on 31 July that Mr Irianto ran out after Siregar attacked him but fell down after he was hit on the head. Siregar continued hitting him until their neighbours intervened.
They took Mr Irianto to a local community health centre but he died on the way.
Siregar was arrested shortly after and admitted to plotting his neighbour’s murder, Ms Marpaung said. She added: “He was determined to beat Mr Asgim to death because of the frequent taunts about his single status.”
Police said the neighbours didn’t share a particularly cordial relationship. They would argue over their chickens going into each other’s coops.
Last month, a man in Indonesia allegedly stabbed his friend to death after they got into an argument over which came first, the chicken or the egg.
The suspect, identified only as DR, stabbed Kadir Markus from Muna Regency in South East Sulawesi province at least 15 times after they got into a heated argument over the riddle on 24 July.
Surgeon sued for not telling patient he used ‘experimental’ jaw device
A Melbourne surgeon has been sued for negligence by a patient who claimed that he did not inform her of his “experimental” jaw device during surgery.
Dr George Dimitroulis is facing a lawsuit from a former patient who says he did not fully disclose the risks associated with her 2018 jaw surgery or reveal that the device, called OMX prosthesis, was experimental.
The patient has claimed that Dr Dimitroulis used a classification system he created to diagnose her condition as severe enough to require surgery. She claimed this system was not widely used by other surgeons and that less invasive treatments were available.
The unidentified patient has also alleged that the surgery resulted in chronic pain and inability to work, The Guardian reported.
Dr Dimitroulis, in his defence filed on 16 July, has denied the allegations and said that he followed accepted medical practices and discussed known risks with the patient.
“At all relevant times he acted in a manner that was widely accepted in Australia by a significant number of respected practitioners as competent professional practice,” his lawyer’s statement said.
An amended statement of claim filed on 21 June by law firm Slater & Gordon on behalf of the patient said Dr Dimitroulis wrote a research paper proposing a new classification system for diagnosing temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders to determine which patients required surgery for it.
The paper was published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2013.
The claim alleged that the doctor used his classification system to diagnose the patient and suggested surgery as the only option available to her.
The patient has claimed that Dr Dimitroulis did not inform her that the surgery might not work or that it could leave her jaw condition worse.
The claims have been denied by the doctor’s defence team.
Dr Dimitroulis is described on his website as a “globally recognised surgeon and author” who “has been invited all over the world as a guest and keynote speaker by various national and international organisations spanning five continents to present topics ranging from TMJ surgery to surgical research”.
It notes that “he is the inventor of almost a dozen groundbreaking craniomaxillofacial medical devices including the TMJ Arthrojaw and Osseoframe”.
The Independent has reached out to Dr Dimitroulis for comment.
According to Medical News Today, “Temporomandibular joint disorder surgery can reduce pain and improve jaw functioning” but “doctors use this treatment as a last resort because there’s a lack of research on its safety and effectiveness”.
Kim Jong-un shows off delivery of new 250 missile launchers
North Korea is deploying 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers on its border with South Korea, a move that is set to escalate tensions in the region.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a ceremony to deliver the new weapons system to the military on Sunday. Photos published by state media outlet Rodong Sinmun showed dozens of military trucks lined up in neat rows before the leader.
At the ceremony, marked by massive fireworks, Mr Kim described the new missile launchers as an “up-to-date tactical attack weapon” that he had “personally designed”.
“Dialogue or confrontation can be our choice, but what we must be more thoroughly prepared for is confrontation,” Mr Kim said, adding that it was a “keynote of our policy towards the US that we have consistently maintained”.
“If the US ignores our repeated warnings and continues to attempt to undermine the security of the region,” he warned, “it will have dire consequences for its own security”.
Although photos published by state media such as KCNA showed dozens of vehicles and trucks equipped with launchers positioned behind the driver’s cab, it was unclear if any contained functioning missiles.
Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said it was hard to determine if any missiles were actually loaded at the ceremony. “It would seem unlikely and illogical based on practicality and safety,” he was quoted as saying by American broadcaster CNN.
North Korea is growing its arsenal of mobile short-range weapons aimed at overwhelming missile defences in neighbouring South Korea, while also advancing its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles it claims are capable of reaching the US.
