‘Cockroach’ movement rallies again

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Sat, Oct 03, 2026 page5

• VOTER LIST CONTROVERSY: The youth-led movement, which forced the education minister to step down in July, is demanding the election commissioner’s resignation AP, NEW DELHI Add TT as Preferred Source India’s “Cockroach” youth movement yesterday called for new protests in Mumbai to demand the resignation of the chief election commissioner over a contentious revision of voter lists.The movement, which began as an online campaign and now calls itself the Cockroach Janata Party, forced India’s education minister to resign in July with its street protests. The Mumbai rally is meant to start a new series of demonstrations nationwide.Separately, police prevented student and civil society groups from gathering yesterday at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in New Delhi, to also demand the commissioner’s resignation. Police detained some opposition leaders heading to the site, which had been barricaded off. Photo: AP The protests add to mounting pressure on India’s Election Commission, which oversees polls across the country. Critics and opposition parties accuse it of altering voter registrations to give an advantage to the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The commission and the government deny any wrongdoing.The Indian Express newspaper last month reported that two of the three election commissioners had formally objected to several decisions involving voter list revisions, registration procedures and the commission’s digital systems. The two commissioners questioned the legality of some of the decisions, but Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar disregarded their objections, the report said. Indian law requires the three-member Election Commission to make decisions by majority vote.The commission disputed the report, saying it was based on “differing views and deliberations” among the commissioners rather than formal written objections.India’s voter list revisions began last year in the eastern state of Bihar ahead of state elections, and have since expanded to most of the country’s states and federally administered territories.Known as Special Intensive Revision, the revisions have drawn criticism over the documents required to establish voters’ eligibility. Critics say the requirements have been confusing and difficult for many voters to meet, potentially leaving millions off the registration lists and unable to vote.Election Commission data show voter lists in some regions could shrink by as much as 30 percent.The commission says the objective is to remove duplicate and ineligible entries while ensuring eligible voters remain on the lists. Opposition parties and activists say it risks excluding legitimate voters. They also accuse Kumar of political bias and allege the revisions benefit Modi’s party.The Election Commission and Modi’s party have rejected the allegations.The youth movement, which emerged earlier this year out of anger over high unemployment among young people and leaked examination papers, has grown into a political force.Led by Abhijeet Dipke, it rose to national prominence after organizing mass protests over examination paper leaks. The demonstrations culminated in the resignation of the education minister.The movement has since sought to take up other issues beyond education, such as government accountability and democratic institutions.
• AP, NEW DELHI
• Add TT as Preferred Source
• Add TT as Preferred Source

• 2026-10-01 Japan has started its first nationwide survey of animal cafes amid concerns over animal welfare, hygiene and public health, a government official said, bringing greater scrutiny to the popular but lightly regulated sector. The desktop survey, which began this month, will examine the number of facilities, the types of animals they house and the conditions they are held in, and how visitors interact with the animals. Exotic animal cafes, where visitors can interact with species ranging from otters to owls and marmots, have become popular attractions for Japanese and foreign tourists. However, researchers say some facilities keep threatened species, raising 2026-09-27 Several areas of Thailand’s capital city Bangkok were inundated by continuous rain from Thursday afternoon to yesterday morning that has disrupted traffic and forced some residents to evacuate. Major canals in Bangkok filled with accumulated rainfall exceeding 20cm, officials said yesterday. Floodwaters spread across the city, particularly in the central and eastern parts, blocking roads and stopping traffic. The Thai Meteorological Department warned that the heavy rain would continue in most parts of the country through today, citing a strong low-pressure system over the central region and strengthening southwest monsoon conditions. More than 84,000 people in 21 provinces nationwide were 2026-09-27 Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition early yesterday said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis toward the kingdom. The coalition said in posts on social media that the missiles were headed towards Khamis Mushait and the drones toward the capital, Riyadh, adding that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details. The Saudi Civil Defense had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha, but not for Riyadh. The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks 2026-09-29 OLD WOUNDS: Protestant marchers seized on an overturned injunction to stage a march, which drew thousands of counterprotesters to block the road in Portadown UK leaders called for calm as a tense standoff with residents seeking to halt a pro-British Protestant march through a primarily Catholic area stretched into the night on Sunday, in one of the worst crises for Northern Ireland in the past few years. The tensions were triggered after a Belfast appeal court overturned a High Court injunction in the early hours of Sunday to clear the march by the Orange Order to go ahead for the first time since 1997. The Parades Commission, Northern Ireland’s independent body regulating contentious processions, had authorized 35 Orangemen to march silently along Garvaghy Road in Portadown,
• 2026-10-01 Japan has started its first nationwide survey of animal cafes amid concerns over animal welfare, hygiene and public health, a government official said, bringing greater scrutiny to the popular but lightly regulated sector. The desktop survey, which began this month, will examine the number of facilities, the types of animals they house and the conditions they are held in, and how visitors interact with the animals. Exotic animal cafes, where visitors can interact with species ranging from otters to owls and marmots, have become popular attractions for Japanese and foreign tourists. However, researchers say some facilities keep threatened species, raising
• 2026-09-27 Several areas of Thailand’s capital city Bangkok were inundated by continuous rain from Thursday afternoon to yesterday morning that has disrupted traffic and forced some residents to evacuate. Major canals in Bangkok filled with accumulated rainfall exceeding 20cm, officials said yesterday. Floodwaters spread across the city, particularly in the central and eastern parts, blocking roads and stopping traffic. The Thai Meteorological Department warned that the heavy rain would continue in most parts of the country through today, citing a strong low-pressure system over the central region and strengthening southwest monsoon conditions. More than 84,000 people in 21 provinces nationwide were
• 2026-09-27 Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition early yesterday said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis toward the kingdom. The coalition said in posts on social media that the missiles were headed towards Khamis Mushait and the drones toward the capital, Riyadh, adding that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details. The Saudi Civil Defense had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha, but not for Riyadh. The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks
• 2026-09-29 OLD WOUNDS: Protestant marchers seized on an overturned injunction to stage a march, which drew thousands of counterprotesters to block the road in Portadown UK leaders called for calm as a tense standoff with residents seeking to halt a pro-British Protestant march through a primarily Catholic area stretched into the night on Sunday, in one of the worst crises for Northern Ireland in the past few years. The tensions were triggered after a Belfast appeal court overturned a High Court injunction in the early hours of Sunday to clear the march by the Orange Order to go ahead for the first time since 1997. The Parades Commission, Northern Ireland’s independent body regulating contentious processions, had authorized 35 Orangemen to march silently along Garvaghy Road in Portadown,

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