Global Pulse

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  • Exclusive: Igor Tulchinsky, British Museum’s Bayeux Tapestry sponsor, backs Israeli defence tech fund

    Exclusive: Igor Tulchinsky, British Museum’s Bayeux Tapestry sponsor, backs Israeli defence tech fund

    One of the most historic and widely anticipated cultural events in recent British history opened its doors to the public at London’s British Museum on Thursday morning: the first display of the Bayeux Tapestry on English soil in almost a century. The 70-metre fragile medieval embroidery, which chronicles the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, is set to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors over its 11-month run, after decades of diplomatic efforts to secure the loan from France finally bore fruit this summer. The artefact arrived in the UK under heavy security, and tickets for the first four months of the “once-in-a-generation” exhibition sold out within hours on the busiest single sales day in the museum’s 273-year history.

    The landmark exhibition would not have been possible without a £5 million ($6.75 million) sponsorship deal with Igor Tulchinsky, founder, CEO and chair of U.S.-based investment firm WorldQuant, who was named as the official sponsor in February. While Tulchinsky maintained a low profile at the exhibition’s official opening reception last week – where he stood alongside senior dignitaries including King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham – new reporting has revealed troubling connections between Tulchinsky’s newer business ventures and controversial Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon that have drawn widespread human rights criticism.

    In April, two months after Tulchinsky’s sponsorship of the Bayeux Tapestry was announced, he launched WorldQuant Genesis, a Tel Aviv-based venture capital fund focused on early-stage defence technology startups. The fund is led by retired Israeli Major General Saar Tzur, who stepped down from his senior military posts leading the IDF’s Northern Corps and Manoeuvre Array in October 2024, retiring shortly after. During his tenure, Tzur oversaw Israeli military operations during the first year of the Gaza war, where Israel faces allegations of genocide against Palestinian civilians, as well as operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

    Following his retirement, Tzur joined the advisory board of Ottopia, an Israeli tech startup that develops remote control technology for Israeli military unmanned ground vehicles. On the company’s website, Tzur has described the technology as a critical “force multiplier” for IDF operations in Gaza, noting that “teleoperation is essential for unmanned operations, enhancing ground superiority by reducing casualties, improving maneuver resilience, and boosting combat effectiveness.” Ottopia frames its technology as “battle proven” for direct combat and target engagement, and founder Amit Rosenzweig has confirmed the company has supplied the IDF with remote-controlled explosive-laden armoured personnel carriers for use in Gaza. Rosenzweig explained that operators can control military vehicles, tanks and APCs from a safe distance using just a joystick.

    Human rights groups have linked the widespread deployment of these remote-controlled vehicles in Gaza to indiscriminate attacks on civilian residential areas and the systematic demolition of entire neighbourhoods. According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, the IDF first began using explosive-laden remote-controlled vehicles in densely populated Gaza residential areas in May 2024, with use intensifying that October as part of Israel’s “Generals’ Plan” to depopulate and forcibly displace residents from northern Gaza. Between August and October 2025, the rights group recorded an average of 300 residential units destroyed daily, with the IDF deploying roughly 15 explosive remote-controlled vehicles each day, dropping an estimated 100 tonnes of explosives on residential areas monthly. Gazan residents described the blasts from these vehicles as far more destructive than standard airstrikes, reducing entire multi-story buildings to unrecognizable rubble and forcing mass panic displacement. While a ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 paused most large-scale operations, Euro-Med Monitor has recorded a resurgence in the use of these explosive vehicles in northern and eastern Gaza over the past two months.

    Beyond civilian casualties and residential destruction, the widespread use of these weapons has also put Gaza’s cultural heritage at severe risk. While the group has not directly linked vehicle deployments to the destruction of specific heritage sites, multiple culturally significant locations – including Gaza City’s Old al-Omari Mosque, the Byzantine Church of Jabalia, and multiple historic Palestinian homes – lie in areas where these vehicles have been heavily deployed. “What is clear is that the use of these weapons has taken place in and around densely populated areas containing homes, religious sites, and other elements of Gaza’s historic and cultural fabric,” said Euro-Med Monitor’s Anas Jerjawi. “Their large-scale use has therefore posed a serious threat not only to civilian lives and residential structures, but also to the cultural heritage embedded within these communities.”

    While Euro-Med cannot independently confirm that the vehicles documented in Gaza use Ottopia technology, the vehicles observed match the description and features of the systems marketed by the company and Tzur. In southern Lebanon, the IDF has intentionally destroyed entire border towns and villages including multiple heritage sites, following a similar model of destruction to that used in Gaza, according to Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. While remote-controlled vehicles have been spotted in southern Lebanon, they have not been directly linked to demolitions there to date. No direct connection between Tulchinsky and Ottopia has been established, and neither Ottopia, the British Museum nor WorldQuant have responded to multiple requests for comment from Middle East Eye.

