North Korean defector steals bus to drive back after struggle in South
A North Korean defector was arrested in South Korea after attempting to cross the heavily fortified border back into his country using a stolen bus.
The man, in his 30s, stole the vehicle from a garage in Paju, a city near the border, and made a desperate attempt to cross across the Unification Bridge that separates the two Koreas, before crashing into a barricade, authorities said.
The defector, who escaped from North Korea around a decade ago, reportedly told police he was struggling to adapt to life in South Korea and wanted to return to his homeland.
Surveillance footage from the garage shows the man, wearing a hat, trying to enter several vehicles in a Paju garage before he finally managed to get into a bus.
He drove off with the bus at approximately 1am local time on Tuesday (4pm GMT on Monday). When he reached the border he ignored soldiers who asked him to stop, and instead swerved into the opposite lane on the bridge.
Military border guards apprehended him after he crashed into a barricade about 30 minutes later.
The man was not found to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident, local media reports say.
The defector, who left North Korea about a decade ago, had been working as a labourer. He was reportedly struggling financially having accumulated unpaid fines, and told police officers he wanted to reunite with his family in the North.
South Korea’s laws strictly prohibit crossing into North Korea without government authorisation, and violators face severe penalties, including up to 10 years in prison. North Korean defectors in the South are automatically granted citizenship.
Despite these deterrents, some defectors who have found it hard to assimilate in South Korea have tried to re-cross the border in the past.
While around 1,000 defectors flee North Korea for South Korea each year, a much smaller number – just 31 between 2012 and 2022 – have attempted to return to the North, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.
Doctors resume strike in India over ‘lack of action’ following rape case
Protesting junior doctors in India have resumed their indefinite strike demanding better security for healthcare professionals following the rape and killing of a resident doctor at a prominent state-run hospital.
The protests erupted after a trainee doctor, 31, was found dead on 9 August at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal, during her 32-hour work shift. An autopsy confirmed sexual assault.
Thousands of people have staged protests every day in Kolkata since the murder demanding justice and better safety for healthcare workers. Doctors across the country joined the walkout, while smaller protests erupted in parts of India and other cities across the world.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors Association on Tuesday placed a 10-fold demand in the front of the state government, calling for justice for the victim and better safety for doctors, as they announced resumption of their strike.
The junior doctors had rejoined their duties at government hospitals in September after 42 days of cease-work protests.
“We do not see any positive approach from the state government to fulfill our demands for safety and security. Today is the 52nd day of the protest and we are still being attacked,” Aniket Mahato, one of the agitating junior doctors, told PTI news agency.
The announcement was made just days after doctors and nurses at another state-run hospital were assaulted by relatives of a patient after she died during treatment. At least six on-duty doctors and nurses were assaulted by a mob of around two dozen people following the 30-year-old patient’s death, the doctors alleged.
“Unless we see clear action from the state government on these demands, the ‘cease work’ will continue,” Mr Mahato added.
Other demands included appointing a new health secretary, creating task forces in medical colleges, deploying more women police in hospitals and investigating corruption in medical councils and recruitment boards.
The strike disrupted hospitals across the state, forcing patients to return from the emergency wards. The state health department said the senior doctors have been pressed into the inpatient and outpatient departments to compensate for the striking juniors.
The junior doctors also expressed their dissatisfaction over the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) “slow” probe into the rape and murder. The case was handed over to the federal investigative agency for transparency after the Kolkata police arrested a civic volunteer associated with the city police.
“We have seen many times before that the CBI has been unable to reach any conclusions, allowing the real culprits of such incidents to go free due to delays in filing charges,” the junior doctors forum said.
The medicos have called for a massive protest rally in Kolkata on Wednesday that coincided with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the beginning of the 10-day-long Hindu festival of Durga Puja.
Police officers jailed in first convictions over Korea’s Halloween stampede
A South Korean court has sentenced the former chief of a local police station to three years in prison for his failure to prevent the 2022 Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon that killed 159 people.
Lee Im-jae is the first senior police official of Seoul’s local Yongsan police station, which oversees safety in Itaewon, to be convicted for the tragedy, which the Seoul Western District Court deemed a “man-made disaster”.
Two other former police officials received lesser sentences. The court gave one officer a two-year prison sentence and handed a third a suspended two-year term. The three officers were found guilty of professional negligence leading to death.
