Global Pulse

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  • US not ‘turning back’ on Asia allies, but expects them to boost defence – Hegseth

    US not ‘turning back’ on Asia allies, but expects them to boost defence – Hegseth

    At the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue hosted in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to dispel growing regional concerns that Washington is turning away from the Asia-Pacific amid its expanding military commitments tied to the conflict in Iran.

    Weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump held high-level positive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Hegseth sought to strike a calibrated balance: acknowledging widespread anxiety over China’s rapid military expansion in the region while stressing that Washington has no interest in provoking unnecessary confrontation.

    Responding directly to questions raised by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who warned that bad-faith actors could attempt to undermine trust by sowing doubt about U.S. commitment to the region and driving wedges between Washington and its allies, Hegseth pushed back on claims that global obligations pull focus from the Indo-Pacific. “People conflate our global duties with turning our backs on this region, but we are fully capable of advancing multiple priorities at once,” he said. Hegseth emphasized that integrated power projection across the Pacific and close collaboration with regional allies remain core pillars of U.S. national defense strategy, noting that Washington continues its quiet, resolute engagement with partners while working to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

    One of the most pressing questions from dialogue participants centered on Washington’s decision to pause a $14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan in order to redirect munitions to the Iran conflict, a move that sparked questions about U.S. ability to meet its security commitments to regional partners. Hegseth sought to decouple the two issues, reassuring attendees that the U.S. maintains a robust overall munitions stockpile and has sufficient industrial capacity to ramp up production if additional supplies are required.

    In his keynote address ahead of Hegseth’s remarks, Vietnamese President To Lam called for expanded diplomatic dialogue to de-escalate simmering regional tensions. Striking a more hardline tone on security policy, Hegseth pushed back against traditional diplomatic framing, arguing that the region needs more tangible military capability rather than empty diplomatic rhetoric. “Rules are meaningless if you cannot back them up with hard power,” he said. “We do not need more conference dialogues – we need more combat power, more ships, more submarines.” Hegseth also positioned this approach as a departure from what he described as hollow “globalist rhetoric” around the rules-based international order.

    Consistent with his messaging from the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth pressed regional allies to increase their defense spending, setting a formal target of 3.5% of gross domestic product for all regional partners. He openly praised partners that have boosted military outlays and deepened security cooperation with Washington in recent months, specifically naming Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines. In contrast, he called out countries he labeled defense “freeloaders,” singling out New Zealand in his comments, and added that NATO and European allies face critical upcoming decisions on their own defense commitments.

    Notably, Hegseth adopted a far softer tone on cross-strait and China policy this year compared to his 2025 address, where he accused Beijing of posing an imminent threat to Taiwan. He only referenced the suspended Taiwan arms package in response to a direct question, weeks after President Xi warned Trump during their Beijing summit that Taiwan remains the most sensitive core issue in bilateral relations.

    “While there is rightful concern over China’s unprecedented military buildup, we recognize that our regional allies do not seek constant escalation,” Hegseth said. The U.S. goal, he added, is to maintain a balanced regional power structure where no nation – including China – can impose hegemony over others, working toward “a genuinely stable equilibrium that preserves the conditions for long-standing peace and prosperity across the region. We approach this challenge with measured, deliberate strength, not unnecessary confrontation.”

    The Shangri-La Dialogue, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, is one of the most high-profile annual defense forums in the Indo-Pacific, long serving as a key platform for regional states to hold direct security talks with the United States and China. This year marks the second consecutive year that China has declined to send its sitting defense minister, instead delegating a lower-ranking delegation. Analysts and attendees remain divided on the move: some interpret the decision as a deliberate snub to the forum, while others frame it as a choice to avoid direct public confrontation with the U.S. amid ongoing great power competition for influence across the region.

  • US warns capable of resuming war with Iran as deal remains elusive

    US warns capable of resuming war with Iran as deal remains elusive

    Diplomatic efforts to reach a landmark peace deal between the United States and Iran hit a new impasse over the weekend, as Washington issued a stark warning that it retains full military capacity to resume hostilities at any time, while Tehran pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s non-negotiable red lines for any agreement.

    After weeks of tense, back-and-forth negotiations mediated by Pakistan, the White House confirmed Friday that Trump has yet to sign off on an initial framework, following a two-hour closed-door strategy session held in the White House Situation Room. While anonymous US sources told Agence France-Presse the draft text is already awaiting the president’s approval, Iranian officials have flatly denied that any final agreement has been reached, disputing key terms laid out publicly by Trump.

    Speaking on Saturday at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defense summit held in Singapore, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth emphasized that Washington’s military readiness remains uncompromised. “Our ability to recommence hostilities if necessary is more than proven – we are fully capable, and our munition stockpiles are more than sufficient, both in the region and globally, thanks to our balanced posture of precision and high-volume armaments,” Hegseth stated. His comments echoed a recent public update from US Central Command (CENTCOM), which reaffirmed on social platform X that American military forces “remain present and vigilant across the Middle East.”

    Negotiations were thrown into chaos earlier this week after the US carried out airstrikes on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, which prompted immediate retaliatory fire from Iranian forces, casting serious doubt on the viability of the diplomatic process. This turbulence has spilled over to a parallel negotiation track focused on ending ongoing fighting in Lebanon, a demand Iran has insisted be included in any comprehensive end to hostilities.

    Trump has laid out clear non-negotiable conditions for any deal, chief among them a permanent Iranian commitment to never develop a nuclear weapon, and the full reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints for global energy supplies. “President Trump will only accept a deal that serves American interests and meets his stated red lines,” a senior White House official told AFP after Friday’s strategy meeting. “Iran can never be permitted to possess a nuclear weapon,” the official added.

