Former lawmaker gets life sentence for role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots

An Indian court sentenced former lawmaker Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment for orchestrating the murder of two Sikh men during the 1984 riots targeting the minority community.

The politician was convicted of inciting a mob that killed Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in the aftermath of then prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards.

Special judge Kaveri Baweja delivered the ruling on Tuesday.

The prosecution had sought the death penalty, but the judge opted for life imprisonment.

Investigators had accused the former Congress party lawmaker of leading a mob that burned two Sikh men to death and looted their home during the anti-Sikh riots.

The prosecution argued that he orchestrated the attack while Kumar’s lawyers questioned the reliability of eyewitness testimonies that were taken after a delay of seven years.

“The present case is more serious than the Nirbhaya case. In that case, a young woman was targeted. Here, people of a particular community were attacked,” the prosecution said, stating that Kumar’s crime fell under the “rarest of rare” category which deserved the death penalty.

Sectarian riots erupted in Delhi and elsewhere in India after Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984. She had angered the minority Sikh community by sending the military to storm the Golden Temple – the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar in Punjab – to eliminate militants holed up there.

“We will not accept anything less than the death penalty. We are not happy with the verdict of the court,” Sikh leader Gurlad Singh was quoted as saying by India Today. “We will appeal to the government to go to a higher court and announce the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar.”

Kumar is already serving a life sentence following his 2018 conviction by the Delhi High Court for the killing of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar Part I, Palam Colony, on 1-2 November 1984, and for orchestrating the burning of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part II of the capital.

In September 2023, a Delhi court acquitted Kumar in a case involving the killing of seven Sikhs during the 1984 riots in Sultanpuri.

He still faces a pending case in a Delhi court while two appeals against his acquittal are before the High Court. An appeal against his conviction in another case is pending in the Supreme Court.

For decades, families of the victims of the anti-Sikh riots struggled for justice, facing repeated setbacks due to alleged political interference and police inaction.

Despite multiple inquiries and commissions, little progress was made and key accused, including Kumar, remained untouched by the law. It was only in 2018, after sustained pressure from activists and families of the victims, that the Supreme Court intervened and ordered a fresh investigation and fast-tracking trials. This led to Kumar’s conviction and life sentence.

The Indian government set up the Nanavati Commission in 2000 to investigate the 1984 riots. Headed by Justice GT Nanavati, the commission submitted its report in 2005, naming key political figures, including Kumar and former minister Jagdish Tytler, as instigators of the violence.

The report, citing official estimates, says 2,733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi between 31 October and 5 November 1984. It notes, however, that Sikh community representatives dispute this figure, claiming that over 3,000 Sikhs were killed.

The report notes that most of the deaths took place on 1 and 2 November 1984. “Big mobs armed with weapons attacked the houses of Sikhs,” it says, “male members were assaulted and beaten mercilessly and many of them were burned alive or cut into pieces.”

“Many dead bodies were removed in vehicles and it is alleged that they were thrown into river Yamuna,” it continues. “Large number of shops and business establishments of Sikhs were looted and many of them were subsequently burnt as well. Many taxi stands and taxis were burnt as mainly Sikhs were in that business.”

A Sikh community leader expressed disappointment that Kumar was not given the death penalty but acknowledged that justice had prevailed with his life sentence, even after 41 years.

“We are upset that someone like Sajjan Kumar was not given the death penalty. I believe if he had been given a death sentence, it would have been better, and we would have felt satisfied,” Jagdip Singh Kahlon, general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI on Tuesday. “After 41 years, even if he got life imprisonment, justice has prevailed. I respect the verdict of the court.”

UK and India relaunch free trade talks after year-long pause

India and the UK have resumed talks to strike a free trade deal after a year-long pause due to elections in both countries.

UK trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds met Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi to restart discussions on a “balanced, ambitious and mutually beneficial” deal.

The talks have been going on since 2022, but an agreement is yet to be reached despite over a dozen negotiation rounds.

The UK is seeking to boost economic growth by expanding access to India’s rapidly growing economy, expected to be the world’s third largest by 2028. Investment minister Poppy Gustafsson will lead efforts to attract investment in Mumbai and Bengaluru, a statement by the Department for Business and Trade said.

“Securing a trade deal with what’s soon-to-be the third biggest economy in the world is a no-brainer and a top priority for me and this government. That is why I’m flying to New Delhi with our top negotiating team to show our commitment to getting these talks back on track,” Mr Reynolds said prior to his two-day meeting with Mr Goyal.

“Only a pragmatic government can deliver the economic growth and stability that the British public and British businesses deserve, delivering on the Plan for Change. Growth will be the guiding principle in our trade negotiations with India and I’m excited about the opportunities on offer in this vibrant market.”

