Global Pulse

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  • Firefighters battle the last hot spots of a monster wildfire in the southwest

    Firefighters battle the last hot spots of a monster wildfire in the southwest

    LEGE-CAP FERRET, France — Nearly a week after a devastating wildfire swept through southwestern France’s Atlantic coastal region, firefighting teams continued mop-up operations Friday to extinguish the last smoldering hot spots of a blaze that has already scorched an area four times larger than the entire city of Paris and displaced tens of thousands of residents. Since igniting in Bordeaux’s Gironde department, the inferno has consumed 42,000 hectares — equivalent to roughly 162 square miles — of prime pine forest and popular tourist resort areas, but the blaze has not expanded its reach for several consecutive days, marking a key turning point in the battle against the disaster.

    Meteorological shifts have given exhausted fire crews a much-needed reprieve: overnight cooling temperatures and rising humidity levels across the region have reduced the risk of flare-ups and eased the intense strain on first responders. With the fire line holding, teams have shifted their focus to extinguishing persistent hot spots hidden in forest undergrowth and vegetation along the region’s iconic fine-sand dunes.

    This wildfire is one of dozens sweeping across Europe amid an unprecedented record-breaking hot summer, which has created tinder-dry conditions that have accelerated the spread of blazes from the Atlantic coastline all the way to the eastern Mediterranean. On Thursday alone, countries across the continent were locked in wildfire response: the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Greece and Turkey all reported active large blazes requiring urgent firefighting deployments.

    In the Gironde region, the initial outbreak forced 224,000 people to evacuate their homes and businesses to escape the advancing flames. This week, local authorities have gradually lifted evacuation orders, allowing more than 144,000 displaced residents to return to their properties.

    French officials struck a tone of cautious optimism on Friday, warning that while the situation is stabilized, the threat is not fully over. “It’s stabilized, but not totally stopped,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told RTL radio in an interview Friday. “Hot spots remain.” Thousands of firefighters remain fully mobilized across the fire zone to respond to any new outbreaks and extinguish remaining embers.

    In a show of international solidarity amid the crisis, Nunez announced via a social media post that Ukraine will send 70 trained civil security personnel and 10 specialized firefighting vehicles to France in the coming days to reinforce local response teams and support ongoing containment efforts.

  • Massive Attack investigated after reports of pro-Palestinian display in Singapore show

    Massive Attack investigated after reports of pro-Palestinian display in Singapore show

    Singaporean law enforcement and media regulatory bodies have opened an official investigation into British trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack, after two band members displayed pro-Palestinian expression during a public concert in the city-state this week, multiple sources confirm. The incident, which took place at the group’s only scheduled Singapore stop on its ongoing world tour on Wednesday, saw two members of the iconic band unfurl a Palestinian flag and chant the slogan “Free Palestine”, according to local media reports and first-hand accounts shared by concertgoers on social media. A number of audience members in attendance joined the demonstration, eyewitnesses added. The BBC has reached out to both the Singapore concert’s organizing team and Massive Attack’s official management for a response to the investigation, but neither party has issued a public comment as of Friday. In a formal response to the BBC’s inquiry, a joint spokesperson for Singapore’s police force and national media regulatory authority confirmed that formal reports have been filed and active investigations are currently underway. The spokesperson added that regulators are also examining whether the performance violated terms of the public entertainment license required for all concerts staged in the country. When asked whether any band members or production staff have been taken into custody or restricted from leaving Singapore amid the probe, authorities have not yet replied. Massive Attack, the trailblazing group that launched the trip-hop music genre, has a decades-long track record of open political advocacy on a wide range of global issues, including the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. Earlier this year, the band’s frontman Robert Del Naja was arrested during a pro-Palestine demonstration in London, where he was charged with supporting Palestine Action – an organization designated as proscribed under UK counter-terrorism law. Following the Wednesday incident, questions have emerged over what potential penalties Massive Attack or its members could face if investigators find violations of Singaporean law. Singapore enforces strict regulations on all forms of public demonstration and political expression, framing these rules as a critical safeguard for the multi-ethnic country’s long-standing social and racial harmony. Under existing local regulations, public display of foreign national symbols such as flags is prohibited without prior official approval or exemption. Individuals found guilty of this offense can face penalties including a fine of up to 500 Singapore dollars (equivalent to roughly £290 or $390), a six-month prison sentence, or both. This is not the first time Singaporean authorities have taken action against public expressions of sentiment tied to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Earlier in 2024, several local activists were fined for organizing an unapproved public walk in support of Palestinian statehood. Back in 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs issued an official public advisory banning the public display or wearing of any items linked to the Israel-Gaza war, including foreign national flags and symbols. “We must not let events happening externally affect this peace and harmony we have in Singapore,” the ministry stated at the time. Since the outbreak of the latest conflict, Singaporean police have opened probes into both offline and online activities related to the war, and effectively implemented a total ban on all public gatherings connected to the conflict. Despite its strict restrictions on domestic public expression around the war, the Singaporean government has maintained a consistent official foreign policy position supporting the long-standing two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside a recognized State of Israel, as well as full Palestinian membership in the United Nations. Following the Singapore performance, Massive Attack is scheduled to hold its next concert in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday.

