Israeli tourist among two women gang-raped in India, police say

A 27-year-old Israeli tourist and a 29-year-old Indian homestay operator were gang-raped and a man was killed in an attack in southern India.

The two women, who were stargazing with three male tourists near Sanapur lake in Hampi, Karnataka, were attacked by a group of men on Thursday night. A male tourist from Odisha was later found dead, police said.

“Five people – two women and three men – were attacked near Sanapur. Two of them are foreigners, an American [man], and another a woman from Israel,” said Ram L Arasiddi, superintendent of Koppal police.

“The woman [homestay operator] said in her complaint that besides being beaten up, the two women were sexually assaulted by the accused,” the police said.

According to officers, a group of assailants on a motorbike initially approached the tourists asking for petrol and demanding 100 rupees ( £1). When the victims refused, the men turned violent, physically assaulting them, pushing the men into a canal, and then sexually assaulting the women.

“Since the homestay operator did not know them, she told them they had no money. When the men repeatedly insisted, one of the male tourists from Odisha gave them 20 rupees. After that, the three men allegedly started arguing and threatened to bash their heads with stones,” police said.

Two of the male tourists – from the US and Maharashtra – managed to escape, while the third tourist, from Odisha, was found dead, according to PTI news agency.

A case has been registered at Gangavathi Rural Police Station under sections related to extortion, robbery, gang rape, and attempted murder.

Mr Arasiddi told reporters that six special teams have been formed to track down the suspects.

“Immediate action was taken following the women’s complaint, and the investigation is in full swing,” he said.

The victims are receiving medical treatment at a government hospital, the police said.

The attack has raised concerns about safety in Hampi, a Unesco World Heritage site, which attracts thousands of domestic and international tourists.

The gang-rape of a tourist from Spain in the eastern state of Jharkhand in India has sparked anger and a discussion on safety in a country with rising crimes against women.

Last year a 28-year-old woman and her husband were assaulted in the Dumka district of Jharkhand where they had set up their tent for the evening. The couple, who manage an Instagram page chronicling their motorbike travels across South Asia, posted a video recounting their ordeal.

Last month, a 31-year-old man was jailed for life over the rape and murder of a 28-year-old Irish tourist in Goa.

Danielle McLaughlin’s body was found with severe injuries in a forested area near Palolem beach in Canacona village in March 2017.

Reports of horrific sexual assaults on women have become familiar in India, where police recorded 31,516 rape cases in 2022, a 20 per cent increase from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. The real figure is believed to be far higher due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence.

Myanmar junta chief announces election in next 10 months

Myanmar is set to hold its first election since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, plunging the country into a brutal civil war.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, announced that elections would take place in December 2025 or January 2026 at the latest, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Speaking in Belarus, one of Myanmar’s few remaining allies, he said 53 political parties had already submitted their lists to participate.

However, no exact date was given, and the junta has repeatedly pushed back election plans while facing growing battlefield losses.

The announcement comes as Myanmar’s military struggles to maintain control, with armed resistance from pro-democracy fighters and ethnic militias escalating across the country.

With the junta losing ground to resistance forces, opposition leaders jailed, and large parts of the country outside military control, the planned vote is already being dismissed as a farce.

Four years after overthrowing Ms Suu Kyi’s government, the military is on the defensive. It is believed to control less than half of Myanmar’s territory, with opposition forces seizing key towns and military bases. Holding a nationwide election in this environment seems nearly impossible.

The junta has already signalled that voting will only take place in areas it controls. In October, the military attempted a partial census to compile voter lists, but it only managed to collect data in 145 of 330 townships. The junta admitted in a report, that many areas controlled by ethnic militias and pro-democracy forces were inaccessible.

The plan for a general election is widely seen as an attempt to legitimise the military’s grip on power. Most of Myanmar’s opposition leaders, including Ms Suu Kyi, 79, remain in prison after what rights groups call politically motivated trials. The junta has also cracked down on independent media, making a fair election even more unlikely.

The National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration formed by ousted lawmakers and activists, has rejected the military’s election plans and vowed to block the vote through non-violent means.

Kim Jong Un inspects North Korea’s first ‘nuclear-powered submarine’

North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, which experts consider a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the US.

State media on Saturday released photos showing what it called “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine”, as it reported leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to major shipyards where warships are built.

The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, didn’t provide details on the submarine, but said Mr Kim was briefed on its construction.

