India blocks Santosh release over ‘negative portrayal of police’

Santosh, Britain’s official Oscars submission in the international feature film category, has been denied release in India over concerns about its “negative portrayal of police.”

Set in rural north India, the Hindi-language film stars Shahana Goswami as a 28-year-old widow who gets her deceased husband’s police job on compassionate grounds and has to investigate the rape and murder of a young Dalit girl.

The film by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri provides a stark peek into deep-rooted problems within Indian police, depicting its institutional misogyny, caste-based discrimination and the routine use of violence and torture. Santosh also looks at the prevalence of sexual violence, particularly against Dalit women, and examines the growing tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in India.

Dalits, formerly known as untouchables, are placed on the lowest rung of India’s rigid caste hierarchy and are often targeted for discrimination by upper castes as well as institutions of state even though untouchability was formally abolished in 1955.

Santosh was reportedly shot entirely in India over 44 days in and around Lucknow, the capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, with an entirely Indian cast.

After premiering at the 77th Cannes Film Festival last May, Santosh went on to earn a BAFTA nomination for outstanding debut feature and received acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It was named one of the top five international films by the National Board of Review and brought Suri and Goswami best director and best actor honours at the recent Asian Film Awards.

In December, media reports said Santosh had been acquired by PVR Inox Pictures for distribution and was set to release in India on 10 January.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the release had been suspended after the Central Board of Film Certification, the country’s film certification body commonly known as the censor board, raised objections even though the producers had previously secured script approval in India.

A film cannot be released in Indian theatres without being certified by the board. In 2021, the board abolished the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, which allowed filmmakers to appeal its decisions. Now, the only way for filmmakers to contest a ruling is to go to court, an expensive, long-drawn process that guarantees nothing.

“We’re sort of stuck in censorship. To be honest, the Indian censor has requested certain changes that I don’t think the filmmaker is comfortable with, nor us, to be honest,” producer Mike Goodridge told Variety at the time.

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that the censor board refused to certify Santosh because it believed the film showed the Indian police in a harsh and negative light.

Suri called the decision disappointing and heartbreaking”. “It was surprising for all of us because I didn’t feel that these issues were particularly new to Indian cinema or hadn’t been raised before by other films,” she told The Guardian.

Suri confirmed that the cuts demanded by the censor board were so “lengthy and wide-ranging” that they were “impossible” to implement.

While she could not share the exact cuts demanded due to legal restrictions, she said the list went on “for several pages” and “included concerns about themes relating to police conduct and wider societal problems which are deeply baked into the film”.

“It was very important to me that the film is released in India so I did try to figure out if there was a way to make it work. But in the end, it was just too difficult to make those cuts and have a film that still made sense, let alone stayed true to its vision,” she said.

“I don’t feel my film glorifies violence in a way that many other films focusing on the police have done. There’s nothing sensationalist about it.”

Goswami shared her disappointment as well, telling India Today: “The censor has given a list of changes they require for the film to release and we as a team are not in agreement with the cuts as they would change the film too much, and so it is in a deadlock where it probably won’t release theatrically in India.

“It’s just sad that something that has gone through censor approval at the script level should require so many cuts and changes for it to be considered okay to release in India.”

The Independent has reached out to the film certification board for comment.

In an interview with Scroll, Suri explained her motivation for making Santosh and who had inspired the characters. “During a protest against Nirbhaya, I saw a photograph of female protesters facing a female cop,” she said, referring to the 2012 gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy intern in Delhi. “That cop had such an interesting expression on her face. She was one of them and she wasn’t one of them. She was the way in.

“Santosh is sort of a blank sheet when she comes into the police force…she’s in a world where everything is hierarchical. She’s accessing not just the bad power of the uniform but also the ability to help someone. The idea was also to see how she becomes politicised very casually, how she is drip-fed casual Islamophobia.”

There is ample documentation and reportage of police violence and sexual violence against Dalit women in India.

In 2021, the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras brought national and international condemnation for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Four men were arrested later but police were heavily criticised for their initial handling of the attack, their swift cremation of the victim’s body, their heavy-handed approach with protesters, and their attempts to block opposition politicians from meeting with the victim’s family.

