Global Pulse

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  • Palestinian residents trapped as Israeli settlers surround home in occupied West Bank village

    Palestinian residents trapped as Israeli settlers surround home in occupied West Bank village

    A fresh wave of violence by Israeli settlers has plunged the occupied West Bank village of Qusra into crisis, continuing a steady escalation of attacks that have disrupted communities and drawn urgent calls for global intervention. Dozens of Israeli settlers have breached the village, barricaded themselves inside a private Palestinian home, and laid siege to the property, leaving at least four Palestinian residents trapped inside as the group set nearby agricultural land ablaze.

    Publicly shared footage of the incident captures scores of settlers moving toward Qusra’s outer limits and clearing stones from a local access road, as emergency response teams work frantically to secure safe passage for ambulances. The medical teams aim to evacuate at least one injured Palestinian from the conflict zone south of Nablus. Both the Israeli military and border police have acknowledged responding to violent confrontations involving what they label “Israeli rioters” in Qusra. In a joint official statement, the forces confirmed that dozens of settlers entered the village and occupied the Palestinian family’s home. Palestinian officials report that multiple Palestinians, including one woman, sustained injuries during the incursion, noting that settlers launched stone attacks on local residents.

    While Israeli forces announced they had removed the settlers from the besieged home, seized the group’s vehicles, and would deploy personnel to the area to prevent further unrest, Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi contradicted this account in an interview with Al Jazeera. Wadi claimed that Israeli forces actually attempted to arrest the Palestinian civilians who remained trapped inside the home during the siege.

    This latest incident is far from an isolated event: it marks the most recent escalation in a sustained month-long campaign of settler violence targeting Qusra’s Palestinian community. Earlier this month, settlers confined entire Palestinian families inside three separate homes in the village’s Ras al-Ain neighborhood. The ongoing blockade has cut off residents from critical basic supplies, including potable water, electricity, and food. In July, settlers set fire to Qusra’s local mosque in another act of aggression.

    The Israeli military has reinforced the isolation of Qusra’s affected communities by designating the area a closed military zone. Authorities have installed a locked gate at the village’s main entry point, forcing Palestinian travelers to use winding alternative routes that Israeli soldiers regularly block. Just days ago on Wednesday, the army added three new permanent roadblocks circling the peak of Ras al-Ain hill, physically severing the besieged homes from the rest of the village’s populated lower areas.

    The crisis in Qusra follows a separate urgent appeal from Palestinian authorities over parallel violence targeting another West Bank village. Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to step in to protect residents of al-Mughayyir, a village located northeast of Ramallah. In an official statement condemning the wave of recent settler attacks, the ministry detailed a suffocating combined military and economic blockade that has been imposed on al-Mughayyir for nearly three weeks.

    Palestinian officials frame the blockade, which includes indiscriminate targeting of civilian residents, as a core component of a systematic campaign to eliminate Palestinian presence from the occupied territory. The ministry labeled these actions as a deliberate state policy of “killing, terrorism and forced displacement,” warning that Israel is advancing policies aimed at expelling and eliminating Palestinian communities. The statement further cautioned that extending political and legal immunity to violent Israeli settlers risks triggering an uncontrollable regional escalation, stressing that immediate coordinated global action is essential to halt the ongoing violence.

    Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian homes, commercial properties, and agricultural land across the occupied West Bank have been a deeply rooted systemic issue for decades, aligned with the steady expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. However, independent analysts and Palestinian authorities document that the frequency and severity of these state-backed assaults have surged dramatically since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.

  • Mount Fuji pics, life-changing ramen and a weak yen – why young Brits are going to Japan

    Mount Fuji pics, life-changing ramen and a weak yen – why young Brits are going to Japan

    A wave of young British travelers is flocking to Japan in record numbers, and two key forces are driving this unprecedented tourism boom: viral social media content and a historically weak yen that has turned the Asian destination into an unexpectedly affordable getaway. Data from the Japanese National Tourism Organization confirms the rapid growth: 483,157 British tourists visited Japan in 2025, marking a 24.8% increase from 2024 and a 40.8% jump from 2019, the pre-pandemic benchmark used by the travel industry. Provisional 2026 data indicates this upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing, aligning with Japan’s overall post-pandemic tourism recovery that saw a record number of global visitors in 2025.

