Global Pulse

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  • Diego Rossi helps Monterrey to 2-1 Leagues Cup win over Messi-less Inter Miami

    Diego Rossi helps Monterrey to 2-1 Leagues Cup win over Messi-less Inter Miami

    MIAMI — In a dramatic late turn of events in Saturday night’s Leagues Cup group stage clash, Diego Rossi netted the game-deciding goal in the final minute of regulation to deliver Monterrey a hard-fought 2-1 victory over an Inter Miami side forced to compete without global superstar Lionel Messi.

    Messi, the 36-year-old Argentine icon, departed for his home country earlier the same day following the passing of his father and long-time agent Jorge Messi at age 68. As of the post-match report, no official timeline has been confirmed for his return to the Major League Soccer club.

    The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had recently wrapped a two-week hiatus after leading Argentina to a runner-up finish at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He made his first comeback appearance off the bench in Inter Miami’s August 1 MLS fixture, which ended in a 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew. Just three days before Saturday’s match, Messi put on a vintage performance in Miami’s opening Leagues Cup group game, notching two goals and one assist to secure a 4-2 win over Atletico San Luis.

    The first half of Saturday’s match saw Inter Miami draw first blood in the 32nd minute, when Rodrigo De Paul fired a 25-yard strike that curved into the left side of the net past the Monterrey goalkeeper. In a show of solidarity with his grieving club and country teammate, De Paul pulled off his own number 7 jersey to reveal Messi’s iconic number 10 underneath the kit. The celebration resulted in a yellow card per competition rules, but the gesture quickly drew widespread support from fans across the globe.

    Monterrey, which trailed 1-0 going into the halftime break, turned the tide in the second half. It only took two minutes after the restart for Hugo Cuypers to slot home the equalizer. The Belgian striker, who earned 2026 MLS All-Star honors and notched 13 goals in 11 appearances for the Chicago Fire before transferring to Monterrey on July 23, brought his side level to set up the final showdown.

    Rossi, who was acquired by Monterrey from Columbus Crew on July 3, sealed the three points with his stoppage-time winner. The 2022 MLS Golden Boot winner, who previously helped Columbus claim the 2023 MLS Cup and 2024 Leagues Cup titles, capped off Monterrey’s second-half comeback with the decisive late strike.

    An early injury disrupted Monterrey’s game plan in the first half: defender Carlos Salcedo was forced to exit the match in the 15th minute, with Jorge Rodríguez stepping in as his replacement.

    With one group stage match remaining for both sides, both clubs currently hold an even 1-1-0 record with three points apiece. For Inter Miami, the defending 2023 Leagues Cup champions and 2024 tournament finalists, their path to the knockout round has grown significantly narrower after Saturday’s loss. Both teams will wrap up their group phase action next Wednesday: Inter Miami will play host to León at their home stadium, while Monterrey will travel to face Nashville SC.

  • How a schoolteacher’s son became Kashmir’s first India Test cricketer

    How a schoolteacher’s son became Kashmir’s first India Test cricketer

    Decades of systemic challenges, harsh climatic conditions, and limited sporting infrastructure have long stood between Jammu and Kashmir’s aspiring cricketers and the highest levels of the sport. But for 29-year-old all-rounder Auqib Nabi, a childhood promise of greatness has turned into history, as he becomes the first cricketer from the region to earn a call-up to India’s men’s Test cricket squad.

    Auqib’s inclusion replaces star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for India’s upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to kick off on 15 August. The milestone is more than a personal win: it marks a watershed moment for cricket development across a region that has spent decades battling systemic and environmental barriers to professional sport.

    Growing up in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, Auqib cut his teeth playing cricket on uneven local grounds with almost no formal infrastructure. His father, Ghulam Nabi Dar, a local schoolteacher, initially pushed his son to prioritize academic study and pursue a career in medicine, echoing the widespread local belief that professional cricket offered no viable future for young people from the region. “There was no scope in cricket. We used to think playing sport was a waste of time, so I insisted that Auqib focused on his studies,” Ghulam explained in reflections on his son’s early journey.

    But Auqib’s relentless passion for the game eventually changed his father’s mind. After years of watching his son dedicate every spare moment to training, Ghulam reversed his position and became one of Auqib’s strongest supporters. “After seeing his passion for cricket, I accepted it. I realised that, as a parent and a teacher, I shouldn’t force him to do something he didn’t want to do. I started supporting him,” he said.

    Even childhood friends recalled how out of reach a professional cricket career seemed for young players in the region. Junaid Dar, Auqib’s childhood companion, remembers questioning Auqib’s unwavering commitment at a time when professional sport was barely a concept in local communities. “Auqib was obsessed with cricket from childhood. I used to ask him, ‘Why are you doing all this? There’s no future in it.’ We came from a place where there was no concept of playing sport professionally and hardly any infrastructure,” Junaid said.

    To access the training facilities he needed to develop his skills, Auqib made a grueling 70-kilometer round trip to Srinagar nearly every day just to practice on regulation cricket pitches. When he attended his first formal cricket trials, he did not even own a proper pair of spiked cricket shoes. For a full decade, he stuck to a brutal daily routine: rising before dawn for gym work, then spending the rest of the day honing his craft on the pitch. “Auqib is very hardworking and consistent. He knows how to fight obstacles and make a way for himself. He would wake up early to go to the gym and then practise for the rest of the day. He did that almost every day for 10 years,” said Auqib’s cousin Bilal Ahmad Dar.

    That decade of grind began to pay off in 2020, when Auqib made his debut in the Ranji Trophy, India’s elite domestic first-class cricket competition, representing Jammu and Kashmir. He announced his arrival with a stunning five-wicket haul against Jharkhand in his first outing, signaling the arrival of a promising new fast-bowling talent.