  • France, Spain assess scorched terrain as new wildfires threaten other regions

    France, Spain assess scorched terrain as new wildfires threaten other regions

    As a summer of unprecedented wildfire activity sweeps across Southern Europe, firefighting teams from multiple nations are working around the clock to contain out-of-control blazes that have scorhed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, displaced hundreds of thousands of residents, and claimed multiple lives. On Friday, Greek crews remained on high alert for new fire ignitions amid dangerous conditions, while France and Spain braced for potential new flare-ups even as progress was made containing their most destructive infernos.

    Climate scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures driven by climate change create the perfect dry conditions for more intense, fast-spreading wildfires, and this season’s extreme blazes across the continent have only underscored this growing systemic risk. Parched vegetation across the Mediterranean has turned vast swathes of land into tinder, allowing small ignitions to explode into massive infernos that are far harder for crews to contain.

    In Greece, the largest blaze burning on the popular tourist island of Crete has already destroyed roughly 4,500 hectares of land since Wednesday. While local authorities noted modest improvements in conditions near the town of Rethymno on Friday, a fire department spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the fire has not yet been fully contained, with hundreds of active hotspots still posing a major risk of flare-ups. Smaller blazes are also burning across the Aegean Sea on the islands of Paros, Kalymnos, and Andros, though officials report those situations are under better control. Nearly all of Greece remained on high alert Friday, with the Athens metropolitan area and large parts of the Peloponnese peninsula ranked at “very high” wildfire risk — the second-highest level on the country’s five-tier warning scale.

    France, one of the countries worst hit by this season’s wildfires, received much-needed good news this week. Near the southwestern city of Bordeaux, a massive inferno that blackened 42,000 hectares of land has finally been stabilized after days of spread, thanks to favorable overnight weather conditions. With the fire fully contained within its perimeter, more than half of the 224,000 evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes across 12 affected municipalities. Local officials plan to launch coordinated operations to clear underbrush and treat fire perimeters in coastal dune areas to eliminate remaining hotspots. Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas noted that Thursday brought an optimistic shift, with residents beginning to resume normal daily life. However, the fire has already left a devastating mark: at least 200 homes have been destroyed, and two firefighters have died battling the blazes. Ukraine has stepped in to support French response efforts, deploying a team of 70 specialized rescuers and 15 fire vehicles to assist with containment and mop-up operations.

    To the east, Portugal is also grappling with an out-of-control blaze that has been burning in the northern part of the country since Tuesday. Regional civil protection commander Albano Teixeira described Friday’s overnight operations as “intense”, with nearly 800 firefighters deployed to contain the Valpacos fire. The blaze has so far injured at least five people lightly and has consumed more than 6,000 hectares of land.

    Turkey has also seen a surge in new ignitions over the past 48 hours, with hundreds of firefighters battling wind-driven blazes near popular Mediterranean and Aegean tourist regions. In the western province of Balikesir, five people have been injured fighting blazes across three towns. Authorities have evacuated three villages near the coastal town of Ayvalik, located opposite the Greek island of Lesbos, and relocated 720 head of cattle to safer ground. Turkish Agriculture Ministry data shows that at least 169 new wildfires broke out across the country between Wednesday and Friday, though 163 of those have already been brought under control.

    In Spain, officials are cautiously easing emergency measures but remain on high alert amid an ongoing second heatwave that threatens to reignite contained blazes. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lifted the state of emergency for a major wildfire west of Madrid on Thursday, after officials confirmed all active fire fronts had been extinguished. More than 60,000 residents were evacuated at the height of that blaze, and most have now been allowed to return to their homes. However, the country is also grappling with a historic blaze in the neighboring Avila region, which has burned 50,000 hectares of land since it ignited last week — making it the largest wildfire recorded in Spain since national record-keeping began in 1961. Officials warned that the new heatwave moving across the country could reignite smoldering hotspots in the Madrid region, forcing residents to remain prepared for new evacuation orders.

  • Rights group says Russia-linked airstrike in Mali killed 8 civilians last month

    Rights group says Russia-linked airstrike in Mali killed 8 civilians last month

    DAKAR, SENEGAL – In a public report released Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has leveled serious accusations against Russia’s state-controlled Africa Corps, claiming that a corps aircraft carried out an airstrike on a central Malian village last month that left eight civilians dead, among them three children.

