Global Pulse

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  • Rescuers call for silence around earthquake rubble as window for survival narrows in Colombia

    Rescuers call for silence around earthquake rubble as window for survival narrows in Colombia

    CALI, Colombia — In a tense, reverent moment that captured the fragile mix of hope and grief gripping this quake-battered South American nation, search and rescue workers stood amid piles of crumbled concrete Thursday, lifting their arms and clenching their fists to demand total silence. They strained to catch even the faintest sound of life trapped beneath the wreckage left by a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake that has already claimed at least 265 lives and left hundreds unaccounted for. Thursday marked the third full day since the tremor shook the country on Monday, pushing search efforts into what emergency responders call the critical final window for pulling trapped people out alive.

    Aid experts widely recognize the 48 to 72 hours immediately following a major seismic event as the golden window for successful survivor rescue, though outcomes can stretch far beyond that timeframe if trapped people have access to clean water and small amounts of food. For the teams digging through rubble in Cali — one of the hardest-hit urban centers, alongside Pereira, Manizales and Quibdó — that narrow timeline has made every minute of work urgent.

    Daiana Rojas, a 25-year-old volunteer rescuer who is herself a Cali resident, told the Associated Press that faint sounds had been detected at one search site since 2:30 a.m. Thursday, keeping optimism alive. “There might be two more people alive here, and I’m hopeful,” she said. “We have been hearing sounds since 2:30 a.m., so our hope remains.”

    Rojas and her own family escaped the earthquake unharmed, but the experience of living through the most powerful quake to hit Colombia this century left a deep mark. She recalled the overwhelming terror when the ground began to shake: “I thought that was going to be my last moment alive.” Now, walking through the wreckage of her hometown, she said, “Seeing this situation in my city breaks my heart.” She chose to set aside her own shock to join volunteer rescue efforts, working side-by-side with professional teams to clear debris.

    Cali Mayor Alejandro Edr warned reporters Wednesday that the next 20 hours would make or break the push to find any remaining survivors. “The next 20 hours are the most critical to find and rescue people alive,” he said, confirming that search teams have continued to pick up faint signs of life beneath fallen structures across the city.

    The disaster has become an early critical test for Colombia’s newly inaugurated president Abelardo de la Espriella and his administration, which has scrambled to mobilize response resources while independent aid organizations work to reach the most severely damaged communities. Reporting from the government has shown a discrepancy in missing person numbers: de la Espriella said Wednesday that nearly 500 people were registered as missing, but independent civilian-run databases tracking the missing list more than 4,200 unaccounted-for people. Overall, the president confirmed that more than 25,800 families across the affected region have been impacted by the quake, many left homeless after their homes collapsed.

    In her days of digging through rubble, Rojas has already witnessed two extraordinary moments of survival: she helped pull two people out alive from the debris, and she has also helped recover the remains of those who did not survive. Speaking of the survivors she has helped rescue, she said, “They are not a relative or a friend of mine, but it feels as they were.” She described the shared tension and joy that ripples through search sites across the city: whenever rescuers call for silence to listen for signs of life, bystanders and team members alike freeze, holding their breath to avoid making even the smallest sound. When a sign of life is confirmed, that tension bursts into applause as teams race to reach the trapped person before conditions worsen.

    This report included contributions from journalists Suarez, reporting out of Bogota, Colombia, and Batschke, reporting from Santiago, Chile.

  • Who could potentially replace White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt?

    Who could potentially replace White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt?

    The impending departure of Karoline Leavitt from her post as White House Press Secretary has triggered a wave of widespread speculation inside and outside Washington over who will step into one of the most high-profile and high-stakes roles in U.S. politics. As of this reporting, no official nomination has been made public by the White House, and anonymous administration sources confirm that no final decision has been locked in, leaving the door open to a wide pool of potential candidates.

    Leavitt, a close and trusted advisor who has worked alongside former President and current President Donald Trump for years, leaves behind big shoes to fill. In his public announcement of her upcoming departure at the end of the month, Trump highlighted Leavitt as one of his most trusted aides, underscoring just how difficult the search for a replacement could prove.

    Earlier this year, when Leavitt stepped away for a temporary leave, the White House adopted an unusual arrangement where top senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stepped in to deliver press briefings instead of tapping an in-house temporary replacement. Many political observers expect the administration could revert to this ad-hoc system for at least a short transition period after Leavitt exits.

