Global Pulse

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  • ‘I just want a chance’: Moroccans sought better future in collective crossing to Spain territory

    ‘I just want a chance’: Moroccans sought better future in collective crossing to Spain territory

    The Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta was recently overwhelmed by an unprecedented surge of migrant crossings, an event that has laid bare the deep economic desperation driving many Moroccans to risk everything for a chance at a new life in the European Union. What unfolded over 24 hours between Thursday and Friday was one of the largest mass border movements the territory has ever seen, with more than 60,000 people crossing into the small territory that is home to just around 85,000 permanent residents.

    For many migrants, the journey was rooted in years of unmet hope and limited economic opportunity at home. Twenty-one-year-old aspiring teacher Abdulah Buji was among the first to rush toward the border after word spread that fence lines had been breached. Riding his motorbike from his home in northern Morocco, Buji joined thousands of other people who swam across the water into Ceuta, clinging to the belief that reaching Spanish soil would open the door to a better future than what Morocco could offer. “I am a talented boy. I just want a chance,” Buji told reporters, explaining that after 14 years of education, the only work available in his home country would force him to work 12-hour days for extremely low pay. But his optimism quickly faded once he arrived. Spanish authorities had already moved to seal off any onward travel to mainland Spain, and ordered all new arrivals to return to Morocco or face forced expulsion and detention. Having already lost all his belongings and savings during the crossing, Buji ultimately chose to head back to Morocco, disappointed that the opportunity he sought was nowhere to be found. He is far from alone: more than 50 migrants died while attempting the swim around Ceuta’s border fence during this mass crossing event.

    By the end of the first full day after the surge began, roughly 45,000 of the 60,000 arrivals had returned to Moroccan territory. The remaining thousands spent the night sleeping on Ceuta’s streets, surrounded by armed Spanish police and military personnel deployed to restore order, as shocked local residents adjusted to the sudden influx that equaled 70% of the enclave’s entire population. Local officials urgently called for additional security personnel to manage the crisis, and residents expressed growing unease as thousands of mostly young migrant men wandered the streets with no clear destination. This event marks a far larger humanitarian emergency than a similar 2021 incident, when Moroccan authorities temporarily lifted border controls and allowed several thousand migrants to enter Ceuta over two days.

    As word of the initial crossings spread across social media, thousands more people across Morocco headed toward the Ceuta border, crowding train stations in major cities including the capital Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco’s largest urban center. Local media footage showed Moroccan police blocking many would-be migrants from boarding trains and buses bound for the northern border region. Researchers note that the mass movement was heavily amplified by social media, where posts encouraging crossings and sharing practical tips for entering Ceuta circulated widely in the days before the surge. “It isn’t clear what triggered the influx, but social media was awash with posts encouraging Moroccans to try to enter Ceuta days before it began,” explained Myriam Cherti, a senior migration researcher at the University of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Cherti added that many of the migrants she has interviewed have attempted to cross the border dozens of times, driven not by recklessness but by deep desperation. “They’re doing it out of despair, they’re doing it because they’ve tried other ways to build a life and failed, they’re doing it because they feel the obligation that they want to help their families and support them,” she said. “And that’s possible if they make it to Spain and not necessarily possible if they stay” in Morocco.

    Thirty-three-year-old Ahmed Karim, who successfully crossed into Ceuta, echoed that sentiment, noting that widespread unemployment and strict border restrictions leave most Moroccans with no legal path to travel to Europe or North America. “They don’t have the opportunity,” he said.

    Not all of those who crossed into Ceuta came to stay; many arrived searching for missing loved ones who had attempted the crossing and had not been heard from. Ikrra Khai, a 33-year-old who regularly holds a temporary work permit to harvest crops on Spanish farms, was in Ceuta searching for the brother of a close friend. “I don’t know if he is dead or alive,” she said. “I have his residency card. But I don’t know where he is. I’m searching.”

    The reporting for this story was led by Joseph Wilson from Barcelona, Spain, with additional contributions from Danica Kirka in London and Akram Oubachir in Fnideq, Morocco.

  • Russian strikes on Kyiv kill at least four, Ukraine officials say

    Russian strikes on Kyiv kill at least four, Ukraine officials say

    Early Saturday morning, emergency response teams raced across Kyiv after a Russian ballistic missile strike tore through residential areas of the Ukrainian capital, leaving at least four people dead and 15 others injured, city officials confirmed. Among those wounded were two teenage boys, aged 13 and 17, adding a tragic personal dimension to the latest escalation of Russian airstrikes on urban centers in Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the casualties, while the Kyiv City Military Administration formally verified the four fatalities. According to Agence France-Presse, more than 10 separate explosions echoed across the city in the early hours of the attack. Blazes broke out at multiple locations, with local power grids knocked offline in several districts. A multi-story apartment building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi neighborhood suffered partial structural collapse, leaving an unknown number of residents trapped under rubble as firefighters worked frantically to reach them. Separately, a large commercial warehouse in the Darnytskyi district was fully engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived.