The country showcased some of these new missiles during a drill in June. They included Hwasongpho 11Da tactical ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying a 4.5-tonne “super-large warhead”.
Pyongyang launched two ballistic missiles during the drill, South Korea said, with one flying 600km and the other 120km.
The border between the Koreas is heavily fortified, with Pyongyang asserting it has extensive artillery and military equipment aimed at the South.
Lee Sung-joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they believed the missile launchers were “intended to be used in various ways such to attack or threaten South Korea”. Their deployment near the border would mean the range was not long, he added.
Koh Yu-hwan, emeritus professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, noted that while Pyongyang had ramped up the rhetoric it had fallen short of strategic provocations.
“South Korea and the US are set to hold a major military exercise in August,” he said. “North Korea is making these remarks as a response to such military exercises.”
Seoul and Washington conduct an annual joint military exercise, known as “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, in August.
Pyongyang has consistently condemned the drills as rehearsals for an invasion.
North Korea adopted a constitutional policy last September to “exponentially” expand its nuclear weapons programme.
The aim was to “ensure the country’s right to existence and development, deter war and protect regional and global peace by rapidly developing nuclear weapons to a higher level”, KCNA reported.
Additional reporting by agencies.
Egyptian archaeologists uncover rare untouched gold treasures
Archaeologists have uncovered dozens of tombs in an ancient Egyptian necropolis containing burials at least 2,500 years old, along with rare untouched gold treasures.
Unlike most ancient Egyptian treasures from millennia ago that have been looted by grave robbers, the latest site was found to contain a hoard of untouched bronze coins, gold foil and ancient figurines representing deities such as Isis, Bastet, and Horus.
Undamaged artefacts like pottery vessels, funerary amulets, and scarabs found along with the treasures throw fresh light on the customs and rituals followed by ancient Egyptians of this era, says Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.
For decades, researchers have been carrying out excavation projects at a site in Tel el-Deir near Lebanon, found to be an ancient cemetery, or necropolis.
In 2019, archaeologists found seven gold coins dating to the Byzantine period between 284 to 641 AD, and statues engraved with the name of King Psamtik II of the 26th Dynasty.
Excavations over the years culminated in the discovery of a vast burial complex in 2022, dating to between 644 and 525 BCE.
This necropolis dated to the Late Period of ancient Egypt hosts several kinds of burials, being the final resting place of the bodies of humbler common citizens as well as those of the rich.
At the site, researchers previously uncovered miniature canopic jars, vessels into which a dead person’s organs were placed during mummification.
Tombs here were made of mud brick in the case of common folk and limestone in the case of wealthier individuals.
Surprisingly, archaeologists also unearthed 38 bronze coins in a ceramic jar at the site dated to the Ptolemaic dynasty, which lasted several hundred years after the complex was built from from 305 to 30 BC.
Along with this finding, an architectural layout of the complex unearthed during the dig may lead to re-dating of an important period for the ancient Egyptian city of Damietta, researchers say.
Overall, the unearthed artefact shed better light on the craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptians as well as their access to materials via trade.
Together, these findings hint that Damietta was an important commercial hub for a significant period in the history of ancient Egypt.
Asia stocks plunge as fears of recession grow
Taiwan’s stock exchange has called an urgent press conference to calm investor fears after markets in many major Asian economies plunged on Monday.
Stocks fell over seven per cent in morning trade in Taiwan, with tech shares, including of TSMC, nosediving as investors sold off their stakes in one of Asia’s top performing markets this year.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged 12.4 per cent later in the day, closing down 4,451 points at 31,458 on Monday amid fears of a recession in the US.
South Korea’s Kospi also plunged by over seven per cent while Singapore’s Straits Times Index and Australia’s All Ordinaries slid more than three per cent, reported Nikkei Asia.
A recent report showing that hiring by US employers last month slowed more than expected has convulsed financial markets, countering the euphoria that had taken the Nikkei to an all-times high of over 42,000 in recent weeks.
The Nikkei 225 has also dropped 5.8 per cent on Friday, making this its worst two-day decline ever.
Its worst single-day rout was a plunge of 3,836 points, or 14.9 per cent, on a day dubbed “Black Monday” in October 1987.