    However, the role of White House Press Secretary extends far beyond standing at the briefing room podium to deliver daily statements. A successful press secretary must navigate tense, often contentious relationships with the national press corps, coordinate communication strategy across all branches of the White House, provide trusted media guidance directly to the president, and oversee a small team that manages hundreds of daily press inquiries and information requests. Most critically, whoever takes the role must meet Trump’s exacting personal standards, a challenge that insiders say is far from simple.

    “It’s not easy,” an anonymous source close to the administration told the BBC. “That person will be very aware that he’s watching every day.”

    Political analysts have already identified a shortlist of prominent potential candidates with deep ties to Trump and the Republican Party, each bringing unique experience to the table.

    Leading the list of contenders is Alina Habba, a long-time Trump ally who previously served as his personal lawyer. Last year, Trump tapped Habba to serve as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey, but her nomination was ultimately blocked by a federal court ruling on her eligibility. She temporarily served in the role in an acting capacity, and in the first months of Trump’s second term, she has held a post as presidential counselor. Trump has repeatedly praised Habba as unwaveringly loyal and a tireless advocate for his policy and political agenda. Habba first joined Trump’s personal legal team in 2021 after meeting Trump at his New Jersey golf club, and she led his legal team during his high-profile 2024 hush-money trial in New York, where Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records; an appeal of that conviction is currently ongoing.

    Another top contender is Katie Miller, a 34-year-old conservative media personality and former Trump White House staffer. Miller is married to Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff and the architect of Trump’s hard-line immigration policy. She previously served as press secretary and later communications director for former Vice President Mike Pence during the first Trump administration, and later held the role of communications director for the Department of Government Efficiency—colloquially known as DOGE, the cost-cutting government reform initiative led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Last year, Miller launched her own podcast targeted at conservative women and working mothers, which has built a sizable audience among Republican voters.

    Current White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly is also considered an internal candidate for the promotion. At 29, the former beauty queen has already served as a primary on-the-record representative for the administration to the press, and previously held roles as national press secretary for the Republican National Committee and communications staff for Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden.

    Former ESPN sportscaster Sage Steele has also been named as a potential candidate. Steele, 53, who rose to prominence hosting iconic shows like SportsCenter and First Take, became a vocal campaign surrogate for Trump during the 2024 presidential election and has since emerged as a prominent conservative media figure and consistent supporter of the president’s agenda.

    White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, a long-time Trump advisor, is also viewed as a possible candidate. Cheung built a reputation for his combative approach to press interactions and unflinching defense of the president, first joining Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign before serving as director of rapid response during the first Trump term. He left the White House in 2018 to launch a private consulting firm that supported Trump’s 2020 campaign, and previously led communications for the Ultimate Fighting Championship before joining the Trump team. Shortly after Leavitt’s departure was announced, Cheung posted a public tribute praising his departing colleague, calling her the best teammate, fiercely loyal, unflappable, and an honorable public servant.

    Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Kenzie McLaughlin is another contender with deep first-term Trump administration experience. McLaughlin became known for her aggressive defense of the first Trump administration’s immigration policies on cable news, and held multiple roles across the Treasury Department and State Department during Trump’s first term. She stepped down from her current role in February and has kept a relatively low profile since, but previously served as communications director for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and for Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 Republican presidential primary campaign, and has worked as a political contributor for ABC News.

    Rounding out the list of potential candidates is conservative political commentator Scott Jennings, a senior political contributor at CNN who has become one of the most visible defenders of the Trump administration on mainstream cable news. Once a public critic of Trump, the 48-year-old Jennings has decades of political campaign experience, having worked on four presidential campaigns and three successful re-election campaigns for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of whom he is considered a close ally. Trump has publicly praised Jennings multiple times for his consistent defense on CNN, noting in a Michigan rally last year that “He’s defending me all the time on CNN, and he defends me really well, but he can’t go too far because if he goes too far, he’ll get fired.” Jennings last year published a pro-Trump book titled *A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization*.

