Popular EDM festival Sunburn faces massive opposition from Goa locals
When Asia’s biggest electronic dance music (EDM) festival announced that its 2024 edition will return to India’s picturesque beach destination of Goa, the local community was alarmed.
Started by Indian entrepreneur Shailendra Singh, the Sunburn Festival has been a staple for EDM enthusiasts over the past 17 years. Held every year in the western Indian state since its first edition in 2007, Sunburn shifted to Pune in Maharashtra in 2016, amid quiet but steady rumblings of opposition from Goans.
By then its position among the international music and festival circuit was cemented as CNN named Sunburn in its list of the top 12 music festivals in the world, one that also included Glastonbury.
The first edition was headlined by acts like Carl Cox, Above & Beyond and Axwell, and Sunburn went on to bring the likes of Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, David Guetta, Skazi, Swedish House Mafia, and Roger Sanchez. According to Percept, the entertainment, media and communications company that owns Sunburn, 350,000 attended the festival in 2015, with numbers holding steady in every successive edition.
After holding the festival in Goa’s Vagator beach in 2022 and 2023, Sunburn announced in July that its 2024 edition would be a three-day extravaganza from 28 to 30 December, held at a yet-unannounced location in the south of the state.
Almost immediately, the Goan community – those who were born in Goa and had grown up there and ones had moved there in search of a quieter life – was up in arms.
Citizens gathered to protest, afraid that the quiet and sanctity of its scenic beaches would be ruined by loud noise, unchecked drug use by some concertgoers, and destruction of the natural ecosystem. Many who had witnessed the debris left behind in the aftermath of the festival in the north of the state, were emphatic in their refusal to allow it to return.
“First, they finished North Goa. Now they want to come here to finish South Goa as well,” a woman protester told Goan daily O Heraldo.
This year, residents held a candle march on India’s Independence Day on 15 August to complain about clubs dotting the beaches that routinely flout noise pollution norms with deafening music that can be heard up to 4km away.
“We don’t get sleep at night. The noise pollution is particularly challenging for my son, who suffers from seizures and autism. He needs a quiet environment to sleep and recover from his seizure attacks, but the constant clanging and banging from the nearby clubs and hotels make it difficult for him to get the rest he needs. In fact, there are three clubs just behind my house, which are less than a kilometre away,” said resident Janie Crasto.
In December 2023, a local court sought a detailed report from the state chief secretary over the higher-than-permissible noise levels during Sunburn 2022. The Goa state pollution board found that the ambient noise levels along the coastal belt “regularly exceeded the maximum permitted 55 decibels”, according to Hindustan Times.
“Sunburn was, for several years, the ‘cool’ festival, bringing a certain quality of musicians and in turn, attracting a global audience, and therefore a good way to showcase the destination,” Goa resident Siddharth Savkur tells The Independent.
“But over the last few years, its perception has deteriorated sharply – it’s now associated with chaos, poor planning, drug abuse, issues with law and order, poor garbage management. So when the festival itself doesn’t have that same allure, what does it do for Goa?
“If the festival is meant to benefit Goa financially, why host it when it’s peak tourist season for Goa? If you’re pitching this festival right between Christmas and New Year, which is literally the last window in the year that Goa needs marketing, how does the argument that we’re doing this to promote the destination hold?” he says.
Further to legal disputes on sound pollution and a court order that said government permission for Sunburn 2022 was illegally granted, the festival also has unpaid dues it owes to the community that owns that land where the Sunburn music festival was held.
“We have not received payment of Rs 3.8m (£34,477) of the previous year and last year’s Rs 34m (£308,488) as they approached the Supreme Court and got the money frozen. We are happy if they have found another place, but pay us our dues,” says Dominic Pereira, president of Anjuna Comunidade.
The government has been upbeat in promoting Goa as a cultural and tourism destination. The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), an apex body representing the hotel and travel trade, issued a statement which said: “Sunburn has significantly boosted tourism in Goa and boosted the local economy. All over the world, events supplement the tourism economy. As a world-class musical event, we expect Sunburn to do the same in South Goa.”
