Fresh violence plunges Manipur into political crisis as leader resigns

A fresh wave of violence in Manipur compelled the northeast Indian state’s chief minister to resign over the weekend as the almost two-year-old ethnic conflict raged on unabated.

N Biren Singh, senior member of prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party, announced that he had submitted his resignation to the governor on Sunday.

The resignation came just a day before the state legislative assembly was scheduled to go in session.

The state was now expected to be placed under the president’s rule, meaning that it would effectively be ruled directly by Mr Modi’s government.

In his resignation letter, Mr Singh thanked Mr Modi’s federal government for what he described as its efforts to safeguard Manipur’s interests and urged continued action to curb border infiltration and deport “illegal immigrants”.

The ethnic conflict in Manipur involving the majority Meitei community and the minority Kukis began in 2023 after the state’s High Court ordered the government to accept the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status, which, if granted, would have extended economic benefits and job and education quotas meant for marginalised groups like the Kukis to the majority community.

The conflict has left more than 250 people dead so far.

Kuki groups accused Mr Singh, 64, of siding with his Meitei community and demanded his removal after the conflict started. His own allies grew increasingly critical as the conflict continued and several BJP lawmakers sought his resignation over his handling of the crisis.

International human rights organisations accused the state administration as well as Mr Modi’s government of allowing vigilante groups in the state to operate with impunity, stoking ethnic tensions, and failing to uphold law and order.

The BJP governments in New Delhi and Imphal “have utterly failed to end the violence and displacement and protect human rights in the state”, Amnesty International said last year.

Police hunt gunman after rare mall shooting panics shoppers

Police in Malaysia are looking for the suspect in a shooting at a mall in Setia Alam – a rare incident of gun violence in a country with strict firearm laws.

An employee at the mall sustained injuries after a man opened fire at about 10.50pm (local time) on Saturday, police said.

Selangor state police said the suspect fired four shots at the janitor after entering the shopping mall in Setia Alam, located about 34km from capital Kuala Lumpur. The suspect escaped to another floor where he continued firing additional shots, the police added.

The gunman has been identified as a man in his 30s and a repeat offender with a history of 11 criminal acts, police said.

“We are in the midst of tracking him down. The motive for the attack is still under investigation,” Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan told reporters.

Police said the suspect shattered a glass stairwell window along with a sliding door before escaping into the car park. He then vanished into the dark after hijacking a car at gunpoint.

“A mall patron was hailed down by the suspect but he kept on driving. The suspect then fired a shot that hit the car,” Mr Hussein said.

He said the suspect forced the driver to get him out of the mall and then instructed the driver “to drop him off near the Pandamaran exit of the Kesas Expressway”.

The police recovered more than 10 bullet casings from various areas of the mall and the car park as video from the shooting showed terrified shoppers scrambling for cover.

A 20-year-old employee told the New Straits Times that she was handing out perfume samples to customers when she suddenly heard two loud bangs about 40m away from her workplace.

“At that moment, I had no idea what the sound was. When I looked towards the door leading to the staircase, I saw two cleaning staff members in distress,” the eyewitness said.

By the third gunshot, people began rushing out and running in all directions leaving their belongings behind, she added.

Malaysia’s home minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on Sunday reassured the public that national security and public order remain the top priorities in the wake of the shooting. “There is no need for public panic,” he said.

“The swift response by the police reflects their competence and any shortcomings in their capabilities could have led to a different outcome,” he said in a press conference.

Last month, a 40-year-old man was fatally shot as he was eating lunch at a restaurant Last month in Johor Bahru.

Escape of 105 crocodiles sparks calls to close Indonesian reptile farm

Authorities in Indonesia have called for closing down a crocodile farm on an island in Batam city after 105 reptiles escaped from the premises last month.

The reptiles on the loose from the Bulan Island sparked concerns about potential attacks on local residents and tourists. Authorities in Singapore were also alerted.

“We want the farm shut down,” Iman Sutiawan, the speaker of Riau Islands Legislative Council said, reported The Jakarta Post. He said the crocodile farm, aside from endangering the public, has not paid taxes in its 36 years of operations.

He said out of the 105 crocodiles, only one was still at large.

“However, this is just the management’s claim. Frankly speaking, we don’t believe it. We want the company to keep searching for the remaining crocodiles and to verify the total number of escaped and captured reptiles,” Mr Iman said.

According to the official, local councillors visited the crocodile farm over the weekend to check its condition after the escape of reptiles. They also demanded accountability from the management in case of future crocodile attacks.

The incident took place last month when the crocodiles escaped from the facility, managed by PT Perkasa Jagat Karunia, on 13 January when the island faced torrential downpour, causing parts of its fences around a breeding pond to collapse.

Around 800 saltwater crocodiles were reported to be on the farm, its management said.

These farmed reptiles were used for the production of various leather goods, bags, wallets, and belts.

Batam’s mayor Muhammad Rudi formed a joint team of navy, police officers, and local fishermen to catch the crocodiles. The largest crocodile captured weighed more than 1,000kg.