    Iran has quickly rejected the ultimatums laid out by Washington. “We said goodbye to the language of ‘must’ 47 years ago,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told state media, pushing back against Trump’s conditions. While Baqaei confirmed diplomatic exchanges are still ongoing, he stressed that “no final agreement has been reached yet.”

    In a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed Tehran’s readiness to reach a “dignified framework” to end the conflict, according to Iran’s official state news agency IRNA. Key sticking points remain, however: Trump claimed Friday that the deal would see Iran clear all mines from the Strait of Hormuz and reopen the waterway without imposing any shipping tolls, in exchange for the US lifting its own blockade on Iranian ports. He also added that the two sides would coordinate to remove and destroy Iran’s existing enriched uranium, with no sanctions relief or asset releases scheduled for the immediate future.

    Iranian state-owned Fars News Agency disputed nearly all of Trump’s characterizations, citing senior diplomatic sources. Tehran is demanding the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets before advancing to the next phase of negotiations, the report said. It also noted that “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement” for a toll-free reopening of Hormuz, and that Trump’s claim about the destruction of Iran’s nuclear material “is fundamentally baseless.”

    For ordinary Iranians, the lack of transparency and conflicting claims have left little confidence that a lasting peace is near. “Both sides are speaking in a way that keeps their domestic supporters satisfied. It’s not clear who is telling the truth,” said Ali, a 49-year-old resident of Tonekabon, a city north of Tehran. “It seems likely there will be more strife to come.”

    On the secondary front of the wider conflict in Lebanon, heavy fighting has continued despite a planned April 17 ceasefire that has never been implemented, with both sides regularly trading accusations of truce violations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that Israeli ground forces have advanced beyond the Litani River, located roughly 20 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border. The announcement came even as military delegations from both Israel and Lebanon met at the Pentagon in Washington to discuss de-escalation.

    Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that has led fighting against Israel in southern Lebanon, said it carried out fresh attacks on northern Israeli targets and repelled Israeli infantry advances near Qalaat al-Chakif, also known as Beaufort Castle, a historically strategic site that Israeli forces used as a key base during their 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. Lebanon was drawn into the wider conflict in early March, after Hezbollah launched a massive rocket barrage on Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli airstrike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, prompting Israeli airstrikes and a full ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

    Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon began in April, with a fourth round of negotiations scheduled for next week in Washington, following Friday’s meeting between the two sides’ military delegations.

  • As Ebola scourges Congo, experts warn of link to the consumption of ‘wild meat’

    As Ebola scourges Congo, experts warn of link to the consumption of ‘wild meat’

    Beneath the bustle of Kinshasa’s sprawling Masina Market, a quiet, high-stakes trade continues nearly unabated: the sale of wild meat from the Congo Basin’s vast ancient forests. Unlike the openly displayed buckets of squirming edible caterpillars tended by market women, most exotic wild game — from giant swamp rodents to severed antelope carcasses — stays hidden, only brought out for customers who know to ask. For millions across Central and West Africa, wild meat, locally called *viande de brousse*, is far more than sustenance: it is a deeply ingrained cultural tradition, a primary source of affordable animal protein, and a livelihood for thousands of small-scale vendors. Even the ongoing deadly Ebola outbreak ravaging remote eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has done little to curb steady consumer demand for the forest-sourced product.

  • Russian spies are aggressively seeking Western technology as sanctions bite, officials say

    Russian spies are aggressively seeking Western technology as sanctions bite, officials say

    Amid crippling international sanctions and a grinding, costly war in Ukraine, Russia’s intelligence apparatus has sharply escalated its campaign to steal cutting-edge Western technology and classified defense secrets, three senior European intelligence leaders have confirmed in exclusive comments to the Associated Press. The multi-pronged operation, which spans frontline human espionage, cyber intrusions, and elaborate front company schemes, is not only intended to prop up Moscow’s war machine but also to advance its long-term strategic edge over Western allies, officials warn.

    Four straight years of sweeping Western sanctions have gutted Russia’s ability to legally import critical industrial machinery, advanced research, and high-tech components from European markets. Combined with the massive resource drain of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the restrictions have pushed key domestic industries to the breaking point and brought the country to the brink of a potential full-blown financial crisis. That mounting pressure has forced Russian intelligence to double down on illicit procurement, targeting a broad range of sensitive assets that directly serve the Kremlin’s war and strategic goals.

    “They really know what they need, and are putting serious effort” into acquiring everything from advanced industrial machine tools and factory equipment to cutting-edge research and dual-use technology that can serve both civilian and military purposes, explained Christoffer Wedelin, deputy head of operations at Sweden’s Security Service.

    In Sweden alone, Russian operatives have focused heavily on the country’s defense sector and top-secret research into its most advanced military hardware, including the Saab Gripen fighter jet. Wedelin added that Moscow is also actively seeking to obtain civilian-developed camera and laser technology that can be repurposed for integration into Russian weapons systems.

    Juha Martelius, director of Finland’s Security and Intelligence Service, noted that Russia’s espionage push extends beyond immediate war needs: the Kremlin is also stealing technology to secure a long-term competitive advantage over the West for decades to come. Key high-priority sectors include space technology, quantum computing, arctic resource technology, and advanced marine technology. Martelius specified that space technology, which powers satellite imaging, military communications, and navigation, is an urgent requirement for Moscow right now, though he declined to share further details. Russia is also desperate to access Western computer technology and proprietary software updates for industrial machine tools, all of which are blocked under current sanctions, he added.

    The warnings from Scandinavian and Baltic intelligence come just days after Anne Keast-Butler, director of the United Kingdom’s signals intelligence agency, publicly accused Russia of “relentlessly targeting” the UK and its European allies through technology theft, sabotage plots, and assassination attempts.

