Four people arrested on drug charges in Bali face death penalty

At least four people are facing the death penalty for allegedly trafficking drugs into the resort island of Bali, defying the Indonesia’s notoriously strict anti-narcotic laws.

Bali police have arrested six people, including foreigners, on drug charges in the popular tourist destination since July, local authorities said.

Two Thai nationals, Rachanon Jongseeha, 33, and Woranawan Wongsuwan, 31, were arrested upon arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport on 8 September for possession of methamphetamine and crystal MDMA, provincial anti-narcotics chief Rudy Ahmad Sudrajat said.

The pair were found carrying 1.9kg of methamphetamines mixed with the party drug MDMA in 108 sachets of a fruit-flavoured collagen drink, and 20 pills of MDMA, police said.

“The drugs would be handed over to two Indonesians who ordered it,” Mr Sudrajat said.

Police later arrested the two Indonesians for allegedly ordering the drugs from Thailand. One of the suspects was arrested at the Bali airport while a courier was arrested later. All four could face execution by firing squad if charged and found guilty, Mr Sudrajat said.

Police also announced the July arrests of two European men on drug charges. They face strict punishment but not the death penalty.

A Latvian man, identified by the initials VS, was arrested at the Bali airport on 4 July for carrying 450.41 grams of hashish and 977.83 grams of cannabis in a suitcase. Police said the suspect had a tattoo indicating affiliation with organised crime groups in the former Soviet Union.

He faces a possible life sentence for cannabis smuggling.

A Swedish man identified by the initials SUE was detained on 31 July following a raid at a villa in the popular tourist spot of Gianyar. The officers recovered 201.28 grams of hashish, having been tipped off that this person had received a suspicious package by mail from Thailand.

The Swedish national faces 15 years in prison, Mr Sudrajat said.

Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest drug laws, and has more than 150 people on death row, mostly for drug trafficking offences. About a third of them are foreigners.

Eighteen people convicted of drug-related offences have been executed under current president Joko Widodo, who took office in 2014.

The anti-narcotics unit raided a suspected drug lab in May which led to the arrest of two Ukrainians, a Russian and an Indonesian. All the foreigners arrested face the death penalty for operating a hydroponic marijuana and mephedrone production lab.

An Australian man was sentenced to six months of medical rehabilitation in July for possessing methamphetamine. Troy Andrew Smith, from Port Lincoln in South Australia, was arrested on 30 April after police raided his hotel in Legian and seized 3.15 grams of crystal methamphetamine inside a toothpaste container from his room. Police found a further 0.4 grams of the drug, along with a bong and a lighter in his desk drawer.

Earlier in November 2019, a court in Bali sentenced two Thai nationals to 16-year prison terms for smuggling 1kg of methamphetamine into the country. The same year, a French citizen was sentenced to death on Lombok, an island next to Bali, for smuggling 3kg of MDMA before a higher court commuted his sentence to 19 years in prison.

Indonesia carried out its last executions in July 2016 when three Nigerians and an Indonesian convicted of drug offences were shot dead on the Nusa Kambangan prison island.

Japan Airlines is offering free domestic flights – how to secure them

Japan Airlines has announced it is offering international passengers complimentary domestic flights to any destination within Japan.

While the majority of tourists come to Japan to explore the high-tech neighbourhoods of Tokyo and Osaka or visit the Buddhist temples of Kyoto, the Japanese airline is encouraging visitors to travel to other areas of the country.

However, Japan Airlines has laid out some requirements to be able to claim this offer.

Visitors must book an international flight with Japan Airlines and a corresponding domestic flight in the same reservation, as separate domestic bookings will not be eligible.

A stopover fee of $100 USD or ¥300 will also be applied to travellers coming in from the US, Canada, Mexico and China if they stay in their first destination in Japan for more than 24 hours.

No additional charges will be applied to passengers from other countries for the domestic segments.

This offer is not available for everyone. Only passengers departing from the following countries can receive the offer: US, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, India, China and Taiwan.

The complimentary domestic flight offer has already opened up in some countries, and the deal will become available to the remaining destinations as per the airline’s schedule throughout September.

While not all countries, including flights from the UK, have not been included in the offer, Japan Airlines said that plans are in place to expand the eligible countries.

Japan Airlines said they are offering this deal to create a seamless travel experience for those who want to explore more of Japan.

For example, a passenger arriving from Singapore could fly into Tokyo and then jet off on a domestic flight to Sapporo in northern Japan for no extra fees.

There are a number of domestic destinations the airline recommends, such as a trip to Hokkaido to embark on hikes in national parks or go skiing at the various alpine resorts.

Wakayama in Japan’s Kansai region is also highlighted as a place to visit due to the vast temple enclave of Koyasan, or Japan’s tallest waterfall at Nachi Falls.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast

India gets only its second female chief minister as Kejriwal resigns

India is set to get only its second female state leader after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominated Atishi to succeed prominent opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister of Delhi.