In 2019, India saw massive protests sparked by Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government’s decision to introduce the Citizenship Amendment Act, which many saw as discriminatory against Muslims.

The protests saw police attack student protestors inside the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University as well as attacks in predominantly Muslim-dominated neighbourhoods where families claim police opened fire without provocation.

In June 2020, Human Rights Watch said “police failed to respond adequately” during the riots and were at times “complicit” in attacks against Muslims. It said authorities “failed to conduct impartial and transparent investigations”.

Suri questioned if her style of filmmaking was uncomfortable to the censor board as police brutality was not a new subject even in Indian cinema.

“Maybe there’s something about this film which is troubling in that everybody is morally compromised and there is no single hero. I think that’s what might set it apart from other stories in Indian cinema which often show a maverick cop in a rotten system.”

However, Suri remained hopeful.

“All my work has been about India; one film was deeply nostalgic, another was super beautiful and sensual,” she said. “Yes this one shows another face of the country. But there’s humanity in everybody in this film.”

India’s top court stays ‘inhuman’ ruling on sexual assault of minor

The Supreme Court of India stayed a controversial High Court order which held that “grabbing the breasts” of a minor girl and snapping the drawstring of her trouser did not amount to an attempt to rape.

The apex court called the judgement passed by Allahabad high court as “shocking” and “inhuman” in the case of alleged sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl on Wednesday.

In a 17 March ruling, the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh said that the offences by two men did not amount to attempted rape but “aggravated sexual assault”, a charge that carries a lesser punishment.

The top court said: “We are at pains to say that some of the observations made in the impugned judgment … depict a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment”.

The two-judge Supreme Court bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine noted that the order was “shocking”, especially because it was not delivered in the spur of the moment but had been delivered reserving for nearly four months.

The judges said the observations are “totally unknown to the tenets of law and depict total insensitivity and inhuman approach”.

The apex court said it issued a notice to India’s federal authorities, the state government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and the parties before the High Court.

The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, appeared in the court and denounced the judgment as shocking.

The case involves an 11-year-old girl from Kasganj – a city in UP– who was walking with her mother when the two men, named only as Pawan and Akash, offered a lift to the girl to her village as they knew the family. However, they sexually assaulted the girl after stopping the motorcycle on the way.

“The accused persons stopped their motorcycle on the way to the village and started grabbing her breasts,” the high court order said. It said that one of the men dragged her beneath a culvert and “broke her pyjama [trouser] string”.

Her screams alerted passers-by, who intervened, forcing the attackers to flee.

A trial court had initially summoned Pawan and Akash on charges of rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

However, the judge modified the charges to assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe.

The High Court ruling by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra presented the argument that “preparation” of rape was different from actual rape and the “prosecution must establish that it had gone beyond the stage of preparation”.

“The allegations levelled against the accused Pawan and Akash and facts of the case hardly constitute an offence of attempt to rape,” Justice Mishra stated in the ruling.

“In order to bring out a charge of attempt to rape, the prosecution must establish that it had gone beyond the stage of preparation. The difference between preparation and actual attempt to commit an offence consists chiefly in the greater degree of determination.”

The ruling sparked outrage in India, with many warning that the ruling will send a “wrong message to the society”.

Federal Minister for Women and Child Development, Annapurna Devi, said the “ruling has no place in a civilized society”.

“Somewhere, this will have a negative impact on society, and we will discuss this matter further,” she added.

Lawyer Indira Jaisingh told broadcaster Mirror Now said the allegations clearly amounted to “attempt to rape” in legal terms and there should be systematic review of such judgements by the Supreme Court.

“How do you prove intent? Intent is proved by actions which precede the actual act of rape,” she said.

Activist Shabnam Hashmi called the ruling “shameful”, adding: “The child was saved only because passers-by intervened. The judge does not see the intent to rape!”

Allegations of sexual abuse and rape is one of India’s rampant problems despite decades-long struggle to curb rising sexual violence against women.

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.

However, the real figure is believed to be far higher due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence and victims’ lack of faith in police, especially in rural areas.

Earlier this month, a 27-year-old Israeli tourist and a 29-year-old Indian homestay operator were gang-raped, in a deadly high-profile case involving international tourists.

