Global Pulse

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  • Italian activists escalate Mediterranean port protests over Gaza genocide

    Italian activists escalate Mediterranean port protests over Gaza genocide

    A broad coalition of pro-Palestinian activists, grassroots labor unions and solidarity organizers has launched a coordinated national mobilization in Italy, centered on the strategic Mediterranean port of Gioia Tauro in Calabria, to disrupt military supply chains they say support military actions in Gaza. The May 29 protest, branded “Global Intifada Disarm,” combined coordinated on-shore demonstrations at ports, logistics hubs and military-linked factories across the country with a symbolic maritime action, as five vessels from the Thousand Madleens to Gaza initiative sailed to Gioia Tauro to amplify their demands.

    The maritime component of the action launched a day early, when protest boats departed the nearby coastal town of Cetraro and navigated toward Gioia Tauro – one of the busiest and most logistically important container ports in the entire Mediterranean region. Speaking from one of the protest vessels, Antonio Viteritti of grassroots organizing group La Base Cosenza accused the Italian government, national institutions, and global shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) of complicity in the crisis in Gaza by enabling military-related cargo transit through the port. Viteritti told reporters that 16 containers of dual-use ballistic steel, a material capable of being repurposed for missile manufacturing, have been held on Gioia Tauro’s docks for months, and that authorities have failed to issue a response to repeated calls to halt the shipment’s departure. He also reminded observers that two separate weapon shipments bound for Israel were seized at the same port one year prior to the 2025 action.

    Two days before the national mobilization, BDS Italy – the Italian branch of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement – shared intelligence with allied trade unions and local activist networks that the container ship MSC Manasvi was scheduled to dock at Gioia Tauro to collect eight of the high-scrutiny ballistic steel containers. In what organizers framed as a major victory for direct action, the ship remained anchored offshore for multiple hours before ultimately turning back to open ocean without taking possession of the controversial cargo.

    This confrontation builds on months of escalating scrutiny over military and dual-use cargo transit through Gioia Tauro. Earlier in 2025, the “No Harbour for Genocide” campaign, backed by BDS Italy, first raised public alarms about a shipment of Indian-origin ballistic steel being transported on MSC-operated vessels, as first reported by Italian investigative outlet Altreconomia. MSC is not only one of the world’s largest container shipping firms, but also operates the primary container terminal at Gioia Tauro, putting it at the center of controversy over the port’s cargo management practices.

    Following those initial reports, Italy’s Finance Police and national Customs Agency carried out formal inspections of eight containers at the port on March 18, launching technical evaluations to classify the material as intended for civilian, dual-use, or full military applications. After the inspections concluded, Five Star Movement Member of Parliament Stefania Ascari submitted a formal parliamentary question demanding the Italian central government issue public clarification on the status of the shipment and the rigor of port control protocols.

    Peppe Marra, regional secretary of the grassroots USB union in Calabria, emphasized that sustained public pressure and media attention remain critical to preventing covert movement of military cargo to Israel through Italian infrastructure. Marra argued that continuous scrutiny prevents containers from being moved under cover of darkness at a later date, a practice he suggested may have occurred without public detection in the past. His comments echo widespread concerns across labor and solidarity groups over a lack of transparency and accountability in the management of Italy’s strategic port infrastructure and commercial cargo movements.

    Calabrian activists have framed their campaign against military supply chains as inherently connected to broader struggles for economic justice in southern Italy, linking the complicity they see in military activity to longstanding patterns of labor exploitation and systemic inequality across the Mezzogiorno. “The Mediterranean is not Israel’s, it is ours. It belongs to all those communities in the Global South that struggle every day for dignified work, quality healthcare, safe territories that are increasingly affected by climate change, and above all for a world free from war,” explained Roberto Panza of La Base Cosenza, speaking aboard one of the protest vessels. Panza added that the Global Intifada Disarm campaign calls for coordinated local action to disrupt military supply chains globally, including systematic mapping of all ports and cargo carriers moving military or dual-use materials.

    The May 29 national mobilization is the latest in a growing wave of pro-Palestinian solidarity action across Italy that began with the start of the Gaza crisis and the launch of the Global Sumud Flotilla last autumn. In recent months, mass demonstrations, university occupation campaigns, dockworker work stoppages and community solidarity initiatives have spread across every region of the country, drawing participation from students, rank-and-file workers and grassroots labor organizations. Organizers report growing cross-sector convergence between traditional labor rights struggles and pro-Palestinian solidarity mobilization, a trend on clear display at Gioia Tauro, where activists tied their opposition to the Gaza crisis to demands for full transparency over military and dual-use cargo moving through Italian public infrastructure.

