India steps up Dalai Lama’s security over potential threat to his life
The Indian government has increased the security cover for Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, over a potential threat to his life.
The federal home minister on Thursday provided Z-category armed protection – one of the highest security covers – to the Dalai Lama based on a threat assessment report by India’s Intelligence Bureau, news agency PTI reported.
The 89-year-old spiritual leader will now have a security team of 33 personnel, including static guards stationed at his residence in Himachal Pradesh state’s Dharamshala. He will have round-the-clock protection, trained drivers, surveillance personnel, and commandos forming an armed escort in shifts.
Prior to this, the Dalai Lama had only a small protection cover in Himachal Pradesh, which was increased during his travels to New Delhi or any other place outside the state.
The Dalai Lama made the hillside town of Dharamshala his headquarters since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Representatives of a Tibetan government-in-exile also reside there. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
The Dalai Lama formally relinquished his political and administrative powers in 2011 and handed his political responsibilities to the community’s elected leadership. But he has remained the spiritual leader of the Tibetan community.
His followers see him as capable of uniting and mobilising Tibetans inside and outside China.
Over 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in India, Nepal and Bhutan, according to Tibetan organisations. Their number in India is estimated at around 85,000, while many have also moved to countries such as the US, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
China castigates the Dalai Lama as an advocate for Tibetan independence and has not had direct contact with his representatives for more than a decade.
The Dalai Lama says he merely advocates for Tibet’s substantial autonomy and protection of its native Buddhist culture.
Three dead after elephants spooked by temple fireworks go on rampage
Three people died and 35 others were severely injured when two elephants went on a rampage during a temple festival in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
The incident took place at the Manakkulangara Bhagavathy Temple near Koyilandy town in Kozhikode district at 5.30pm on Thursday when one elephant reportedly turned violent and started attacking another.
Both then ran amok, damaging a section of the temple’s office building.
When the elephants struck the building, part of its wall collapsed, trapping several people beneath it, local police said. Based on initial information, the collapse led to the deaths of two women and a man, officials said.
The deceased have been identified by local media as Leela, 65, Ammukutty, and Rajan, both 70.
Authorities said that fireworks and loud music are suspected to have triggered the aggression. “As per primary information received, the elephants turned violent due to fireworks and loud music,” they said.
“The bodies of Leela and Ammukutty were shifted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. Rajan passed away as he was taken to Meitra Hospital,” Kanathil Jameela, Koyilandy MLA, was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.
Visuals of the incident have surfaced online and have since gone viral. Officials noted that the toll could have been higher as more devotees were arriving for the festival’s final day.
“People also panicked which resulted in a stampede leading to around 20 persons suffering minor injuries,” an officer of Koyilandy police station said, according to NDTV. Later the number of injured was revised to 35.
“The event was attended by hundreds of devotees and many more were turning up as it was the last day of the festival. There could have been an increased toll had the incident occurred a little late,” Bindu PB, Anela-Kuruvangad ward councillor said.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the incident tragic and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
Forest minister AK Saseendran ordered an urgent report from officials and said further action would be based on the findings, including a probe into possible violations of Kerala’s captive elephant management rules.
Health minister Veena George has also directed special medical arrangements at Koyilandy Taluk Hospital and Kozhikode Medical College, ensuring sufficient expert staff for the injured.
More than a month ago, an elephant became agitated and ran amok during a religious festival in Malappuram in Kerala, injuring at least 17 people. It attacked a man, leaving him critically injured, and triggered a stampede.
Last year in Sri Lanka, a Hindu festival turned chaotic when an elephant panicked, injuring 13 people as the crowd fled. Video footage showed a handler struggling to control the agitated animal, while devotees scrambled for safety.
Animal rights groups have long opposed the use of elephants in religious festivals, arguing that the animals are often subjected to harsh training, inadequate living conditions, and extreme stress from loud music, fireworks, and large crowds.
Cyclone Zelia makes landfall in Western Australia
Severe tropical cyclone Zelia made landfall on Australia’s west coast on Friday, bringing heavy wind gusts and record-breaking rainfall to the country’s most resource-rich region.
The storm made landfall at Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, 65km east of Port Hedland just after 12pm local time (4am GMT), according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
Rapidly intensifying to the highest Category 5 level, Zelia packed wind speeds of up to 290kmph (180mph) and moved faster than expected at 11kmph, the BoM said.
By 2pm, it had begun tracking south and weakened slightly to a Category 4, but authorities warned the danger was far from over.
The warning zone stretches from Wallal Downs to Whim Creek where residents are experiencing severe winds, power outages, and supply shortages. At least 124 people had sought refuge in evacuation centres in Port Hedland and Karratha.
Port Hedland, a town of 15,000 people, narrowly missed the cyclone’s core.
Earlier, officials warned people to shelter in the strongest part of their house as it was “too late” to evacuate.
“There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately. Shelter indoors now. It is too late to leave,” Darren Klemm, commissioner of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned of torrential rainfall, with up to 300mm (11.8 inches) expected in the next 24 hours and three-day totals of up to 500mm. Several rivers, including the De Grey River, are at risk of severe flooding.
“This is a very dangerous system that will cause significant impact,” said BoM forecaster Matthew Collopy.
Meteorologist Angus Hines described the storm as “catastrophic”.