    Parvez Rasool, Jammu and Kashmir’s first-ever international cricketer and Auqib’s long-time captain, has watched the all-rounder’s progress from the early days of his career. He says Auqib’s extraordinary work ethic and discipline have always set him apart from his peers. Success, however, did not come overnight. Even after finishing as the leading fast bowler in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy season with 44 wickets, Auqib remained largely overlooked by national selectors, a snub that stung for the player and his support system. “When you do well but don’t get recognition, it hurts. But we should never lose hope. Hope is what keeps the world intact. I always believed his time would come,” Ghulam said.

    That patience paid off in the following season, when Auqib delivered one of the most dominant bowling campaigns in modern Ranji Trophy history. He claimed 60 wickets across 10 matches, finishing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker and leading Jammu and Kashmir to their first-ever Ranji Trophy title, a historic win that ended a 67-year wait for the region.

    That standout performance earned Auqib a blockbuster INR 84 crore (approximately £730,000 or $982,000) contract with the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. While he received limited playing time in the high-profile T20 league, his red-ball form had already caught the attention of India’s national selection panel, paving the way for his historic Test call-up.

    For Rasool, Auqib’s achievement carries significance that extends far beyond the player himself. “Playing Test cricket is the ultimate dream for any cricketer. It was my dream too. Seeing Auqib earn that call-up fills me with immense pride. In a way, it feels like a dream many of us in Jammu and Kashmir carried has finally been realised through him. It is a historic moment not just for Auqib and his family, but for cricket across the region,” Rasool said.

    He emphasized that breaking into the Indian national team requires an extra level of resilience for players from Jammu and Kashmir, where decades of underdevelopment, conflict, and limited access to facilities create barriers that players from other parts of India rarely face. “Making it to the Indian team is incredibly difficult for any player, but the challenge is even greater when you come from Jammu and Kashmir. For years, we have had limited infrastructure, fewer opportunities and many obstacles that players from other parts of the country don’t necessarily face. To reach this level, you need exceptional consistency, mental strength and the determination to keep believing in yourself. Auqib has shown all of those qualities, which is why this achievement is so special,” Rasool explained.

    Jammu and Kashmir first gained affiliation with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 1957, but to this day the region only hosts two major cricket stadiums, both with limited facilities. Long, snow-heavy winters and decades of regional instability have further slowed the growth of organized cricket in the area. “This is a landmark moment for cricket in Jammu and Kashmir. For a long time, people questioned whether someone from our region could make it to India’s Test team. Auqib has answered that question. His selection shows players from Jammu and Kashmir can compete with the best if they are given the opportunity,” Rasool said.

    Rasool believes Auqib’s journey will inspire a new generation of young cricketers across the region, filling a gap that has long existed for local sporting role models. “When I started playing, there weren’t many role models from Jammu and Kashmir. Today, things are changing. Auqib becoming the first player from the region to earn an India Test call-up will give countless youngsters the belief that they can dream big too. His journey proves that no matter where you come from or what challenges you face, hard work and perseverance can take you to the highest level,” he said.

    Back in Auqib’s home district of Baramulla, Ghulam Nabi Dar has become a local celebrity overnight, recognized everywhere he goes by community members celebrating his son’s achievement. “People come up to me, hug me and say, ‘This is Auqib’s father.’ It makes me immensely proud,” he said. The milestone caps a remarkable journey that began with a young boy’s bold promise to his cousin: that one day, cricket’s biggest stars would be asking *him* for a selfie. That day has now arrived.

  • A Tibetan cooperative keeps a centuries-old weaving tradition alive

    A Tibetan cooperative keeps a centuries-old weaving tradition alive

    High on the windswept Tibetan Plateau, 12,100 feet above sea level in Shannan, more than a dozen skilled artisans sit hunched over traditional wooden looms, their hands moving in steady, practiced rhythm. They guide shuttles through tight rows of locally sourced wool yarn, pulling each thread into place with careful precision—a repetitive motion that has kept a centuries-old Tibetan cultural tradition alive against the odds. This is the art of weaving Pulu, the thick, durable wool fabric that has clothed plateau communities for hundreds of years, and at the Ethnic Huaji Handwoven Cooperative, this craft is getting a new lease on life.

    Founded in 2008 by third-generation Tibetan artisan Pasang, the cooperative does more than just produce handwoven textiles: it is on a dual mission to safeguard one of Tibet’s oldest endangered weaving traditions and create stable, inclusive employment for local residents. Today, the workshop employs more than 100 people from surrounding communities, including artisans living with disabilities, while passing down rare skills to younger generations of Tibetans who might otherwise never learn the craft. For Pasang, the work is personal—when he was learning the trade from his parents decades ago, fewer than 10 people across the region still knew how to produce Zeter, the cooperative’s specialty and the rarest, most refined variant of Pulu.

    Unlike ordinary Pulu, Zeter is spun from the exceptionally soft wool harvested from the necks and backs of local Shannan sheep. This finer material makes the spinning and weaving process far more technically demanding than standard Pulu production, but the result is a textile that is lighter, softer, and far more delicate than its everyday counterpart. According to historical records preserved by Pasang and local communities, Zeter was so highly prized that during China’s Ming Dynasty, it was sent as a tribute from Tibetan leaders to the imperial court in central China. Today, the craft holds even greater significance: it has been formally recognized as part of China’s national intangible cultural heritage, a designation that has helped bring new attention to Pasang’s work to keep it alive.

    The history of the craft is woven into the very space of the cooperative. At the center of the workshop, two statues stand framed by rows of wooden looms: one of 7th-century Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, and the other of his Chinese bride Princess Wencheng. Local tradition holds that Princess Wencheng introduced advanced weaving techniques to Tibet after her marriage to the king, merging cultural practices from across the region into the craft still practiced today. In official Chinese historical narrative, the royal union symbolizes deep, long-standing cultural and historical ties between Tibet and the rest of China, a connection Pasang says is reflected in the blended cultural heritage of Pulu weaving. “It integrated Tibetan and Chinese cultures,” he explained of the fabric’s centuries-long history.