  • A British firm starts containment of oil spill from stricken tanker off Oman

    A British firm starts containment of oil spill from stricken tanker off Oman

    A United Kingdom-based maritime emergency firm has been contracted to launch a high-stakes salvage operation for a grounded Russian shadow fleet tanker off Oman’s southwestern coast, where a rapidly expanding oil spill has already reached shore and threatens one of the region’s most biodiverse protected marine habitats.

    The 247-meter vessel, the Caroline Bezengi, has been stranded near Qabiliyah Island since early June, when an explosion of unknown origin disabled the tanker. The ship was carrying more than 800,000 barrels of Russian crude when it ran aground after departing Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in May. Classified as part of Moscow’s shadow fleet of unregulated oil tankers, the Caroline Bezengi is currently sanctioned by both the British government and the European Union, and it remains unflagged with no clear confirmation of insurance coverage. Geospatial analysts link the vessel’s ownership to entities based in Shanghai, China.

    Over recent weeks, stormy conditions driven by the annual Khareef monsoon season, which peaks between July and August, have accelerated the spread of leaking oil from the damaged tanker. Satellite imagery confirms the spill has expanded exponentially across hundreds of square kilometers of ocean, and now the slick is increasingly encroaching on critical coastal ecosystems. On Wednesday, Omani environmental authorities confirmed oil has already reached the shore at Ras Madrakah, located more than 200 kilometers north of the grounded tanker. Officials warn the spill could travel another 100 kilometers further north to reach Masirah Island in the coming days. New satellite data also shows the Caroline Bezengi is slowly submerging, with experts warning that a full structural break or total sinking could release the vessel’s entire cargo, triggering what would be an unprecedented environmental catastrophe for the region.

    Ambrey, the London-headquartered maritime risk and response firm leading the operation, announced Thursday that its assessment team had already boarded the tanker with air support from Omani authorities to stabilize the vessel after completing an initial damage survey. In an official statement, Ed Wollaston, Ambrey’s global response director, described the operation as uniquely difficult, noting that ongoing monsoon storms have created exceptionally challenging working conditions. As of Thursday, the company had not released public estimates for either the timeline or total cost of the full salvage and cleanup effort.

    Environmental advocates warn that the spill’s spread to shore dramatically increases the long-term risk to ecosystems and complicates cleanup efforts. “It is extremely concerning that the oil has spread from an offshore spill to the shoreline where it can contaminate coastal sediments,” explained Hanen Keskes, a campaigner for global environmental organization Greenpeace. Once oil reaches coastal habitats, she noted, “cleanup becomes significantly more complex than containment at sea, and even after the visible slick is removed, environmental damage can persist for decades.”

    The Qabiliyah Island marine protected area at the center of the crisis is one of the Arabian Sea’s most ecologically important regions. It hosts fragile coral reef systems, extensive seagrass meadows, critical nesting grounds for endangered sea turtle species, and breeding habitats for dozens of species of migratory seabirds. The area is also one of the only known habitats for the rare and critically endangered Arabian Sea humpback whale. Compounding challenges, the remote location of the spill has very limited existing infrastructure, requiring additional safety protocols and complicating access for salvage and response teams, Keskes added.

    This oil spill crisis is not the only environmental emergency unfolding in the strategic Gulf region. Just across the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s Qeshm Island, Iranian authorities are already working to contain a separate large oil spill, with blame for the incident remaining contested. Iranian officials have linked the spill to rising tensions between Iran and the United States and are demanding compensation for cleanup costs, but maritime tracking firm TankerTrackers.com published satellite evidence on social media platform X indicating the spill likely originated from an Iranian attack on a commercial bulk carrier off Oman’s coast, with the slick drifting across the strait to reach Iranian shores.

  • ‘How many will die?’: the mysterious ailment killing Kenyan elephants

    ‘How many will die?’: the mysterious ailment killing Kenyan elephants

    Beneath the shadow of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife landscapes is now grappling with an unexplained crisis that has conservationists and local communities on edge. In Kenya’s Amboseli ecosystem, a still-uncharacterized ailment has claimed the lives of at least 19 elephants since June, leaving experts and local authorities at odds over what is triggering the deaths.

