Global Pulse

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  • Race to find port for hantavirus-stricken cruise ship

    Race to find port for hantavirus-stricken cruise ship

    In the aftermath of three fatalities linked to a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a Dutch-operated expedition cruise ship, global and national health authorities were in a urgent race on Tuesday to secure a port of disembarkation for the vessel, which remained anchored off the coast of Cape Verde after local officials blocked it from docking.

    The MV Hondius, operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, launched its journey on April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina, bound for Cape Verde off the western coast of Africa, carrying 147 passengers and crew representing 23 nationalities. To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed two cases of hantavirus infection, with five additional suspected cases, resulting in three deaths, one critical case, and three people experiencing mild symptoms.

    According to WHO, the virus strain responsible for the outbreak has not yet been definitively identified. Genetic sequencing is currently being conducted by South African health laboratories, and officials expect results imminently. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention division, told reporters in Geneva that the leading working assumption among experts is that the pathogen is the Andes virus, a specific hantavirus variant endemic to South America that has been linked to rare cases of human-to-human transmission in past outbreaks.

    Two of the three people who died and one infected patient previously disembarked the vessel before the outbreak was declared. Most notably, a female passenger who fell ill after disembarking flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, and died on April 26. Health officials have already launched contact tracing operations to identify and monitor all passengers and crew that may have been exposed to the woman during her flight.

    The first two fatalities were a Dutch couple that joined the expedition in Argentina. The husband died aboard the Hondius on April 11, and his wife disembarked in Saint Helena on April 24 to accompany his remains home. She developed gastrointestinal symptoms, her condition deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg, and she died the day after arriving. A British passenger remains in intensive care in Johannesburg, while two crew members – one British and one Dutch – require urgent medical evacuation that could see them flown to the Netherlands for care.

    Van Kerkhove noted that the typical incubation period for hantavirus ranges from one to six weeks, leading WHO investigators to conclude that the initial infected Dutch couple most likely contracted the virus before boarding the vessel, or during one of the multiple shore excursions the expedition made to Atlantic islands for birdwatching and outdoor activities. “There could be some source of infection on the islands,” she explained.

    Hantavirus is a rare but potentially lethal infection that is most commonly spread to humans through contact with infected rodents or their excreta. While human-to-human transmission is extremely rare for most hantavirus strains, Van Kerkhove said investigators believe limited transmission among close contacts may have occurred on the Hondius. She stressed that even for the Andes variant, spread is almost exclusively limited to close personal contacts, and the risk to the broader global population remains very low, per WHO assessments.

    The WHO announced Tuesday that the MV Hondius would be redirected to Spain’s Canary Islands for a full epidemiological investigation and complete disinfection. However, Spanish health officials clarified that no final decision on which specific port will accept the vessel has been made, pending a full review of all epidemiological data collected from the ship while it remained off Cape Verde. Once the two crew members requiring urgent care are evacuated, the vessel will be cleared to travel to its assigned destination.

    All passengers and crew remaining aboard the Hondius have been in isolation since the outbreak was detected, after Cape Verdean authorities refused the ship permission to dock. Spanish officials have confirmed they will accept the vessel to complete the outbreak response, conduct full public health risk assessments for all people on board, and carry out complete sanitation of the ship.

  • Hantavirus may have spread between passengers on cruise ship, WHO says

    Hantavirus may have spread between passengers on cruise ship, WHO says

    A deadly hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch-operated cruise vessel has left three passengers dead and prompted an urgent international investigation into the rare possibility of sustained human-to-human virus transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed. The outbreak unfolded on the MV Hondius, an expedition cruise ship operated by Netherlands-based firm Oceanwide Expeditions, which launched its transatlantic voyage roughly one month ago from an Argentine port.

  • Zelensky condemns Russian ‘utter cynicism’ as it strikes ahead of truce

    Zelensky condemns Russian ‘utter cynicism’ as it strikes ahead of truce

    In a dramatic escalation of hostilities just days before competing unilateral ceasefires are set to take effect, overnight combined Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine have left five civilians dead and dozens more injured, drawing sharp condemnation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who blasted Moscow’s actions as brazen political cynicism.

