Global Pulse

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  • ‘Never, ever forget’ – America marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

    ‘Never, ever forget’ – America marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

    A quarter of a century after the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, communities across the United States and around the world gathered Friday to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, reflecting on lingering grief, unfulfilled justice demands, and the long-term health toll that continues to claim lives decades later.

    Across three key attack sites, the nation’s highest political leaders joined survivors and bereaved families to mark the somber milestone. At the Pentagon, one of the four targets hit by hijacked planes that morning, sitting President Donald Trump led a formal commemoration alongside current cabinet members and Condoleezza Rice, who served as Secretary of State in the aftermath of the attacks. In his remarks, Trump tied the post-9/11 global fight against terrorism to his administration’s ongoing standoff with Iran, reaffirming a hardline pledge: “The Islamic Republic will never, ever have a nuclear weapon.” Echoing a core promise of every 9/11 commemoration, he added, “Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today.”

    At the ground zero memorial in lower Manhattan, built where the Twin Towers once stood, Vice President JD Vance joined an unprecedented gathering: all four living former U.S. presidents — George W. Bush, who held the presidency during the 2001 attacks, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden — alongside their respective first ladies. For nearly four hours, family members took turns reading the full roll of nearly 3,000 victims killed in the attacks, a ritual that has become the centerpiece of the annual memorial.

    In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, hundreds gathered at the Flight 93 National Memorial, where the fourth hijacked plane crashed after passengers revolted against the hijackers, preventing an attack on the U.S. Capitol that morning. A silent tribute was held at the site’s Wall of Names, honoring the 40 passengers and crew who died.

    For the first time in the 25 years of commemorations, this year’s memorial included a new, somber addition: a seventh bell toll, following the six traditional bells that mark the timelines of each plane crash and the collapse of the Twin Towers. The seventh bell pays tribute to the thousands of people who have since died from 9/11-related illnesses, most commonly cancers caused by exposure to toxic dust and smoke from the collapsing World Trade Center. U.S. health officials estimate that these secondary deaths have now outnumbered the nearly 3,000 people killed in the immediate attacks by more than three to one — a grim reminder of the attack’s long shadow that continues to affect communities.

    Survivors also shared their harrowing firsthand accounts of the morning to mark the milestone. Janice Brooks, who had moved to New York just two weeks before the attacks to start a new job on the 84th floor of the South Tower, described the chaos and terror that unfolded after the first plane hit the North Tower. As she began evacuating, the second hijacked plane slammed into her tower: “There was an almighty thud. I heard one of those horror film screams as a woman was hit by debris. When I looked up, there was a big gaping hole where my office should have been.” Today, Brooks joins thousands of survivors and family members who return to ground zero every year to honor those who did not escape.

    The 25th anniversary also brought renewed calls for accountability from family members of victims. Terry Strada, a 9/11 widow and national chair of 9/11 Families United, used her live-broadcast remarks to criticize the U.S. government’s failure to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the attacks. “How can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?” Strada asked, drawing loud applause from the gathered crowd. While a majority of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — who planned the attacks — came from a prominent Saudi family, the 2004 9/11 Commission Report officially cleared the Saudi government of any involvement, a conclusion that many victim families continue to dispute to this day. Saudi officials have repeatedly denied any connection to the attacks.

    Beyond U.S. borders, memorial events were held in major cities across the globe to honor the hundreds of foreign nationals killed in the attacks, and to stand in solidarity with the United States. In London, the UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and U.S. Ambassador Warren Stephens joined a formal tribute at Buckingham Palace, with additional commemoration events held at Lloyd’s of London. The Toronto Stock Exchange held its own memorial for colleagues lost in the attacks. In Milan, Italy, a group of Italian and American firefighters held a symbolic stair climb at the Galfa Tower, climbing 110 floors up and down to match the number of stories in each of the original Twin Towers, honoring the hundreds of first responders who died rushing into the burning towers to save others.

    Twenty-five years on, the commemorations remain anchored in the core promise that has defined the annual ritual: that the lives lost on September 11, 2001, will never be forgotten.

  • ‘We will never, ever forget’ – Americans remember 9/11 on 25th anniversary

    ‘We will never, ever forget’ – Americans remember 9/11 on 25th anniversary

    A quarter-century after one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, Americans from across the country came together on Saturday to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, pausing to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost and reaffirming the collective promise that those killed will never be forgotten.