A man was killed in the attack near Sanapur lake in Hampi, Karnataka.

Ashley Surcombe: Everything we know about UK influencer in South Korea

Ashley Surcombe, a 29-year-old British influencer living in Seoul, was found unconscious in her apartment on 24 March after her parents raised the alarm when she stopped responding to messages.

She was discovered by police in a severely dehydrated state with multiple organ failure and was rushed to the ICU, where she has since regained consciousness but remains under observation.

Her parents – Karen and Nigel Surcombe – last spoke with her two days ago when she mentioned feeling unwell and confused. They were reportedly initially worried because she had suffered a fall weeks earlier, resulting in a black eye.

Her father has travelled to South Korea, and her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover the mounting medical bills, as her health insurance had recently lapsed. They are seeking to raise £50,000, with ICU care alone costing up to £1,500 per day.

Originally from Gloucestershire, a county in South West England, Ms Surcombe grew up in the UK before eventually moving to South Korea, where she has reportedly spent the last five years. However, on her LinkedIn, eight years ago, she wrote: “Going to be moving to Korea under a Working Holiday Visa in February – Looking for work in the entertainment industry.

“Social media influencer with interest in acting and music, currently learning Korean.”

And last year in September, she wrote on her X account: “So I’m going to start vlogging – I’m officially moving to South Korea with a visa, no more back and forth.”

She has 465,000 followers on Instagram alone and has amassed over a million followers across various social media platforms with content primarily about her experiences living in South Korea.

She aimed to be a travel and lifestyle influencer and she is fluent in Korean, as is evident from her captions on social media, and planned to document her travels across Southeast Asian countries.

Her last Instagram post was over six weeks ago, featuring a Korean beer and in another post, she posted a Happy Chinese New Year message.

The British influencer’s parents have been deeply involved in efforts to support her since her sudden health crisis. When she stopped responding to their messages, they reportedly grew concerned and sought help through contacts in South Korea, ultimately prompting authorities to check on her.

Her sister, Kat Surcombe, has been sharing updates and seeking financial support for Ms Surcombe’s medical treatment. “We don’t know exactly what happened, and it has been difficult to get clear answers,” the 33-year-old aerospace engineer said.

“My parents have already paid a £3,000 deposit for her care, but the costs continue to rise,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page for Ms Surcombe. Thousands more are needed for essential tests, scans, and medications.

Speaking to The Times, she said: “I keep alternating between breaking down and trying to help my parents. It’s heartbreaking because she’s my little sister, and I just want her back home.”

Authorities in Seoul have confirmed that there were no signs of forced entry into Ms Surcombe’s apartment, adding to the uncertainty about what led to her condition. The family is desperate for answers as they try to piece together the circumstances that led to her hospitalisation.

“We just don’t know what happened and we are trying to find out exactly, but it’s been difficult, and we have had to rely on contacts out there,” Kat Surcombe told MailOnline.

“We were supposed to speak with her at 8pm on Sunday (Korean time) but she never answered, and we didn’t get any response from messages so that’s when we called police through a friend of my dad who has contacts out there.

“About a week ago she told us she hit her head against the door and got a nasty bruise on her eye.”

She continued: “She was found unresponsive and unconscious on the floor; she didn’t have any broken bones, but she was severely dehydrated and has major organ failure.

“Her blood sugar levels are very low and when we spoke with her on Saturday, she seemed confused, and you could barely see her lips she was so dehydrated.

“When they heard back that she was in hospital it was just horrible as we felt so helpless and so far away.”

The big sister added: “I am also really worried about my parents; they have just retired, and this has the potential to financially ruin them.”

The British content creator was born in Cyprus in March 1996, and gained popularity through her YouTube gaming channel, AshleyMarieGaming, particularly for Minecraft content, according to the game’s fan page. In 2017, she slowly moved away from the gaming content and veered more towards fashion and travel content.

She also reportedly has lived in multiple places across the UK and has two sisters, Kat and a non-identical twin, Tara. A cursory glance at her social media shows that she had a keen interest in, and was deeply invested in Korean pop culture.