  • Four Canadian hockey stars remain suspended after sexual assault acquittal

    Four Canadian hockey stars remain suspended after sexual assault acquittal

    An independent appeals oversight body has delivered a landmark ruling in a high-profile Canadian ice hockey case, upholding lengthy suspensions for four former under-20 national team players who were acquitted of sexual assault charges last year, while clearing a fifth player for immediate reinstatement. The five players—Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote—faced criminal charges stemming from a 2018 alleged sexual assault incident in London, Ontario, where the team had gathered for a gala. A Canadian court found all five not guilty of the charges in July 2025, after presiding justice Maria Carroccia ruled the complainant’s evidence was not credible or reliable. The case centered on whether the complainant, 20 at the time of the incident, had consented to all sexual activity that unfolded in a hotel room. The complainant testified she had initially agreed to sex with McLeod but became intoxicated, felt threatened, and did not consent to subsequent acts with other players; defense lawyers argued all players reasonably believed the complainant had consented to all interactions. Despite the criminal acquittals, the independent appeals board determined that four of the five players violated Hockey Canada’s official code of conduct, and recommended they remain suspended from all national federation-sanctioned activities, including international representation. Formenton, the fifth player, was also found to have broken conduct rules but will be reinstated immediately. The suspensions do not impact the players’ eligibility to compete in the National Hockey League, which operates independently of Hockey Canada and cleared all five players to sign new NHL contracts late last year following the league’s own separate investigation into the incident. The appeals board outlined staggered reinstatement timelines for the four suspended players: Cal Foote will become eligible to return to Hockey Canada programs this November 10, Carter Hart will have to wait until November 10, 2027, Dillon Dube until November 10, 2028, and Michael McLeod will not be eligible to return until November 10, 2030. Board officials have not released any explanation for the differing suspension lengths. The 8-year-old case has already had a lasting impact on Canadian sports culture, sparking a national reckoning over athlete safety and toxic culture in men’s elite hockey. Following Wednesday’s ruling, Canada’s Secretary of Sport Adam van Koeverden emphasized that the case’s legacy is tangible progress toward reform. “It is the voices of women and survivors, and the courage and bravery it takes to come forward, that have led to changes we are seeing in toxic culture,” van Koeverden said in a statement. He added that Hockey Canada has made meaningful progress addressing long-standing systemic failures within the organization, and stressed that all national sports governing bodies must be held accountable for maintaining safe, respectful environments for all athletes.

  • Watch: Venomous snake pulled from football helmet

    Watch: Venomous snake pulled from football helmet

    A startling incident at a U.S. high school has put local sports communities on alert after a venomous cottonmouth snake was discovered concealed inside a student football player’s helmet. According to on-scene reports, the teenage athlete put on the protective gear ahead of team activities and wore it for nearly 60 minutes before anyone noticed the dangerous intruder tucked inside the hard shell.

    Coaches and team staff eventually spotted the snake and moved quickly to safely remove the venomous reptile from the helmet without incident. Miraculously, the student avoided any injury, escaping what could have been a life-threatening encounter with the venomous pit viper, which is native to wetland and forested regions across the southeastern United States.

    Local wildlife experts note that cooler seasonal temperatures often drive snakes to seek out warm, enclosed shelter, making stored sports equipment an unexpected target for wild creatures. Team officials have since announced new protocols for checking all gear before use to prevent similar surprises, reminding athletes and staff to remain vigilant when handling equipment that has been stored outdoors or in open sheds. The incident has spread widely on social media, with multiple outlets sharing video footage of the snake removal that has captured public attention nationwide.

  • Henriques chasing ‘cricket nirvana’ with Portugal

    Henriques chasing ‘cricket nirvana’ with Portugal

    At 39 years old, fresh off retiring from Australian domestic cricket this past July following a 420-match career across all formats, veteran all-rounder Moises Henriques is embarking on one final, deeply personal cricket adventure. The former Australian international, who earned 44 caps for his adopted country between 2009 and 2021 across Tests, ODIs and T20Is, has switched national allegiances to represent his birth nation Portugal — and he says guiding the small European cricket program to its first-ever men’s T20 World Cup would be the crowning achievement of his late career.