    WorldQuant Genesis has already publicly invested in NavAiro, an Israeli defence tech startup developing counter-drone technology, and Tulchinsky has been open about his longstanding financial and personal support for the IDF since the start of the 2023 Gaza war. In a March 2026 interview with the *Jerusalem Post*, Tulchinsky confirmed he has provided direct financial donations to the Israeli military, saying “First I was helping the army financially. I gave them money and they did whatever.” Born in Soviet-era Belarus, Tulchinsky emigrated to the U.S. as a child and has maintained business operations in Israel since 2009, and has publicly reaffirmed his commitment to investing in the country amid the ongoing conflict.

    These revelations have sparked fierce criticism from pro-Palestinian cultural advocates, who have called out the British Museum’s decision to accept Tulchinsky’s sponsorship as unethical. Artists for Palestine UK, a network of artists and cultural workers, notes that the destruction caused by remote-controlled military vehicles has contributed to the damage or destruction of more than 70% of Gaza’s documented cultural heritage sites, including a UNESCO World Heritage Endangered Site. Centuries of cultural history built by Palestinians and earlier civilizations across the region have been lost to rubble, in what a UN report has suggested may amount to cultural genocide.

    The group described Tulchinsky’s sponsorship as “shameful”, noting the billionaire appears set to profit from ongoing Israeli military operations that are erasing Palestinian communities and cultural heritage in Gaza and southern Lebanon. “How can the museum’s trustees possibly have come to the conclusion that Tulchinsky, with his links to the ongoing erasure of Gaza and parts of Lebanon, was a suitable sponsor? And, more fundamentally, how are basic ethical standards, human rights and international law not guiding factors in such decisions, even before considerations of reputational damage?” the group said.

    This is not the first time the British Museum has faced public backlash over controversial corporate sponsorships. The institution previously faced widespread protests and criticism over a 10-year, £50 million ($67.5 million) sponsorship deal with oil giant BP to fund its major Masterplan redevelopment project. It has also previously faced calls from UK Members of Parliament to launch an investigation into the museum’s removal of multiple references to Palestine from its public galleries, adding to ongoing scrutiny of the institution’s ethical decision-making around funding and content.

  • Air raid alert shatters first day of school in Kyiv after overnight Russian missile strikes

    Air raid alert shatters first day of school in Kyiv after overnight Russian missile strikes

    On a Tuesday morning in Kyiv’s Obolon district, just hours after Russian ballistic missile strikes rattled Ukraine’s capital overnight, festive balloons drifted across a school playground. Groggy but determined parents and children in celebration attire gathered to the sound of music, marking the traditional kickoff of a new academic year — the fifth such start since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Within seconds, however, the joyful atmosphere shattered: an air raid siren wailed, the crowd scattered, and laughter and melody were replaced by the rumble of distant explosions.

    This jarring interruption has become the new normal for Ukrainian education, as the country enters another school year with no end to the ongoing war in sight. Over the course of nearly three years of full-scale conflict, thousands of schools across the nation have been forced to reinvent themselves to survive. Many have shifted to fully remote or hybrid learning models, others hold lessons in bomb shelters, and countless facilities in destroyed or Russian-occupied territories have been shuttered entirely. Russian attacks have already leveled an estimated 1 million educational textbooks, and national officials are bracing for what is projected to be one of the harshest winters of the war, with repeated expectations of widespread power outages and infrastructure disruptions.

    As Russia ramps up the intensity of its assault, the cumulative strain of years of conflict weighs heavily on every layer of Ukrainian society. Ukrainian air defense systems still lack sufficient capabilities to intercept the growing barrage of high-speed Russian ballistic missiles, while repeated waves of Shahed attack drones can stretch air raid alerts and attacks across multiple consecutive days. For school administrators like Yevhen Poliakov, principal of Kyiv’s Lyceum Obolon, the choice to hold an in-person opening ceremony was a difficult one. After weighing the risks, he opted to move forward, confident that his school’s on-site bomb shelter would let students reach safety quickly — a bet that paid off when the siren sounded.

    Kyiv’s city education administration has outlined a flexible plan for the 2024-2025 academic year: most schools will operate with a mix of in-person and remote instruction, shifting models immediately in response to changing security conditions. Back in August, Ukrainian Education Minister Andrii Butenko released national data showing that of the country’s general secondary schools, 8,424 will run fully in-person, 1,306 fully remote, and 2,211 will use a blended format — meaning nearly one-third of all secondary schools cannot operate at full in-person capacity this year.

    Poliakov has long prioritized keeping students in the classroom, pointing to the well-documented downsides of extended remote learning. “Parents need to go to work to earn a living,” he explained. “We can teach their children here, and it is far better for a kid to be under our supervision than locked alone in a ninth-floor apartment with only a dog for company, with no idea what to do with themselves while mom and dad are gone.” To support flexible learning, his lyceum uses Mriia, Ukraine’s national digital education portal and app, to connect students, parents, teachers and administrators for seamless remote instruction when needed. The school is also retrofitting and expanding its shelter, stockpiling firewood and making other preparations for potential winter blackouts.