    Commemorative events were held at the three primary sites forever altered by the 2001 attacks: Lower Manhattan’s National September 11 Memorial, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the Flight 93 National Memorial in the rural hills near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Family members of victims, current and former public officials, first responders, and ordinary citizens joined each gathering, sharing quiet moments of reflection, reading the names of those who perished, and laying wreaths to honor their memory.

    At the New York memorial, which is built around the footprints of the fallen Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the sound of bagpipes echoed through lower Manhattan as relatives took turns calling out the names of loved ones. Many left flowers, handwritten notes, and small personal mementos at the bronze parapets that line the memorial pools, carrying on a tradition that has persisted for 25 years. At the Pentagon, service members and defense officials joined in a solemn remembrance ceremony, paying tribute to the 184 people killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. In Shanksville, attendees gathered at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93, where passengers and crew fought back against hijackers, preventing the plane from reaching its intended target in Washington and costing all 40 on board their lives.

    Across all three events, speakers and attendees echoed a shared sentiment: that the memory of those lost on September 11, 2001, remains undimmed after 25 years, and the nation will forever hold their stories close. “We will never, ever forget,” was the refrain repeated by countless participants, tying together the grief, resilience, and national unity that has defined the annual remembrance for a generation.

  • Zack Polanski urges investigation into Israeli settlement-linked sponsor of Bayeux Tapestry exhibition

    Zack Polanski urges investigation into Israeli settlement-linked sponsor of Bayeux Tapestry exhibition

    A growing political firestorm has erupted in the United Kingdom over the primary sponsorship of the British Museum’s newly opened Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, after revelations that the Belarus-born billionaire backing the show with an estimated £5 million donation has ties to an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Opposition figures are now demanding the newly seated Labour government make good on its recent pledges to crack down on activity enabling illegal settlements by launching a formal probe into the sponsorship.

    Zack Polanski, leader of the UK Green Party, was the first to publicly call for the investigation, following reporting by independent outlet Middle East Eye that exposed Igor Tulchinsky’s November 2025 unveiling of a therapeutic yurt at a new community resilience center in Efrat. The settlement, which is home to roughly 12,000 Israeli settlers, was constructed on land seized from four Palestinian villages and is currently subject to UK sanctions over its illegal status under international law.

    Tulchinsky was named as the primary funder of the yurt project, which serves the Gush Etzion bloc of illegal Israeli settlements located 12 kilometers southeast of Jerusalem. He opened the facility alongside Efrat mayor Dovi Shefler, and publicly dedicated the space to “Israel’s brave warriors and their families,” according to on-the-ground reports.

    This is not the first controversy over billionaire access and donations tied to pro-Israel causes at the British Museum in recent weeks. Just last month, The Guardian revealed the museum granted a private pre-opening view of the Bayeux Tapestry to Peter Thiel, the U.S. billionaire founder of Palantir, a defense technology firm that supplies cutting-edge artificial intelligence and data analysis tools to the Israeli military.

    Polanski framed the call for investigation as a test of the Labour government’s commitment to its new policy on Israeli settlements. “If the Labour government wants to get beyond symbolism and new rhetoric, it must investigate whether this is a breach of the sanctions it announced this week,” he told Middle East Eye. He added that the revelation of Tulchinsky’s sponsorship follows close on the heels of the Thiel controversy, noting “we now learn of the sponsorship of another billionaire who’s been involved in supporting what the Labour government has itself now finally described as ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.”

    Just days before the exhibition opened to the public on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband made a landmark policy announcement: his government formally recognizes the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory as illegal, and confirms that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is underway in the occupied West Bank. Miliband announced sweeping new sanctions on all Israeli settlements, alongside a full ban on arms licenses and any exports that “materially contribute to the occupation.” He explicitly warned that any individual or entity funding or facilitating illegal settlements would face the full consequences of UK sanctions, stating “settlements are illegal. They should not be promoted in our country.”

    Tulchinsky was not shy about his ties to Israel and support for its military, even before the revelations of his settlement project. In a March 2025 interview with the *Jerusalem Post*, he confirmed he has provided financial support to the Israeli military since the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks and the outbreak of the Gaza war, and noted he makes regular visits to the country. More recently, Middle East Eye revealed this week that Tulchinsky runs an Israel-based defense technology venture capital fund headed by a recently retired Israeli army commander who has championed the use of remote-controlled combat vehicles in Gaza. One international rights group has labeled these vehicles a “direct tool for committing genocide,” linking them to the destruction of entire residential neighborhoods and irreplaceable cultural heritage sites in Gaza and Lebanon.

