Global Pulse

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  • Rwandan genocide suspect Kabuga dies in custody in The Hague at age 91

    Rwandan genocide suspect Kabuga dies in custody in The Hague at age 91

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Nearly 30 years after one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century, the key Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga has died in UN custody while being treated at a hospital in The Hague, the United Nations’ judicial body confirmed Saturday. He was 91.

    Kabuga, one of the most high-profile figures accused of orchestrating the 1994 Rwandan genocide, faced charges including genocide, incitement to genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, extermination, murder, and persecution. He long maintained a not guilty plea to all counts, and never lived to see a final ruling on the accusations against him.

    The 1994 Rwandan genocide was sparked after the downing of a plane carrying then-Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu, over the capital Kigali on April 6 that year. Kabuga had close personal ties to the Habyarimana administration — his daughter is married to the late president’s son — and prosecutors alleged he used his wealth and influence to fund and incite the 100-day campaign of violence that killed an estimated 800,000 mostly Tutsi people.

    For decades, Kabuga evaded capture after the genocide ended. A global arrest warrant was issued for him in 2013, paired with a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He was finally taken into custody in France in 2020, and his long-awaited trial before the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) got underway in 2022.

    The trial process ground to a halt in 2023, when IRMCT judges ruled Kabuga was unfit to continue proceedings due to a diagnosis of advanced dementia. The court outlined a revised process that would allow evidence to be presented to establish the facts of the case, but ruled out the possibility of a criminal conviction or sentencing if he was found responsible. Following the ruling, Kabuga remained in UN detention while diplomats negotiated over a potential transfer to a third country that would accept him for provisional release; Rwanda had offered to take him back, but his legal team stated Kabuga refused repatriation over fears of mistreatment.

    The court’s decision to halt the trial triggered widespread anger among Rwandan genocide survivors, who argued that Kabuga’s alleged role in the mass killings demanded a full trial and the maximum possible penalty, which would have been life imprisonment if he was convicted.

    In its official statement Saturday, the IRMCT confirmed that Kabuga died while receiving hospital care in The Hague, and that the medical unit of the UN Detention Unit was notified immediately of his death. An official investigation has been launched to document and clarify the full circumstances surrounding his death, the mechanism added.

  • Man drives car into pedestrians in Italy, injuring eight

    Man drives car into pedestrians in Italy, injuring eight

    A shocking violent incident unfolded in the historic northern Italian city of Modena on Thursday, leaving eight people wounded after a man in his 30s deliberately drove his vehicle into pedestrians before launching a stabbing spree, local authorities confirmed. Of those injured, four are in critical condition, including one woman who suffered devastating crushing injuries to both legs, according to initial official reports. The attack unfolded at approximately 16:30 local time, which translates to 14:30 GMT, in the busy central district of Modena, a city located roughly 45 kilometers southeast of Milan.

    Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti told reporters that early investigations indicate the driver intentionally veered his speeding car onto a crowded pedestrian sidewalk, striking multiple people before crashing through the glass front of a local shop. After exiting his wrecked vehicle, the suspect pulled out a knife and began threatening and attacking bystanders. One civilian who stepped in to intervene during the chaos suffered only minor injuries, authorities added.

    Quick action from members of the public prevented further harm: eyewitnesses and passersby immediately pursued the suspect after the attack, successfully overpowering and detaining him before turning him over to responding law enforcement officers. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a statement shortly after the incident, calling the event “extremely serious” and expressing concern over the violence. Mayor Mezzetti echoed the prime minister’s sentiment, noting that the incident would carry even graver implications if investigators confirm the attack was premeditated.

    Officials have confirmed the suspect is an Italian national who was born in Bergamo, a city in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, and has Maghreb ancestry. He has been a resident of the Modena province for an undisclosed period, and local Italian media outlets have already published his full identity following the attack. Law enforcement have not yet released an official motive for the attack, with investigations ongoing as of Thursday evening.

