Global Pulse

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  • Pakistan says new defense pact with Saudi and Turkey is ‘purely defensive’ and open to others

    Pakistan says new defense pact with Saudi and Turkey is ‘purely defensive’ and open to others

    In a significant step toward deepening trilateral security collaboration amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have formalized a landmark mutual defense pact, with senior leaders from all three countries repeatedly emphasizing that the agreement is not targeted at any regional or global power and remains open to new participating nations.

    The historic Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed on Friday during a high-level meeting, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif putting their signatures to the document. Just one day after Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan publicly clarified that the pact was not aimed at Iran or any other state, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar echoed that stance in an official post on the social platform X on Sunday.

    Dar underscored that the newly signed agreement is purely defensive in its core purpose. He noted that any other country across the region is welcome to join the pact provided it upholds the accord’s core principles and commits to resolving disputes through peaceful diplomatic channels. The agreement’s key collective defense clause states that any armed aggression against one of the three signatories will be treated as an attack on all three members. Dar explained that this stipulation aligns fully with the right to individual and collective self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, and added that the deal formalizes the three nations’ shared commitment to strengthening strategic security cooperation.

    Importantly, Dar also clarified that the new Mecca Accord does not override or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral defense agreements that the three countries have already signed with other nations or international blocs. Reaffirming Pakistan’s regional stance, he added that Islamabad will continue pursuing diplomatic and security engagement with all regional countries to advance the goal of long-lasting peace and stability across the Middle East and South Asia.

    The announcement of the agreement was met with public celebration across the three signatory states overnight after the signing. Major landmarks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, as well as multiple cities across Saudi Arabia, were lit up with projections matching the colors of the three countries’ national flags to mark the occasion.

    Each of the three member states brings unique and complementary capabilities to the new defense arrangement. As the only nuclear-armed state in the Muslim world, Pakistan boasts decades of extensive military operational experience. Saudi Arabia contributes massive economic resources and far-reaching regional political influence, while Turkey — a longstanding NATO member — brings a large standing military and a fast-growing, advanced domestic defense manufacturing sector.

    Despite the agreement’s collective defense clause that echoes NATO’s Article 5, defense analysts based in Islamabad have urged against framing the new pact as a direct equivalent to the transatlantic security alliance. Abdullah Khan, a prominent independent defense analyst based in Islamabad, noted that while the agreement was finalized during a period of elevated regional tensions, it should not be interpreted as a hostile move targeted at Iran or any other nation.

    The trilateral pact builds on preexisting close defense ties between the signatory countries. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained robust military partnerships for decades, and signed a separate bilateral mutual defense agreement as recently as September 2025. Pakistan and Turkey have also rapidly expanded their bilateral military cooperation and joint defense industrial development projects over the past several years.

  • Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes that leave 7 dead, many injured

    Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes that leave 7 dead, many injured

    In a fresh cycle of escalated cross-border hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, overnight mutual strikes have left multiple civilians dead and dozens injured across populated areas on both sides, regional officials confirmed this week.

    The deadliest assault on Russian territory unfolded in Belgorod, a border region that has faced repeated attacks in recent months. The regional administration announced that Ukrainian drone strikes resulted in five civilian fatalities and wounded 24 people, among them a four-year-old child. The attacks also caused widespread structural damage: 29 apartment buildings, five private residences, government administrative facilities, and multiple commercial sites were left damaged or destroyed by the blasts.

    On the Ukrainian side, Russian missile and drone attacks targeted three major population centers, leaving civilian infrastructure in ruins and causing further casualties. In Kharkiv’s Saltivskyi district, a Russian missile strike directly hit a multi-story residential apartment block, killing two people and wounding 13 others, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Separately, in the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa, an assault involving “dozens of missiles and drones” left eight additional people injured, according to local regional head Oleh Kiper.

    Russia’s defense ministry pushed back on the Ukrainian civilian casualty accounts Sunday, claiming its overnight operations exclusively targeted military assets: it said strikes successfully hit Ukrainian drone storage facilities in the Kharkiv region, and destroyed fuel depots and military equipment stockpiles at the Odesa port. The ministry added that Russian air defense systems intercepted and downed 153 Ukrainian drones overnight, with engagements taking place over Russian-occupied Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov.