    According to the investigation compiled by HRW, a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack plane dropped two explosive munitions on the village of Kyrnia, located in Mali’s conflict-battered Mopti region, on June 15. The first bomb landed close to the village chief’s residence, killing his wife and three of his children. The second strike hit a small cattle market just a short distance away, killing four adult male civilians. Shockingly, HRW’s investigation found no fatalities among fighters from Jama’a Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic militant group that has held control of Kyrnia for six years.

    The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm the accuracy of HRW’s findings, consistent with standard journalistic practice for on-the-ground conflict reporting in inaccessible regions.

    Mali has been trapped in a spiral of violent instability for more than 10 years. The country faces overlapping insurgencies from jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State – including JNIM – alongside a long-running separatist rebellion led by Tuareg groups in the country’s northern territories. Violence has accelerated sharply in recent months, after a joint offensive by JNIM and Tuareg separatist forces carried out the largest coordinated attack across Mali in more than a decade. The assault targeted key sites including Bamako’s international airport, the nearby military garrison town of Kati, and multiple population centers in northern and central Mali.

    Those April attacks laid bare critical gaps in the Malian government’s counterinsurgency strategy, which has centered heavily on Russian military support since the country’s military junta cut diplomatic and security ties with former Western ally France. Russian military-linked forces have operated in Mali since late 2021, brought in to assist the military-led government in its fight against militant and separatist factions. Last year, Africa Corps – a unit that falls directly under the command of Russia’s Ministry of Defense – took over Russian military operations in the country, replacing the private mercenary outfit the Wagner Group.

    To build its report on the June 15 strike, HRW said it conducted interviews with 19 separate witnesses with direct knowledge of the incident, cross-referenced witness accounts with high-resolution satellite imagery, and reviewed publicly released footage of the strike that was posted online by Africa Corps itself. In that footage, the corps framed the operation as a targeted strike against a gathering of terrorists. HRW’s researchers noted that while roughly 100 JNIM fighters were present in Kyrnia on the day of the strike, the majority of those fighters were gathered in a separate part of the village, far from the two sites hit by munitions. The group concluded that the airstrikes did not appear to target a clear, legitimate military objective, violating international laws of war.

    HRW has called on Mali’s military-led government to open a full, independent investigation into the incident and hold any individuals found responsible for the civilian deaths accountable. The organization warned that failure to do so would make the Malian government complicit in potential war crimes. As of Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense had not issued a response to requests for comment on the HRW report.

  • Israel in a post-US hegemonic Middle East

    Israel in a post-US hegemonic Middle East

    For more than 40 years, a quiet, unspoken assumption has anchored every core pillar of Israeli national security strategy: that the United States would forever remain the unchallenged hegemonic power in the Middle East. Under this order, Washington would not only guarantee Israel’s long-held qualitative military advantage over all regional rivals, but also absorb the diplomatic fallout of Jerusalem’s policy choices and maintain the regional balance of power aligned strictly with American interests. Today, that foundational assumption is steadily eroding – and Israeli policymakers have been far slower than necessary to confront this new strategic reality.

    American dominance in the Middle East was never total, but it shaped every corner of regional order for decades. Washington built an interconnected architecture of military bases, massive arms sales, binding security guarantees, and consistent diplomatic cover that allowed it to act as the final arbiter of power from the eastern Mediterranean Levant to the oil-rich Gulf states. That framework, however, has been slowly unraveling for 20 years, a decline accelerated by multiple cascading shifts: the costly failure of the 2003 Iraq War, the widespread exhaustion of the post-9/11 global war on terror, an American public weary of open-ended, endless military commitments in the Middle East, and a long-running strategic reorientation toward the Indo-Pacific that successive presidential administrations from Barack Obama’s forward have pursued in fits and starts.

    As Washington’s influence recedes, competing global powers have moved to fill the emerging power vacuum. China is now the top trading partner for all Gulf Cooperation Council states, while Russia has carved out lasting, influential military and political footholds in both Syria and Libya. Regional governments have not missed this shift, and have already begun adjusting their foreign policies to hedge against an increasingly multipolar region.

    The 2023 Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, brokered directly by Beijing rather than mediated through Washington, delivered the clearest warning yet that Gulf states no longer view American diplomacy as the only viable path to regional security cooperation. Today, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and even Egypt maintain genuinely multi-aligned foreign policies: they purchase Chinese infrastructure investment, Russian grain exports, and American military hardware simultaneously, and calibrate their public stances on issues ranging from Gaza to Iran to satisfy audiences in Beijing and Moscow as much as they do in Washington.

    For Israel, this shifting regional order carries profound strategic implications. For decades, Israel has flourished within the framework of American hegemony. Its qualitative military edge is enshrined in binding U.S. law, it has enjoyed near-automatic diplomatic protection from Washington at the United Nations Security Council, and its economy has benefited from preferential trade agreements and decades of substantial American military aid. All of these advantages were made possible not only by the deep bilateral ties between the two nations, but by the fact that a hegemonic United States could easily absorb the diplomatic, reputational, and strategic costs of unconditional backing for Israel – at a time when no rival power was positioned to exploit the friction this created between Washington and the broader Arab and Muslim world.

