Report points to far higher death toll in Kumbh Mela stampede

At least 79 people died in last week’s stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in India, far exceeding the toll of 30 claimed by the provincial government, an investigation by a news outlet has found.

The government in northern Uttar Pradesh state, run by Narendra Modi’s BJP party, has been facing criticism for mismanaging the Hindu religious festival in Prayagraj and accused of covering up the death toll from the stampede, with opposition leaders demanding transparency and accountability.

The state’s chief minister, a Hindu monk called Yogi Adityanath, has been under fire for his administration’s delayed response to the tragedy on 29 January and his failure to release casualty figures promptly.

While his government has since ordered an investigation, it has not revised the initial toll.

An investigation by independent news outlet Newslaundry found the actual toll was far higher. A senior government official gave the outlet a list containing the names of 69 people who had reportedly been brought dead from the Kumbh to the Motilal Nehru Medical College in Prayagraj. At least 66 of the bodies had been handed over to their families by 3 February while three remained unidentified.

Ten of these victims were men and the rest women. The bodies were stored in a large freezer space, instead of the mortuary, the same facility used after a 2013 Kumbh stampede. None of the corpses were taken for postmortem, the outlet found, raising further questions about the government’s handling of the tragedy.

“The responsibility for postmortems lies with the police,” Newslaundry quoted a state official as saying. “The hospital only carries them out upon police request, but the administration wanted to send the bodies home as soon as possible.”

Relatives were provided with free ambulances, accompanied by police personnel, to take away the bodies. They were given receipts to claim the bodies as well, but two such receipts reviewed by the news outlet did not carry a date.

Further discrepancies were found at the Swaroop Rani Hospital in Prayagraj where a bulletin board initially listed seven dead and 36 injured. The list had been taken down the next day.

Records examined by Newslaundry at a nearby station suggested six unidentified bodies had been brought to the hospital from the Kumb grounds. While two were the same as on the hospital’s list, one person had died at 10.27pm, taking the tally to 10.

Taken together with the 69 fatalities recorded at the Motilal Nehru Medical College, the death toll from the Maha Kumbh stampede rises to at least 79.

The official count of 30 deaths has also been met with scepticism from opposition leaders.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav accused the Adityanath government of hiding the true figures and mishandling the situation. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the lower chamber of the parliament, he alleged that earthmovers and tractors were used to clear away bodies.

“Footwear and clothing were scattered at the scene and JCB machines and tractor trolleys were used to remove the dead,” Mr Yadav, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said. “When this sparked outrage, the government scrambled to cover it up.”

He demanded that “the figures for deaths, injured individuals, medical facilities, food, water, and transport should be disclosed in the parliament” of India.

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the main opposition Congress party, caused an uproar in the parliament by claiming “thousands” of people had died at the Kumbh, prompting upper house chairperson Jagdeep Dhankar to demand that he authenticate the number or withdraw the statement. “This is my estimate and if this is not right, you should tell what the truth is,” Mr Kharge said, addressing the government.

Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy called the stampede one of the worst tragedies of independent India.

The ruling BJP, however, downplayed the incident. Senior MP Hema Malini described the stampede as a minor event. “We visited the Kumbh, everything was well-managed,” she said. “It is true that the incident happened, but it wasn’t that big. It is being exaggerated.”

Mr Adityanath, meanwhile, claimed on Tuesday that the stampede was a conspiracy and threatened strict action against anyone found responsible.

The Independent has contacted the Uttar Pradesh government for comment.

China files WTO complaint over ‘discriminatory’ Trump tariffs

China has filed a World Trade Organisation (WTO) complaint against US president Donald Trump’s 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods after a trade war between two global powers began this week.

Mr Trump’s 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, which Beijing called a “serious violation” of international trade rules, came into effect on Tuesday. Beijing responded by imposing 15 per cent levies on coal and liquefied natural gas and 10 per cent on oil and agricultural levies.

The WTO on Wednesday said China submitted a request for consultations with the US on the tariffs.

China in its complaint accused the US of making “unfounded and false allegations” about Beijing’s role in the flow of fentanyl opioids and their precursor chemicals to the US to justify the tariffs. Beijing added that the measures were “discriminatory and protectionist” which violated the trade rules.