Lee had failed to prepare for a mass Halloween gathering whose dangers he should have foreseen, thus creating the conditions for the Itaewon tragedy, the court said in a statement.
Outside the court, family members of the victims were seen crying after the sentencing.
The court said: “As the Yongsan Police Station was in charge of security for Yongsan District and therefore responsible on the day of the incident both for maintaining order on Halloween Day and preparing for large-scale demonstrations and assemblies that were scheduled to occur under their jurisdiction, they appear to have faced some limitations in terms of effectively operating their forces.”
The court also concluded that Lee had “failed to properly attend to his radio or was otherwise negligent”.
The victims, primarily in their twenties and thirties, were attending Halloween celebrations when a massive 100,000-plus crowd of revellers flocked to Itaewon, a metropolis known for its nightlife.
By 10.20pm local time, crowds had surged to unsafe numbers and the situation turned dire when people on a slope fell over, leading to a crush that trapped hundreds. Witnesses said the crowd surge caused “a hell-like” chaos as people fell on each other “like dominos”.
Following the tragedy, families demanded accountability from senior officials, including interior minister Lee Sang-min, though a parliamentary vote to impeach him was blocked by the constitutional court.
The crowd crush, one of South Korea’s largest peacetime disasters, triggered widespread national grief.
Lee’s lawyer told Yonhap news agency before the ruling that it was “excessively harsh” to expect his client to have prepared for an unforeseeable event.
The police officers and prosecutors have the option to appeal the decision.
While Lee was held accountable for failing to foresee and prepare for the gathering, other district officials, including Park Hee-young, who was the head of the Yongsan ward office, were acquitted. The court also acquitted three other ward officials besides Mr Park, saying that a ward office lacked the legal authority to control or disperse a crowd.
Prosecutors had sought seven-year prison sentences for both Mr Park and Lee.
The acquittal of Mr Park and the ward officials was met with criticism from bereaved family members. “Does this make sense? We can’t really accept this,” Lee Jeong-min, a representative of the families was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
In a statement issued after the court sentencing, the group comprising family members of the Halloween crush victims, called 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families, insisted that the “large-scale tragedy would not have occurred if [the district office] had requested police security to control congestion, or if officials with the office had at least taken action to control crowds, including passage at intersections within the side streets”.
The statement added: “The court’s conclusion that there was ‘nothing the Yongsan District Office could have done’ is a case of succumbing to formal legal logic and using it as a basis for exonerating the defendants for their incompetence.”
Lee Jeong-min, whose daughter Lee Ju-yeong was among those who lost their lives, told The Hankyoreh Shinmun: “Where is the judicial system in this country?”
Last year, the Seoul metropolitan government introduced a range of new measures “to ensure a safe Halloween”, including the implementation of a new CCTV system to monitor crowd sizes.
In January this year, Seoul’s police chief, Kim Kwang-ho, was also charged with negligence related to the crowd crush.
Three killed and 15 hurt by man on knife rampage in Chinese Walmart
At least three people were killed and 15 others injured in a knife attack on Monday in a Walmart supermarket in Shanghai, China.
A 37-year-old man surnamed Lin was arrested at the scene as police responded to reports of a knife attack, the local Songjiang police branch said in a statement on Tuesday.
The attack happened on the eve of the week-long National Day holidays in a shopping mall in a suburban district southwest of Shanghai, China’s largest city and a major financial hub.
The suspect had come to Shanghai to “vent his anger due to a personal economic dispute”, police said.
At least 18 people were taken to hospital with injuries, out of which three later died.
The remaining injured people “did not sustain life-threatening wounds” and are not believed to be in danger, officials said.
Videos on Chinese social media showed a child was one of the victims of the stabbing spree along with several passers-by inside the supermarket. However, the videos and pictures appear to have been censored by the authorities on social media after the attack sparked an outpouring of anger.
It was the latest stabbing attack in China where firearms are banned. The country has seen a series of such rampages in recent months with several foreign nationals also injured or killed.
Last month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died after being stabbed near his school in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. This followed another knife attack at a school bus stop for a Japanese school in which a Chinese national who tried to save the child was killed.
In June, four US university instructors were attacked with a knife in a public park in the northeast city of Jilin.
In May, at least two people were killed and 21 injured after a stabbing attack at a hospital in south-west China.
The attack comes as China is marking the 75th year of Communist Party rule amid major economic challenges with no festivities announced for the occasion on Tuesday.