    Across Kyiv, the impact of recent attacks is impossible to ignore. At one school damaged in a Russian strike just days before the start of the term, only a small handful of families showed up for an informal opening ceremony. Three school buildings suffered extensive damage to windows, facades, hallways, doors and classroom equipment, so nearly all students began the year learning online. Still, some families made the trip anyway: Oksana Herasymchuk brought her daughter, who was starting middle school, to mark the occasion. Her daughter began first grade in 2022, just months after the full-scale invasion began, and the entire family has struggled to adapt to the constant uncertainty of wartime life. In the wake of the latest attack, Herasymchuk says she has no clear idea what comes next for her daughter’s education. “Our children’s generation has already had to face so many trials,” she said.

    For Yevhen Yurko, bringing his 6-year-old son Darii to the school for his first day was a deliberate act of normalcy. Darii’s first official lesson was held online, but he wanted to see the school building in person. Yurko photographed his son wearing a traditional embroidered vyshyvanka shirt standing in the nearly empty playground. “Even when everything is like this, I still wanted to have something to remember this day by,” Yurko said. He and his wife plan to remain in Kyiv and keep Darii enrolled at the school, convinced that he can get a quality education there even if all lessons end up being held in a basement shelter.

    Official data from Kyiv’s education department shows that since the start of the full-scale invasion, 318 education facilities across the city have been damaged by Russian attacks, including 156 primary and secondary schools. Some facilities have been hit multiple times, ranging from two to eight separate strikes. The number of first-graders enrolling in Kyiv schools has plummeted by roughly 40% since 2022, falling from 28,500 on September 1 2022 to just 16,600 this year. Nationwide, the total number of school-aged children in Ukraine has dropped by 17.5% — more than 755,000 students — since the 2021-2022 academic year, before the full-scale invasion began.

    Anna Putsova, co-founder of the savED charitable foundation that supports Ukrainian education during the war, summed up the current state of the sector: “Ukrainian education right now feels like a constant obstacle course. The system adapts, but conditions often change faster than you can build one stable model and say ‘now we work like this.’” Putsova emphasized that the long-term toll of the conflict on education extends far beyond damaged buildings: accumulated learning loss, a shrinking student population, and overwhelming burnout among teachers and administrators create overlapping crises that threaten the country’s future. “School is an environment where a child learns to interact with others, build relationships, work in a group, resolve conflicts, be part of a community,” she noted. “For some Ukrainian children, there hasn’t been a normal school experience in several years.”

    The impact of the war varies drastically across regions, Putsova explained. Some frontline areas face nonstop air raid alerts that disrupt classes multiple times a day, while other regions have relied almost exclusively on online learning for years, because safe in-person classes can only be held underground. In some host communities, an influx of internally displaced children has outstripped available school capacity, while other areas have lost so many students to displacement or emigration that schools have been forced to merge or close permanently. Among regions where savED operates, more than 92% of schools in Ukrainian-held southern Kherson are damaged or destroyed, alongside 39% in Mykolaiv, more than 67% in eastern Kharkiv, and nearly 54% in northern Sumy.

    In the long run, Putsova argued, the crisis in education is not just a problem for the current school year — it threatens Ukraine’s long-term prosperity as an independent nation. “In the long term, this is no longer just a question of school,” she said. “The knowledge level of today’s children will determine the quality of future specialists, the productivity of the economy, the country’s ability to create complex products and technologies.”

  • Norway’s new king takes oath as mourners pay respects to his late father

    Norway’s new king takes oath as mourners pay respects to his late father

    Norway has entered a new chapter in its modern constitutional monarchy this week, as the nation’s newly appointed king completed the formal oath of office to mark the start of his reign. The historic inauguration unfolded against a backdrop of quiet national grief, with the late King Harald V — the new monarch’s father and one of Norway’s longest-serving heads of state — lying in state at Oslo’s Royal Palace to allow members of the public to pay their final respects.

    The oath-taking ceremony, a constitutional requirement that formalizes the transfer of royal power following the passing of the previous monarch, stands as one of the most significant symbolic events in modern Norwegian political life. While the nation grapples with the loss of a beloved leader who steered the country through decades of social and economic change, the peaceful transition of power has reaffirmed the stability of Norway’s constitutional institutions.

    Thousands of mourners have already queued through the grounds of the Royal Palace to pay tribute to King Harald V, who was widely admired for his down-to-earth demeanor and unifying influence across Norwegian society. Many have left flowers, handwritten notes, and other tributes outside the palace gates, reflecting the deep affection the Norwegian public held for the late monarch. At the same time, political and civic leaders have welcomed the new king, emphasizing their confidence in his ability to carry forward the constitutional role of the monarchy and serve as a unifying figure for the nation.