    Henriques will lead Portugal as captain at the European sub-regional T20 World Cup qualifier kicking off Friday in Finland, a tournament that marks the first step on the long road to the global showcase. Born in Funchal on Portugal’s Madeira Island, Henriques moved to Sydney with his family at the age of two, when his father — a former second-division Portuguese footballer — relocated to Australia in search of better professional opportunities. Growing up with an unfamiliar given name and limited English skills in his Australian primary school, Henriques credits cricket with helping him find confidence and a sense of belonging, eventually working his way up to the highest level of the sport, wearing Australia’s iconic Baggy Green Test cap.

    It has been just five years since Henriques even learned that Portugal fielded a national cricket team, but he says he has been stunned by the depth of talent assembled in the current squad. Henriques pointed to Italy’s run earlier this year, where the European side qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup after starting their campaign at the same sub-regional stage that Portugal enters this week. That precedent is exactly what he is targeting, he told the BBC Stumped podcast in an interview.

    “Obviously, the ideal, the nirvana, would be to replicate what Italy have done,” Henriques said. “Whether that’s realistic for this World Cup, or the following, I don’t know. We’ll only be able to tell in a couple of games. I’m sure there’s a lot of opposition that feel that they might be able to do something similar.”

    Portugal, currently ranked 37th in the global T20 rankings, is drawn into Group B of the 10-team Finland qualifier alongside Czech Republic, Germany, Greece and Israel. If they advance out of this week’s tournament, they will move on to a European final regional qualifier next year, where they will face off against Scotland, Jersey and Denmark for a spot in the T20 World Cup.

    While Henriques notes that representing Australia and earning a Baggy Green will always be a hard achievement to top, he says pulling on Portugal’s national shirt as captain carries a unique, special meaning. He reconnected with his birthplace during a visit to Madeira last year, and says the experience deepened his connection to the country. “When I played for Australia, my family also felt I was representing them as well. I’m representing the motherland, so to speak, and it’s going to feel somewhat similar,” he explained. “Hopefully we can make a positive impact trying to grow the sport in Portugal and probably Europe more broadly as well.”

    Madeira’s most famous native son is global football icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who has the island’s airport renamed in his honor. When asked about the possibility of similar recognition if he pulls off a World Cup qualification, Henriques joked that he would be happy to get a helicopter pad named after him.

    Henriques is far from the only high-level professional in Portugal’s squad, a fact that has surprised even him. South African batter Cameron Shekleton, who has played first-class cricket and featured for the Proteas A side, is part of the roster, while former New Zealand Under-19 captain Craig Cachopa, who has represented Sussex, Auckland and Wellington at the domestic level, also joins the group. “I was quietly and pleasantly surprised with the quality of cricketers that we’ve got in the team,” Henriques said. “There’s a lot of high-level cricketers going around, which I probably wasn’t expecting a few years ago when I first started entertaining the thought of playing.”

    The veteran all-rounder will face one unusual challenge at the Finland qualifier: he has not played a competitive match on an artificial wicket in 25 years. Compounding that hurdle, he is just five months removed from back surgery, and navigating a full run-up on the synthetic surface while bowling will be his biggest physical test. “Obviously we train a lot indoors on synthetic wickets so hopefully I can make the adjustment,” he said.

    Following the conclusion of the qualifier, Henriques will next join Glasgow Cosmic for the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League as he continues his work growing the sport across the continent.

  • La Liga launches big European domestic leagues without Barcelona and Real Madrid

    La Liga launches big European domestic leagues without Barcelona and Real Madrid

    Just three weeks after Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy, Spain’s top-flight soccer competition La Liga has made history as the first of Europe’s five major domestic leagues to launch its new season this weekend — albeit a scaled-back opening slate disrupted by postponements and delayed starts for the league’s two biggest giants.

    Multiple factors have reshaped the opening weeks of the 2026-2027 campaign. Defending league champion Barcelona and newly reconstructed Real Madrid, led by the returning José Mourinho, will not kick off their seasons until the following weekend, as a large share of their rosters competed deep into the World Cup and were granted extended post-tournament leave. A separate disruption came when an unexpected fungus outbreak on the playing surface at Celta Vigo’s home stadium forced the postponement of their Sunday opening match against Osasuna, rescheduled to August 27.

    Barcelona, which is targeting an unprecedented third consecutive La Liga title, will open its title defense with an away fixture against Elche on August 23. For Mourinho’s Real Madrid, which enters the season fresh off back-to-back campaigns without a major trophy, the club’s first match of the rebuilt side will come against Espanyol away on August 22.