Officials at the local tourism agency also issued warnings for tourists to avoid entering beaches and any water bodies after the reptiles escaped.

Animated film Ne Zha 2 breaks box office records

Animated film Ne Zha 2 broke several records, including one held previously by Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, as it continued its domination in the Chinese box office over the lunar new year holidays.

Ne Zha 2 is a sequel to the 2019 fantasy adventure Ne Zha, which follows a young boy born with unique powers who teams up with dragon prince Ao Bing to fight demons and save the very community that fears him.

The film series, written and directed by Jiaozi, is loosely based on a 16th-century novel, Investiture of the Gods, attributed to Xu Zhonglin.

Ne Zha 2 was released in cinemas for the Chinese lunar new year on 29 January. Most businesses and government offices close for an eight-day public holiday for the new year to enable people to travel home. The extended break likely contributed to the success of the film, which not only features a beloved Chinese mythological character but appeals to audiences of all ages.

Ne Zha 2 has now outstripped major Hollywood films to become not only the highest-grossing film ever in a single market worldwide, but also the first film ever to cross $1bn (£805.5m) in a single market.

In the first week of its release alone, Ne Zha 2 made ¥4.84bn (£534m) in China, setting the record for the most money made by a single film in the new year period, which runs from 28 January to 12 February.

Holding strong at the box office for the second consecutive week, Ne Zha 2 has managed to bring in a cumulative total of $1.11bn (£886m), according to Artisan Gateway. Earlier projections, which had put Ne Zha 2 firmly in place to beat 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing film in a single market, were proved true this past weekend.

The space opera film made $936.7m (£754m) in North America.

Ne Zha 2 has already surpassed Ne Zha in total earnings and has also become the highest-grossing film ever not in the English language, beating 2021’s The Battle at Lake Changjin, which had earned $913m.

It overtook The Battle at Lake Changjin as China’s biggest film ever within the first week of its release.

The numbers bode well for the Chinese film industry, even taking into account the fact that the lunar new year is generally one of its most lucrative periods. In 2024, total box office collections dropped 22.6 per cent from the previous year as a sluggish economy reportedly prompted moviegoers to stay home.

New Zealand announces it will loosen visa rules to lure foreign money

New Zealand will relax visa rules to attract more foreign investors, in efforts to stimulate economic growth, its government said on Sunday.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the country’s investor visa category would be made “simpler and more flexible” to encourage investors to choose New Zealand for their “capital, skills and international connections”.

“These changes will turbocharge our economic growth, bringing brighter days ahead for all Kiwis,” Stanford said in a statement announcing that two new visa categories – for “higher-risk investments” and “mixed investments” – would be created.

The changes, to take effect from April 1, follow the government’s recent relaxation of visa rules allowing holidaymakers to work remotely while visiting the country, aimed at boosting its tourism sector.

The new conditions allow visitors to work from New Zealand for an employer or client that is in another country.

The change will apply to applications received from 27 January 2025, including tourists and people visiting family or partners and guardians on longer-term visitor visas.

This visa is aimed at digital nomads – people who travel freely while working online because they are not required to be in a certain place. It means they will be able to keep in touch with work back home without breaching visa conditions.

Those who have a visitor visa and people who enter the country with a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) will be under these conditions.

However, the new relaxed rules will not extend to those who have a work connection in New Zealand. Visitor visa holders must not work for a New Zealand employer, have to be physically present at a workplace in New Zealand or provide goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand.

The government said that the push for digital nomads to spend time in the country is to try and drive up the country’s appeal to other tourists as well as bring in more visitor spending, especially during the shoulder season.

“Tourism is New Zealand’s second-largest export earner generating revenue of almost $11 billion and creating nearly 200,000 jobs, New Zealand’s economic growth minister Nicola Willis said.

“Making the country more attractive to ‘digital nomads’ – people who work remotely while travelling – will boost New Zealand’s attractiveness as a destination.”

After slipping into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024, the New Zealand government is seeking ways to bolster growth. In January, it announced plans to set up Invest New Zealand, part of the government’s international economic development agency, to serve as a one-stop-shop for overseas investment.

North Korea opens to tourists after five years with tours to port city

North Korea is set to reopen to tourists this week with the first organised tour of the country for international visitors since 2020.

Koryo Tours last week announced packed five-day itineraries of northern city Rason, with activities including a hike on Mount Shahyang, a boat trip to see seals and a visit to the Rason School Uniform Factory.

North Korea’s borders have been closed since the government imposed COVID-19 border restrictions five years ago.

In August 2024, North Korea said it hoped to send in the first Western tourists by the end of the year.

Now, travellers are invited to visit Rason, one of the state’s lesser-seen destinations, for the country’s late leader – Kim Jong Il’s – birthday celebrations.

The Beijing-based tour operator said: “Koryo Tours is happy to announce the first trip back to North Korea since the borders closed in January 2020.

“This tour will take you to the must-see sites in Rason, North Korea’s Special Economic Zone. Plus, you will travel to North Korea to celebrate one of the biggest holidays, Kim Jong Il’s Birthday.”

