Imran Khan’s party says top politicians arrested after clashes
Top politicians from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were arrested from outside parliament, a day after the party issued a two-week ultimatum for the release of the jailed former prime minister.
Tens of thousands of supporters came out on the streets around Islamabad on Sunday to demand the release of Mr Khan. The rallies, which were mostly peaceful, turned violent after some of the members clashed with the police, according to reports.
On Monday, an Islamabad police spokesperson confirmed that they arrested PTI president Gohar Khan, lawmaker Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, and advocate Shoaib Shaheen.
PTI told The Independent that at least 13 politicians were arrested in what they condemned as a “despicable” and “vicious” act.
Videos circulating on social media showed police taking Gohar Khan out of his vehicle before whisking him off to a police station.
“The way this illegitimate military government violated the sanctity of the House of Pakistan on 10 September, once again trampling on the constitution and law of Pakistan, is condemnable,” PTI said in a statement on X.
Mr Khan is lodged in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi while he contests a series of legal challenges mostly involving corruption charges, all of which his supporters denounce as being politically motivated. He has been acquitted or granted bail in many of the most serious cases.
Mr Khan was cleared of exposing state secrets for disclosing a diplomatic cable at a 2022 political rally, and he and his wife were acquitted of unlawful marriage charges in July.
However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested him in a new case this July relating to the illegal sale of state gifts.
The PTI alleged that the ruling coalition government was involved in an “unconstitutional and undemocratic process to maintain their illegitimate power”.
The crackdown on the PTI leadership came after the lawmakers issued an ultimatum to the government in their fiery speeches, saying the people will march on Lahore if Mr Khan is not released in two weeks time.
“These people, who erected the containers, whose police charged you with batons, I want them to listen [that] we are coming to Lahore,” Mr Marwat had reportedly said at the rally.
Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, the chief minister of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reportedly told a charged crowd: “If Imran Khan is not released within two weeks, then we ourselves will have him released.”
Authorities said charges will be brought against Mr Gandapur for the two-week ultimatum and allegedly inciting people to violence.
Zulfi Bukhari, Mr Khan’s spokesperson, condemned the crackdown on the party’s top leaders and supporters, calling it “a knee-jerk reaction” to the gathering of people in “huge numbers”.
He said Mr Gandapur became incommunicado for over six hours after reports of him being picked up by the police. He has now returned to Peshawar.
He also said the party leaders were arrested because they “took a firm stance” demanding the politician’s release.
Mr Khan’s PTI is at odds with the ruling Shehbaz Sharif government since the former star cricketer, 72, was ousted in a no-confidence motion. He alleged that his ouster was orchestrated by Pakistan’s powerful army at the behest of the US. The army and the US denied the allegation.
He was the prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022.
Mr Khan and his party were barred from contesting the national election in February which was alleged to have been rigged. Candidates aligned with the party, forced to contest independently, still won most seats in the parliament but not enough to form the government.
Pakistan’s parliament hurriedly passed the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024 last week to regulate and ban public gatherings in Islamabad. The bill, which was made into law in less than a week after being tabled in Senate, has been criticised as “draconian legislation” to crackdown on protesters.
Amnesty International said the law is “to criminalize peaceful protest and suppress the expression of dissent” and demanded that the Pakistani government repeal it.
“Rather than attempting to bring the existing restrictive legal framework in line with international human rights law and standards, the Government of Pakistan has shown inordinate speed in ensuring the passage of the new bill,” said Babu Ram Pant, deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
“The law expands the power of the authorities to restrict or ban assemblies in Islamabad on overbroad grounds, including the ‘disruption of daily activities’, and significantly increases the maximum penalty for taking part in an ‘unlawful assembly’ from six months to three years imprisonment,” Mr Pant said.
Bizarre Australian campaign asks you to visualise Taylor Swift pooing
The Queensland health department is getting praise online for its latest campaign to tackle a potentially embarrassing problem – what to do when you need to poop at work.