Tickets have been on sale on Sunburn’s ticketing partner website BookMyShow for months. A note on the event page says “Venue to be announced: Goa”.
“The event is subject to government permission,” says another, but one can purchase tickets that start at Rs 2,500 (approximately £23) and go up to Rs 1,475,000 (£13,353) for a VVIP experience.
At the end of September, Sunburn’s social media announced that multiple Grammy-winner Skrillex was “on his way to SunburnGoa2024” – despite still not having a venue confirmed.
Goa’s attempts to protect its fragile ecosystem are not new – a group of West German package tourists were met with protesting locals way back in 1987, and the bus that was to transport them to their beach resorts were pelted with cow dung and rotten shrimp.
Goa, which has a population of around 1.46 million, has seen a massive rise in the number of tourists – going from around 5.2 million in 2015 to more than 8.5 million in 2023.
Merril Diniz, a writer from Goa, says locals complain that tourists looking for Instagram-worthy photos peek into historic Portuguese colonial-era homes, walk into private gardens, fly drones over homes without permission, and litter streets.
“They behave quite entitled about it when questioned. I’ve heard this complaint, often, from dwellers of the Fontainhas in Panjim, which has become an influencer hub. Consent does not seem to be a part of their lexicon, and perhaps we need more conversations to generate awareness,” she says. Fontainhas is often referred to as the “Latin Quarter” of state capital Panaji, famous for its Portugese-style architechture.
The Independent reached out to the organisers of Sunburn Festival, who declined to comment.
Japan’s beloved former Empress Michiko marks her 90th birthday as she recovers from a broken leg
Japan’s beloved former Empress Michiko received greetings from her relatives and palace officials to celebrate her 90th birthday Sunday as she steadily recovers from a broken leg, officials said.
Michiko is the first commoner to become empress in modern Japanese history. Catholic-educated Michiko Shoda and then-Crown Prince Akihito married on April 10, 1959, after what is known as their tennis court romance.
The couple retired after Akihito abdicated in 2019 as their son, Emperor Naruhito, ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne and his wife, Masako, became empress.
Since then, Akihito and Michiko have largely withdrawn from public appearance to enjoy their quiet life together, taking daily walks inside the palace gardens or occasionally taking private trips, hosting small gatherings for book reading and music, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
Former Emperor Akihito has been concerned about Michiko’s physical strength and asking how she is feeling, officials said.
Michiko, who fell earlier in October at her residence and had a surgery for her femoral fracture, was steadily recovering with a daily rehabilitation session for about an hour at a time, palace officials said. She was expected to be in a wheelchair when joining her well-wishers for Sunday’s celebration.
The former empress was deeply concerned about the people affected by the deadly Jan. 1 earthquake in Japan’s north-central region of Noto, especially those who suffered additional damage from September’s heavy rains and floods, the palace said.
Since retirement, Michiko has shared her love of literature, including children’s books, English poetry and music, with her friends as well as with Akihito.
The palace said she reads parts of a book aloud with her husband as a daily routine after breakfast. They are currently reading a book chosen by Akihito about war and Okinawa, a southern Japanese island where one of the harshest ground battles took place at the end of World War II fought in the name of his father.
The couple broke with traditions and brought many changes to the monarchy: They chose to raise their three children themselves, spoke more often to the public, and made amends for war victims in and outside Japan. Their close interactions have won them deep affection among Japanese.
Delhi’s air quality worsens as smog blankets Indian capital
Delhi’s citizens woke up to smog blanketing the Indian capital and toxic foam floating on the Yamuna river on Saturday.
Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) of 273 hit the “poor” category on Saturday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. Areas in the capital like Akshardham and Anand Vihar saw an AQI reading of 334, with the air quality plunging to “very poor”, reported news agency ANI.
Ashish Kumar Meena, who lives near Akshardham, told ANI: “The pollution level here has increased a lot in the last two days. It has led to choking in the throat and breathing issues and has also been irritating the eyes.”
Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai held an emergency meeting with officials on the deteriorating environmental conditions in the nation’s capital, and said that concerned authorities had been instructed to find the causes of the poor air quality.
