Delhi braces for new round of farmer protests. What are their demands?

Security has been beefed up in Delhi as the Indian capital braces for a fresh round of protests by farmers who have arrived at the border, threatening to bring the city to a standstill.

Farmer associations have called for a march on Delhi to press their demands, including fair compensation for their land acquired for developmental projects by the government.

Authorities have shut the city’s borders to keep the farmers from getting in. They have appeared determined to avoid a repeat of the 2021 protests which saw tens of thousands of farmers camp outside the capital for over a year, enduring a harsh winter and a devastating Covid surge.

The latest protest started on 25 November when hundreds of farmers gathered under the banners of the Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha. As their numbers swelled to over 20,000, the protest leaders called for a march on the capital on Monday.

As they closed in on the city, the protesters knocked down police barricades and shouted slogans against the government. Police, however, managed to keep them from moving beyond the satellite city of Noida.

The protest caused massive traffic snarls, disrupting daily life for thousands of people who travel between the two cities for work.

“The farmers have been stopped at the Mahamaya flyover. They want to head towards Delhi because the solution will come from Delhi only,” Rakesh Tikait, a top farmer leader, said.

“Police are stopping the farmers whereas the farmers want to head towards Delhi.”

Police have blocked key entry points to the capital, including highways and arterial roads, leading to long delays and diversions.

The Noida police commissioner said they have deployed 5,000 personnel at checkpoints, and 1,000 more for law enforcement management.

A key demand of the farmers from the northern Uttar Pradesh state who have arrived at the capital’s border is the allocation of 10 per cent of developed plots promised to farmers who were displaced by government land acquisition.

The demand goes back many years to when the government acquired large tracts of agricultural land for urbanisation projects and promised developed plots to the affected farmers.

The farmers claim they have not been received the promised plots or the additional 64 per cent compensation for the acquired land.

They are also asking for jobs and rehabilitation benefits for the children of landless farmers as well as resettlement of affected communities.

The protests of four years ago in contrast were driven by a set of contentious agriculture reform laws that the Narendra Modi government was eventually forced to repeal.

The latest protests are expected to grow in the coming days as farmers from the neighbouring state of Punjab are expected to launch a march on Delhi from 6 December.

Punjab’s farmers have been regrouping since the start of the year saying the central government has failed to meet some of their key demands from the previous protests, which they led, despite the farm laws being repealed.

In the wake of the 2021 protests, the government promised to set up a committee to implement minimum support prices for all crops. The farmers say the government has failed to act on it.

The implementation of the minimum support price, the minimum rate at which farmers sell their crops to the government, is a key demand of the farmers, who say it protects them from market fluctuation and offers stability and income security.

Sukhvinder Kaur, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union Krantipari, told The Independent the government should give a legal guarantee for minimum support price as the farmers do not get the assured prices despite promises.

In addition, the farmers are demanding a complete waiver of agricultural debts.

Indebtedness has long been a key electoral issue in India’s agricultural heartland—Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana—where hundreds of farmers burdened by debt have tragically taken their lives.

The Indian government has waived farm loans twice since independence in 1947, but has never implemented a blanket waiver.

The farmers also want the government to provide pensions to elderly farmers of up to Rs 10,000 per month.

Ms Kaur said these are very basic demands that the government has continued to ignore since the farm laws were repealed.

“The government has not done anything on the committee it promised to form on MSP. We are planning to march on Delhi on 6 December and will not return till our demands are met,” she said.

Bear that ransacked Japanese supermarket killed after two-day hunt

A rogue bear that terrorised a supermarket in northeastern Japan was captured and killed after a two-day hunt that ended on 2 December.

The animal attacked an employee and scavenged through the store’s meat section before eluding authorities for about 48 hours.

The bear entered the store in Akita early on 30 November as 20 employees were preparing for the day. It attacked a 47-year-old male staffer who suffered facial and other injuries.

The injuries were later confirmed to be non-life-threatening.

The laceration on the man’s head “will take at least a week to heal once his stitches get removed according to a doctor,” a police spokesperson told AFP.

Since it was early and there were no customers, the bear roamed the store freely. It ransacked the meat stock before vanishing.