    That permissive strategic environment is now vanishing. In an increasingly multipolar Middle East, the costs of the U.S.-Israel alliance have become far more visible, and far more easily exploited by competing powers. Every veto the U.S. casts on Israel’s behalf at the UN is now leveraged by Beijing and Moscow to argue to Global South governments that American-led global institutions apply core principles of international law selectively and unfairly. Every round of conflict in Gaza or Lebanon becomes an opening for rival powers to position themselves as far more responsive to Arab and Muslim public opinion than Washington is willing to be, as seen clearly in Chinese and Russian diplomatic outreach to the Gulf and Islamic world during the 2023-2024 Gaza war.

    Even Israel’s landmark regional diplomacy, most notably the Abraham Accords, was built on a core premise that has now been severely strained: that normalization with Gulf states could proceed on a separate track from the decades-long Palestinian question, under an American security umbrella that would make this political compromise survivable for Arab leaders. The Gaza war has stretched this premise to breaking point. Arab publics across the region remain far more passionate about securing Palestinian statehood than the architects of normalization agreements anticipated. And in a world where Arab governments now have access to alternative great power patrons and alternative export markets, they have far less incentive to absorb damaging domestic political costs purely to maintain favor with Washington.

    This shifting landscape does not call for panic – but it demands urgent rethinking. None of these changes mean that American commitment to Israel is on the verge of collapse, or that Israel’s existing military superiority is in immediate jeopardy. But they do mean that the strategic context in which Israeli policy has operated since 1967 is fundamentally changing, and that proactive foresight will deliver far better outcomes than continued strategic inertia.

    A realist assessment of this new order points to three core takeaways for Israeli policymakers. First, Israel’s long-term security will depend far more on stable, negotiated agreements with its regional neighbors – including a credible, lasting resolution to the Palestinian question – than on any permanent assumption of American unrivaled primacy in the region. Second, overreliance on unconditional American backing is a declining asset, as Washington’s regional influence continues to wane and American domestic politics grow increasingly divided over U.S. support for Israel. Third, in a Middle East with multiple competing great power patrons, Israel’s regional legitimacy will become a far more durable foundation for national security than military deterrence alone.

    Of course, this reading of regional trend lines is not universally accepted, and it remains contested among strategic analysts. Advocates of the traditional approach argue that American commitment to Israel rests on durable public and congressional support that shows no sign of fundamental erosion. They note that China and Russia have demonstrated little appetite or capacity to replace the comprehensive security guarantees that the U.S. has long provided the region, and that claims of American decline in the Middle East have been overstated many times before.

    Other analysts argue that Israel’s own military superiority and independent deterrent capabilities, not its alliance with any external patron, remain the true foundation of its national security. They add that normalization between Israel and Gulf states is rooted in genuine shared concerns over Iranian regional ambitions, rather than a fragile arrangement dependent entirely on American mediation.

    Both perspectives deserve fair consideration as the regional balance of power continues to shift. This new multipolar order is still taking shape, and only proactive, adaptive strategy will allow Israel to navigate its new challenges effectively.

  • ASX 200 gains for fourth month as miners like BHP ride global AI wave

    ASX 200 gains for fourth month as miners like BHP ride global AI wave

    The Australian equity market wrapped up a mixed trading session to notch its fourth straight month of gains in July, driven largely by a surge in materials stocks fueled by skyrocketing investor demand for copper—an critical raw material for the global rollout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. While the benchmark ASX 200 only posted a modest 0.1% gain, climbing 9.10 points to close at 8976.80, the performance marked a milestone for the local index that aligns with July’s historic reputation as one of the strongest calendar months for Australian equities. The broader All Ordinaries followed a similar trajectory, rising 14.30 points (0.16%) to settle at 9137.00, and the Australian dollar edged up to 70.32 U.S. cents by market close.

    Of the 11 major sectors tracked on the ASX, only five finished the trading day in positive territory. The standout growth came from the materials sector, which has increasingly acted as a domestic proxy for the global AI trade. Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto led the rally, with BHP shares climbing 1.96% to $60.31 and Rio Tinto jumping 1.28% to $170.57, as copper prices climbed on growing investor recognition of copper’s non-substitutable role in manufacturing AI data center hardware, power infrastructure, and semiconductor equipment.

    Joseph Marassa, a strategist at Global X ETFs, explained that the local materials rally came on the heels of an overnight rally on the U.S. Nasdaq and a broad resurgence in investor optimism around AI development. “Materials continue to act as a local proxy for the AI trade, with investors seeking copper exposure – a key input to the AI build out – on the back of the overnight Nasdaq rally and renewed AI sentiment,” Marassa noted. Global tech markets echoed this optimism overnight: South Korea’s KOSPI index surged 17.91% led by major chip manufacturers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, while the U.S. Nasdaq 100 gained 3.36% to cap off a strong overnight trading session.