    This strike marks the latest in a sharp uptick of deadly Russian ballistic missile assaults targeting Kyiv, a surge that has pushed Ukrainian air defenses to their breaking point and left President Volodymyr Zelensky pleading for urgent supplies of air defense interceptors. The Saturday attack came just 48 hours after a suspected Russian cruise missile, fired during another nationwide wave of strikes that killed eight people across Ukraine, crashed across the border into Poland. That earlier attack on Ukraine claimed the lives of six members of a single family in a village near Kryvyi Rih, underscoring the growing civilian toll of the ongoing air campaign.

    The urgency of Ukraine’s interceptor shortage comes as Zelensky met recently with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. to lobby for a U.S. license that would allow Ukraine to manufacture its own Patriot interceptor missiles, the only weapon system currently in Ukraine’s arsenal that can successfully intercept incoming Russian ballistic missiles. During a cabinet meeting held at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, Trump addressed the ongoing negotiations, telling reporters that the U.S. had not yet approved Ukraine’s request to produce Patriots, though discussions remain active. “We have to be very careful about letting somebody build them,” Trump said, framing the decision to share the advanced U.S. missile technology as a high-stakes step that requires cautious consideration. Trump’s current stance marks a shift from his position just weeks earlier, when he indicated he was open to granting Ukraine the production rights.

    As Russia ramps up its airstrike campaign to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, stockpiles of the critical Patriot interceptors have dwindled rapidly, leaving large swathes of Ukrainian territory vulnerable to attack. In recent months, Ukraine has responded with escalating retaliatory strikes targeting Russian logistics infrastructure. Recent attacks have targeted multiple retail warehouses operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform. Ukrainian officials have confirmed these strikes are intended to disrupt Russian military supply chains, noting that the logistics hubs are used to source and distribute equipment for frontline Russian troops.

  • Russia hits Ukrainian capital with ballistic missiles and drones killing 3 and wounding over a dozen

    Russia hits Ukrainian capital with ballistic missiles and drones killing 3 and wounding over a dozen

    A new devastating Russian assault targeting Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has left at least three civilians dead and more than a dozen wounded, marking the second large-scale attack on the country in less than 72 hours, local Ukrainian officials confirmed Saturday. The overnight barrage, which combined multiple ballistic missiles and attack drones, sowed destruction across multiple residential and industrial districts of the capital.

    Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko shared details of the damage in an update posted to Telegram early Saturday. In the city’s Solomianskyi District, falling missile debris slammed into a five-story residential apartment building, sparking a blaze in the building’s courtyard and leaving an unconfirmed number of residents trapped beneath rubble. A second residential building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District suffered partial collapse of its first and second floors, with additional people reported trapped inside, Klitschko added. In the eastern Darnytskyi district, the attack ignited large fires at multiple warehouse facilities, with emergency response teams rushing to contain the blazes as of Saturday morning.

    This latest attack comes just 48 hours after a broader Russian wave of ballistic missile and drone strikes across multiple regions of Ukraine left 10 civilians dead and more than 50 others injured. That earlier assault also sparked international alarm after a stray Russian missile inadvertently crossed into NATO member Poland’s airspace before falling on Polish territory, prompting NATO to scramble response jets and ratcheting up tensions over the conflict’s potential spillover.

    For weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly lobbied U.S. and Western allies to deploy additional Patriot anti-ballistic missile defense systems to Ukraine, a capability Kyiv says is critical to blocking Russia’s persistent long-range attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets. In a Telegram update released late Friday, just hours before the latest assault on Kyiv, Zelenskyy reaffirmed that air defense — and specifically interceptor munitions for Patriot systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles — remains Kyiv’s top priority.

    Late Friday, Zelenskyy also announced he had held a conversation with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, where the pair discussed Zelenskyy’s earlier this week meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, which the Ukrainian leader described as “positive and productive.” The meeting came as Trump has shifted his public position on Ukrainian production of Patriot defense systems: during a NATO summit held in Ankara back in July, Trump stated the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to produce its own Patriot systems, but during a Friday Cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat, he walked back that commitment, noting no final decision on the matter has been reached.

    The latest deadly attack on Kyiv comes as the conflict enters a new phase of intensified Russian long-range airstrikes, and as Ukraine waits for clarity on future Western security support, particularly for critical air defense capabilities that Kyiv says can save thousands of civilian lives.

