NEW DELHI – Anger was rising across India on Saturday as banks struggled to dispense cash after the government withdrew large denomination notes in a shock move aimed at uncovering billions of dollars of unaccounted wealth hidden from the taxman.

Hundreds of thousands of people stood outside banks for a third day for long hours trying to replace 500 (S$10.45) and 1,000 rupee bank notes that were abolished earlier in the week.

These bills made up more than 80 per cent of the currency in circulation leaving millions of people without cash and threatening to grind large parts of the cash-driven economy to a halt. “There is chaos everywhere,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejrilwal and a bitter foe of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said Modi’s move had upended the lives of the poor and working while the rich – whose wealth he had sought to target – had found loopholes to get around the new rules.

People argued and banged the glass doors of a branch of Standard Chartered in southern Delhi after the security guards blocked entry, saying there were already too many people inside the bank.

Others turned on Modi, criticising his ongoing visit to Japan while countrymen suffered at home. “He is taking bullet train rides in Japan and here you have old people knocking on bank doors for cash,” said Prabhat Kumar, a college student who said he had spent six hours at the queue. “He has made a terrible mistake.” Nearly half of India’s 202,000 ATMs were shut on Friday and those that operated quickly ran out of the new notes as scores of people descended upon them.

Traders in Delhi’s vegetable market said they were considering to shut down the market as cash was running out and banks were dispensing a limited amount. “We might have to close down until the situation stabilises,” said Metharam Kriplani, the president of the Chambers of Azadpur Fruit and Vegetable Traders said.

People in Mumbai said grocers were charging ten times the price of salt in return for accepting the old cash notes and in Benguluru some people were using their old notes to buy one-time insurance policies.

The government has asked people to redeem the old 500 and 1,000 rupees notes by Dec. 30. The central bank said there was enough cash available with banks and that it had made arrangements to deliver the new bank notes all over the country.

But in Dudko, about 75 kms (45 miles) from Delhi, villagers said they were struggling to pay for food and fuel, four days into the cash crunch.

One family was marrying off their daughter later this month and were worrying about their money stuck in the bank. “Bank officials are saying they will give the money on Monday. How will we make purchases,” said Sunita, the mother.

Much of India’s rural economy is powered by cash transactions with few people having bank accounts or operating one even if they have an account.

Modi’s move was aimed at shrinking the “black economy”, the term widely used to describe transactions that take place outside formal channels and which could be as high as 20 percent of gross domestic product, according to investment firm Ambit.

Bribe and crime proceeds also go into this underground economy. Modi said he also wanted to strike against counterfeit 500 and 1,000 rupee notes that anti-India militants were using to finance acts of violence.

Taunggyi, Myanmar – The skies of central Myanmar were set ablaze this week with the beginning of the Taunggyi fire balloon festival, one of the most beautiful and dangerous celebrations in Asia.

Brightly coloured balloons with hundreds of homemade fireworks woven into their frames were sent soaring into the night sky, showering down cascades of sparks onto adoring crowds.

The explosive-laden balloons regularly crash to the ground, causing panic below, but visitors say the sight is worth the risks.

“I’m very happy and also afraid,” 22-year-old Maung Maung Myint, who travelled to the capital of Shan state from Mandalay, told AFP on Friday night.

“It’s scary when the fireworks fly right at me,” he added.

The November celebration has become a highlight of the annual Tazaungdaing festival of light that marks the end of Myanmar’s rainy season.

While the tradition is rooted in Buddhism, the hot air balloon contest itself was started by British colonialists in the late 19th century.

Visitors from around the world flock to see the extraordinary explosions of light and colour, which police predicted would draw up to 50,000 visitors a day this year.

“I’ve never seen so many people. It’s absolutely crazy, but everyone is having a good time,” said Mark Boyd, 41, from Britain’s Isle of Man.

“It wouldn’t be allowed in my country. They were dangerous but it was great.” The huge crowds, lack of safety precautions and homemade fireworks have proved deadly in the past.