    The strong gains in materials were largely offset by downturns in defensive sectors, however. Healthcare stocks led the declines, with vaccine and biotech giant CSL dropping 3.81% to $123.06, Sigma Healthcare sliding 0.68% to $2.94, and medical device maker ResMed falling 1.52% to $29.79. Consumer staples also faced broad pressure, with major domestic supermarket chains both closing in the red: Woolworths dropped 1.73% to $39.77, while Coles slipped 0.70% to $24.09. Dairy producer A2 Milk also underperformed, dragging down 2.55% to $6.89.

    Despite the muted daily gain, market analysts highlighted that the ASX 200’s July performance delivered a solid 2.37% monthly return, not far off the 2.73% average July gain recorded over the past 10 years, reinforcing the month’s long-held reputation as the strongest for Australian equities. IG senior Market Analyst Tony Sycamore noted that the four-month winning streak has been supported by a combination of domestic macroeconomic factors and global sentiment shifts. “The ASX200’s gains this week have been supported by the cooler Australian inflation report for June and a more measured tone from the RBA Governor on Tuesday, which reinforced expectations the cash rate will remain at 4.35 per cent next month,” Sycamore explained, adding that “Solid trading updates from two of the major miners added further support.”

    In individual company news, several firms posted strong gains on positive corporate updates. Medical technology firm 4D Medical saw its shares jump 13.08% to $3.63 after releasing its quarterly activity report, which showed operating revenue hit $7.2 million, a 23% year-on-year increase. Energy giant Origin Energy added 0.94% to $10.76 after reporting that its June quarter revenue rose 6% from the prior quarter to $1.96 billion. The biggest single-day gain went to Energy One, whose shares rocketed 31.80% to $14.30 after the company revealed it had received an unsolicited, indicative, conditional acquisition proposal from Norwegian energy technology firm Volue AS.

  • Who is Nirmal Purja, the famed mountaineer missing in Broad Peak avalanche?

    Who is Nirmal Purja, the famed mountaineer missing in Broad Peak avalanche?

    One of the most decorated and recognizable names in high-altitude mountaineering, British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, is among 10 climbers unaccounted for after a sudden avalanche struck Broad Peak, an 8,047-meter eight-thousander located in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region on Thursday. Rescue teams have already launched search and recovery operations to locate the missing group, leaving the global mountaineering community on edge.

    Purja, widely known by his nickname Nims Dai, built his legendary reputation on defying long-standing mountaineering records. His most iconic achievement came in 2019, when he completed ascents of all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter-plus peaks in just six months and six days — shattering the previous record of nearly eight years. This groundbreaking expedition, dubbed Project Possible, was later turned into the popular Netflix documentary *14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible*, which catapulted him to global fame.

    Born 43 years ago in a small mountain village 1,600 meters above sea level in Nepal’s Myagdi district, Purja grew up in a family with deep ties to the Gurkhas, the famed Nepali soldier contingent that has served in the British Army for over two centuries. Following in the footsteps of his father and older brothers, he joined the British Army at 18 in 2003, and five years later moved to the Royal Marines. It was during his 16-year military career that his passion for high-altitude climbing began to grow.

    A defining turning point came in 2012, when Purja trekked to Everest Base Camp. Instead of returning to Kathmandu as originally scheduled, he chose to stay and learn professional climbing techniques. He quickly notched his first major summit, conquering Nepal’s 6,118-meter Lobuche East, setting the stage for the historic feats that would follow. That spontaneous, opportunity-driven approach to adventure remained a core part of his mountaineering identity all the way to his final fateful expedition.

    In his last public update posted to X on Monday, just days before the avalanche, Purja revealed that adding Broad Peak to his itinerary had been an unplanned change. Initially, he had only intended to summit Gasherbrum II, another Karakoram-range eight-thousander he successfully climbed on July 21, marking his 57th overall eight-thousander summit. But shortly before departing for Pakistan, he realized that summiting Broad Peak would leave him just one peak away from making history as the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice without using supplemental oxygen.

    “This wasn’t planned,” Purja wrote. “But opportunities don’t scream: they whisper to those already working in silence. Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted.” The post also paid tribute to all who had shaped his career, adding: “This one is dedicated to everyone who carried me here. Supporters. Critics. All of you. Without both sides, there is no fire. So thank you genuinely.”