  • The ‘Board of Peace’ announced a Palestinian body will take Hamas weapons. That’s not what Trump said

    The ‘Board of Peace’ announced a Palestinian body will take Hamas weapons. That’s not what Trump said

    A public discrepancy between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Board of Peace, an organization Trump himself serves as lifetime chairman of, has emerged over who will take control of weapons as Hamas implements its pledged disarmament in Gaza, injecting new uncertainty into a fragile ceasefire framework announced last week. The contradiction arose during Trump’s first on-camera press availability at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, where a reporter asked who would assume custody of Hamas’ weapons as part of the disarmament plan. When asked whether the weapons would transfer to a new Palestinian governing body, Trump flatly stated the Board of Peace would oversee collection of the armaments, praising the body as an extraordinary initiative led by exceptional leaders.

    What made Trump’s remarks notable is that just hours before the press conference, the Board of Peace had published a public statement on social platform X outlining a very different arrangement. The board’s framework laid out a roadmap of full demilitarization, de-radicalization, and a full transfer of all civilian and security governing authority in Gaza to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Palestinian technocratic body. It explicitly emphasized that only the NCAG would be authorized to hold, store, and control all weapons within the Gaza Strip. This wording was widely viewed as a deliberate compromise to win Hamas’ support for the plan, as the group has long insisted it will only engage with Palestinian institutions to advance Palestinian national unity.

    The conflicting claims have highlighted the growing confusion surrounding the disarmament plan, which was first included in Trump’s 20-point Gaza proposal released last year. Analysts and insiders have offered conflicting assessments of whether the contradiction is a meaningful rift or simply a misstatement of process. Guy Ziv, associate director of the Meltzer Schwartzberg Center for Israel Studies at American University, framed the discrepancy as just the latest example of the chaotic and uncoordinated nature of the current proposal.

    However, Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American former leader of Arab Americans for Trump who served as a key backchannel between Hamas and Trump’s negotiating team ahead of the October ceasefire announcement, pushed back on the idea of a major conflict. He argued the two statements are not contradictory, explaining the Board of Peace’s reference to the NCAG means the technocratic committee will collect the weapons before transferring them to a third party, most likely Egypt, where the weapons will be permanently removed from Hamas’ access. “It’s not a contradiction. The Board of Peace would collect [the weapons], meaning the technocratic committee that would run Gaza, and they’re not going to keep them themselves. They’re probably going to hand them to some other party, most likely the Egyptians. And the Egyptians, once they have those weapons, those weapons are gone. Meaning Hamas is not going to ever see them again,” Bahbah told Middle East Eye.

    Even as stakeholders work to resolve the confusion over the weapons handover, the broader plan remains far from a finalized, actionable agreement, existing more as a broad roadmap than a step-by-step implementation schedule. Hamas clarified on Friday that its commitment to full disarmament of all Palestinian factions in Gaza is conditional on both the U.S. and Israel honoring all commitments outlined in the 10 October ceasefire deal. As of Friday, Israeli drone strikes continued across Gaza, leaving at least two Palestinians dead. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas representative, told Reuters that the group will retain its weapons until Israel halts all military operations, allows expanded entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza, and withdraws all Israeli military forces from the enclave.

    When asked what assurances he had received from Israel that it would comply with its obligations under the plan, Trump told reporters he has a standing understanding with Israel, and that “Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us, and they’ve been very good.” But Israeli officials have openly rejected the plan, creating a major hurdle to implementation. Michael Koplow, chief policy officer for the Washington-based Israeli Policy Forum think tank, wrote on X that he believes Israel’s current strategy is to publicly approve the framework to shift blame to Palestinians if talks collapse. “Israeli strategy with Trump has been [to] say yes, count on the other side saying no, and assign the blame when nothing moves forward onto the Palestinian side,” Koplow noted.

    Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, publicly stating that the Israeli government has not agreed to any terms of the plan. “The draft agreement published by the ‘Peace Council’ is not acceptable to Israel,” he wrote in Hebrew. “The targeted killings in Gaza must continue, encouraging emigration must happen, Israel must win.” With Israeli national elections scheduled in less than two months, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced strong political pressure to avoid any perceived concessions on issues related to Palestinians, making compromise on the disarmament plan unlikely in the near term.

    Bahbah argued that the plan can only move forward if Trump personally intervenes to pressure Israel to comply, noting that current Secretary of State Marco Rubio is widely seen as unilaterally pro-Israel and hostile to Palestinian interests, actively working to block progress on issues such as allowing Palestinians to travel to the U.S. “Unless the president himself is convinced… into making this a priority, Israel is going to find one excuse after the other,” Bahbah said.