An operation to track and capture the animal started immediately, with police enlisting licenced hunters. But the search initially proved fruitless, despite the use of a camera-equipped drone, Kyodo News reported.

The breakthrough came on 2 December, at about 8.10am local time, when the bear triggered a sensor in one of the two traps set up for it. The traps, baited with honey, apples and bread, had been strategically positioned. One was placed in a rear storage area where the animal was ultimately captured.

The bear, measuring roughly a metre in length, was subsequently killed, bringing an end to the tense standoff. The supermarket, located near the Tsuchizaki railway station, remained closed throughout the hunt, preventing what could have been a far graver outcome.

Bear encounters in Japan have been on the rise, not least in the northern part of the country, driven by habitat loss and declining food supplies in the wild, especially in the mountain ranges, which otherwise provided an ideal habitat.

Climate change is also affecting the traditional food source of bears by interfering with flowering and pollination seasons, forcing them to venture into urban areas, environmentalists have said.

Akita prefecture, bordered by the Sea of Japan and known for its lush landscapes, has seen a noticeable increase in bear sightings, leading to renewed calls for more effective wildlife management strategies.

At least 9,000 bears have been killed in the last fiscal year, reported the Manila Times, citing the country’s environment ministry. The number is twice that of 2022, it added.

Meanwhile, at least three people have been killed in bear attacks this year.

Indian actor Vikrant Massey retires at 37 to focus on personal life

Indian actor Vikrant Massey has announced his retirement, saying he believes it is time to “recalibrate” and focus on his personal life.

Massey, 37, posted a message reflecting on his career, which has spanned television and film, and said he will be taking a step back from acting after the scheduled release of his films in 2025.

“The last few years and beyond have been phenomenal. I thank each and every one of you for your indelible support,” Massey wrote in a post on his Instagram.

“But as I move forward, I realise it’s time to recalibrate and go back home. As a husband, father and a son. And also as an actor.

“So coming 2025, we would meet each other for one last time. Until time deems right. Last 2 movies and many a years of memories. Thank you again. For everything and everything in between. Forever indebted.”

Massey started his acting career in TV, debuting in the 2007 Disney sitcom Dhoom Machaao Dhoom. He became a household name after starring in Hindi television soaps such as Dharam Veer, Balika Vadhu, Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo, and Qubool Hai.

He went on to supporting roles alongside Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha in Lootera (2013) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), which also starred Priyanka Chopra.

His portrayal of the sensitive Shyamal ‘Shutu’ Chatterjee in Konkona Sen Sharma’s A Death in the Gunj (2016) won him rave reviews, and this was followed by performances in Bollywood films like 12th Fail and Sector 36.

He was most recently seen in The Sabarmati Report, which follows the 2002 Godhra train burning, the catalyst for the sectarian violence in Gujarat that left thousands dead, the majority of them Muslims, when the western state was ruled by Narendra Modi.

The last two films that Massey referred to in his post are likely to be Yaar Jigri and Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, according to Indian media reports.

Indian actor Dia Mirza commented on his post saying: “Breaks are best. You’ll be even more amazing on the other side.”

Massey’s announcement came after he drew criticism forThe Sabarmati Report, which many commentators on social media have called right-wing propaganda.

One post on social media said: “Vikrant Massey is a decent actor with a decent career marked by acclaimed performances in Lootera, A Death in the Gunj, Mirzapur, and 12th Fail. And despite all that, he will end his career with the legacy of headlining a fascist propaganda film like Sabarmati Express.”

Screenwriter and editor Apurva Asrani also posted on X, quoting a different post that said Massey was “already cancelled after he signed Sabarmati report”, and writing: “All stories need to be told. All perspectives need to find vent & must be considered before they are accepted or rejected. Cancelling a talent because he doesn’t echo a particular narrative goes against free speech & feels dictatorial. Don’t suffocate our artists.”

Passengers on Manchester flight in 13-hour Kuwait nightmare

Passengers travelling from Bahrain to Manchester were stranded for over 13 hours after their Gulf Air flight made an emergency landing in Kuwait, reportedly due to an engine fire.

Some passengers alleged discrimination, claiming that while holders of EU, UK, and US passports were given accommodation, Indians, Pakistanis and Southeast Asians were initially denied help, food, and water, Indian media reported.