    This latest round of large-scale Russian missile attacks on major Ukrainian cities follows a now near-daily pattern that has emerged over recent weeks. Moscow has actively exploited a critical gap in Ukraine’s air defense capabilities: Kyiv currently faces a severe shortage of interceptor missiles for its U.S.-manufactured Patriot air defense systems, the only weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of shooting down incoming Russian ballistic missiles.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spent months lobbying Western allies, particularly the United States, to supply additional Patriot systems and ammunition. Global stockpiles of these critical defense components have already been depleted by high demand tied to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed groups, making additional deliveries far harder to secure.

    Failing to secure sufficient foreign supplies of Patriot interceptors, Zelenskyy has outlined two alternative contingency plans: establishing domestic production of Patriot ammunition within Ukraine, or securing approval from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to leverage his Starlink satellite communications network to guide Ukrainian strikes against Russian missile launch sites deep inside Russian territory.

    Meanwhile, Kyiv has continued its own campaign of long-range drone strikes against targets deep within Russian borders. Recent strikes have targeted Russian energy infrastructure, as well as high-profile domestic assets including Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce retailer. These sustained attacks on energy facilities have already sparked widespread fuel shortages across parts of Russia.

  • Nagasaki marks 81st atomic bomb anniversary as mayor says nuclear deterrence only increases risk

    Nagasaki marks 81st atomic bomb anniversary as mayor says nuclear deterrence only increases risk

    Eighty-one years after a U.S. atomic bomb turned the southwestern Japanese city of Nagasaki into a landscape of unspeakable destruction, city leaders, global delegates, and aging atomic bomb survivors gathered Sunday at Nagasaki’s Peace Park to honor the tens of thousands killed and reaffirm a urgent call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The solemn commemoration unfolded against a charged political backdrop: the newly formed Japanese government under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has implemented sweeping revisions to national defense policy that expand the military’s offensive capabilities, stoking widespread anxiety that the government may abandon the decades-old non-nuclear framework that has defined Japan’s post-WWII identity.

  • Wildfire in Indonesian national park grows

    Wildfire in Indonesian national park grows

    JAKARTA, Indonesia – As an unusually severe dry season amplified by the El Niño weather pattern pushes wildfire risk to multi-year highs across Indonesia, authorities have mobilized hundreds of emergency personnel and aerial assets to tackle a large out-of-control blaze at one of the country’s most famous tourist natural landmarks.

    The largest active fire burning this week has scorched roughly 176 hectares, or 435 acres, of vegetation on Mount Bromo, a volcanic peak that forms the centerpiece of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in Indonesia’s East Java province. Drawing millions of domestic and international visitors annually for its dramatic volcanic landscapes, the park was closed to all visitors on Saturday, and park officials confirmed the shutdown will remain in place until fire crews fully contain the blaze, with no timeline for reopening provided.

    More than 500 responders including professional firefighters, disaster management staff, local police, military personnel, park rangers and community volunteers have been assigned to bring the Bromo fire under control. To support ground operations, authorities have deployed helicopters equipped with water-dropping systems and surveillance drones to map hotspots and track fire spread. Crews have also constructed controlled firebreaks along the blaze’s perimeter to stop it from expanding into untouched forest and adjacent tourist areas.

    Park chief Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha noted that challenging geographic conditions have significantly slowed containment efforts. Many of the largest remaining hotspots are located on the steep, uneven slopes of the active volcano, which cannot be safely or quickly accessed by ground crews traveling on foot or with heavy equipment.

    The Bromo fire is not an isolated incident: Indonesia is currently facing a wave of concurrent wildfires across multiple islands driven by the record-dry conditions. On Friday, a new blaze broke out in Banyumas Regency, Central Java, that authorities say was sparked by unauthorized land-clearing activities. Dry vegetation and hot temperatures allowed the fire to spread quickly beyond its starting point to neighboring forest and grassland areas. In West Java, a fire that ignited earlier this week at Suryakencana Meadow in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park, a popular hiking destination, forced officials to temporarily close all hiking trails leading to the peaks of Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango.