    Interviews with dozens of British travelers in their 20s and 30s reveal that while Japan’s unique offerings – from bustling neon cityscapes and centuries-old temples to world-renowned street food, anime culture, and rugged natural landscapes – draw intrinsic interest, social media is the single biggest catalyst turning casual interest into booked trips. For 24-year-old Maitri Sanghvi, constant algorithm-driven exposure to Japan content on TikTok made a long-held desire to visit impossible to ignore. “Japan just kept popping up on my feed,” she explained, noting that seeing other travelers’ trip snaps was the main push for her three-week holiday with her boyfriend earlier this year.

    Scroll any popular travel hashtag such as #japantravel on TikTok or Instagram, and feeds are flooded with curated content: sun-kissed shots of Mount Fuji, steaming bowls of authentic ramen, detailed itinerary guides, quiet mountain villages, the iconic red torii gates of Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari, the glowing neon of Osaka’s Dotonbori, and the chaotic energy of Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing. Twenty-nine-year-old Aden Ibrahim openly admits that this constant buzz on social media directly pushed him to book a trip with friends last July. Since returning, he has continued to fuel the hype himself, uploading dozens of trip clips to TikTok more than a year after his visit; one viral video titled “Japan made it out the group chat” has racked up more than 1.1 million views.

    Beyond social media’s pull, a decades-low yen has removed one of the biggest barriers to traveling Japan: cost. While round-trip off-peak budget flights start around £450, the weak currency makes on-the-ground spending far cheaper for international visitors, even as rising domestic prices place strain on Japanese residents. In July, the yen fell to a 40-year low against the British pound, stretching travel budgets further than many young travelers expected. “You can literally get a bowl of life-changing ramen for £3 or £4, compared to a mediocre one back home for like £20,” explained 26-year-old Faye Jawad, a TikTok restaurant reviewer who visited Japan last year.

    For 26-year-old Vivek Haria, who has spent years cultivating an interest in Japanese culture – even learning the language and joining the UK-Japan Choir – the favorable exchange rate was the final nudge to book his autumn 2026 trip. “When the yen was weakening, I thought ‘actually this is a good time to go, things are going to be cheap’,” he said. The affordable on-the-ground costs have even spawned a new viral content category: “haul videos” where travelers show off bulk purchases of limited-edition KitKat flavors, high-quality stationery, skincare products, and unique clothing. Twenty-three-year-old Sam Corbett, who visited in May, ended up buying an entire extra suitcase to carry all his affordable souvenirs, from matcha products to snacks and apparel.

    The vast majority of young British travelers stick to Japan’s famous “Golden Route”: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, with day trips to nearby popular spots including Nara, Hiroshima, and Mount Fuji. The route’s popularity is easy to explain: well-connected by public transport and packed with Japan’s most iconic attractions, it fits neatly into a two to three week holiday that fits most young travelers’ vacation allowances.

    But this massive surge in visitor numbers has come with growing pains, as rising reports of unruly tourist behavior have sparked urgent debate around overtourism and prompted Japanese authorities to roll out new regulations and crackdowns. Chiyuki Izumii, a tour guide with the Japan Guide Agency, says she has observed a noticeable decline in tourist behavior in recent years. While her own clients are respectful, she has witnessed other visitors cutting bus queues, blocking aisles with oversize luggage, carving initials into trees in Kyoto’s Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, disturbing local neighborhoods with loud noise after dark, and trespassing into restricted areas to get viral photos.

    Local governments have already taken action: Fujikawaguchiko, a popular small town near Mount Fuji, canceled its 2026 cherry blossom festival entirely after repeated incidents of misbehavior from crowds. In June, Tokyo’s Shibuya ward introduced on-the-spot fines for littering in high-traffic tourist areas. In July, the Japanese national government raised the international tourist tax – charged to visitors leaving the country via plane or boat – from 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen (approximately £4.60 to £13.80), with revenues earmarked for upgrading public transport infrastructure and restoring damaged historic sites.

    Many young visitors themselves have expressed surprise at just how crowded top tourist spots have become. “I was prepared for it to be busy but I didn’t expect it to be as busy as it was,” said Millie Dring, an anime fan who traveled to Japan in November to celebrate her 21st birthday. At Tokyo DisneySea, Dring and her friend waited three hours to ride just one attraction before leaving overwhelmed by the crowds. Sam Corbett, who encountered packed queues at a Kyoto dessert spot he only visited because of its social media fame, noted the queue held no local residents at all – only tourists chasing viral trends. Popular photo spots like the Hakone floating torii gate and Arashiyama bamboo forest are now so packed with people waiting for Instagram-perfect shots that it can be hard to even enjoy the scenery, he added.