    Beyond the immediate dispute over weapons collection, analysts have questioned the Trump administration’s long-term vision for Palestinian statehood, a core demand of nearly all Board of Peace stakeholders, particularly Arab, Muslim, and European partners. “What is the vision that the administration has? They’re not really using the two-state discourse that has been used for 25 years since Bill Clinton,” Ziv noted. “How are they going to square the circle here? Netanyahu is not going to agree… to a Palestinian state. That’s not happening.” Previous reporting from Middle East Eye has indicated the Trump administration may be willing to delay progress until after the Israeli election, waiting to see if Netanyahu is voted out of office.

    While it remains uncertain how fully Hamas will implement disarmament as long as Israeli military threats persist, the current draft plan calls for Hamas to first transfer its heavy weapons, including mortars and rocket launchers, followed by small arms such as Kalashnikov rifles. Bahbah noted that Hamas’ commitment to end weapons development, smuggling, and public military displays in Gaza was a difficult concession for the group, given that Israel has continued to violate ceasefire terms on a daily basis and target Hamas leaders in Gaza.

    As of Thursday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has confirmed that at least 73,341 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel led by Hamas. More than 1,200 of those deaths have occurred after the 10 October ceasefire announcement, killed by Israeli sniper fire or airstrikes. Overall, more than 174,000 Palestinians have been wounded in the conflict.

    Despite the domestic political hurdles in Israel and ongoing tensions, international reaction to the disarmament announcement has been largely positive, though tempered with calls for full compliance from all parties. Saudi Arabia, which has been seeking a normalization agreement with Israel that was derailed by the 7 October attacks, described the Board of Peace announcement as historic. “The Kingdom commends President Trump’s leadership and steadfast commitment, which have been instrumental in achieving this significant milestone,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement. “The Kingdom also emphasizes the importance of the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the deployment of the International Stabilization Force, and the continued, unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance and reconstruction support to the Palestinian people.”

    Kaja Kallas, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called the developments constructive, while noting that significant challenges remain. “A lot needs to fall in place for this to work. Success depends on the full commitment of all parties. Verifying Hamas’ compliance will be a significant challenge. Israel would need to eventually withdraw from Gaza,” Kallas wrote on X. She added that the EU remains Gaza’s largest humanitarian donor, having pledged €900 million in aid for Gaza recovery in July.

    Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is currently involved in mediation talks between the U.S. and Iran, welcomed the disarmament plan and called for full Israeli withdrawal. “The mediating countries including the United States of America, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye, deserve special appreciation for their efforts in achieving this progress. Under President Trump’s courageous leadership, this represents a significant achievement for the Board of Peace,” Sharif wrote. “Pakistan also hopes that these efforts will lead to the realization of the right to self-determination of the people of Palestine.”

    Canada, which was disinvited from the Board of Peace by Trump after it criticized the body’s membership structure, also called the announcement an important step forward. “As one of the largest donors to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, Canada stands ready to contribute to this effort,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X. “We remain committed to a just and lasting resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, based on a negotiated two-state solution in which Israeli and Palestinian people can live in peace, security and dignity.”

  • India’s ‘cockroach’ protesters have wounds consistent with pellet-gun fire, say experts

    India’s ‘cockroach’ protesters have wounds consistent with pellet-gun fire, say experts

    Last week’s mass protest in central Delhi, organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to demand education reforms and the resignation of India’s education minister, descended into extreme violence on July 20. What began as a peaceful march toward the Indian parliament has sparked a national controversy after independent ballistic and forensic experts confirmed to the BBC that at least four injured protesters sustained wounds consistent with pellet gun use by security forces — a finding that directly contradicts official denials from Indian law enforcement and government officials.

    Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered for the protest, which was sparked by widespread anger over repeated leaks of high-stakes government recruitment and academic exams. Eyewitness accounts and video footage show police and paramilitary personnel responding to the crowd with baton charges, wooden stick beatings, and tear gas. Official government figures put the number of injured at 60 protesters and 118 security personnel, but CJP leaders say the actual count of injured demonstrators is far higher. In the weeks following the crackdown, senior government officials have repeatedly refused to confirm emerging media reports of pellet gun deployment against crowds.

    Pellet guns, more formally 12-gauge pump-action shotguns loaded with “birdshot” cartridges, fire between 200 and 400 small toxic lead pellets that spread in a wide arc when fired, striking bystanders and protesters indiscriminately. Originally designed for bird hunting, the weapons are banned or strictly restricted for crowd control use in dozens of countries due to their potential to cause permanent, life-changing injury. Even at distances of up to 100 feet, experts note, pellet shots can cause devastating harm, with lead pellets often remaining embedded in soft tissue long after the incident.