    Tulchinsky attended the exhibition’s official opening reception last week alongside high-profile UK and French figures, including King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (corrected per original context: Andy Burnham as referenced in original) and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. A portrait of Tulchinsky painted by prominent artist Jonathan Yeo is set to hang in the British Museum for the full run of the exhibition, with Yeo describing Tulchinsky as an extraordinary person and brilliant mind who was a privilege to paint.

    Neither Downing Street, the Foreign Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the British Museum, nor Tulchinsky’s investment firm WorldQuant have issued formal responses to repeated requests for comment on the controversy. The DCMS noted that while the British Museum receives public funding through the department, it operates independently of government, and all sponsorship decisions are the responsibility of its board of trustees. The Efrat Development Foundation has confirmed Tulchinsky is a donor to the community center project, but said he contributed through an unnamed third-party organization and declined to share further details about the scope or nature of his support.

    The sponsorship controversy adds to a series of ongoing challenges facing the British Museum, which has already faced calls from cross-party MPs for an investigation into the alleged removal of references to Palestine from several of its public galleries. Kim Johnson, a Labour MP and leading parliamentary campaigner for stronger UK action on Israeli violations of international law, warned that a clear pattern of problematic decision-making is emerging at the institution. “First, Palestine is scrubbed from displays following political pressure. Now we learn the British Museum has accepted significant funding from someone reported to have funded a settlement project in the illegally occupied West Bank,” Johnson said. “The British Museum should be preserving history, not allowing political interests or money to shape whose history is told – or whose actions are legitimised. Is this really who our national cultural institutions should be taking money from?”

    In response to earlier claims about removed references to Palestine, the British Museum released a statement denying any intentional removal, noting that it continues to use the term Palestine across a range of historic and contemporary gallery displays. To date, no further response has been issued to address the latest calls for an investigation into Tulchinsky’s sponsorship.

  • Lollipops containing €500k of cocaine seized at airport

    Lollipops containing €500k of cocaine seized at airport

    In a major drug bust at one of Ireland’s busiest international travel hubs, law enforcement and customs officials have seized roughly 5 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside lollipops in a passenger’s checked luggage. The operation, carried out jointly by Ireland’s national police force, An Garda Síochána, and officers from the Irish Revenue Commissioners, unfolded at Dublin Airport this Thursday, when routine screening and a subsequent targeted search of baggage turned up the illicit narcotics stashed inside sealed bags of commercially packaged confectionery.

    Following the initial discovery of the cocaine, Gardaí launched immediate follow-up searches connected to the suspect. Those additional searches uncovered more contraband: around €16,000 (equivalent to approximately £13,700) in undeclared cash, plus a second batch of controlled drugs estimated to hold a street value of €14,500, or £12,500.

    A man in his 60s, who was taken into custody immediately after the seizure at the airport, was formally charged with drug trafficking offenses in connection with the incident. He made his first court appearance before a judge on the following Friday morning. Irish Revenue officials documented the unusual smuggling attempt by photographing the lollipop packages laced with cocaine after the seizure, providing clear evidence of the inventive method traffickers attempted to use to bypass airport security and customs checks.

  • Surrogate who refused abortion over heart defect takes custody battle to US Supreme Court

    Surrogate who refused abortion over heart defect takes custody battle to US Supreme Court

    A high-stakes legal battle over custody of a newborn with a life-threatening congenital heart defect has landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, after a gestational surrogate refused the intended parents’ request to terminate the pregnancy and carried the child to term against their wishes.

    McKenna West, the surrogate involved in the case, has filed an emergency appeal asking the nation’s highest court to overturn a lower California court ruling that granted full parental rights to Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, the California couple who contracted her to carry their child. The conflict erupted after a 20-week prenatal scan revealed the fetus had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe condition that leaves the left side of the heart underdeveloped and unable to effectively pump blood throughout the body. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that while multiple surgeries can extend survival, the condition is not curable and often leads to lifelong health complications.