    The violence erupted as both sides moved to announce unilateral truce plans tied to Russia’s upcoming May 9 Victory Day celebrations, which mark the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia first announced a 36-hour ceasefire to run May 8-9, threatening a devastating massive missile strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine violated the pause. Kyiv responded by announcing its own open-ended ceasefire set to begin at midnight May 6, stating it would match Moscow’s actions symmetrically and urging Russia to embrace genuine diplomatic negotiations to end the conflict.

    Zelensky condemned the timing of the latest deadly strikes, arguing that Russia’s request for a wartime lull to host its state propaganda celebrations is made hollow by daily attacks in the lead-up to the holiday. “It’s utter cynicism to ask for silence to hold propaganda celebrations and to launch such missile-drone attacks every day beforehand,” Zelensky said in remarks following the attacks. In a post on his Telegram channel, he added, “We believe that human life is of incomparably greater value than the ‘celebration’ of any anniversary,” and called on Russia to lay down its arms and enter good-faith peace talks.

    Analysts view Ukraine’s open-ended truce offer as a strategic move to frame Kyiv as willing to pursue an immediate, lasting end to hostilities, shifting all blame for any future truce violations to Russia. Unlike a mutually negotiated ceasefire, both plans announced this week are unilateral, with no agreement reached between the warring parties on terms, duration, or international monitoring of the pause.

    Even as the ceasefire plans were announced, Ukraine carried out its own wave of deep-strike aerial attacks on Russian territory ahead of its truce taking effect. The strikes targeted an industrial zone in Kirishi, located in Russia’s Leningrad region, and a military component manufacturing factory in Cheboksary, in the Chuvash Republic roughly 1,500 kilometers from the front lines of the war. Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine used domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles for the Cheboksary strike, and an unverified nighttime video circulating online shows a fast-moving aerial object followed by a large explosion at the site.

    Russia’s defense ministry quickly issued a statement claiming it had downed six Ukrainian Flamingo missiles alongside 601 Ukrainian drones across Russian territory. On Tuesday morning, all three of Moscow’s major commercial airports were forced to temporarily suspend operations amid drone threats, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed that four Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and downed near the capital.

    The latest exchange of strikes comes amid clear signs of rising nervousness in the Kremlin ahead of this year’s Victory Day celebrations. Since Vladimir Putin rose to power in the early 2000s, the May 9 parades have grown increasingly large and elaborate, serving as a major showcase of Russian national pride and military power. This year, however, the Kremlin announced that the iconic Red Square central parade would be significantly scaled back, with all heavy military hardware pulled from display, citing what it calls a “terrorist threat” from Ukraine. Russian officials have also warned Moscow residents that mobile internet access will be limited or fully cut off across parts of the capital in the days leading up to May 9.

    Zelensky seized on the scaled-back celebrations to argue that Russia’s need for a Ukrainian ceasefire to hold its holiday event exposes the weakness of the Kremlin’s position. “The fact Russia felt it couldn’t hold a parade in Moscow without the goodwill of Ukraine [to observe a ceasefire] meant that it was time for Russian leaders to take steps to end their war,” he said.

    Ukraine has ramped up its long-range deep-strike drone campaign against Russian targets in recent weeks, with repeated successful attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and oil refineries that have disrupted portions of Russia’s key oil export trade. Modern Ukrainian drones are now capable of flying hundreds of kilometers deep into Russian territory, often bypassing Russian air defense systems: just on Monday, one Ukrainian drone struck a high-rise residential building in central Moscow, causing damage and raising alarm among Russian urban residents.

    For its part, Russia has continued its steady campaign of strikes against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and population centers, which have killed and maimed thousands of Ukrainian civilians since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, with civilian casualties reported across the country on an almost daily basis.

  • Snooker’s Olympic push gets a jolt from China’s back-to-back world champions

    Snooker’s Olympic push gets a jolt from China’s back-to-back world champions

    Snooker’s decades-long push to secure a spot in the Olympic Games has received a transformative boost from a historic milestone: two consecutive world titles claimed by Chinese players, according to the sport’s global governing body chief.