  • New York police investigate videos of men emerging from city’s sewer system

    New York police investigate videos of men emerging from city’s sewer system

    Over the past few weeks, New York law enforcement has launched an active investigation after a string of surveillance and user-shared videos captured groups of unidentified individuals accessing the city’s extensive sewer network through open manholes. According to police sources cited by major U.S. media outlets, the intrusions have been documented across residential neighborhoods in both Brooklyn and Queens, with the people involved widely suspected of searching for discarded or lost valuables hidden beneath city streets.

    Details from the released footage show one clear incident where multiple working-age men worked together to lift a heavy manhole cover before climbing down into the underground system, only reemerging several hours later to leave the area. Investigators have not yet confirmed whether all reported incidents are connected to the same group, or if multiple separate parties have been undertaking the unauthorized activity.

    Officials from New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have issued a stark public warning about the risks and legal ramifications of this behavior, stressing that unpermitted entry to municipal sewer infrastructure is a criminal offense as well as a potentially fatal activity. A DEP spokesperson explained to the BBC that sewers carry a wide range of life-threatening hazards: toxic and combustible noxious gases that can overcome humans in seconds, uneven and unstable walking surfaces that can lead to catastrophic falls, sudden unexpected flood surges from storm runoff or wastewater flows, and the extreme confinement of underground pipes that makes rescue nearly impossible for anyone trapped. For all these critical safety reasons, the department urged members of the public to never attempt to access any part of the city’s drainage system, including pipes, drains, catch basins, manholes, or ocean outfalls.

    Last week, the NYPD received formal public reports of several people removing manhole covers and descending into the sewers in one Queens neighborhood. Following the incident, the individuals departed the area in an unidentifiable vehicle to an unknown destination, NYPD representatives confirmed to the BBC. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident, no suspects have been taken into custody as of the latest update, and the inquiry remains open and active.

    Police sources told CBS News, the BBC’s domestic U.S. partner, that the people captured on camera climbing out of sewer manholes are likely a mix of amateur “treasure hunters” and urban exploration enthusiasts who believe valuable items may be hidden or washed into the underground system. If apprehended and convicted, the intruders could face felony burglary charges under New York state law.

  • Video shows elaborate drug-smuggling tunnel between US and Mexico

    Video shows elaborate drug-smuggling tunnel between US and Mexico

    A newly revealed surveillance video has exposed the intricate design of a sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel constructed beneath the border between the United States and Mexico, in a case that has once again drawn sharp attention to long-standing challenges of cross-border contraband trafficking. According to updates from United States federal law enforcement officials, four individuals connected to the discovered underground passage have been taken into custody and formally charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine valued at more than $45 million. The tunnel, which was built with intentional, elaborate engineering to avoid detection for an extended period, highlights the persistent ingenuity of criminal smuggling networks that operate across the shared U.S.-Mexico boundary, a region that has remained a focal point for federal anti-narcotics enforcement efforts for decades. Investigators confirmed that the seizure of the tunnel and the subsequent arrests mark a major breakthrough in disrupting a large-scale drug trafficking operation that was moving massive quantities of cocaine into the U.S. for distribution. Federal authorities have not yet released full details of the tunnel’s exact location or construction timeline, but the released video footage offers a clear look at the carefully built underground passage that the criminal network relied on to move contraband undetected. This case underscores the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between law enforcement agencies and transnational criminal organizations that profit from the illegal drug trade in North America.

  • European Union observers reject Petro’s fraud claims, calling Colombia’s vote ‘transparent’

    European Union observers reject Petro’s fraud claims, calling Colombia’s vote ‘transparent’

    BOGOTA, COLOMBIA – In a clear repudiation of unfounded electoral fraud allegations leveled by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the European Union’s independent Electoral Observation Mission has formally ruled out any large-scale tampering in Sunday’s first-round presidential vote, confirming the ballot process was conducted with transparency and organizational efficiency.

    President Petro, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, sparked deep political uncertainty in the days after the first round by posting repeated claims on social platform X that hundreds of thousands of ineligible voters were illegally added to national voter rolls ahead of the contest. In his most recent allegation shared Tuesday, Petro claimed 885,000 voters were registered after the legally mandated March 31 cutoff, and that multiple polling stations recorded suspiciously high ballot turnout numbers. He offered no concrete evidence to back up either claim.