The request for consultations is the start of a dispute process that could lead to a ruling that Mr Trump’s duties violated trade rules in the same manner that a 2020 WTO ruling found that his first-term China tariffs broke trade regulations.

But the victory would be unlikely to bring Beijing relief because the WTO’s Appellate Body has been largely inoperable for years, as the US has blocked the appointment of appellate judges over what it views as judicial overreach by the body. This has prohibited a final decision in the 2020 case.

Beijing’s request for trade consultations came as confusion reigned among shippers and retailers over Mr Trump’s closure of the “de minimis” exemption for package imports valued under $800(£640) and widely used by e-commerce firms including Shein, Temu, and Amazon.

A Customs and Border Protection official said all small packages from China and Hong Kong needed to have customs entries on file prior to arrival and there was the potential for some cargo to be sent back without this paperwork.

The US Postal Service said on Wednesday it would again accept parcels from China and Hong Kong, reversing a temporary suspension that threatened to disrupt millions of package imports every day.

“We’re all running around like headless chickens at this moment in time, trying to second-guess what’s going to happen,” said Martin Palmer, co-founder of Hurricane Commerce, a cross-border e-commerce data provider. “And in two weeks’ time we may be back to normal.”

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent defended Mr Trump’s tariff strategy in his first media interview since taking office, saying it was aimed at bringing manufacturing back to the US, including for industries that have largely left US shores.

Exit polls show Modi’s Hindu nationalist party sweeping Delhi election

Prime minister Narendra Modi‘s Hindu nationalist party is projected to have won Thursday’s state election in Delhi, according to exit polls.

Mr Modi’s predicted victory would end a 27-year-long drought for the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi and unseat one of the country’s most prominent voices in opposition to the prime minister – Arvind Kejriwal.

About 60.39 per cent of the eligible 15 million voters in Delhi braved the “very poor” air quality on Wednesday to cast their ballot in the high-stakes election. The results will be declared on Saturday.

Exit polls, conducted by private firms, predicted the BJP would win an absolute majority in the 70-member Delhi assembly, defeating Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party or AAP.

While some exit polls were still yet to be released on Wednesday, a running “poll of polls” placed the BJP on 43 seats, AAP on 26 and the Congress party with just one seat.

However, exit polls have a patchy record in India and have got the results badly wrong in the past, including at last year’s general election.

“Exit polls have always proven to be wrong for the AAP,” said party spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar. “Every time, the AAP has stormed to power with a massive mandate, and this time will be no different,” she added.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva welcomed the polls, saying that the party’s victory would be “more spectacular than what the exit polls have shown today”.

In 2020, the AAP won 62 of the total 70 seats, with the remaining eight going to the BJP.

AAP, which grew out of an anti-corruption movement in 2012, tasted its first electoral success in Delhi and has ruled the territory, which houses India’s parliament and federal government offices, for two consecutive terms from 2015.

Mr Kejriwal, 55, an anti-corruption crusader-turned-politician, was arrested on graft charges weeks before the general election began, and alleged a political vendetta by the Modi government. The BJP denies his arrest was politically motivated.

Mr Kejriwal was later released on bail, but resigned as chief minister to focus on campaigning for the Delhi election.

If the exit polls get it right, the BJP winning Delhi would be a crucial step in regaining electoral confidence in the party’s northern heartlands, after it lost its outright majority in last year’s national election and was forced to form a coalition government.

Mr Modi and Mr Kejriwal both campaigned vigorously for the election, with their rallies drawing thousands of supporters.

Both offered to revamp government schools and provide free health services and electricity as well as a monthly stipend of over Rs 2,000 (£18) to poor women.

The BJP was voted out of power in Delhi in 1998 and the Congress party ran the city for the next 15 years until AAP was elected to power.

Sheikh Hasina’s family home razed by protesters in Bangladesh

Protesters in Bangladesh went on a rampage and ripped apart the historical residence of the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ahead of a political speech by his daughter and ousted leader Sheikh Hasina.