    The only top-flight match involving a traditional big club this week will see Atletico Madrid, a consistent contender that has finished in the top four of La Liga for multiple consecutive seasons, host newly promoted Malaga on Wednesday. Even for Atletico, however, the season opens amid lingering uncertainty: star forward Julián Álvarez, who won the World Cup with Argentina earlier this month, has publicly requested a transfer, leaving his future at the club in doubt.

    The broader 2026-2027 European club soccer season officially got underway earlier this week, when Paris Saint-Germain claimed the first silverware of the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup final last Wednesday.

    The opening weekend of La Liga gets underway Saturday with Alaves hosting Getafe, followed by a fixture between Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano. Sunday will mark a historic milestone for Racing Santander, which is returning to La Liga’s top flight after a 14-year absence. They will host Villarreal, which finished third in the league table last season, behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid. The final match of the opening weekend will see Levante travel to Barcelona to face Espanyol.

    Barcelona enters the season with a clear target: become the first club in modern La Liga history to win three consecutive league titles. Much of the squad’s core is made up of the Spanish players who lifted the World Cup trophy last month, including breakout young stars Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pedri, Pau Cubarsí and veteran playmaker Dani Olmo. One key exiting player is expected to be Ferran Torres, the forward who scored Spain’s game-winning extra-time goal in the World Cup final against Argentina. Reports confirm Torres is in advanced negotiations to complete a transfer to PSG. New manager Hansi Flick has already added England forward Anthony Gordon to the squad, a signing designed to offset the departure of veteran striker Robert Lewandowski.

    At Real Madrid, the club turned to the returning Mourinho to turn around its fortunes after two consecutive underwhelming seasons. The squad has undergone an extensive overhaul, with star trio Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham retained as the foundation of the side. New additions include Spanish World Cup winner Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries, playmaker Bernardo Silva and young forward Yan Diomande. High-profile departures include veteran defenders Dani Carvajal and David Alaba, who left the club this transfer window.

    For Atletico Madrid, the roster turnover is equally significant. Manager Diego Simeone has already lost key first-team players including Antoine Griezmann, Thiago Almada, Nahuel Molina and Clément Lenglet. The club’s new signings include Alejandro Grimaldo, Morten Hjulmand and Lee Kang-In, with Argentine center-back Cristian “Cuti” Romero expected to complete his arrival imminently. Three Atletico players featured for champion Spain in the World Cup: Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill and Álex Baena, while Álvarez represented Argentina. Though Atletico’s board has repeatedly stated it has no intention of selling the in-demand forward, who has now returned to pre-season training, speculation over his future continues to swirl, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid linked with a move for his signature.

    Beyond roster changes, the new La Liga season will introduce a groundbreaking technological first for top-flight soccer. The league confirmed it will become the first top competition in the world to roll out “connected ball” technology at a full league scale. The new match balls are embedded with a radio-frequency sensor that continuously transmits accurate real-time data on the ball’s position and records the exact moment of every player contact with the ball. The sensor data is captured by a network of 12 antennas installed in every La Liga stadium, and integrated into the league’s existing match technology ecosystem to support referee decision-making and broadcast analysis.

    Three clubs earned promotion to La Liga from the Segunda División this off-season: Racing Santander, Malaga, and Deportivo La Coruña, a former La Liga champion that spent eight consecutive seasons competing in the second tier. The three clubs that were relegated to the second division at the end of last season are Mallorca, Girona and Oviedo.

  • Tanzanian rangers arrested as police investigate death in national park

    Tanzanian rangers arrested as police investigate death in national park

    A fatal incident in northern Tanzania’s high-profile Ngorongoro Conservation Area has sparked renewed scrutiny of harsh conservation enforcement practices, after local police took three park rangers into custody following the death of one civilian and the severe injury of two others who authorities say entered the protected zone without formal authorization.

    The confrontation unfolded on a Wednesday morning, when the rangers detained the three travelers who had mistakenly strayed into the conservation area. Police reports confirm the group was en route from the regional hub of Arusha to a funeral in Babati, a destination roughly 103 miles from their starting point, when they veered off the main road and into the protected park boundaries.

