Uber floats Asia’s first boat taxi service on Kashmir’s Dal Lake

The iconic shikaras of the Dal Lake, long synonymous with Kashmir and its beauty, are getting a modern upgrade. Uber has launched its new service, the Uber Shikara, allowing customers to easily book one on their phone with the click of a button, bypassing the customary dockside negotiations.

The multinational transport company introduced the water taxi service earlier this week, the first of its kind in Asia.

Aimed at blending the old tradition of the shikara ride with the ease of modern technology, the service can be booked at least 12 hours and up to 15 days in advance.

The hand-painted and elaborately carved wooden boats that dot the Dal Lake are popular with tourists and locals alike. They are regarded as a cultural symbol of Kashmir, similar to Venice’s gondolas.

Uber said the shikaras will be available for hour-long rides daily between 10am and 5pm. A shikara typically accommodates four passengers.

Read more: Uber has launched seaplane flights over an iconic Scottish loch – and they are completely free

In a statement shared with The Independent, Prabhjeet Singh, president of Uber India & South Asia, said: “At Uber, we are always looking to make mobility magical and effortless. Uber Shikara is our humble attempt to blend technology and tradition to give a seamless experience to travellers for their Shikara ride. We are proud to create this iconic experience enhancing accessibility and uplifting tourism in the breathtaking landscape of Kashmir.”

The company said it will connect customers with shikara operators but charge no commission, allowing the drivers to take home the entirety of the fare, which will be set at a predetermined government rate.

“The entire amount will go to the Shikara drivers, creating additional economic opportunities for grassroots tourism workers in J&K,” the company said.

Though most of the responses to the announcement of the service were positive, some on social media felt concerned it would marginalise traditional boatmen and leave them at the mercy of fares set by the company.

The president of the Shikara Owners Association, Wali Mohammad Bhatt, seemed optimistic about the service, telling Reuters: “It will boost our business. There will be fixed rates, no cheating, and no scope for bargaining.”

Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha posted on X, praising the service: “Launch of Uber Shikara in Srinagar is a testament to creative ways technology can enhance our cultural heritage. This offering in upcoming tourist season will provide visitors a seamless way to experience timeless charm of Shikara rides, a hallmark of J&K’s beauty.”

The union territory released data earlier this year showing Kashmir had a tourist footfall of 1,565,000 in the first half of 2024, registering an increase of 20 percent over the same period last year.

Kashmir is at the heart of a decades-old dispute between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim the region in its entirety but control only parts of it.

Tourists evacuated after hoax bomb threat to Taj Mahal

Indian authorities temporarily closed the Taj Mahal on Tuesday morning after a bomb threat triggered a high-security alert at the iconic monument.

Over 1,500 tourists were safely escorted out as specialised bomb and dog squads combed the premises for any suspicious items, reported the Times of India.

The threat was made in an email sent to the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department’s local office at 7.53am. It said that an explosive device had been planted at the site. However, a delay in accessing the message – only opened after the office began operations at 11am – briefly stalled the response.

“An email threatening to blow up the Taj Mahal at a specific time was forwarded to security agencies for immediate action,” Deepti Vats, deputy director of the state tourism department, was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

Security agencies, including the Central Industrial Security Force and local police, immediately heightened vigilance upon receiving the alert.

Entry and exit points were subjected to intensified checks, although officials prioritised maintaining calm during the evacuation process.

“Taj Mahal has robust security, but additional measures were implemented immediately. Comprehensive checks were conducted to identify any suspicious objects. Bomb squads scoured the premises to ensure safety, and other measures, including restricting entry and tightening surveillance, were implemented,” said deputy police commissioner Suraj Rai.

Assistant police commissioner Sayed Areeb Ahmad said the threat turned out to be a hoax after a thorough inspection of the premises.

“The email claimed a bomb had been planted at the Taj Mahal. A thorough search was conducted, and it turned out to be a hoax threat,” he said. “We are filing an FIR under the Bombs and Explosives Substances Act and the Information Technology Act.”

Investigators are now focused on tracing the origin of the email.

