Doctors in India have called for strikes on Saturday to demand safer working conditions in hospitals. The appeal follows a week of protests triggered by the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at a government-run hospital in West Bengal, an eastern state. The case stoked public anger about widespread sexual violence against women and the police’s failure to investigate it seriously. A man arrested in connection with the crime had a history of violence against former partners but had never been punished.

In his Independence Day speech on Thursday Narendra Modi , the prime minister, spoke of the need to protect women, though he did not refer to the young doctor’s killing. Members of Mr Modi’s party have called for the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, who belongs to an opposition party. She has demanded the death penalty for any culprits of the crime. The political fall-out risks overshadowing the urgent need to improve India’s record on women’s safety.

Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital and home to 10m people, is congested, polluted and sinking into swampy land. Jokowi Widodo, the outgoing president, wants to shift the capital to Nusantara, a city to be built in the jungles of Borneo more than 1,200km away. Yet things are not going to plan for the $35bn project. Construction has been delayed by problems with funding and land acquisition. A grand ceremony to celebrate Indonesia’s independence day at the prospective capital on Saturday has been downsized. Organisers, unable to feed or house the planned 8,000 guests, slashed the list to 1,300.

Officials and planners insist that Nusantara is a long-term project. Prabowo Subianto, who will take over from Mr Widodo in October, has said he will continue building the city. But, with a scheduled completion date in 2045, Nusantara will require much more political commitment to keep it afloat.

This weekend England’s Premier League kicks off a new season. The competition has become the world’s most popular football league, partly because it has so many strong teams. Many fans think that anyone can beat anyone. Last season was a thriller. With just a few games to go, three clubs—Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City—were vying for the title.

But some teams are more equal than others. Manchester City, an Emirati-owned side, won their fourth consecutive championship. They are favourites to take the crown this year, too. The squad is packed with world-class talent and its manager, Pep Guardiola, is widely thought to be the world’s best. However, a disciplinary panel is investigating whether the club violated the league’s financial rules, charges it denies. A verdict is expected by the spring. If guilt is established, City could face a points deduction.

Papua New Guinea, a Pacific island state, is home to at least 312 tribes and more than 800 languages. But these groups have not always co-existed in harmony; inter-tribal violence occurs even now. There have been efforts to encourage peace. The Hagen Show, an annual festival of traditional performance, dance and art (a gathering also known as a sing-sing) that was first held in 1961, is one example. Today the event draws hundreds of performers from scores of local tribes—and thousands of tourists.

This year’s festival kicks off on Saturday in Mount Hagen, PNG ’s third-largest city, situated in the western highlands between the country’s two highest peaks. Over two days visitors can expect to witness vibrant displays of each tribe’s culture, from elaborate headdresses and colourful face-paint to animal masks and skeleton designs. That is, if they can afford the trip: some private tour companies charge thousands of dollars to help tourists make the journey.