The campaign was launched on various social media platforms and received enthusiastic response everywhere. A video on Instagram, featuring the statement “It’s okay to poo at work” overlaid on a montage of Lisa Frank images of dolphins, rainbows and unicorns and set to Neick Sanders’s song “Symphony”, received over 25,000 likes and thousands of comments.
The campaign on Facebook took a simpler approach. A post simply said: “Pooing at work. Discuss.”
And discuss people did, as the post got over 5,000 likes and 3,600 comments.
Despite the novel approach, the health department’s messaging is fairly direct. The posts carry important public health messages in their captions, cautioning that “ignoring your need to poop” can lead to “serious issues”.
“Lots of people find it difficult to poo in public toilets. But we’re here to tell you it’s definitely okay to go number 2 at work!” reads the caption.
“Consistently ignoring your need to poo can lead to stool getting stuck in your colon, haemorrhoids and other serious issues. So, it’s better to let it out than hold it in.
“If you find it extremely difficult to poo around other people, you might have parcopresis. Sometimes called ‘poo paranoia’, people with this condition have an overwhelming fear of being judged by others because of the sounds or smells associated with pooing. As a result, they may experience symptoms like increased heart rate, sweating or nausea.”
Along with the safety messaging, the health department gave tips so readers can have a “stress-free public toilet poo”.
They include remembering that everyone poops and trying to “visualise someone famous on the toilet (like Taylor Swift)”.
Other suggestions include bringing a small fragrance spray into the toilet, avoiding eating foods that “might trigger your bowels”, and breathing deeply or doing a short meditation exercise to rid oneself of the anxiety.
The health department’s quirky messaging seemed to have landed well with its audience, with a Facebook user even suggesting, “All workplaces should have a radio at a good volume in bathrooms”.
“Do it on company time and get paid to poop,” commented one Instagram user.
“In the words of the great Whitney Houston, it’s not right but it’s okay,” said another.
Several commenters recommended that the health department’s social media manager be given a raise.
Some users, though, were left unsure about what to do with the knowledge that Swift, like everyone else, poops.
“I don’t know who the dedicated Instagram person is for QLD health but, my god, you are doing a great job and you need a pay rise,” said one Instagram user.
Another said: “Did the government just put an image of Taylor Swift pooping in my brain?”
Dee Madigan, the founder and creative director of advertising agency Campaign Edge, described the health department’s social media account as “world-leading”.
“Just starting to talk about it, everyone has those secret conversations with people. I think what it shows is a department where the staff feel not scared to do stuff like this because often government departments’ social media is so safe, it’s actually just bland and boring,” she told The Guardian.
“It is actually a serious message, they’re just using social media in the correct way to deliver it … Just because something’s a serious topic doesn’t mean you can’t use humour to get into it.”
India says mpox case not linked to current global health emergency
India on Tuesday clarified that its first new mpox case involved the older strain of the virus and not the deadlier one linked to the current global health emergency.
The health ministry said the mpox strain found in a young man who had arrived from an affected country was not from the current outbreak.
It was the Clade 2 strain and not Clade 1 linked to the current public health emergency declared by the WHO.
Clade 2 caused a public health emergency in 2022 but was deemed relatively mild. Clade 1 has a high fatality rate and a mutant strain of it, Clade 1b, has spread rapidly.
India has not reported any case of the new strain yet, but has issued a national advisory to remain vigilant.
The health ministry directed state governments to have senior officials review public health preparedness, especially at medical facilities. It was “crucial”, however, to guard against “undue panic”, the ministry added.
“A young male patient, who recently travelled from a country experiencing mpox transmission has been identified as a suspect case of mpox,” the ministry said earlier.
The patient, 26, from Hisar in the northern state of Haryana, was admitted in a Delhi hospital after testing positive for Clade 2.
“The case is being managed in line with established protocols and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country,” the ministry said.
The WHO last month declared mpox, previously called monkeypox, a “public health emergency of international concern,” its highest alert level.
It urged member states to support a $135m plan to combat the virus’s spread following concerns from doctors about the new, deadlier Clade 1b strain which has affected several African countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Central African Republic.