The Taj Mahal, which sees thousands of daily visitors, is equipped with rigorous security protocols.

One in three Afghans faces hunger as harsh winter starts to bite

At least one in three people in Afghanistan will face severe food insecurity this winter as the war-battered nation faces crisis or emergency levels of hunger, aid agencies have warned.

Children in particular will suffer dire survival conditions over the next three months, according to a forecast by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Save the Children.

“Winter is when hunger bites hardest in Afghanistan and WFP expects nearly 15 million people or nearly a third of the population of Afghanistan to be in need of food assistance for survival,” Philippe Kropf, the agency’s spokesperson, told The Independent over the phone from Afghanistan. “Next year, an additional 570,000 children are expected to become malnourished as compared to this year. We expect a total of 3.45 million children to be malnourished in 2025.”

According to another assessment by Save the Children, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, about 24 million people, will be in dire need of humanitarian assistance, like cash and food supplies, to avoid slipping into poverty and food insecurity in the coming months.

“As winter arrives and temperatures drop, families in some parts of Afghanistan are having to make agonising choices about what to prioritise – food, heating or warm clothes for the children,” the nonprofit’s country director in Afghanistan, Arshad Malik, said. “One family said that they are worried about how they are going to survive the winter and make sure their children even have just bread to eat.”

Afghan children are reeling from the devastation caused by drought, floods, displacement, and high food prices. Nearly 6.5 million children, or 30 per cent, are facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger, Mr Malik said.

“One child told us that he didn’t have any warm clothes – until they were provided by Save the Children – and was having to share socks with his siblings,” he told The Independent.

Mr Kropf said the WFP will require $787m across all of its programmes over the next six months to ensure vulnerable families in Afghanistan do not succumb to starvation and poverty.

Nearly 16 million people across 171 districts are listed in the high priority category for winter support provided by humanitarian agencies.

Around 43 per cent of Afghanistan is expected to be highly impacted by this winter, Save the Children said, while 56 per cent will be moderately affected and need assistance as well.

In addition to causing food scarcity, the cold weather exacerbates health risks. Millions of Afghans face temperatures that could weaken immune systems and heighten susceptibility to respiratory infections, Mr Malik said.

As food prices tend to rise in winter, millions of Afghans, particularly children, will face shortage of nutritious food and, thereby, a higher risk of acute malnutrition, he added.

The problem is compounded by the absence of a functional economy under the Taliban as well as by snow blocking roads, hindering the delivery of aid and cutting off many communities in the country’s remote areas.

For vulnerable Afghans to pull through this winter, the Asian country needs at least $1bn in aid, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The international community is yet to meet the needs of humanitarian funding, however, according to data from Save the Children.

“Although humanitarian aid has been a lifeline to Afghan communities, the humanitarian funding appeal for 2024 has received only 37.5 per cent of requested funds as of 27 November, leaving a funding gap of 62 per cent,” Mr Malik said.

The Taliban government has not publicly announced any measures to address the challenges of the winter season.

Mother of high-profile Uyghur activist allowed to leave China

China has allowed Ayshem Mamut, the mother of high-profile Uyghur rights activist Nury Turkel, to leave the country after striking a sensitive prisoner exchange deal, her family and officials at the White House said.

The US national security council said it was “pleased Ayshem Mamut is home with her family” in the US, confirming that she was freed by China in a deal between Washington and Beijing.

A Chinese national, Ms Mamut, 73, celebrated Thanksgiving meal in Virginia with her family, including grandchildren, this past weekend, reported The New York Times.

“Our prayers have been answered. After more than 20 years, I am overjoyed to be reunited with my mother here in Washington. Most importantly, she can finally embrace her grandchildren for the first time,” said Mr Turkel in a post on X.

He added: “Celebrating #Thanksgiving together brings indescribable joy, gratitude, and a sense of normalcy. This reunion marks the end of a two-decade ordeal. Sadly, my father did not live to see this day – he passed away over two years ago without ever meeting his grandchildren. Yet, I feel his presence guiding us, his strength and hope lighting the way to this moment.”