    Indonesia’s national Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency warned that ongoing strong winds and severely parched vegetation are creating ideal conditions for fires to ignite and spread rapidly across large areas. The agency attributes the extreme dry conditions to a combination of the El Niño weather pattern, which brings reduced rainfall to much of Southeast Asia, and seasonal dry winds blowing north from Australia.

    Historically, severe dry-season wildfires are most common on Indonesia’s Sumatra and Borneo islands, where many blazes are deliberately started illegally by commercial plantation operators and small-scale traditional farmers to clear vegetation for new crop planting. When large fires break out in these regions, they often produce toxic haze that spreads across national borders, threatening public health across much of Southeast Asia.

  • Myanmar rebuffs ASEAN’s call to free Aung San Suu Kyi and questions the need for an envoy

    Myanmar rebuffs ASEAN’s call to free Aung San Suu Kyi and questions the need for an envoy

    BANGKOK – In a public statement released over the weekend, Myanmar’s military-installed government has pushed back against renewed demands from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to free detained former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi unconditionally, and has ruled out retaining the bloc’s special envoy role for Myanmar after Singapore assumes the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027. The rebuke marks the latest strain in already frayed ties between the junta-led administration and the regional bloc, more than three years after the military seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021.

    Min Aung Hlaing, the former army commander who led the 2021 coup and was recently sworn in as president after elections held by the junta late last year, has spent years seeking to cement international legitimacy for his rule and normalize Myanmar’s position within ASEAN. In response to the 2021 coup and the widespread armed conflict that erupted across Myanmar in its wake, ASEAN drafted a five-point peace plan just months after the takeover, which called for an immediate end to hostilities, inclusive dialogue between all competing factions, and the deployment of a special envoy to mediate the talks. For failing to make tangible progress on implementing the agreement, Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from participating in ASEAN’s top-level leadership summits since 2021.

    Last week, the junta administration took a small, symbolic step to defuse international criticism: it allowed an official from the International Committee of the Red Cross to meet with the 81-year-old Suu Kyi. The visit marked the first time the detained leader has had any confirmed contact with an independent international humanitarian organization since her detention immediately after the 2021 coup. Suu Kyi, who was convicted on a series of corruption and public order charges widely described as politically motivated by her supporters and global human rights groups, is currently serving a multi-year sentence under closed house arrest at an unconfirmed location in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw. The junta has previously commuted portions of her sentence on humanitarian grounds, but has repeatedly rejected calls for her full release from foreign governments and regional blocs.

    In its official statement Saturday, the Myanmar foreign ministry made clear it would not bow to external pressure on the issue. “Although the government has commuted her sentences based on humanitarian considerations, the matter of a full and unconditional release shall only be carried out in accordance with the law,” the statement read.

    On the topic of ASEAN’s special envoy mechanism, the administration said it would continue to cooperate with current special envoy Maria Theresa Lazaro, a Philippine foreign affairs official appointed by the current 2025 ASEAN chair the Philippines. But the statement added that the government sees no need to extend the arrangement when Singapore takes over the rotating ASEAN chair on January 1, 2027. “At present, the government, which emerged from the multiparty democratic elections reflecting the genuine will of the people, has assumed state responsibility,” the statement added.

    The Philippines, current chair of ASEAN, responded Friday by welcoming last week’s Red Cross visit as a small but positive step toward broader dialogue and national reconciliation in Myanmar. But it also reiterated the bloc’s core demand, repeating its call for Suu Kyi’s “complete and unconditional release” and pushing for expanded access for independent groups to all political detainees held across the country.

    In a recent public address delivered more than three months after his inauguration as president, Min Aung Hlaing openly criticized ASEAN’s long-standing peace plan, accusing some member states of unfair discrimination against Myanmar and stating that his administration would handle engagements with ASEAN members on a case-by-case basis going forward. The December 2024-January 2025 elections that brought Min Aung Hlaing to the presidency have been widely dismissed by international observers and opponents of the junta as a fraudulent vote designed to cement permanent military control over Myanmar under the veneer of a restored civilian government.

  • Gold Coast Suns snap 10-game losing streak to dent Giants’ finals hopes

    Gold Coast Suns snap 10-game losing streak to dent Giants’ finals hopes

    On a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon in Canberra, the Gold Coast Suns pulled off one of the most cathartic wins of the 2026 AFL season, snapping a demoralizing 10-match losing skid with a nail-biting 79-77 victory over the Greater Western Sydney Giants that leaves GWS’ finals prospects hanging by a thread.