India has been Britain’s second-largest source of FDI by project numbers for five years, with a 28 per cent rise in investment stock in 2023. The trade relationship between the two countries is valued at £41bn, supporting over 600,000 jobs.

Mr Reynolds and Mr Goyal addressed a joint press conference after their meeting, but neither provided a timeline for concluding the talks. Previous deadlines set by former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss had lapsed without a deal being finalised.

Mr Goyal defended India’s tariff policy, citing the need to protect against unfair trade practices, but acknowledged that India and the UK could lower tariffs for competitiveness. He also advocated for a more liberal visa regime for businesses while stressing that India had never included immigration in FTA talks.

Key sticking points in the talks include the UK’s push for greater access to India’s telecom, legal and financial sectors as well as India’s desire for a more liberal migration policy for its skilled workers. Other contentious issues involve UK demands for lower tariffs on whiskey and automobiles as well as rules on origin and intellectual property rights.

“We are delighted to note the progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations,” Richard Heald, chair of the UK India Business Council, said in a statement ahead of the ministerial meeting. “Success in the FTA will support further economic growth for the world’s 5th and 6th largest economies. It will catalyse collaboration beyond into other areas too. Importantly, it will signal the UK and India are strategic partners. This is truly an exciting chapter of the UK-India partnership.”

50 schools across Asian country to shut down amid birth rate crisis

South Korea’s rapidly worsening birth rate crisis continues as nearly 50 schools across the country are set to close in 2025 because there are not enough students.

According to data from the education ministry, 49 elementary, middle and high schools in 17 cities and provinces will shut down in 2025. Of the 49, 38 are elementary schools, while eight middle schools and three high schools are shutting down, reported The Korea Herald.

The data has also shown that 88 per cent of the schools that are shutting down are in rural areas, which has led to major concerns about the education gap between the capital Seoul and other provinces across South Korea.

The number of schools closing down due to student shortages has been steadily increasing, going from 22 in 2023 to 33 in 2024.

South Korea has been grappling with declining birth rate, among the lowest in the world, for a few years, with data from December 2024 showing that people aged 65 and above made up about 20 per cent of the East Asian nation’s total population of 51.22 million.

The government has called the demographic crisis a “national emergency” and taken steps to address it, ranging from offering financial incentives and childcare support to devising broader policies aimed at improving work-life balance, though none have made a significant difference.

South Korea’s total fertility rate – the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime – has been steadily declining since 2015. It fell below one child per woman for the first time in 2018, hitting 0.98, and dropped further to a historic low of 0.72 in 2023.

Experts have repeatedly warned that without sustained progress, South Korea’s population could shrink by half by 2100, exacerbating existing social and economic challenges.

The crisis is particularly evident in educational institutions, as schools and universities have resorted to merging existing majors or introducing new departments in an effort to entice more enrolments.

The data showed that 42 schools across North Gyeongsang Province, located in eastern South Korea, will have no first grade students enrolling come March. In similar situations are the provinces of South Jeolla, North Jeolla, and Gangwon, which will see 32, 25, and 21 schools with no new students.

Even though Seoul is seeing no school closures, the low number of incoming students is still a cause for concern. Marking a 9.3 per cent decrease from last year, only 53,956 children are set to enrol in elementary schools in Seoul this year, according to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

A report in Korea JoongAng Daily states that the Jungang Elementary School in Gwangju, which saw anywhere between 800-900 new students annually between 1975-1980, only has 23 students this year.

With schools shutting down, the buildings are being turned into offices for trade unions, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and even senior welfare housing.

“With the decline in the school-age population, more schools will inevitably close. Instead of leaving them abandoned, we need to maximise their use as community assets based on residents’ needs,” said Lee Hyo-won, a Seoul city councillor from the People Power Party.

Students and professors from the sociology department at Daegu University organised a funeral-themed memorial in November 2024 after it was announced that the department would not be accepting new students from 2025, according to The Korea Times. Funeral wreaths, a common practice in Korea, were sent from other major universities to mark the closure of the 45-year-old department.

Only 14 students enrolled for the sociology degree, falling way below the capacity of 31 students.

“The decline in the number of first-graders is something that doesn’t happen in a day. It was an apparent problem that could be predicted in 2017 when the number of newborns plummeted,” Professor Cho Young-tae, head of the Population Policy Research Centre at Seoul National University, told The Korea Herald.

“This is not just a single ‘birth rate’ issue. The system of education will implode with the current rate of decline in birth rate and the number of children being born every year.

“There will be a domino effect, everything is connected.”

British firm kicks off new search for missing MH370 flight

A British marine robotics company has launched what could be the final search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, over a decade after the Boeing 777 vanished.

Ocean Infinity’s deep-water support vessel Armada 7806 has reportedly begun scouring the seabed for the wreck as it attempts to solve one of aviation’s biggest mysteries.