    The dual ceremonies of mourning and inauguration underscore the unique balance of continuity and change that defines Norway’s monarchy: as the country says goodbye to a leader who shaped its modern identity, it also welcomes a new sovereign to guide the institution through the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

  • Brighton sign winger Azeez from Millwall

    Brighton sign winger Azeez from Millwall

    As the summer 2026 Premier League transfer window drew to a dramatic close, Brighton & Hove Albion pulled off two high-profile deadline-day acquisitions, locking in Nigerian winger Femi Azeez from Championship side Millwall and Spanish young defensive midfielder Chema Andres from Bundesliga club Stuttgart in a combined deal worth almost £28 million before extended administrative deadlines expired. The capture of Azeez comes after weeks of prolonged negotiations, with Millwall rejecting at least three previous offers from the Seagulls before the sides agreed on an initial fee of £12.5 million that can climb above £15 million through performance-based add-ons. This transfer marks a historic exit for Millwall, as it stands as the highest-value sale in the club’s history.

    The 25-year-old winger, who earned a spot in the 2025/26 PFA Championship Team of the Year after an outstanding breakout season that saw him net 11 goals and provide 8 assists across 37 competitive appearances, has signed a four-year contract with Brighton. Azeez, who had long publicly targeted a move to the top flight of English football, becomes Brighton’s 11th new arrival of what has been a frenzied summer transfer window for the south coast club. This window has already included the club’s record-breaking £45 million capture of Croatian centre-back Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur.

    Azeez first joined Millwall from Reading for roughly £1 million in 2024, and made a total of 77 first-team appearances during his two-year stay at the Den, leaving with two years still remaining on his original contract with the Championship club. Club officials confirmed that the negotiating teams submitted the required deal paperwork to the Football Association shortly before the 23:00 BST statutory transfer deadline on deadline day, and finalized all regulatory checks to complete the signing during the 2-hour extended administrative window that closed at 01:00 BST on Wednesday.

    Not long after confirming Azeez’s transfer, Brighton announced a second major deadline-day signing: 21-year-old Spain Under-21 international Chema Andres, who joins from Stuttgart for an undisclosed fee confirmed to be £15.5 million, signing a five-year contract with the Seagulls. A product of Real Madrid’s renowned youth academy, Andres made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid’s first team in January 2025, before moving to Stuttgart that same summer. In his single season with the Bundesliga side, he went on to make 41 total first-team appearances and played a key role in helping the club secure qualification to the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League.

    Brighton’s aggressive summer recruitment drive has been supported by a series of major player sales that generated substantial transfer revenue for the club. Most notably, top midfielder Carlos Baleba completed a £70 million move to Manchester United earlier in the window, freeing up significant funds for the Seagulls’ new signings. Fans can access exclusive pre-match, post-match and original analysis content about Brighton & Hove Albion through BBC Sounds, with dedicated subscription feeds for regular updates on the club.

  • European tour heads to Switzerland as the only main pro tour in action; Walker Cup held in Ireland

    European tour heads to Switzerland as the only main pro tour in action; Walker Cup held in Ireland

    Golf fans around the world have a stacked slate of elite tournament action to tune into this week, headlined by two marquee events across two continents. The European Tour’s annual Omega European Masters is set to get underway this week at the iconic Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in the picturesque alpine town of Crans Montana, Switzerland, while the 2025 Walker Cup, the top amateur team competition between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I), kicks off at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland.

    The Omega European Masters, widely regarded as one of the most visually stunning stops on the entire European Tour circuit, will carry a total prize purse of $3.75 million, with the champion taking home a $625,000 winner’s share. The 6,814-yard par-70 alpine course has played host to the event for decades, and this year’s field brings a mix of rising stars, seasoned veterans, and highly ranked competitors. South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence will return to defend his 2024 title, and the tournament marks the opening leg of the European Tour’s “Back Nine” stretch, where all but the final two events of the season will be held across continental Europe.

    Heading into the event, Ryan Gerard holds the distinction of being the highest-ranked player in the field at world No. 22, fresh off a third-place finish at last week’s Tour Championship at East Lake. Current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, ranked 35th globally, is making his first appearance at the tournament in 11 years, competing in his sixth consecutive start to close out his season. Overall, the 2025 field features 10 of the top 100 ranked golfers in the world, and includes notable names such as Miguel Angel Jimenez – who is competing despite the PGA Tour Champions taking a scheduled break this week – John Daly II, making just his second career European Tour start after a tied 30th finish at the Nexo Championship in Scotland two weeks ago, and Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who earned his spot via the top-70 FedEx Cup exemption category.

    For U.S. viewers, all four rounds of the Omega European Masters will air exclusively on Golf Channel, with broadcast windows running 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, and 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday. Next week, the European Tour will travel to Northern Ireland for the Amgen Irish Open.