    Still, some travelers are unphased by the crowds, arguing that embracing the popular tourist experience is part of the fun. Twenty-nine-year-old Laura McGregor, who is planning a two-week honeymoon across Tokyo and Osaka this November, with stops including Tokyo Disney, Universal Studios, a sumo match, Mount Fuji, Hiroshima, and even Tokyo go-karting, pushes back against the trend of “off-the-beaten-path” snobbery. “I think there’s a snobbiness around being a tourist over the past couple of years where people want to avoid looking like one,” she said. “Of course I want to experience an authentic side of Japan but I’m excited to embrace the tourist side too and go along with it.”

  • They fell in love – then had to check they weren’t brother and sister

    They fell in love – then had to check they weren’t brother and sister

    For decades, Arthur Kermalvezen, a man conceived via sperm donation, lived with a persistent, unsettling mystery: any man he encountered – from his grade school teacher to strangers on the city bus – could have been his biological father. This uncertainty bred deep anger and unrest, leaving him unable to feel grounded in his own identity. What he never expected was that this lifelong question would become even more urgent when he fell in love with Audrey, another Paris-born donor-conceived woman, whom he met at a 2010 gathering for donor-conceived rights activists.

    The pair experienced immediate, undeniable chemistry, describing their first meeting as love at first sight. But their new romance came with a alarming possibility: in the era when they were conceived, Paris had only two operating sperm banks, and most donors contributed sperm multiple times to help more couples conceive. This meant the chance of them sharing the same biological father – and being half-siblings – was far from hypothetical. Before they could build a life together, they needed an answer. Yet France’s strict laws around donor anonymity and genetic testing made that answer almost impossible to obtain legally.

    Since 1994, France has barred private citizens from accessing or using at-home DNA testing kits, making personal genetic testing a criminal offense. Only licensed doctors, research scientists, and judges are legally permitted to order and oversee genetic analysis. Anyone caught with a personal testing kit can face fines of more than €3,500, and major direct-to-consumer DNA companies including 23andMe, Ancestry, and MyHeritage do not sell their products in the country. Lawmakers and supporters of the ban argue it protects sensitive genetic data from exploitation by commercial entities and prevents unexpected DNA results from tearing families apart. Critics, however, point out that France is the only European nation that criminalizes personal use of these tests.

    Audrey, a bioethics lawyer by training, understood the intricacies of French law better than most: the country enshrined donor anonymity in legislation, guaranteeing that identity would remain hidden even after a donor’s death. But Audrey’s conception in 1979 predated this law, leaving her with a legal gray area that offered no clear path to information. While searching online for other donor-conceived people born before the 1994 law went into effect, Audrey found Arthur, who had published a book chronicling his lifelong search for answers about his biological origins. She was immediately struck by how perfectly he captured the confusing, unspoken feelings she had carried her whole life – even though both had grown up in loving, supportive families, the mystery of their biological origins left a permanent hole in their identities.

    After their first in-person meeting, the connection was immediate – but so was the problem. No French regulatory or legal body would help them confirm whether they were related. After months of dead ends, they located a doctor in southern France who agreed to conduct a genetic test for €900 in cash, breaking the law to share the result with them directly: they were not related. Still, the couple was left uneasy. They worried the unregulated test was inaccurate, and Audrey, committed to upholding the law, refused to use a black market at-home kit to confirm the result. Starting in 2010, she launched a series of legal challenges against the French system, asking only for access to non-identifying information about her donor, including how many donations he made, to confirm whether she and Arthur could be related. Every challenge was rejected. After three years of fighting, the couple took a leap of faith and married.

    In 2015, France’s highest administrative court rejected Audrey’s final appeal. It was only shortly before the birth of their first child that another doctor agreed to bend the rules: he checked their donors’ birth years in the confidential sperm bank records, and confirmed their donors were two different men. The result was life-changing, but it came only from an illegal act. “It’s completely weird,” Audrey said of the ruling that allows doctors to know more about her own origins than she does. Even after this confirmation, Arthur still carried doubts, so years later, the couple finally agreed to take an at-home DNA test, ordered through a friend in a neighboring country where the kits are legal. The test confirmed what the doctor had told them: they were not related.

    That illegal test unlocked far more than just reassurance for the couple. In 2017, Arthur finally connected with his biological sperm donor on Christmas Day, ending decades of uncertainty. For Audrey, the surprise was even greater: one of her DNA matches was Sophie, a fellow donor-conceived activist whom she had represented in court years earlier. The two women, who had fought side-by-side for legal rights, were biological sisters. When the couple took the test alongside eight other fellow activists, the results revealed just how high the risk of accidental genetic relations really is: four of the ten participants shared the same donor, including Audrey, Sophie, and their two brothers.