The world’s second largest economy is sluggish, missing its rather modest 5 per cent growth target. In July 2024, Chinese government data revealed GDP growth has declined below the government’s target.
Bollywood star rushed to hospital after shooting himself in the leg
Indian actor Govinda was rushed to a hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday after he suffered an accidental gunshot injury to his leg, fired from his own revolver.
The incident happened early at 4.45am on Tuesday at the actor’s residence in Juhu in Mumbai, the capital of the western state of Maharashtra, while he was checking his licensed revolver. The actor was preparing to leave for Kolkata, in the eastern state of West Bengal, when the gun fell from his hands and misfired, resulting in an injury to his leg.
Govinda was immediately rushed to the Criti Care Hospital.
His manager Shashi Sinha spoke to local news media to clarify that the bullet in Govinda’s leg had been removed, and he was recovering.
“We had a 6am flight to catch for a show in Kolkata and I had reached the airport. Govinda ji was about to leave his residence for the airport when this accident happened,” Sinha said, according to Indian news daily Times of India.
“He was keeping his licensed revolver in the case when it fell from his hand and a bullet got fired which hit his leg. The doctor has removed the bullet and his condition is fine. He is in the hospital right now,” he said.
Police said no complaint has been registered.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said he had spoken to Govinda, and assured him he would have support during his recovery.
“I have personally reached out to Govinda to convey my deep concern about his health condition. On behalf of the government and people of our state, I wish him a speedy and complete recovery. I have assured Govinda that he and his family will receive all necessary support during this challenging time,” Shinde said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his loved ones. Govinda has been an iconic figure in Indian cinema and has brought joy to millions through his performances. We stand united in hoping for his quick return to good health,” he said.
Mumbai police said they had started investigating what happened and had taken into possession Govinda’s firearm. They added that they will record Govinda’s statement once he is better, and speak to the people present at his residence when the incident occurred.
Govinda released a statement, saying: “Namaste, pranam. I am Govinda. Thanks to your and my parents’ blessings and the grace of my guru, even though I was shot, the bullet has been removed. I thank the doctors here, especially Dr Garwal. Thank you all for your prayers and support.”
Govinda’s daughter Tina Ahuja said: “I’m currently with papa (father) in the ICU. I can’t talk much right now… but I want to assure that papa’s health is much better now. After the bullet injury, papa underwent surgery, and it was successful. All tests have been conducted by doctors, and the reports are good.”
“Papa will remain in the ICU for at least 24 hours. After 24 hours, doctors will decide whether to keep papa in the ICU or not. Doctors are continuously monitoring papa’s condition; there’s no need to worry,” she told Indian news daily The Indian Express.
Govind Arun Ahuja, who goes by his stage name Govinda, debuted in 1986 in the film Love 86, but really found his footing in the 1990s. He became known for his distinctive dance style and comedic timing, and has been in more than 165 Hindi-language films.
In 1999, Govinda placed tenth in BBC’s News Online poll to find the “greatest star of stage or screen”.
In 2004, Govinda joined the Congress party and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mumbai, but joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena party shortly before the elections this year.
Economic anxiety overshadows 75th anniversary of communist China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) marked the People’s Republic of China’s 75th anniversary in a sombre ceremony as the government battled rising unemployment, economic challenges, and security threats.
The growing financial anxiety has pushed president Xi Jinping and the top members of the CCP to admit to the weakening of the world’s second-largest economy on record for the first time in years. China’s economy weakened further in recent weeks, signaling the need for support as the government ratchets stimulus.
China’s economy, under Communist rule, defied conventional wisdom to grow exponentially until the Covid-19 pandemic. It has since struggled to regain momentum after authorities imposed draconian lockdowns for three years and forced people to stay inside their homes.
The recovery was hindered by a prolonged property slump that led to a spillover effect on other parts of the economy, from construction to sales of home appliances, exacerbated by territorial disputes with neighbours and trading partners.
The economy expanded at a 4.7 per cent pace in the last quarter, slightly below the government’s target of about 5 per cent.
The Communists under Mao Zedong seized power in 1949 amid a civil war with the Nationalists, also known as the KMT, led by Chiang Kai-shek, who shifted their political, economic and military power to the now self-governing island democracy of Taiwan.
It was only after Mao’s death in 1976 that China set off on a new path that unleashed the country’s economic potential and lifted millions out of poverty.