    The mission’s chief, senior European lawmaker Esteban González Pons, told reporters Tuesday that the independent observation team found no evidence of systemic misconduct to support Petro’s accusations. To verify the integrity of the count, observers pulled a random national sample of official tally sheets and cross-checked them against physical paper ballots, finding zero discrepancies between the two datasets. “We can discard any manipulation of data in the quick count and in the final count,” González Pons confirmed, adding that none of the 12 presidential candidates who competed in Sunday’s first round had formally submitted documented claims of electoral irregularities to the mission.

    Colombia’s National Registrars Office, the government body tasked with organizing and administering national elections, also pushed back against the fraud claims Monday. By that evening, the office announced it had completed review of 99.98% of all polling stations across the country, finding only a minimal 0.06% variation from the unofficial quick count published hours after polls closed Sunday – a margin well within acceptable statistical ranges.

    The first round results have set up a polarized runoff election scheduled for June 21, pitting conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella against left-wing Sen. Iván Cepeda, the candidate from Petro’s ruling Historical Pact coalition. Official certified results show de la Espriella earned 43.7% of the more than 23 million votes cast, while Cepeda finished just shy of the lead with 40.9%. No candidate earned the 50% plus one majority required to win outright in the first round, triggering the mandatory two-candidate runoff.

    Cepeda initially echoed the ruling coalition’s doubts over the result Sunday, refusing to accept the preliminary quick count and saying he would wait for a formal audit overseen by independent judges and notaries to comment. By Monday, however, he softened his stance, acknowledging that party-appointed election monitors had not uncovered “irregularities of a sufficient dimension to speak of fraud.” Cepeda has gone on to confirm he will compete in the June 21 runoff, issued a public debate challenge to de la Espriella, and expressed confidence he will secure victory in the second round.

    Under Colombian electoral law, final official election results are verified and certified by an independent panel of judges, not the sitting head of state, with certification typically completed within two weeks of voting. Despite the pushback from independent observers and electoral authorities, political analysts warn that Petro’s repeated unsubstantiated fraud claims carry significant risks: the allegations could deepen already sharp partisan divides across the country and stoke the risk of political violence in the weeks leading up to the high-stakes runoff vote.

  • How Britain is moving towards a ban on Israeli settlement goods

    How Britain is moving towards a ban on Israeli settlement goods

    A growing wave of cross-party pressure in the United Kingdom is pushing the ruling Labour government toward a historic policy shift: an imminent ban on imports of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, multiple insiders have confirmed to independent outlet Middle East Eye.

    Just two years ago, the Labour Party held a firm position opposing any form of sanctions or boycotts targeting Israel. That stance has undergone a complete ideological reversal in recent months, with senior party figures now openly endorsing a settlement goods ban as a necessary step aligned with international law. Sources close to the government confirm that Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer privately told Labour MPs late last year that such a ban is a desirable policy outcome, though final authority rests with 10 Downing Street.

    The push for action draws its legal foundation from the 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory ruling, which formally deemed Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territory illegal under international law. The ICJ ruled that all UN member states have a legal obligation to avoid providing aid or assistance to the occupation. Two years on from that ruling, proponents of the ban argue the UK is falling far behind its European allies in upholding this obligation.

    Across the European Union, momentum for restriction has accelerated sharply in recent months. France and Sweden recently tabled a joint proposal calling for the bloc to implement strict mandatory import controls on settlement goods, while the Netherlands enacted a national ban on trade in goods originating from occupied Palestinian territories last month. This shifting European landscape has created a clear opening for the UK to align with allied action.

    The ongoing shifts in global geopolitics, particularly the US-Israeli standoff with Iran, have also reduced the Starmer government’s willingness to defer to Washington’s preferences on Middle East policy, insiders note.

    A parliamentary debate on the proposed ban is already scheduled, secured by Abtisam Mohamed, a Labour MP serving on the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) which oversees government foreign policy. While a final date for the debate has not been confirmed, the event is expected to amplify pressure on Downing Street to act. Mohamed argues that the UK’s current inaction is inconsistent with its stated commitment to a rules-based international order, pointing to a clear precedent: the UK already enforces strict trade sanctions on Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. “If we can impose strict sanctions on Russian-occupied territories under the Russian Sanctions Guidance, why not Israeli-occupied territories?” Mohamed asked.