    The result caps a turbulent three-month stretch for the Suns, who entered the 2026 campaign with high expectations after opening the season with a promising 7-3 record that landed them inside the top four. But a dramatic slump saw Gold Coast drop 10 straight contests — four by fewer than 10 points — tumbling all the way to 14th on the ladder and eliminating them from mathematical finals contention heading into the round 22 clash. Retired Melbourne Demons legend Gerard Healy described the brutal stretch as “three months of hell” for the club.

    No player stepped up larger to end the drought than reigning Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell, who turned in what is widely being called the best performance of his young career. The Suns midfielder dominated all over the ground, notching a career-best 40 disposals, a season-high 17 clearances, 10 inside-50 entries, and an staggering 16 tackles to anchor his side through the scrappy, wet-weather affair. Healy praised Rowell’s standout showing, telling Fox Footy the young star was “in a class of his own” throughout the match.

    The Suns’ defensive unit also overcame significant adversity to lock in the win. Key defender Sam Collins was ruled out as a late starter, seemingly stripping Gold Coast of its primary aerial presence at the back. But 22-year-old halfback Mac Andrew stepped into the void to deliver a career-defining performance, finishing with eight marks, 11 intercept possessions, 13 disposals and three score involvements. Most impressively, Andrew held GWS young gun Aaron Cadman — one of the league’s most promising young key forwards — goalless and to zero total marks for the first time all season. Former Brisbane premiership defender Alastair Lynch noted during Fox Footy’s coverage that Andrew was “putting on a clinic”, while GWS head coach Adam Kingsley later applauded his intercept work and ability to repel Giants attacking drives.

    The match stayed tightly contested through the final quarter, with GWS keeping the margin within striking distance the entire time. But the Suns held firm, clinching their first victory since May and delivering a much-needed boost to the club as it looks ahead to the 2027 season.

    Suns head coach Damien Hardwick opened up pre-match about his own accountability for the team’s poor form this year, admitting he had strayed from his core coaching philosophy and accepted full blame for the disappointing campaign. Post-match, he doubled down on the club’s acceptance of criticism, saying the team “welcome as much scrutiny as possible” because it proves the club is relevant. “We have been disappointing this year and we accept that, we accept responsibility,” Hardwick told reporters. “(2026) is going to have been a very very important year for us both on and off the field about the learnings we’ve come away with.”

    Hardwick added that the club remains on the cusp of a breakthrough, pointing to Sydney’s quick turnaround from a disappointing 2025 campaign to a strong 2026 season as a blueprint for Gold Coast’s future. “Come and watch our trainings, you wouldn’t know we’ve had 10 losses in a row the way the guys show up every week,” he said.

    For the Giants, the devastating narrow loss leaves their wildcard finals hopes all but extinguished. GWS entered the round with a chance to jump into a wildcard spot if results broke their way, but the defeat means they now need to win both of their remaining remaining matches and rely on losses from both Carlton and St Kilda in their final fixtures to qualify. If they fail to make the finals, 2026 will mark the first season Kingsley has missed the post-season since taking over as head coach in 2023. The Giants also suffered two major injury blows during Sunday’s match, with Jayden Laverde exiting with a rib injury and Toby Bedford leaving before half-time with a back complaint.

    Kingsley acknowledged after the match that finals qualification is now “unlikely”, though he insisted the club would continue pushing to the final siren of the season. “I don’t know if it’s impossible yet but it’s difficult now and that’s the reality of it. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ll continue to move on, we’ve got two more games, and we’ll do our best and try and win both and see if that is enough to qualify, but it looks unlikely,” he said. Kingsley also pointed to poor attacking 50 entries as the key difference in the match, noting “I don’t think we really stressed their defence as much with our entries. I felt like we could’ve attacked the goals a little bit more, but we didn’t.”

    Looking ahead to the final two rounds of the home-and-away season, GWS will host 16th-placed West Coast at home next weekend before traveling to Adelaide to face the Crows in their season finale. Gold Coast, meanwhile, will play the Brisbane Lions in the QClash at the Gabba next round before closing out their season against St Kilda in Melbourne. With nothing left to play for in 2026, the Suns will head into their final two matches with all pressure lifted, while the Giants face two straight must-win games to keep their season alive.