    Beyond his record-breaking ascents, Purja has left a complex mark on the global mountaineering community. In 2018, he was awarded an MBE, a top civilian honor, by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to climbing. After his 2019 Project Possible success, his viral photo of a snaking queue of climbers waiting to summit Everest sparked widespread global debate about dangerous overcrowding on the world’s highest peak. He later launched his own expedition guiding company and mountaineering apparel brand, and used his platform to advocate for greater recognition of Nepali mountain guides, whose critical work supporting high-profile foreign ascents is often overlooked.

    Purja has also faced controversy throughout his career. In 2024, a *New York Times* investigation published sexual misconduct allegations from two women: one accused Purja of assaulting her in a 2023 hotel room, while a second claimed he grabbed her and made unwanted sexual advances during a 2022 K2 expedition. Purja has repeatedly denied all allegations through his legal team.

    Known for his laid-back, irreverent approach even amid grueling, high-stakes climbs, Purja once told the BBC that he could have finished his 2019 ascents of Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu two days faster than his five-day mark if he had not stopped for two nights to socialize over drinks. His documentary even showed he summited at least one peak while suffering from a hangover, after late-night parties with teammates at base camp. To fund his landmark 14 Peaks expedition, Purja remortgaged his UK home, with unwavering support from his wife Suchi throughout the ambitious challenge.

    As rescue teams work through difficult, high-altitude conditions to locate Purja and the other missing climbers, the mountaineering world awaits updates on one of its most famous modern figures.

  • At least 18 die after breach of border between Morocco and Spanish exclave of Ceuta

    At least 18 die after breach of border between Morocco and Spanish exclave of Ceuta

    A devastating humanitarian emergency has unfolded on the border between Morocco and Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta, where at least 18 migrants have lost their lives in a mass crossing attempt that left thousands of people stranded in the tiny territory with no basic shelter or support.

    The crisis began earlier this week when thousands of migrants breached the fortified border between Ceuta and Morocco, pouring into Spanish territory in an unprecedented surge of arrivals that forced the Spanish government to deploy active-duty military personnel to the area. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to travel to Ceuta on Friday morning alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to assess the unfolding situation firsthand.

    Rachid Sbihi, head of a local workers association that represents Civil Guard officers, described the chaotic scene as nothing short of a “serious humanitarian crisis.” Speaking to reporters, Sbihi confirmed that new crossings are continuing even as emergency responders struggle to meet existing needs. “The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts,” he explained, noting that thousands of migrants — including dozens of unaccompanied minor children — have been forced to sleep on public sidewalks and in city parks, with no access to warm shelter or basic hygiene facilities. Many more wander the streets of Ceuta with no clear destination or plan, leaving the entire territory in disarray. “It’s chaotic,” Sbihi added.

    Of the 18 confirmed fatalities, most drowned while attempting the crossing by sea, while others were killed in a deadly stampede as crowds pushed through the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, Sbihi said. Video footage captured on Thursday shows large crowds, predominantly of Moroccan origin, walking across Tarajal beach’s breakwaters onto local Ceuta roads. While most of the new arrivals are young adult men, video also captured entire families, including women and young children, making the crossing. Some migrants shouted “Viva España!” to an Associated Press freelance photographer documenting the event.

    By late Thursday, the photographer observed a continued back-and-forth movement: new crowds gathered on the Moroccan side of the border preparing to cross, while some of the people who had already entered Ceuta were attempting to return to Morocco.

    To date, the root cause of the sudden massive surge in crossings remains unclear. Moroccan government authorities have not issued any public statement on the event, and the country’s Interior Ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment from reporters. Local Ceuta authorities have preliminarily linked the increase in arrivals to a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court, issued earlier this month, which bars Spanish officials from immediately turning back migrants who arrive by sea without first granting them due process. That ruling does not apply to migrants who enter Spanish territory by land, including those who climb over the existing border fence. Even so, some migrant rights activists based in Morocco have cast doubt on that explanation, arguing that most migrants attempting the crossing would not have been aware of the nuanced Spanish legal ruling.

    The chaos in Ceuta has already spilled over to impact other European nations, including Italy, which is another major destination for migrants traveling through North Africa. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has threatened to suspend Italy’s participation in the Schengen Area, the European Union’s open-border agreement, with Spain in response to the crisis — a move that experts have called symbolic, as Italy shares no direct land border with Spain. “To defend our borders and ensure the safety of our citizens,” Meloni said in justifying her threat.

    Ceuta is one of two Spanish exclaves located on the northern coast of Africa, surrounded entirely by Moroccan territory. For decades, it has been a primary entry point for migrants seeking to reach the European Union, where many hope to access better economic opportunities or escape conflict and political violence in their home countries. Migrants typically make the short crossing from the Moroccan coastal town of Fnideq, swimming roughly three miles (five kilometers) to reach Ceuta’s shores, while others depart from the closer town of Belyounech where the crossing distance is shorter. Reporting for this story was contributed by Naishadham from Madrid.