Many of those on board began their journeys in Mumbai in India, with Bahrain as a transit stop and Manchester their final destination. The emergency landing took place roughly two hours after Gulf Air flight GF 005 took off from Bahrain, with an announcement telling the flight they would be redirected to Kuwait.

A social media video showed passengers of flight GF005 in heated arguments with airport authorities upon landing, with South Asian passengers criticising the way they were served compared to those on other passports.

The Indian embassy in Kuwait said on X on Sunday that it promptly took up the matter with Gulf Air.

Arzoo Singh, a passenger, claimed they were not allowed to leave the airport since they did not have a transit visa. She told NDTV: “They said ‘if you’re entitled passport holders, and Indians and Pakistanis are not entitled passport holders’, they literally told us if you’re entitled for a transit visa, only then we can put you in a hotel outside.

“We asked them what about us, people who aren’t ‘entitled’ as you say? They said we will get back to you. We ran behind them for nearly two hours, only then we got lounge access. We asked for blankets, we asked for food. They didn’t give. No one even gave us water for the first four hours.”

“After we raised the issue on social media, senior officials from the Indian embassy in Kuwait reached out to the Indian passengers stuck at the airport,” news agency ANI quoted Ms Singh as saying.

The embassy posted on X: “Efforts are being made to accommodate passengers in the airport hotel, which is currently unavailable due to ongoing GCC Summit. It may be noted that Indian nationals don’t fall under visa on arrival facility in Kuwait. All government offices are closed today due to GCC Summit being hosted by Kuwait.”

The 45th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit was held on 1 December.

Following their discussions, Ms Singh said, the airport authorities offered accommodation for senior citizens and passengers with infants at a facility within the premises, the Hindustan Times reported. But there was no clear information about arrangements for the remaining passengers.

Another passenger, Shivansh, wrote on X: “All British passport holders got their hotels sorted with on-arrival visas while Indian passport holders have been left stranded without any info, food, or any kind of help. Please help and provide us a visa so that at least we can get a hotel and wait for the next flight.”

The other passengers were eventually allowed access to airport lounges, and the flight departed for Manchester at 4.34am on Monday.

Gulf Air has not made a public statement about the complaints so far. The Independent has reached out to the airline for comment.

‘I knew she was going to die,’ says mother of Laos poisoning victim

The mother of a London lawyer who died after drinking contaminated vodka while travelling in Laos has recalled her “horrendous” journey to be at her daughter’s bedside.

Simone White, 28, had been backpacking with two childhood friends at the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng when she became seriously unwell after accepting a shot of alcohol. Five others also died.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, her mother Sue White said: “I knew when I had that phone call – I don’t know what it was, call it a mother’s intuition – but I knew that she was going to die.”

Simone was taken in for surgery just as her mother arrived at the hospital after a 16-hour journey from Heathrow. It later became clear that her brain function was gone, and she died on Thursday 21 November.

Ms White warned young travellers exploring southeast Asia to be careful when accepting drinks, stressing: “Simone was a university-educated, highly intelligent person. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.”

Her daughter and her friends were among a group of people who became violently unwell, and police detained eight members of staff at the hostel for questioning. The owners have denied selling illicit alcohol.

Simone had not noticed anything out of the ordinary with the drinks, but she and her friends woke up with headaches and their condition grew worse over the following day.

After starting to vomit, the trio decided to take a taxi to the public hospital, before travelling on to a private medical facility in Vientiane, the country’s capital.

It was on Thursday 14 November that her mother received a text message to say that the three were in hospital with suspected acidosis. Her friend added: “Simone is the worst affected out of all of us but she’s not doing too badly. Keep you updated.”

The following day, she received a phone call from her daughter’s friend, who told her to travel out to Laos as Simone’s condition had worsened. Simone was given two blood transfusions as well as having brain surgery as doctors attempted to save her life.

Methanol is a deadly chemical that can be found in home-brewed or counterfeit alcohol, and only a small amount can cause organ failure, blindness and death.

Unfortunately, Simone’s condition deteriorated, and despite the best efforts of the hospital staff, she died a few days later.