Sweden reported Europe’s first case of Clade 1b on 15 August. In Asia, Thailand reported the first such case on 22 August and Pakistan and the Philippines each reported suspected cases thereafter.
Chinese city sees ‘underwear falling from sky’ after cloud seeding
Heavy gusts of winds swept through a central Chinese city, sending people’s laundry flying, after authorities artificially stimulated rainfall to break a severe heatwave.
The unexpected winds of up to 122kmph in Chongqing, dubbed the “9/2 Chongqing underwear crisis”, prompted speculation that cloud seeding was responsible for the scattering of laundry left out to dry in highrise apartments.
Southwestern China has been suffering under an unusually late heatwave, with temperatures ranging between 35-40C, shutting down schools and delaying the start of the autumn season.
In an attempt to break the heat, local authorities are reported to have stimulated artificial rain, a technique known as cloud seeding. Cloud seeding involves dispersing chemicals like silver iodide into clouds to trigger rainfall.
In China, the authorities have admitted they used cloud seeding to generate rainfall, but maintain that it did not cause the subsequent strong winds. Nearly 200 cloud-seeding rockets were fired, resulting in rain.
Zhang Yixuan, deputy director of the Chongqing Weather Modification Office, attributed the strong winds to naturally occurring convection.
Residents remained sceptical, sharing their experiences on social media. “I just went out and it suddenly started to rain heavily and underwear fell from the sky,” a resident named Ethele said on Weibo.
The incident sparked thousands of comments about the “underwear crisis”. A hashtag suggesting “if you think you messed up at work, just think of the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau” garnered 18 million engagements, reported The Guardian.
First developed in the 1940s, cloud seeding has been utilised in over 50 nations worldwide, including China, the US, Australia, Thailand, and Russia, though its possible side effects remain poorly studied.
Earlier this year the UAE was hit by a year’s worth of rainfall in just a few days, prompting speculation that the freak weather event was caused by “cloud seeding”, though experts cited global warming as a more likely contributing factor.
Cloud seeding has long been met with scepticism, as many scientists question its overall effectiveness and potential unintended consequences. While there is limited understanding of the changes it can bring to weather such as altering wind patterns, a study in the United Arab Emirates has previously shown that cloud seeding operations led to an increase in urban flooding.
In a separate development, China’s Meteorological Administration conducted a cloud structure detection experiment in Xinjiang’s Bayanbulak area from 29 August to 3 September, utilising a big drone to enhance cloud-seeding capacity and improve ecological conditions, Xinhua reported. The drone, with a 20.2m wingspan, can fly for up to 40 hours and cover 8,000km.
According to Cai Miao, a staff member at the agency, the drone’s detection system enables precise identification of precipitation timing and conditions, boosting cloud seeding capacity.
“Deploying drones in precipitation operations improves regional ecological environment, vegetation growth, and water conservation capacity,” Mr Cai said.
The Independent will be revealing its Climate100 List in September and hosting an event in New York, which can be attended online.
Fukushima begins trial removal of nuclear debris sample from reactor
A robotic mission to retrieve a sample of melted radioactive debris from Fukushima Daiichi’s reactor resumed on Tuesday, marking a crucial step in the decades-long decommissioning process.
The “pilot extraction operation” has started, said Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) in a statement.
A 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami ravaged parts of Japan’s northeastern coast on 11 March 2011, killing about 20,000 people. When the tsunami struck, three of the six reactors at the Fukushima plant were active, causing them to melt down. The resulting debris is extremely radioactive, requiring Tepco to create special robots that can withstand the high levels of radiation.
The extendable robot, nicknamed “telesco”, aims to collect a tiny fragment of the spent fuel debris, estimated to be around 880 tonnes, to inform future cleanup methods.
The operation, initially delayed due to a technical issue, involves inserting the robot into the damaged reactor to collect a sample using a device equipped with tongs.
The mission, resuming after three weeks, is expected to last around 14 days, with the robot operating remotely.