  • A World Cup banner turns the Malvinas into a cultural obsession for a new generation in Argentina

    A World Cup banner turns the Malvinas into a cultural obsession for a new generation in Argentina

    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — For decades, a remote, sheep-dense South Atlantic archipelago had remained a little-known territorial flashpoint between two nations, known to Argentines as the Malvinas and to Britain as the Falkland Islands. It took a 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinal match against England to catapult this decades-old sovereignty dispute from a quiet national grievance into a global conversation, igniting a wave of grassroots activism and cultural resurgence across Argentina.

    After Argentina defeated England in that high-stakes semifinal match, Argentine players unfurled a crudely hand-painted banner emblazoned with the words “The Malvinas are Argentine” in front of a global television audience. In the soccer-mad nation, the banner quickly outshone even Lionel Messi as the most enduring image of the tournament, embedding the long-running territorial claim into everything from street art to consumer goods, social media feeds, and the national consciousness of a new generation.

    The history of the dispute stretches back decades, coming to a bloody head in 1982, when Argentina’s ruling military dictatorship invaded the islands, triggering a 10-week war that left 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers dead before British forces retook control. None of the Argentine players who unfurled the 2022 banner had even been born at the time of the conflict, but they grew up in a country shaped by the trauma of the war and the humiliation of the defeat, which ultimately led to the collapse of the unpopular junta just one year later. For decades after, war veterans and families of fallen conscripts reported feeling sidelined and silenced, as Argentina’s new democratic government distanced itself from the dictatorship’s catastrophic military gamble. The sovereignty claim was enshrined in Argentina’s constitution, marked by annual memorial ceremonies and road signs, but it failed to resonate deeply with younger generations until the World Cup moment.

    This was not the first time the Malvinas dispute intersected with World Cup history: during the 1986 quarterfinal match between Argentina and England in Mexico City, Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal was famously framed as a tribute to fallen Argentine soldiers and revenge for the 1982 defeat. But the 2022 banner display marked a far more open and visible public assertion of the claim, one that caught even Argentine officials off guard. Ahead of the match, Argentine security officials had already warned fans that FIFA’s ban on political messaging would bar Malvinas-themed signs from the stadium. The banner was tossed onto the pitch by fans after the final whistle, and players seized the moment to spread it wide for global cameras.

    The immediate reaction was swift and split along national lines. British politicians and fans took to social media to condemn the display, and FIFA quickly opened official charges against the Argentine Football Association. But across Argentina, the gesture sparked a national “Malvinas mania” that cut through post-tournament disappointment after Argentina’s final loss to Spain. The banner has spawned a marketing and cultural bonanza: the slogan appears on everything from stickers, tote bags, and sneakers to murals, bar facades, and even permanent tattoos. A graphic designer released “Malvinas Sans”, a free typeface modeled after the banner’s rough hand-painted lettering, that was downloaded by thousands of Argentines. In Buenos Aires, one local print shop owner reported that 3,500 people flocked to his shop in a single day when he offered free screen-printing of the banner image on fan jerseys, a crowd that included both teen supporters and aging war veterans.

    For veterans like Edgardo Esteban, an author and former soldier who fought in the 1982 war, the moment has marked a long-awaited passing of the torch to a new generation. “Kids in schools are asking me, ‘What’s this Malvinas thing?’” Esteban said. “After decades of feeling silenced and forgotten, this has brought the issue back to the center of national conversation.”

    Political activists have moved quickly to harness this new momentum, linking the sovereignty cause to opposition against libertarian President Javier Milei’s free-market agenda, particularly proposed rules that would loosen restrictions on foreign land ownership in the country. But experts say the most significant impact may be global, not domestic. Google Trends data shows that global search volume for the Malvinas jumped 2,400% in the days after the semifinal match, the highest spike in search interest since the platform began tracking the term. For decades, Britain has pursued a strategy of keeping the dispute out of global public view; now, the issue is unavoidable on the world stage.

    It remains unclear whether this wave of grassroots interest will prove to be a fleeting moment of World Cup fever or a lasting revival of the sovereignty cause. What is certain is that a simple hand-painted banner carried onto a World Cup pitch has turned a 40-year-old dispute over a remote cluster of islands into a topic of global conversation, introducing the conflict to tens of millions of young people who had previously known little to nothing about it.

  • Africa’s off-grid solar sector courts mainstream investors with landmark financing deals

    Africa’s off-grid solar sector courts mainstream investors with landmark financing deals

    Across sub-Saharan Africa, over 600 million people still live without access to consistent, reliable electricity, leaving millions of households reliant on dangerous, polluting energy sources like kerosene. Now, two of the continent’s biggest off-grid solar companies have closed historic fundraising deals that are sparking cautious optimism that mainstream private capital markets could finally step in to accelerate universal electrification across the region.