  • A French judge will look into complaints against Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi’s killing

    A French judge will look into complaints against Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi’s killing

    PARIS – France’s national anti-terrorism prosecution agency, the PNAT, announced Saturday that an investigating judge will review a legal complaint brought by two international human rights organizations that implicates Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

    The procedural shift follows a May 11 ruling from the Paris Court of Appeal, which confirmed the complaint is admissible and transferred the case to an investigating judge within the court’s specialized crimes against humanity unit. The complaint was originally lodged in 2022 by Switzerland-based legal advocacy group Trial International and press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders. The two groups hold the Saudi crown prince complicit in torture and enforced disappearance linked to Khashoggi’s brutal killing, which unfolded inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. After Khashoggi was murdered, his body was dismembered and has never been recovered.

    In its official statement, the PNAT confirmed that the Court of Appeal ruled the complaint could move forward because investigators cannot yet dismiss the potential classification of the killing as a crime against humanity, which encompasses the underlying offenses of torture and enforced disappearance under French law. The prosecution noted it has acknowledged the court’s ruling, while adding that the decision does not alter its earlier interpretation of French criminal procedure rules regarding the two rights groups’ standing to file the complaint as civil parties.

    The original complaint was submitted in 2022, coinciding with an official visit by Prince Mohammed to France. In the years immediately following Khashoggi’s assassination, the crown prince faced widespread diplomatic isolation across Western nations, but in recent years he has gradually been welcomed back into mainstream global diplomacy by Western leaders and high-level dignitaries.

    It is important to note that the launch of a formal judicial inquiry does not equate to formal charges against Prince Mohammed, nor does it represent a finding of guilt by French judicial authorities. What it does establish is a formal process for an investigating judge to thoroughly review the evidence and allegations laid out in the complaint to determine whether further legal proceedings are warranted.

    Prince Mohammed has repeatedly denied issuing any order to kill Khashoggi, though he has accepted accountability for the killing as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, acknowledging the incident occurred on his watch. U.S. intelligence agencies have previously reached a conclusive assessment that the crown prince directly approved the operation that resulted in Khashoggi’s death.

    Following the assassination, Saudi authorities conducted a closed-door domestic trial of the case and announced that they had penalized the individuals found responsible for the killing. However, human rights organizations around the world have widely criticized the Saudi proceedings as non-transparent and inadequate, failing to hold all complicit parties accountable.

  • Car plows into pedestrians in Italy’s Modena, 8 injured, 4 critically, mayor says

    Car plows into pedestrians in Italy’s Modena, 8 injured, 4 critically, mayor says

    On a regular Saturday in the northern Italian city of Modena, a sudden and shocking incident unfolded that left multiple civilians seriously hurt after a car veered onto a crowded pedestrian sidewalk and struck passersby before crashing into a local shop window. Local authorities confirmed that eight people were hurt in the crash, with four of the victims suffering life-threatening injuries that demanded urgent, advanced medical intervention. No fatalities have been reported as of the latest updates from city officials.

    Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti shared detailed accounts of the devastating event with reporters, confirming that one woman was trapped between the out-of-control vehicle and a shop display window, a trauma that left surgeons with no choice but to amputate both of her legs to save her life. The 31-year-old driver, who was born in Bergamo and grew up in Modena’s surrounding province, was quickly taken into custody after civilians nearby intervened to stop him as he attempted to flee the scene. He is currently being held at Modena’s central police headquarters, where investigators are conducting extensive questioning to determine whether he was operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or if the incident was a deliberate deliberate act of violence.

    According to Mezzetti’s retelling of the sequence of events, the vehicle pulled onto one of the city’s busiest central thoroughfares before suddenly swerving onto the pedestrian sidewalk, striking multiple people and sending several bodies flying through the air before the car collided with the shop’s glass front. Though witnesses told investigators they saw the driver carrying a knife, he did not succeed in stabbing any bystanders before he was detained. That detail has only deepened the questions surrounding what prompted the incident, with local authorities still working to parse whether the event was premeditated, or stemmed from a medical emergency, substance impairment, or other unintended causes.

    All eight injured victims have been transported to receive care at major hospitals in both Modena and nearby Bologna, with the most critical cases airlifted by emergency helicopter to ensure they received treatment as quickly as possible. Multiple layers of Italian law enforcement and emergency response agencies, including local police, the national carabinieri, and financial police, were dispatched to the scene immediately after the crash. The entire area was cordoned off while first responders provided on-site care to injured people before they were moved to hospitals.