    All wool used in the cooperative’s workshop is sourced locally from sheep herds that graze the high-altitude grasslands surrounding Shannan, keeping supply chains local and supporting regional herding communities. Finished products—including soft scarves, warm shawls, tailored jackets, handwoven bags and other textiles—are displayed in a small showroom adjacent to the workshop, with most sales going to customers across Tibet, followed by buyers from other regions of China.

    For the artisans who work at the cooperative, the craft is far more than a job—it is a connection to their cultural identity and a lifeline to stable income. Eighty-year-old Tsering Yangchen, who has woven at the workshop for seven years after relocating to Shannan from another county, says she struggled to find steady work before joining the cooperative. Instructors at the workshop taught her the craft from scratch, and today she calls Pulu far more than just a product to sell. “We usually wear them,” she said of the handwoven textiles. “They are made from pure wool.”

    This report comes from an Associated Press reporter who participated in a government-organized reporting trip to Lhasa and Shannan last month, which included access to the cooperative, cultural heritage sites, Buddhist temples, tourist destinations, a local eldercare center, and other regional businesses. Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this reporting.

  • What it’s like to chase solar eclipses around the world

    What it’s like to chase solar eclipses around the world

    On Wednesday, a rare total solar eclipse will cut a path across Europe, turning broad daylight into temporary twilight as the moon aligns perfectly between the Earth and sun, casting a sweeping shadow across the continent. For casual observers, this event will be a once-in-a-lifetime memory. For a growing community of passionate sky-chasers, however, it is the most anticipated celestial prize of a generation — and many have traveled thousands of miles, planned for years, and sacrificed comfort to claim a front-row seat.

    Among them is Mark Griffiths, an astronomy hobbyist from Cheshire in the UK, who completed a grueling two-day cross-border drive to Galicia, northern Spain — widely regarded as one of the best viewing locations for the 2026 eclipse. Griffiths arrived loaded with professional-grade gear: two high-resolution cameras, a specialized solar telescope, and a drone to capture aerial footage of the eclipse’s shadow as it moves across the landscape. His obsession with chasing dramatic sky events began six years ago, with a failed trip to see the northern lights in Shetland, where poor weather left him empty-handed. Far from discouraging him, the disappointment only deepened his passion. “I kept wanting more,” Griffiths explained in an interview on the day after he finished his drive, which included only brief stops in Bordeaux to snap night sky photos and catch a few hours of sleep. “I’m quite sleep deprived, but it’s worth it. It’s like an addiction now.” This eclipse marks Griffiths’ first total solar eclipse, and for enthusiasts like him, he says, Europe’s first total solar eclipse in more than 25 years is “like what the World Cup is to football.” Since his Shetland trip, Griffiths has become a seasoned sky-chaser: he travels to Iceland once a month to lead northern lights tour groups, and has already photographed dozens of auroras, partial eclipses, and bioluminescent phenomena across the globe.

    The eclipse’s path of totality — the narrow strip of land where observers can see the sun completely blocked by the moon — begins at the edge of Siberia, arcs across the Arctic Ocean, passes through Greenland and Iceland, crosses the northern Atlantic, cuts across northern Spain, and ends in the Mediterranean. Outside this path, most of Europe will only see a partial eclipse, but even that has not stopped dedicated travelers from converging on prime viewing spots across the route. Half a world away from Griffiths, American couple Samantha and Gregory Phillips-Brown have traveled from upstate New York to Iceland, where they rented a camper van to seek out a remote viewing spot in the Westfjords peninsula. This is their second total solar eclipse: the first, which they saw near their home in 2023, left such an impact that they booked flights and a van more than a year in advance for this event. “It was such a phenomenal experience to see the Sun start going dark and hear, suddenly, the birds stop chirping,” Samantha recalled. “It’s just a very strange, otherworldly experience.” Gregory reflected on what the experience would have meant for Iceland’s first Viking settlers more than 1,000 years ago, when solar eclipses were attributed to mythology rather than science: “They really didn’t know what was happening, didn’t know how long it was going to last… it must have been quite terrifying for them, in a way.” In the days leading up to the eclipse, the couple has been hiking and camping across eastern Iceland, and they plan to head to the Westfjords early to avoid expected road closures from overcrowding. Samantha, an avid self-described obsessive planner, has been monitoring eclipse-chaser groups on social media to get real-time updates on conditions, and says she has already seen hundreds of visitors carrying eclipse glasses across the country: “I expect as we move west, we’ll see more and more people gathering for the show.”

    For one British family, the 2026 eclipse is a nostalgic reunion 27 years in the making. Andrew Wills is traveling to the Spanish island of Majorca with his wife and his 90-year-old father, with whom he watched Europe’s last total solar eclipse in 1999 from the top of St Agnes Beacon in Cornwall. That day was cloudy, Wills recalled, so they missed seeing the eclipse’s shadow rush across the Atlantic toward them — but they still got to see the sky dim into an eerie twilight, and the memory stuck with him ever since. “It was still awe-inspiring,” he said. This time around, Wills has booked a villa near the western Majorcan town of Andraitx, right in the path of totality, and has scouted a coastal viewing spot with unobstructed views of the horizon, where the eclipse will be visible as the sun sets. Majorca and neighboring Menorca are the last landmasses where the eclipse will be visible before the shadow disappears into the Mediterranean. Wills has arranged to bring camping chairs so his 90-year-old father can rest while they wait for the celestial event, and he is hopeful for clear skies this time around. For Wills, eclipses are more than just a tourist attraction: they are a humbling reminder of the unique cosmic coincidence that makes total solar eclipses possible on Earth. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but also 400 times farther away — creating the perfect alignment that allows the moon to cast a complete shadow on Earth. The experience, he says, reminds him of astronomer Carl Sagan’s reflection on the Pale Blue Dot photograph, which showed Earth as a tiny speck against the vastness of space. “We are tiny little specks in a huge vast area of nothingness,” Wills said. “We’re amazingly lucky to be alive to see something this incredible.”