Thousands marched in capital Dhaka on Wednesday night in a rally called a “bulldozer procession” to bring down the house of Rahman, Ms Hasina’s late father and Bangladesh’s independence leader who declared the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The procession was sparked by Ms Hasina’s planned speech to her Awami League party’s supporters from India, where she has been living in exile since she was forced to flee following a student-led protest against her 15-year rule.

Protesters began gathering near the house at 8pm, some armed with sticks, hammers, shovels, and other tools, before storming into the building.

The building’s upper floor was set on fire by 9.30pm and by midnight at least one crane and one excavator arrived at the spot. Parts of the building were razed to the ground.

Dramatic visuals showed young men and women entering the building as several chanted “Hang, hang, hang – Sheikh Hasina must be hanged!” and “Delhi or Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka!”

A wave of attacks overnight targeted several houses and businesses belonging to Ms Hasina’s Awami League supporters in the capital.

Ms Hasina’s address through a Facebook livestream at 9pm went ahead despite the attacks. In it, she accused the protesters of “erasing history” and asked her supporters to stand up to the interim government.

“They do not have the power to destroy the country’s independence with bulldozers. They may destroy a building, but they won’t be able to erase the history,” Ms Hasina said.

She called on the people of Bangladesh to stand against the interim government, accusing them of seizing power in an “unconstitutional” manner.

The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal has already banned publication or airing of her speeches in the country.

Hasnat Abdullah, a student leader, had warned media outlets against publication of Ms Hasina’s speech and announced on Facebook that “tonight Bangladesh will be freed from the pilgrimage site of fascism”.

The 77-year-old Hasina, who led the country for 20 years, has been accused of suppressing dissent and using her powers to crackdown on her critics.

She fled to India on 5 August on a helicopter after a student-led uprising stormed into her residence following the mass protests that began against public sector job quotas but quickly escalated into the deadliest violence the nation had seen in over four decades.

The Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led government, which included student leaders, took over and about 1,500 people died during Ms Hasina’s crackdown on protesters. As many as 3,500 may have been forcibly abducted, according to reports.

The interim government is now seeking Ms Hasina’s extradition from India to face trial for what it says are “crimes against humanity” during the anti-government protests.

Thai PM meets Xi in China amid fears for Uyghurs in Thailand

Chinese president Xi Jinping met Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Beijing on Thursday amid fears of deportation for the 48 Uyghurs in custody in Thailand.

The Thai leader’s official visit to China this week marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Rights groups and experts fear during the three-day visit to Beijing, the Chinese government will push the Thai prime minister to accelerate the deportation of the Uyghurs back to China.

The 48 detainees were part of a much larger group of around 350 Uyghur refugees who fled to Thailand following persecution in the northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang in 2014. The detainees have been held in immigration detention for more than a decade.

According to a New York Times report, the detained Uyghurs are forbidden contact with relatives, lawyers, or other advocates and are allegedly subjected to a different standard of care than other detainees. Thailand is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which leaves asylum seekers vulnerable to arrest and detention as “illegal migrants”.

The Chinese government has been accused of committing “crimes against humanity” against Uyghurs and Hui Muslims over the past decade through alleged widespread abuses and arbitrary detentions, an allegation that Beijing routinely denies as the “lie of the century”.

The UN says China has detained more than a million minority Muslims, mostly ethnic Uyghurs, since a dramatic escalation of counter-terrorism policies in the spring of 2017. China initially denied the existence of any Uyghur detention centres before defending them as “re-education centres”.

Last month, the UN human rights experts urged the Thai government to not send the Uyghurs back, warning they are at risk of torture, ill-treatment, and irreparable harm if returned.

The detainees “must be provided with access to asylum procedures and other humanitarian assistance”, the special rapporteurs said in a statement, adding half of the group had serious health conditions.

“We are informed that 23 of the 48 individuals suffer from serious health conditions, including diabetes, kidney dysfunction, paralysis of the lower body, skin diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, and heart and lung conditions,” they said. “It is essential they be provided with the necessary and appropriate medical care.”