In 2014, three people were killed when a balloon crashed onto spectators below. A young child also died when a balloon was blown into the family’s tent.

And it is not only balloons that set pulses racing. Visitors can also witness more death-defying feats on a human-powered ferris wheel at the festival’s fairground.

Workers scamper across the 50-foot high rickety structure like spider monkeys, using their body weight to send it spinning around at extraordinary speed.

Some dangle from the bars as the ride hurtles toward the ground, while others swing between the bars upside down as the wheel turns.

But for the balloon makers, who see months of painstaking work disappear in minutes, the competition is serious business as they battle to create the most brilliant spectacle of light.

“Before last year I had won every time. Even so I have never got less than third,” said Thaw Thar Win, who led a group of balloon makers.

“It’s not difficult because I am working with a team.”

SEOUL – Tens of thousands of men, women and children joined one of the largest anti-government protests seen in Seoul for decades on Saturday (Nov 12), demanding President Park Geun Hye’s resignation over a snowballing corruption scandal.

Police had planned for 170,000 people, but organisers said they expected a final turnout of up to one million for what was the third in a series of weekly mass protests that have left Ms Park fighting for her political survival.

On the back of official appeals for calm, police deployed around 25,000 officers, many of them in full riot gear, while police buses and trucks blocked every access road – major or minor – around the presidential Blue House.

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Photo Gallery

Tens of thousands of South Koreans stage protest in Seoul calling for President Park Geun Hye to resign

Source:

AFP

Reuters

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As with the previous protests, the huge crowds were extremely mixed, with high school children rubbing shoulders with retirees and young couples marching with babies or young children.

“Park Geun Hye must resign because she didn’t take good care of our country,” said 11-year-old student Park Ye Na.

The steady beat of drums and chanted slogans made for a raucous but largely peaceful atmosphere, with banners everywhere mocking Ms Park and calling for her to step down immediately.

In a televised news conference on Friday (Nov 11), Deputy Prime Minister Lee Joon Sik had voiced concerns at the possibility of “illegal collective action or violence” and urged the protesters to respect police barriers.

The scandal engulfing Ms Park is focused on a close personal friend, Choi Soon Sil, who is currently under arrest on charges of fraud and abuse of power.

Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Choi, 60, leveraged their personal relationship to coerce donations from large companies like Samsung to non-profit foundations which she set up and used for personal gain.

She is also accused of interfering in government affairs, despite holding no official position.

Lurid reports of the unhealthy influence Choi wielded over Ms Park have seen the president’s approval ratings plunge to record lows.

“We are feeling the weight of the serious public mood,” presidential spokesman Jung Youn Kuk acknowledged on Friday.

In an effort to soothe public anger, Ms Park has issued several apologies, reshuffled top officials and even agreed to relinquish some of her extensive executive powers, but the popular calls for her to step down have been relentless.

“It was our wedding anniversary yesterday, but we cancelled our anniversary trip and came to Seoul because we thought it was more important for our daughter,” said Mr Cho Joo Pyo, who was at the rally with his wife and their two-year-old.

Mr Cho’s family had travelled from Jeonju, around 200km south of Seoul – one of tens of thousands who took trains or buses from towns and cities across the country to demonstrate.

One group of 1,000 protesters even flew in from the popular southern resort island of Jeju.

“I’m here to demand Park Geun Hye’s resignation. Her apologies are meaningless. She needs to step down,” said 66-year-old Cho Ki Mang.

It was set to be one of the biggest anti-government rallies since the pro-democracy protests of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A protest in June 2008 against then-president Lee Myung Bak’s decision to lift an import ban on US beef drew 80,000 people according to police, while organisers claimed 700,000 took part.

Most experts believe Ms Park, who has just over a year left of her single five-year term, will be able to ride out the crisis and remain in office, albeit with her authority and ability to govern seriously undermined.

Opposition lawmakers have largely avoided direct resignation calls and appear more interested in extracting further concessions from Ms Park in terms of devolving power to the legislature.