    In a tense, last-frame decider at Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre on Monday, 22-year-old Wu Yize edged out England’s Shaun Murphy by a razor-thin 18-17 score to lift the world championship trophy. His victory comes exactly one year after compatriot Zhao Xintong made history as the first Asian player to claim snooker’s most prestigious title, marking the first time the sport’s world crown has stayed in Chinese hands for back-to-back tournaments.

    For decades, the United Kingdom dominated professional snooker as its unchallenged traditional heartland. But over the past two decades, China has emerged as the sport’s fastest-growing powerhouse, boasting an estimated 300,000 registered snooker clubs nationwide. This year’s world championship main draw featured 11 Chinese players out of 32 total competitors, with five holding spots in the sport’s top 16 global rankings — a clear marker of the nation’s rising competitive depth.

    Snooker’s Olympic journey has been marked by setbacks so far: bids for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games were both unsuccessful. But the sport’s leadership is now gearing up for a new bid for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, and the recent run of Chinese success has positioned the campaign far more strongly than ever before.

    Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), told the Associated Press in an interview that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already been closely monitoring the sport’s growth, and the consecutive Chinese world titles can only strengthen the bid. “It’s vitally important,” Ferguson said. “China is a very important country to the IOC — it has hosted the Games on multiple occasions and invests heavily in global sport development, which carries significant weight for the IOC. So the fact that China is a key market for snooker is a really important part of any Olympic bid.”

    Ferguson also highlighted that snooker’s global expansion extends far beyond East Asia. This year’s world championship welcomed its first ever Polish competitor, Antoni Kowalski, marking growth across eastern Europe. Today, nearly 100 countries have established national snooker governing bodies and grassroots infrastructure — a dramatic shift from the early days of the Olympic bid, when only a small handful of nations had organized competitive programs. “When we started this idea of going to the Olympics, we only had a handful of countries playing,” Ferguson noted. “But we are ready (to be in the Olympics). And that’s an exciting proposition.”

    Beyond the Olympic bid, the WPBSA is also finalizing a separate application to reinstate snooker to the Paralympic Games program, where the sport was featured from 1960 to 1988. A final decision on which sports will join the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic programs is expected by next spring, timed to coincide with the next running of the snooker world championship. Local support from Brisbane organizing officials is widely viewed as a critical factor for any new sport seeking inclusion.

    Wu’s historic win caps a remarkable underdog story. Six years ago, he left his hometown of Lanzhou in northwest China and relocated to the United Kingdom with his father to chase a professional snooker career, leaving his mother behind in China. The pair lived in a cramped, windowless small apartment; Wu later recalled that poor air quality in the space even left him prone to acne. But he embraced the hardship for his love of the sport. “If you really love snooker, it is the path you have to go through and fight through,” he said.

    Entering this year’s world championship, Wu had never won a single match at the Crucible, making his run to the title a major upset. Now ranked world No. 4 following his victory, Wu joins Zhao in hoping his journey will inspire the next generation of Chinese snooker players. “I hope younger players can stay true to their passion, be a bit braver, and go after their dreams,” he said.

  • Inside the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak

    Inside the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak

    Three passengers have died and at least two more have fallen ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a Dutch polar expedition cruise ship, which has been anchored off the coast of Cape Verde after local authorities blocked all passengers from disembarking over public health fears, multiple global health and government officials have confirmed.

    The MV Hondius, operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, was mid-voyage on a multi-week expedition journey that launched from Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, bound for Antarctica and remote island destinations across the South Atlantic, when the outbreak was detected. As of the latest updates, nearly 150 passengers and crew remain confined to their individual cabins under isolation protocols, video footage obtained by the Associated Press confirms. The ship’s public spaces including open decks and common halls are nearly empty, with only a small number of masked personnel moving through restricted areas. Medical teams in full personal protective equipment—including full-body white hazmat suits, boots, and respiratory protection—have been observed transferring supplies and personnel between the Hondius and smaller support craft off the ship.