The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one, which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University. He said the use of the term “the strategic guided missiles” meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons.

“It would be absolutely threatening to us and the US,” Mr Moon said.

A nuclear-powered submarine was among a long wishlist of sophisticated weaponry that Mr Kim vowed to introduce during a major political conference in 2021 to cope with what he called escalating US-led military threats. Other weapons were solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since performed a run of testing activities to acquire them.

North Korea obtaining a greater ability to fire missiles from underwater is a worrying development because it’s difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance.

Questions about how North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, could get resources and technology to build nuclear-powered submarines have surfaced.

Mr Moon said North Korea may have received Russian technological assistance to build a nuclear reactor to be used in the submarine in return for supplying conventional weapons and troops to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.

He also said North Korea could launch the submarine in one or two years to test its capability before its deployment.

North Korea has an estimated 70-90 diesel-powered submarines in one of the world’s largest fleets. However, they are mostly ageing ones capable of launching only torpedoes and mines, not missiles.

In 2023, North Korea said it had launched what it called its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine”, but foreign experts doubted the North’s announcement and speculated it was likely a diesel-powered submarine disclosed in 2019. Mr Moon said there has been no confirmation that it has been deployed.

North Korea has conducted a slew of underwater-launched ballistic missile tests since 2016, but all launches were made from the same 2,000-ton-class submarine, which has a single launch tube. Many experts call it a test platform, rather than an operational submarine in active service.

In recent days, North Korea has been dialling up its fiery rhetoric against the US and South Korea ahead of their upcoming annual military drills set to start on Monday.

During his visits to the shipyards, Kim said North Korea aims to modernise water-surface and underwater warships simultaneously. He stressed the need to make “the incomparably overwhelming warships fulfil their mission” to contain “the inveterate gunboat diplomacy of the hostile forces,” KCNA reported on Saturday.

Indian court to rule whether doughnut shop is bakery or restaurant

A court in India is hearing a case that decides whether doughnuts should attract 5 or 18 per cent tax, in a case that could have significant implications for India’s restaurant and bakery industries.

At the core of the dispute is whether doughnuts should be taxed as part of restaurant services, which carry a five per cent charge under India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST), or as standalone bakery products, which fall under the 18 per cent GST bracket.

This comes after the Indian arm of doughnut chain Mad Over Donuts challenged a notice from India’s Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGCI) that held them guilty of tax evasion for incorrectly classifying their business as a restaurant service and ordered them to pay more than Rs1bn in dues.

A similar notice was also served to chains Dunkin’ Donuts, Theobroma, and Krispy Kreme.

The notice stated that the DGCI, during its investigation, questioned the head chef of Mad Over Donuts, who allegedly said that the doughnuts are prepared in a central kitchen and then sent to individual outlets, according to The Economic Times. At these outlets, “garnishing, chocolate pouring, and packing” are done before an item is sold, thus the products are sold “over the counter”.

On Monday, the Bombay High Court’s division bench of Justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh P Pooniwalla heard the petition from Himesh Foods Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Mad Over Donuts.

Mad Over Donuts maintained that it meets the criteria for it to be classified as a restaurant, since all its outlets have a kitchen to heat the items sold and the doughnuts go through a final preparation before sale.

The Indian law enforcement agency argued that the kitchens at these outlets are “stretching the definition of service beyond” the guidelines under the GST act, and any garnishing of the doughnuts before they are served is “nothing but to make the said products attractive for the customers before selling them over the counter, similar to the types of sweets prepared by confectioners with various coatings and spreading different dry fruits over it”.

Advocate Abhishek Rastogi, representing Mad Over Donuts, pointed to that GST notifications that categorise food sold at restaurants, eateries, messes, and canteens under the 5 per cent tax bracket, irrespective of whether they are eaten on-site or taken away.

“If for some reason, this order is not dealt pragmatically then there are high chances of disruption for the food and beverages sector,” he added.

The court ruled that no coercive action can be taken against Mad Over Donuts while the case is pending, and listed it for hearing on 24 March.

Over the last few years, India has seen a few other tax classification disputes. The most notable took place in September 2022, when the authorities insisted that frozen Malabar parottas (a layered flatbread cooked primarily in southern Indian states Kerala and Tamil Nadu) should be taxed at a higher rate than frozen rotis (a round flatbread) since they took longer to cook and therefore could not be classified as ready for consumption.