    The scope of Russia’s illicit procurement network was highlighted earlier this year, when Swedish police arrested two individuals on suspicion of sanctions violations linked to a Turkish front company that had shipped dozens of industrial metalworking and metal-turning machine tools to Russia. As these networks grow more sophisticated and layered, Wedelin warned that private European companies must increase their vigilance to avoid unknowingly becoming complicit in Russia’s war supply chain. “All of the security and intelligence services in Russia are helping out on the state’s efforts to get this,” he emphasized.

    Beyond traditional procurement schemes, Russian intelligence has also ramped up cyberattacks against European private firms and critical infrastructure to gather intelligence that can be exploited at a moment’s notice, Wedelin said. He pointed to a high-profile attempted cyberattack on a Swedish power plant last year as a clear example of this new, more aggressive posture. Russian-linked actors attempted to destroy the plant’s core operating systems, but the attempt failed after internal security systems detected the intrusion. The attack was partially designed to erode public and political support for Ukraine in Western Europe, Wedelin added.

    Prior to that incident, Swedish intelligence had only observed Russian actors conducting reconnaissance for potential future attacks, gathering general intelligence, or engaging in activity tied to independent cybercriminals. The power plant attack marked a dramatic shift in Russia’s operational style, Wedelin argued: “They’re no longer caring as much about potential attribution after their activities, so they are taking greater risks to achieve their goals.”

    Top intelligence leaders say this increasingly brazen behavior directly reflects growing internal economic panic inside the Kremlin. “Russia’s economy is not doing well at all,” said Kaupo Rosin, head of Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. Current data shows that roughly one-third of Russia’s entire gross domestic product is now diverted to funding the war effort in Ukraine, Martelius confirmed. Years of sanctions and war-related disruptions have crippled long-term growth and locked in persistent, high inflation that has eroded living standards for ordinary Russians.

    By the end of February 2026, Russia had already hit 3.4 trillion rubles ($47.9 billion) of its 3.7 trillion ruble ($52.1 billion) full-year budget deficit, Rosin revealed. While the recent conflict between Iran and Israel that began in late February drove global oil prices sharply higher, and limited Western concessions — including U.S. sanctions waivers for Russian oil sales and a softening of UK oil sanctions to lower global fuel costs — have given a temporary boost to Russian export revenues, the reprieve is not enough to reverse long-term decline. “It doesn’t save them,” Rosin said, warning that Moscow could face a full-blown financial crisis by the end of 2026 if Western pressure remains unchanged.

    Intelligence assessments collected by Estonian intelligence show that elite Russian officials have grown far more pessimistic about the country’s trajectory over the past six months, with the official narrative of “total victory” in Ukraine having largely disappeared from private discussions. Keast-Butler, the UK intelligence chief, recently confirmed that nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the 2022 full-scale invasion — a figure that Moscow has never publicly confirmed, as Russia has kept all official combat casualty data classified since the war began.

    With stalled progress on the battlefield and mounting economic troubles, many mid-ranking Russian officials are now privately questioning the purpose of the war, Rosin said, citing internal intelligence reports. Martelius added that even though some negative news about the war and economy may be sanitized before it reaches President Vladimir Putin, he believes the Russian leader has a broadly clear understanding of the severity of the challenges his country faces. Even so, Martelius warned that economic trouble should not be expected to trigger spontaneous political change in the near term: “It is very dangerous to start analyzing Russia as if it is some country like ours. It is not.”

  • AI helped a musician with Parkinson’s finish his new album when he could no longer play guitar

    AI helped a musician with Parkinson’s finish his new album when he could no longer play guitar

    For years, British singer-songwriter Samuel Smith crafted original Americana music with a guitar permanently in his hands. But after a 2020 Parkinson’s disease diagnosis left him unable to play his instrument consistently due to the neurological disorder’s progressive symptoms, he turned to a surprising tool: generative artificial intelligence, to keep his creative practice alive. Now, with the release of his second full-length album *The Art of Letting Go*, Smith is opening up about how AI has unlocked new possibilities for artists living with disabilities — even as it remains one of the most divisive issues in the modern music industry.

    Parkinson’s disease, which causes progressive nerve damage, commonly leads to muscle tremors, stiffness and chronic fatigue that erode fine motor control, skills critical for playing string instruments like guitar. By the time Smith began work on his 8-track album more than a year before its release, his ability to play had deteriorated significantly. Faced with the choice of abandoning songwriting entirely or adapting to his new physical limitations, he chose to adapt.

    For his instrumental track *Horizon*, Smith leaned on popular AI music generation platforms Suno and Udio to translate his creative vision into shareable demos for the session musicians recording the final studio track. His process begins with humming rough melodic ideas into his smartphone, then uploading those recordings to the AI tools alongside text prompts that detail the track’s desired instrumentation, mood and musical style. He stressed that the AI-generated demos are never used in the final master of his songs; instead, they act as a communication tool to show professional players exactly what he hears in his head, when he can no longer demonstrate it on guitar. Producing a demo that matches his distinct artistic voice often takes dozens of attempts and extensive manual editing, Smith explained.

    Unlike the narrative of AI replacing human creators that dominates much industry debate, Smith frames the technology as an enabling tool, not a replacement. “AI is not replacing anything for me. It’s unlocking, it’s enabling. It’s allowing me to keep writing. I upload my lyrics; AI doesn’t create my lyrics. I upload my music; AI does not create my music,” he said. “It then brings it to life in a way that I can play to session players and say, ‘Here, that’s what I’m thinking, that is what I’m hearing.’”

    The album, recorded in Nashville with a roster of award-winning roots and bluegrass musicians including 16-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas, banjo artist Alison Brown and Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage, includes one particularly poignant moment: a guitar duet between Smith and Lage on *Horizon*. After months of being unable to play, Smith had a 10-minute window of reduced symptoms in the studio that let him record his part, a moment he calls the “last breath of my guitar playing.” Working alongside musicians he has admired for decades, he said, was an extraordinary, career-defining experience. Smith released his debut album *In the Springtime* in 2023, in part to create a tangible musical legacy for his two young sons that would preserve his creative voice even as his disease progresses.