    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly addressed the incident in a social media statement, calling the event “extremely serious” and offering her official solidarity to all the people harmed in the crash and their families. Meloni extended her gratitude to the civilians who stepped in to stop the driver before police arrived, as well as to the law enforcement and emergency medical teams that responded to the emergency. The prime minister added that she has remained in constant contact with local Modena authorities, and made clear that she expects the full weight of accountability to be applied to the suspect regardless of what investigators uncover about his motives.

    Mayor Mezzetti echoed that sentiment, noting that regardless of the root cause of the incident, it represents an uncommonly severe act of harm against innocent civilians. “If it were an attack, it would be even more serious,” he told reporters, as investigators continue to piece together the full context of what unfolded on Modena’s downtown streets.

  • Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath says France is seeking to deport him

    Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath says France is seeking to deport him

    PARIS – A prominent Palestinian-Egyptian pro-Palestinian activist has leveled serious accusations against French authorities, claiming the government is attempting to deport him under the guise of public security threats in retaliation for his vocal advocacy on behalf of Palestinian rights. Ramy Shaath, 54, made the claims in a pre-recorded video statement posted to social media platforms on May 14, arguing that the pending deportation order is not an isolated measure, but part of a wider coordinated effort to muzzle Palestinian voices and their supporters across France.

    Shaath co-founded the grassroots pro-Palestinian group Urgence Palestine shortly after the outbreak of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a role he says has put him directly in the crosshairs of French officials. He told viewers that the latest action comes after multiple previous legal attempts to target him fell short, leaving authorities to pursue deportation as an alternative tactic to silence his work.

    Born with dual Egyptian-Palestinian citizenship, Shaath has a long track record of nonviolent activism. In 2014, he established the Egyptian national chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an international campaign focused on pressure against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. His activism extends beyond Palestinian issues: he participated in Egypt’s 2011 pro-democracy uprising, and has long tied his support for Palestinian rights to opposition to authoritarian rule across the Arab world. He was arrested by Egyptian authorities in 2019, held for more than two and a half years without formal charges in degrading conditions – including a crowded, insect-infested cell and later isolated confinement in a windowless room – before being released in January 2022. His release drew public praise from French President Emmanuel Macron at the time.

    Shaath has deep family ties to France: he is married to a French national, and the couple shares a French-Palestinian daughter. Even with these connections, he says officials have already created significant barriers to his life in the country long before the deportation order was announced. He told reporters he faced extensive delays and hurdles when attempting to renew his French residency permit. Beyond immigration issues, he alleges his bank account was shut down without advance warning and his national health insurance card was suspended, administrative actions that have severely disrupted his ability to hold employment, travel across borders, and access critical medical care.

    As of Tuesday, France’s Interior Ministry has not issued any public response to Shaath’s allegations or answered requests for comment from news outlets. The activist says he and his legal team intend to mount a robust legal challenge to the deportation proceedings, bringing the case before both French national courts and the European Court of Human Rights to defend his right to remain in France and continue his nonviolent advocacy work.

  • Taiwan insists it is independent after Trump warning

    Taiwan insists it is independent after Trump warning

    Fresh tensions have emerged across the Taiwan Strait following remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump during a Beijing summit, where he cautioned Taiwan against moving ahead with a formal declaration of independence from mainland China. The comments, delivered after two days of high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, have reignited debate over the long-standing fragile balance of power in one of the world’s most geopolitically volatile regions.

    During post-summit comments, Trump clarified that he had made no binding commitments one way or the other regarding the self-governing island, which Beijing has consistently claimed as an inalienable part of its sovereign territory and has never ruled out seizing by military force. The U.S. leader also noted he would soon make a final decision on a long-awaited $11 billion arms sales package to Taiwan, a deal that has drawn fierce opposition from Beijing.

    The United States is legally obligated under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide the island with the means to defend itself, but successive U.S. administrations have had to balance this unofficial security commitment with the need to maintain formal diplomatic and economic ties with Beijing, which adheres firmly to the one-China principle.