Mr Jinping, also the longest-serving chief of the communist party, addressed “potential dangers” and being “well-prepared” to overcome grave challenges, in what is believed to be a reference to the sputtering economy.
“The road ahead will not be smooth, there will definitely be difficulties and obstacles, and we may encounter major tests such as high winds and rough seas, or even stormy waves” Mr Xi warned on Monday during a banquet on the eve of the anniversary.
“We must be vigilant in times of peace, plan ahead, and rely closely on the entire party, the entire army, and people of all ethnic groups across the country” he said, adding that “no difficulties can stop the Chinese people from moving forward”.
A survey by the Caixin purchasing managers released this week showed new manufacturing orders fell at the fastest pace in two years in September.
An official measure released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed a less drastic decline but marked a fifth straight month of contraction. The purchasing managers index was at 49.8 in September, up from a six-month low of 49.1 in August.
The staggering economy has snatched the purchasing power of Chinese nationals, making them pessimistic and disillusioned about their prospects, BBC reported, citing a survey by American professors Martin Whyte of Harvard University and Scott Rozelle of Stanford University’s Center on China’s Economy.
Beijing last week unveiled a raft of policies, including forced interest rate cuts and lower down payments of homebuyers to boost the economy. Over the weekend, the southern city of Guangzhou lifted all home purchase restrictions, while both Shanghai and Shenzhen revealed plans to ease key buying curbs.
The move would help 50 million households and 150 million people, reducing household interest expenses by an average of about 150bn yuan (£15.7bn) a year, said People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng.
The stimulus package should help shore activity over the coming months, said Gabriel Ng of Capital Economics said in a report. He noted that trade measures against China, such as higher tariffs on electric vehicles and other goods, also will weigh on the economy.
“In this environment, a meaningful cyclical recovery would require sizeable fiscal stimulus,” he told Reuters.
The Chinese government has tried to clamp down on critics of Beijing’s economic policies and other sources of financial frustration. Prominent economist Zhu Hengpeng disappeared from the public eye after he criticised Mr Jinping’s economic policies in a private group chat.
In July, former Global Times editor and outspoken supporter of the Communist Party, Hu Xijin, abruptly went silent on social media after he shared a controversial assessment of Beijing’s economic strategy.
Other measures undertaken by the Communist Party included blocking accounts of influencers on social media for flaunting their wealth, according to reports.
Beijing stopped releasing unemployment figures between August 2023 and January 2024 when the numbers were at a record high. China’s urban unemployment rate across all age categories rose 5.3 per cent in August, according to official data.
The anniversary also comes as China battles frictions with neighbors including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines over territorial claims and their close relationships with Beijing’s chief rival, the US.
Additional reporting by agencies
Everest gets taller every year – now scientists think they know why
Scientists may finally have an explanation for why Mount Everest is so much taller than the other great Himalayan peaks – and still growing.
Everest is known to be growing by about 2mm a year, and the official figure for its height was last revised upwards by almost a metre in 2020 to 8,848.86m.
The mountain’s growth was previously put down to the shifting of tectonic plates, though this theory did not explain why Everest’s peak is abnormally high compared to others in the range, towering about 250m above the next-tallest peak in the Himalayas. The next three of the world’s tallest peaks – K2, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse – only differ from each other in height by about 120 metres.
Now researchers from University College London (UCL) have found that erosion from a river network about 75km (47 miles) away from the world’s highest mountain may be contributing to Everest’s growth, as the river carves away a substantial gorge.
This erosion is creating a seemingly paradoxical phenomenon called uplift, which happens when a section of the Earth’s crust loses mass and then “floats” upwards due to intense pressure from the hot liquid mantle below.
The process is not fast, with scientists estimating that Everest has grown by between 15 and 50 metres in the past 89,000 years. But it is still measurable with modern technology, according to the study published on Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
“We can see them growing by about 2mm a year using GPS instruments, and now we have a better understanding of what’s driving it,” said Matthew Fox, a co-author of the study from UCL.
While this gradual process leads to only a few millimetres of growth each year, over geological timeframes it can make a significant difference.
In Everest’s case, this process appears to have sped up over the last 89,000 years since the nearby Arun River merged with the adjacent Kosi.
The merging of the two rivers led to more water funnelling through the Kosi River and increasing its erosive power, scientists say. As more land started getting washed away, it gradually triggered an increased rate of uplift for Everest, pushing the mountain’s peaks further up.