    Generative AI has split the global music industry in recent years. Major record labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records sued Suno and Udio in June 2024, arguing the platforms illegally used copyrighted recorded music to train their AI models. Since the lawsuit, Universal has reached a settlement and partnership deal with Udio, and Warner has done the same with Suno. Much of the public debate has centered on copyright disputes and artist displacement, but experts say Smith’s experience highlights a less discussed, potentially transformative use case for the technology: expanding creative access for musicians living with disabilities and chronic illness.

    Ruaidhri Mannion, a composer and music technology scholar at Brunel University of London, noted that affordable digital recording tools democratized music creation over the past few decades, and AI could follow the same path by lowering barriers for creators with physical limitations. “If these tools are able to enable people to be able to participate with other creative groups and encourage more people to feel confident to be able to reach out to an ensemble or an orchestra or something, then I think that is all for the better,” Mannion said. He added a caveat, however: overreliance on AI could erase the messy, iterative process of trial, error and collaborative synergy that shapes artistic development. “What makes a lot of music-making meaningful is the collaborative element. There’s a lot of experimentation and development and failure that’s part of musical discovery,” he explained.

    Critics of unregulated generative AI in music, including a group of independent artists who signed an open letter titled “Say no to Suno” earlier this year, argue that the technology erodes artist royalties and enables creative fraud when it scrapes existing copyrighted work without permission. The letter acknowledged that responsible AI use can benefit creators, but called for clearer protections for working artists. Both Suno and Udio have denied copyright infringement claims and stated they are committed to collaborating with the music industry, rather than operating against it.

    Smith believes his experience makes the case for responsible, targeted AI development that benefits marginalized creators. His message to AI music platforms is clear: “if these companies want to show they’ve got a place, a role in society, then step up. Engage with health professionals, engage with music therapists, engage with society and show us what you can do.” In May 2024, Smith partnered with the Berklee Music and Health Institute for a New York event bringing together industry leaders, clinicians and researchers to explore how music and technology can support people living with neurological conditions. For Smith, continuing to create music is about more than art: it is about refusing to let Parkinson’s define his identity or the legacy he leaves for his children. “My 4-year-old is probably never going to remember me playing, and it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “But I’ve been able to pull this into something and refuse to be defined by this disease.”

  • Move over, Heated Rivalry – there’s a new ice hockey romance obsession

    Move over, Heated Rivalry – there’s a new ice hockey romance obsession

    For audiences who thought they had already consumed their full share of ice hockey-centered romantic content this year, a new streaming hit is here to upend that expectation. Earlier this year, the Canadian drama *Heated Rivalry* took the global streaming world by storm after its January UK release, catapulting leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie to international fame. Now, just months later, Amazon Prime Video has dropped *Off Campus* — a second ice hockey romance adapted from a hit book franchise — and the streamer confirms it has already claimed the number one spot as its most-watched series worldwide.

    Based on the massively popular book series by Canadian author Elle Kennedy, which has sold more than 25 million copies globally, *Off Campus* has earned widespread acclaim from fans for its thoughtful storytelling. Set on the campus of a fictional Boston university, the series tracks the romantic entanglements and personal lives of the school’s college ice hockey team, centering the core relationship between star forward Garrett Graham (played by Belmont Cameli) and student Hannah Wells (portrayed by Ella Bright of CBBC’s *Malory Towers* fame). Unlike the one-note, hyper-masculine jock stereotypes that have long dominated sports media, *Off Campus* redefines its male leads as emotionally intelligent, respectful partners who reject outdated tropes.

    Fans and content creators point to the natural synergy between ice hockey as a sport and the romance genre to explain the current boom in these stories. Meagan Carioti, a 27-year-old book content creator, notes that hockey’s reputation as an intense, high-stakes, passionate sport translates seamlessly to romantic storytelling. Sophie Bonser, a 30-year-old British ice hockey fan and social media manager, adds that for audiences outside of North America, the sport carries an inherent novelty that drives curiosity — and its typical low-scoring, tight match structure means every game carries constant tension, perfect for television drama.

    What truly sets *Off Campus* apart from many traditional romance and sports dramas, however, is its unapologetic female-centric perspective. The series doesn’t shy away from exploring topics like female sexual desire, and it has drawn particular praise from women viewers for centering women’s pleasure, comfort, and autonomy. The first season adapts Kennedy’s 2015 and 2016 novels *The Deal* and *The Score*, and handles heavy, real-world themes with nuance: Hannah’s core storyline follows her healing from sexual trauma suffered in high school, with Garrett depicted as a sensitive, patient partner who prioritizes her boundaries and trauma. The show also addresses other serious issues including domestic violence, addiction, and economic insecurity, weaving these narratives into its central romantic arcs rather than sidelining them.

    The series even pushes back against harmful stereotypes, addressing the derogatory term “puck bunny” — used to dismiss female fans as only interested in players, not the sport — while emphasizing its male characters’ commitment to respecting women and upholding consent. For Carioti, the focus on the female gaze, and well-written male characters crafted by a female creator, is unmatched. “I love men written by women, the yearning is just unmatched and it’s the female gaze — what women want — I think is different to what men think women want,” she explains. She also highlights the thoughtful juxtaposition of hockey’s public bravado with the hidden vulnerability of the team’s players, as well as the warm depiction of found family through the teammates’ close bond.

    Even viewers outside the show’s core demographic have been won over. 25-year-old content creator Oliver Zane, whose reaction videos to *Off Campus* have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, says he is “not the primary audience” but still a huge fan. He praises female writers for their nuanced character development that makes characters feel more grounded and realistic, and notes that the show’s focus on prioritizing women gave him new insight into women’s lived experiences. Zane adds that the emotionally aware, accountable portrayal of male leads is especially refreshing at a moment when toxic hypermasculinity is increasingly promoted to young men.