    According to statements to local media from Abdallah Nuru, the only traveler who avoided prolonged medical detention, the group realized their misdirection shortly after passing through the Ngorongoro park gate and immediately turned back to exit. Even after explaining they had lost their way and were traveling to a family funeral, Nuru says rangers accused the three men of being poachers and detained them immediately.

    Nuru described a brutal ordeal of abuse at the hands of the rangers: the three were ordered to remove all their clothing, roll across ground covered in sharp thorny shrubs, and were beaten repeatedly while officers poured water over them during the assault. Both 25-year-old Sefu Musa and the third traveler, Salimu Haji, lost consciousness during the attack. An injured Nuru managed to transport his two colleagues to a nearby hospital, where Musa was pronounced dead on arrival. Haji remains hospitalized in critical condition for treatment of his injuries, while Nuru returned to Arusha to speak with reporters and authorities.

    Police have confirmed the three rangers have been taken into custody as part of an ongoing formal investigation into the circumstances of Musa’s death. The incident is not an isolated case, however: human rights organizations and local indigenous communities have for years documented widespread allegations of excessive force, arbitrary detainment, and harassment targeting civilians during routine conservation enforcement operations across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

    Long-standing tensions over conservation policy in the region center on repeated forced relocation efforts targeting the Maasai people, an indigenous community that has coexisted with wildlife in the Ngorongoro ecosystem for centuries. Tanzanian government authorities have repeatedly defended these relocation and enforcement measures, framing them as critical necessary steps to protect the ecologically sensitive protected zone and enforce national conservation regulations.

    For additional reporting on news across the African continent, visit BBCAfrica.com, and follow BBC Africa on social media platforms including Twitter @BBCAfrica, Facebook, and Instagram.

  • Congo’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak reaches a sixth province

    Congo’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak reaches a sixth province

    KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – The ongoing deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has expanded into a sixth previously unaffected province, with the first fatality recorded in Bas-Uele, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya confirmed Thursday.

    The deceased patient, Kaseya explained, had traveled from Isiro, a community in the already impacted Haut-Uele province, to Buta – the capital city of Bas-Uele – before succumbing to the virus.

    The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that this current outbreak, driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, is already the fastest-growing event of its kind on record and is on course to surpass the 2013-2016 West African outbreak, the deadliest Ebola event in history that claimed more than 11,000 lives. Unlike outbreaks of more common Ebola strains, there are currently no formally approved vaccines or targeted treatments available for the Bundibugyo variant driving the current surge.

    Latest official data from the Congolese government puts the outbreak’s cumulative case count above 4,500, with more than 2,100 deaths recorded to date. Alarmingly, this death toll has been reached nearly three times faster than the same mortality milestone during the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, signaling an unprecedented rate of spread.

    Response efforts are being severely hampered by a perfect storm of systemic and security challenges. Unpaid health workers have launched widespread strikes, armed rebel groups operate in many affected regions, deep-seated distrust among long-traumatized local communities undermines containment work, and pervasive misinformation claiming Ebola does not exist has discouraged participation in public health measures. These barriers have allowed the virus to outpace intervention teams across the country.

    On the same day the expansion to Bas-Uele was announced, health workers at the Nizi Treatment Center in Ituri – the hardest-hit province in the outbreak – walked off the job, forcing the facility to temporarily close. Workers reported they had not received any salary for three months, a grievance that has disrupted care across multiple response sites.

    Compounding the crisis, the true scale of the outbreak remains undercounted and poorly understood. Though the outbreak was formally declared on May 15, recent genetic sequencing conducted by the WHO confirms the virus was circulating as early as February, months before official detection. Health authorities estimate that 60 to 70 percent of new confirmed cases are found among community members not already on monitored contact lists, confirming the virus is spreading widely through undetected community transmission.

    “We are chasing the virus; the virus is ahead of us,” Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, stated this week, summarizing the growing gap between spread and response.

    Ebola is a rare but highly contagious viral pathogen that spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids including blood, vomit and semen, as well as exposure to contaminated surfaces and materials like bedding and clothing. Infection causes severe acute illness that carries a high risk of fatality without targeted care.

    In a small bright spot for the response, clinical trials for two potential treatments specific to this strain of Ebola launched last month in Ituri, offering hope that targeted medical options could become available in the coming months.