Ms Atishi, who goes by a single name, is one of the most prominent figures in the Aam Aadmi Party, a national opposition party which leads Delhi’s local legislative assembly.

One of the best-known critics of prime minister Narendra Modi’s government, Mr Kejriwal is set to resign later on Tuesday only a few days after being released on bail by India’s top court. He and other members of his party are facing corruption charges which he says are politically motivated.

Speaking at the party headquarters in central Delhi, Ms Atishi said her only aim is to ensure Mr Kejriwal takes the office as chief minister again.

“I have only one request to the party volunteers and workers – please do not garland me, this is an unfortunate moment for Delhiites that Mr Kejriwal has been forced to resign,” she said, adding that the party will work to bring AAP to power once again.

The decision to name Ms Atishi as his successor was taken on Tuesday morning at a legislative meeting of AAP leaders in New Delhi.

She is one of the party’s most experienced figures, and has held several major portfolios in the Delhi government including education, finance, revenue and law. She is also a close aide of Mr Kejriwal.

Ms Atishi is expected to take the oath for the Indian capital’s highest office at around 4.30pm on Tuesday after Mr Kejriwal has formally submitted his resignation.

On Sunday, he addressed supporters from the AAP party headquarters and confirmed he would step down.

“Today I have come to ask the public whether you consider Kejriwal honest or a criminal,” he said. “I will resign from the post of chief minister two days from today,” he said, as party members responded with a chorus of “No’s!”.

Mr Kejriwal said he would return to the chief minister role if he wins a renewed public mandate at the next Delhi assembly elections, expected early next year.

It means this is the second time he has resigned in order to seek a fresh mandate in a decade as chief minister of Delhi. In 2014, Mr Kejriwal resigned within his first 50 days in office and returned a year later after landslide election win saw AAP take 67 out of the total 70 constituencies in Delhi.

While Delhi has some devolved powers, as the capital its policing and security are controlled by the central government let by Narendra Modi’s BJP, the party that will also be AAP’s primary rival in the city’s next local elections.

Several AAP members have been arrested in the same corruption case under which Mr Kejriwal was charged. The party’s leadership have been accused of taking bribes from liquor companies in exchange for opening up Delhi’s alcohol market to the private sector.

Among those arrested was former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who spent more than 18 months in jail and was also recently released on bail.

Amid those arrests Ms Atishi has at times been left as the most senior figure in the Delhi government, carrying out a number of duties on behalf of the chief minister, including holding press conferences.

In June she went on hunger strike to demand more drinking water for India’s capital, saying that 2.8 million people in Delhi were “aching for a drop of water” during a brutal heatwave.

She joins West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee as only the second female leader of India’s 36 states and union territories. Though India famously had a female prime minister in Indira Gandhi as far back as 1966, the country’s politics remains overwhelmingly dominated by men. Atishi is also the only woman in Delhi’s five-member cabinet.

Ms Atishi attended Oxford University’s Magdalen College where she earned a Chevening scholarship and finished her masters in History in 2003. A Rhodes scholar and graduate of India’s top college St Stephens, she has been associated with the party for more than 15 years, including during its early days as a popular anti-corruption movement.

At least 226 dead and 320,000 displaced in Myanmar after Typhoon Yagi

Myanmar’s death toll from floods rose to at least 226 as of Tuesday, following heavy rains brought on by Typhoon Yagi that has caused havoc across parts of Southeast Asia.

At least 320,000 people have been displaced and 77 were still missing, government spokesman Zaw Min Tun said, according to a late-night bulletin on state-run MRTV.

“The government is conducting a rescue and rehabilitation mission,” he said.

Adverse weather from Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, has killed hundreds of people in Vietnam and Thailand, and flood waters from swollen rivers have inundated cities in both countries.

Meanwhile, another storm, Typhoon Bebinca, made landfall in Shanghai on Monday, prompting evacuations and cancellations of flights. It was The city the strongest storm to make landfall in Shanghai since 1949.

The flooding in Myanmar began last Monday, with at least 74 people killed by Friday, based on state media reports.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup in February 2021 and violence has engulfed large parts of the country.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the storm’s rains mainly affected the capital Naypyitaw, as well as the Mandalay, Magway, and Bago regions, along with eastern and southern Shan state, Mon, Kayah and Kayin states.

“Central Myanmar is currently the hardest hit, with numerous rivers and creeks flowing down from Shan hills,” the OCHA said.

Reports of more deaths and landslides have emerged, but gathering information has been challenging due to damaged infrastructure and downed phone and internet lines.

State media also reported that five dams, four pagodas, and more than 65,000 houses were destroyed by the flooding.