Mr Turkel, who is also a senior fellow at the Hudson institute, a Washington-based think tank, thanked the US president Joe Biden, secretary of state Antony Blinken, and White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan in his post.

Last week, China and the US brokered a deal allowing three American citizens imprisoned for years by China to come home. Their release, announced earlier by the White House, was the result of a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration.

The Chinese government also announced that the US had returned four people to China, including at least three Chinese citizens who it said had been held for “political purposes”, and a person who had been sought by Beijing for crimes and had been living in the US. It did not identify the four.

The Chinese government under president Xi Jinping has been accused of notoriously prosecuting Uyghurs and Hui Muslims over the past decade through alleged widespread abuses and arbitrary detentions. Beijing has routinely denied allegations of “crimes against humanity”, calling them the “lie of the century”.

Ms Mamut was released alongside three Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung, all of whom had been designated by the US government as wrongfully detained by China. Mr Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Mr Li and Mr Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges.

The release of Americans deemed wrongfully detained in China has been a top agenda item in each conversation between the US and China, and the negotiations hinted at a willingness by Beijing to engage with the outgoing Democratic administration before Republican president-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

Taliban bans women from training as midwives

Women in Afghanistan have been banned from training to become midwives in the latest crackdown unveiled by the Taliban.

Trainee midwifery students, who have been ordered to no longer attend classes, urged Taliban leaders to allow them to continue studying.

A director at leading global charity Human Rights Watch said the measures would lead to women and girls dying due to struggling to receive healthcare during childbirth.

Sources close to the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health told BBC Radio 4’s World at One they have received orders to shut medical institutions to female students until further notice. Several midwifery institutions in different provinces in Afghanistan confirmed the ban is in place to the news outlet.

Heather Barr, interim women’s rights deputy director at Human Rights Watch, told The Independent: “This is closing one of the very few loopholes that was still left in the Taliban’s ban on education for women and girls but it is also a particularly significant loophole because this will lead to women and girls dying.

“The Taliban have also banned women from being treated by male healthcare professionals and now what they are doing effectively is cutting off the pipeline of new female healthcare professionals.”

She warned the new measures are part of a wider pattern which sees the Taliban taking “more and more from women” and further restricting their lives.

Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of deaths in childbirth in the world – with one woman estimated to die every two hours.

“Let us breathe, let us live, let us study,” one woman in Afghanistan told the World at One.

Mariam Aman, assistant editor from the BBC’s Afghan language service, said the implications were enormous, adding: “This immediate ban is impacting around 17,000 female student trainees.”

She said: “You can imagine five years down the line, women will be giving birth at home alone and there will be districts with no midwives and no access to health.”

A young woman living in western Afghanistan, who was stopped from attending university two years ago and now teaches English to girls, told the BBC she has a friend studying midwifery who has taken her exams and was close to graduating.

Her friend has told her the institute, which teaches girls nursing and other medicines, had been forced to shut its doors this morning, she added.

The Taliban, a hardline Islamist group which previously ruled the country, has blocked women from the workplace, education and public spaces, as well as barring them from taking part in all sports since seizing power after US and British forces withdrew in 2021.

Women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are currently prohibited from going to a salon, working out at the gym, and even speaking or praying in public.

Within a month of claiming Kabul, the Taliban’s education ministry banned girls and women from schools. The Taliban leaders also announced that the girls were barred from studying beyond the sixth grade – with the ban extended to colleges and universities in December 2022.

Philippines and China swap allegations after vessel ‘sideswiped’

Chinese and Filippino coast guards confronted each other in the South China Sea with Manila claiming that its government vessel was “sideswiped” on Wednesday.

The latest dispute in the controversial waters follows China’s submission of nautical charts to the United Nations, drawing a baseline “territorial waters” around the prime fishing patch of the Scarborough Shoal, which is a major flashpoint between the two.

The fresh flareup has prompted the US to condemn the Chinese actions “putting lives at risk” in the waters.

China’s “unlawful use of water cannons and dangerous manoeuvres” in the South China Sea, its top envoy to Manila said on Wednesday.