    Years later, a DNA match with an American relative led Audrey to her own donor, a man named Philippe, but he had already passed away. Audrey’s mother wrote a letter to Philippe’s family, thanking them for the “immeasurable gift” he had given, and the family welcomed Audrey into their lives. Philippe’s own sister had never known he was a sperm donor, and the meeting gave Audrey answers she had chased for decades: she got access to her full biological medical history, saw photos and videos of her donor, and finally got to know the story of her origins.

    The couple’s years of activism – Audrey’s legal challenges and Arthur’s writing – helped drive a landmark change to French donor conception law: people conceived after April 2025 will now be able to access identifying information about their donors once they reach adulthood. Yet the fight is not over: France still remains one of the only European countries to ban at-home DNA testing, and thousands of donor-conceived people born before 2025 still lack legal access to information about their origins. Audrey says the core of the fight is simple: “Every person has the right to know their origins and the right to know their history.”

    This story is based on an episode of *The Gift* on BBC Radio 4.

  • Trump administration deports relative of Afghans who helped US military to Central African Republic

    Trump administration deports relative of Afghans who helped US military to Central African Republic

    DAKAR, SENEGAL – A controversial U.S. deportation operation that landed in the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui this past Saturday has drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocates and legal teams, after it emerged the flight carried a young Afghan man explicitly granted legal protection from deportation to his home country over documented Taliban persecution risks.

    The 20-something Afghan was cleared for protection from expulsion to Afghanistan by a U.S. judge, after court records reviewed by the Associated Press confirmed his extended family had faced repeated targeted threats from the Taliban over his brothers’ work supporting U.S. military operations. Alma David, the man’s legal counsel, shared details of his family’s tragic history: one brother, a U.S.-trained pilot, was already killed by Taliban fighters, while a second brother currently resides in the U.S. after serving with the U.S.-aligned Afghan National Army that collapsed when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.

    Savi Arvey, policy director for refugee and immigrant rights at the advocacy organization Human Rights First, confirmed Saturday’s flight carried 30+ deported people in total, beyond the at-risk Afghan. The group includes 11 other Afghans, 8 Iranians, and additional migrants from Nepal and Nicaragua.

    This expulsion is not an isolated incident. Advocates have long documented that the controversial practice of third-country deportations – expelling migrants and asylum seekers to nations that are not their country of origin – has been in place since the Trump administration, when thousands of people were sent to more than 20 third countries under largely undisclosed agreements as part of a broader hardline immigration crackdown. Immigration legal experts warn the policy functions as a deliberate legal loophole, allowing U.S. authorities to indirectly return protected asylum seekers to danger by routing them through neutral countries. Saturday’s flight marks the second such deportation operation to the Central African Republic since June; the first flight carried 24 migrants, including an Iranian woman who also faced confirmed persecution risks in her home country.

    The controversial operation comes amid a string of growing global migration crises, with multiple recent incidents of migrant deaths and hardened immigration policies across multiple continents making headlines alongside this expulsion.

  • Australia leads from start to finish to beat Argentina 27-21 in the 1st rugby test

    Australia leads from start to finish to beat Argentina 27-21 in the 1st rugby test

    In a tense, altitude-challenged opening rugby test match held in Jujuy, Argentina on Saturday, Australia withstood a late Argentine rally to secure a hard-fought 27-21 victory, extending its unbeaten streak under new interim head coach Les Kiss.

    The Wallabies got off to a blistering start, crossing the try line twice within the opening 10 minutes to build an immediate advantage. Hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa opened the scoring, followed quickly by flyhalf Carter Gordon, putting Argentina on the back foot early. The Pumas responded with attacking flair but struggled to match Australia’s clinical efficiency in the red zone, a gap that would shape the entire contest.

    By the 20th minute, Wallaby backrower Fraser McReight added a third try from a chaotic goal-line scramble, pushing Australia’s lead out to 19-7. Argentina did not fold, however. While Australian winger Harry Potter served a 10-minute sin bin that left the Wallabies down to 14 men, the Pumas capitalized on a five-meter scrum free kick to put backrow Joaquin Moro over the line for a try. A late first-half penalty from substitute scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan sent Australia into halftime with an 22-14, eight-point buffer.