    Over at the Walker Cup, the biennial (now returning to an even-year schedule after a one-time odd-year adjustment) amateur team competition will see the defending champion United States look to extend their historic dominance over GB&I at the 6,950-yard par-72 Lahinch Golf Club, a links course that previously hosted the 2019 Irish Open (won by Jon Rahm) and the 2024 Palmer Cup college competition. The United States currently holds a commanding 40-9-1 lead in the overall series, and have claimed victory in the last five consecutive Walker Cup matchups, with GB&I’s last win coming in 2015 at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

    In 2024 at Cypress Point, the Americans dominated play, winning eight of 10 singles matches to secure a 17-9 victory, and return to compete this year with captain Nathan Smith at the helm, same as the 2024 event. GB&I will be led by returning captain Dean Robertson. The American side is led by top-ranked amateur Preston Stout of Oklahoma State, and features Stewart Hagestad competing in his sixth consecutive Walker Cup, with three returning players from the 2024 winning squad. GB&I brings six returning players from last year’s team, including Luke Poulter, son of legendary Ryder Cup competitor Ian Poulter, who is playing in his second straight Walker Cup, while Englishman Jack Whaley, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, will make his first appearance in the competition. As defending champions, the U.S. needs 13 total points to retain the Walker Cup, while GB&I needs 13.5 points to claim the trophy. The competition format features four foursomes matches on both Saturday and Sunday, eight singles matches on Saturday, and 10 singles matches on Sunday.

    Broadcast coverage of the 2025 Walker Cup will also air on Golf Channel for U.S. audiences, with coverage running 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and split windows of 3:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. ET and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The next Walker Cup is scheduled for 2028 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon.

    Beyond these two headline events, this week also brings a full slate of action across every major professional golf tour. On the PGA Tour, fresh off Scottie Scheffler’s win at the Tour Championship and his second consecutive FedEx Cup title – a victory that pushed him past Tiger Woods’ 26-year record for career PGA Tour earnings – the tour is on a break before the Biltmore Championship in Asheville kicks off September 17-20. On the LPGA Tour, Ruoning Yin claimed victory at last week’s FM Championship, and the tour will head to the Solheim Cup next week, with Nelly Korda entering the week as the leader of the Race to CME Globe. The PGA Tour Champions saw Steven Alker secure his second consecutive win with a victory at the Ally Challenge last week, and will compete in the Sanford International next week, with Stewart Cink holding the lead in the Charles Schw Cup standings. The Korn Ferry Tour’s most recent event was won by Yuta Sugiura, with the circuit next heading to the Simmons Bank Open, and Ross Steelman leading the overall points race.

    Lower-tier and amateur tours also have full competition schedules this week: the Challenge Tour hosts the Rosa Challenge Tour at Rosa Golf Club in Konopiska, Poland, with Hugo Townsend returning as defending champion; the United States Golf Association hosts both the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, New Jersey (with Ina Kim-Schaad defending) and the U.S. Senior Amateur at Baltimore Country Club’s East Course in Lutherville, Maryland (with Mike McCoy defending); the Legends Tour hosts the NI Legends at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, with Markus Brier defending; the Japan LPGA hosts the Golf5 Ladies at the Golf5 Club in Mizunami, Gifu, Japan, with Yuna Araki defending; and the Korea LPGA hosts the OK Savings Bank OK Man Open at Adonis Country Club in Pocheon, South Korea, with Shinsil Bang defending.

  • One still missing after Grand Canyon floods kill two and prompts rescue efforts

    One still missing after Grand Canyon floods kill two and prompts rescue efforts

    A brutal flash flood that swept through popular hiking trails at Arizona’s Grand Canyon over the weekend has left two people dead and only one hiker still missing, according to updates from the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). What began as an ordinary Saturday on one of the nation’s most visited natural landmarks quickly turned deadly when the sudden flood hit, destroying critical infrastructure and stranding dozens of visitors in low-lying areas.

    The disaster unfolded around 14:30 local time on Saturday, when intense monsoon rains triggered what the NPS describes as significant flooding in Bright Angel Canyon, the location of the park’s most popular hiking route. Floodwaters surged downstream, sweeping away footbridges, dislodging massive boulders, and cutting off access to popular campgrounds and outposts including Phantom Ranch, the area hardest hit by the disaster. By the time emergency crews arrived, at least two adult males had been killed; the NPS has confirmed one of the victims as a 46-year-old man whose body was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, and officials have declined to release further identifying details at this time.

    When the flood first struck, 30 hikers and visitors were initially unaccounted for. But incident commander Dave Black told reporters at a Monday press briefing that NPS rangers and emergency response crews have worked tirelessly around the clock to locate those missing, reducing the number of unaccounted-for people to just one. “We’ve had a very busy couple of days,” Black noted, praising his teams for their extraordinary efforts to get the rapidly unfolding crisis under control.

    Rescue operations centered on airlifting stranded visitors from Phantom Ranch, with 45 people evacuated by air on Saturday alone. An additional 37 people were lifted to safety by Sunday afternoon. Search crews will resume their hunt for the final missing person on Tuesday morning, focusing on the stretch of trail between Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood Manzanita. The search is complicated by a new forecast for further heavy rain overnight Monday into Tuesday, which brings an elevated risk of additional flash flooding in the already vulnerable area.

    Nikki Baggs, a 41-year-old hiker who was airlifted from the canyon along with two friends, described the chaotic moments when the flood hit to the BBC. “The whole thing was terrifying,” she said. “It was a beautiful day and then people were screaming, running.”

