Protesters seize iconic Indian bridge in march after doctor’s death
Protests brought an eastern Indian city to a standstill on Tuesday as police used teargas and water cannons to disperse thousands of people demanding the chief minister’s resignation.
The protest march was the latest in a series of ongoing demonstrations in West Bengal following the rape and murder of a resident doctor at a state-run hospital in the state’s capital.
The doctor, 31, was found dead with visible marks of abuse in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata city on 9 August. An autopsy confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted.
Police arrested a civil volunteer associated with the city’s police, Sanjay Roy, before the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, a federal agency, amid calls for an unbiased probe.
In the course of Tuesday’s demonstration, called by a student group, the protesters broke through barricades set up by police to stop their march to the state secretariat.
“We were protesting peacefully and, without provocation, police fired teargas canisters directly at us and used water cannons,” Sayan Lahiri, one of the organisers, told The Independent.
Police had denied permission for the march and blocked the roads leading to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s office as her ruling Trinamool Congress party accused the opposition of stirring unrest.
The organisers claimed the protest was led by students despite supporters of prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party taking part in the rally.
The protesters said they were seeking justice for didi, referring to the victim as elder sister, and action against corruption and political killings in the state.
One of India’s iconic tourist attractions – the Howrah Bridge – turned into a battleground as police in riot gear pushed back the protesters, using batons and teargas.
“There were no party flags. Some were carrying the national flag, which the police snatched and threw on the streets,” Mr Lahiri, 30, said.
“This movement will continue and grow till she steps down,” he added, referring to the chief minister. “People in the state are in distress. This cannot continue.”
More than 6,000 police personnel were deployed in Kolkata and its neighbouring city, Howrah, turning the areas around the secretariat into a fortress.
Four student activists were arrested ahead of the rally, police said, accusing them of trying to orchestrate widespread violence.
“Police used unnecessary brute force against us today. The people of West Bengal will not take this lightly,” said a 35-year-old proteste, who didn’t want to be named.
Police officers suffered injuries as well.
In the days since the doctor’s killing, public anger has boiled over into nationwide outrage and stirred protests.
Junior doctors have refused to see non-emergency patients in many parts of the country and launched protests demanding justice for the victim and greater safety for women at hospitals.
The Supreme Court of India has created a hospital safety task force and requested protesting doctors return to work, but some have refused to budge.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front claimed that Tuesday’s protest did not involve “protesting doctors in any way”.
Mr Modi’s party has extended support to the protesting students, while senior state member Suvendu Adhikari claiming that Ms Banerjee’s administration was trying to suppress the rape and murder incident — a charge the state government has denied.
The party has called a 12-hour statewide strike on Wednesday to protest police action against Tuesday’s demonstration.
Woman dies of panic attack during beef raid in India
A 55-year-old woman died, reportedly of a panic attack, after police raided her home in Bijnor in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to see if she was storing beef, which, it turned out, she wasn’t.
Uttar Pradesh enforces strict laws against cow slaughter, with violations punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs500,000 (£4,500). The state’s anti-cow slaughter law not only bans the animal’s killing, but even the sale and transport of beef.
Cow is considered sacred and worshipped by Hindus, the vast majority of India’s population.
Police reportedly sent four constables to Razia’s house in Khatai village of Bijnor after an informer reportedly said she was keeping beef. Police did not find any beef, however.
The family of Razia, identified by only her first name, alleged that she was scared when policemen stormed their home.
Police, however, claimed that she died of an asthma attack and that her death was unrelated to the raid for beef.
“Razia was an asthma patient and was getting treatment for the same for the last few years,” Jai Bhagwan Singh, a local police officer, claimed.
Bijnor’s police superintendent, Abhishek Jha, told The Indian Express an inquiry had been ordered “and the role of the police informer will also be probed”.
In the past, members of the Muslim minority have been lynched by Hindu mobs based solely on suspicion of cow slaughter.
Razia’s son, identified as Nasim in the media, alleged that his mother died of a panic attack as the policemen misbehaved with the women in their home.
“They ransacked the house while we pleaded that we had not stored anything the government banned. My mother had a panic attack due to the police’s behaviour. We rushed her to the local clinic, where the doctor pronounced her dead,” he said.