A similar controversy erupted over popcorn last year, after Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that caramel popcorn would be taxed at a higher rate than regular salted popcorn, since “anything with added sugar attracts a different tax rate”.

The United Kingdom too saw a dispute of a similar nature over three decades ago – the famous legal battle over Jaffa Cakes, where the courts deliberated over whether they were biscuits, which are taxed at 20 per cent or cakes, zero-rated for Value Added Tax (VAT). McVitie’s, the company that makes the Jaffa Cakes, argued that Jaffa Cakes harden when they go stale, like cakes, unlike biscuits which went soft and soggy.

South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol leaves prison

South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol left a detention centre in Seoul on Saturday after prosecutors decided not to appeal a court decision to cancel his arrest warrant.

Mr Yoon remains suspended from his duties and under insurrection charges over his short-lived martial law imposition on 3 December. The criminal case is separate from his impeachment trial, in which the Constitutional Court is expected to decide in coming days whether to reinstate him or remove him from office.

TV footage on Saturday showed Mr Yoon coming out of prison. Mr Yoon waved his hand and deeply bowed to his supporters after he came out of a detention centre in Seoul.

The Seoul Central District Court cancelled Mr Yoon’s arrest warrant on Friday, citing the timing of his indictment and “questions about the legality” of the investigation process.

Mr Yoon, the first South Korean president to be arrested while in office, has been in custody since 15 January.

On Saturday, some 38,000 of his supporters rallied in Seoul, while 1,500 people demonstrated against him, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unofficial police estimates.

The president was arrested and indicted in January for rebellion, in connection with his martial law decree. The move sparked chaos in Seoul before it was voted down by lawmakers and rescinded in a matter of hours.

Mr Yoon has claimed he was acting to root out “anti-state” elements and that he never intended to fully impose emergency military rule.

Mr Yoon’s lawyers had argued the warrant issued on 19 January was invalid because the request filed by prosecutors was procedurally flawed.

“South Korea’s rule of law is still alive,” Mr Yoon’s legal counsel said, shortly after Seoul Central District Court made the ruling on Friday.

The president’s office welcomed the court’s decision, saying it hopes Mr Yoon “will return to work soon”.

The court said it accepted the president’s request to be released from jail because the legal period of his formal arrest expired before he was indicted. The bench noted that there were “questions about the legality” of the investigation process that involved two separate agencies.

“To ensure procedural clarity and eliminate any doubts regarding the legality of the investigative process, it would be appropriate to issue a decision to cancel the detention,” the court said.

The 64-year-old president evaded arrests for weeks by remaining in his residential compound, which was protected by loyal members of the Presidential Security Service.

The country’s first martial law decree in nearly 40 years ended just after six hours when the National Assembly voted to withdraw it. Members of the assembly jumped over fences and broke through lines of armed soldiers who were preventing lawmakers from entering the building.

Mr Yoon is also facing an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court to determine whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate his presidential powers. If the court upholds Mr Yoon’s impeachment, he will be thrown out of office and a national election will be held to choose his successor within two months.

During his impeachment trial, the president apologised to the people of the country for not being able to serve them and causing “confusion and inconvenience” with his martial law bid.

Mr Yoon said if he was allowed to serve, he would make constitutional amendments to change the current presidential system and push for political reforms.

“If a constitutional amendment and political reform are pursued correctly, I believe the separated and divided people will unite in the process,” he added. He also suggested stepping down before his single five-year term ends in 2027 to promote “political reform”.

South Korea is currently led by finance minister Choi Sang Mok, who became the country’s second acting president in two weeks after Mr Yoon’s impeachment.

The first acting president, Han Duck-soo, was impeached amid disagreements with the opposition on appointing justices to the Constitutional Court.

Refusal to recognise same-sex marriage unconstitutional – Japan court

A Japanese High Court on Friday ruled that Japan’s refusal to legally recognise same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in a victory for same-sex couples and their supporters seeking equal rights.

Friday’s decision by the Nagoya High Court in central Japan marks the ninth victory out of 10 rulings since the first group of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in 2019.

The decision was also the fourth High Court ruling in a row to find the current government policy unconstitutional, after similar decisions in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sapporo.

After a fifth court ruling expected later this month in Osaka, the Supreme Court is expected to handle all five appeals and make a decision.

The Nagoya court said on Friday that not allowing same-sex couples the legal right to marry violates a constitutional guarantee of equality. The court also upheld the right to individual dignity and the essential equality of both sexes.