    The BBC collected photographic evidence, medical records, and firsthand testimony from four injured protesters, which was reviewed by two independent armament and forensic specialists. Philip Boyce, a UK-based ballistics forensic scientist, told the outlet the dozens of tiny round puncture wounds visible in photos are a definitive marker of birdshot injuries. “The injuries depicted are definitely from a pellet gun,” Boyce said, identifying the weapon used as a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. He added that while the Delhi injuries appear to have been fired from a distance of at least 50 yards, they can still be life-threatening and cause long-term health complications from toxic lead exposure.

    NR Jenzen-Jones, director of the UK-based Armament Research Services (ARES), confirmed Boyce’s assessment, noting that imagery from the protest shows police deploying shotguns for crowd control, and the injury patterns match those typical of birdshot use. “While shotguns are a common tool in the less-lethal arsenals of many states, Indian law enforcement agencies have a long history of employing shotgun cartridges loaded with small lead pellets… in crowd-control scenarios,” Jenzen-Jones explained. He added that the weapons are not safe for crowd management: “They can result in life-changing or, occasionally, life-threatening injuries. They also pepper the body with toxic lead, which can sometimes be difficult to remove safely.”

    Multiple injured protesters have shared their firsthand accounts of the violence with the BBC. A 28-year-old journalist, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said he was walking near Connaught Place — a busy commercial hub adjacent to parliament — when he saw a security officer aim a weapon at him. He turned to run, and seconds later felt a burning pain on his right arm and back. Medical records from Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital confirm 30 embedded pellets: 26 on his right elbow and four on his upper right back. Doctors have advised against surgery to remove the pellets, warning it could worsen his injury, leaving the journalist worried about long-term health effects and permanent scarring.

    Shaikh Irshad Mansoori, a Gurugram-based private sector employee, suffered more severe injuries when a member of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a paramilitary unit under the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), fired on his group of protesters. Scans confirm more than 40 pellets embedded across his body, including three lodged deep in his neck, left eye muscle, and under his nose. Surgeons were only able to safely remove seven pellets, leaving the pellet in his neck in place due to the high risk of surgery. More than 10 days after the incident, Mansoori says he still experiences persistent pain.

    The most high-profile injured protester is 19-year-old Delhi University student Sahil Lochab, who appeared alongside opposition leader Rahul Gandhi at a press conference held by the Indian National Congress last Saturday. Lochab, who joined the protest after his police recruitment exam was canceled last year due to a paper leak, now risks permanent blindness in one eye from pellet injuries. Images show dozens of tiny pellet punctures covering one side of his face, his right arm, and his torso. “I couldn’t see who fired the pellet gun but it came from the side where the forces were,” Lochab said. “My right eye was swollen so much that it felt it had popped out of my face… I want justice. Whoever did this to me doesn’t deserve to be in power.”

    Senior officials have pushed back against the allegations. Delhi Police initially called all claims of pellet gun use “completely false and misleading,” stating the force does not even possess pellet guns. Recent Indian media reports have attributed the firing to the RAF, which falls under the command of the CRPF. The BBC has reached out to CRPF chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh for comment, but has not received a response. In a parliamentary address Wednesday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh stated no bullets were fired during the protest and only tear gas was used, but he declined to directly address questions about pellet gun deployment. Gandhi has called for the dismissal of Home Minister Amit Shah, who oversees both Delhi Police and the CRPF.

    Notably, pellet guns have a long controversial history of use in Indian-administered Kashmir, where security forces have deployed the weapons against protesters since 2010. Data compiled by Human Rights Watch shows pellet gun use there has injured thousands of people, killed at least 17, and left dozens permanently blind. If confirmed, the use of pellet guns on protesters in Delhi marks the first time the weapons have been deployed against citizens in India’s national capital, escalating concerns about excessive force against political demonstrators.

  • Police in the US are making their own true crime podcasts – will it help catch killers?

    Police in the US are making their own true crime podcasts – will it help catch killers?

    Across the United States, law enforcement agencies are tapping into the global obsession with true crime by launching their own podcasts, turning the wildly popular genre into an unexpected investigative tool to crack long-unsolved cold cases and track down fugitive suspects. This emerging trend has already notched tangible results, even as it brings new challenges and ethical questions for police departments navigating a new form of public engagement.

  • Death row inmates desperate to escape execution in Saudi Arabia call the BBC

    Death row inmates desperate to escape execution in Saudi Arabia call the BBC

    Against a backdrop of rising execution rates for foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia, seven Ethiopian death row inmates have risked retaliation to share their harrowing stories directly with the BBC’s Tigrinya language service, smuggled out through a prison phone line to expose the harsh realities of their incarceration and flawed judicial process.