    After receiving the diagnosis, Ahmed and Gilkar asked West to undergo an abortion. Rather than comply, West—who has received public backing from multiple Republican officials—relocated to Texas, a state where abortion access is heavily restricted, and gave birth to the baby last month. Following her move, Texas’ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton stepped into the case, securing an emergency court order that required the infant to receive all medical treatment within Texas, and the newborn underwent surgery shortly after birth.

    In her Supreme Court filing, West stated she rejected the abortion request after reviewing potential treatment options for the child, saying she could not terminate what she calls “this precious baby.” She argues that the intended biological parents should not be granted custody because of their original request to terminate the pregnancy, claiming they would withhold the necessary ongoing medical care the child needs and potentially place him in hospice care without her intervention. West also says that without the Supreme Court’s involvement, she will be cut off entirely from updates on the child’s health status.

    The California couple has pushed back against West’s claims, with court records showing Gilkar telling a previous hearing that the child—who they have named Rumi—is “our child” and “the love of our lives.” They accuse West of traveling to Texas without any advance notice, cutting off their access to the infant’s medical records and blocking their ability to make decisions about his care. Lower courts have issued conflicting rulings: a California court already awarded full parental rights to Ahmed and Gilkar, while a Texas court issued a restraining order barring West from contacting or seeing the child. As of the latest update, attorneys for the couple confirmed Rumi remains in critical condition, with doctors monitoring him for potential post-surgery complications. The BBC has reached out to legal representatives for Ahmed and Gilkar to request additional comment on the appeal.

  • Gen Zs recall first learning of ‘deeply harrowing, terrifying’ 9/11

    Gen Zs recall first learning of ‘deeply harrowing, terrifying’ 9/11

    A quarter-century has passed since the horrific September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that left nearly 3,000 people dead and reshaped the trajectory of American life forever. For most Americans who were alive at the time, the memories of that crisp autumn morning remain seared into their consciousness—they can recall exactly where they stood, what they saw, and how they felt as four hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a rural field in Pennsylvania. But for the youngest cohort of American adults, members of Generation Z born between 1997 and 2012, the attacks are not a first-hand memory, but a historical event learned about long after the smoke cleared. Their connection to 9/11 is built not on lived experience, but on the moments they first heard the story from families, teachers, and their own independent research.

    Avery Black, a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of South Carolina, told the BBC her first introduction to 9/11 came during elementary school lessons. After class, she rushed home to ask her mother about the event, and watched as her mother shared her own first-hand memory of the attacks before breaking down into tears, recounting the story of firefighters who rushed into the burning towers and never returned. Though Black was too young to fully grasp the magnitude of the tragedy as a child, two haunting details have stuck with her to this day: the iconic, devastating “falling man” photograph of a person plummeting upside down from the North Tower, and footage of then-President George W. Bush learning of the attacks while visiting a Florida elementary school.

    For 26-year-old Annie Erickson, who grew up in North Carolina, personal family stories shaped her understanding of 9/11 far more than classroom instruction. Her mother was raised in New York City, and lost a friend from her apartment building in the collapse of the twin towers. Erickson says what struck her most when learning about the attacks in school was that it was one of the only modern historical events where every teacher could share their own personal, lived memory of the day.

    Unlike many core historical events, there is no federal mandate requiring U.S. public schools to teach the history and impact of the 9/11 attacks, resulting in wildly inconsistent instruction across the country. A recent analysis from The Associated Press found that just 25 states require or expect public schools to include 9/11 in their curricula, 13 states leave instruction optional, and many states that require teaching do not provide specific curriculum guidance for educators.

    That inconsistency has left many Gen Z adults with gaps in their early knowledge of the attacks. Allegra Tashjian, now 28 and a PhD student who grew up in Wisconsin, first learned of 9/11 in first or second grade, when her teacher asked the class to name why the day was historically significant. After a classmate answered that it was the day planes crashed into the New York towers, Tashjian left class confused—she had never heard of the event at all. When she asked her mother about it that afternoon, her mother paused mid-laundry and said she had never heard of the attacks, choosing not to discuss the tragedy with her young daughter. It was only years later, when Tashjian was between 9 and 12 years old, that she gained a full understanding of the attacks through independent reading online.

    Across the board, Gen Z interviewees told the BBC that they only learned the full scope of the 9/11 attacks through their own independent research, after receiving fragmented, age-appropriate introductions from schools and families. Black, for example, did not learn the attacks were an act of terrorism until she sought out extra information on her own—an omission educators made because the concept of terrorism is difficult to explain to young children.