There was an outpouring of support for the Surcombe family and the influencer. One supporter posted a GoFundMe page for Ms Surcombe and wrote on X: “I don’t know what to say other than help if you can. I played quite a few video games with @AshleyMarieeS.”

The family hopes to raise £50,000 for Ms Surcombe’s treatment and, at the time of writing, has collected £11,638.

China-bound AirAsia flight returns to Kuala Lumpur after engine fire

A China-bound AirAsia flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Kuala Lumpur due to an engine fire shortly after takeoff, Malaysian authorities said.

Flight AK128 to Shenzhen returned to the Kuala Lumpur international airport after a fire started in the right engine of the Airbus A320 shortly after its 9.59pm local time departure on Wednesday.

The cause of the fire was identified as a “pneumatic ducting burst”, Selangor state’s fire and rescue department said.

Pneumatic ducting routes pressurised air throughout the plane for engine functions as well as cabin pressurisation.

The fire was completely extinguished by the aircraft’s in-built safety system before it landed shortly after midnight, the fire department said, adding that all 171 passengers and crew were unharmed.

The department deployed nine personnel and a fire engine to runway 3 after receiving a distress call at 10.37pm local time, assistant director of operations Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar said.

The firefighters ensured passengers and crew exited the aircraft safely and made checks to ensure no further fires erupted. “All 171 passengers and crew safely disembarked,” Mr Mukhtar told reporters on Thursday morning.

Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke said he had received a preliminary report from the Civil Aviation Authority. “AirAsia will issue a statement on what happened shortly to address the issue. At this point, I do not want to preempt anything,” Mr Loke said.

“Let the authorities investigate as normal procedure as any emergency landing will be investigated thoroughly.”

Earlier this month, 12 passengers were taken to hospital in Colorado, US, after an American Airlines flight caught fire while taxiing on the tarmac.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed passengers standing on the Boeing 737-800 plane’s wings as the flames engulfed its underside. The passengers were eventually brought to safety via slides.

One passenger told CBS Colorado that shortly after landing, passengers started catching a “weird burning plastic smell”.

“Then everybody started screaming and saying there was a fire,” Gabrielle Hibbitts, travelling with her mother and sister, recalled.

Who is Zalmay Khalilzad, would-be broker between Taliban and Trump?

Zalmay Khalilzad, the key negotiator in one of the largest US diplomatic debacles in recent memory, could nonetheless be on track to return as Donald Trump’s mediator with the Taliban, experts say.

Last week Khalilzad, an Afghan-born diplomat who was responsible for mediating talks that led to America’s chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan, was pictured accompanying an American hostage released from Taliban custody.

Khalilzad appeared alongside George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta who was captured by the Taliban in December 2022 during a tourist visit to Afghanistan. Officially, Glezmann was released in a deal with the Trump administration brokered by Qatari negotiators.

But it was Khalilzad who travelled to Kabul, met with the Taliban’s foreign ministry officials and then accompanied the American back to the US. He then took to Twitter to confirm Glezmann’s release, calling it a “good day”.

Experts monitoring Afghanistan say the Trump administration could once again be turning to Khalilzad to deal with the Taliban, including around reported early-stage discussions to reopen the US embassy in Kabul. That would be a major boost in terms of international recognition for the militant regime that has been globally condemned for its assault on women’s rights.

Khalilzad was the “architect” of the Trump administration’s mistaken belief that the Taliban had changed as an organisation since its misogynistic regime of the late ‘90s and early 2000s, before it was ousted from power in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, argues David Loyn, author of The Long War.

“There are talks that Trump might want to send him to Kabul as a full-time envoy. He had an incredibly difficult hand to play in 2019 because Trump wanted an end to the war. It was just like what Americans are doing with Putin now. They are cutting out the main players – Afghan nationals in this case,” Loyn tells The Independent.

“Donald Trump is mainly excited and attracted by how Khalilzad was their negotiator and developed the sense that he could talk to the Taliban on behalf of the Americans as a Washington operator,” says Loyn.

But if they are still listening to his advice now, the Trump administration, in his opinion, are “making a mistake”, he says. “Khalilzad has been wrong and naive about Taliban 2.0 before and there is no reason why his analysis should be any better this time.”