The mission to collect a sample from the plant was supposed to start on 22 August, but it was delayed after workers found that the pipes used to guide the robot were in the wrong order and couldn’t be fixed in time.
Telesco is designed to collect a piece of melted fuel from inside of the Unit 2 damaged reactor. It can extend up to 22m to reach the target area.
The mix-up, which Tepco called a “basic mistake”, triggered disappointment and raised concerns from officials and local residents. Industry minister Ken Saito ordered Tepco president Tomoaki Kobayakawa to conduct a thorough investigation of the cause and preventive steps before resuming the mission, stating, “we must ensure that such a basic mistake does not happen again”.
The pipes were brought into the reactor building in July, but nobody checked them until the problem was discovered. The president of the plant’s operator, Tepco, admitted that the mistake was due to a lack of attention and communication between workers.
The goal of the operation is to bring back less than 3g of fatally radioactive fuel that remain in three reactors.
Experts highlight the significance of this operation, as the retrieved sample will provide vital data for developing future decommissioning methods and necessary technology. “This sample will help us understand the condition of the melted fuel and how to remove it safely,” said a nuclear expert.
However, critics argue that the 30 to 40-year cleanup target set by the government and Tepco is unrealistic, with no specific plans for the full removal and storage of the melted fuel debris. “The lack of a clear plan and timeline raises concerns about the project’s feasibility,” said a local resident.
Additional reporting from agencies
Protests in 130 cities over rape and murder of Kolkata doctor
Thousands of people took to the streets worldwide on Sunday to mark one month of protests seeking justice for a doctor who was raped and killed inside a hospital in eastern India.
The protests erupted after the trainee doctor, 31, was found dead on 9 August at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. An autopsy confirmed sexual assault.
A suspect was arrested and identified as Sanjay Roy, a civil volunteer associated with the Kolkata police. The Central Bureau of Investigation, a federal agency, took over the case amid calls for a transparent inquiry and arrested the former principal of the college, Sandip Ghosh, over corruption charges.
Thousands of people have staged protests every day in Kolkata since the doctor’s murder demanding justice and better safety for healthcare workers.
The protests turned global on Sunday as diaspora Indians staged demonstrations in some 130 cities across 25 countries. The protests started in Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, before spreading to cities in Europe and the US.
“The news of this heinous crime committed on a young trainee doctor while on duty numbed and shocked each of us at the sheer ruthlessness, brutality and disregard of human life,” Dipti Jain, an organiser of the worldwide protests, told Reuters.
In Dublin, 56km east of San Francisco in California, the protesters formed a human chain, shouting slogans and waving placards that read “We demand justice” and “Shout it loud, shout it far, justice for RG Kar”.
People across ages recited poems and took part in a street play. “While we do want women’s safety, this is about the safety of everyone at their workplaces,” said Sukalpa Chowdhury, 39, a physician who joined the Dublin protest.
In Sweden, scores of protesters, mainly women, gathered at the Sergels Torg square in Stockholm and sang songs in Bengali and held signs.
The crime had sparked widespread street protests and a nationwide strike by doctors that disrupted hospital services in several cities across India.
In West Bengal, the protests turned violent last month after police clashed with members of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which was calling for chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation.
The protesting doctors have been demanding better amenities in public hospitals, like resting spaces for staff, as well as speedy ratification of a law for protection of healthcare workers.
Though most doctors have since resumed work, those at RG Kar and some other hospitals have continued the strike.
The Supreme Court on Monday told the protesting doctors to resume work by Tuesday, warning of “adverse action” if they didn’t.
“The doctors cannot be oblivious to the needs of the general community whom they are intended to serve,” said chief justice DY Chandrachud.
The court said no “adverse action” would be taken against doctors who returned to work by Tuesday evening.
It also directed the state government to assure the doctors that their concerns were being addressed, not least by providing separate duty rooms and toilets for male and female staff and installing surveillance cameras.
The court last month formed a hospital safety task force to recommend steps to ensure the safety of medical workers in the country.