Political leaders, including local legislator Manoj Kumar Paras, demanded action against local police.
In the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh, authorities bulldozed the homes of 11 people in June after allegedly finding beef in their refrigerators and cows in their backyards. Police, however, claimed that the homes were demolished for being illegally built, without providing any evidence.
Several Indian states have enacted laws against cow slaughter which critics have said disproportionately target Muslims, who have been victims of state and mob violence and property destruction.
Last year, four members of the right-wing group All India Hindu Mahasabha were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly slaughtering cows to falsely implicate Muslim men. The arrests were made after police uncovered the group’s involvement in filing a false complaint against four Muslim men for alleged cow slaughter.
Hong Kong encourages horny teens to play badminton instead
Authorities in Hong Kong have reportedly asked young boys and girls to play badminton together in an effort to curb sexual urges and other “intimate behaviours”.
A 70-page document published last week by Hong Kong’s Education Bureau on sexual education for both students and teachers teaches adolescents the relationship between love and sex, importance of boundaries, how to cope with sexual impulses, and what could happen if one were to act on these impulses.
“It is normal for people to have sexual fantasies and desires, but we must recognise that we are the masters of our desires and should think twice before acting, and control our desires instead of being controlled by them,” the document said.
“Lovers who are unable to cope with the consequences of premarital sex, such as unwed marital pregnancy, legal consequences and emotional distress, should firmly refuse to have sex before marriage.”
Along with the guide, students are also given a “commitment form” to create defined limits within a relationship, where they would pledge to control sexual impulses and aim to develop “self-discipline, self-control, and resistance to pornography”.
The document laid out various situations and offered suggestions to the students on what they could do to distract themselves.
For example, if one couple chanced upon another indulging in sexual behaviour, the former should try “leaving the scene immediately” or “enjoying the sight of flowers and trees in the park”.
Another example stated that a boy and girl studying together should “go out to play badminton together in a sports hall” if they got aroused.
The document promoted avoiding any kind of “publications or media” that led to sexual desires and recommended that students avoid “sexy clothing” that could lead to “visual stimulation”.
While the new teaching guide attracted criticism from lawmakers and educators, the internet had a field day with it. Some suggested that “Do you want to play badminton with me?” replace “Do you want to come over to watch Netflix and chill?” – common euphemism for sex – and “friends with benefits” become “friends with badminton.”
In a post on social media, legislator Doreen Kon said while sex education was important, asking students to sign a form was “not the best way”.
“How can [people] book a court on such short notice to play badminton?” Kong wrote in Chinese, on Facebook, questioning how students were meant to head out to play badminton.
Lawmaker Gary Zhang also questioned the shaming language around premarital sex, and called it “regressive” and “outdated”.
“The progress and enlightenment achieved in societal values today has not been easy. Do we want to regress and allow such outdated thinking to resurface and gain ground once more?” he wrote on Facebook.
Doris Tsz-Wai Chong, the executive director of the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women, said that her organisation was concerned over the “sexy clothing” warning and that it could easily lead to victim blaming.
“Teaching the idea that someone’s choice of clothing can ‘visually stimulate’ or provoke sexual assault perpetuates harmful rape myths,” she said.
Hong Kong’s authorities, however, doubled down and defended the teaching guide.
“We should teach them to take responsibility for themselves correctly, to understand how to take care of themselves and respect others,” said Christine Choi Yuk-lin, Hong Kong’s education secretary.
“When they grow up, they will face a more complex society and environment.
“Our approach is not conservative – we wish to protect the young people and equip them with the right values to face adulthood and the complexity of society … and it’s illegal to have sex with an underaged person.”
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu too supported Ms Choi’s statement and that the government plays a key role in shaping society through education.
“Although people could have very different opinions on the value of education, the government plays a leading role in determining the kind of society it aims to build through education,” Mr Lee said.
Quick-thinking nurse saves life of premature baby delivered mid flight
A nurse in China is being praised for her quick thinking that saved the life of a premature baby born mid-air in the toilet of a plane.
A 26-week pregnant woman gave birth to a girl, who weighed just 820g, in the toilet of a Southern Airlines flight en route to Beijing on 3 August.
Chen Shanshan, a neonatal nurse at the Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital, responded immediately to the emergency call of flight attendants.