    Despite the lack of first-hand experience, interest in the history and legacy of 9/11 remains high among young American adults. David Schanzer, a professor at Duke University who teaches a popular course titled “9/11 & Its Aftermath,” wrote in a recent campus commentary that a decade ago, he expected student interest in the topic to fade over time, assuming he would eventually need to shift his teaching focus. Today, his course is consistently full, with dozens of students adding their names to the waitlist each semester. Schanzer argues that ongoing global instability has only made young people more curious about the attacks, which he calls the first global catastrophe of the 21st century—preceding the 2008 Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. “If you want to understand what has gone wrong over the past couple of decades it makes sense to learn about 9/11,” he wrote.

    Still, many Gen Z adults approach conversations about 9/11 with dark humor or deflection, a trend that has not gone unnoticed by educators. Thomas Schwartz, a professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt University, noted that in a recent class discussion, his senior students—born in 2004 and 2005—acknowledged their generation’s tendency to joke about the attacks. He added that students from the Northeast, whose parents hold direct personal memories of the tragedy, tend to be more careful about deflection, out of respect for family sensitivities.

    Erickson explains this tendency as a common coping mechanism: many young people downplay large-scale tragedies either because they cannot fully wrap their minds about the scope of the loss, or they use humor to avoid confronting the deep, persistent anxieties that events like 9/11 raise about the modern world. Even as an adult, Tashjian says she still struggles to process the scale of death from the attacks, and relies on individual personal stories to grasp the human toll of the tragedy.

    Schanzer emphasizes that learning about 9/11 remains a critical part of understanding modern America for young people who never witnessed the event. “Like most significant historical events, one can’t fully understand our world today unless you understand why 9/11 occurred and how the United States responded to it,” he said. On the 25th anniversary of the attacks, as communities gather at memorials to lay flowers and honor the lost, a new generation is continuing to build its own relationship to a tragedy that continues to shape American life decades later.

  • Pakistan says no plans for military action in Yemen after attacks on Saudi Arabia

    Pakistan says no plans for military action in Yemen after attacks on Saudi Arabia

    As Houthi forces in Yemen make rapid territorial gains across the Red Sea coast and step up attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure, Pakistan has clarified that it is not currently considering a military response under its newly signed trilateral joint defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The confirmation came Thursday from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan, during his weekly press briefing for reporters.

    The landmark trilateral defence accord, which was signed just one month prior to this announcement, includes a mutual defence clause that frames any armed aggression against one of the three signatory nations as an attack against all three. Khan emphasized that while no military mobilization or intervention is under active discussion at this stage, Pakistan stands ready to uphold its commitments under the agreement if changing circumstances demand action in the future.

    “There is no such thing under discussion right now,” Khan stated, addressing press questions that arose in the wake of recent Houthi strikes on Saudi urban centers and critical energy infrastructure. He added that Pakistan would move forward with any required action only when “the time comes.”

    The broader regional context has shifted dramatically in recent months, as the long-dormant Yemeni civil war between Houthi fighters and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government reignited over the summer. Houthi forces have since advanced at a striking pace along the country’s Red Sea coastline, securing key strategic positions that put them in control of access to the critical Bab el-Mandeb shipping choke point, a major global trade route connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea.

    According to maritime security experts, this territorial advance has not only strengthened Houthi military standing but also boosted Iran’s geopolitical leverage in its ongoing standoff with the United States. “The Houthis have pulled off a military victory that puts them one step closer to being in full control of the Bab el-Mandeb,” explained Corey Ranslem, chief executive officer of maritime security firm Dryad Global, in an interview with Middle East Eye. Ranslem added that controlling the Bab el-Mandeb would be far easier for the Houthis than Iran’s efforts to exert influence over the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the U.S. maintains far fewer direct military assets in the Bab el-Mandeb region to counter Houthi control.

    In just the latest round of territorial gains, Houthi forces defeated Saudi-aligned Yemeni government forces on Thursday to seize the historic, strategically vital Red Sea port city of Mocha following days of intense fighting across the Tihama coastal plain. Arab media outlets have reported additional Houthi advances across the region in the hours after the capture of Mocha. Just days before this seizure, Houthi media released images purporting to show the wreckage of a Saudi military reconnaissance drone that was shot down over northwestern Yemen’s Hajjah province, underscoring the escalating intensity of clashes.