Since her death, tributes have flooded in for the successful lawyer, who had been working at global law firm Squire Patton Boggs. Her work involved general commercial matters as well as contentious and non-contentious issues relating to intellectual property law.

Landlocked Laos is one of southeast Asia’s poorest nations and a popular tourist destination. Vang Vieng is particularly popular among backpackers seeking social interaction and adventure sports.

Officials in Laos have released almost no details about the case, with the government keeping a tight lid on information. The country is a one-party communist state with no organised opposition.

North Korean exhibit brands South Korean leader ‘vicious main culprit’

North Korea has prominently displayed a picture of South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol at its indoctrination centre in Pyongyang, branding him the “vicious main culprit” behind the hostilities between the two countries.

Revisions have been made to the exhibit at the Central Class Education House — an institution in the capital dedicated to fostering hostility towards South Korea, Japan and the US — for its 27 November edition, according to pictures published in Rodong Sinmun.

The display is part of a broader effort by North Korea to undo decades of indoctrination after leader Kim Jong-un abandoned unification with South Korea as a goal at the beginning of this year and denounced the neighbouring country as his “No 1 enemy”.

Pyongyang has amended its constitution to declare South Korea a “hostile state”, pulled out of treaties, demolished unification monuments, and blown up road and railway links connecting the two nations as tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen over the past year.

The North has denounced Mr Yoon for forging closer ties with Washington as well as the South’s joint military exercises with the US and Japan that have seen American warships sail close to North Korean waters.

The exhibit features a picture of him visiting a military unit with the caption: “The venomous remarks of scoundrel Yoon Suk Yeol causing destruction.”

The picture is titled: “The vicious main culprit of the confrontation mentality against the Republic”. North Korea is formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The display also denounces the South’s military slogan “Immediately, Strongly and To the End”, which is employed as a response to alleged provocations by the North.

It targets South Korea’s alliance with the US as well, describing it as an “aggressive treaty”.

The caption of a picture from the 45th South Korea-US Security Consultative Meeting describes the annual defence dialogue as a “platform for discussion of nuclear war provocations”.

South Korea’s unification ministry confirmed the exhibition of the pictures at the Central Class Education House. “These changes seem to be one of North Korea’s attempts to dismantle the idea of unification and intensify class indoctrination aimed at fostering hostility towards South Korea,” an unnamed ministry official was quoted as saying by the Korean Herald.

The Central Class Education House, inaugurated in 2016, serves as a hub for anti-West and anti-South Korea propaganda. It features over 1,600 photos and more than 100 pieces of artwork that highlight what Pyongyang describes as the “barbarous, vicious, and cruel nature” of the US and its allies.

At least 130 killed in sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s northwest

At least 130 people were killed in deadly sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire, days after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims, local officials said.

Kurram, near the border with Afghanistan, has been a flashpoint for sectarian tensions for decades. They spilled over into a fresh wave of attacks last month when clashes between Sunnis and Shias left dozens dead.

District administration official Wajid Hussain said 133 people had been killed in the attacks in the last week and a half.

Last week, a convoy travelling from Parachinar to Peshawar was ambushed despite prior threats to Shiites in the region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – an area with a history of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite communities.

At least 20 others were also injured in the attack. “The district administration and other relevant authorities have initiated efforts to stop fighting between the two communities but there is no breakthrough yet,” Mr Hussain said.

A Pakistani government team mediated a seven-day ceasefire deal between the rival groups last Sunday. Armed Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims have engaged in tribal and sectarian rivalry for decades over land and other local disputes in Kurram.

Provincial authorities put the death toll at 97, with 43 people killed in the initial attack when gunmen opened fire on mostly Shia drivers and the rest killed in retaliatory clashes.

The chief minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, visited the area on Saturday for a large gathering of tribal elders and leaders.

“Anyone who takes up arms will be treated as a terrorist, and their fate will be that of a terrorist,” said Mr Gandapur according to a statement from his office late on Saturday, adding that security forces would remain in the area.

Residents and officials said the main highway connecting Kurram’s main city of Parachinar to the provincial capital Peshawar was blocked, which had made the transfer of wounded people to hospitals difficult.