Rason is a Special Economic Zone that sits close to both the Chinese and Russian borders in the far northeast.

Here, new economic and social policies including the first mobile phone network and card payment system in the country were tested, and capitalism is promoted.

The first trip to depart for Rason is a “Return of North Korean Tourism Tour” for 20 tourists on 12 February.

In honour of the country’s late leader, the tour from Yanji, China to the DPRK border starts from €705 (£590) per person and spends four nights in Rason.

Taekwondo demonstrations, seaside walks at Hae’an Park and the Rajin Fine Art Gallery are among itinerary inclusions.

Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours told The Independent’s daily travel podcast in August, that tourism “can only bring positives” and that visitors help to “open eyes and open minds, and these are things that should be promoted”.

Before they leave Yanji for the border, tourists will attend a pre-tour briefing that covers regulations, etiquette, safety, and practicalities for travel in North Korea and up to three local guides will travel with the group.

‘Classic’, ‘speciality’ and ‘budget’ North Korea tours are scheduled to run from February to April 2025.

According to Koryo Tours, the trips are “not yet confirmed” as it awaits “further information on the border opening date” from the Chinese authorities, with Pyongyang itineraries still unavailable.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) currently advise British citizens “against all but essential travel to North Korea” and the British Embassy in Pyongyang remains closed.

It says: “The North Korean authorities have previously detained foreign nationals for allegedly violating local laws and have denied them access to support from their governments.”

“The few British people who visit North Korea are usually part of an organised tour. If you decide to visit North Korea against FCDO advice, follow the guidance of your tour operator and the local authorities,” adds the FCDO.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast

China wants people to marry and have children — no one is listening

China witnessed a record 20 per cent plunge in marriages last year, marking the steepest decline ever recorded and raising further concerns about the country’s shrinking population.

Despite government initiatives to encourage young couples to marry and have children, the number of registered marriages plummeted to just over 6.1 million, a significant drop from 7.68 million in 2021.

This decline underscores a growing reluctance among young Chinese to embrace traditional family life. Experts point to the soaring costs of childcare and education as major deterrents.

Furthermore, recent economic stagnation has exacerbated the situation, leaving many graduates struggling to find stable employment and fostering widespread job insecurity.

The severity of the drop is unprecedented.

Even during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, marriage registrations only decreased by 12.2 per cent, according to demographer Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This highlights the depth of the current demographic challenge facing China.

He noted that the number of marriages in China last year was less than half of the 13.47 million in 2013.

If this trend continues, “the Chinese government’s political and economic ambitions will be ruined by its demographic Achilles’ heel,” he said.

For Chinese authorities, boosting interest in marriage and baby-making is a pressing concern.

China has the second-biggest population in the world at 1.4 billion – one that is aging quickly.

The birth rate fell for decades due to China’s 1980-2015 one-child policy and rapid urbanisation. And in the coming decade, roughly 300 million Chinese – the equivalent of almost the entire US population – are expected to enter retirement.

Measures taken last year by authorities to tackle the problem included urging China’s colleges and universities to provide “love education” to emphasise positive views on marriage, love, fertility and family.

In November, China’s state council or cabinet, also told local governments to direct resources towards fixing China’s population crisis and spread respect for childbearing and marriages “at the right age.”

Last year saw a slight rise in births after a lull due to the pandemic and because 2024 was the Chinese zodiac year of the dragon – with children born that year considered likely to be ambitious and have great fortune.

But even with the increase in births, the country’s population fell for a third consecutive year.

The data also showed that more than 2.6 million couples filed for divorce last year, up 1.1 per cent from 2023.

Indonesia in talks with UK over repatriation of rapist Reynhard Sinaga

The British government is speaking with Indonesia about repatriating the most prolific rapist in UK history.

Reynhard Sinaga, 41, was in 2020 found guilty of assaulting 48 men in Manchester.

Sinaga met his victims at bars and clubs, then took them back to his apartment, where he drugged and raped them.

He was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for 159 offences, which he committed between January 2015 and May 2017.

Indonesia’s senior minister for law and human rights affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra told reporters late on Thursday that talks with the British government were at an early stage.

The mechanism for such a repatriation would be decided later, he said, either through a prisoner transfer or through an exchange with a British prisoner jailed in Indonesia.

“No matter how wrong a citizen is, the country has the obligation to defend its citizen,” Yusril said.

“It’s not an easy job for us,” he said, adding there are many things that need to be negotiated with the British government.

The British embassy in Indonesia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indonesia is also looking at ways to repatriate Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, who was accused of being involved in some deadly attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings.

Under British rules, Sinaga is only able to file for leniency after he has been in jail for 30 years, Yusril said.

Sinaga’s family have met with the ministry’s representative to seek his repatriation.

If the British government agrees to his return he would be jailed in a maximum security prison, Yusril said. “Otherwise he will cause new problems.”

Sinaga, who has been in the UK since 2007, targeted young men who looked drunk or vulnerable and rendered them unconscious with a sedative.

The rape investigation was the largest in British legal history.