Khalilzad has served as a negotiator with rulers of Afghanistan for more than four decades, including with the Soviets in 1989 when the Russians withdrew from Afghanistan.

He stepped down in October 2021 after serving as the US special envoy for Afghanistan for more than three years under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Khalilzad was brought onboard by Washington in September 2018 by then secretary of state Mike Pompeo to lead negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan republic government led by Ashraf Ghani.

A fluent Pashto and Dari speaker, Khalilzad failed to broker a power-sharing deal between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s democratically-elected leaders. Where he did succeed was in negotiating an agreement with the Taliban to end America’s longest-running war, which saw US troops leave Afghanistan after 20 years. The agreement was signed in the Qatari capital Doha and paved the way towards a full withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan, as America’s Nato allies had little choice but to follow suit.

A number of officials from the Biden administration blamed the deal negotiated by Khalilzad for forcing their hands when it came to the speed of the pullout, and allowing the Taliban to swiftly take over the country unopposed. The biggest victims of the Taliban’s takeover have been Afghan women, whose fundamental rights on matters such as education and employment have been stripped away.

An active commentator via his X social media account, Khalilzad is regularly met with disapproving remarks from Afghans under his posts. Last week, he advocated for a longer transition period of power in Afghanistan. “You shut up. There is no need (for) your advice,” one user angrily replied.

Khalilzad has admitted that the Nato withdrawal from Afghanistan had not gone as planned, saying this was because the Taliban did not enter serious peace talks with the Afghan government as had been agreed.

But he has repeatedly defended his role in the Doha talks, saying his negotiating position was undermined by public statements and briefings from the White House that America was on the brink of withdrawing from Afghanistan. He told the congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs in November 2023 that “military force” was the biggest source of leverage the US had over the Taliban.

“I would say to our leaders here sometimes that, if we keep saying we’re getting out regardless, that doesn’t give me a lot of leverage. [They would say] ‘Okay. Understood, Zal.’ But then it would only last a week or two days.”

The Independent has reached out to Khalilzad for comment.

Kabir Taneja, deputy director of strategic studies and a fellow on the Middle East at India’s Observer Research Foundation, says Trump has talked himself into a corner by committing publicly to restoring some form of American influence in Afghanistan. “In the past few months, Trump has made loose remarks about not allowing China and Russia to run amok in the Afghanistan and central Asia region without any American presence, and American weapons left back in Afghanistan,” says Taneja.

“So the only one he can tap into right now is Khalilzad – someone he is familiar with. It is more about familiarity and Trump’s inner circle more than anything else and he is in Trump’s inner circle, clearly.”

China sentences Taiwan-based editor for ‘inciting separatism’

A court in China has sentenced the editor-in-chief of a Taiwanese publishing house to three years in prison for “inciting separatism”, the Chinese government has revealed.

Li Yanhe, a Chinese citizen who was reportedly living in Taiwan, went missing after returning home to visit relatives in Shanghai in March 2023.

The Communist government later announced that Li was allegedly being investigated by anti-espionage authorities. According to rights groups, no news about his well-being or status was made publicly available until March 2025.

Taiwanese media reported last week that he had been tried and sentenced by a court in Shanghai but gave no details. Li was sentenced to three years in prison after the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court found him guilty of “inciting to split the country”, said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.

He added on Wednesday that the editor was fined 50,000 yuan (£5,342) in addition to the sentence. Li pleaded guilty and did not appeal, he told reporters, however, the authorities did not reveal what the editor did to be charged with inciting separatism.

Gusa Publishing, where Li worked, has published books on topics that are usually censored in China. The company’s website includes books on corruption and authoritarian rule in China and on the military’s bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests that were centred on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Taiwanese authorities said last week that Li’s detention was in order to “suppress Taiwan’s publishing, academic and cultural industries and attempt to create a chilling effect”, according to Taiwan’s government-owned Central News Agency.

Gusa Publishing on Facebook said Li’s colleagues were “angry and upset” and failed to understand why “just a publisher” would be charged with inciting separatism.