“Our medical team is working around the clock to perform surgeries due to the challenges in referring patients to larger hospitals in Peshawar and elsewhere,” said Dr Syed Mir Hassan, from Parachinar’s district hospital.

He added that they were currently treating around 100 wounded patients and had received 50 bodies during the violence.

KP government spokesperson Barrister Dr Saif provided details of the attack, stating that the gunmen first targeted police personnel before opening fire on the passenger convoy from both sides.

“The convoy consisted of around 200 vehicles,” he said.

He added that an investigation into the incident is currently underway.

Kurram’s deputy commissioner Javedullah Mehsud told AFP that “two separate convoys of members of the Shia community … were targeted by the terrorists in the Kurram district.

“Both convoys consisted of around 40 vehicles travelling under police escort,” he said.

Shiite Muslims constitute about 15 per cent of Pakistan’s 240 million population, of which the majority are Sunni Muslims. The country has a longstanding history of sectarian tensions between the two communities.

In July, clashes over a land dispute in Kurram escalated into sectarian violence, leaving nearly 50 people dead from both sides.

Baqir Haideri, a local Shiite leader, criticised local authorities for failing to provide sufficient security for the convoy of over 100 vehicles, despite prior threats from militants targeting Shiites in Kurram.

President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, while prime minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to bring those responsible for the killing of innocent civilians to justice. “Attacking innocent passengers is a cowardly and inhumane act,” Mr Zardari said.

Mr Sharif said: “The enemies of the peace of the country attacked the convoy of innocent citizens, which is tantamount to brutality. All attempts of anti-national elements to destroy the peace of the beloved country will be thwarted.

“The evil elements involved in the incident will be identified and punished accordingly. Saboteurs cannot demoralise the brave Pakistani nation by such cowardly actions,” he said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan accused the government of failing to protect citizens in Kurram. “We demand immediate and decisive steps from both governments to permanently break this cycle of violence,” the commission said in a statement.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

Princess Aiko turns 23 amid doubts about her future in imperial family

Japan’s popular Princess Aiko turned 23 on Sunday, as she takes on more official duties even while her future in the imperial family remains in doubt.

Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, graduated from university earlier this year and has since been participating in official duties and palace rituals while working at the Red Cross Society, according to the Imperial Household Agency.

But Japanese law requires her to renounce her royal status and leave the family if she marries outside the imperial family.

The vast majority of Japan’s public supports changing the law to allow her to remain a royal and become emperor, but conservatives in the governing party insist on keeping male-only succession. Japan’s rapidly dwindling imperial family has only 16 members, including four men.

Aiko was to mark her birthday with her parents at the imperial palace in Tokyo. The IHA also released several photos of Aiko, including one of her standing by a persimmon tree at a palace garden. Another showed her holding pieces of traditional hand-crafted washi paper that she made at a workshop during her first solo official trip in October to the National Sports Festival in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Saga.

The 1947 Imperial House Law, which largely preserves conservative prewar family values, allows only males to take the throne and forces female royals who marry outside the family to give up their status. With only one young male member, that puts the survival of the 2,000-year-old monarchy in jeopardy.

The youngest male member of the imperial family, Prince Hisahito — Aiko’s 18-year-old cousin — is currently the last heir apparent, posing a major problem for the system.

The government is looking for a way to keep the succession stable without relying on women, such as allowing the family to adopt new male members from former noble families that lost their status after World War II.

Aiko’s own views on the topic are unknown. She’s only had one full news conference, when she reached adulthood.

Last month, the United Nations women’s rights committee in Geneva issued a report that called for the Japanese government to allow a female emperor, among other issues hindering gender equality in the country.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi dismissed the report “regrettable” and “inappropriate.” He said the imperial succession is a matter of fundamental national identity and that it is not covered by constitutional basic rights.

Crown Prince Akishino, Aiko’s uncle, was asked about the succession debate at a news conference marking his 59th birthday Saturday, and replied that members of the royal family are “living humans” and that the palace officials who support their daily lives should know how it affects them.

At her work at the Japanese Red Cross Society, Aiko is assigned to volunteer training program, the IHA said. On weekends, it said, the princess enjoys taking walks with her parents and playing volleyball, tennis and badminton with palace officials.