    Preliminary infrastructure assessments released Monday show nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed in the flood. The NPS has instituted a full closure of Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, the entire North Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, Black Bridge, Silver Bridge and the adjacent stretch of the Colorado River. Additionally, roughly 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies drinking water to park visitors and approximately 2,500 local residents, has been damaged or destroyed, creating a major ongoing challenge for park operations.

    The Grand Canyon draws roughly 5 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular national parks in the United States, and the Bright Angel trail is its most frequently hiked route. This flooding is tied to the annual North American monsoon season that brings frequent heavy storms to the Southwestern U.S. This time of year, a shift in wind patterns pulls warm, moisture-heavy air north from the Gulf of California and tropical Pacific, which collides with the region’s mountainous terrain to trigger sudden, intense storms. These monsoon storms are notoriously difficult to predict accurately, meaning they can strike with little to no warning. Compounding the risk, the region’s typically parched ground cannot absorb heavy rainfall quickly, so even strong downpours almost immediately spawn dangerous flash floods, while frequent lightning from the storms also increases the threat of wildfires across the Southwest.

  • Woman killed in Times Square stabbing, suspect shot dead by police

    Woman killed in Times Square stabbing, suspect shot dead by police

    One of the busiest tourist hubs in the United States, New York City’s Times Square, was the site of a shocking random violence incident on a Wednesday afternoon that left two people dead and one injured, city officials have confirmed.

    At a press briefing shortly after the attack, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed the details of the incident, outlining that a 32-year-old female bystander and the 49-year-old female attacker both died after being transported to a local hospital. The third person involved, a 68-year-old man who was also stabbed, remains in stable condition, Mamdani added.

    NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch expanded on the timeline of the rapidly unfolding attack, which she described as an unprovoked act of random violence. According to preliminary investigation data, the city’s 911 emergency call center began receiving multiple reports of the stabbing at approximately 4:24 p.m. local time. Witness accounts collected by investigators indicate the incident started near the intersection of West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, when the suspect pulled two knives from a red Target bag before approaching her first victim.

    That first victim, the 68-year-old man, had just exited a nearby subway station and was waiting to cross the street with his wife when he was attacked. The suspect stabbed him in the right abdomen, and he was quickly transported to Bellevue Hospital, where his condition has been updated to stable.

    After the initial assault, the suspect continued moving north along Seventh Avenue toward 42nd Street, where she carried out a second stabbing that claimed the life of the 32-year-old female victim. Responding NYPD officers encountered the suspect moments later and attempted to de-escalate the situation for four minutes, ordering her repeatedly to drop her weapons. According to Tisch, the suspect refused all commands, telling officers “I’m not dropping anything, I’d rather kill both of you” and repeating threats to take their lives.

    When the suspect advanced on officers while brandishing her blades, officers first attempted to stop her with a Taser. However, the less-lethal weapon proved ineffective, and the suspect continued moving toward the responding team. Faced with an immediate threat to their safety and the safety of nearby bystanders, officers opened fire, striking the suspect. She was rushed to Bellevue Hospital alongside the other victims, where she was later pronounced dead.

    Investigators have since identified the attacker as Pamela Cisneros, a 49-year-old Queens resident. Tisch confirmed that Cisneros had no prior criminal arrests, but NYPD records show she had documented interactions with police related to mental health incidents in both 2018 and 2019.

    Witnesses who were in the area during the attack described the chaotic scene that unfolded. Melinda Puzon, a tourist visiting New York from Boston, told reporters she heard the gunshots and immediately saw crowds of people scrambling in response. “It’s very shocking,” Puzon said of the incident in one of the city’s most crowded public spaces.

    In his remarks, Mayor Mamdani extended his gratitude to the first responders who acted quickly to contain the threat, noting that their fast intervention “prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse.”

  • Sexual assaults happening almost every day in Ceuta, prosecutors say

    Sexual assaults happening almost every day in Ceuta, prosecutors say

    Nearly two months after an unprecedented mass migrant crossing into the Spanish North African exclave of Ceuta, the territory remains mired in a deep humanitarian, political and security crisis, with thousands of migrants still stranded and rising tensions between local communities, national political leaders and regional neighbors.

    Between July 30 and 31, more than 72,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta, one of two Spanish autonomous territories on North Africa’s coast that Morocco has long claimed as its own. While the vast majority of arrivals have since returned to Morocco, official estimates indicate as many as 5,000 migrants remain in the exclave — a figure that includes between 1,400 and 1,600 unaccompanied minor children. The unplanned, sustained population surge has upended daily life in Ceuta, stoked violent clashes between migrants and long-term local residents, and created one of the most pressing political challenges for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government in recent years.