    In response to Trump’s remarks, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te reaffirmed his long-held position that the island already views itself as a sovereign, independent state, meaning no formal declaration of independence is necessary. On Saturday, Lai’s spokesperson, Karen Kuo, emphasized that Taiwan’s status as a “sovereign, independent democratic country” is self-evident. However, she added that Taipei remains committed to upholding the long-standing cross-strait status quo, under which the island neither moves toward formal independence nor accepts unification with mainland China.

    Public opinion data consistently shows that while a large majority of Taiwan’s population identifies as separate from China, most favor retaining the current status quo over any abrupt change to cross-strait relations. Washington’s long-standing official policy remains unchanged: it does not support Taiwanese independence, and its formal relationship with Beijing is based on recognition of a single Chinese government.

    Trump told Fox News in an interview following his meetings with Xi that U.S. policy toward Taiwan had not shifted, and stressed he had no interest in provoking conflict with Beijing. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent,” he said. “You know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”

    Speaking to reporters on his return flight to Washington, Trump added that he and Xi had spoken extensively about the Taiwan issue, but declined to answer questions about whether the U.S. would militarily defend Taiwan in the event of an attack. He noted that Xi holds extremely strong views on the issue of the island, saying “[Xi] doesn’t want to see a movement for independence.”

    Beijing has repeatedly denounced Lai as a separatist “troublemaker” who undermines cross-strait peace, and has ramped up large-scale military drills around Taiwan in recent years. These exercises have significantly raised regional tensions and tested the delicate balance of power that Washington has sought to maintain for decades.

    Trump added that he planned to discuss the pending arms sales deal directly with Taiwan’s leadership, though he avoided referring to Lai by his official title, a long-standing convention for U.S. presidents due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations between the two sides. U.S. presidents traditionally do not hold direct public talks with Taiwan’s sitting leader, as such a step would almost certainly trigger a major diplomatic crisis with Beijing.

    Despite the warning on independence, Taipei expressed gratitude for Trump’s long-standing security support. “Our nation is grateful to President Trump for his continued support for security in the Taiwan Strait since his first term in office,” Taiwan’s presidential spokesperson said. “Taiwan will continue to deepen co-operation with the US to achieve peace through strength, ensuring that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are not threatened or undermined, which serves the common interests of Taiwan, the US, and the global democratic community.”

  • Whale found dead near Danish island after German rescue operation

    Whale found dead near Danish island after German rescue operation

    In a conclusion that has reignited debate over large-scale marine wildlife rescue efforts, a humpback whale that captured German public attention after repeated stranding on the Baltic coast has been confirmed dead near the Danish island of Anholt, between Denmark and Sweden.

    The story of the 12-meter mammal, nicknamed alternately “Timmy” and “Hope” by rescuers and local media, began on March 23, when it first became stranded on a sandbank off Germany’s Poel Island, before re-stranding multiple times on Timmendorfer Beach in Lübeck Bay after an initial escape. After several unsuccessful rescue attempts by German state authorities, officials ultimately called off the official operation, leaving conservationists and the public divided over the whale’s fate.

    The impasse broke when two private German entrepreneurs, Karin Walter-Mommert and Walter Gunz, stepped forward to fully fund an independent rescue mission. The team fit the weak whale with a satellite tracking device, coaxed it into a custom water-filled barge named Fortuna B, and transported it out to the deeper, saltier waters of the North Sea, releasing it in early May. The operation was immediately hailed as a landmark moment by regional officials: Till Backhaus, environment minister for Germany’s northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, called the mission a success and an inspiring example of what collective action could achieve for animal welfare across the country.

    But the private rescue sparked fierce controversy even before the whale was released. Leading wildlife conservation organizations warned from the start that the vulnerable, underweight animal faced very low odds of long-term survival. The German Oceanographic Museum pointed out that the whale’s prolonged stay in the low-salinity Baltic waters had already left it severely weakened, putting it at constant risk of drowning even after relocation. The international NGO Whale and Dolphin Conservation added that the extended stranding had caused permanent skin damage from low salinity, arguing that the stressful translocation would only prolong the animal’s suffering rather than save it.