Li’s sentencing comes at a time when Beijing has been aggressively pushing for a reunification with the self-governed island of Taiwan. The Chinese government claims Taiwan as its territory and says the island must come under its control, by force if necessary, at some point in the future.

“Li was arbitrarily detained, denied fair trial rights, and sentenced on dubious charges,” said Sophie Richardson, co-executive director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

“Publishing books is not a crime, but Beijing sees open debate as a threat. The charges against Li should be dropped immediately and he should be released.”

Yu Miao, the owner of a Chinese bookstore in Washington, DC, said it would have a negative impact on deciding which books to publish in the future.

“It shows it is not safe to publish books about China in Taiwan or anywhere else,” said Mr Yu, who opened the Washington bookstore after his earlier bookstore in Shanghai was forced out in 2018.

In 2015, five Hong Kong-based booksellers were taken away by Chinese authorities, including a Swedish and a British national.

Why Asian airlines are tightening rules on carrying power banks

A Hong Kong Airlines flight from Hangzhou in China on 20 March was forced to make an emergency landing in Fujian after a fire erupted in an overhead compartment.

It was just the latest fire on an aircraft suspected to have been caused by a portable charging device, also known as a power bank. A spate of such incidents of late has caused significant safety concerns in the aviation industry and led airlines as well as regulators to implement stricter regulations.

Airlines across South Korea and carriers in Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore, have implemented new regulations to enhance safety.

The 20 March incident prompted the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department to ban passengers from using power banks on flights starting 7 April.

Passengers would still be allowed to take power banks in carry-on luggage, the department added, but they must keep the devices under seats or in seat pockets and not in overhead compartments. “Passengers are advised to check with relevant airlines on the latest regulations before their flight.”

“We recognise the importance of continuous improvement in aviation safety and support measures to reduce risks associated with the use of lithium battery-powered devices,” Cathay Pacific said. “Cathay will fully comply with the regulations.”

​Starting 1 March, South Korea implemented stricter rules on carrying portable batteries on flights following a fire on an Air Busan plane on 28 January. The incident had occurred as the flight was preparing to depart the Gimhae airport in southern South Korea for Hong Kong.

The revised rules state that a passenger can carry a maximum of five portable batteries, each with a capacity of up to 100 watt hours. Batteries exceeding 160 watt hours in capacity are strictly prohibited.

Security checks now involve verifying the number and type of batteries passengers want to bring onboard while charging power banks on flights is no longer allowed, according to the transport ministry.

In line with a similar policy adopted by Air Busan, the new rules also ban storing of power banks or e-cigarettes in overhead cabin bins.

The ministry says the rules are aimed at mitigating risks from portable battery fires, though the exact cause of the Air Busan fire is yet to be determined. According to the airline, a flight attendant first noticed the fire in an overhead luggage bin at the rear of the plane.

Earlier this month, a Batik Air flight filled with smoke from a burning power bank shortly before landing in Bangkok, causing panic among passengers. Footage posted on social media showed smoke spreading from an overhead luggage compartment and flight attendants working to locate the source and extinguish the fire.

Global aviation standards prohibit placing batteries in checked-in luggage as they can ignite severe fires if they short-circuit due to damage or manufacturing defects.

South Korean airlines such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines now prohibit passengers from checking in lithium-ion batteries. According to updated rules from the transport ministry, such batteries must be covered with tape or placed in plastic bags to prevent contact with metal.

Taiwan’s EVA Airways similarly bans the use and charging of power banks and spare lithium batteries on flights. Passengers, though, can carry them in their hand luggage if they are “properly stored to prevent compression or damage”.

The same rules apply on China Airlines flights departing from the Incheon airport in South Korea. “The ports of power banks should be covered with insulating tape or protective covers or placed in transparent zip-lock bags or protective pouches and carried on person or placed in the seat pocket in front,” the airline said in an updated travel advisory on 27 February.

Thai Airways and Air Asia are implementing similar regulations since 15 March. Singapore Airlines banned the use of portable batteries on flights from 1 April.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand says that power banks remain prohibited in checked-in luggage. Similar to the Hong Kong ban, however, these devices are still allowed in the cabin but cannot be used during the flight.