At least 87 dead as Typhoon Yagi tears through Vietnam
Typhoon Yagi has killed at least 87 people in northern Vietnam as Asia’s most powerful storm this year brought heavy rains, landslides and flooding.
The death toll has continued to rise since the storm caused widespread destruction over the weekend, leaving hundreds injured and dozens others missing, the state media reported.
Yagi made landfall on Vietnam’s northeastern coast on Saturday, after lashing China and the Philippinesand bringing torrential rains and strong winds that disrupted power and telecommunications, particularly in Quang Ninh and Haiphong provinces.
On Monday, a bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by the floodwaters, state media reported, as more rain battered the region, raising concerns of continued danger.
Rainfall levels ranged from 208mm to 433mm (8.2 to 17.1 inches) in various parts of the affected region, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Water levels in several northern rivers have reached dangerous levels, posing further risks of flash floods and structural damage.
Yagi weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday but was expected to lash Vietnam with more rain. In a warning on Monday, the weather agency predicted further flooding and landslides, with heightened risks in northern provinces like Lang Son, Cao Bang, Yen Bai, and Thai Nguyen.
“Floods and landslides are damaging the environment and threatening people’s lives,” the centre said in a statement.
Among the casualties was a family of four, killed when heavy rain triggered a hillside collapse onto their home in the mountainous Hoa Binh province.
Six people, including a newborn baby and a one year old, died in a landslide in the Hoang Lien Son mountains.
“We found the six bodies, including a one-year-old boy and a newborn, in the landslide,” a local official from the Sapa people’s committee, who asked not to be named, told Agence France-Presse.
“The rain was heavy, weakening the soil and triggering [the] landslide.”
Other fatalities occurred in storm-related incidents, with people being crushed by falling trees or swept away by drifting boats, the defense ministry’s disaster management agency reported.
In the sea, 30 vessels sank amid violent winds and waves at boat lock areas in Quang Ninh province along Ha Long Bay, a Unesco World Heritage site.
On land, nearly 3,300 homes and over 120,000 hectares of crops were damaged.
In addition to the human toll, local fishers were left surveying severe damage to their boats and equipment in the wake of the storm.
Before hitting Vietnam, Yagi also ravaged parts of southern China and the Philippines. It left at least 24 people dead and dozens more injured in the Philippines.
It also led to evacuation of over 400,000 people in Hainan.
Experts have noted a concerning trend in the behavior of typhoons in the region, with storms now forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and lingering over land for longer periods due to the effects of climate change. A recent study, published in July, warns of increasing risks as climate patterns continue to evolve.
The Independent will be revealing its Climate100 List in September and hosting an event in New York, which can be attended online.
Malaysian boy hailed as a hero for rescuing rabbits from fire
A boy in Malaysia is being praised for the heroic act of risking his life to save two rabbits from a fire.
The boy, identified only as Jason, can be seen in a viral video climbing a concrete wall to reach a rabbit cage to rescue the trapped animals in Selangor state.
He balances on shrubs and tree branches growing out of the wall to reach the cage as a massive fire rages just metres away in an outdoor parking space in the Kajang Utama area.
The rescue operation was filmed by wedding planner Balanagamma Punaimuthi, who was on her way to work when she noticed the place was on fire.
There were two rabbits still trapped but no one was helping them, she told Star News.
Ms Balanagamma, 32, said she and her husband called her cousin, Jason, to help them free the rabbits. The boy arrived at the scene with tools to cut open the cage and rescue the animals.
“Pull it out fast. Leave it down it will be safe,” she can be heard directing the boy in the background. “Come down quickly,” she screams as the fire intensifies.
“My cousin was slightly burnt on his hands, but we were very happy that the rabbits were saved,” Ms Balanagamma said.
She took the rabbits home and saw that one had suffered burn injuries. She nursed the animals before returning them to their owners. “We love animals, and also have pet rabbits of our own,” she said.
“You are a hero, thanks for saving them,” a TikTok user commented under the video, referring to Jason.
Another person said: “Thank you, kindhearted person. You are the real hero.”