    Local Cape Verdean authorities, based in the capital Praia, made the decision to bar disembarkation to protect the country’s population of roughly 590,000 people. The archipelago nation, located off the western coast of Africa, has deployed a specialized response team including doctors, surgeons, nurses, and laboratory specialists to provide on-site medical support to the vessel, while activating enhanced safety protocols across all port areas as a precaution against the rodent-borne virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that while human-to-human transmission of hantavirus is rare, it is possible, prompting the strict safety measures. Cape Verde’s National Director of Health Angela Gomes emphasized that the government’s top priority is upholding maximum protection for both local residents and response personnel, noting all medical teams interacting with the ship are equipped with full protective gear to prevent transmission.

    In the immediate aftermath of the outbreak, the timeline for evacuating the sick remained unclear, but the WHO announced Monday that the plan called for a medical evacuation of affected passengers to the Netherlands for advanced care. If evacuation could not be completed through Cape Verde, Oceanwide Expeditions noted it would reroute the ship to one of two Spanish Canary Island ports: Tenerife or Las Palmas. By Tuesday, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove confirmed in a Geneva press briefing that the official adjusted plan is for the Hondius to continue onward to the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities will accept the vessel. She added that no additional passengers or crew have developed symptoms as of Tuesday’s update, and once the two remaining sick passengers are medically evacuated, the ship will be cleared to resume movement. Early reports had noted three additional people had experienced mild symptoms, but none have progressed to active cases.

    The Spanish Ministry of Health however offered a more cautious update Tuesday, stating it is conducting close coordinated monitoring with the WHO and other involved stakeholders, and no final decision on a port of call has been made. Until all risk assessments are complete, the ministry will not formalize any acceptance of the vessel, per its official statement.

    Officials in the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, where the voyage originated, confirmed that all passengers were screened for hantavirus symptoms before departure, and no cases were detected when the ship set sail. Juan Facundo Petrina, the province’s epidemiology director, noted that hantavirus symptoms can take up to eight weeks to appear after initial exposure, meaning any infection likely occurred before passengers boarded, or very early in the voyage.

    As of the latest update, the WHO says the situation on board remains under careful continuous monitoring, with the global health body coordinating an international response that includes in-depth laboratory testing, case isolation, targeted care, and planning for evacuation. Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement that the atmosphere on the ship remains calm, with all passengers remaining composed, and the vessel has activated its highest level (Level 3) outbreak response protocol, which includes strict isolation, enhanced hygiene, and constant medical monitoring of all people on board.

  • Sudan accuses Ethiopia and UAE of orchestrating drone attacks on airport

    Sudan accuses Ethiopia and UAE of orchestrating drone attacks on airport

    A brazen drone strike on Sudan’s primary international gateway in Khartoum has ignited a sharp diplomatic row, with the Sudanese government formally accusing neighboring Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of orchestrating the attack that it labels an open act of direct aggression against Sudanese sovereignty.

    The assault, carried out on Monday, targeted not only Khartoum International Airport but also multiple military sites across the wider Khartoum metropolitan region. This attack breaks a months-long stretch of relative calm in the capital, a period of stability that followed the Sudanese Armed Forces’ successful ousting of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from Khartoum last year.

    Sudan’s state-run Sudan News Agency (Suna) quoted military officials as saying the country holds conclusive proof that the drones used in Monday’s assault were launched from Bahir Dar Airport located in northern Ethiopia. This accusation builds on prior claims made by Sudan’s military back in March, when it said the RSF had launched air attacks from Ethiopian soil. On that earlier occasion, Sudanese forces tracked and shot down a drone they confirmed was owned by the United Arab Emirates after it crossed into Sudanese airspace from Ethiopian territory. Military spokesmen now confirm that the drone used in Monday’s strike traces back to the same origin point.

    Ethiopia has swiftly rejected the Sudanese accusations, labeling them completely baseless. The United Arab Emirates, which has repeatedly and forcefully denied allegations of providing military support to the RSF throughout Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, has not yet issued an official statement on the latest accusation. Following the attack, Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem announced that the country has recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for urgent consultations in response to the incident.

    Officially, no casualties were reported in the strike, Sudan’s Information Minister confirmed to Reuters. Minor damage was however sustained by an administrative building near the airport tarmac. The timing of the attack is particularly sensitive: it comes just one week after the first direct international commercial flight landed at Khartoum International Airport in three years, a milestone that was meant to mark the capital’s gradual return to normalcy after years of war. In the wake of the strike, airport authorities immediately ordered a 72-hour full suspension of all operations, with plans to resume activity once mandatory security inspections are completed.