    Final scorecard: GWS Giants 11.11 (77), Gold Coast Suns 11.13 (79)

  • Cyprus natural gas to supply Europe by first half of 2028, minister says, as EU seeks new sources

    Cyprus natural gas to supply Europe by first half of 2028, minister says, as EU seeks new sources

    Against a backdrop of widespread European energy market volatility triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian war and escalating Middle East geopolitical unrest, Cyprus has positioned itself as a emerging alternative energy supplier for the continent, with its first undersea natural gas shipment from the Cronos field slated to reach European markets as early as March 2028, the island nation’s Energy Minister Michael Damianos confirmed in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.

    Last month, development partners TotalEnergies (France) and Eni (Italy) formally signed off on a final investment decision to advance the Cronos project, located off Cyprus’ southern coast in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This milestone marks the first time that natural gas extracted from East Mediterranean offshore deposits will be exported directly to European consumer markets, filling a critical gap as the continent works to diversify its supply chains away from traditional sources.

    Per the consortium’s official timeline, preliminary construction work on a 105-kilometer pipeline connecting the Cronos field to existing processing infrastructure at Egypt’s massive Zohr natural gas deposit will kick off before the end of 2025, with construction expected to take up to 18 months to complete. Once extracted, raw natural gas from Cronos will be routed through the new pipeline to Egypt’s Damietta liquefaction facility on the country’s northern coast, where it will be converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for seaborne transport to European terminals. This route was selected as the most economically viable option for the project, coming in with an estimated total cost of roughly $2 billion (1.73 billion euros) — half the projected cost of developing alternative export infrastructure within Cypriot territorial waters, thanks to access to Egypt’s already operational energy network.

    Under the project agreement, nearly all of Cronos’ estimated 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves is earmarked for European consumption, though a contractual clause allows up to 20% of output to be diverted to meet Egypt’s growing domestic energy demand if needed. Damianos noted that while Cronos is a relatively modest reserve that will not generate massive state revenue for Cyprus, the project carries far greater strategic significance for the small island nation. “Its importance is not the money, its importance is the commencement of being a producer and having first gas,” he explained.

    Cronos is just one of six proven natural gas deposits discovered to date in Cyprus’ offshore Exclusive Economic Zone, with more large-scale developments already in the pipeline. Energy giants ExxonMobil and QatariEnergy hold development licenses for the Glaucus and Pegasus fields, which together hold an estimated 6.9 tcf of natural gas, with first production targeted for 2033. Damianos added that ExxonMobil, which has a track record of delivering projects ahead of schedule, plans to expand its exploration activities off Cyprus and is in line to receive an additional exploration license for new hydrocarbon prospects. The Aphrodite field, Cyprus’ first offshore gas discovery made 15 years ago, holds an estimated 5.6 tcf of reserves. A final investment decision from the Chevron-led development consortium is expected by summer 2027, with a planned direct pipeline connection to Egyptian processing facilities to supply Egypt’s domestic market. A long-running border dispute over a portion of the Aphrodite field that extends into Israeli waters is expected to be resolved via arbitration by next month, Damianos confirmed.

    Beyond natural gas development, Cyprus is also advancing a landmark interconnector project to integrate its power grid with the broader European network, and eventually link up with Israel as well. The Great Seas Interconnector, a subsea electricity cable project, has secured backing from French investment firm Meridiam, and forms a core infrastructure building block for the European Union’s IMEC initiative, a planned new energy and trade corridor connecting Europe to the Gulf region and India. The project would end decades of energy isolation for both Cyprus and Israel, but it has recently hit delays over cost overruns that push total spending above the original $2.2 billion estimate. The European Investment Bank is set to release a revised cost assessment in the coming months to clarify the project’s final budget.

    Under current agreements, Cypriot residential and commercial energy consumers could be on the hook for up to 63% of construction costs, which would trigger a substantial increase in domestic electricity prices. To mitigate this burden, project organizers are actively courting additional private sector investment and exploring options for increased European Union grant funding. The EU has already committed 760 million euros ($658 million) to the project. “It’s a very important project for Europe because it connects Cyprus which is isolated to the European grid. And the idea is to then proceed and connect to Israel,” Damianos said.