    Weeks after the successful release, a whale carcass was spotted off Anholt Island on Thursday. Confirming the identity took several days, as poor weather conditions initially prevented authorities from accessing the site. On Saturday, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency announced it had verified the carcass was indeed the rescued humpback, and successfully recovered its tracking device.

    Currently, Danish officials say there are no immediate plans to remove the carcass from the coastal area or conduct a necropsy to determine the exact cause of death, as the remains do not yet pose a hazard to local navigation or ecosystems. However, authorities have issued a public safety warning: local residents and visitors are urged not to approach the carcass, as decomposing whale remains can carry zoonotic diseases transmissible to humans. Officials also noted that there is a small risk of a natural rupture driven by buildup of decomposition gases inside the mammal’s body, a common hazard with large beached whale carcasses.

  • Thousands to march in parallel Nakba Day and far-right rallies in central London

    Thousands to march in parallel Nakba Day and far-right rallies in central London

    Central London is preparing for an extraordinary day of overlapping public events this Saturday, as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to mark the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, a separate far-right rally convened by controversial activist Tommy Robinson gets underway nearby, and one of English football’s biggest annual fixtures kicks off just miles north. The convergence of three high-profile, potentially divisive gatherings has prompted London’s Metropolitan Police to launch what it describes as an unprecedented public order operation, deploying more than 4,000 officers to separate the opposing protest groups and prevent violent confrontation.

    The annual Nakba Day march, organized by a broad coalition of advocacy groups led by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, commemorates a defining historical turning point for the Palestinian people. In 1948, as the state of Israel was established, more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their ancestral lands, and an estimated 13,000 more were killed by Zionist militias — a catastrophe that Palestinians have memorialized annually for decades. Organizers have issued clear guidance to participants, urging them to avoid any confrontation with the opposing far-right demonstration.

    Robinson, the far-right organizer whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, will lead his own Unite the Kingdom rally on the same day. His last major event, held in September 2025, drew more than 150,000 attendees, but ended in chaos: far-right participants attacked police officers, chanted virulently anti-Muslim slogans, and left 23 people arrested on public order offences. This Saturday, Robinson’s rally is scheduled to proceed from Kingsway to Trafalgar Square, while the Nakba 78 rally, which was denied permission to march to Trafalgar Square after applying for the route, will travel from Kensington to Pall Mall. Police have structured the plans to keep the two groups on entirely separate routes to avoid clashes.

    Adding to the complexity of the operation, the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City will kick off at 3pm at Wembley Stadium in north London, requiring additional police resourcing to manage crowds and security for the match.

    To support the massive policing operation, officers have been granted extraordinary stop-and-search powers that allow them to search any individual without reasonable suspicion of a crime. For the first time ever in a UK public order policing operation, live facial recognition technology will also be deployed, though police confirmed the technology will not be used along the official march routes themselves.

    In comments ahead of the protests, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman outlined a hardline approach to provocative expression at the gatherings. “We are committed to taking a more assertive approach to chanting and the displaying of phrases on placards or banners that incite hatred or indicate support for terrorism or other forms of extremism,” Harman said Wednesday. He added that in recent months, multiple people have been arrested and charged for calling for intifada at previous protests, with a number of those cases currently working through the UK court system.

    The 78th Nakba Day march marks the first major pro-Palestinian demonstration in the UK since Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s controversial April 30 statement calling for the prosecution of protesters who chant the phrase “globalise the intifada”, a move that drew widespread condemnation from pro-Palestinian advocacy groups across the country. Starmer made the comment in the wake of a April 29 stabbing attack in Golders Green, north London, where two Jewish men and one Muslim man were injured by an assailant who did not use the phrase during the attack. “If you stand alongside people who say globalise the intifada, you are calling for terrorism against Jews,” Starmer said at the time.

    In response, more than 50 prominent British Palestinian and Arab public figures released a joint statement Thursday calling on Starmer to guarantee equal protection for Palestinian and Arab communities from hate crimes during Saturday’s demonstrations. “It is painful to feel that our fears are treated as secondary, or worse, that our peaceful commemoration is viewed only as a policing problem,” the statement read, highlighting widespread concern that the rights of peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters are being disproportionately restricted amid heightened political tensions.