Marine tracking websites show that the vessel arrived at a new search zone in the Indian Ocean over the weekend, reported The Telegraph.

The search mission, 1,200 miles off Perth, Australia, is expected to be the last sent looking for the plane that disappeared almost 11 years ago.

On 8 March 2014, the Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 passengers and crew onboard fell off air traffic control’s radar 40 minutes into its six-hour journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Search efforts are understood to have already deployed autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) from the Ocean Infinity ship and started scans of the ocean floor.

The AUVs, able to descend to a depth of 6km, are operated via a satellite link from the company’s control centre in Southampton and are expected to explore four areas identified as potential crash sites by researchers.

AUVs on Ocean Infinity’s Armada 7806, built in 2023, are able to spend four days submerged, twice as long as their 2018 predecessors.

Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke confirmed on Tuesday (25 February) that Ocean Infinity had resumed the hunt for the missing plane.

The new search is focused on a 15,000sq km arc in the southern Indian Ocean, based on data including satellite signals and disrupted radio transmissions, that Kuala Lumpur found to be “credible”.

In December, the Malaysian government confirmed that the search for the missing passenger jet would resume with Ocean Infinity on a “no find, no fee” agreement. The best time to undertake the search was identified between January and April.

Mr Loke welcomed the search and said they were still “finalising the details for the contract to be signed”.

“Nevertheless, we welcome the proactiveness of Ocean Infinity to search for MH370 as this is great news for all the victims’ next of kin.”

No final agreement has been announced between the government and the company, with Ocean Infinity’s current mission, around six weeks long, believed to be its own.

The Armada 7806 – considered the most technically advanced ship of its kind – is likely to search in three to four “hotspots” where researchers suggested the plane’s wreck of fuselage might be located.

The vessel is expected to spend up to six weeks surveying the area, with a break to restock supplies in Fremantle, Western Australia, which served as the base for previous search operations, The Telegraph reported.

The new search is focused around the arc of the southern Indian Ocean, the point where the plane is believed to have ended its journey. This arc was determined using satellite data from Inmarsat, which tracked the aircraft’s final communications.

The second search zone has been identified further south based on the hypothesis that the jet may have travelled further than the previously estimated distance after running out of fuel.

A potential third search area has been identified using data from ham radio operators, whose WSPR transmitters send low-power radio pulses worldwide every two minutes.

When aircraft cross these signals, they can cause disturbances. Aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey analysed 130 such signal disruptions over the Indian Ocean on the night MH370 disappeared, suggesting they could form a “trail of crumbs” pointing to the jet’s final path.

The search in the fourth area would depend on the weather conditions.

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Big bank to cut 4,000 roles as AI replaces humans

Singapore’s biggest bank plans to cut 4,000 jobs as it expects artificial intelligence to take on more work currently done by human employees.

The chief executive of the Development Bank of Singapore said the job cuts would be phased out over the next three years.

“My current projection in the next three years, we will shrink our workforce by about 4,000 or 10 per cent,” Piyush Gupta said at an industry conference in Mumbai, India, on Monday.

The outgoing chief executive, however, said 1,000 new positions would be added in AI.

Mr Gupta is one of the first major banking chiefs to lay out details of possible job losses due to AI. “In my 15 years of being a CEO, for the first time, I’m struggling to create jobs. So far, I’ve always had a line of sight to what jobs I can create,” he said, according to Reuters. “This time I’m struggling to say how will I repurpose people to create jobs.”

A DBS spokesperson explained that the reduction in workforce would come from natural attrition as temporary and contract positions roll off over the next few years.

DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest lender, has 8,000 to 9,000 contractual and temporary workers, who are at risk of being terminated. Permanent staff would not be affected, the outgoing chief executive said.

A Bloomberg Intelligence report last month said global banks were expected to cut as many as 200,000 jobs in the next three to five years as AI encroached on tasks currently carried out by humans.

Mr Gupta reportedly said last year that his bank had been working on AI for over a decade. “We today deploy over 800 AI models across 350 use cases and expect the measured economic impact of these to exceed S$1bn (£592m),” he claimed.

A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research warned that AI would likely have a “seismic impact” on the economy and society, particularly in sectors reliant on computer-based tasks.

The think tank’s analysis of 22,000 common tasks performed by human workers found that up to 70 per cent of computer-based roles could be significantly altered or even eliminated by AI.

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after 50 years

Bangladesh has resumed direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years with the first shipment of 50,000 tonnes of rice leaving Port Qasim under a deal between Islamabad and Dhaka.

The two nations have seen a drastic improvement in bilateral relations since the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took power in Bangladesh after protests toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last August and sent her fleeing to India.