  • As the world rediscovers ‘The Odyssey,’ disabled actors in Greece explore the pain of war

    As the world rediscovers ‘The Odyssey,’ disabled actors in Greece explore the pain of war

    Against the backdrop of a global resurgence of interest in Homer’s ancient works sparked by Christopher Nolan’s recent adaptation of *The Odyssey*, a groundbreaking theatrical production in southern Greece is rewriting the rules of cultural accessibility, while centering a forgotten chapter of the Trojan War narrative.

    On August 2, 22 disabled and non-disabled performers took the stage at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, the iconic 2,300-year-old open-air stone amphitheater famed for its unparalleled acoustics and historic place in Greek dramatic tradition. Their staging of Euripides’ *The Trojan Women* marked the first fully accessible performance in the theater’s long history, breaking down centuries of barriers that excluded disabled audiences and creators from engaging with one of the world’s most celebrated cultural sites.

    Unlike Homer’s canonical epics, which follow victorious Greek warriors on their journeys home from the 10-year Trojan War, Euripides’ 5th-century BCE tragedy shifts focus away from heroic triumph to the devastating human cost of conflict. Written roughly three centuries after Homer’s works, the play centers on the widowed, exiled, and enslaved women of conquered Troy, giving voice to the suffering that war leaves in its wake.

    To fulfill the production’s commitment to full inclusion, organizers rolled out a comprehensive suite of accessibility accommodations across the entire site. Blind and low-vision attendees received Braille event programs, tactile 3D models of the ancient theater, and live in-person audio description to follow the performance. Deaf and hard-of-hearing spectators could track dialogue via overhead projected titles, while widespread physical modifications to the venue’s walkways and seating areas improved access for visitors with mobility impairments.

    For attendees and creators alike, the milestone event was far more than a theatrical performance—it was a public celebration of disability equality. Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who participated in the event, noted that the production set a critical precedent for cultural institutions worldwide. “It’s the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone,” Polychronidis said. “Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever.”

    The message of inclusion extended to the cast as well, where disabled performers held prominent roles that put overlooked communities center stage. For 58-year-old cast member Eirini Kourouvani, a wheelchair user who had never been able to enter the ancient theater before the production, standing on its historic stage was a transformative experience. “It is just grand,” Kourouvani said. “I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is.”

    Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist who attended the performance alongside her guide dog Babu, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that accessibility is a fundamental right, not an extraordinary favor. “We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing,” Gertsou said, noting her relief that her guide dog was able to remain with her throughout the show without disruption.

    The landmark production was created by Greece’s National Theater, with accessibility design led by the nonprofit organization Liminal and financial backing from Alpha Bank, one of Greece’s largest financial institutions. Argyro Chioti, the National Theater’s artistic director, emphasized that full accessibility should not be a one-off special event, but the new standard for all major cultural venues.

    Chioti acknowledged that building inclusive access required extensive advance work: “This was complex, not simple. It required months of planning. It cost money. And it required very specific organizational expertise. But that’s the standard and venues we need to reach — the major stages and the major theaters.”

  • Three Palestinians killed and dozens wounded in Israeli attacks across Gaza and West Bank

    Three Palestinians killed and dozens wounded in Israeli attacks across Gaza and West Bank

    A fresh wave of violence orchestrated by Israeli military forces and Jewish settlers across the occupied Palestinian territories left at least three Palestinians dead and dozens more injured in a single day of unrest on Saturday.

    Violence was concentrated primarily in the occupied West Bank, where multiple incursions and settler attacks unfolded across multiple communities. In the northern West Bank city of Tubas, Israeli military convoys pushed into urban areas, deploying infantry to secure key positions in the city center. Troops deployed tear gas against local residents, leaving 15 people in need of medical attention, which was provided on-site by teams from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

    Southeast of Tubas, near Ramallah, Israeli forces launched a raid on the village of al-Mughayyir. During the incursion, soldiers fired tear gas directly into a private family home, leaving all household members, including minor children, struggling with respiratory distress from the chemical agent. Additional Israeli incursions were recorded across the broader Ramallah governorate, including entries into the nearby town of Turmus Ayya, the village of Abu Falah, and the village of Kobar, where tear gas was fired into public streets to disperse local populations.