The statement was released days after human rights groups and some Thai lawmakers raised concerns that the transfer to China of the Uyghurs was imminent. The Thai government, however, said it has no such plans.

At least 172 women and children have since been sent to Turkey and 109 were forcibly returned to China, whose whereabouts were unknown to the rights groups.

During Thursday’s meeting, Mr Xi cited projects such as a high-speed railway set to link Bangkok with southwestern China’s Kunming, adding that digital economy and electric vehicles were additional areas for greater cooperation.

“In the face of unprecedented changes not seen for a 100 years, China and Thailand should deepen mutual trust over strategic interests and firmly support each other,” state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) quoted Mr Xi as saying.

Mandatory jail term for Nazi salute under new rules in Australia

Australia on Thursday passed anti-hate crime laws under which a Nazi salute in public, among other similar offences, will be punishable by a mandatory jail sentence.

The laws were passed in an effort to tackle a wave of high-profile antisemitic attacks targeting Jews in Australia in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The laws will impose jail sentences between 12 months for less serious hate crimes, such as giving a Nazi salute in public, and six years for those found guilty of terrorism offences.

Recent months have seen an escalation of attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars of Jewish community members across the country, including the discovery of a caravan laden with explosives with a list of Jewish targets in Sydney.

“I want people who are engaged in antisemitism to be held to account, to be charged, to be incarcerated,” prime minister Anthony Albanese, who had initially opposed mandatory minimum sentences for hate crimes, told Sky News.

The government’s hate crimes bill was first introduced to parliament last year, creating new offences for threatening force or violence against people based on their race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.

Home minister Tony Burke, who introduced the amendments enabling the provisions late on Wednesday, said the changes were the toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes.

Self-described Nazi Jacob Hersant was the first person to be convicted in the state of Victoria last year for performing the outlawed Nazi salute.

The 25-year-old gave the salute and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in front of news media cameras outside the Victoria County Court on 27 October 2023, after he had appeared on an unrelated charge. It was six days after the Victoria state government had made the salute illegal.

Three men were convicted in June 2024 of performing the Nazi salute during a soccer match in Sydney on 1 October 2022. New South Wales state had banned Nazi symbols in 2022. They were each fined and have appealed.

US military plane with Indian immigrants lands in Punjab

A US military plane deporting over a hundred Indian immigrants landed in India’s northern state of Punjab on Wednesday, the first such flight as Donald Trump’s key policies during his second term in office takes shape.

The C-17 plane which took off from Texas on Tuesday landed at Amritsar’s Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

It comes as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet Mr Trump in the White House next week after he agreed his country would “do what’s right” in accepting US deportations. During the phone call, Mr Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trade.

Mass deportation of undocumented people living in the US of various nationalities was one of the key policies under the second Trump administration.

Videos showed the US military plane making a landing with media and family members gathering at the airport.

Those who returned were people identified from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Authorities in Punjab have made arrangements to receive and process deportees.

A total of 48 deportees are under the age of 25, including 12 minors and 25 women. The youngest passenger is just four years old, the Indian Express newspaper reported, citing sources.

In terms of regional distribution, the highest number of deportees – 33 each – are from Gujarat and Haryana, followed by 30 from Punjab. Maharashtra has three deportees, while Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh each have two.

“We discussed it in the meeting chaired by the chief minister today. He has asked us that the Punjab government receive them in a friendly manner,” said Punjab director general of police Gaurav Yadav.

“We shall set up our counters there (at the airport). We are in touch with the central government. Whenever we shall receive any more information, we will share it.”

The deportation has kicked off a political storm in India with the opposition Congress Party calling out the ruling Modi’ government for staying silent on Indians being “humiliated”.

Pawan Khera, chairman of the Congress party’s media and publicity department, said: “Looking at the pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated while being deported from the US saddens me as an Indian.”

India has said it will cooperate with the US and was ready to accept the deported Indians after verification.

New Delhi said it was against illegal immigration, mainly because it is linked to several forms of organised crime, and has not objected to the US deporting its citizens.

“For Indians, not just in the United States but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals, and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality that they are indeed Indians,” India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last month.