    The high altitude of the mountainous Jujuy venue began to take a physical toll on both sides in the second half, particularly fatigue impacting Australia’s ability to maintain possession and sharpness. Argentina came out firing, cutting the deficit to just one point just 11 minutes into the second half when loosehead prop Boris Wenger crossed for a try, making the score 22-21. Fullback Geronimo Piscatelli, who had scored Argentina’s first try in the 14th minute, twice came inches away from putting the Pumas ahead, with one potential score called back for a forward pass.

    Australia dug in defensively when it mattered most. In the 53rd minute, a line break from center Hunter Paisami set up backrower Tom Hooper’s try — his first try in three years — pushing the Wallabies’ lead back out to six points. Over the remaining 27 minutes of play, fatigue left Australia struggling to retain possession, gifting Argentina repeated late opportunities to snatch a match-winning win. But Australian’s defensive line held firm, fending off every late Argentine attack to preserve the 27-21 result until the final whistle.

    “Here at altitude the shoulders are sore, the lungs are sore,” Hooper told reporters after the match. “It was a hard test match and the whole 23 got us across the line.”

    The win keeps Australia’s perfect record intact under Kiss, a former rugby league star who took over as head coach following Joe Schmidt’s departure. Hooper praised Kiss’ leadership style, noting that his calm communication and focus on elite-level training standards have reshaped the squad’s mindset ahead of upcoming competitions.

    “[Kiss] has brought a really good mindset in terms of how we’re training,” Hooper said. “If you want to be world class, get good results and lift a bit of silverware you have to train world class.”

    For Argentina, the result highlighted the Pumas’ growing attacking potential but also exposed ongoing finishing issues. While the side consistently found gaps in Australia’s defensive line and created multiple late scoring chances, imprecision in the final pass and red zone kept them from turning opportunities into points. Piscatelli stood out as the Pumas’ most constant attacking threat, alongside industrious performances from Wenger and Moro, who each notched one try on the day.

    The two sides will meet again next weekend in the second and final test of the series, with Australia looking to lock in a series win and Argentina aiming to turn its near-miss into a comeback victory.

  • Erasmus relieved the pressure flipped onto Rennie after tying Springboks-All Blacks series

    Erasmus relieved the pressure flipped onto Rennie after tying Springboks-All Blacks series

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa — In a tense, high-stakes showdown at Cape Town that kept rugby fans across the globe on the edge of their seats, the world champion South African Springboks secured a gritty 33-26 victory over New Zealand’s All Blacks on Saturday, leveling the four-test series between the two rugby powerhouses and handing New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie his first loss in charge of the side.

    The match was a study in contrasting strengths: the All Blacks crossed the try line four times to South Africa’s three, outscoring the Springboks in five-pointers, but a flawless goalkicking masterclass from Springboks winger Cheslin Kolbe — who converted all seven of his attempts off the tee — pushed the reigning world champions over the line to claim the win. The result snapped South Africa’s momentum after a first-test defeat in Johannesburg one week prior, and preserved an undefeated streak that has stood for more than five years under Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus: South Africa has not dropped back-to-back home tests since Erasmus took the reins in 2018.

    Speaking after the final whistle, a relieved Erasmus acknowledged the weight of expectation going into the match, as South Africa had entered the series as heavy favorites. “Of course I felt the pressure, and the players will tell you I felt the pressure. I try not to put it on them but I was nervous,” Erasmus told reporters. He even joked about a shared astrological quirk between himself and the older Rennie: both were born in November, making them both Scorpios. “That’s why he’s able to work me out,” Erasmus quipped.

    With the series now tied, Eramus joked that he was looking forward to watching Rennie navigate the pressure of the decider over the next seven days ahead of the third test in Soweto. “It’s his first loss as All Blacks coach … and he’ll feel what we felt this week,” Erasmus said. He acknowledged the frustration of South African fans after the first-test defeat, adding: “We 100% understand why people are upset because no one wants to support a losing team. No one in South Africa wants to support anything that’s not working. A loss here and there doesn’t make you a losing team immediately, but it’s when you go on a losing run that the pressure comes on.”

    Erasmus warned against complacency despite the win, noting: “We must make sure we’re not confident and think we’re all good again because there were a lot of things we didn’t do well.” He also credited the All Blacks, who hired Rennie back in March specifically because previous head coach Scott Robertson only notched a 1-3 record against South Africa. Erasmus noted that the 2026 iteration of the All Blacks is a far stronger side than last year’s lineup. “They’re really well coached and they’ve got athletes who can beat you on a dime. A couple of more phases at the end and it could have been a draw,” he said.