China’s actions disrupted Philippine maritime operations and put lives at risk, ambassador MaryKay Carlson said on social media platform X, adding that the US stands with likeminded allies in support of a free and open Pacific.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said two Chinese Navy and three coastguard vessels fired a water cannon  aimed “directly at the vessel’s navigational antennas” and “intentionally sideswiped” its vessel during regular petrol in the Scarborough Shoal.

Philippine vessels faced “blocking, shadowing, and dangerous manoeuvres” from Chinese Navy and coastguard ships, PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said.

The spokesperson shared multiple videos on his X accounts which showed a vessel targeting another with a water cannon and coming dangerously close while chasing the vessel.

The Chinese coast guard, however, said it tried to “exercise control” over their counterparts after four Philippine ships had attempted to enter its territorial waters around the Scarborough Shoal, which Beijing claims as Huangyan Island.

Liu Dejun, a coast guard spokesperson, said Philippine ships had “dangerously approached” the coast guard’s “normal law enforcement patrol vessels”.

He added that one of the Philippine ships “ignored” repeated warnings, with actions that “seriously threatened” the safety of a Chinese coast guard vessel.

“We warn the Philippines to immediately stop infringement, provocation and propaganda, otherwise it will be responsible for all consequences.”

US ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay L Carlson, said China’s “unlawful use of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers disrupted a Philippine maritime operation on December 4, putting lives at risk”.

“We condemn these actions and stand with our likeminded #FriendsPartnersAllies in support of a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific,” she added.

Confrontations between Manila and Beijing have intensified in the South China Sea, a key trade route where Beijing lays its claim. Countries such as the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, are all in dispute with Beijing as they claim fishing lines that cut into their exclusive economic zones.

China’s submission to the UN nautical charts was “a legitimate activity to defend (China’s) territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests” as a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it said in a statement.

However, a spokesperson for the Philippine National Security Council called China’s claims over Bajo de Masinloc, a Filipino name for Scarborough Shoal, as “baseless”.

“It looks like a reinforcement of (China’s) baseless claim over Bajo de Masinloc following their submission of their alleged baselines,” Jonathan Malaya, assistant director-general of the National Security Council, said.

India promises better security after mob attacks Bangladeshi consulate

India has condemned a mob attack on a Bangladeshi consulate and promised to beef up security as relations between Delhi and Dhaka continue to sour following the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina government.

A mob of around 50 people entered the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala in the northeast Indian state of Tripura on Monday after breaking down its main gate.

The intruders vandalised property and desecrated the Bangladesh national flag, leaving the staff with a “deep sense of insecurity”, the country’s interim government said, calling it a “heinous attack” on a diplomatic mission.

The attack occurred as about 4,000 people protesting the treatment of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh took to the streets in the northeastern state, which borders Bangladesh.

“The incident of the breach of premises at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala is deeply regrettable,” the Indian foreign ministry said on Monday.

“Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances. Government is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and its Assistant High Commissions in the country.”

Reports of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have sparked protests in India against the interim government in Dhaka. The latest protest came after the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das last week. Mr Das, the leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the country, was detained on a sedition charge after a magistrate court denied him bail.

He had been leading rallies demanding security for Hindus in the country since mass street protests ousted Ms Hasina in August.

The priest’s arrest sparked protests by his supporters who violently clashed with security forces, leading to the death of a lawyer.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry called on India to take immediate action against the protesters who broke into its Tripura consulate.

The mob was allowed to enter the consulate in a “pre-planned manner”, it said, and they vandalised the premises in the presence of local law enforcement personnel.

The Tripura police said on Tuesday they had arrested seven members of a Hindu group and charged them with breaking into the consulate and vandalising property. They were part of the protest organised by the Hindu Sangharsha Samiti, a group that claims to protect Hindu interests.

“Around 50 of them broke into the property’s main gate and brought down the Bangladeshi flag post,” district police officer Kiran Kumar K in West Tripura said.

He also said police had taken disciplinary action against four officers who were in charge of providing security to the Bangladesh consulate.