“Winter is coming and the level of air pollution is increasing. The level has reached the poor category in Delhi. There are 13 hotspots in Delhi where AQI has crossed 300,” he said at a press conference.
Environmental agencies told news agency Press of India that the toxic foam on the river Yamuna contained high levels of ammonia and phosphates, and could lead to severe health risks like respiratory and skin problems.
Earlier this week, the Delhi government imposed a complete ban on the manufacturing, sale, storage, and use of all types of firecrackers in the Indian capital until the new year to try and combat the declining air quality.
The ban came shortly ahead of the festive season in India that sees a surge in pollution in New Delhi, usually leaving the city enveloped in a thick blanket of toxic haze. On Sunday, a day after Dussehra – a Hindu festival commemorating the victory of Lord Ram over Ravana by burning his effigies – the air quality in the capital hit the “poor” category.
Extended exposure to elevated pollution levels can result in discomfort and respiratory problems. It may also provoke skin and eye irritation and contribute to serious health conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, reduced lung capacity, emphysema, cancer, and higher mortality rates.
Delhi has struggled with hazardous air quality during the winter months for years, prompting the government to frequently implement early school closures to protect children. The city struggles with high pollution levels from various sources, including vehicle emissions and dust, throughout the year.
However, conditions worsen in winter when farmers in neighbouring states engage in crop stubble burning. Additionally, low wind speeds trap pollutants, such as those emitted by firecrackers, close to the ground, significantly degrading air quality and making breathing difficult.
India’s remaining diplomats ‘on notice’ not to harm Canadians, says FM
Canada’s foreign minister said on Friday India’s remaining diplomats were “clearly on notice” not to endanger Canadian lives after New Delhi’s top envoy in the country was named a person of interest in the assassination of a Sikh activist.
India’s high commissioner was expelled on Monday along with five other diplomats, prompting foreign minister Mélanie Joly to compare India to Russia, saying Canada’s national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in the country.
Ms Joly said on Friday that Canada won’t tolerate foreign diplomats putting the lives of Canadians at risk.
“We’ve never seen that in our history. That level of transnational repression cannot happen on Canadian soil. We’ve seen it elsewhere in Europe. Russia has done that in Germany and the UK and we needed to stand firm on this issue,” she said in Montreal.
Asked if other Indian diplomats will be expelled, Ms Joly said: “They are clearly on notice. Six of them have been expelled including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Others were mainly from Toronto and Vancouver and clearly we won’t tolerate any diplomats that are in contravention of the Vienna convention.”
Prime minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their government back home. They said top Indian officials were then passing that information along to Indian organized crime groups who were targeting the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortions and even murder.
India, for its part, has rejected the Canadian accusations as absurd, and its foreign ministry said it was expelling Canada’s acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.
Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The US Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee Thursday in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.
In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.
US authorities have said the killing of the American Sikh man was to have taken place just days after Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist who was shot and killed outside a cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June 2023. Prosecutors say the goal was to kill at least four people in Canada and the US by 29 June 2023, and then more after that.
The Nijjar killing in Canada has soured India-Canada ties for more than a year, and despite Canada’s assertion that it has forwarded evidence of its allegations to Indian authorities, the Indian government continues to deny it has seen any.
India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of what is known as the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
Mr Trudeau said Wednesday that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi underlined to him at a G-20 summit in India last year that he wanted Canada to arrest people who have been outspoken against the Indian government. Mr Trudeau said he told Modi that he felt the actions fall within free speech in Canada.
Mr Trudeau added that he told Modi his government would work with India on concerns about terrorism, incitement of hate or anything that is unacceptable in Canada. But Mr Trudeau also noted that advocating for separatism, though not Canadian government policy, is not illegal in Canada.
The RCMP said they uncovered evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadians by agents of the Indian government.
Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot last year in his pickup truck. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.
Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjar’s murder and are awaiting trial.