    Even though the total phase of the eclipse will last just a couple of minutes for observers, that brevity is part of what makes the event so meaningful for the thousands of people who traveled across continents to see it. For this community of sky-chasers, the journey is almost as special as the celestial spectacle they have come to witness.

  • Nigeria’s mass wedding – and how telling lovers from fraudsters is proving tricky

    Nigeria’s mass wedding – and how telling lovers from fraudsters is proving tricky

    For a full week, the northern Nigerian city of Kano has been transformed into a vibrant hub of celebration, as 1,500 low-income couples tied the knot in one of West Africa’s largest annual state-sponsored mass wedding events, turning city streets into a canvas of color and joy for participating families.

    In the lead-up to the official ceremony, neighborhood gatherings and pre-wedding preparation events filled local communities, with bridal parties and relatives helping couples put together their wedding attire and finalize arrangements. The core formal ceremony took place on Friday, when brides clad in bright red hijabs and grooms in matching red hats and flowing white robes processed to the palace of the Emir of Kano, the city’s highest traditional Muslim leader, to formalize their unions.

    The celebration concluded on Saturday with a ceremonial wedding breakfast hosted by Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who personally offered blessings to all newly joined couples. The entire initiative, which supports financially vulnerable residents who cannot cover the steep upfront costs of marriage in Nigeria’s current strained economy, is fully funded by the Kano state government, with a total allocation of 1.5 billion naira (approximately $1 million USD) for this year’s event. This funding covers every expense for participating couples, from the bride’s statutory dowry to essential furniture and household goods for their new home.

    The annual mass wedding program was first launched in 2012 under the administration of the then-state governor, beginning with just 100 couples – most of whom were widows or divorcees seeking to remarry. Since its founding, successive state administrations have retained and expanded the initiative, growing the number of spots available each year to meet rising demand. The program is also open to men entering polygamous unions, in line with the legal and social norms of Kano, a majority-Muslim state where Sharia law operates alongside Nigeria’s national secular legal framework.

    Demand for the program has surged in recent years amid Nigeria’s ongoing economic crisis. This year alone, more than 5,000 eligible couples submitted applications for just 1,500 spots. To ensure the program reaches only genuinely eligible participants, all vetting and screening is overseen by the Hisbah, Kano’s state-level Islamic police force, a process that deputy commander-general Mujahid Aminudeen says is far from simple.

    “Whenever we find out that there’s something dubious or fishy about a couple, we disqualify them,” Aminudeen told the BBC. He explained that some applicants misrepresent their circumstances solely to access the financial benefits of the program, going to great lengths to pass screening as a genuine engaged couple.

    For weeks leading up to the wedding, Hisbah offices have operated at full capacity to process applications and complete mandatory pre-participation checks. All applicants are required to undergo comprehensive medical screenings, including testing for HIV, hepatitis, genotype compatibility, and pregnancy status. Aminudeen confirmed that multiple couples have been disqualified after attempting to falsify their medical results, including one unusual case where a prospective bride attempted to pass her brother off as her fiancé to claim the program’s benefits.

    Local journalist Yusuf Ali Abdallah, who has covered the Kano mass wedding program for more than a decade, says Nigeria’s prolonged economic struggles have driven a sharp increase in both demand and fraudulent applications this year. “As we all know, marriage involves spending money and the country’s economy is not bright at the moment,” he explained. “This makes some people desperate to get on this list.”

    Abdallah added that even some couples who had already married formally had attempted to reapply as new engaged couples to access the program’s support, before being caught and removed from the participant list. Third-party scammers have also exploited the high demand, targeting vulnerable applicants with false promises of securing a spot in exchange for bribes. One Kano resident, who was not selected for this year’s event and asked to remain anonymous, told reporters he was approached by individuals demanding bribes to add him to the participant list. He later discovered the scammers had no connection to the Hisbah or the program, and says he plans to reapply next year.

    Aminudeen acknowledged the reports of fraudulent bribe solicitations, and emphasized that the entire application and participation process is 100% free for all applicants. “We want to announce to the people of Kano that the whole process is free: from the selection to the medicals and the goods set aside for couples – all are covered by the government,” he said.

    Many successful participants have confirmed that they encountered no improper requests during their application process. Rabiu Yusuf, a 43-year-old clothing trader and one of this year’s grooms, said the entire process went smoothly for him and his new wife Aisha Auwal, who met when she regularly visited his shop to purchase clothing. Yusuf, who already has five children with his first wife, said he was “very happy and can’t wait to start a new life” with his bride.

    Amina Alhassan, a 24-year-old bride who married Nura Abdullahi, 40, shared Yusuf’s positive assessment. The couple’s union was arranged by their families in Dambatta village before they applied for the program, and Alhassan said she faced no barriers to participation. “Everything has been free and I want to commend the Kano government for this scheme because without it, many couldn’t have afforded to marry due to the high cost of living,” she said.

    Breaking down the support package, each participating couple receives approximately 1 million naira ($735 USD) in total support. This includes core household necessities: beds, mattresses, linens, pillows, basic furniture, and food supplies to establish their new home. Each bride receives a 100,000 naira dowry, with an additional 100,000 naira provided as start-up capital for small businesses, designed to help the couples achieve long-term financial independence.

    Following Saturday’s official wedding feast, distribution of the household support packages began immediately. The excitement of the event is expected to linger across Kano for days, as the 1,500 new couples settle into their new lives together with the support of the state’s landmark social program.