    All of the men interviewed are originally from Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where a devastating two-year civil war that ended in 2022 left communities destroyed and economies shattered. Like thousands of other Tigrayans, they fled conflict and poverty, undertaking dangerous cross-border journeys through Djibouti and Yemen in search of work and safety in Saudi Arabia — only to face death sentences for drug-related charges they say they did not fully understand, and were never given a fair chance to challenge.

    Habtom, a pseudonym used to protect his identity from retaliation, has spent more than three years on death row in a southern Saudi prison in Khamis Mushait. In a shaky, desperate call made over the hum of shouting cellmates, he described the constant uncertainty that haunts every inmate waiting for execution. “One prisoner cannot comfort another. We have no choice but to cry. We are waiting for our turn, even though we do not know when it will happen,” he said.

    He says he was lured into carrying a package by his employers, who promised extra money on top of his low-paid goatherding job. He had no idea what the package contained; he only learned later it was khat, a mild stimulant widely consumed in the Horn of Africa, though Saudi authorities officially list the charges as hashish smuggling. Like most of the inmates interviewed, Habtom says he was denied access to a lawyer, forced to sign an Arabic-language document he could not read, and never got the chance to defend himself in court.

    Rights groups say Habtom’s experience is far from unique. Data collected by Amnesty International shows a sharp, alarming rise in executions of Ethiopian nationals in Saudi Arabia: just two were executed in 2023, 35 were put to death in 2025, and 17 have already been executed in the first seven months of 2026 — five of those on a single Monday in 2026. That makes Ethiopians the nationality with the highest number of executions among non-Saudi citizens held in the kingdom.

    Dana Ahmed, a researcher with Amnesty International, told the BBC two key factors are likely driving the surge. First, the end of the Tigray war pushed thousands of displaced, desperate migrants to seek refuge and work in Saudi Arabia, increasing the pool of detainees. Second, Saudi Arabia has expanded the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences in recent years. Ahmed added that systemic due process failures are baked into these cases: defendants almost never get access to legal counsel or court documents, translation services (when provided) are inadequate, and the theoretical right to appeal is effectively unobtainable without legal support, meaning death sentences are almost always automatically upheld. “There is a near-total lack of transparency throughout the entire judicial process, from sentencing to Supreme Court review and ratification by the King,” Ahmed said. “People on death row and their families are left in the dark about their fate.”

    Nadia Hardman, senior adviser on refugee and migrant rights at Human Rights Watch (HRW), confirmed these accounts, telling the BBC the organization has documented mass trials with no adherence to basic due process, where detainees are sentenced en masse and then left waiting for execution with no information on when their sentence will be carried out.

    Saudi authorities have not responded to specific BBC requests for comment on the allegations of unfair judicial processes. The kingdom’s official policy, outlined in public statements released after each execution, maintains all cases follow a clear, formal process: investigation, trial, appeal, Supreme Court review, and final royal decree. Statements add that the death penalty for drug offences reflects the government’s commitment to protecting Saudi citizens from the harm of drug trafficking.

    Beyond the injustice of their convictions, inmates described brutal, dehumanizing conditions inside the overcrowded prison. Another inmate, identified only by the pseudonym Desta, said 200 men are crammed into a single cell built to hold just 90. During the day, inmates squeeze together on the floor in sweltering heat; at night, when temperatures drop, they use discarded rubbish bags as blankets because they are not provided with sheets. Guards only open the cell door once a day to drop off food, and inmates who ask questions face severe beatings, he said.

    Desta, a former brick-maker who fled Tigray when the civil war reached his hometown, said he was also tricked into carrying a khat package by a smuggler who promised him safe passage across the border from Yemen. When police intercepted the group, the Yemeni smuggler escaped, leaving Desta and the other Ethiopians to face charges. He described the same broken judicial process: forced to sign Arabic paperwork he could not understand, no lawyer, no chance to argue his innocence, and a death sentence handed down after just two court appearances.

    For these men, diplomatic intervention so far has produced little tangible change. After 17 Ethiopians were executed in April 2026, there was widespread international outcry: Ethiopia’s influential Orthodox Church Patriarch Abune Mathias called the inmates “voiceless children” living “under the shadow of death” and urged the Ethiopian government to intervene. HRW called on Saudi Arabia to suspend all executions of Ethiopian migrants immediately, and asked Ethiopia to provide urgent consular support.