The attack on the consulate came as some hospitals in Kolkata and Tripura announced they would no longer treat Bangladeshi patients in protest against the desecration of the Indian flag in Dhaka.

An association of hotel and restaurant owners in Tripura said it would not serve guests from Bangladesh in protest against the desecration of the flag and the treatment of Hindus in the neighbouring country.

“We are a secular country and have respect for all religions. Our national flag has been desecrated and minorities are facing oppression by a section of fundamentalists in Bangladesh,” said Saikat Bandyopadhyay, general secretary of the association.

“The prevailing situation in Bangladesh is really worrisome. We serve the people who are coming to Tripura for various purposes. We condemn the treatment meted out to minorities in Bangladesh.”

Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar told the parliament last week New Delhi had taken note of the violence against minorities in Bangladesh.

“The primary responsibility for the protection of life and liberty of all citizens of Bangladesh, including minorities, rests with the government of Bangladesh,” he said.

Fear of prosecution has prompted scores of Hindus to flee the country while many have been staging protests for safety of their homes, businesses and places of worship.

According to the Associated Press, there have been more than 2,000 attacks on the minority community since Ms Hasina’s ouster. Hindus make up roughly 8 per cent of Bangladesh’s population.

Vietnam court upholds death penalty for tycoon convicted of fraud

A court in Vietnam on Tuesday upheld the death sentence for real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, rejecting her appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery, according to state media.

Lan, sentenced to death earlier this year for embezzling billions from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), was awaiting the verdict of her appeal.

Lan, 68, was appealing a death sentence for orchestrating a $44bn fraud – the largest in banking history. Convicted in April under Vietnam’s anti-corruption campaign, she was accused of secretly controlling Saigon Commercial Bank and embezzling $12bn. She was also convicted of bribing government officials and breaching bank lending regulations.

“The consequences Lan caused are unprecedented in the history of litigation and the amount of money embezzled is unprecedentedly large and unrecoverable,” the prosecution was quoted as saying at the appeal hearing by state-run online newspaper VietnamNet.

“The defendant’s actions have affected many aspects of society, the financial market, the economy,” it said.

Her only hope was to repay $9bn – 75 per cent of the misappropriated funds – to have her sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

“We are now trying to help her to avoid the death penalty,” Lan’s lawyer Giang Hong Thanh said earlier. “There is a group of overseas investors who have agreed to lend Lan $400 million and they are working on the documents required to send the money in,” he said.

According to Vietnamese law, Lan’s sentence could be reduced if she managed to return three-quarters of the embezzled assets.

Lan, the former chair of Van Thinh Phat Group, is at the centre of Vietnam’s high-profile anti-corruption crackdown that has grabbed global attention. Earlier last month, she appeared visibly shaken in court when prosecutors proposed upholding the death penalty, describing herself as psychologically disturbed by the decision, according to VnExpress.

In October, she was sentenced to life imprisonment in a separate trial for illegally transferring $4.5bn across borders, laundering $17.5bn from Saigon Commercial Bank, and misappropriating $1.2bn through fraudulent bond issuances.

Lan’s case is part of the “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, a sweeping initiative led initially by the late Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The current general secretary, To Lam, has vowed to continue the campaign with equal resolve, targeting corruption across all sectors and resulting in the detention of numerous high-ranking officials and executives.

Her lawyers were seeking leniency from the judges, arguing that a death sentence would hinder her ability to negotiate favourable deals for selling her assets and investments, making it more challenging to raise the $9bn required. They contend she would have a better chance of achieving this under a life sentence.

About 36,000 people have been identified as victims of the SCB fraud, a scandal that shook the communist nation and sparked rare protests from those affected.

Lan and her family founded the Van Thinh Phat company in 1992, following Vietnam’s transition from a state-controlled economy to a market-oriented system that welcomed foreign investment.

According to the state media outlet Tien Phong, Lan began her career by assisting her mother, a Chinese entrepreneur, in selling cosmetics at Ho Chi Minh City’s oldest market.

Lan still has the right to request a review under Vietnam’s cassation or retrial procedures.