“Our research shows that as the nearby river system cuts deeper, the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards,” study co-author Adam Smith from UCL said.
The Arun River currently runs to the east of Mount Everest, and merges downstream with the larger Kosi river system. Over thousands of years, it has carved out a gorge that has washed away billions of tonnes of earth and sediment.
“The upstream Arun River flows east at high altitude with a flat valley. It then abruptly turns south, dropping in elevation and becoming steeper,” Jin-Gen Dai, another author of the study, said.
“This unique topography, indicative of an unsteady state, likely relates to Everest’s extreme height,” Dr Dai said.
The phenomenon is also affecting the neighbouring peaks of Lhotse and Makalu – the world’s fourth- and fifth-highest peaks – scientists say.
Indian poet rejects US-backed award ‘in solidarity with Palestine’
A poet and author from an Indigenous community in India has refused a US-backed arts award “in solidarity” with Palestinians.
Jacinta Kerketta, 41, has refused the 2024 Room to Read Young Author Award, jointly awarded by USAID and Room to Read India Trust for her children’s poetry collection, Jirhul.
Room to Read India is an international nonprofit working in the areas of early-grade literacy, gender equality, and girls’ education.
“As a poet, I want to show my solidarity with the children, women and victims of Palestine,” she told The Independent.
“I saw that Room to Read India Trust is also associated with Boeing for children’s education,” she said.
In August last year, the then Indian minister of women and child development and minority affairs, Smriti Irani, announced the launch of two initiatives in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, in partnership with Boeing. According to a Boeing India statement, the group was funding Room to Read’s literacy programme, which was to be implemented in 60 primary schools over four years to “nurture independent readers”.
Boeing is said to be a key supplier of weapons to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and has a longstanding partnership with Israel.
Ms Kerketta said: “When children were being killed in Palestine, Room to Read India Trust in India was collaborating with Boeing for better education of children. And Boeing’s relationship with Israel is linked to arms business.”
“How can the arms business and care for children continue simultaneously when the world of children is being destroyed by the same weapons? Because of these concerns, I have declined to accept this USAID-supported award,” she said.
Ms Kerketta has written to both USAID and the Room to Read India Trust, declining the award and explaining her reasons for doing so.
More than 16,000 children have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched an all-out assault on the besieged territory on 7 October last year, triggered by Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel.
“The outrageous death of children is almost historically unique. This is an extremely dark place in history,” Bragi Gudbrandsson, vice chairperson of a UN committee said last month. “I don’t think we have seen before a violation that is so massive as we’ve seen in Gaza. These are extremely grave violations that we do not often see,” he said.
Ms Kerketta is a member of Jharkhand’s Oraon Adivasi community. She has authored seven other books, including Ishwar aur Bazar, Jacinta ki Diary, and Land of the Roots.
This is not the first time the Adivasi (Indigenous) writer has rejected an award for ethical reasons, having previously turned down an honour in solidarity with Adivasi struggles in the northeastern state of Manipur. “This is coming at a time when the respect for the life of the tribals of Manipur is ending,” she told Newslaundry at the time.
“The respect for the life of the tribals in central India is disappearing as well, and people from other communities are also being attacked continuously in the global society. My mind remains distressed and I am not feeling any thrill or happiness with this acknowledgement.”
Since May 2023, Manipur has been embroiled in violence between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities, driven by disputes over economic benefits and quotas.
The book Ishwar aur Bazar is dedicated to the Dalit and Adivasi communities of Niyamgiri in Odisha, who have spent over a decade resisting bauxite mining in their region.
“I see many people in India remain silent about the genocide in Palestine. Just as there is hatred for minorities within the country, similarly there is no sympathy for the people of Palestine. As a poet and writer, this also troubles me,” Ms Kerketta told The Independent.
Her poetry collection, Jirhul, aims to raise socio-political awareness among children, drawing from Adivasi culture. It was published earlier this year by Jugnu Prakashan, the publishing arm of Iktara Trust, based in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The Independent has reached out to USAID, Boeing, and Room to Read India for comment.
According to the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), approximately 705 ethnic groups are classified as Scheduled Tribes in India. In central India, these groups are commonly referred to as Adivasis, a term that means “original inhabitants” or “Indigenous Peoples”.
With an estimated population of 104 million, Adivasis make up about 8.6 per cent of the total population.