    Back in February, Reuters reporting exposed that Ethiopia had hosted a training camp for RSF fighters and upgraded military infrastructure at the nearby Asosa Airport to support drone operations, moves that the report claimed were backed by the UAE, a close Ethiopian ally. Both Ethiopia and the UAE denied those allegations at the time, just as they have denied involvement in the latest strike. Eyewitnesses contacted by AFP on Monday confirmed hearing multiple powerful explosions and seeing plumes of smoke rise from areas adjacent to the airport, matching official accounts of the attack.

    In comments following the strike, Sudan’s Foreign Minister emphasized that even though Ethiopia has long been considered a brotherly neighbor to Sudan, the two nations have chosen the wrong path in their alleged involvement and will ultimately come to regret their actions. For its part, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry struck a measured but firm tone in its Tuesday response, noting that Sudan and Ethiopia share centuries of historic, enduring friendship. The ministry added that Ethiopia has so far refrained from publicizing grave violations of its own territorial integrity and national security committed by belligerent parties in Sudan’s civil war, and called for constructive dialogue between all warring factions in Sudan to end the ongoing conflict.

    The conflict between Sudan’s regular armed forces and the RSF erupted in April 2023, and has since spiraled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes. United Nations officials estimate that more than 150,000 people have been killed since fighting began, while over 12 million have been forced to flee their homes. The conflict has triggered widespread famine across large swathes of the country, and credible reports of systematic genocide in the western Darfur region have drawn international condemnation.

  • Bowen: Strait of Hormuz standoff raises risk of sliding back into all out war

    Bowen: Strait of Hormuz standoff raises risk of sliding back into all out war

    Four weeks after a fragile ceasefire took hold across the Persian Gulf, the truce is rapidly crumbling, with escalating tensions between the United States and Iran pushing the region to the brink of renewed full-scale conflict. At the heart of the standoff is control over the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy chokepoint that has become an existential strategic and economic flashpoint for both global powers.

    When the ceasefire was first announced, it opened a narrow window for diplomatic de-escalation. Negotiators from Washington and Tehran met face-to-face in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, which stepped in as a neutral mediator. But the talks concluded without any breakthrough, leaving the fragile truce hanging by a thread. Pakistani officials have continued efforts to restart dialogue, but so far their outreach has failed to bridge the deep divides between the two sides.

    Both Washington and Tehran have publicly expressed willingness to reach a negotiated settlement, but their competing demands and non-negotiable red lines have blocked any path to compromise. Neither side has shown willingness to make the concessions needed to break the impasse, leaving the region just one miscalculated incident away from a return to all-out war. This standoff has created an exceptionally high risk of misperceiving each other’s intentions, a common trigger that has historically pushed unintended crises into full-blown armed conflict.

    The strategic significance of the Strait of Hormusz cannot be overstated. Before the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran in February 2025, the waterway remained open to unrestricted, toll-free navigation for all commercial vessels. Since the attack, Iran has effectively demonstrated its ability to restrict access to the strait, using control over the chokepoint as a leverage tool: it acts as an offensive weapon, a source of potential revenue through tolls, and a deterrent against further attacks. In remarks to Iranian lawmakers this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made clear Tehran’s position that the pre-war status quo will not be restored.

    For the United States, allowing Iran to exert full control over the Strait of Hormuz and charge commercial shippers millions in passage tolls would amount to an unacceptable strategic defeat. But any escalation to enforce free navigation carries enormous risks, not just for the region but for the entire global economy.

    The economic ripple effects of even partial closure of the strait are already being felt far beyond the Gulf. Already, global supplies of oil, natural gas, helium critical to advanced technology manufacturing, and fertilizer feedstocks are facing growing disruptions. The fertilizer shortage in particular has sparked urgent fears of widespread hunger in low-income nations that lack robust food security systems, putting millions of vulnerable people at risk the longer the closure persists.