    Among the most alarming developments to emerge from the ongoing crisis has been a sharp rise in reported sexual assaults across Ceuta. Chief prosecutor Silvia Rojas confirmed to local media that 23 sexual assault cases have been formally recorded since the mass influx began in late July, a rate of roughly one incident per day. Nine of these recorded assaults targeted minor children. Rojas emphasized that migrant girls and young women face disproportionate risk in the current environment, noting that their irregular legal status leaves them particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Many additional assaults are believed to have gone unreported, Rojas added, with victims deterred from coming forward by fear of repercussions and their unstable living situation in Ceuta. So far, eight suspects have been identified in connection to the cases: four Moroccan citizens, three Spanish nationals and one Belgian, according to Spanish news agency Efe. The Spanish Society of Epidemiology has publicly warned that gender-based violence in this context cannot be dismissed as an isolated collection of unconnected incidents.

    In response to mounting pressure, the Sánchez government has taken a series of steps to address the crisis. Spain’s cabinet has approved a multi-million euro emergency aid package designed to expand access to essential public services and fund care for the hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children remaining in Ceuta. On Tuesday, Sánchez convened his second national security council meeting in one week to coordinate a whole-of-government response to the unrest. In a move widely interpreted as an effort to reassert Spanish sovereign authority over the exclave, Sánchez announced earlier this week that King Felipe VI would visit Ceuta “as soon as conditions allow.” The announcement carried significant diplomatic weight: the last visit by a Spanish monarch to Ceuta, in 2007, prompted Morocco to recall its ambassador from Madrid in protest, and a new royal visit is expected to reignite diplomatic friction between Madrid and Rabat.

    Sánchez’s handling of the announcement has already drawn domestic criticism. Political commentators have highlighted that the prime minister’s public remark — noting that no Spanish king had visited Ceuta in 20 years — was factually inaccurate: current King Felipe has only occupied the throne for 12 years, and the 2007 visit was conducted by his predecessor, Juan Carlos I. The comment was widely read as an implicit criticism of the monarch, even as Sánchez met with the king later the same day. The prime minister also noted that he is the only sitting Spanish prime minister to have made an official visit to Ceuta while in office, having traveled to the territory on July 31 as the crisis unfolded.

    Beyond domestic pushback, the Sánchez government faces widespread condemnation from political opposition over its management of the entire crisis. The conservative mayor of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, has called for nationwide demonstrations across mainland Spain on Wednesday, timed to coincide with Ceuta’s annual public holiday, to demand stronger government action. Main opposition party the People’s Party (PP) has accused Sánchez of improperly exonerating Morocco of involvement in the crisis. Hard-right party Vox has gone even further, claiming that Sánchez has not merely lost control of Ceuta — he has intentionally ceded Spanish authority over the territory. Local business leaders echo the frustration: Arantxa Campos, president of the Ceuta Employers’ Confederation, told the BBC that local authorities and businesses have received no clear plan from the national government, leaving them unable to plan for or address the ongoing strain on public services and local infrastructure. “We don’t even know when they’re going to finish screening everyone,” Campos said.

    A core point of political contention is the question of who bears responsibility for the unprecedented mass crossing. Sánchez has deliberately avoided blaming Moroccan state authorities, stating that no available intelligence reports point to any official Moroccan involvement in organizing or encouraging the surge. Morocco has repeatedly denied any role in orchestrating the crossing, and PP spokesperson Borja Sémper has questioned this narrative, arguing that tens of thousands of people could not have mobilized to the Ceuta border without the knowledge of Moroccan authorities.

    Instead, Sánchez has pointed to disinformation campaigns on social media as a key driver of the crisis, claiming that false content has been spread by actors linked to Russia, Israel and an international far-right movement, which has long weaponized migration to destabilize European governments. He clarified that the disinformation campaign did not necessarily originate with a state actor, but his allegations have already drawn fierce pushback from both countries. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the claim “a blatant lie”, while Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman has demanded concrete evidence to support the allegations. Both nations have outright denied any involvement in the crisis.

    Spanish fact-checking organization Maldita has confirmed that in the weeks leading up to the July 30 crossing, encouraging messages circulated widely on Moroccan social media platforms, urging people to attempt the crossing after a June ruling from Spain’s Supreme Court. Multiple posts in August falsely framed the Ceuta border fence as easy and safe to cross, despite the high human cost: Ceuta’s mayor confirms that at least 100 people died attempting to swim around the border barrier during the mass influx.

  • Zambia president inaugurated for second term after disputed vote and opposition arrests

    Zambia president inaugurated for second term after disputed vote and opposition arrests

    LUSAKA, Zambia — In a ceremony drawing thousands of cheering supporters to the capital’s National Heroes Stadium, Hakainde Hichilema was officially sworn in Tuesday for his second five-year term as President of Zambia, an inauguration that comes against a backdrop of deep electoral controversy, detained opposition figures, and restricted access to legal challenges against the poll outcome.

    According to Zambia’s Electoral Commission, Hichilema secured a decisive victory in the August election, capturing roughly 60 percent of the national presidential vote. His main challenger, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, garnered approximately 38 percent of ballots cast. Almost immediately after the results were announced on August 18, Mundubile rejected the outcome, leveling claims of widespread voting irregularities across the southern African nation.