    The issue was raised at a high-level diplomatic meeting between Ethiopian and Saudi foreign ministry officials in Addis Ababa in May 2026, followed by a visit from Ethiopia’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia to the Khamis Mushait prison in June. But inmates told the BBC the visit was rushed, and they did not get enough time to share their cases with the envoy. Within a week of the visit, more executions were carried out. The African Union’s human rights commission has also called on Ethiopia to intervene, but the BBC has not received a response to requests for comment from Ethiopian officials in either Riyadh or Addis Ababa.

    In a July 13 statement, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said it maintains regular contact with Saudi authorities to “pursue appropriate remedies for Ethiopian citizens facing difficult circumstances,” and noted that nearly 2,000 Ethiopian detainees have benefited from royal amnesties to date — though it did not mention death penalty cases specifically.

    For the dozens of Ethiopian inmates still waiting on death row, that official progress offers little comfort. Habtom has not even told his family back in Ethiopia he is sentenced to die. “I would rather they be told after I die than now,” he said. His childhood dream of finishing high school, attending college, and supporting his parents was destroyed by the Tigray war, and now he waits each day for the sound of guards opening his cell door to call his name. “We are living in deep fear and cannot even eat the food we are given,” he said. Desta, Habtom and dozens of other death row inmates are now publicly pleading for the international community to intervene to halt their executions.

  • What we know about the Pakistan avalanche and missing climbers

    What we know about the Pakistan avalanche and missing climbers

    A devastating avalanche in Pakistan has left the mountaineering community in mourning, as rescue operations press forward to locate seven missing climbers three bodies have already been pulled from the snow and debris by emergency response teams. The disaster, which struck in one of the country’s popular high-altitude climbing regions, triggered an immediate large-scale search and recovery effort amid challenging conditions. Himalayan climbing expeditions have long carried inherent risks, but unpredictable weather patterns and shifting snowpack in recent years have amplified the danger for adventurers exploring the region’s iconic peaks. Local emergency services have been working around the clock, navigating treacherous terrain and residual avalanche risk to reach the site of the incident and locate the remaining unaccounted-for climbers. As of the latest update, no additional survivors or bodies have been extracted from the avalanche path, leaving families of the missing in a state of anxious waiting. Authorities have not yet released full details about the nationalities of the climbers or the exact location where the avalanche occurred, but confirm that search operations will continue as weather conditions allow.

  • Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool vandalism charge and admits flawed repairs

    Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool vandalism charge and admits flawed repairs

    In a dramatic reversal of a high-profile case that sparked accusations of government overreach, federal prosecutors in Washington DC have formally dismissed all vandalism charges against former Olympic canoe champion David Hearn, concluding that damage to the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused not by deliberate misconduct, but by flawed, rushed construction work overseen by the Trump administration.

    The court filing, submitted Friday by US Attorney for Washington DC Jeanine Pirro, lays out how new evidence from the US Department of the Interior (DOI) upended the original case against Hearn. Prosecutors confirm the new information strongly points to a botched installation of the pool’s new sealant and paint, completed as part of a $13 million renovation project rushed to meet a deadline ahead of the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebration in July 2026.

    Hearn was arrested last month after telling authorities he had simply touched the surface of the pool following a casual bike ride near the National Mall. At the time of his arrest, he faced up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted on the vandalism charges. Hearn has consistently maintained his innocence, telling the BBC prior to the dismissal that he “didn’t destroy, rip, tear, peel, or remove any part” of the pool’s coating.

    Hearn was not the only individual targeted in the crackdown on reported damage to the landmark. A senior administration official previously confirmed to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that four other people were arrested on vandalism charges, and an additional five received police citations. Former President Donald Trump himself publicly claimed one suspect had used a blade to cut a 250-foot gash into the pool’s newly finished surface.

    The $13 million renovation project was launched this spring to address longstanding structural issues, including persistent leaks and structural degradation at the decades-old Reflecting Pool. Trump positioned the overhaul as a centerpiece of his administration’s effort to beautify the nation’s capital ahead of the historic 250th independence anniversary. But problems emerged almost immediately after work wrapped up: the pool continued to suffer from problematic algae overgrowth, and large sections of the new blue sealant began peeling off within days of application.

    Prosecutors acknowledged in Friday’s filing that they only gained access to internal DOI documents showing the damage stemmed from contractor error after charges had already been filed against Hearn. “It was not until after these documents were produced that [prosecutors] first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI,” the filing reads.

    In a statement following the dismissal, Hearn’s legal team slammed the Trump administration for what they called blatant abuse of power. The case “should have never been brought,” the statement said, adding that “its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim.” The legal team added that the Trump administration “owes Mr Hearn an apology” for the wrongful prosecution.