    Despite its critical and commercial success, the hockey romance genre is often unfairly dismissed as trivial, “girly,” or overly explicit, dismissed with the derogatory label “hockey smut.” But fans like Carioti and Zane are pushing back against that characterization, pointing out that *Off Campus* weaves important themes of female empowerment and survivor healing into its engaging romantic and sports story. For viewers craving fresh, thoughtful storytelling that balances high-stakes sports action with heartfelt, modern romance, *Off Campus* has already cemented its place as the must-watch streaming hit of the season.

  • ‘Gifts’ from a lover and ‘botched’ cocaine raids: Police inquiry grips South Africa

    ‘Gifts’ from a lover and ‘botched’ cocaine raids: Police inquiry grips South Africa

    South Africa’s high-stakes public inquiry into widespread police infiltration by organized criminal networks has wrapped up its second phase of hearings, delivering a string of explosive testimonies that have gripped the nation ahead of its final reporting deadline.

    Modeled after a binge-worthy hit crime series, the inquiry launched last year after senior police general Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi went public with damning claims that crime syndicates had embedded themselves at the highest levels of South Africa’s police service and national government. The first public phase of the inquiry, led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, ran from September to December 2025, and the second iteration of the real-life investigation just concluded, with a new interim report submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa this past Friday. Like the first interim document, this report remains classified, but the public hearings over the past two months have already laid bare shocking gaps in security, systemic graft, and mismanagement that have kept South Africans talking. Ahead of the third and final phase of hearings kicking off next month, here’s a breakdown of the most notable moments from 64 days of testimony from 32 witnesses.

    One of the most high-profile cases to emerge from this phase centers on a controversial police healthcare tender awarded in 2024. Senior police brigadier Rachel Matjeng, who oversaw the bidding process, was called to testify over the award of a contract for police health services to Medicare24 Tshwane District, a company owned by infamous businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. The contract was terminated just one year after it was signed, and Matjeng alongside more than a dozen other senior police officers have since been formally charged over their involvement in the tainted award process. None of the accused have yet entered pleas in court.

    In a surprising testimony before the commission, Matjeng rejected allegations that she accepted kickbacks from Matlala, instead revealing the pair had maintained an on-again off-again romantic relationship that continued until Matlala’s arrest in 2025. She confirmed Matlala had gifted her multiple items, including doses of the popular weight-loss drug Ozempic that she had requested. She also pushed back on viral online rumors that Matlala had paid for a Brazilian butt lift procedure for her, telling the commission, “So, for me, from my boyfriend [Matlala], I only ask for Ozempic, unlike those that ask for BBL”.

    Matlala, who was named by police crime intelligence leadership last year as a core member of the notorious “Big Five” drug trafficking and criminal cartel that the inquiry says also carries out contract killings, cross-border hijackings, and kidnappings, has not yet testified before the commission. He remains in custody facing 25 separate criminal charges, including attempted murder, and has denied all allegations against him. Anticipation is high that he will appear to respond to the claims during the final phase of hearings.

    Beyond the tender scandal, the inquiry has focused heavily on the highly suspicious handling of two massive cocaine seizures just one month apart in 2021. The first seizure took place in southern Durban in June 2021, when officers intercepted 541 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipping container of animal bone meal, with an estimated street value of more than 200 million South African rand ($12 million). Just five months after the seizure, the entire cache of drugs was stolen from a poorly secured building owned by the Hawks, South Africa’s elite police anti-crime unit, in what investigators widely believe was an inside job.

    Major General Hendrik Flynn, a senior Hawks official, detailed a long list of critical missteps made by officers leading up to the heist. These included failing to collect DNA or fingerprint evidence from the crime scene, and choosing to store the massive drug haul in an inadequately secured facility despite the availability of more secure storage options closer to core police hubs. “I am of the view that it is no coincidence and that the sequence of events is indeed… by design,” Flynn told the inquiry.

    The second 2021 seizure, 700 kilograms of cocaine valued at roughly $17.3 million recovered from an industrial warehouse in southern Johannesburg in July, has also raised major red flags for investigators. The cocaine was hidden inside black bags among imported lorry parts for a prominent local transport company, arriving in the country via Durban’s port. Lieutenant Colonel Nkoana Sebola, another senior Hawks officer, told the commission the entire operation was suspicious, noting that the first officers on site were operating outside of their official jurisdiction and appeared to be carrying out an unauthorized heist.

    One of those officers, Marumo Magane, is a desk-bound analytics officer with no prior experience in drug investigations or large-scale busts. He told the commission he was called to assist by a senior traffic officer, who also had no formal qualifications to handle drug seizures and claimed to have received an anonymous tip. The pair entered the logistics company’s premises without a valid search warrant, accompanied by an alleged informant, and asked an on-site employee to open the container to verify the tip. After being asked to wait until the container reached its final destination in southern Johannesburg, Magane ordered that the drug bags be loaded directly onto his work lorry.

    Suspicious warehouse staff contacted local police, and eventually Hawks investigators arrived on scene. Magane repeatedly denied any intention to steal the seized drugs, though he admitted to a string of major procedural errors, including tampering with evidence and moving the haul to his personal police-issued vehicle without contacting the official crime scene processing unit. When Madlanga pressed Magane, saying, “You were clueless, and you knew that you were clueless,” the officer simply replied, “That is correct, commissioner.”

    Magane and several other officers were arrested over their roles in the botched seizure, but all charges were dropped in 2022 after prosecutors concluded there was no reasonable prospect of securing a conviction. Even more alarming, the inquiry heard that after the remaining portion of the 700kg cocaine was moved to a forensic science laboratory for storage, a 2025 audit found 136kg of the haul was missing.

