Kim Kardashian’s woe as India trip fails to live up to Aladdin dream
When Kim Kardashian traveled with her sister Khloé to India last July for the wedding of Anat Ambani, she’d assumed the experience would remind her of Disney’s Aladdin — but to her surprise, it didn’t.
In the most recent episode of The Kardashians on Hulu, cameras followed Kim and Khloé as they set off to Mumbai, India, on a quick 48-hour trip to celebrate the son of Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in Asia, getting married to Radhika Merchant.
The two Los Angeles-based reality stars arrived in India for the first time at midnight. Before they went to sleep, Kim and Khloé did a fitting for their ceremonial looks, hoping to make the most of their short time overseas.
“We’re only here for 48 hours, and we do have a schedule,” Khloé explained in her confessional with the show’s producers. “We’re planning to go to some of the local markets before we have to go to the wedding so we can enjoy as much of India as possible.”
The 44-year-old Skims co-founder seconded her sister’s statement, noting how she wanted to “explore the city” too.
The pair would be disappointed though, as, according to Kim, they thought the markets they were visiting would be similar to those seen in the 1992 Disney animation, which is set in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah, not India.
“I thought it was going to be like the marketplace,” Kim said. “This is like the streets.”
“What you see Aladdin going through and stealing some bread from. This is where I thought we were going,” she added.
It wasn’t the only shock they were in for. The duo, who are used to being driven around L.A., were told they would be walking to the street sellers rather than being escorted by car or rickshaw.
The walk was less than pleasant for Kim, who was startled by everything around her, from the car horns to a stray dog.
“Oh! I don’t do random dogs!” she exclaimed, to which Khloé quipped: “At least there’s a Starbucks here.”
In her confessional, Khloé joked: “We’re not in Calabasas anymore.”
“There’s rickshaws going by, everyone was so surprised, like: ‘What the f*** are these people doing here?’” she added.
Kim described the setting of the street vendors as “mayhem.”
Online, viewers were appalled by Kim’s unrealistic expectations for what her time in India would look like, especially because the Disney picture is trying to depict an entirely different culture.
One commenter wrote: “Agrabah and Aladdin isn’t even based in India, it’s supposed to be the Middle East and is a fictionalized portrayal of Middle Eastern culture (or at least an attempt). They should have tried the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.”
“Spoiler: it wasn’t a magic carpet ride! Guess she was expecting more,” a second joked on X/Twitter.
Two men arrested after UK tourist raped in Delhi hotel, police say
Police say they have arrested two men over the alleged rape and molestation of a 36-year-old British tourist at a hotel in the Indian capital Delhi.
The woman was reportedly assaulted at a hotel in Delhi’s Mahipalpur area, 15km south of the Indian parliament.
One of the suspects, identified as Kailash, had befriended the London resident on Instagram, the police said. He was arrested on charges of rape, while a hotel staff member named Wasim was held on charges of molestation.
“This is not a gang rape. These are two separate incidents of sexual abuse. The suspects are not related to each other,” a South West Delhi police officer told The Independent.
The woman arrived in Delhi from the UK to meet the suspect after becoming friends with him on social media, police said.
The woman was on holiday to Maharashtra and Goa when she asked Kailash to join her, news outlet NDTV reported. However, the suspect allegedly said he could not travel, which prompted the British national to visit Delhi this week.
The woman checked in to the hotel on Tuesday, where Kailash, a resident of Delhi, allegedly visited and subsequently assaulted her.
The woman reportedly alleged that hotel staff inappropriately touched her while she was in the lift.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told The Independent: “We are supporting a British woman in India and are in touch with the local authorities.”
The British national was allegedly assaulted less than a week after a 27-year-old Israeli tourist and her Indian homestay operator were gang-raped near a Unesco world heritage site in Karnataka. A fellow Indian male traveller was killed, while two others, including an American man, survived.
The two women, who were stargazing with three male tourists near Sanapur Lake in Hampi, Karnataka, were attacked by three assailants last Thursday. The incident prompted foreign and local tourists to leave the state or cancel their travels to India.
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 latest figures available from the National Crime Records Bureau. The real figure is believed to be far higher due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence.
The gang rape of a tourist from Spain in the eastern state of Jharkhand last year sparked anger and a discussion on safety in a country with rising crimes against women.
The 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.
In February this year, a 31-year-old man was jailed for life over the rape and murder of a 28-year-old Irish tourist in Goa.