The candlelight rally began at 4pm (3pm Singapore time) at Seoul City Hall, with a plan to march along four different routes towards the Blue House.

A last minute court order removed some of the police road blocks, but the protesters were to be kept more than a kilometre away from Ms Park’s official residence.

A man set a woman on fire following an argument in a restaurant in Japan, local media reported Saturday, in a rare act of violence in the country.

The 52-year-old Iranian man was seen pouring liquid over his 36-year-old Filipina girlfriend before setting her alight at the eatery in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Friday, reports cited police as saying.

Workers at the restaurant called an ambulance, saying: “People are burning.” The couple was taken to hospital with severe burns and both remain unconscious, public broadcaster NHK said.

There were several customers inside the restaurant at the time of the incident, but no one else was injured, the reports said.

Police are treating the case as attempted murder.

The man and woman had been advised by police to stay away from each following a dispute involving their child, Kyodo News reported.

China has removed Dong Mingzhu, one of China’s most prominent businesswomen, from the post of chairperson of state-owned conglomerate Gree Group, but retained her as the head of its electronics arm, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The move was ordered by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Zhuhai city in China’s southern Guangdong province, where Gree is based, Xinhua said.

Citing sources with the commission, Xinhua said the changes to Dong’s role was “normal” because she was not allowed to serve as both group chairperson and the head of its listed subsidiary, Gree Electric Appliances Inc.

Neither Dong nor Gree Group representatives could be reached immediately for comment. Officials at the commission also could not be reached for comment.

The outspoken Dong is regarded as one of the most successful Chinese businesswomen, with Gree becoming a top air-conditioning manufacturer in China and a significant player in the world market.

In the dusty village of Dudko, farmers and villagers are desperate for new currency notes after the Indian government banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes last week in an effort to flush black money out of the economy.

Residents of the sleepy village, 75 km southwest of the capital Delhi, say they are struggling to pay for basic goods like food and fuel in the absence of an effective banking and exchange system.

Read also: Indian farmer commits suicide after rupee note ban

Much of India’s rural economy is powered by cash transactions with few people having bank accounts or operating one even if they have an account.

Villagers, mostly women, swarmed around the gates of Dudko’s only bank branch on Friday to exchange old and defunct currency notes for new 2,000 rupee notes or the old 100 rupee notes still in circulation. They began to lose patience after being told the new notes had not arrived.

“If someone’s child falls sick, they are not even going to the doctor because they do not have the money to pay to the doctor, it is a big problem,” Booty Bai, a widow, said as she jostled with other customers to enter the bank.

Bank officials said they were only taking deposits of old currency notes and did not have fresh notes to offer.

Sunita, whose daughter is getting married in five days, worried she would not have the cash to cover the large expenses associated with an Indian wedding.

“My daughter’s wedding is on the 16th of this month and we are really worried about how to arrange the money for such a big occasion. Bank officials are saying that they will give the money on Monday, how will we make our purchases?” she said.

The currency move, announced last Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to bring billions of dollars worth of unaccounted wealth into the mainstream economy and curb corruption.

Read also: Money changers, banks stop taking old rupees

Critics have warned that ordinary people who do not have access to the banking system will be hardest hit, and that Modi risks upsetting his ruling party’s support base of small traders and businessmen who largely deal in cash.

Despite the problems in Dudko, there was strong support for Modi’s move to target black marketers and hoarders. “This is a very good move by the government but our concern is how long will the current problem last?,” said village elder Prahalad Singh.

India’s “black economy,” a term widely used to describe transactions that take place outside formal channels, amounted to around 20 per cent of gross domestic product, according to investment firm Ambit.

New bills of 500 and 2,000 rupees have been introduced from Nov. 10 but it would take two to three weeks to replace the old notes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.

Chand Singh, a former village chief, said the shortage of new notes was a small price to pay for the expected longterm benefits to the economy. “This will put a lid on black marketeering,” he said.