North Korea claims to have found remains of South Korean drone
North Korea said on Saturday it found the remains of a South Korean drone during a search in its capital, Pyongyang, claiming it proved the South’s military was behind the alleged drone infiltrations over the city’s skies earlier in the month.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency released photos showing a seemingly damaged aircraft with wide, V-shaped wings and winglets. It said a joint investigation by North Korea’s military and state security agencies concluded that the aircraft, which it said was found on 13 October, was the same type of drone that appeared in a South Korean military parade earlier in October.
North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over the night skies of Pyongyang three different times this month to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets. It threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again.
The aircraft allegedly found in Pyongyang was likely one of the drones that were used to drop
leaflets, North Korea’s Defense Ministry said, but further examinations were needed to verify that.
Should South Korea deny that the aircraft was used to drop leaflets, that would only confess to a separate infiltration of North Korea’s airspace by the South’s military, the ministry said. If North Korea confirms another violation of its territorial ground, airspace and waters by the South’s military, that will be regarded as a “declaration of war and an immediate retaliatory attack will be launched,” the ministry added.
South Korea’s military didn’t immediately respond to North Korea’s report about the alleged drone discovery.
South Korea’s defense minister initially made a vague denial after the North’s 11 Oct accusation that the South sent drones over Pyongyang. The South’s military adjusted its response hours later, saying it couldn’t confirm whether or not the North’s claims were true.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are now at their worst in years as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ramps up his weapons tests and threats, and expands military cooperation with Russia, with South Korea claiming the North dispatched troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The animosity has been exacerbated by Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns between the Koreas in recent months.
Since May, North Korea has sent thousands of balloons carrying paper waste, plastic and other trash to drop on the South. The South’s military has responded by using loudspeakers at the border to broadcast propaganda and K-pop to North Korea.
North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of Mr Kim’s authoritarian government and his family’s dynastic rule.
Sydney beaches reopen days after hundreds of tar balls wash ashore
Beaches in Sydney reopened after being closed earlier this week when hundreds of mysterious golf ball-sized black lumps washed ashore.
These dark spheres, which were first spotted on Coogee Beach on Tuesday, were confirmed to be “tar balls” but it was unclear where they originated from.
Penny Sharp, the environment minister of New South Wales, said investigations were continuing to find what was behind the formation of these tar balls.
Waverley Council closed Bondi, Bronte, and Tamarama beaches as a precaution on Thursday evening, while Randwick Council closed four additional beaches, including Clovelly, Maroubra, Gordons Bay, and Coogee.
New South Wales Maritime executive director Mark Hutchings said in a statement the balls were “not extremely toxic” to humans.
“We can now confirm the balls are made up of fatty acids, chemicals consistent with those found in cleaning and cosmetic products, mixed with some fuel oil.
“We’ve found no further evidence of the substance, so this appears to be an isolated incident.
“We’ve had teams on the ground, vessels out on the water, and drones in the sky to clear the majority of the balls from our beaches.”
Around 2,000 balls were picked up since Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
Even though only 150 balls were found on Friday, according to ABC News, beachgoers have still been told to inform lifeguards if they spot any more tar balls and to clean their hands with soap and water or baby oil if they come into contact with them.
On Wednesday evening, Randwick council said preliminary lab test results suggested that the dark spheres were made of tar which could be formed when oil comes into contact with debris and water as a result of oil spills or seepage.
It said the “preliminary test results … show the material is a hydrocarbon-based pollutant which is consistent with the makeup of tar balls”. Hydrocarbons are primarily found in natural sources like petroleum, natural gas, and coal.
The NSW Maritime and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said earlier this week they were investigating the potential origins of the tar balls.
“[The Australian Maritime Safety Authority] will do reverse modelling and drift modelling, take into account the currents and the wind, for [NSW Maritime] to be able to work out whether it’s come from the south, north or east off the coast of New South Wales,” director Darren Wood told ABC Radio Sydney.
Man arrested in Japan after ruling party headquarters firebombed
A man was arrested after he was accused of throwing several firebombs into the headquarters of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on Saturday. There were no reports of injuries.