  • France shuts mosque over Quran verses and Islamic texts used in Muslim worship

    France shuts mosque over Quran verses and Islamic texts used in Muslim worship

    A French administrative court has given its backing to a six-month shutdown of a suburban Paris mosque, a ruling that has reignited long-simmering debates over the French state’s regulation of Islamic religious practice and worship in the country.

    On Friday, the Montreuil Administrative Court turned down a legal request to suspend a closure order first issued in July for the Chanteloup mosque, located in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a northeastern suburb of the French capital. The site will remain shuttered to worshippers through January of next year.

    Human rights attorney Rafik Chekkat, who is representing the mosque in the legal battle, has raised sharp questions over whether imams across France still retain the basic freedom to recite core Islamic sacred texts in their own places of worship. “In France, can an imam still quote the Quran in the mosque where he preaches?” Chekkat asked in comments to reporters.

    Chekkat explained that a significant portion of the authorities’ case against the mosque centered on the imam’s decision to quote seven passages from the Quran, alongside references to two foundational works of traditional Islamic scholarship: *The Garden of the Righteous* and *The Forty Hadiths*. Both texts are compiled from the work of Imam al-Nawawi, a 13th-century Syrian scholar universally recognized as one of the most influential theological thinkers in the history of the Muslim faith.

    French officials also raised objections to portions of the mosque’s sermons that referenced “hell” and the “punishments of the grave” described as being reserved for “unbelievers” — a notable point of criticism, given that similar eschatological teachings are a standard part of religious preaching in Christian churches and other faith communities across the country.

    In their ruling, the judges determined that Julien Charles, the prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis (the department where Aulnay-sous-Bois is located), had not “committed a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of either the freedom of worship or the freedom of expression”, clearing the way for the closure to stand.

    Speaking to Agence France-Presse after the ruling was released, Chekkat expressed deep disappointment and surprise at the court’s decision, noting that key sections of the judgment run directly counter to fundamental guarantees of religious freedom. “We are very disappointed by the decision and very surprised by its content. We will obviously go before the Council of State,” he said, referring to France’s highest administrative court. Chekkat added that he believes the lower court’s ruling was driven in part by political alignment with the regional prefect, rather than strict legal principle. “I understand that the administrative judge did not want to contradict the prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis, now I think that before the Council of State we will have a little more chance, it will be a little more legal and a little less political,” he explained.

    The Friday ruling comes amid years of steadily growing state pressure on Muslim religious institutions across France. By April 2022, French authorities had already shuttered 22 mosques over an 18-month period, with many of the closures relying on classified intelligence documents whose sources have never been made public.

    Beyond mosque closures, the national government has also moved to dissolve a number of prominent Muslim organizations, including the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, a leading anti-discrimination group, and BarakaCity, a large Islamic charity. These actions have deepened widespread fears among French Muslim communities that the government is leveraging national security legislation to systematically restrict the right to religious belief for the country’s 5 million Muslim residents, the largest Muslim minority population in the European Union.

  • Tonnes of rotting food from vast LA warehouse fire creates unbearable stench

    Tonnes of rotting food from vast LA warehouse fire creates unbearable stench

    Two months after a devastating fire tore through a massive cold-storage warehouse in Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights neighborhood, local residents and small business owners are still grappling with a putrid stench, pest infestations, and public health risks from 39 million kilograms of rotting meat and seafood left behind by the blaze. What was once a bustling mixed neighborhood of industrial warehouses and residential homes has become an unbearable place to live and work, leaving the community frustrated with the slow, uneven cleanup process.

    Alexis Sicairos, owner of local coffee stand Brew Sting, knows the impact of the ongoing crisis firsthand. On a normal day, his shop would have a steady line of customers waiting for signature drinks like banana buzz lattes and cloud matcha, including dozens of warehouse workers who stopped by daily. Today, his street corner stands mostly empty. After a two-week mandatory shutdown following the fire, Sicairos reopened, but business has collapsed. The warehouse workers who made up a core portion of his customer base are gone, and returning patrons have stayed away to avoid the overwhelming stench, thick swarms of flies, and residual smoke. “We still have to pay our bills, so we have to stay open,” Sicairos explained, noting that flies constantly cover his serving tables and equipment – a sight that drives away customers looking to enjoy food and drinks outdoors.

    The fire, which broke out on June 17, completely destroyed the facility operated by temperature-controlled logistics giant Lineage, leaving behind more than 85 million pounds of spoiled food, including beef, pork, poultry, and seafood. With high summer temperatures accelerating decomposition, the stench has lingered across the neighborhood for weeks. Local security guard Mesha, who works outside a nearby marijuana dispensary, described the odor as so overpowering it triggers nausea, comparing it to the smell of a decaying body. Walking through the neighborhood now means constant swatting at swarms of multi-colored flies, and residents have reported sightings of unusually large rats that sidewalk traps are too small to contain.

    Public health officials have warned the infestation poses tangible safety risks. A city-commissioned inspection conducted by a pest control firm found that the rotting waste and warm temperatures speed up fly breeding, and the insects can spread infection to open wounds on both humans and animals, increasing the risk of disease for local residents.

    While Lineage claims that approximately 80 percent of the spoiled food waste has been removed from the site as of this week, city officials have blasted the company’s response as inadequate. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for re-election this year, confirmed this week that the company’s efforts have “fallen short”, and the county public health department has issued daily $500 citations for unsanitary and public nuisance conditions. Bass has set a strict August 13 deadline for Lineage to complete the full bulk waste cleanup, and has issued an executive order pausing all plans to rebuild the warehouse until full public health and safety protections are in place. In a letter to Lineage shareholders released Tuesday, Bass criticized the company for delayed communication, limited transparency, and insufficient community engagement, noting that repeated requests for updates on cleanup, environmental monitoring, and recovery efforts have gone unanswered.