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to the crisis has been marked by inconsistency and conflicting priorities, rooted in a rash initial decision to go to war that has left the U.S. trapped in a strategic bind. Trump, who has long framed himself as a champion of low energy prices for American consumers, has taken to social media to pressure oil traders against raising gasoline prices for U.S. motorists. But he remains frustrated by the resilience of the Iranian regime, which has refused to buckle under pressure from U.S. and Israeli military strikes and economic sanctions. The Islamic Republic’s security apparatus, which cracked down violently on domestic anti-government protests in January, has shown it is willing to prioritize holding onto power over the well-being of its citizens, giving it little incentive to back down under pressure.

    Trump’s recent order for the U.S. Navy to escort two commercial vessels through the strait was intended as a show of force to defend freedom of navigation, but the move did little to restore pre-war traffic levels. Before the outbreak of war, 40 to 60 vessels transited the strait daily; that flow remains severely restricted, and the provocative escort mission was always guaranteed to draw a harsh response from Tehran.

    Tehran’s new leadership, which has replaced the former supreme leader and multiple senior officials killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, has signaled it is willing to escalate to set the terms of the conflict. For the regime, the gamble of renewed war is seen as a calculated risk worth taking to secure its strategic goals.

    Regional tensions have spread beyond the U.S.-Iran standoff, with the United Arab Emirates emerging as a key Iranian target among Gulf Arab states. The UAE has deepened its security alliances with the U.S. and Israel in response, receiving an Iron Dome anti-missile defense system from Israel along with Israeli Defense Forces personnel to operate it – a step Israel refused to take for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.

    Iran’s targeting of the UAE’s key Port of Fujairah carries particular strategic weight. Located on the UAE’s Gulf of Oman coastline, outside the boundaries of the Strait of Hormuz, Fujairah is the terminus of a major oil pipeline that allows the UAE to export crude without passing through Hormuz, and it hosts one of the region’s largest commercial oil storage facilities. While the UAE has issued public warnings to Tehran and maintains capable armed forces, it has sought to avoid direct conflict with Iran. That policy could become unsustainable if the ceasefire collapses entirely, and the UAE has already committed billions of additional dollars to purchasing advanced U.S. military hardware to bolster its defenses.

    Looking ahead, Trump continues to bet that increasing pressure will force the Iranian regime to collapse and accept a deal on U.S. terms. However, he has refused to accept any agreement that would be seen as weaker than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the landmark nuclear deal brokered by former President Barack Obama that Trump withdrew from during his first term in office, at the strong urging of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump replaced the JCPOA with a policy of “maximum pressure” that failed to halt Iran’s uranium enrichment program, and ultimately set the U.S. and Iran on the current path to a war with no clear off-ramp.

  • Gap co-founder Doris Fisher dies aged 94

    Gap co-founder Doris Fisher dies aged 94

    Doris Fisher, the pioneering female entrepreneur who co-built one of the world’s most recognizable retail empires alongside her husband Don Fisher, has passed away at the age of 94. She died peacefully on Saturday surrounded by her immediate family, the company confirmed in an official announcement, with no specific cause of death disclosed.

    The story of Gap began in 1969, rooted in a mundane but frustrating shopping trip that changed the course of global retail. Don Fisher left San Francisco stores empty-handed after failing to find a well-fitting pair of jeans, spurring the couple to launch their own retail venture out of a single San Francisco store. It was Doris Fisher who coined the brand’s now-famous name: Gap, short for the generation gap, a deliberate choice designed to resonate with 1960s youth culture and attract younger shoppers.

    While Don Fisher led the company as chief executive and later chairman, Doris Fisher served as the brand’s core merchandiser until her retirement in 2003, shaping Gap’s signature accessible, casual style and public image that would define the brand for decades. Early on, the company revolutionized retail by organizing its inventory by size and style rather than by category, a radical customer-friendly approach that set a new standard for apparel stores worldwide. Under the Fishers’ leadership, Gap grew from a single jeans shop into a multi-brand global corporation, acquiring brands including Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta. Today, the company operates roughly 3,570 stores across the globe, generating roughly $15 billion in annual revenue.