The nurse found the mother, surnamed Zhang, holding a palm-sized baby in her hand, who wasn’t breathing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The baby was still wrapped in the fetal membrane, which Ms Chen tore off to help the baby breathe. She was aided by two other doctors on board the flight that departed from Haikou in Hainan province.
Upon failing to feel a pulse, Ms Chen performed CPR on the newborn and gave her supplemental oxygen. She asked the crew members to fetch a hot water bottle and cabin bag to keep the baby warm to prevent the risk of death.
“Premature babies must be kept warm. Even one degree of decrease in body temperature could lead to sepsis, and the mortality rate could rise,” Ms Chen told the broadcaster.
The plane made an emergency landing in Changsha, central Hunan province, for the safety of the mother and her newborn.
Ms Chen continued to perform CPR for more than an hour, till the baby was admitted to the emergency room, according to China Daily. “It was only as I saw the baby taken into the rescue room that I realised my arms were numb,” she said.
The newborn’s father rushed to the Changsha hospital when informed about the birth of his second daughter. He said the infant gained 50gm during her two-week stay at the hospital.
He expressed his gratitude to the nurse through a video message, saying: “Thank you for being there at the critical moment. We will tell our kid and she will remember you forever.”
Ms Chen thanked the two doctors in a comment she left on a social media post. “Without their assistance, I couldn’t have finished this emergency task smoothly,” she wrote.
The airline provided Ms Chen with a letter of thanks for her timely help.
Pakistan reels after militants pull passengers out of buses on major highway and shoot them dead
Armed militants in southwestern Pakistan targeted Punjabis by ordering them out of vehicles on a major highway and shooting them dead.
Between 30 and 40 attackers, reportedly from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), blocked a major road in the Musakhail district and intercepted buses, vans, and trucks travelling between Punjab and Balochistan. They forced passengers off vehicles, checked their identities, and shot 23 of those who identified as Punjabi, in an attack that has shocked the country.
Punjabis, the largest ethnic group in Pakistan, are seen as dominant in the military, which is actively engaged in combating Balochistan’s separatist factions.
“Vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot,” local senior police official Najeeb Kakar was quoted as saying.
The attackers also set fire to at least 10 vehicles, leaving a trail of destruction and panic. They stopped 22 vehicles on the highway.
In a separate incident, gunmen killed at least nine people, including four police officers and five passers-by, in the Qalat district.
The BLA, a separatist militant group active in the region, has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as part of its ongoing campaign against what it terms the “occupying Pakistani military”.
“We have taken full control of all major highways across Balochistan, blocking them completely,” it added.
Earlier, the group warned civilians to avoid highways as they intensified their operations against security personnel in the province. Later, security forces killed at least 12 insurgents.
Monday’s attacks were not the first of their kind, but the incident was among the worst in recent years in Balochistan – a region plagued by ethnic and separatist violence. It followed a pattern of targeted attacks aimed at specific ethnic groups and government forces, exacerbating tensions in Pakistan’s largest but least-developed province.
Several Western countries, including the UK and the US, have classified the BLA as a global terrorist organisation.
Dawn newspaper, citing the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, reported that there were at least 170 militant attacks in Balochistan last year, which killed 151 civilians and 114 security personnel.
More recently, in October last year, unidentified gunmen killed six labourers from Punjab in Kech district in the southern part of Balochistan province, in what police described as a targeted attack based on ethnic background.
In 2019, gunmen stopped a bus near Ormara in the Gwadar district in Balochistan and killed 14 people, including navy, air force, and coast guard personnel, after checking their identity cards.
In 2015, gunmen attacked a labourers’ camp near Turbat in Balochistan, killing 20 construction workers and injuring three others. The victims included workers from Sindh and Punjab.
The ethnic Baloch have frequently protested in the province, accusing the authorities of using excessive force in their efforts to combat militancy. Baloch separatists have also recently increased their attacks on Pakistanis from neighbouring provinces who are working in Balochistan. Pakistan has four provinces – Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh.
“Throughout history, they [the Baloch people, a unique ethno-linguistic group] have been the victims of marginalisation within their respective countries,” says a report in The International Affairs Review.
Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, according to Radio Pakistan. “The terrorists responsible for this incident will be severely punished,” he said.
Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, said the killing of innocent people was “an assault on all of humanity” and demanded that the culprits be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, GeoTV reported that, since the Taliban regained control in Afghanistan in 2021, provinces adjacent to Afghanistan – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan – have experienced an increase in terrorism-related incidents.
‘Lonely’, frustrated dolphin blamed for spate of attacks on beachgoers
A lonely dolphin is believed to be behind a spate of attacks on beachgoers in central Japan, with experts warning that the animal is probably sexually frustrated.
Dolphin attacks have left more than 45 people injured in Wakasa Bay, nearly 200 miles (320km) west of Tokyo, since 2022, with most of the recent ones occurring near the towns of Echizen and Mihama.
After examining photos and videos of some of the attacks from 2022 and 2023, experts concluded that they involved the same male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.
The same animal could be behind this year’s attacks, said Ryoichi Matsubara, director of the Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in Fukui, although he hasn’t reviewed more recent footage yet, The New York Times reported.
The dolphin might be displaying mating behaviour, he said, noting that it was seen attempting “to press his genitals against people” in 2022 and 2023. He added, however, that many injuries occurred as beachgoers approached or tried to touch the dolphin.
Putu Mustika, a marine researcher at James Cook University in Australia, told the newspaper that “dolphins, when they are mating, can be very wild”.
She said that lunging on top of a human could be a sexual act and a sign that this was a “horny, lonely dolphin”.
Ms Mustika noted that the dolphin might naturally be aggressive and grow irritated when people try to touch it.
Tadamichi Morisaka, a cetology professor at Japan’s Mie University, told the BBC: “It is reasonable to assume that it’s the same individual as the wounds on the tail fin are similar to those of the dolphins seen off the coast last year, and it is rare for dolphins, which normally move in groups, to be alone for such a long time.”
A bottlenose dolphin named Moko gained fame in New Zealand in the 2000s for its playful behaviour with swimmers, although it occasionally acted in unsettling ways, like preventing a woman from getting back to shore. In 2018, a French town temporarily banned swimming after a male bottlenose dolphin named Zafar began displaying sexual behaviour by rubbing against swimmers and boats.
Japanese authorities have tried several measures to deter people from getting close to dolphins and to prevent dolphin attacks. They have installed underwater acoustic devices that emit high-frequency sounds to keep the dolphins away, and put up warning signs and distributed flyers cautioning beachgoers that dolphins can bite or drag swimmers into the sea.
They have also reduced swimming hours at some beaches and increased lifeguard patrols.
A few years ago, marine expert Tetsuya Matsuoka, who manages the Notojima Aquarium in Nanao, told Asahi Shimbun: “People have this image of dolphins as cute creatures, but they are wild animals after all. You should not go near them or touch them because they have sharp teeth.”
Philippines accuses China of ramming into supply vessel
China deployed “an excessive force” of 40 ships that blocked two Philippine vessels from delivering food and other supplies to Manila’s largest coast guard ship in a disputed shoal in the latest flare-up of their territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said Tuesday.
China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation on Monday in Sabina Shoal, an uninhabited atoll both countries claim that has become the latest flashpoint in the Spratlys, the most hotly disputed region of the sea passage that is a key global trade and security route.
China and the Philippines have separately deployed coast guard ships to Sabina in recent months on suspicion the other may act to take control of and build structures in the fishing atoll.
The hostilities have particularly intensified between China and the Philippines since last year and Monday’s confrontation was the sixth the two sides have reported in the high seas and in the air. The confrontations have sparked concerns of a larger conflict that could involve the United States, the longtime treaty ally of the Philippines.
The Philippine coastguard said the “excessive force” of Chinese coast guard and navy ships, along with 31 suspected militia vessels, illegally obstructed the delivery of the food supplies, including an ice cream treat for the personnel aboard the BRP Teresa Magbanua as the Philippines marked National Heroes’ Day on Monday.
The Philippine coastguard said it “remains steadfast in our commitment to uphold national interests and ensure the safety and security of our waters” and urged “the China coastguard to abide with the international law and stop deploying maritime forces that could undermine mutual respect, a universally recognized foundation for responsible and friendly relations among coast guards.”
In Beijing, China’s coast guard said that it took control measures against two Philippine coast guard ships that “intruded” into waters near Sabina Shoal. It said in a statement that the Philippine ships escalated the situation by repeatedly approaching a Chinese coast guard ship. The Chinese coast guard did not say what control measures it took.