About a third of Myanmar’s 55 million people require humanitarian assistance but many aid agencies, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, cannot operate in many areas because of access restrictions and security risks.

Angkor Wat monkeys may be sent to labs amid aggression concerns

Monkeys from the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia could be sent to breeding farms that export the primates to laboratories for use as test animals, a British animal protection organisation has warned.

Action for Primates, or AfP, said it was concerned for the welfare of the monkeys after Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced a census of the primates in public areas, seeking to identify and relocate aggressive ones to legal breeding farms, natural habitats, or the Phnom Tamao Zoo.

“Sending them to breeding farms is exceptionally cruel,” Sarah Kite, a founder of AfP, said.

An unnamed official in the ministry told the Phnom Penh Post that the monkey capture operation at the iconic tourist hotspot had not yet commenced. It was likely to start after the Pchum Ben festival in October.

AfP said that the aggressive behaviour of monkeys at the Angkor Unesco World Heritage Site stemmed from years of being treated as tourist attractions, leading to an unnatural dependence on humans for food. “The monkeys at Angkor Wat are paying the price for inappropriate and preventable human behaviour,” Ms Kite said, criticising videographers for exploiting wild monkey troops for financial gain.

There are disturbing videos online showing the animals being mistreated for internet content such as a baby monkey being doused with water and a juvenile macaque’s genitals being manipulated for the camera.

Authorities do not permit such activities, but it is difficult to stop, said Long Kosal, deputy director general of the Apsara National Authority, responsible for the protection and management of the Angkor archaeological site.

Mr Kosal advised videographers to cease exploiting the monkeys for online content. “This is the problem for us,” he told the Associated Press. “We need to find solid reasons which we can use against them not to make content by abusing the monkeys.”

“The biggest problem is these videos are generated to make money,” said Nick Marx, director of wildlife rescue and care for the Wildlife Alliance.

“If people stop watching them, that would really help solve the problem of abuse.”

The Independent has contacted the ministry for comment.

Why the price of your cup of coffee is set to rise

The cost of a cup of coffee is likely to rise after key producers like Brazil and Vietnam were struck by extreme weather.

Arabica coffee futures in New York surged to a 13-year high of over $2.60 per pound on Monday, driven by record-breaking drought in Brazil and the destruction caused by Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam.

The prices for the premium coffee beans have surged roughly by 40 per cent this year, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile there has also been a shortage of the cheaper robusta beans.

The surge comes as there are rising fears over shortages in global supply after threats to some of the coffee crops in key producers.

Brazil, the world’s largest producer of arabica coffee, is grappling with a severe drought. In the country’s Minas Gerais region, which produces almost a third of Brazil’s arabica coffee, rainfall has been well below normal, according to Somar Meteorologia, Brazil’s national weather agency.

This drought is threatening the 2025 to 2026 arabica crop, which, according to Carlos Mera, an agri-commodities analyst at Rabobank, “is hanging by a thread.”

Mr Mera told Bloomberg that this crisis is compounded by logistical challenges like port congestion and a global shortage of shipping containers, which are hampering the movement of coffee worldwide.

In Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of robusta coffee, Typhoon Yagi devastated the country’s coffee-growing regions, killing more than 200 people and damaging large swaths of farmland.

Robusta coffee, which is typically used in instant coffee, is already in short supply, with damages adding pressure to global coffee prices.

The price of a cup of coffee has already surged in recent months with retailers like JM Smucker, the company behind brands like Dunkin’ and Café Bustelo, raising prices twice in recent months to offset the increase in green coffee costs.

The company attributed these price hikes to “recent higher green coffee costs and the pass-through nature of the coffee category,” according to Bloomberg.

In the UK, Pret A Manger has discontinued its popular coffee subscription service that allowed customers up to five barista-made drinks per day, the outlet said.

The recent price hikes underscore a much larger issue: coffee production is increasingly under threat from climate crisis.

Coffee is grown in more than 40 countries within the narrow tropical “bean belt” that stretches along the equator. However, as temperatures rise and weather becomes more unpredictable, many of these regions are becoming less suitable for coffee cultivation.

Climate models predict that areas suitable for coffee farming could shrink by up to 50 per cent by 2050. In Brazil, this figure could be as high as 80 per cent, threatening the country’s dominant role in global coffee production.

By 2080, wild coffee, an important genetic resource for farmers, could become extinct. Over 120 million people worldwide rely on coffee farming for their livelihoods.

Arabica coffee, which is prized for its flavor, is especially vulnerable to temperature changes. It grows best at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,000 metres and requires specific temperature ranges between 18C and 23C. When temperatures rise above these limits, coffee plants experience heat stress, reducing crop yields.

Robusta coffee, which is more heat-tolerant, still faces challenges due to its high water requirements. With droughts becoming more frequent, even robusta farms are struggling to maintain output without increased irrigation.