UN food agency to cut aid for 1 million people in Myanmar
More than a million people in Myanmar will be cut off from lifesaving food assistance provided by the World Food Programme from next month because of critical shortfalls in funding, the latest cut in humanitarian support from the UN agency.
“These cuts come just as increased conflict, displacement and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs,” WFP said on Friday, warning that the cuts would affect groups that were entirely reliant on the agency for food.
WFP, which describes itself as the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, has said in recent months that a lack of funding would mean cuts to operations in Afghanistan, parts of Africa and refugee camps in Bangladesh, leaving millions of people hungry.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when the military seized power from an elected civilian government, sparking a protest movement that has expanded into a nationwide armed rebellion.
Nearly 20 million people in Myanmar are currently in need of humanitarian assistance, and an estimated 15.2 million – about a third of the country’s population – are facing acute food insecurity, according to UN human rights experts.
A junta spokesman did not respond to a call from Reuters.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres on Friday was in the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where more than a million Rohingya face a halving of their WFP-backed food rations to just $6 per month from April.
WFP did not elaborate on the funding shortfall and whether it was due to the Trump administration’s decision to cut US foreign aid globally.
It said it needed $60 million to maintain its food assistance operations in Myanmar this year.
The agency said the cuts would affect communities across Myanmar, including around 100,000 internally displaced people comprising the minority Muslim Rohingya communities and others.
“WFP is also deeply concerned about the upcoming lean season from July to September – when food shortages hit hardest,” the statement said.
The escalating conflict in Myanmar, which has engulfed swathes of the country, has contaminated farmland with landmines and unexploded ordnance and destroyed agricultural equipment, making local food production more challenging, according to UN human rights experts.
“Even where arable land exists, there is a shortage of workers due to massive displacement and people fleeing conscription by the military,” they said in a statement on Thursday.
Myanmar’s junta has suppressed information about a severe food crisis gripping the country by pressuring researchers not to collect data about hunger and aid workers not to publish it, Reuters reported late last year.
Taiwan actor arrested for ‘evading conscription’ begins military duty
Taiwanese actor Darren Wang began his conscription service on Thursday, a month after he was arrested for allegedly evading mandatory military duty.
The 33-year-old star began his one-year military service, the Ministry of Interior said, as he joined general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung.
He would first undergo 26 days of training before being assigned a designated service unit, Taipei Times reported.
During his training, Mr Wang would participate in disaster response exercises, entry-level emergency medical technician training, simulated and live-fire shooting drills, team-building activities such as rock climbing, and physical fitness tests, as well as a 3km run and push-ups, the report said.
The actor, who shot to fame for his role in romantic comedy-drama Our Times and Suddenly Seventeen, was arrested on 18 February for allegedly evading military service and forging military documents.
However, he was released on bail for NT$150,000 ($4,583) after questioning.
Taiwan‘s Central News Agency said that police seized “relevant evidence” from his home.
Taiwan has a long-standing system of mandatory military conscription and all men have to undergo compulsory military training for a year.
The law governed under the Act of Military Service System has undergone several reforms in recent years due to geopolitical concerns, declining birth rates, and public sentiment. The duration was raised from four months to one year in 2022 over growing threats from mainland China.
Instead of active-duty military service, some men can opt for alternative service in government agencies, public service roles, or specific industries.
Taiwan considers itself an independent nation and governs itself, but China views it as a breakaway province that will eventually come under Beijing‘s control.
Pakistan says train attack was orchestrated from Afghanistan
The hijacking of a train in Balochistan was orchestrated by militants based in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s military said citing intelligence as the 36-hour siege concluded on Wednesday.
The audacious assault began on Tuesday at 1pm local time after militants from the Baloch Liberation Army hijacked the Jaffar Express train carrying more than 400 passengers in the isolated mountains of Balochistan province.
By Wednesday night, the military said security forces killed 33 armed assailants and all the remaining passengers were rescued. But at least 21 passengers were killed in the assault on the train.
Militant leaders based in Afghanistan remained in contact with the attackers throughout the incident using satellite phones, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media and public relations wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, said in a statement.
“Intelligence reports have unequivocally confirmed that the attack was orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from Afghanistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident,” it said.
“Pakistan expects the interim Afghan government to uphold its responsibilities and deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.”
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of ISPR, also doubled down on Dunya News TV on allegations that Afghanistan was supporting militants and said the attack “changes the rules of the game”, without specifying what changes will take place.
“Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this incident of Jaffer Express changes the rules of the game,” he said.