    Pakistan has already publicly condemned the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi territory, and has called on Iran to rein in its Yemeni allies. At the same time, Islamabad has maintained a role as a diplomatic mediator between the United States and Iran, as rising regional tensions continue to disrupt global energy supplies. Khan also confirmed Thursday that Pakistan has no current plans to expand the so-called Mecca alliance, the regional bloc of mostly Sunni Muslim nations led by Saudi Arabia, amid ongoing regional volatility.

  • Jabaroot: Behind the hacker group’s claim of a 70,000‑name leak in Morocco’s police and intelligence

    Jabaroot: Behind the hacker group’s claim of a 70,000‑name leak in Morocco’s police and intelligence

    On August 24, a little-known hacking collective calling itself Jabaroot – a term meaning “power” or “domination” in Arabic – dropped a bombshell: it publicly released a dataset purporting to contain the personal information of 70,000 personnel linked to Morocco’s police and intelligence networks across Europe and inside key domestic Moroccan government institutions.

    Packaged across four spreadsheets, the leak includes sensitive personal details ranging from birth dates and active bank account numbers to purported professional ranks. Most entries correspond to low-profile personnel within the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN, Morocco’s national police force) and the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST, the country’s domestic intelligence agency), but the list also names top senior officials – including Abdellatif Hammouchi, who leads both the DGSN and DGST.

    Moroccan authorities have pushed back hard against the claims, arguing that all information released originated from outdated datasets held by private insurance companies, not a recent breach of internal security systems.

    Jabaroot framed the release as a “gift to Spain”, dropping it just weeks after a major migrant crisis that saw more than 72,000 people cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, an incident that left 141 people dead. The collective has also threatened to publish classified mission orders it claims prove Moroccan security services colluded to organize the mass crossing, an accusation Rabat has repeatedly denied. Spanish authorities opened an investigation into the crisis after a police report alleged Moroccan law enforcement allowed and even facilitated the crossing.

    The true origins of Jabaroot and the leak itself remain shrouded in mystery. While many observers have speculated the group is Algerian-based, drawing on long-standing bilateral tensions between Algiers and Rabat, reporting from French outlet Le Monde suggests the breach may instead be the work of five former DGST agents living in exile in Europe. To date, there is no conclusive evidence confirming all 70,000 people listed are active Moroccan covert spies; the dataset is thought to include regular police officers, administrative staff and non-clandestine civil servants alongside any intelligence personnel.

    Cybersecurity and regional politics experts warn the leak should be interpreted with significant caution. Dr. Bassant Hassib, an assistant professor of political science specializing in cybersecurity at the European Universities in Egypt’s University of London Programmes, notes multiple red flags indicating the data is largely outdated: the most recent recruitment date listed is 2020, and the dataset includes the name of Abdelhak Khiame, the founding director of the DGST’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, who passed away in 2022.

    Even so, the leak carries tangible risks. A former anonymous Moroccan overseas intelligence officer confirmed to Middle East Eye that at least some of the information is authentic, including the full details of an entire informant family deployed abroad. “Usually informants are placed within embassies; it is common practice for the entire family to be hired and moved to the country to reduce any suspicion,” the source explained. The leak has already rendered all named contacts compromised, the former officer added, saying it “will cause chaos within the system; all those named are now burnt contacts, and will need to return to Morocco.” Hundreds or thousands of deployed agents will likely need to be replaced by recalled personnel.

    Hassib echoed this risk, noting that even partially accurate data poses direct physical danger to covert personnel and their families, whose exposed bank details and identities make them vulnerable to targeting and harassment. She added that Jabaroot stands to gain strategically even from releasing outdated or incomplete data: by framing old stolen information as the product of a new breach, the group can inflate its perceived technical capabilities, boost its standing on platforms like Telegram, and increase its leverage for future cyber operations.

    This latest leak is far from Jabaroot’s first claimed attack on Moroccan state institutions. In April 2025, the group claimed responsibility for a breach of Morocco’s National Social Security Fund (CNSS), leaking 54,000 files that compromised the personal data of nearly two million people, including employees of the Moroccan royal palace. Two months later, it announced a hack of the National Agency for Land Conservation, leaking 4 terabytes of data including 10,000 property certificates and 20,000 civil records. Days after that, it claimed to have compromised the digital infrastructure of Morocco’s justice ministry, exfiltrating sensitive personal data from 40,000 judicial officials and magistrates. Moroccan authorities have denied every one of these alleged breaches.