    In a statement honoring Fisher’s legacy, Gap Inc. President and CEO Richard Dickson praised her as a trailblazer at a time when female co-founders and lead entrepreneurs were extremely rare in the business world. “Doris was a full partner in Gap Inc.’s founding and a path-breaking entrepreneur at a time that was highly unusual for women,” Dickson said. “She understood first-hand the value of self-expression, diversity, and inclusion. And she worked tirelessly to ensure that Gap Inc. always did more than sell clothes.”

    Beyond her work in retail, Fisher was a dedicated philanthropist and leading advocate for arts access and education, the company noted. At the time of her death, Forbes estimated her personal net worth at $1.7 billion, and she previously earned a spot on the outlet’s list of the 100 most powerful women globally. Don Fisher preceded his wife in death in 2009, and the couple’s three sons remain active in both the family’s retail business and their philanthropic work.

    Industry analysts have highlighted Fisher’s outsized impact on modern retail that still resonates today. Consumer expert Kate Hardcastle of Insight with Passion noted that Fisher broke longstanding industry norms by building a brand around accessible, everyday apparel that felt “clear, democratic and dependable.” “That is the power of Gap really – at its best, it is not fashion that asks too much of the customer. It is… the quiet confidence of knowing what you came in for and why it works. Fisher helped build a brand around that rare retail discipline: removing doubt,” Hardcastle explained. She added that Fisher’s legacy feels particularly relevant today, when modern consumers are often overwhelmed by endless product choices and constant trend shifts.

    After decades of global expansion, Gap has navigated shifting retail tides in recent years. In 2021, the company closed all of its standalone physical stores in the UK and Ireland after struggling to maintain market relevance against cheaper, faster-growing competitors. But the brand retains a foothold in the region through a joint venture with British retailer Next, which manages Gap’s UK e-commerce operations and hosts Gap branded concessions within Next stores. Three standalone Gap locations also returned to the UK market at the end of 2025, marking a limited comeback for the brand in the region.

  • Thailand scraps 2001 maritime territory deal with Cambodia after years of deadlock

    Thailand scraps 2001 maritime territory deal with Cambodia after years of deadlock

    BANGKOK – In a significant shift to decades-long bilateral dispute resolution mechanisms, Thailand’s cabinet announced Tuesday it is terminating a 2001 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with neighboring Cambodia that established a bilateral framework for negotiating overlapping maritime territorial claims. The development comes 22 years after the agreement was signed, following a years-long deadlock in talks and a sharp deterioration in cross-border relations that erupted into deadly armed clashes last year.

    The original 2001 MoU was designed to create a collaborative foundation for the two Southeast Asian nations to peacefully delimit their shared maritime boundaries and jointly manage overlapping claimed marine resources in line with international law. However, despite five rounds of negotiations held over more than two decades, the two sides failed to make any tangible progress toward a settlement.

    The termination will not enter into legal force until Thailand formally delivers an official notification letter to Phnom Penh. Its end dashes long-held hopes in both countries that resolving the competing claims would unlock development of untapped offshore oil and gas reserves located in the disputed waters – resources that could deliver major economic gains to both nations.

    Thailand’s decision to scrap the bilateral agreement follows a dramatic escalation of border tensions that spilled into open armed conflict last year. Clashes over competing land border claims broke out in both July and December 2023, leaving dozens of civilian and military casualties on both sides and forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes near the border. A fragile ceasefire was reached in late December, but low-level sporadic incidents continue to be reported, and both sides have maintained large-scale military deployments along the contested border.

    The 2023 fighting reignited domestic political pressure in Thailand over border sovereignty, pushing nationalist sentiment to the forefront of national politics ahead of 2024 general elections. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s ruling Bhumjaithai Party included terminating the 2001 MoU as a key campaign pledge to address public concerns over territorial integrity.

    Speaking after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Anutin sought to downplay concerns over the impact of the decision on the current fragile border calm. He emphasized the termination is unrelated to ongoing land border tensions and will not alter the existing ceasefire arrangements. He added that negotiations over the maritime dispute will continue under alternative frameworks, specifically citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as a preferred platform moving forward.