“We cannot allow anyone to target Pakistanis on behalf of their foreign paymasters,” he said, pledging to hunt down those responsible wherever they were.
He said the passengers were used as human shields by the militants and they had to carry out the operation with extreme caution.
The passenger train was travelling from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with scheduled stops in many cities. But the train came under attack near Sibi city, about 160km (100 miles) from Quetta.
Ghulam Sarwar, 48, an assistant sub-inspector of the Pakistan Railways Police, said he was travelling with four railway personnel and five soldiers when the attack began, ensuing a heavy gunfighting.
“It was like a rain of rockets and bullets on the train, but we retaliated with gunfire,” he told Aljazeera. “When we ran out of bullets, they came down and started pulling the passengers from the train.”
He said attackers systematically sorted passengers based on ethnicity by checking their identity cards. They specifically singled out ethnic Punjabi passengers and individuals they suspected of having ties to the Pakistani military. Those selected were executed.
He said they killed so many people that they lost count and killings continued till 10km before some of the militants left.
Information minister Attaullah Tarar said they averted “a potential catastrophe” and claimed no passengers died because of the military operation.
The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for attacking the train in a tunnel in a remote part of Balochistan and gave a 48-hour ultimatum, demanding the “unconditional release of Baloch political prisoners, forcibly disappeared persons and national resistance activists”.
Spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch had said the group was ready to free passengers if authorities agreed to release jailed militants.
The attack drew condemnation and concerns from countries across the world including the US, China and Iran.
The US embassy in Islamabad said it condemns the “horrific attack” and expressed support to Pakistan in its efforts to ensure security.
“We strongly condemn the attack on the Jaffar Express train, and the hostage-taking of passengers in Kacchi, Balochistan, claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army, a US-Specially Designated Global Terrorist group. We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected by this horrific act,” it said.
“The Pakistani people deserve to live free from violence and fear. The United States will remain a steadfast partner of Pakistan in its efforts to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens. We stand in solidarity with Pakistan during this difficult time.”
China, whose nationals working on multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects in Balochistan have been regularly targeted, also condemned the attack.
“We noted the reports and strongly condemn this terrorist attack,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
“We will continue to firmly support Pakistan in combating terrorism, maintaining solidarity and social stability and protecting the safety of civilians.”
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called on those who’ve taken people hostage to “release them at once”.
According to a global terrorism index released by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an international think tank, Pakistan was among the nations most impacted by terrorism last year, ranking second only to Burkina Faso in Africa.
Just last week, a coalition of separatist groups, including the BLA, declared their intent to escalate attacks on Pakistani security forces, infrastructure, and Chinese interests in the region.
India arrests Russia-linked crypto exchange admin wanted by US
Police in India have arrested a cryptocurrency exchange administrator wanted in the US for alleged money laundering and sanctions violations, the country’s top investigative agency said.
Aleksej Besciokov, a 46-year-old Lithuanian citizen who lives in Russia, was arrested from the southern Indian state of Kerala on Tuesday at Washington’s request, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The US, Germany, and Finland took down the online infrastructure used by the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, the US Justice Department said last week, adding that two administrators of the exchange were charged. Garantex was sanctioned by the US in April 2022.
One of those administrators was Mr Besciokov, who was charged with money laundering and also faced accusations of violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, the Justice Department said last week.
The CBI said India’s foreign ministry issued a provisional arrest warrant at Washington’s request. It was unclear when and why Mr Besciokov arrived in India.
The CBI coordinated with the Kerala police to arrest the “fugitive criminal”, the agency said, adding that Mr Besciokov will now be produced in a lower court in Delhi for extradition proceedings.
Mr Besciokov was arrested from the popular tourist destination of Varkala while on a vacation with his family, the Times of India reported.
“I can confirm Aleksej Besciokov, one of the administrators of Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States,” a US Justice Department spokesperson told CNN.
Garantex has been accused of laundering millions of dollars, including proceeds from ransomware groups such as Black Basta, Play and Conti between 2021 and 2024, according to reports. The exchange has processed at least $96bn (£74bn) in cryptocurrency transactions since April 2019, authorities in the US said.
The Justice Department said the proceeds were used to “facilitate several crimes” such as hacking, ransomware, terrorism and drug trafficking. It accused Mr Besciokov and Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda of knowing that the criminal proceeds were being laundered through Garantex and taking steps to conceal the facilitation of illegal activities.
Mr Besciokov has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.