    In response to the criticism, a Lineage spokesperson stated that cleanup crews are working around the clock to remove waste, clear debris, and dismantle damaged sections of the warehouse, acknowledging that odor reduction is a top priority. The company notes that the cleanup effort is a highly complex operation, and projects total costs will reach between $80 million and $100 million. The company expects to complete bulk waste removal by next week, up from 60 percent completion on July 31.

    To address immediate community needs, Mayor Bass has mobilized city resources and coordinated with local, state, and federal partners alongside non-profit organizations to bring support to Boyle Heights. The city has deployed mobile health clinics to the neighborhood and distributed thousands of air purifiers to local homes and businesses. Bass emphasized that she has met directly with residents since the first day of the crisis to center their input in the city’s response, acknowledging their frustration and noting that the community deserves transparency, clear communication, and robust support.

    Local residents, however, have repeatedly voiced anger at what they see as a slow, inadequate response from both the city and the warehouse operator, with many citing a lack of transparency and insufficient resources dedicated to the cleanup. As crews continue working to clear the site, the community remains trapped waiting for the stench and health risks to be eliminated.

  • Unpacking the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkey defense pact

    Unpacking the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkey defense pact

    On August 7, 2026, a landmark trilateral defense agreement was signed in the Saudi holy city of Mecca by the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey. Named the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, this pact formally enshrines a collective defense principle: any armed aggression against one signatory will be treated as an attack against all three nations. It builds on the 2025 bilateral Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, expanding cooperation to include joint military drills, defense industrial partnerships, cross-border technology sharing, and coordinated intelligence exchange. While the framework for deeper collaboration is publicly established, details of operational protocols, specific military commitments, and implementation timelines remain undisclosed. This new pact represents one of the most consequential shifts in Middle Eastern and South Asian geopolitics in recent years, driven by overlapping but not identical national priorities across the three countries.

    ### The Strategic Drivers Behind the Pact
    The timing of the agreement is far from coincidental, rooted in a deeply unstable Middle Eastern security landscape. Decades-long tensions between the United States and Iran have yet to produce a lasting ceasefire, while Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have stepped up attacks and threats against Saudi territory and Saudi-linked commercial and infrastructure assets. A recently finalized U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement remains tied to ongoing negotiations over Saudi-Israeli normalization, with Washington conditioning the deal’s implementation on Riyadh formally joining the Abraham Accords. At the same time, shifting dynamics in the ongoing Gaza crisis and stalled talks over a regional peace framework have put new pressure on major Muslim-majority nations to take more active roles in regional security and diplomacy.

    For Saudi Arabia, the pact addresses growing anxieties over its vulnerability to regional threats as it pursues its ambitious Vision 2030 economic transformation agenda. Recent disruptions to Red Sea shipping and heightened risks of closure to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a quarter of global oil trade passes, have underscored how quickly regional conflict can derail Saudi economic goals by disrupting energy exports, scaring off foreign investment, and disrupting core trade routes. Riyadh thus needs strategic partners that can supplement its own defense capabilities with manpower, intelligence, advanced technology, and geographic depth.

    Pakistan brings a long-standing defense partnership and a large, battle-tested military establishment to the alliance, while Turkey answers Saudi Arabia’s need for a second, ideologically aligned partner with expanding regional influence. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ankara has actively pursued a policy of expanding its strategic footprint far beyond its Anatolian heartland, positioning itself as a leading power across the entire Muslim world. Turkey has deepened political, military, and industrial ties across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia, driven by Erdoğan’s goal of elevating Turkey to a top-tier global power. Its active military involvement in Syria, long-running confrontation with Kurdish militant groups, and expanding partnerships across the Muslim world confirm its broad extra-regional ambitions.

    ### Pakistan’s Dual Calculus: Benefits and Hidden Risks
    For Pakistan, the pact offers immediate tangible benefits at a time of deep economic and political uncertainty. Islamabad has long been dependent on external financial assistance and bailout packages to stabilize its economy, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has failed to resolve the country’s deep structural economic weaknesses. Beijing has also grown more cautious about extending new large-scale financing to Islamabad and has pushed for repayment of outstanding loans, while Pakistan has struggled to secure sufficient financial support from other global and regional partners.

    Under the new trilateral framework, Saudi Arabia is expected to provide much-needed financial aid, discounted energy supplies, and new foreign direct investment, while Turkey will offer access to advanced defense technology, military training, intelligence sharing, and defense industrial collaboration. Domestically, Pakistan’s military establishment can frame the agreement as proof that the country has regained its status as a strategically critical global player, strengthening Field Marshal Asim Munir’s domestic legitimacy and consolidating the military’s long-held political influence.

    However, the pact carries significant long-term risks for Pakistan that could undermine its national sovereignty and security. Unlike the earlier bilateral Saudi-Pakistan arrangement, which was built on Saudi financial support in exchange for Pakistani military capabilities, Turkey’s entry adds a broad new geopolitical and defense industrial dimension to the alliance. Turkey already has a deep defense partnership with Pakistan: the two countries cooperate on drone development, naval platform manufacturing, and joint defense projects, and their partnership expanded dramatically during the 2025 India-Pakistan border confrontation, when Ankara provided open political support to Islamabad and Turkish defense systems and advisors reportedly played a role in Pakistani military operations.

    The new trilateral framework will accelerate this cooperation, giving Pakistan greater access to Turkish defense technology, including participation in Ankara’s cutting-edge KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet program. But for Turkey, this partnership is more than a commercial defense arrangement: it is a core component of Ankara’s “Asia Anew Initiative,” which seeks to expand Turkish geopolitical influence across South and Southeast Asia. Recent high-level military visits from Bangladesh and Pakistan to Ankara confirm this expanding strategic push, which includes a growing Turkish maritime presence in the Indian Ocean.

    The greatest long-term risk for Pakistan is what analysts term “strategic entrapment.” If the pact’s collective defense commitments require Pakistani military deployments beyond Saudi territory, Islamabad could find itself drawn into conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and other regional hotspots that serve no core Pakistani national interest. Pakistan already stretched its military resources during the 2026 Iran conflict, when it deployed approximately 8,000 troops, a full fighter jet squadron, and advanced air defense systems to Saudi Arabia under its 2025 bilateral pact.