    Hearn has not yet issued a public response to requests for comment from the BBC. The Reflecting Pool has now been drained for the second time in three months to address the ongoing issues, and remains empty as officials assess how to correct the botched work.

  • Hamas says it will ‘disarm when Israel keeps its word’

    Hamas says it will ‘disarm when Israel keeps its word’

    An unreleased 15-point Gaza disarmament framework, obtained exclusively by Middle East Eye (MEE), upends popular public narratives about the proposed agreement by outlining a fully Palestinian-led process that keeps all weapons out of Israeli and international hands, rather than requiring factions to surrender their arms.

    The draft agreement came to light after former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that the U.S.-backed Board of Peace had secured a binding deal to disarm Hamas and all other armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, framing the announcement as a breakthrough for his 20-point Middle East peace plan and the establishment of a new transitional Palestinian administration. “This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump posted on his social platform Truth Social, adding that Israeli forces would withdraw from occupied areas of Gaza as disarmament was finalized, and that a UN-mandated International Stabilization Force would partner with a new Palestinian police force.

    Hamas pushed back on the announcement within 24 hours, issuing a statement that any final deal for the full disarmament of Palestinian factions is contingent on Israel and the United States fulfilling all commitments laid out in the October 2025 ceasefire agreement. Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Reuters Friday that the group will retain its arms until Israel ends all military attacks, facilitates increased entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza, and completes a full withdrawal of its forces from territory it currently controls, in line with the 2025 truce terms.

    Despite Trump’s public framing that the deal requires Hamas to lay down its arms under external pressure, the draft text obtained by MEE paints a drastically different picture. The agreement explicitly states that no weapons will be transferred or surrendered to Israel or any non-Palestinian entity. Instead, all weapons in Gaza will be placed under the oversight of the National Committee, a transitional Palestinian governing body that will hold exclusive authority over weapons registration, licensing, storage, and enforcement by the end of the disarmament process.

    The deal frames weapons collection and inventory as an entirely domestic Palestinian process, with all Palestinian factions, clans, and community groups required to cooperate with the National Committee. International actors will only monitor the process, not lead or enforce it, and armed Palestinian factions will participate directly in the work. Notably, the agreement enshrines a phased implementation structure where progress to each next stage depends on the verified completion of the previous stage’s obligations, a structure that explicitly ties all weapons-related steps to a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the areas of Gaza it still occupies.

    Three critical preconditions must be met before the disarmament process can even begin: completion of all remaining obligations under the existing Sharm El-Sheikh Protocol, the entry of the National Committee into Gaza, and the full deployment of the International Stabilization Force. As of August 2026, none of these preconditions have been fulfilled. The text requires parties to finalize a full implementation timeline within 14 days of the agreement’s signing, a window that can be extended by the International Verification Committee, a body made up of international guarantor states, the Board of Peace, and the International Stabilization Force.

    Contrary to public messaging that positions the International Stabilization Force as the primary security guarantor for the transition period, the draft assigns the force a far more limited mandate. The agreement explicitly bars the international force from carrying out policing duties within Palestinian society, enforcing ceasefires, or training Palestinian police. Its only authorized roles are monitoring compliance from all parties, tracking the flow of humanitarian aid and essential goods into Gaza, and completing non-policing tasks requested by the National Committee. All internal security responsibilities remain fully under the control of the transitional Palestinian body.

    One of the most consequential, underreported clauses of the draft rules out the integration of former militia fighters into formal Palestinian security services or police forces, a common practice in post-conflict disarmament processes designed to stabilize demobilized combatants. The agreement states that militia weapons will be logged and stored under the National Committee’s authority, but does not guarantee fighters positions in new state security institutions. Only existing police personnel are granted protections: officers who fail required vetting will be offered alternative civilian roles matching their expertise or retired with full financial benefits per Palestinian law. For militia fighters, the text only offers a vague promise of future “reintegration and social support” that leaves their fate undecided.

    Another little-noticed provision places a strict $400 million cap on the National Committee’s total financial obligations to suppliers, contractors, and other third parties, to be implemented gradually over three years per the committee’s priority setting. Any claims or liabilities exceeding that cap will be deferred to a future broader national reconciliation process. Analysts note that the modest cap underscores the severely depleted state of Gaza’s institutional finances ahead of any large-scale reconstruction funding.

    Israel has not yet publicly acknowledged the existence of the draft agreement, and an unnamed Israeli political source quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz stated that Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the Yellow Line, a strategic corridor that splits the Gaza Strip in half. The divergent public positions of all key parties leave the future of the proposed framework uncertain, given Israel’s history of failing to uphold previous agreements with Palestinian groups, and Hamas’s firm refusal to move forward without Israeli compliance with existing ceasefire terms.