    The inquiry also shone a spotlight on Oupa “Brown” Mogotsi, an alleged police informant, political fixer, and former African National Congress member who is accused of being a central facilitator for criminal groups looking to infiltrate the police force. Mogotsi denies all allegations against him, and made headlines when he told the commission he survived an assassination attempt in an area east of Johannesburg ahead of his first testimony last November, saying, “I ran for my life” after his car came under gunfire. South African police opened an investigation into the incident and seized his vehicle.

    During that first November appearance, Mogotsi made sensational unsubstantiated claims that Mkhwanazi – the whistleblower whose allegations prompted Ramaphosa to launch the inquiry in the first place – and the Zulu king were both CIA spies, a claim he later retracted. He was scheduled to return for cross-examination in March, but the hearing was postponed after he claimed he was too ill to appear. Madlanga dismissed his submitted sick note as “useless”, and Mogotsi was compelled to appear in May.

    Before responding to questioning, Mogotsi first attempted to have lead commission counsel Matthew Chaskalson removed from the case, alleging bias and claiming Chaskalson was trying to coerce him into implicating another witness. After his motion was rejected, Mogotsi refused to answer most questions on the grounds that he could self-incriminate. In a striking turn of events just after his testimony concluded, Mogotsi was arrested by the Commission’s Recommendations Task Team (CRTT), a specialized police unit launched earlier this year to investigate referrals and evidence arising from the inquiry. The unit has made five high-profile arrests in recent months, many connected to the inquiry’s work. Mogotsi is facing a slew of charges related to the alleged assassination attempt, with prosecutors accusing him of faking the attack to garner public sympathy. He has vehemently denied the allegations and is currently applying for bail.

    The Madlanga Commission is set to wrap up its work and submit its final public report to President Ramaphosa in August, when the full scope of the inquiry’s findings will finally be made available to the South African public.

  • Spain’s Sánchez digs in after eight years as PM as wave of scandals threatens survival

    Spain’s Sánchez digs in after eight years as PM as wave of scandals threatens survival

    On June 1, Pedro Sánchez will mark eight years since he first took office as Spain’s prime minister. For a leader hitting this milestone, celebration would be the expected norm—but this year, Sánchez is not planning anniversary events. Instead, he is locked in a desperate battle to hold onto power, as his Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and ruling coalition are engulfed in a cascading series of corruption investigations that have shaken the foundations of his administration.

    No direct link to Sánchez has emerged in any of the ongoing probes, but the investigations have ensnared his closest political allies, senior party figures, and even his own immediate family. The latest wave of scandals began this week with the trial of David Sánchez, the prime minister’s brother and a professional musician. He stands accused of influence peddling, after allegedly securing a senior musical leadership post in the southwestern region of Badajoz without following required competitive selection processes, and failing to fulfill the core duties of the role after taking office. Even more consequentially, a Spanish judge has been probing the business dealings of Begoña Gómez, Sánchez’s wife, since 2024, and has recommended that she stand trial on charges of influence peddling and misuse of public funds. She is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing on June 9. Sánchez has pushed back hard against the cases targeting his family, arguing they originated from unsubstantiated accusations pushed by far-right political groups.

    The scandals extend far beyond the prime minister’s family circle. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a former Socialist prime minister and one of Sánchez’s most prominent and respected allies, has been named in a money laundering investigation connected to a 2021 €53 million government bailout for the collapsed airline Plus Ultra. Prosecutors allege Zapatero used his political influence to secure the bailout in exchange for a private commission. Zapatero, who is set to appear in court for questioning on June 17, has repeatedly denied any illegal activity, and Sánchez has repeatedly reaffirmed his “full support” for the former leader. For the Spanish left, Zapatero’s connection to the investigation carries unique symbolic weight: during his 2004-2011 tenure, he oversaw landmark progressive reforms including the legalization of same-sex marriage, stricter gender violence laws, and the peaceful end of ETA’s four-decade separatist insurgency, earning him a reputation as a moral reference point for the Socialist movement.

    “Symbolically, this is extremely significant,” explained Paco Camas, head of public opinion for the polling firm Ipsos in Spain. “This is the first former Spanish prime minister ever to face formal investigation, which makes the situation unprecedented. On top of that, Zapatero has long been a moral anchor for the entire Socialist Party.”

    The scandal that has amplified pressure on Sánchez most dramatically in recent days is the probe that led to a 12-hour police raid on PSOE’s national headquarters in Madrid earlier this week. Investigators are probing allegations that senior party figures paid party member Leire Díez to orchestrate a “dirty tricks” campaign to discredit police officers, judges, and prosecutors leading ongoing corruption investigations into Socialist figures, including party third-in-command Santos Cerdán. Cerdán has been named as a suspect in this new probe, and Díez has denied all allegations against her.

    The current wave of investigations traces back to 2023, when José Luis Ábalos, a former Socialist deputy party leader and transport minister, was implicated in a probe into a criminal network accused of collecting millions in kickbacks from the €50 million sale of face masks at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ábalos, who has always denied wrongdoing and was expelled from PSOE, recently went on trial and is awaiting a verdict. Last year, he was also linked to a broader kickbacks-for-public-contracts scandal alongside Cerdán. The revelation hit Sánchez particularly hard, as he had publicly defended Cerdán against media allegations before investigation evidence was made public. “The Socialist Party and I were wrong to trust him,” Sánchez acknowledged at the time. Both Cerdán and Ábalos maintain their innocence.

    Even traditionally pro-Socialist media has voiced harsh criticism of the accumulating scandals. Centre-left newspaper El País, which has historically been sympathetic to PSOE, warned in a recent editorial: “The growing number of cases makes clear these are not isolated incidents or the product of shadowy conspiracies. The investigations are directly linked to the core of power that has governed Spain for the past eight years.”