    On-the-ground data underscores the urgency of action for advocates. Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem records that Israel has forcibly displaced 59 Palestinian communities, comprising more than 4,000 people, from the West Bank since 7 October 2023. The United Nations documented nearly 2,000 separate settler attacks against Palestinian communities in 2025, an average of roughly five violent incidents per day.

    Emily Thornberry, senior Labour MP and chair of the FAC, whose views carry significant weight among both cabinet ministers and backbench MPs, has emerged as a leading voice for aggressive action. She described the ongoing situation in occupied Palestinian territory as “intolerable, and yet we tolerate it,” arguing that the UK must impose tangible economic costs to end settlement expansion. “We should be banning the import of goods produced in illegal settlements. We should be placing sanctions on those involved in the settlements. We should be making sure we are stopping the involvement of any British companies,” Thornberry laid out. “We should be coming down hard on insurance networks. We should be making it clear that it is not possible to construct settlements on the West Bank, and we are going to do everything to stop it.”

    The Starmer government has already taken incremental steps to signal disapproval of settlement activity. In May 2025, it imposed sanctions on multiple prominent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including veteran far-right activist Daniella Weiss, head of the Nachala settlement movement. The following month, the UK joined a coalition of allied nations in sanctioning two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers—National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—over their repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian communities in Gaza and the West Bank.

    A Foreign Office spokesperson reaffirmed the government’s public stance in a statement to Middle East Eye, noting: “We have strongly and repeatedly condemned settler violence and the expansion of illegal settlements, and we have imposed sanctions both on those responsible for that violence and on individual members of the Israeli cabinet for inciting it. We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to clamp down on all those who are seeking to inflame tensions, and to tackle the unacceptable violence and destruction of property that is being committed by settler groups against Palestinian communities.”

    But progressive and opposition MPs argue these incremental measures are not enough, and that the current voluntary labelling policy for settlement goods is woefully insufficient. In response to criticism, the government has noted that its current guidance requires accurate labelling of settlement goods to avoid misleading consumers, and that it publishes clear risk warnings for UK businesses operating in settlements.

    Kim Johnson, a Labour MP and prominent advocate for action on Israeli violations of international law, said the UK should have imposed sweeping restrictions long ago. “Our government cannot claim to support a rules-based international order, while allowing economic and political support to flow to activities that violate international law,” Johnson said. Scottish National Party trade spokesperson Chris Law echoed this criticism, arguing that voluntary labelling does not go far enough to uphold the UK’s legal and moral obligations. “Imported settlement products should not be labelled as such for the benefit of consumers, they should be banned so that the UK is no longer involved in this immoral trade and to demonstrate to Israel that flagrant breaches of international law will not be tolerated,” Law said, noting that “it is time for the UK government to stop making excuses.”

    Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Ellie Chowns, whose party made major gains in recent UK local elections amid voter anger over Labour’s Middle East policy, called on the government to go even further than a settlement goods ban, demanding additional sanctions on all Israeli officials responsible for authorizing illegal settlement activity. She called the Labour government’s current approach “an utter failure of our legal and moral obligations”, describing settlement goods as the “proceeds of crime”. Independent MP Shockat Adam, who traveled to the occupied West Bank for a fact-finding mission last year, added that settlement expansion is directly driving the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, arguing that “international law cannot be applied only when it is politically convenient”.

    Insiders note that the UK is unlikely to enact a ban unilaterally, and would most likely move in coordination with European allies such as France and the Netherlands, mirroring the coordinated approach the UK took last year when it joined Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in sanctioning Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and recognized Palestinian statehood alongside France, Canada and Australia last September.

    Beyond legal and moral arguments, domestic political pressures are creating a major incentive for the Starmer government to shift its policy. Labour is facing growing erosion of support among its left-wing base over its handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, with the Green Party capitalizing on this discontent to make major electoral gains in recent local elections.

    The coming expected leadership challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the next few months is widely seen as the most significant factor driving potential policy change. Rank-and-file Labour members are far more critical of Israel than the parliamentary party: a June 2025 poll found that nine out of ten ordinary Labour members believe the UK should adopt a much more critical stance toward Israel than the current government does. All potential leadership candidates, including frontrunner Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, will face intense pressure from party members to adopt a more strident position on settlement activity and the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

    It has already been revealed that Streeting privately supported full sanctions on Israel last year, and he has ramped up public criticism of Israeli policy in recent months. Even Starmer himself may choose to adjust his policy ahead of a leadership contest, in order to undercut potential challengers and win back disaffected left-wing voters.