The situation is worsened by the limited genetic diversity of coffee crops. Arabica and robusta varieties account for 99 per cent of the world’s coffee production, making the crop highly vulnerable to pests, diseases, and climate crisis.

While researchers are working to develop more resilient coffee strains, the wild species needed for breeding are under threat. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 60 per cent of wild coffee species are at risk of extinction, limiting the potential for genetic improvements.

India reacts after Iran’s Ayatollah raises concerns for its Muslims

India “strongly deplored” comments made by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who expressed concern over the treatment of Muslim minorities in the South Asian nation.

Mr Khamenei said in a social media post on Monday Muslims cannot be oblivious to the suffering of their brethren in India, Myanmar, and Gaza.

“The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic Ummah,” he wrote.

“We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in Myanmar, Gaza, India, or any other place,” Mr Khamenei said.

New Delhi on Tuesday objected to the “unacceptable” statement, calling it “misinformation”.

“Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said.

India’s 200 million Muslims, under the governance of prime minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been subjected to discrimination, economic boycott, mob lynchings and sectarian violence, according to rights group.

A Human Rights Watch report in August found Mr Modi made Islamophobic remarks in at least 110 speeches during the general election while campaigning for BJP to secure a rare third term in office.

Despite sharing strong bilateral ties with New Delhi, Mr Khamenei has repeatedly criticised the majoritarian government’s outlook towards minorities and the troubled Indian federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Iranian supreme leader in March 2020 protested the religious violence in capital New Delhi which led to the deaths of 53 people, mostly Muslims. Mr Khamenei called the riot a “massacre of Muslims” and called on India to confront “extremist Hindus and their parties” to prevent India’s “isolation from the world of Islam”.

A year earlier, he expressed concern over the condition of Muslims in Kashmir just days after the Modi government revoked its special status, imposed a communications blockade, and bifurcated the state into two federal territories.

“We have good relations with India, but we expect the Indian government to adopt a just policy towards the noble people of Kashmir and prevent the oppression and bullying of Muslims in this region,” he said on social media. His comments were rejected by India’s foreign ministry.

Tehran is notorious for its violations of the human rights of women and minority communities. Significant human rights issues include reports of arbitrary killings by the government, forced disappearances and rise in gender-based violence, according to the US State Department.

A months-long security crackdown killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained in 2022 during protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. The Kurdish-Iranian woman died in a hospital after her arrest by the country’s morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities.

India and Iran signed a 10-year contract in May to develop and operate the Iranian port of Chabahar.

India has been developing the port in Chabahar on Iran‘s south-eastern coast along the Gulf of Oman as a way to transport goods to Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries, bypassing the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan.

Police investigating graffiti attack on New York temple as hate crime

Police in New York are investigating the vandalism of a major Hindu temple as a possible hate crime.

A sign board and driveway of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple in Melville, Suffolk County, was defaced with spray paint, the police said.

The vandals wrote “anti-Hindu” messages that also targeted Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, the police said. The incident took place between 7pm (local time) on Sunday and 6.30am on Monday, they added.

The Suffolk police said its Hate Crimes Unit was investigating the graffiti, which had “threatening and derogatory anti-Hindu messages”.

The graffiti was painted on the sign board and driveway of the temple, which was inaugurated in 2016.

The incident comes just days ahead of Mr Modi’s scheduled visit to Long Island on 22 September, where he will address a community event at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Indian consulate on Monday condemned the incident and urged the US authorities to take action against “the perpetrators of this heinous act”.

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, the organisation that runs the temple, held a prayer meeting at the site of the vandalism with US members of Congress Nick LaLota, Tom Suozzi, and senator Mario Mattera in attendance.

“There is too much hate,” Mr Suozzi wrote on X following the prayer meeting. “Such acts of vandalism, bigotry, and hate are happening far too often because of inflammatory rhetoric by national leaders, extremism, and lack of accountability,” the Democrat said.

“Acts like these are un-American and contradict the core values of our nation.”

Leader of the temple Girish Patel said the incident left the community shocked. “Our place is a place of worship,” he said told NewsDay. “We strongly believe in peace, harmony and working together.”

He said Monday’s temple prayer was attended by public officials along with representatives of faiths including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. “It’s a good message that came out,” he said.

“Deeply saddened by the desecration of our BAPS Mandir [temple] in Melville an act aimed at inciting hatred against Hindus, BAPS, one of the largest Hindu groups in the US, said.

“Guided by our faith, we stand united against hate with compassion and solidarity.”

The Hindu-American foundation has called on the US Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to open an investigation into the vandalism.

Earlier in July, a BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Edmonton, Canada, was desecrated with similar “anti-India graffiti”, the local police said.

Another Hindu temple, the Ram Mandir, in Canada’s Mississauga was vandalised with anti-India graffiti in February.