The current civil law, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, is discrimination based on sexual orientation and lacks rationality, the ruling said.

The government has argued that marriage under civil law does not cover same-sex couples and places importance on natural reproduction. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters after the ruling Friday that the government will monitor pending lawsuits and public opinion.

The plaintiffs and their lawyers say the overwhelming winning record of 9-1 in the courts is already enough and the government should quickly take action.

More than 30 plaintiffs have joined the lawsuits on marriage equality filed in five regions across Japan since 2019. They argue that civil law provisions barring same-sex marriage violate the Constitutional right to equality and freedom of marriage.

China announces tit-for-tat tariffs on Canadian food imports

China on Saturday announced retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian farm and food imports, after Canada imposed duties in October on Chinese-made electric vehicles and steel and aluminium products.

The new duties become effective 20 March, according to a statement by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council. Additional 100 per cent tariffs will be imposed on Canadian rapeseed oil, oil cakes and peas, and additional 25 per cent tariffs will apply to pork and aquatic products.

The tariffs add to global trade tensions already high, with rounds of tariff announcements by the United States, China, Canada and Mexico.

The duties come in retaliation for Ottawa imposing tariffs against Chinese imports in October, including a 100 per cent surtax on all Chinese-made EVs and 25 per cent on steel and aluminium imports.

“Despite China’s repeated opposition and dissuasion, Canada has taken unilateral restrictive measures on electric vehicles, steel, aluminium and other products imported from China without investigation, undermining China-Canada economic and trade relations,” read the statement by the customs authorities.

The decision to impose retaliatory duties comes after an “anti-discrimination probe, which found out that Canada’s restrictive measures against some Chinese products have disrupted normal trade order and harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” it added.

Canada announced tariffs on Chinese goods last August following similar duties being imposed by the US and the European Union against Chinese-made EVs and other products. The Western governments say China’s subsidies give its industry an unfair advantage.

South Korea raises toll of people injured in fighter jet misfire to 29

The number of people injured in the accidental bombing of a South Korean village by military jets has risen to 29.

At least 15 civilians and 14 soldiers sustained injuries after two KF-16 fighter jets “abnormally” released eight MK-82 bombs on a village in Pocheon, 43km north of the capital Seoul, during joint military exercises with the US on Thursday.

Nine of the wounded were currently hospitalised, two of them with severe injuries, local media reported.

The MK-82 bombs, each weighing some 225kg, fell outside the designated range for the joint exercises, the military said. The ensuing blast destroyed homes and a church, and tremors from the explosion were felt nearly 1km away.

The villagers were evacuated to a town hall on Thursday as the military combed the area and then launched an investigation. The destruction of their homes had rendered many people homeless.

An initial investigation found the pilot of one of the KF-16 planes had entered the wrong coordinates for a bombing site.

South Korea suspended live-fire exercises and training flights of its air force aircraft across the country on Friday until it was established what had gone wrong, the military said.

The planned Freedom Shield exercises with the US would continue, though, and fire drills and flight training restart once the exact cause of the incident was found and preventive steps formulated, it added.

A day after the unprecedented incident, the village remained covered in debris.

The interior and safety ministry allocated 300m won (£160,790) in disaster safety grants to Pocheon to facilitate swift emergency recovery. The fund would be used for temporary housing and psychological support for residents affected by the bombing, reports said.

“We will spare no necessary support to minimize the inconvenience for affected residents and to help stabilize the impacted area as soon as possible,” acting minister of interior and safety Lee Sang Min said.

Meanwhile, dozens of activists and residents from the affected area held a rally near the defence ministry in Seoul to demand a halt to military drills that threatened the lives and peace of the people living in the area.

The residents reportedly said they had been protesting against the disturbance and danger from the nearby training grounds for years. “We, Pocheon citizens, are fundamentally questioning these ongoing military exercises,” Lee Myoung Won, a Pocheon resident at the rally, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The resident said it was unclear to them who the military drills were meant to be providing security for.

Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defence Network, argued that the suspension of flight training would cause “really a big problem” in examining the operational plans of the US and South Korea. He told the Associated Press that flying warplanes would be essential to determining their real capabilities, discussing the size of reinforcements of US aircraft from abroad and modifying the operational plans of the allies.

The joint drills were planned to involve responses to evolving challenges like North Korea’s growing military partnership with Russia.