    Thai government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek echoed the prime minister’s framing, stressing that the move is a strategic adjustment to the dispute resolution framework, not a break in bilateral relations or an end to negotiations. “Thailand will continue discussions with Cambodia, but we propose shifting to mechanisms under UNCLOS, which is clearer, more comprehensive and more systematic to allow maritime disputes to be resolved effectively,” she explained.

    In Phnom Penh, Cambodian officials reacted with measured regret to the Thai decision. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn called the move “a departure from the spirit and political will that enabled our two countries to establish a framework for peacefully resolving these issues in accordance with international law.”

    Despite the disappointment, Cambodia reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful resolution of the dispute under international law. Prak Sokhonn announced Cambodia will proceed with compulsory conciliation under UNCLOS mechanisms, a step that reaffirms Phnom Penh’s commitment to a peaceful, rules-based settlement.

    Cambodia’s newly installed Prime Minister Hun Manet emphasized his country’s commitment to peaceful coexistence in a social media statement. “Cambodia’s approach reflects our sincere hope that both countries can reach a just and lasting solution in line with international law, allowing our peoples to live together in peace, stability, and harmony,” he wrote.

    Sopheng Cheang, reporting from Phnom Penh, contributed to this report.

  • Counterterror police probe arson attack at a former London synagogue amid antisemitic attacks

    Counterterror police probe arson attack at a former London synagogue amid antisemitic attacks

    LONDON – Counterterrorism law enforcement agents launched an investigation Tuesday into a deliberate arson attack targeting a disused synagogue in East London, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an emergency gathering of Jewish community leaders to address an unprecedented wave of antisemitic violence that has spread alarm across Britain’s Jewish population.

    The Metropolitan Police confirmed the attack, which took place at the shuttered Whitechapel neighborhood synagogue, caused only minor damage to the building’s front gates and entrance lock, with no injuries reported among any bystanders or local residents.

    This latest incident marks the fifth act of targeted violence against Jewish-linked sites in the United Kingdom since March, when four ambulances operated by a UK Jewish charity were destroyed in a deliberate fire attack. In the months that followed, an active synagogue was struck by a firebomb, multiple other Jewish community spaces have been targeted in attempted arson plots, and last week two Jewish men were stabbed in an attack police have formally classified as an act of terrorism.

    Addressing community leaders during the closed-door meeting, Starmer framed the rising violence as a national crisis affecting all Britons, not just the Jewish population. “It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry, and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them,” Starmer said. “These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But, make no mistake, this crisis — it is a crisis for all of us.”

    Data collected by the Community Security Trust, a leading British charity that monitors antisemitism and protects Jewish communities, shows reported antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed across the UK since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The organization recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents nationwide in 2025, a more than 120% jump from the 1,662 incidents documented in 2022.

    Investigators are currently examining potential links to foreign interference, after the latest string of attacks began following the February 28 start of open conflict involving Iran. Law enforcement officials are exploring whether the attacks are being orchestrated by Iranian proxy groups. A pro-Iranian faction calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia – the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right – has already claimed responsibility for multiple recent attacks in the UK. The group has also taken credit for similar attacks targeting Jewish and Israeli-linked sites including houses of worship, businesses, and financial institutions across multiple European countries in recent months.

    “One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents,” Starmer confirmed, issuing a firm warning to any foreign power attempting to sow unrest in British society. “Our message to Iran, or to any other country that might seek to foment violence, hatred or division in society, is that it will not be tolerated.”

    The prime minister outlined a series of new policy measures to combat rising antisemitic hate crime, including mandatory public reporting of antisemitism incidents on university campuses, with requirements for higher education institutions to implement concrete intervention strategies to curb hate speech and violence. The government also announced it will pull public arts funding from any individual or organization that promotes antisemitic rhetoric.

    Following last week’s fatal stabbing of two Jewish men, the UK government elevated the country’s national terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe” — the second-highest ranking on the government’s five-tier threat scale. A raised severe rating indicates that intelligence agencies assess a terrorist attack to be highly likely within the next six months.

    Government officials clarified the threat level adjustment was not driven solely by the recent stabbings, but also reflected elevated risks from both Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist actors operating as individuals and small unaffiliated cells based within the UK’s borders.