    Most critically, closer alignment with Saudi Arabia and Turkey threatens to severely damage Pakistan’s historically delicate relationship with Iran. Pakistan shares a 900-kilometer porous border with Iran, and Tehran has already issued sharp criticism of the new trilateral pact, warning that it will not deliver greater security to Saudi Arabia. If Iran views Pakistan as an active participant in Saudi and Turkish efforts to counter Iranian regional interests, Islamabad could face rising diplomatic pressure and increased militant activity along its western border, particularly in Balochistan, where the Pakistani military is already fighting a long-running separatist insurgency and countering militant violence.

    Pakistan currently finds itself balancing multiple competing strategic demands: securing Saudi financial support, deepening defense ties with Turkey, maintaining its all-weather alliance with China, managing its complex relationship with the United States, and avoiding open confrontation with Iran, all while positioning itself as a neutral mediator in the ongoing Iran crisis. This balancing act is growing increasingly unsustainable, and once Pakistan commits military and logistical resources to Saudi and Turkish security goals, withdrawing from those commitments will become progressively more difficult.

    ### New Strategic Challenges for India
    The Makkah Pact creates a new set of complex security challenges for India, which cannot afford to dismiss the trilateral alliance as a purely Middle Eastern development. For New Delhi, the core concern is not just that Pakistan will receive additional military support from Saudi Arabia and Turkey: it is that Pakistan will act as a gateway for Turkey to expand its strategic footprint into South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.

    At the same time, Indian policymakers need not view Saudi Arabia’s participation in the pact as a sign that Riyadh intends to abandon its deepening strategic and economic ties with New Delhi. Saudi Arabia holds massive economic, energy, and investment interests in India, and its primary motivation for joining the trilateral pact is to counter Iranian-aligned threats closer to home, not to undermine Indian security interests.

    The real risk for India lies in the combined capabilities the three allies bring to the table: Saudi Arabia’s financial resources can bolster Pakistan’s military capacity, Pakistan provides geographic access, manpower, and military infrastructure across South Asia, and Turkey contributes advanced defense technology, training, and intelligence coordination. This creates a far more capable military ecosystem in Pakistan than the earlier bilateral Saudi-Pakistan arrangement.

    Turkey’s long-standing open support for Pakistan on Kashmir and its expanding maritime and defense presence in the Indian Ocean mean that New Delhi cannot treat the Turkey-Pakistan partnership as a purely bilateral matter. Shared ideological alignment on political Islam also creates opportunities for greater cross-regional strategic coordination that could run counter to Indian interests.

    To protect its national security, India will need to closely monitor the implementation of the pact, particularly with regard to practical cooperation on intelligence sharing, joint military exercises, defense industrial collaboration, technology transfer, and cross-regional military deployments. New Delhi should also deepen strategic engagement with other nations that share concerns over expanding Turkish influence, strengthen its own defense, maritime, and intelligence capabilities, and deepen security and economic cooperation with other Gulf Cooperation Council members.

    Notably, India should not abandon its own expanding strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has repeatedly signaled that it values its ties with New Delhi, and New Delhi can work to make clear that the trilateral defense pact need not derail bilateral cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia. India’s goal should not be to force Saudi Arabia to choose between India and Pakistan, but rather to make Riyadh aware of the potential risks of enabling the buildup of Pakistani military capabilities that could eventually be used against Indian interests.

    As regional geopolitical alignments grow increasingly complex, Pakistan has gambled that the pact will restore its strategic relevance in the Middle East and South Asia. But by entering this trilateral alliance, Islamabad has stepped into a far larger geopolitical game whose long-term consequences it may ultimately be unable to control.

  • Hundreds arrested over French wildfires, but who is to blame?

    Hundreds arrested over French wildfires, but who is to blame?

    This summer, France has faced its most destructive wildfire season since the end of World War II, with flames scorching more than 300,000 acres of land across the country and forcing emergency responders into action, most notably in the southwestern Gironde region where an all-out crisis response was launched in late July. As smoke clears from the worst-hit areas, the French public and experts are increasingly asking one pressing question: what has driven this unprecedented catastrophe?

    Climate scientists and fire investigators point first to the long-documented impact of human-caused fossil fuel emissions, which have pushed global temperatures steadily upward and created the dry, parched conditions that allow wildfires to ignite and spread with alarming speed. But official data reveals a stark secondary truth: nine out of every 10 wildfires in France are started by human activity, a statistic that has pushed the Paris government to launch a widespread crackdown on those deemed responsible – even as critics accuse the administration of being chronically underprepared for the scale of this year’s infernos.

    So far, France’s interior ministry has announced 420 arrests of people accused of either deliberately or accidentally igniting blazes, more than 160 of whom are minors. The scope of these arrests ranges widely: one 23-year-old man is facing up to 15 years in prison and a €150,000 fine if convicted of deliberately starting 10 separate blazes across southeastern Var over just five days last month. Other defendants have already received immediate sentencing, including a man handed a three-year jail term for starting three fires in the Raon-L’Étape forest in the Vosges region, even though local newspaper L’Est Républicain noted only a few square meters of vegetation burned.

    Critics argue that many of these prosecutions are disproportionately harsh and unfair. Reports have emerged that a homeless person and an individual with severe autism have both been jailed for accidentally starting fires after throwing away discarded cigarette butts. Muriel Gestas, a defense lawyer who has represented multiple people accused of arson – including two professional firefighters – says she was stunned by the sheer volume of arrests, describing the crackdown as excessive. She also casts doubt that most of the cases will ultimately result in convictions.