    The Springbok coach also explained the late adjustment to his front row reserves, saying the change was made to adapt to unexpected weather conditions. The side had prepared for wet weather, but conditions ended up dry, so Erasmus opted for a lighter front row on the bench — still several kilograms heavier than New Zealand’s starting front row, he clarified.

    Injury updates from both camps bring mixed news ahead of the decider. Key South African playmaker Damian Willemse, a fullback who can cover both midfield and flyhalf, picked up a hamstring injury, and Erasmus confirmed he does not expect Willemse to be available for next Saturday’s test in Soweto. For the All Blacks, the squad is largely healthy outside of a minor neck issue for winger Will Jordan, who managed to play through the injury and finish Saturday’s match.

    Rennie addressed his side’s shortcomings after the match, singling out inconsistent lineout performance as an area the team will need to improve ahead of the decider. He noted that scrummaging, a major pain point for the All Blacks in the first test, was reasonably handled by referee Angus Gardner, but claimed that the Springboks still engaged in illegal movement at the scrum through the tighthead. Erasmus dismissed that claim as “nonsense”, while Springboks loosehead Ox Nché said any scrum delays stemmed from differing interpretations of the rules from both sides, adding: “We wasted a lot of time in scrums today because we all had different interpretations.”

    The stage is now set for a winner-takes-all third test in Soweto next Saturday, with the four-test series still perfectly level at one win apiece.

  • Ski standout Marco Odermatt won’t attend preseason training in Chile due to minor injury

    Ski standout Marco Odermatt won’t attend preseason training in Chile due to minor injury

    ZURICH – One of alpine skiing’s most dominant modern competitors saw his quest to make history hit an early speed bump this week. Swiss skiing standout Marco Odermatt, who is chasing a sixth consecutive overall FIS World Cup title, will be forced to sit out his team’s upcoming preseason training camp in Chile after suffering a minor muscle injury during routine off-season training.

    The Swiss Alpine Ski Team announced the development in a statement released Saturday, confirming that Odermatt began experiencing discomfort during a structured physical training session earlier in the week. Follow-up diagnostic exams confirmed the minor muscle strain, leading team officials to scrap his planned travel to South America. Odermatt was scheduled to depart for Chile with the rest of the national team next Monday.

    No additional details about the specific location or severity of the injury were shared in the initial announcement. Team leadership emphasized that Odermatt’s full recovery is the top priority at this stage of the preseason. “The priority now is treatment and rehabilitation,” the statement read. “As soon as a return to on-snow training is possible, the rest of his season preparation will be re-assessed.”

    Odermatt’s historic run of five straight overall World Cup titles already puts him in rare company in the sport’s record books. He is currently tied with Luxembourg’s Marc Girardelli for second place on the all-time list of most overall World Cup titles, trailing only Austrian legend Marcel Hirscher, who holds the record with eight total championships. A sixth straight title this coming season would pull him one step closer to matching Hirscher’s unprecedented mark, cementing his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

    The 28-year-old skier is no stranger to success on the sport’s biggest stages, either. At last season’s Milan Cortina World Championships, he earned three podium finishes, taking home two silver medals and one bronze. This adds to his giant slalom gold medal win at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, rounding out a resume that includes nearly every major honor in competitive alpine skiing.

    The 2025-2026 FIS World Cup season is still scheduled to get underway as planned this October, with the traditional opening race hosted in Sölden, Austria. While Odermatt’s preseason preparation has been interrupted, the injury is currently classified as minor, leaving open the possibility that he will be ready to compete when the first race of the season kicks off in just a few months.

  • Former Ecuadorian president imprisoned for corruption

    Former Ecuadorian president imprisoned for corruption

    In a landmark corruption ruling that underscores Ecuador’s ongoing crackdown on graft among former top officials, ex-president Lenín Moreno has been convicted of bribery linked to the $2.7 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric dam project, receiving a five-year prison sentence that will be served under house arrest.

    The 73-year-old former leader, who held Ecuador’s presidency from 2017 to 2021, was found guilty alongside 19 other co-defendants by a court in the capital Quito. Due to his advanced age and documented disability, the court ruled he would serve his sentence at his private residence rather than a state prison. Immediately following the verdict, Moreno confirmed he intends to file an appeal to challenge the conviction, maintaining his complete innocence throughout the trial.

    Prosecutors from Ecuador’s anti-corruption unit laid out allegations that China’s state-owned engineering firm Sinohydro funneled a total of $76.1 million in illicit bribes through a network of anonymous shell companies to intermediaries, officials, and connected figures to secure the contract for the dam construction. Among the 19 other individuals convicted alongside Moreno are his immediate family members—his wife, daughter, and brother—former senior project managers, acting Sinohydro representatives, and a former Chinese ambassador to Ecuador. While prosecutors confirmed Moreno personally received only a small portion of the illicit funds, they documented that his close family members received tens of thousands of dollars in illegal payments from the scheme.