China has rapidly expanded its military and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. The tensions have led to more frequent confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, though the longtime territorial disputes also involve other claimants, including Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships have collided near Sabina, which Beijing calls Xianbin and Manila refers to as Escoda prior to Monday.
Sabina Shoal lies about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of the Philippine province of Palawan, in the internationally recognized exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
Sabina is near the Second Thomas Shoal, another flashpoint where China has hampered the Philippine delivery of supplies for Filipino forces aboard a long-grounded navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre. Last month, China and the Philippines reached an agreement to prevent increasingly hostile confrontations at the Second Thomas Shoal, allowing a Philippine vessel to deliver food supplies a week later without any hostilities.
Australians have right to ignore work calls and emails in free time
Australian employees can now legally ignore calls and texts from managers after office hours without fear of disciplinary action thanks to their new “right to disconnect”.
With the new rules in force, a worker can refuse to read, monitor or respond to work communication outside of paid working hours, unless deemed unreasonable.
“Just as people don’t get paid 24 hours a day, they don’t have to work for 24 hours a day,” prime minister Anthony Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.
“For many Australians, I think they’re getting frustrated that they’re expected to be on their phones, their emails, all of that, for 24 hours a day,” he said. “It’s a mental health issue, frankly.”
“What this is really about is trying to bring back a bit more work-life balance into people’s lives,” said workplace relations minister Murray Watt. “What we’re asking people to do is just have a bit of respect for people’s private life and recognise that they’re not being paid after hours to take those calls,” he told Sky News.
He argued that junior staff on lower salaries shouldn’t be burdened with after-hours calls for routine matters that can wait until the next day.
“I’m not a CEO, I just feel like I have a high-powered job,” part-time airline customer service worker Lizzy Grant told the Australian Associated Press.
“But really I’m just a bloody customer service officer for an airline – underpaid and overworked,” Ms Grant said.
Rachel Abdelnour, who works in advertising, said the changes would help her disconnect in an industry where clients often have different working hours.
“I think it’s actually really important that we have laws like this,” she told Reuters. “We spend so much of our time connected to our phones, connected to our emails all day, and I think that it’s really hard to switch off as it is.”
Supporters say the law gives workers the confidence to stand up against the steady invasion of their personal lives by work emails, texts and calls, a trend that has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic scrambled the division between home and work.
“Before we had digital technology there was no encroachment, people would go home at the end of a shift and there would be no contact until they returned the following day,” said John Hopkins, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology.
“Now, globally it’s the norm to have emails, SMS, phone calls outside those hours, even when on holiday.”
“Employees will have a definitive end to their working day and no longer carry the burden of continuing to be contactable about work-related matters in their private time, unless certain reasonable exceptions apply,” Dr Gabrielle Golding from the University of Adelaide told the Guardian.
“This result signals a momentous societal shift in the value placed on work and similarly on wellbeing and private time.”
Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, according to a survey last year by the Australia Institute, which estimated the monetary value of the labour at A$130bn (£66bn).
The changes add Australia to a group of roughly two dozen countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America, which have similar laws.
The new rule allows employers to contact employees for emergencies or irregularly scheduled work, but employees can refuse if reasonable. However, in case of dispute, an employee can raise the matter to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that will determine reasonableness based on factors like role, personal circumstances, and contact method.
Non-compliance may result in fines up to A$19,000 (£14,399) for individuals or A$94,000 (£71,237) for companies. The Australian Industry Group criticised the rule’s ambiguity as it predicted confusion, reduced flexibility, and economic slowdown.
“The laws came literally and figuratively out of left field, were introduced with minimal consultation about their practical effect and have left little time for employers to prepare,” the group said on Thursday.
The president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Michele O’Neil said the caveat built into the law meant it won’t interfere with reasonable requests. Instead, it will stop workers paying the price for poor planning by management, she said.
She cited an unidentified worker who finished a shift at midnight, only to be texted four hours later and told to be back at work by 6am.
“It’s so easy to make contact, common sense doesn’t get applied anymore,” she said.
“We think this will cause bosses to pause and think about whether they really need to send that text or that email.”
Additional reporting by agencies