    Leading French newspaper Le Monde has echoed these concerns, pointing out that authorities have refused to release key details about the cases, including whether most charges involve deliberate arson or accidental ignition, and how arrest numbers compare to previous fire seasons. This lack of transparency, the outlet argues, makes any meaningful assessment of the crackdown impossible. But supporters of the hardline approach, including Bordeaux chief prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul, defend the strategy, arguing that current extreme conditions justify strict action. “The conditions for a charge of endangering lives are met for those who throw a cigarette butt or light a barbecue in wooded areas,” Gaudeul told Le Monde. “It only takes a tiny spark for it to start.”

    Pinpointing the exact origin of a wildfire is an inherently complex process, especially during extreme drought. Eric Dufayet, a veteran fire investigation officer, explained that even the smallest spark can ignite a major blaze when vegetation is as parched as it is this summer. After a fire is contained, Dufayet’s team first maps the burn perimeter to trace the flames back to their point of origin, which often forms a distinct V-shape when wind patterns are consistent. Investigators then work backward from that point to identify the cause, and in cases of deliberate arson, they often recover DNA or fingerprint evidence from ignition devices left at the scene.

    Industry experts broadly agree that deliberate arson accounts for only a small share of this year’s fires. The vast majority are accidental, with ignition sources ranging from sparks from construction equipment and faulty power lines to discarded cigarette butts and unattended outdoor barbecues. Dufayet notes that even a cigarette butt can easily start a blaze under the right conditions, referencing the so-called “30 rule”: fires are most likely to ignite when temperatures hit at least 30°C, relative humidity drops below 30%, wind speed stays under 30km/h, and at least 30% of the cigarette remains unburnt. During this summer’s record drought, he adds, these conditions are nearly ubiquitous, making even small accidental risks far more dangerous than usual.

    Psychiatrists break down those who start wildfires into three broad categories: people who act out of negligence, those who stand to benefit from the fire (such as through insurance payouts), and people living with pyromania, a rare psychiatric condition where individuals feel a compulsive attraction to fire. Michel Lejoyeux, a professor of psychiatry and addictive behavior at Paris 7 University, explains that pyromaniacs do not seek financial gain or revenge – they are drawn to fire for its own sake. Still, he notes that pyromania is extremely rare, difficult to diagnose, and accounts for very few arson convictions.

    In some cases involving firefighters accused of starting blazes, Gestas says motives can vary: some accused firefighters may have started fires to be seen as heroes who would then lead the response, while volunteer firefighters may have been motivated by financial gain from tax-free overtime pay for emergency work.

    As the controversy over the government’s crackdown continues, broader concerns over wildfire risk are far from over. Meteorological forecasts show another major heatwave is just days away from reaching France, raising the risk of new blazes. President Emmanuel Macron, who has described this year’s fire season as “completely unprecedented,” says that public criticism of the government’s response is not a priority right now. “We will have to replant and rebuild a different kind of forest because we must adapt to the structural conditions of climate change,” Macron said this week. “The time for reviewing lessons learned will come. In the meantime, the country must remain united.”

    Even so, the widespread damage from this year’s wildfires – which have destroyed hundreds of homes, devastated local tourism and small businesses, damaged ecosystems, and worsened air quality across large swathes of the country – has left the French public demanding answers about what went wrong, and how the country can better prepare for future fire seasons amplified by climate change.

  • FIFA condemns ‘concerted and ongoing effort’ to weaken Infantino

    FIFA condemns ‘concerted and ongoing effort’ to weaken Infantino

    As the 2025 FIFA presidential re-election campaign approaches, a growing storm of controversy has engulfed incumbent head Gianni Infantino, with the global football governing body issuing a fierce public rebuke of what it calls an organized, sustained campaign to weaken both its leadership and reputation. The latest wave of criticism comes on the heels of the collapse of Infantino’s controversial private World Cup investment plan, and new unproven allegations published by a major British newspaper last Friday.
    The claims published by *The Telegraph* center on actions Infantino took during his tenure as Secretary General of UEFA, European football’s top governing body, between 2009 and 2016. Citing anonymous sources, the outlet reported that Infantino abused his influence to secure a promotion for a female UEFA staff member with whom he allegedly had an intimate relationship. The newspaper further alleged that the employee received a six-figure payout when she left the organization, in addition to roughly £45,000 (equivalent to $60,700) to cover tuition fees for an elite business school program. When reached for comment by Agence France-Presse (AFP), UEFA confirmed that a departure settlement and MBA tuition payment were provided to the individual in question, but did not address the broader allegations of improper influence.
    In an official statement posted to social media on Saturday, FIFA pushed back forcefully against the cascade of negative coverage and calls for Infantino’s resignation. The organization acknowledged that it welcomes legitimate oversight of its work, but drew a clear line between constructive scrutiny and bad-faith attack. “Scrutiny is not a licence to distort facts, amplify unsubstantiated allegations or manufacture distractions designed to undermine progress,” the statement read. “Where reporting is inaccurate or misleading, FIFA will challenge it directly and vigorously.”
    Infantino’s current crisis began in late October 2024, when he first unveiled a plan to open World Cup tournament operations to private investment. The proposal sparked immediate widespread backlash from global football stakeholders, most notably UEFA, which ultimately forced Infantino to shelve the plan. Even after the proposal was withdrawn, UEFA has stood firm in its opposition, reaffirming its threat to organize a boycott of future World Cup tournaments last Thursday, arguing that the u-turn was not enough to resolve concerns over Infantino’s leadership.
    With Infantino set to stand for re-election next March, FIFA’s Saturday statement also addressed efforts by opponents to alter the election outcome through non-democratic means. The organization made clear that it “will not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of the FIFA President that is inconsistent with FIFA’s Statutes, democratic procedures and established governance framework.” It added that critics who lack sufficient backing from FIFA member associations have no right to push their agenda through false claims and innuendo, rather than the established democratic processes already set out by the governing body.