Tokyo police declined to comment, stating that the matter was still under investigation. The man had also driven his car into nearby security fencing outside prime minister Shigeru Ishiba’s office, which is close to the LDP headquarters situated in Nagatacho, news reports said.
The police have named the suspect as Atsunobu Usuda, 49, of Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, and he was arrested on the scene for obstruction of official duties.
His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has become increasingly unpopular with the public due to a ballooning money scandal involving dubious funding and suspected tax evasion.
The party declined to comment on Saturday’s attack, referring all queries to the police.
Local media quoted Ishiba, who was in Kagoshima in southern Japan on Saturday, as saying democracy should never give in to violence.
Voting for the lower house of Parliament is set for 27 October. Some politicians have lost the official backing of the ruling party but are running as independents.
The party recently chose a new leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, hoping to present a new image. But polls show its popularity plummeting, although it’s still unclear whether they will lose their majority grip on the lower house in the upcoming election given the splintered opposition.
Mr Ishiba, a moderate and former defence minister, won the ruling LDP presidential election at his fifth and final attempt last week, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi in a runoff vote.
Some candidates have been heckled, which is relatively rare in Japanese culture.
The Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost incessantly over recent decades. They are credited with leading Japan as it became an economic powerhouse from the devastation of World War II.
Then-prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in 2022, while making a speech for a ruling party candidate during a parliamentary election. The killer used a handmade firearm, saying he resented Abe because his mother gave all the family money to the Unification Church, and he saw Abe as affiliated with that church. Such ties are still ongoing with some ruling party politicians.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
Schoolboy who attacked sleeping students with claw hammer jailed
A public schoolboy who attacked two students and a teacher with claw hammers while they slept at a boarding school in Devon has been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years.
The 16-year-old had claimed he was sleepwalking and was “on a mission” to protect himself from a zombie apocalypse when he carried out his attack.
Jurors at Exeter Crown Court found him guilty of attempted murder after he admitted to assaulting the two boys and the housemaster at Blundell’s School in Tiverton.
The court heard that the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had waited for the two boys to be asleep in their cabin-style beds before attacking them shortly before 1am on 9 June last year.
Housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester was awoken by the noises coming from the boarding house and went to investigate, at which point he saw a silhouetted figure standing in the bedroom.
The schoolboy turned towards him and repeatedly struck him over the head with a hammer, before he managed to flee and dial 999, believing there was an intruder.
The two victims were discovered a few minutes later, with skull fractures, as well as injuries to their ribs, spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.
Neither of them have any recollection of the incident and are now living with the “long-term consequences” of the attack, while Mr Roffe-Silvester suffered six blows to the head.
During the trial, James Dawes KC, prosecuting, told jurors: “The investigation has uncovered an obsession that the defendant had with one of the boys, an obsession with hammers as weapons, and an obsession with killing and killers and the killing of children.
“He had motive, that he had planned something like this, thought about it in advance, and he was awake.
“He was using his iPad right up to the moment before the attack.”
The teenager maintained he was sleepwalking at the time of the attacks – meaning he would be not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity.
Relatives of the defendant also told the court about a history of sleepwalking in their family.
Giving evidence, the boy told jurors he remembered going to sleep before the attack and then seeing the dormitory covered in blood.
“I knew something really bad had gone on and everyone was looking towards me,” he said.
“I didn’t remember doing anything so the only rational thing I was thinking was that I was sleepwalking.”
He said he kept two hammers by his bed “for protection” from the “zombie apocalypse”.
The court also heard that the boy was being blackmailed by an online user, which was “on his mind every second”.
Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Cutts said the defendant was “dangerous” and only a life sentence could protect the public from further offending, as experts were unable to say how long he would pose a risk.
“It nevertheless remains the case you knew the difference between right and wrong and planned to kill the boys and obtained hammers,” she said.
“You planned your offences and used hammers you had bought as weapons. You knew full well if you hit the boys multiple times with the hammers they would die.
“You are an intelligent boy, and I am satisfied you knew the difference between right and wrong.
“I accept that in prison things will be difficult for you. In my view, there remains a significant risk that you could behave in this way again.