    For the combination of international legal pressure, shifting allied policy, cross-party parliamentary momentum, and domestic political competition, experts say a significant policy shift—at minimum, an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements—has become increasingly likely in the near future.

  • Pentagon bans reporters from public affairs office

    Pentagon bans reporters from public affairs office

    On Monday evening, press freedom advocates condemned a new decision by the U.S. Department of Defense that marks the Pentagon’s on-site press office as a classified restricted area, barring journalists from the space they have used for decades to conduct open interviews with defense officials. Critics describe the move as an unprecedented new low in the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign to stifle independent, objective journalism.

    Currently, most military beat reporters are already barred from entering the Pentagon building entirely, as legal proceedings continue over the administration’s policy requiring all journalists to have a permanent government escort to move throughout the facility. The newly announced restriction will impose even tighter limits on access if reporters eventually win the right to re-enter: the public affairs officers tasked with updating the press and public on Defense Department activities will now be completely off-limits for unapproved in-person meetings in their core workspace.

    Ben Grazda, advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders North America, explained that Pentagon reporters have relied on the on-site press office for multiple consecutive U.S. administrations. The space has long served as a hub for informal, on-the-record conversations with public affairs staff, enabling journalists to keep American citizens informed about the activities of the world’s most powerful military. Grazda criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling him petulant for his prior failed attempt to force journalists to sign “loyalty pledges” to access the building, but emphasized that reporters will not back down from their mission. “Journalists will continue their tenacious reporting and hold the Pentagon accountable for the money, operations, and lives they impact every day,” Grazda said.

    According to reporting from The Washington Post, the Pentagon will move speechwriters for senior defense leadership into the former press office space, which will be outfitted with SIPRNet, the secure classified network used to transmit sensitive government information.

    Acting Defense Department press secretary Jose Valdez defended the decision on social media Monday, pushing back against criticism by repeating the administration’s claim that this is “the most transparent war department in history.” Valdez framed the redesignation as a logistical necessity, noting that speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (a title Hegseth prefers to “Secretary”) will share the facility. The Trump administration has long routinely criticized critical independent coverage as “Fake News,” a line of attack Valdez echoed in his statement.

    Despite the Pentagon’s official justification, journalists and press freedom groups have decried the move as a blatant attack on transparency, with many describing the decision as “Orwellian.” Critics point out that the restriction comes at a highly sensitive moment: the U.S. is currently mediating negotiations to end the war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran in February, a conflict that demands close public scrutiny.

    The new policy also follows a separate recent controversy, first revealed by The New York Times, which reported that Hegseth blocked the promotions of nine Navy officers who had already been vetted and selected by senior Navy leadership. Reporters and government ethics experts say the move appears to violate long-standing rules requiring the military promotion system to remain apolitical and based solely on merit.

    Trip Gabriel, a New York Times reporter covering the Pentagon, framed the press office ban as a clear admission of political anxiety. “Banning journalists from the press office in the Pentagon, where they worked professionally in previous administrations, is simply a sign that current DOD leadership fears accountability,” Gabriel said.

    This latest restriction is not an isolated change: it comes eight months after hundreds of journalists walked out of the Pentagon in protest of an earlier policy that barred reporters from seeking any information not pre-approved by the Trump administration. That policy was struck down as unlawful by a federal court earlier this year, but the administration has appealed the ruling to keep the restriction in place pending further legal review.

    The National Press Club, one of the leading industry groups representing journalists in the U.S., called the newest policy “a remarkable and troubling escalation in the Defense Department’s ongoing effort to restrict independent reporting.”

    Mark Schoeff Jr., president of the National Press Club and CQ Roll Call defense reporter, outlined the consistent pattern of escalating restrictions that preceded this decision. “This move does not occur in isolation. It follows a troubling pattern of escalating restrictions on Pentagon coverage, including efforts to limit journalists to pre-approved information, revoke credentials for routine reporting practices, and physically remove reporters from long-standing workspaces and access without an escort,” Schoeff explained.