    Geopolitical analysts say the persistent narrative that Jabaroot is an Algerian-aligned group serves political goals for both Rabat and its critics. Morocco and Algeria have a decades-long bitter rivalry centered on sovereignty claims over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where Algiers supports the pro-independence Polisario Front. Alec Barcenilla, a North Africa geopolitics researcher and former staffer at the Spanish embassy in Rabat, notes that labeling Jabaroot as Algerian is politically useful for Morocco: “it may then instrumentalise these digital attacks to shift blame and public focus away, in a rather opportunistic way.”

    Despite widespread speculation, no solid concrete evidence exists to confirm Jabaroot’s identity, leadership or core objectives. Investigative journalist Jose Bautista, who has extensive expertise on North African cyber operations, told MEE that one clear throughline has emerged: “What does seem clear is that whoever is behind Jabaroot holds highly professional profiles, significant technical capabilities, and they have access to super sensitive data.” Bautista’s sources suggest the latest leak likely draws on data obtained from a breach of either the Moroccan finance ministry or social security databases, not the internal systems of the security services themselves. Multiple credible theories exist about the group: Le Monde’s reporting suggests it could be a collective of ex-Moroccan intelligence officers angry about corruption, nepotism and institutional abuse within the Moroccan establishment, while other well-informed sources have pointed to possible backing from Algerian or even Spanish intelligence as retaliation against Rabat.

    The leak also intersects with ongoing international scrutiny of Morocco’s use of Pegasus, the controversial Israeli-made spyware. Bautista was part of an international journalistic investigation published in July 2026 that linked the DGST to a wide-ranging international surveillance program that targeted senior Spanish cabinet ministers and Guardia Civil officers. The report confirmed that Morocco’s surveillance operations began internal testing as early as September 2017 before expanding rapidly across borders. Jabaroot has claimed it holds sensitive data about Morocco’s use of Pegasus, including proof of surveillance targeting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and has threatened to release it – though the group has yet to follow through on this threat, just as it has not delivered on its promise to release documents detailing alleged Moroccan collusion in the Ceuta migrant crisis.

    Experts note the timing of the latest leak, which comes weeks before Morocco’s national elections scheduled for September 23, is no coincidence. Hassib argues that Jabaroot’s public framing of the leak is designed to “embarrass Rabat and reinforce a narrative of Moroccan state involvement in the Ceuta crisis, thereby undermining its credibility” with the ultimate goal of causing “internal disruption, psychological impact, reputational damage and political leverage.”

    Hammouchi, the head of both the DGSN and DGST who is widely described as King Mohammed VI’s most trusted “supercop”, has emerged as the primary target of the leak. Jabaroot has publicly called for the king to dismiss Hammouchi, who has faced long-standing criticism from human rights groups including Amnesty International over allegations of torture and enforced disappearances at DGST detention facilities. A 2014 French arrest warrant for Hammouchi triggered a major diplomatic rift between Paris and Rabat. Le Monde’s reporting notes that the five ex-DGST agents suspected of involvement in the leak claim they witnessed widespread misuse of personal data collected through illegal wiretaps and unauthorized background checks.

    While analysts agree the leak is undoubtedly embarrassing for Hammouchi and the institutions he leads, there is no evidence to date that his position within the Moroccan government has been seriously weakened. Barah Mikail, an associate professor of political science and international relations at Saint Louis University Madrid, says the most consequential takeaway from the leak, if Le Monde’s reporting of ex-DGST involvement is accurate, is what it reveals about internal cohesion: “If the reporting that former DGST officers are involved is accurate, that would point to a problem of defection and grievance within the apparatus.”

    Barcenilla added that the attack strikes at the core of Hammouchi’s public reputation as a leader defined by control, foresight and reliability: “Jabaroot’s attack is therefore also an attack on his capacity and reliability.” If the data is confirmed to be largely authentic, it could carry lasting reputational and political damage for the senior official.

    Many experts, including Mikail, suggest the fact that much of the data is outdated does not automatically mean it is fake. It may indicate that the information is substantially authentic but was obtained from older datasets rather than a recent breach of internal security systems. Morocco’s consistent denial of the leak’s validity, Mikail notes, serves a clear damage-control purpose – but “this does not necessarily mean the data is false.”