Share prices have fallen since the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. The Nikkei is now down 3.8 per cent from a year ago.
A key factor that prompted the interest rate hike was prolonged weakness of the Japanese yen, which pushed inflation to above the central bank’s two per cent inflation target.
Early on Monday, the dollar was trading at ¥142.39 (¥187.6 to the pound), down from 146.45 late on Friday and sharply below the mark of ¥160 a few weeks ago.
Investors are selling Japanese stocks due to concerns about the US market heading towards a recession, said Naka Matsuzawa, chief strategist at Nomura Securities.
“The fall is not really happening due to Japan-specific reasons,” he told Nikkei Asia. “Markets are still trying to find the bottom.”
He suggested taking a “wait and see approach” until US stocks show resilience.
Taiwan’s Taiex lost 8.4 per cent as the TSMC, the world’s biggest chip maker, dropped 9.8 per cent.
Explaining the drop, Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital, told Bloomberg: “We are basically seeing a mass deleveraging as investors sell assets to fund their losses. The rapidity of the move has caught me off guard; there’s a lot of panic selling now, which is what causes these non-linear reactions in asset prices to pretty straightforward fundamental dynamics.”
Stocks tumbled around the world on Friday after weaker than expected employment data fuelled worries that the US economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to tame inflation.
Israeli shares fell sharply, reflecting the threat of an attack from Iran in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
The benchmark TA-35 stock index fell as much as 2.7 per cent, reported Bloomberg.
Ronen Menchem, chief markets economist at Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd, attributed the slump to sharp drops in the US as well as to security tensions in Israel. He cautioned that the market is expected to be “very nervous” in the region.
Additional reporting by agencies
Australia raises national terror threat level
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has raised the country’s terrorism threat level from “possible” to “probable” amid a worrying spread of extremism in the country.
The country’s intelligence agencies have disrupted eight possible terror incidents in just the last four months, according to spy chief Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
“Probable” is the midpoint of the country’s five-tier National Terrorism Threat Advisory System, which has been set at warning an attack could be “possible” since November 2022. Prior to that it was set to “probable” for eight years running.
Mr Albanese told a press conference that the decision reflected intelligence about the current climate of extremism in Australia, rather than any specific known threat.
“I want to reassure Australians probable does not mean inevitable, and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger,” the prime minister said.
“The advice that we’ve received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant.”
Mr Burgess warned that the security environment in Australia had become more volatile as “more Australians are being radicalised and radicalised more quickly … (and) embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies.
He added: “More Australians are willing to use violence to advance their cause.”
“Provocative inflammatory behaviours are being normalised,” he said. “This trend increased during Covid and gained momentum after the terrorist attacks on Israel and accelerated during Israel’s military response. Individuals are embracing anti-authority ideologies, conspiracy theories and diverse grievances.”
The prime minister also asked lawmakers in the country to watch their language. “When the temperature of the security environment is rising, we must lower the temperature of debate – something I’ve been saying for some time. Our words and our actions matter.”
Mr Albanese said: “Living in a country as stable and open as ours, social cohesion cannot be taken for granted, it must be nourished and it must be cherished as a national asset.”
The ASIO said it had intercepted or responded to eight alleged terrorist attacks since April. Among these incidents was the Wakeley church stabbing in western Sydney, where a bishop was stabbed during a live-streamed sermon.
A “probable” terror rating indicates there is credible intelligence suggesting that individuals or groups have both the intent and capability to carry out an attack. The five-tier system ranges from “certain” to “not expected”.
Mark Dreyfus, the attorney general, said: “This is a return to the same national terrorism threat level that was in place in Australia for more than eight years. This return to a national terrorism threat level of ‘probable’ was informed by ASIO’s expert assessment of our current security environment.”
He added: “The director-general has outlined the dynamics that have raised the temperature of the security environment, but he has also said that these threats are not insurmountable. As the director-general and the prime minister have said, it does not mean that there is any imminent threat of terrorist attack in Australia.
“Rather, it means that ASIO’s experts in the national threat assessment centre have assessed current intelligence and made a decision that reflects our current security environment. I want to reassure the public that ASIO and our law enforcement partners are working hard to detect terrorist threats and are well-practised at disrupting them.”