    Schoeff rejected the Pentagon’s claim that redesignating the press office as classified improves transparency. “Calling a press workspace ‘classified’ does not make the government more transparent. It creates yet another obstacle between journalists and the information Americans have a right to know, especially at a moment when the public needs clear, unfiltered information about the US military,” he said.

    He closed with a warning about the long-term implications of eroding press access to government institutions. “Independent reporting on the US military is not optional. When journalists are pushed farther from the institutions they cover, the American people are left with less information, less transparency, and less oversight. Any effort to restrict that access should alarm everyone who values a free and informed society.”

  • Trump taps housing official Bill Pulte to be US spymaster

    Trump taps housing official Bill Pulte to be US spymaster

    U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he will tap Bill Pulte, a sitting Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director from a prominent American homebuilding dynasty, to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) when current officeholder Tulsi Gabbard departs at the end of June. The unexpected pick, which puts a private equity financier with no documented professional background in national security or intelligence in charge of the U.S. intelligence community’s 18 member agencies, has quickly ignited fierce criticism from Democrats and raised quiet concerns among Republican lawmakers.

    In an official announcement posted to his social media platform Tuesday, Trump lauded Pulte’s leadership of FHFA, the regulatory body that oversees government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which underpin liquidity in the U.S. housing market by purchasing and securitizing home loans. Trump highlighted Pulte’s stewardship of the more than $10 trillion in assets held by the two entities, a marked jump from levels 12 months prior. Under the acting appointment, Pulte will retain his existing roles as FHFA director and chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

    “William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” Trump wrote in his post. “During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!”

    Critics across the political spectrum have pushed back hard on the appointment, pointing to longstanding allegations that Pulte has already abused his regulatory authority at FHFA to target Trump’s political opponents through baseless mortgage fraud criminal referrals. Among the high-profile figures Pulte has targeted include California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and current Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. None of these referrals have resulted in criminal convictions, and the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office is already investigating whether Pulte altered FHFA’s internal investigation processes to enable these politically motivated probes. Pulte has also openly supported Trump’s efforts to oust sitting Federal Reserve leadership, aligning his regulatory work with the president’s policy and political goals.

    Democratic leaders on the Senate Intelligence Committee were the first to condemn the move. “This appointment speaks volumes about what this president expects from the nation’s top intelligence official,” said Senator Mark Warner, the committee’s top Democratic member. “Rather than selecting a respected national security professional capable of delivering independent judgments, the president has chosen an official who has demonstrated not just willingness but eagerness to use the authorities of government to pursue political retribution.”

    Schiff, one of Pulte’s earlier targets, echoed that criticism in a post to X, writing that Pulte “politicized and weaponized the housing agencies and will do the same in the intelligence community.”

    Even some congressional Republicans have expressed skepticism about Pulte’s qualifications. Texas Senator John Cornyn, who lost his 2026 Republican primary nomination after Trump endorsed his primary challenger, told reporters Wednesday: “I don’t see any evidence of his qualifications for that job, but I’m willing to listen.”

    Under U.S. federal law, acting agency heads may only serve a maximum of 210 days without Senate confirmation. That timeline means Pulte’s acting appointment will automatically expire in late January 2027 if the Senate does not vote to confirm him to the permanent role.

  • ‘Crazy’: Trump-Netanyahu relationship under growing strain

    ‘Crazy’: Trump-Netanyahu relationship under growing strain

    The long-aligned political partnership between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen into unprecedented public strain, following reports of a profane, heated phone call that laid bare deep divides over Middle East war strategy just months ahead of critical U.S. midterm elections. The two leaders, who jointly launched the current war against Iran, clashed sharply after Trump reportedly lashed out at Netanyahu over Israel’s planned strikes on Beirut, Lebanon, out of fear that such an attack would derail fragile peace negotiations with Tehran, according to joint reporting from Axios and ABC News.

  • Bangladesh’s foreign minister defeats Cyprus’ ambassador to be UN General Assembly president

    Bangladesh’s foreign minister defeats Cyprus’ ambassador to be UN General Assembly president

    UNITED NATIONS, New York – In a closely fought secret ballot election held Tuesday, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has claimed victory to become the next president of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly, outpacing Cypriot Ambassador Andreas Kakouris by an eight-vote margin. Final vote tallies showed Rahman secured 99 votes to Kakouris’ 91, with three member states abstaining from the process. He will take over the one-year presidential post from Germany’s former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock when her term concludes this September.