    Spain’s centre-right opposition, led by the Popular Party (PP), has led growing calls for Sánchez’s immediate resignation and an early general election, which is not scheduled to be held until 2027. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has described the string of scandals as a “criminal carousel.”

    Sánchez, who has gained a reputation across Spanish politics for his almost unmatched resilience, has repeatedly insisted he intends to serve out the full remaining term of the current parliament. His government is a minority coalition that has long struggled to maintain stable support from a fragmented bloc of regional nationalist and left-wing parliamentary partners, failing to pass a single new national budget in this legislative session. Now, key allies are showing signs that their patience is running out. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), one of the coalition’s supporting parties, has already suggested that waiting until 2027 to hold a new election would be “irresponsible.”

    Still, even if Sánchez loses the support of some minor partners, a collapse of the government is not guaranteed. The opposition currently lacks enough parliamentary support to pass a no-confidence vote—an ironic turn of events, given that Sánchez himself seized power via a successful no-confidence vote against the PP government in 2018. Crucially, regional autonomy-focused parties like the PNV remain deeply wary of the centralizing agenda of a potential PP government, which could govern in coalition with the far-right Vox party, giving them little incentive to force early elections.

    “I don’t see any incentive for the current government to call early elections, no matter how blocked the legislative process is or how badly it is damaged by these scandals,” Camas noted. “Sánchez can absolutely dig in and hold on.” Camas added that, much like after the 2023 Ábalos-Cerdán scandal, the upcoming summer parliamentary recess could give the government much-needed breathing room to regroup and rebuild political momentum when legislators return in September.

    Another looming risk for Sánchez is growing internal dissent within the Socialist Party itself. Prominent internal critics including Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page and former Socialist prime minister Felipe González have already called for early elections. Political observers warn that if more regional and municipal Socialist leaders come to believe the scandals will damage their electoral prospects ahead of the 2027 local elections, a broad internal rebellion could break out. But for now, that revolt has not materialized.

    “Right now, we are not seeing that kind of internal revolt,” said Lluís Orriols, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University. Orriols added that Sánchez’s long-term political future will ultimately depend on how the ongoing investigations unfold. If new explosive evidence emerges, particularly evidence connecting the Socialist Party to illegal financing, it could trigger an exodus of parliamentary allies that would make pressure on Sánchez unbearable—even for a politician famous for political survival.

    “This government has been in an extremely fragile position for some time,” Orriols said. “We cannot rule out the possibility that it will run out of political air very soon.”

  • ‘Frustrates me’: Addin Fonua-Blake hits back at Origin criticism and warns about the one-two punch he and Payne Haas would bring

    ‘Frustrates me’: Addin Fonua-Blake hits back at Origin criticism and warns about the one-two punch he and Payne Haas would bring

    As the NSW Blues prepare for the second clash of the 2024 State of Origin series, rookie prop Addin Fonua-Blake has pushed back against early criticism of his debut performance, while openly expressing his ambition to form a devastating front-row combination with injured returning star Payne Haas in Melbourne.

    Fonua-Blake’s first Origin appearance got off to a notoriously slow start at Sydney’s Accor Stadium. The Blues’ disastrous opening 15 minutes saw the Queensland Maroons race out to an early lead, leaving the powerful front-rower with just two carries for 17 running metres before he was benched shortly after the Maroons scored their third try. But the NSW rookie fought back in the second half, turning the tide of his performance to end the match with 10 carries for 82 metres, as the Blues completed a comeback to claim a tense 22-20 opening game win.

    Speaking to media following his club Cronulla Sharks’ victory over Manly just 48 hours after the Origin opener, Fonua-Blake hit back at critics who panned his early-game performance. “You see a lot of stories about not having an impact in the first 15, but I don’t think many people would have had an impact in that first 15 minutes of that game,” he explained. “We only got the ball maybe twice while I was on and then it was a bit of a scrappy fight. We regrouped and we went out there in the second half and I thought I did what I know I could do.”

    The 28-year-old, who became eligible to represent NSW after recent changes to State of Origin eligibility rules that allow players with past New Zealand or Tonga representative honours to play for Australian state sides, says he is not worried about being dropped for the second game. “I’m not worried (about getting dropped). I know if I just do my job here and do what I know I can do here, then I give myself the best opportunity to get a call. But if I don’t get a call, then I’ll just work hard. I‘ve just got to keep doing my job here.”

    Fonua-Blake’s club coach Craig Fitzgibbon, a former Blues representative and assistant coach who knows the intensity of Origin football intimately, has leapt to defend his star prop, pointing to his dominant performance just two days after his Origin debut where he recorded a team-high 139 running metres and 18 perfect tackles to inspire the Sharks to victory. Fitzgibbon has thrown his full support behind retaining Fonua-Blake in the second game, specifically to pair him with Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas, who is set to return to the Blues side after recovering from an early injury.

    “It frustrates me that front-rowers have to have carries and make metres for people to rate their performance,” Fitzgibbon said. “We need the ball to do that. They had no ball, and him and Mitch Barnett were off before they had one or two carries each. Then their second stints, both of those front-rowers got them back in the game.”

    Fitzgibbon also highlighted that Fonua-Blake’s underrated defensive work often flies under the radar of critics. “His defence is always underestimated for Addin, whereas guys like Addin are notorious for their meters and tries and the things that everyone notices. But for what we’re valuing Addin at the moment, he saved three tries, three weeks in a row for us on last plays. It’s actually kicks downfield that he turned up on the try line. So there’s some stuff off the ball that he’s probably not getting credit for.” Fitzgibbon also suggested the pair could combine with Mitch Barnett to create a terrifying forward rotation, leaving incumbent Jacob Saifiti, who did not take the field in game one, fighting to retain his spot in the 17-man squad.