Sonya Brown, senior lecturer in aerospace design at the University of New South Wales, Australia, said lithium-ion batteries used in power banks contained materials that were highly reactive and flammable.

“Lithium batteries could act as an ignition source themselves, or as a source of fuel for a fire initiated elsewhere,” she told CNN.

“The potential risk as an ignition source is increased when lithium batteries are damaged, swollen, include manufacturing defects, are overcharged or overheated.”

Lo Kok Keung, a veteran mechanical engineer and former lecturer at Polytechnic University, supported the new measures and told the South China Morning Post that even stricter steps should be considered.

“It would be best if there could be a blanket ban on bringing any portable power banks on a flight. They are like a time bomb, but no one knows when it will explode,” Mr Lo said. “A power bank is not an essential accessory. You do not need to charge your phone during the flight if you had charged it fully before boarding. Even when you are travelling overseas, you can charge up your phone or devices in the hotel. There is no need for you to bring a portable power bank with you to travel.”

To stay safe, experts suggest that passengers check their airline’s specific policies on power banks to ensure compliance and keep them in carry-on baggage – preferably on their person rather than in overhead compartments – and avoid using them to charge devices during flights unless explicitly permitted by the airline.

UK influencer in critical condition in hospital in South Korea

A British influencer named Ashley Surcombe is reportedly in a critical condition in a South Korean hospital after being found unconscious in her apartment with a black eye and severe dehydration.

The 29-year-old from Gloucestershire was reportedly discovered by police on Monday after her worried parents contacted authorities through a friend when she stopped responding to their messages and calls.

Ms Surcombe, according to The Times, has been living in South Korean capital Seoul for the last five years, posting about her time in the country for her 465,000 followers on Instagram.

According to reports, she is currently in the intensive care unit (ICU) after suffering multiple organ failure. Her sister, Kat Surcombe, 33, an aerospace engineer, described the ordeal as “surreal”.

Speaking to The Times, she said: “I keep alternating between breaking down and trying to help my parents. It’s heartbreaking because she’s my little sister, and I just want her back home.”

The family said they last spoke with Ms Surcombe on Saturday, when she told her parents she “wasn’t feeling very well” and seemed “dehydrated and very confused”.

“Initially we were very concerned because she’d recently slipped in her bathroom and hit her head, which is why she got quite a nasty bruise on her eye, but that was a few weeks ago. The way she was behaving, my parents were understandably concerned,” said her sister.

When Ms Surcombe failed to respond to a previously scheduled call on Sunday evening, parents Karen and Nigel, both 64, reached out to friends in Seoul, who in turn contacted the police.

According to her sister and local news reports, the police managed to gain entry into her flat, where they found her unconscious and unresponsive on the bathroom floor.

“She was found unresponsive and unconscious on the floor; she didn’t have any broken bones, but she was severely dehydrated and has major organ failure,” Kat Surcombe told Mail Online.

Paramedics rushed her to the ICU on Monday, where she has reportedly gained consciousness, but remains under observation and undergoing tests after reporting pain in her head, back, and hands.

“[The doctors] said that she was severely dehydrated and she’s got organ damage but we don’t know the extent of the organ damage yet,” she said, adding that their father was already on his way to Seoul.

The family has launched a GoFundMe to help grapple with the escalating medical costs.

Kat Surcombe revealed that Ms Surcombe’s health insurance had recently lapsed, forcing their parents to pay a £3,000 deposit for her treatment upfront.

“They’ve had to put it on a credit card, they don’t have £3,000 pounds just lying around. The potential financial burden is just on another level. My parents are recently retired. If she spends the week in the ICU that’s about £10,000, they don’t have that type of money lying around.”

“My dad has already said they may have to sell their house, obviously the priority is Ashley, but they just don’t know how to cover the medical bills.”

Based on the information provided on the GoFundMe page, ICU care could cost up to £1,500 per day, with additional tests and general hospital stays pushing expenses even higher.

“My parents have recently retired, and as a family, we don’t have an abundance of money to cover these unexpected and overwhelming costs,” Kat Surcombe wrote on the GoFundMe page.

The family is aiming to raise £50,000 for Ms Surcombe’s treatment, and at the time of writing, had raised £6,840.