    In June, affordable clean energy provider d.light issued a $50 million green bond earmarked for off-grid solar projects, while industry competitor Sun King secured $286 million in securitized debt, set to close mid-2025. Together, these transactions represent the largest-scale test yet of whether large institutional investors will back the sector’s popular pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) business model at a commercial level.

    Both companies operate on the PAYGo framework, which allows low-income households to purchase small-scale solar home systems and appliances in incremental, affordable installments — usually paid via mobile money apps — rather than requiring the full upfront cost that puts systems out of reach for most. To unlock immediate new capital for expansion, the companies bundle the stream of future customer repayments, called receivables, and use them as collateral to issue bonds or other securities sold to outside investors.

    Sun King Global CFO Krishna Swaroop described the twin deals as pathbreaking for the entire African off-grid solar industry. “They demonstrate the entry of a serious scale of commercial capital, investors and instruments not seen before in this sector,” he said. But Swaroop also warned that the transactions are built on years of operational and repayment data that most smaller off-grid firms have not yet had the time to accumulate. Most mainstream investors require five to seven years of consistent repayment performance data before committing to this kind of structured financing, a bar many early-stage startups cannot clear.

    While securitization — the financing tool Sun King used, which is already common in global mortgage and auto loan markets — can reduce long-term borrowing costs for large established firms, the process requires expensive legal work, regulatory compliance, and credit guarantees. These fixed upfront costs make the strategy unworkable for smaller companies with smaller receivables portfolios. Swaroop added that the biggest ongoing barrier to attracting more mainstream capital remains portfolio quality risk: many off-grid firms still struggle to present their repayment performance data in a standardized format that institutional investors understand and trust.

    The financing tools deployed in these deals are still relatively new to emerging market climate investment. D.light’s green bond, structured similarly to a traditional fixed-income security that pays regular interest to buyers, is backed by a special-purpose entity that holds thousands of d.light’s PAYGo customer receivables, with all proceeds going toward new environmentally beneficial solar installations. Sun King’s securitization structure, by contrast, repackages future customer repayments the same way banks bundle home mortgages to sell to investors, turning years of future scheduled payments into immediate expansion capital today.

    Industry leaders say the deals prove that the African off-grid solar market has matured after decades of reliance on donor funding and development finance. Years of incremental improvements to product quality, independent third-party certification, and consistent repayment track records have turned customer receivables into an increasingly attractive asset class for global investors, explained Sarah Malm, executive director of GOGLA, the global off-grid solar industry association. “These deals are proof that the model works,” Malm said. “Today, PAYGo receivables are rated, listed and bought by institutional investors in London and New York.”

    Data from GOGLA’s 2025 Investment Data Report backs up this trend: African off-grid solar companies are drawing in more sophisticated financing than ever before, with local-currency investment hitting a record high of 47.2% of total sector funding, with the remainder denominated in U.S. dollars. The report also counted 18 first-time investors entering the space, including commercial banks based in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar.

    Wangari Muchiri, founder and CEO of Africa-based clean energy transition advisory firm RE.Think Energy, called the transactions an important tipping point for the sector, rather than just one-off isolated successes. “Every successful transaction reduces perceived risk and makes the next one easier to finance,” Muchiri said. She added that broader adoption of this financing model will require building a larger pipeline of investment-ready companies, creating standardized financing frameworks, improving public performance data collection, and enacting pro-electrification regulatory policies across African markets.

    Industry analysts still note that both current deals rely on significant credit enhancements to reduce risk for investors. D.light’s green bond, for example, is fully guaranteed by Green Guarantee Co., an organization that mobilizes private capital for climate investment in emerging markets, which substantially de-risks the investment for buyers, according to Penny Herbst, senior energy adviser at the Rabia Transition Initiative, a nonproift energy transition research organization. Herbst added that because the bond was privately placed, key details including pricing and guarantee terms remain confidential, limiting transparency for the broader sector.

    If this kind of private commercial financing becomes more widespread, supporters say it could fundamentally reshape Africa’s electrification efforts. Technological advances have already reduced costs and improved reliability: lithium-ion batteries used in home solar systems now last up to 10 years, and battery prices have fallen more than 90% since 2010, Malm noted. Widespread independent product certification, consumer warranties, and local repair networks have further reduced risk for investors by turning unpredictable household payments into a consistent, well-understood financial asset.

    Even with this progress, sector leaders warn of one key unresolved challenge: ensuring that the push for commercial market returns does not push companies to serve only higher-income, lower-risk households at the expense of the poorest, hardest-to-reach communities that need electricity access most. “Theoretically, capital markets and institutional investors can provide cheaper and longer-tenured capital,” Swaroop said. “But we also need to ask whether chasing capital-market-level returns leads companies toward larger, more creditworthy customers and away from the hardest-to-reach, lowest-income segment.”

    This coverage of climate and energy issues from The Associated Press is supported by funding from multiple private foundations, with AP retaining full editorial control over all content.