    Further south in the Hebron governorate, the violence escalated into armed attacks by Israeli settlers, who operated under explicit armed protection from Israeli military forces. In the Masafer Yatta community of Wadi al-Rakhim, settlers opened fire on local residents during a raid, wounding four Palestinians. A 57-year-old man was hospitalized after sustaining a bullet wound to his hand, according to local medical reports.

    In Idhna, a town west of Hebron, settlers backed by Israeli troops stormed the area surrounding the Prophet Saleh Mosque. The settlers assaulted local residents, discharged live ammunition, and illegally erected a makeshift tent on privately owned Palestinian agricultural land. When the assault was underway, Israeli soldiers entered the mosque itself and detained seven worshippers, including the mosque’s lead imam, Mu’taz Sa’di Tmaizi. During the raid, troops deployed live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas, while settlers vandalized a privately owned Palestinian vehicle parked nearby.

    Settler violence also spilled over into Abu Falah, where armed groups fired weapons in close proximity to the village’s local school, endangering students and staff. Other separate groups of settlers entered the community of Beit Ur al-Tahta, and roamed through privately owned Palestinian farmland outside the village of Jaljalia, all while Israeli military forces provided armed security for the incursions.

    The violence extended to the blockaded Gaza Strip, where Israeli troops shot and killed one Palestinian near the border in northern Khan Younis. The injured survivor was transferred to Nasser Medical Complex for emergency care. Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed that two additional Palestinians died on Saturday from injuries sustained during earlier Israeli attacks in the enclave. As of Saturday, the official Palestinian casualty count for the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which launched in October 2023, stands at 73,384 people killed and 174,242 others wounded. Even following the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,257 Palestinians and wounded an additional 4,131 people across the occupied territories. This report is drawn from independent on-the-ground coverage by Middle East Eye, a media outlet specializing in original, unfiltered reporting on the Middle East and North Africa region.

  • Shanghai cancels 1,300 flights as China prepares for Typhoon Dolphin

    Shanghai cancels 1,300 flights as China prepares for Typhoon Dolphin

    As Typhoon Dolphin tracks toward eastern China after drenching northern Taiwan over the weekend, regional authorities have enacted sweeping emergency measures, including mass evacuations and widespread flight disruptions, to mitigate the impact of the powerful storm.

    The storm’s outer rain bands first reached northern Taiwan, including the island’s capital Taipei, on Saturday, dumping heavy downpours across the region. In response, multiple Taiwanese air carriers scrapped all scheduled flights bound for mainland China on Sunday, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at airports across the island.

    As of Sunday morning, official meteorological data placed the typhoon’s maximum sustained wind speeds at roughly 162 kilometers per hour (101 miles per hour), marking it as a significant weather event capable of causing widespread damage. Forecasters projected the storm would make landfall along the coasts of Zhejiang province and the northern section of neighboring Fujian province by late Sunday, bringing torrential rainfall that raises major risks of flash flooding and dangerous landslides.

    In the most hard-hit forecast zones, accumulated rainfall over the coming days is expected to reach between 200 and 400 millimeters (7.9 to 15.7 inches), according to Chinese national meteorological services. Officials in Zhejiang have issued repeated urgent warnings about elevated landslide risks across the province’s mountainous and hilly areas, urging residents to heed evacuation orders immediately.

    In Shanghai, the country’s busiest aviation hub, both of the city’s major international airports – Pudong and Hongqiao – have canceled more than 1,300 flights scheduled for Sunday, accounting for roughly 60 percent of the day’s planned operations, per reports from Shanghai-based state media outlet The Paper.

    Emergency evacuation efforts have been underway across the region since Saturday evening. In the Zhejiang city of Taizhou alone, officials have relocated more than 390,000 residents from low-lying and high-risk areas. Shanghai authorities have also evacuated more than 30,000 people from coastal and flood-prone zones, bringing the total number of relocated residents across the affected regions to more than 720,000.

    In additional safety measures, Zhejiang provincial authorities have suspended all water-based recreational and commercial activities, including inter-island ferry services and passenger cruise operations, until the storm passes and safety inspections can be completed.