    For his part, Fonua-Blake says he is eager for the chance to share the forward pack with Haas, widely regarded as one of the best props in the game. Having faced Haas multiple times at club level, the Sharks prop believes the pair could create an unstopable one-two punch in the middle of the field for the Blues. “That would be an ideal situation to get to play alongside him,” he said. “I definitely think he’s one of the best players to play the game. I’ve never played with him. I’ve played against him a lot of times and seen what he’s capable of. I feel like it’d be a really good one-two punch, but I can’t think about that too much. I have to do my job here back at club level and then give myself an opportunity to get there again.”

  • Ukraine using AI drones to strike vital convoys supplying Russian troops

    Ukraine using AI drones to strike vital convoys supplying Russian troops

    After years of static frontline momentum in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has launched a stepped-up campaign targeting Russian military supply convoys along key routes connecting occupied territories to Russia and Crimea, leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence-enhanced drone technology to hit targets deeper behind enemy lines with greater precision. Multiple independent open-source and defense analysts have confirmed the growing scale and impact of Ukraine’s new “logistics lockdown” strategy.

    BBC Verify has corroborated footage of at least 14 separate strikes carried out over the past week, targeting convoys transporting critical supplies including food, fuel, and ammunition along the high-priority southern supply corridors. Independent open-source collective GeoConfirmed has verified geolocation data showing destroyed and burned-out truck hulls and military vehicles at multiple sites along the route. Of the confirmed strikes, at least 10 occurred between the Russian border and the occupied port city of Mariupol, with one additional strike documented southwest of Melitopol, a key logistical hub for Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

    Clément Molin, an analyst with the think tank Atum Mundi, confirmed to BBC Verify that he has verified the destruction of 150 Russian supply vehicles more than 20 kilometers behind the front line — a figure he estimates represents only around half of all actual strikes carried out in the campaign.

    The backbone of Ukraine’s new campaign is the AI-enabled Hornet loitering munition system, which military analysts say represents a major technological leap over older drone models used by Kyiv earlier in the war. Nick Brown, a weapons specialist with defense intelligence firm Janes, explained that the Hornet system’s AI targeting module has been trained on thousands of hours of combat footage of Russian military vehicles collected over four years of war, allowing the drones to autonomously identify and prioritize valid targets. The drones also connect to operators via SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, making them far more resistant to Russian electronic jamming than older systems. This combination of capabilities allows Ukraine to launch hundreds of the loitering munitions toward target areas more than 100 miles behind enemy lines, where they can independently seek out and engage Russian supply vehicles.
    Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov outlined the strategic goals of the new drone campaign this Wednesday, noting that the “logistics lockdown” strategy is designed to increase pressure on Russian forces in their rear areas and cut off the frontline Russian units from the sustained resupply they need to carry out offensive operations.

    Cristian Vlas, a researcher with conflict monitoring organization Acled, told BBC Verify that the strikes have already forced Russian military command to adopt immediate tactical changes: the military has shortened the length of all supply convoys moving along key routes as a quick stopgap measure to reduce potential losses from drone attacks. Vlas added that Ukraine’s objectives extend beyond simply destroying supply trucks: the campaign also targets key Russian command posts and communications towers that enable frontline Russian units to coordinate operations and launch long-range drone and missile strikes from occupied Ukrainian territory. These assets are the backbone of Russia’s frontline combat capability, ensuring troops receive the food, fuel, and intelligence they need to maintain offensive pressure.

    Robert Tollast, a land warfare expert at the London-based Royal United Service Institute, explained just how critical uninterrupted supply is to Russian frontline operations, noting that active combat brigades can require up to 1,000 tonnes of fuel, food, ammunition, and other essential supplies every single day. While Ukraine previously carried out long-range strike campaigns targeting Russian air defense systems, Tollast emphasized that the extended range and precision of the new AI drone campaign represents an entirely new level of threat to Russian logistics. “If you are cutting resupply, for example ammunition trucks 100km or more from the front using small drones, and then longer-range drones are going after larger logistical sites, this is a very serious problem for the Russians,” he said.

    The new drone campaign has already shifted the momentum of frontline operations in Ukraine’s favor, according to recent analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The think tank’s latest assessments mark the first time since 2023 that Ukraine has been recapturing more territory than it loses on a weekly basis, ending months of near-stalemate across the front line.

    George Barros, an ISW analyst focusing on the Ukraine war, said that Kyiv’s innovative use of new technology proves the conflict is not locked in a permanent stalemate. Ukrainian forces are now able to carry out mechanized tactical maneuvers that were impossible just 12 months ago, thanks to the pressure created by the drone campaign. Barros added that as Ukraine’s intermediate-range strike campaign pushes Russian logistics hubs and forward operating bases further away from the front line, Russia’s ability to carry out infantry infiltration missions will continue to degrade, as these units lack the resupply to sustain persistent offensive actions. Ukraine’s “drone superiority” has even neutralized Russia’s traditional advantage of deploying overwhelming numbers of troops to the front line, Barros noted.

    The impact of the campaign is already visible in Russian tactical adjustments: Ukraine’s 412th Nemesis Brigade, a specialist drone unit, confirmed this week that Russian commanders have restricted the movement of heavy military equipment across southern occupied Ukraine, and Russian convoys have begun diverting from paved main supply routes to travel across open fields and unimproved dirt roads to avoid drone detection. Even pro-Russian occupation authorities have imposed restrictions: Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed head of occupied Kherson region, has ordered new limits on civilian traffic along the key southern supply route to reduce the risk of drone strikes on military convoys.

    Despite Ukraine’s current battlefield advantage, Barros cautioned that the edge provided by the new AI drone technology is likely temporary. Russia will almost certainly develop effective countermeasures to blunt the drone campaign over time, meaning Ukraine’s international backers have a rare, narrow window to capitalize on the favorable battlefield dynamics while Kyiv holds the upper hand.