“Category 5 is the top of the scale. It does not get any worse than that, extremely damaging winds, widespread rain, flooding, and storm surge are all expected.”
Cyclone Zelia has paralysed Australia’s iron ore exports, forcing the closure of major ports and mining operations across the Pilbara.
Port Hedland, the world’s largest iron ore export terminal, shut down on Wednesday, with major mining giants like BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, and Hancock halting operations and asking staff to shelter.
“The company is working to mitigate impacts and will provide operational updates as appropriate,” Rio Tinto said in a statement.
Fortescue suspended operations at its Iron Bridge mining site, while BHP confirmed its Port Hedland personnel are sheltering in Category 5-rated facilities.
Dampier, Cape Lambert, and Varanus Island ports, key hubs for iron ore and gas, were closed on Thursday evening.
Cyclone Zelia went from a category three to a category five in 24 hours. In the last few years, the rapid intensification of tropical storms, in both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, has become quite common due to hotter ocean waters.
“The elevated sea surface temperatures are playing a role in helping drive up the intensity as there’s more moisture in the atmosphere and that’s why severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia will potentially create flash flooding when it hits the coast,” climate councillor professor David Karoly said.
Footballer gets suspended jail term for filming woman
South Korean footballer Hwang Ui-jo received a suspended one-year jail sentence on Friday for illegally filming sexual encounters with a woman without her consent.
The 32-year-old, who plays for Turkish club Alanyaspor, was suspended from the national team in 2023 amid the allegations. The striker was indicted for secretly filming two women without their consent on four occasions between June and September 2022.
The Seoul Central District Court convicted him in one case but acquitted him in the other, suspending his sentence for two years.
“Considering that he filmed them with a cellphone during sexual intercourse against their will, the number of times the crime was committed and the specific details of the filmed material, the nature of the crime is not good,” the court said, according to Yonhap news agency.
“Given the seriousness of the socially harmful effects of illegal filming, it is necessary to punish strictly,” it said.
However, the court noted that Hwang admitted to the crime, expressed remorse and that the video was shared on social media by a third party.
Hwang Ui-jo’s sister-in-law, who was not named, shared the videos despite “knowing it would be disseminated indiscriminately”, the Seoul Central District Court said in a verdict last year in March.
“The content has been widely distributed in and out of South Korea … the nature of her crime is very serious,” the court said.
The footballer’s sister-in-law was sentenced to three years in jail for sharing private videos of him to blackmail him.
Hwang initially denied wrongdoing but later pleaded guilty. “I send out a sincere apology to all those hurt by my wrongful actions,” Hwang said during his final testimony.
“I am also sorry for disappointing the people who have adored and cheered for me with my improper behaviour.”
On Friday, when asked by reporters if he had anything to say to the victim after the case, Hwang responded that he was “sorry”.
“I personally apologise to football fans and genuinely feel very sorry,” he added.
Hwang played as a striker for clubs including Seongnam FC, Gamba Osaka, Bordeaux, and was an unused reserve for Nottingham Forest, and had been a key player for the South Korea national team before his suspension.
In a statement to the judge last year in October, he said: “I offer my sincerest apologies to the victims who have suffered because of my wrongdoings. I sincerely plead for the utmost leniency.”
Apple will collaborate with Alibaba to release ‘censored’ AI in China
Apple is reportedly planning to release a censored version of its anticipated artificial intelligence features in China in the middle of this year in collaboration with local tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu.
The Silicon Valley giant has been working to adapt its Apple Intelligence platform for China for a rollout expected as early as May, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Apple’s share rose by about 2 per cent on Thursday after announcing its AI partnership with the Chinese giant Alibaba.
To ensure its AI models provide outputs filtered to comply with Chinese censorship, Apple is reportedly relying on local software makers Alibaba and Baidu.
China is the second biggest market for Apple after the US, but the iPhone maker has suffered declining sales in the country.
Apple’s iPhone sales in China dropped to 43 million units in 2024 from about 52 million the previous year.
Analysts have flagged a rise in competition from local Chinese phone brands and Apple falling behind in the adoption of AI technology as potential reasons for the sales decline.
China has also come up with a powerful new AI model DeepSeek, becoming a strong competitor to American firm OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform.
The DeepSeek AI model’s responses to some user queries have also been observed to align closely with narratives spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In light of these recent AI developments, Apple may need some alterations to its existing AI platform to be more competitive in China.
Currently, the Apple Intelligence platform offers three types of AI in the US, including the tech giant’s own features that run on its device, features powered by the company’s internet servers, as well as OpenAI tools running on Apple’s infrastructure.
While its phones may run their AI features as they do in the US, an additional layer of Alibaba’s software may censor material that the Chinese government objects to, according to Bloomberg.
For some user queries that require rewriting large chunks of text, Apple Intelligence computes a response using its connection to a secure cloud computing system that runs on Apple’s Mac chips.
In China, Apple may need a local Chinese partner company for its cloud computing AI features.
Complying with local Chinese laws isn’t new to Apple.
Last year, the tech giant was forced to remove Meta’s Threads app as well as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal messaging apps off its App Store in compliance with China’s demands.
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple said.
Apple’s compliance with Chinese rules is seen as part of its heavy reliance on the country for both manufacturing and sales.