  • Athletic Club forward Williams retires from Ghana duty

    Athletic Club forward Williams retires from Ghana duty

    Inaki Williams, the veteran 32-year-old striker for Spain’s Athletic Club, has officially brought an end to his international career representing Ghana’s Black Stars, closing out a chapter that connected the Bilbao-born player to his family’s cultural roots for nearly three years.

    Since making his senior international debut for Ghana in September 2022, Williams earned 28 caps for the West African side and found the back of the net twice, with both goals coming during 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. He went on to feature in three major tournaments for Ghana: the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), and the 2026 FIFA World Cup held earlier this year. At the 2026 tournament, Williams made two appearances as Ghana was eliminated in the round of 32 by Colombia.

    In a public statement shared across his social media platforms, Williams confirmed his retirement, saying he believes the timing is right to conclude his journey with the Ghana national team. “I leave happy, proud and with the peace of mind of knowing that I gave everything every time I wore this shirt,” Williams wrote.

    Williams’ connection to international football took an unusual path: born and raised in Bilbao to Ghanaian immigrant parents, he previously represented Spain at the youth international level, and even earned one senior cap for Spain in a 2016 friendly match before committing his senior international future to Ghana. His younger brother Nico Williams, also a first-team player at Athletic Club, made the opposite choice, electing to stay with the Spanish national setup where he has already won both the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship titles.

    Williams’ retirement announcement comes just one week after the Ghana Football Association confirmed that experienced coach Carlos Queiroz would return to lead the Black Stars in preparations for the 2027 Afcon, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. For Williams, the experience of representing Ghana extended far beyond the pitch.

    “It has allowed me to come back home, feel even closer to my roots and experience the enormous pride of representing my country and wearing this flag on my chest,” he added. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has been part of this journey and for all the love you have always shown me. Ghana will always be a part of me. I will continue supporting the Black Stars as one of you, wherever I am.”

  • Norway’s Princess Astrid dies two days after attending brother King Harald’s funeral

    Norway’s Princess Astrid dies two days after attending brother King Harald’s funeral

    The Norwegian Royal Palace has confirmed the passing of Princess Astrid, sister of the late King Harald V, at the age of 94, just two days after she joined public ceremonies to lay her brother to rest. Her death marks the end of a decades-long public service career deeply tied to Norway’s modern royal history, and comes as the nation’s royal family concludes a period of national mourning following Harald’s death last month at 89, after 35 years on the throne.

    As the last surviving child of King Olav V, who ruled Norway from 1957 to 1991, Princess Astrid stepped into an unprecedented public role at just 22 years old. After the 1954 passing of her mother, Crown Princess Märtha, Olav chose not to remarry, leaving Astrid to serve as Norway’s first lady for 14 years until her brother Harald’s marriage in 1968. Through every stage of her public life, she became known for her steady, warm commitment to representing the Norwegian Royal House across the country and abroad.

    In a formal statement following the princess’s death, Norway’s new monarch King Haakon VIII paid tribute to his aunt. “Throughout her long life, Princess Astrid represented the Royal House in a warm and dutiful manner,” he said, adding that “In her work, Princess Astrid was always particularly concerned with care and inclusion for the most vulnerable in society.”

    Princess Astrid’s final public appearance was Harald’s funeral, held in Oslo earlier this week, where she attended in a wheelchair. The high-profile ceremony drew dozens of European royals and global heads of state, including the Prince of Wales, three Nordic monarchs, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Thousands of Norwegian residents lined the processional route between the Royal Palace and Oslo Cathedral to pay their respects to the late king.

    In line with royal tradition, the Norwegian government has announced that Princess Astrid will be buried at state expense, and all public flags across Norway will be flown at half-mast to honor her legacy. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed the arrangements in a public statement Wednesday.

    Public health records show the princess’s health had declined gradually over recent months, and she received inpatient treatment for pneumonia in March this year. Her passing comes at a time of significant personal and public upheaval for the Norwegian royal family. Earlier in 2026, two major scandals rocked the household: documents revealed Queen Mette-Marit, Harald’s wife, had repeated prior contact with disgraced American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a connection she later said she regretted. Separately, Mette-Marit’s son from her first relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, who grew up in the royal household despite not holding a formal royal title, was sentenced to four years in prison in June on two counts of rape. He remains under house arrest while appealing the conviction, and was granted special permission to attend Harald’s funeral earlier this week.