“If that happens to be the case, then we will take things forward. We will facilitate the return to India,” Mr Jaiswal said.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said earlier this week the deportation flights were an effective way to stem the flow of illegal migration, which he said was destructive and destabilising.

It is however not the first time the US has deported Indian immigrants in expensive military or chartered flights.

India’s junior External Affairs Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh told India’s parliament that 519 Indian nationals were deported to India between November 2023 and October 2024, citing US government data.

Between 2018 and 2023, a total of 5,477 Indians have been deported by the US to India, according to official US immigration and customs data.

More similar flights are expected. However, the exact number of undocumented Indian immigrants in the US remains unknown.

The US is believed to have identified about 18,000 undocumented Indians who could be sent back.

The Pew Research Center estimates there are around 725,000 undocumented Indian migrants in the US, making them the third-largest group of illegal immigrants in the country after those from Mexico and El Salvador.

However, a 2022 Department of Homeland Security report said around 220,000 Indians were living in the US without authorisation.

Netflix India shares 2025 lineup heavy on Bollywood star children

Netflix has revealed its Indian original content lineup for 2025, with over 25 projects across films, series, sports, and unscripted programming.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan makes his Netflix debut with The Ba***ds of Bollywood, which he directed. The series, which follows an ambitious outsider and his friends as they navigate the larger-than-life yet uncertain world of Bollywood, is produced by Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan’s production company Red Chillies Entertainment.

From YRF Entertainment comes Akka, set in the 1980s matriarchal society of a fictional city of Pernuru, South India and will star National award winner Keerthy Suresh, Radhika Apte, and Tanvi Azmi.

Also from YRF is Mandala Murders, a moody series starring Vaani Kapoor and Surveen Chawla that delves into ritualistic killings linked to a centuries-old secret society.

Glory, starring Divyenndu, Pulkit Samrat, and Suvinder Vicky, is a murder mystery set in the sporting world, following legendary boxing coach Raghubir Singh who is forced to reunite with estranged sons after a savage attack.

Marking Netflix’s first foray into Telugu series, Super Subbu stars Sundeep Kishan and Mithila Palkar in a comedy drama about a man’s job as an adult sex education teacher in a remote, conservative village.

Bringing together two Bollywood legacies is Nadaaniyan, starring Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim Ali Khan in his debut and Sridevi’s daughter Khushi Kapoor in a film that follows a South Delhi diva who hires a boy with a middle-class background to pose as her boyfriend. Hijinks ensue in the romance that also stars Mahima Chaudhary, Suniel Shetty, Dia Mirza and Jugal Hansraj.

Speaking of Bollywood legacies, Netflix will also release Dining with the Kapoors, which claims to offer an intimate look into Bollywood’s iconic Kapoor family, featuring multiple generations including Ranbir Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan.

The Royals brings together The Perfect Couple’s Ishaan Khatter with Bhumi Pednekar in a breezy romcom that follows prince Aviraaj Singh trying to save his dysfunctional royal family from financial ruin with CEO Sophia Kanmani Shekhar, who in turn is hoping to keep her startup away from aggressive investors.

Toaster, starring Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra, and an ensemble cast including Archana Puran Singh and Abhishek Banerjee, looks to be a fun ride as it follows a miser obsessed with the titular toaster he gifted at a wedding and somehow finds himself in the midst of murder and utter chaos.

Saif Ali Khan reunites with his Salaam Namaste director Siddharth Anand in the latter’s streaming debut, Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins. A high stakes thriller about a jewel thief hired by a powerful crime lord to steal the elusive African Red Sun diamond, the film sees what happens when a meticulously planned heist goes awry.

New seasons of popular series Khakee, Rana Naidu, Kohrra, and international Emmy-winning Delhi Crime are also set to return to Netflix this year.

Earlier this year, Netflix released subscriber numbers for the last quarter of 2024, which showed that the streamer’s gamble with live sporting events had paid off spectacularly, as November’s Mike Tyson and Jake Paul boxing match drew 108 million viewers worldwide, making it the most-streamed sporting event ever.

With that in mind, Netflix will be hosting more live events like WWE wrestling, which will be available with Hindi commentary this year.