    As part of the sentencing, all convicted individuals are required to repay three times the value of the bribes they received as a form of judicial restitution to the Ecuadorian state. For Moreno, an additional permanent ban from holding public office was also handed down by the court.

    Moreno has repeatedly denied any involvement in the bribery scheme, shifting blame to his predecessor Rafael Correa, under whom he served as vice president before ascending to the presidency. Correa was already sentenced to eight years in prison in a separate high-profile corruption case in 2020. Moreno argues that Correa oversaw the full negotiation and approval of the Coca Codo Sinclair project, and that when he took office in 2017, he launched an official investigation into irregularities surrounding the dam’s construction.

    This conviction marks a major milestone in Ecuador’s anti-corruption campaign, making Moreno the third former Ecuadorian head of state to be sentenced on corruption charges in recent years. The project itself has been mired in controversy long before the bribery trial: the Ecuadorian government launched formal legal action against Sinohydro in 2021 after widespread structural cracks and multiple technical failures were discovered in the completed dam. Earlier this year, the government reached a $400 million settlement with Sinohydro to resolve the construction defect claims.

    The BBC has reached out to both Sinohydro and the Chinese embassy in Ecuador to request a formal response to the conviction, but no comment has been released as of the ruling. The case continues to draw international attention as a high-profile test of judicial independence and anti-corruption accountability in Latin America.

  • Netanyahu condemns settler attack in flashpoint West Bank village

    Netanyahu condemns settler attack in flashpoint West Bank village

    Nearly three weeks of simmering unrest in the northern occupied West Bank boiled over on Saturday, when dozens of Israeli settlers launched a coordinated attack on the Palestinian village of Qusra, prompting an unusual public rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Tensions in the area first flared in early August, when a cohort of settlers blocked vital supply routes to Palestinian homes on Qusra’s outskirts, near the city of Nablus, trapping local residents inside their properties. The blockade already drew unusually sharp public criticism from the United States’ ambassador to Israel, yet weeks later, Israeli military operations continue in the region, and settlers still freely roam the surrounding hilltops.

    On Saturday, both Qusra residents and Israeli military officials confirmed that dozens of settlers advanced into the village, hurling stones at local residents before barricading themselves inside a residential building that still had Palestinians trapped inside. According to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, a second attack unfolded in the nearby village of Jalud, where settlers targeted a Palestinian family and a group of foreign journalists accompanying the household.

    In an official statement released following the incidents, Netanyahu said: “I strongly condemn the criminal acts of violence committed in the villages of Qusra and Jalud by a handful of rioters who are violating the law, causing a grave injustice to the law-abiding Jewish community, interfering with the IDF in carrying out its missions, and harming Israel’s standing in the world.”

    Qusra resident Yussef Abdul Kareem Hassan told AFP that the confrontation began when a small group of settlers approached a handful of local villagers who were carrying out renovation work on a local home Saturday morning. The initial group of settlers called for reinforcements, and dozens more arrivals quickly surrounded the home, trapping the Palestinians inside and launching a barrage of stone throwing, Hassan explained.

    AFP on-site footage captured Saturday shows hundreds of Israeli security forces deployed across Qusra to contain the unrest. The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that soldiers and border police units were dispatched to the village “following reports that Israeli rioters had arrived in the area and that violent clashes had occurred, including stone-hurling toward Palestinians and additional civilians.”

    “Upon their arrival, the security forces identified dozens of rioters who had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while Palestinian residents were inside,” the military statement added, noting that officials were “aware of reports of Palestinian injuries” from the attack. Security forces worked to evict the settlers from the occupied home, separate the two opposing groups, and seize vehicles suspected of being used to transport settlers to the village, the military said. These vehicles will be held as evidence for an open police investigation into the violence, and forces remain deployed in the area “to prevent further disturbances and restore order.” The statement closed with the military’s official line that it “strongly condemns all forms of violence.”

    Settler violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank has been a persistent issue for decades, with perpetrators rarely facing meaningful legal consequences, but regional observers have recorded a dramatic surge in these attacks in recent months. Today, more than 500,000 Israeli settlers reside in settlements across the West Bank, settlements that are universally recognized as illegal under international law, alongside a local Palestinian population of approximately three million. Israel has maintained military occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

    An AFP tally compiled from data provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health shows that since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank, a count that includes both combatants and civilian non-combatants. Over the same period, Israeli official data records that at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the region.