Bangladesh was once a part of Pakistan but became independent after a nine-month war with Islamabad in 1971.

The export of rice marks the first instance of direct trade between the two countries in 54 years.

“For the first time, a Pakistan National Shipping Corporation vessel carrying government cargo will dock at a Bangladeshi port, marking a significant milestone in maritime trade relations,” Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.

To begin with, Bangladesh is buying 75,000 tonnes of white rice at £395 per tonne from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan. The remaining 25,000 tonnes of grain is expected to be delivered in early March. Dhaka appears to be paying a higher price for Pakistani rice compared to its procurement from Vietnam. The country has been importing rice from Hanoi at £375.63 per tonne.

The interim government has been trying to stabilise the rice market as prices have risen by 15-20 per cent in recent months.

The new trade deal between the two countries came after Dhaka in January simplified the visa process for Pakistanis to further strengthen economic relations. The interim government removed the requirement of clearance from Dhaka for Pakistani heads of missions to get visas, Bangladesh’s high commissioner to Islamabad, Iqbal Hussain, told reporters.

Mr Hussain said increasing trade and investment between the two countries “must be a top priority” for Dhaka and Islamabad.

Four dead after collapse at highway construction site in South Korea

At least four workers were killed and six injured after a section of an under-construction elevated highway collapsed in South Korea on Tuesday.

The incident occurred near Cheonan, a city about 55 miles south of Seoul. At the time of the collapse, 10 workers were on the site and fell as the structure gave way, leaving them trapped beneath the debris, the National Fire Agency reported.

Rescue teams recovered one worker’s body from the rubble, while eight others were pulled out with injuries and transported to nearby hospitals. Two of the injured later succumbed to their wounds.

The tenth worker, who had been missing for hours, was eventually found dead, bringing the death toll to four. Authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse.

The collapse occurred at 9.49am when five 50m-long steel structures, which had been hoisted into place by a crane, gave way one after another, local media reported.

State news agency Yonhap initially reported three fatalities, but the national fire agency said two people had died, later increasing the count of deceased to four. The fire agency said in a statement that five remained in serious condition.

Rescuers were searching for the trapped under the rubble at the construction site in Ipjang-myeon, about 85km south of the capital Seoul. The National Fire Agency said it had deployed 53 personnel and 18 rescue units, with additional staff on standby.

Footage aired by local broadcaster YTN captured the moment the bridge deck collapsed. In response, acting president Choi Sang Mok ordered emergency measures, directing all relevant agencies to mobilise resources for search and rescue operations.

The injured were being transported to hospitals, an interior ministry official told the AFP news agency earlier.

Authorities issued a level two emergency response, requiring personnel from nearby fire stations to assist at the scene. Investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the collapse.

Additional reporting by agencies.

One dead and many injured in clashes at air force base in Bangladesh

One person was killed and several injured after residents in the coastal city of Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh clashed with armed forces on Monday.

The Bangladesh Armed Forces claimed that “local miscreants” attacked the air force base in the city and attempted to set it on fire.

Tensions had been brewing between the residents of Samitipara area and the military over the expansion of the air base and the airport in Cox’s Bazar.

The local people had been protesting against the government’s move to evict some of them from the area and rehabilitate them elsewhere. On Monday, over a dozen people went to meet the district administrator with their demands but were stopped at a military checkpoint as one was without a helmet, local media reported.

A clash ensued, with videos posted on social media showing soldiers firing shots and residents pelting stones. “At that time, more than 200 local people from Samitipara advanced towards the air force base and the air force members barred them. As the number of local people increased, a clash broke out between the air force members and some miscreants from Samitipara,” the Inter Services Public Relations of the Bangladesh Armed Forces said.

Ayesha Siddiqua, a military spokesperson, claimed the clash erupted after a resident was taken inside the air base from a checkpoint for questioning as he did not have the necessary documents for his motorcycle.

The military said they were forced to fire blank rounds, not live ammunition, at the civilians after violence ensued and several of their personnel were injured.

A man identified as Shihab Kabir Nahid was injured in the clashes and died on his way to hospital. The military denied that he was injured in firing by soldiers.

“Analysing the pictures of the cartridge that have been circulated proves that it was a blank cartridge which is non-lethal and only produces sound,” the military said. “Bangladesh Air Force expresses deep condolence over the death of the youth and sympathises with his family members.”

Cox’s Bazar has been in international headlines for over a decade for giving refuge to over a million Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in the neighbouring nation of Myanmar.

Bangladesh, run by an interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, has faced challenges in establishing order since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August by a street agitation led by students. Mob violence in particular has become a pressing concern.

On Monday, the Manusher Jonno Foundation, a rights group in Dhaka, expressed deep concern over the decline in law and order in the country, citing an increase in gender-based violence, harassment and restrictions on women’s mobility.