    Zambia has a three-decade history of largely peaceful electoral competition since it restored multiparty democracy in 1991, a track record that has been called into question by the chaotic aftermath of this year’s poll. In the weeks following the election, multiple opposition leaders have been taken into custody, and the country’s courts were temporarily closed to prevent the opposition from filing formal legal appeals challenging the election results.

    The controversy deepened after Mundubile and his running mate Makebu Zulu were taken into custody. The opposition leader told reporters he had gone into hiding immediately after disputing the results, after security forces raided his residence the day after the election, saying he feared for his personal safety. The pair eventually surrendered to law enforcement on August 24, after seeking temporary shelter in a United Nations facility in Lusaka. Local Zambian media has confirmed the two are currently being held at Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison, located in central Zambia.

    The United Nations’ top human rights official has already issued public statements expressing concern over the arrests of opposition figures following the election, and Mundubile now faces additional accusations of treason, a charge that carries severe legal penalties in Zambia.

    Several regional heads of state attended Tuesday’s inauguration to signal diplomatic support for Hichilema’s new administration, including Kenyan President William Ruto, newly inaugurated Botswana President Duma Boko, and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

    In his inaugural address to the gathered crowd, Hichilema struck a unifying tone, acknowledging the voices of voters who supported opposition candidates despite the contested outcome. “We receive your support with humility and with a clear understanding of the responsibility it places upon our shoulders. To those who chose other candidates or other parties, we say with equal sincerity, we have heard you,” he told the audience, framing his new term as a mandate to govern for all Zambians regardless of their vote.

  • PSG cashes in again as Ibrahim Mbaye joins Aston Villa as part of a $460 million summer sell-off

    PSG cashes in again as Ibrahim Mbaye joins Aston Villa as part of a $460 million summer sell-off

    PARIS – On the final day of the 2025 summer transfer window, French Ligue 1 giant Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), a two-time European champion, confirmed its latest high-profile outgoing deal: promising Senegalese forward Ibrahim Mbaye will make a permanent move to English Premier League side Aston Villa. The transfer marks another milestone in the Parisian club’s dramatic strategic shift, moving away from its decades-long identity as soccer’s biggest spender to a new model focused on generating massive revenue through player sales.

    This summer, PSG has outperformed every other top European club in transfer revenue generated from outgoing player moves, with cumulative earnings surpassing 400 million euros ($464 million). That figure puts it ahead of fellow big spenders Aston Villa and Manchester City of the Premier League, capping a wildly successful window for the club’s new commercial strategy.

    Contrary to some fan concerns that PSG is selling off its core talent, club insiders emphasize that every player moved out this window, including Mbaye, was a rotational substitute under head coach Luis Enrique. Even the summer’s largest outgoing deal, the 145 million euro transfer of Bradley Barcola, fits this deliberate framework: the club has only offloaded players not central to Enrique’s starting XI plans, allowing it to cash in on valuable assets while keeping its core competitive squad intact.

    A product of PSG’s renowned youth academy, the 18-year-old Mbaye has already built an impressive resume on and off the pitch for club and country. He has earned 15 senior international caps for Senegal, and earlier this summer at the World Cup, he made history as the youngest African player ever to score at the men’s World Cup, finding the back of the net in Senegal’s 3-1 group stage defeat to host nation France. Back in 2023, Mbaye became the youngest player in PSG history to make a Ligue 1 debut, stepping onto the pitch at just 16 years, six months and 23 days old. Over his time in the first team, Mbaye lifted eight major trophies with PSG, including two Champions League titles, two European Super Cups and two Ligue 1 crowns. Mbaye’s transfer package is valued at up to 60 million euros ($69 million), adding to PSG’s massive summer haul.

    Beyond Mbaye and Barcola, PSG has offloaded a host of other squad players this window, including defender Noham Kamara, South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-In, striker Randal Kolo Muani and Portuguese forward Gonçalo Ramos. The club used less than 210 million euros ($243 million) of its transfer sales revenue to bring in new signings: Ferran Torres, Maghnes Akliouche, Mika Godts, Lucas Lucas, Lucas Digne and Alessandro Longoni. The result is a net capital gain of nearly 200 million euros ($232 million) from this summer’s transfer activity alone.

    This strategic shift is a dramatic departure from the club’s approach for more than a decade. Since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) completed its takeover of PSG in 2011, ownership spent lavishly to attract global superstars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi and Neymar, turning a mid-tier French club into one of the richest and most competitive sides in European soccer. The turning point came after Kylian Mbappe’s high-profile departure to Real Madrid in 2024, when Enrique pushed for a new recruitment model focused on signing less high-profile but high-potential talent to build depth across every position, creating healthy competition for starting spots and flexible squad rotation.

    The overhaul has already delivered tangible on-pitch results: PSG has won consecutive Champions League titles under the new structure. Off the pitch, the financial results are equally impressive. PSG reported last October that it closed the 2024–25 season with a record 837 million euros ($970 million) in total revenue, a milestone that came on the back of the club’s first ever Champions League title. Since QSI’s 2011 takeover, the club’s annual turnover has increased ninefold, underscoring the long-term success of its evolution.