  • Norway’s new king remembers ‘my dear father’ in first speech

    Norway’s new king remembers ‘my dear father’ in first speech

    In his first televised address to the Norwegian people since ascending the throne, King Haakon VIII delivered an emotional, tearful tribute to his late father, King Harald V, on the eve of what would have been Harald and Queen Sonja’s 58th wedding anniversary. The 89-year-old former monarch, who earned widespread affection as the “people’s king” and was widely praised for modernizing the Norwegian monarchy during his 35-year reign, passed away Friday morning in a Oslo hospital while receiving treatment for a rare blood disorder.

    Seated at a wooden desk inside Oslo’s Royal Palace, flanked by a framed portrait of Harald, two glowing candles, and an arrangement of delicate white roses, Haakon spoke through waves of emotion to open his first national address as Norway’s new head of state. “Thank you for being such a good dad,” the 53-year-old new king said. He remembered Harald as a loving father to himself and his sister Princess Märtha Louise, a playful, warm grandfather to his six grandchildren, and a devoted, caring husband to his widow, Queen Sonja. As he marked the approaching anniversary of his parents’ wedding, Haakon paused to choke back tears.

    Haakon recalled that Harald united the royal family with a quiet, natural authority he often did not recognize in himself, and remained unwaveringly committed to his core values throughout his life. “He constantly reminded us in the family that each of us must do things in our own way. Find our own style. Be ourselves,” Haakon shared. He also reflected on the profound comfort drawn from the thousands of ordinary Norwegians who gathered outside the Royal Palace in the days since Harald’s death, laying flowers, lighting candles, and leaving tributes to the late king. “We are in mourning, yet at the same time it brings comfort and strength that so many are grieving together with us,” he said.

    Since news of Harald’s passing broke Friday, crowds have continued to lay flowers outside the palace gates, and the Norwegian government has declared a national period of mourning, though a date for the late king’s funeral has not yet been announced. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was among those who paid tribute, laying a floral arrangement, signing the official condolence book, and meeting with the new king. After the meeting, Støre said the entire nation was “united in grief and gratitude” for Harald’s decades of service.

    Haakon is set to formally take office on Tuesday, when he will swear an oath of allegiance before the Norwegian parliament. He will later join his wife, Queen Mette-Marit, for a simplified consecration service — Norway abolished full coronation ceremonies decades ago. But Haakon assumes the throne at a uniquely challenging moment for the Norwegian royal family, which has weathered a string of public controversies and health crises in recent months.

    Earlier this year, Mette-Marit faced intense public scrutiny after revelations of a three-year friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came to light, prompting a public apology from the queen. Just months after the controversy, Mette-Marit underwent a life-saving lung transplant to treat pulmonary fibrosis, a condition she has lived with since 2018. Physicians do not expect to declare her medically stable until 2027, meaning Haakon must balance the demands of his new constitutional role with caring for his wife.

    Additional controversy has come from Haakon’s stepson, Marius Borg Høiby, who was raised in the royal family after Haakon married Mette-Marit when Høiby was four years old. Though Høiby holds no official royal title, his June conviction on rape and other criminal charges, which resulted in a four-year prison sentence, has sparked public criticism of the royal family. Høiby is currently appealing the conviction. Haakon’s sister, Princess Märtha Louise, also stepped back from all official royal duties earlier this year after widespread backlash over her 2024 marriage to an American self-described shaman and their controversial joint business activities.

    Without explicitly referencing these challenges, Haakon addressed the moment of turmoil in his address, noting: “Our family has experienced the importance of standing together in order to remain steadfast both within ourselves and for one another even during difficult times.” He emphasized that he, Mette-Marit, and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra would “always strive to understand the life situations of different people,” and committed to national unity, saying: “No one who lives in this country knows what we will face together, but what we do know is that we will stand by one another through both good days and difficult ones.” He stressed that the royal family remains committed to a Norwegian society “built on law and justice, where everyone is of equal value.”

    While the late King Harald retained broad popular support through the end of his reign, public support for the Norwegian monarchy has declined in recent years: a poll conducted earlier this year for leading Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten found that monarchy support dropped from 72% in 2024 to 54% ahead of Haakon’s ascension. Still, royal analysts interviewed by the BBC expressed cautious confidence in the new monarch, noting that Haakon is widely viewed as a respected, hardworking public servant who is well-equipped to navigate the challenges ahead and unify the nation and royal family.