    Per longstanding U.N. rules, the General Assembly presidency rotates among regional blocs, and 2025 marks the turn for the Asia-Pacific region to hold the position. While the role is primarily ceremonial in nature, it carries significant global prestige. The General Assembly itself stands as the only U.N. body where every member nation, regardless of size or global influence, holds an equal voice, and it hosts the high-profile annual gathering of world leaders each September. Beyond its symbolic role, the body holds tangible power: it controls the United Nations’ overall operating budget, approves binding international treaties, addresses a sweeping range of global issues from extreme poverty to systemic corruption, and approves hundreds of resolutions that, while not enforceable under international law, carry heavy moral weight as a reflection of collective global public opinion.

    In recent years, the General Assembly has taken on an increasingly visible role in responding to major global conflicts, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This elevated profile comes after repeated vetoes blocked action in the U.N. Security Council: Russia has used its veto power to block resolutions on Ukraine, while the United States has repeatedly done the same on measures related to Gaza.

    Rahman’s appointment as Bangladesh’s foreign minister came only this February, following a landslide parliamentary election victory for the party of new Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina? No—correction: the election followed a mass student-led national uprising in 2024 that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, clearing the way for the new government that named Rahman to the foreign minister post. Before taking on his current cabinet role, Rahman served as national security advisor in the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, and he has previous experience as a national ambassador to other global bodies.

    U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres was quick to extend formal congratulations to Rahman following his election win. “Your remarkable political and diplomatic experience are a guarantee of success not only to the General Assembly but to the United Nations as a whole,” Guterres said in his remarks. The Secretary-General also highlighted Rahman’s documented commitment to advancing an ambitious agenda to reform the 80-year-old United Nations, updating its institutional structure to better meet evolving 21st-century challenges.

    Addressing assembled diplomats in the General Assembly hall Tuesday, Rahman framed the upcoming 81st session of the body as opening at a critical historical turning point, one where “trust in our organization is being tested on multiple fronts.” He noted that the very conflicts the U.N. was founded to prevent are currently inflicting untold human suffering across the globe, while hard-won development gains remain fragile and uneven, with many regions seeing progress reverse entirely. “Despite advancements in human rights, we witness a general backsliding of certain rights and freedoms across the world and shrinking humanitarian space,” Rahman told attendees.

    He added that these global challenges come as the United Nations itself faces significant financial strain, a problem he pledged to tackle collaboratively with all member states. The organization’s budget woes are driven in large part by longstanding arrears from the United States, historically the single largest contributor to the U.N. budget, which currently owes billions of dollars in unpaid dues to the global body.

  • Police in Italy arrest 2 people after apparent torching of a car kills 4 farmworkers

    Police in Italy arrest 2 people after apparent torching of a car kills 4 farmworkers

    ROME — Italian law enforcement has taken two suspects into custody following a horrific, premeditated attack that left four migrant farmworkers burned to death inside a parked vehicle in southern Italy’s Calabria region, law enforcement officials and national media confirmed this week. The brutal assault was fully captured on local surveillance cameras, footage of which was aired publicly Tuesday by Italy’s state-owned public broadcaster RAI and multiple other major Italian news outlets.

    The deadly incident unfolded at a roadside gas station in Amendolara, a small town located near the city of Cosenza in Calabria. Per details from the surveillance footage analyzed by investigators, attackers snuck up on the occupied parked vehicle, poured an incendiary liquid into the car’s rear compartment before igniting the substance, turning the vehicle into an inferno in minutes. Video footage also shows one of the attackers holding the car doors shut to trap the victims inside as flames spread rapidly through the vehicle.

    Miraculously, one person trapped in the car managed to escape the blaze, and was immediately rushed to a local medical facility for treatment of severe burn injuries, RAI reported.

    In a formal statement issued Tuesday, Castrovillari Chief Prosecutor Alessandro D’Alessio officially confirmed that four bodies were recovered from the charred vehicle on Monday, hours after the attack, and that two individuals had been detained as suspects in connection with the mass killing.

    Preliminary victim identification released by RAI shows the four deceased victims were three Afghan citizens and one Pakistani national, all of whom worked as seasonal agricultural laborers in the region. The two arrested suspects are both Pakistani citizens, according to the broadcaster, and investigators are currently working to unpack the motive behind the deadly attack, which has sent shockwaves across Italy amid ongoing conversations about the treatment and safety of migrant workers in the country’s agricultural sector.