  • Democratic governor under fire over clemency for 2020 election denier

    Democratic governor under fire over clemency for 2020 election denier

    A controversial decision by Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis to cut short the prison sentence of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, a convicted 2020 election denier, has ignited fierce political backlash across party lines in the United States.

    Peters, a Republican, made national headlines as one of the highest-profile figures prosecuted for efforts to cast doubt on the 2020 presidential election results. In August 2024, a jury found her guilty on seven felony counts connected to a 2021 breach of local election computer systems. The scheme allowed an unauthorized outsider to access sensitive voting equipment and voter records, carried out to support unproven claims that widespread voter fraud cost Donald Trump the 2020 election – a false conspiracy theory Trump has pushed repeatedly since his loss.

    Polis announced the commutation Friday, confirming that Peters will be released on parole in June. The governor had previously characterized her original nine-year prison sentence as excessively harsh, and defended his decision in a detailed public Facebook post. He stressed that he was not issuing a full pardon and never considered one, acknowledging that Peters had clearly broken state law, violated public trust, lied to state election officials, and imposed significant financial costs on Mesa County through her illegal actions.

    “It’s one of my bedrock beliefs that our laws should be applied fairly, and I simply do not believe that was what happened in this case,” Polis wrote. “For a first-time, non-violent offender, this sentence is simply disproportionate.”

    But the move immediately drew harsh condemnation from most of Polis’ fellow Democrats, who argue the commutation undermines American democracy and the rule of law. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, the state’s top election official, called the decision “an affront to our democracy,” with other leaders warning it could embolden future efforts to undermine public confidence in U.S. elections.

    Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, posted on X saying he strongly opposed the call to reduce Peters’ sentence, arguing it sends a dangerous message to bad actors seeking to erode election trust and does nothing to stop Trump’s ongoing illegal attacks on Colorado’s election system. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, also a Democrat, described the move as “truly mind-boggling,” adding that “this commutation decision is wrong and is an affront to the rule of law.” The criticism extended to other top congressional Democrats including Senator Michael Bennet, New York Representative Joe Morelle, and Colorado Representative Jason Crow, among others.

    Unusually, the decision also drew anger from some Republicans. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association and a registered Republican, said he was “furious, disgusted, and deeply disappointed by the Governor’s decision.” He accused Polis of capitulating to extremist political factions and conspiracy movements that actively work to weaken trust in U.S. democratic institutions.

    Not all Republicans condemned the move, however. Two high-profile conservative congressional Republicans – Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert – praised Polis’ action, calling it “great news” and a “long-overdue step toward justice” respectively. Former President Donald Trump, who had publicly pushed for Peters’ release for months, celebrated the announcement within minutes on social media with a simple, triumphant message: “FREE TINA!”

    On Saturday, Peters released a statement through her attorney to the BBC, expressing public remorse for her actions. “I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry,” she said. “I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past.”

    The high-profile controversy comes as false 2020 election conspiracy theories continue to shape U.S. political discourse, with Trump again the leading Republican presidential candidate heading into the 2024 general election.

  • France says cruise ship Andes virus matches known South American viruses

    France says cruise ship Andes virus matches known South American viruses

    PARIS – France’s world-renowned Pasteur Institute has completed full genomic sequencing of the Andes virus isolated from a French passenger who fell ill after a voyage on the MV Hondius cruise ship, and confirmed that the pathogen matches well-documented strains already circulating in South America. As of the latest update, researchers have uncovered no evidence of new genetic traits that would increase the virus’s transmissibility or make it more lethal to humans.

    French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist shared the key findings in a public post on X Friday, emphasizing that the sequenced variant aligns with strains currently tracked by public health systems across South America. “At this stage, no element suggests the emergence” of a more transmissible or dangerous form of the virus, Rist wrote.

    Genomic analysis verified that the virus taken from the French patient is an exact match to samples collected from other infected cases on the same vessel, Pasteur Institute officials confirmed. It also bears a very close genetic resemblance to archived Andes virus samples from endemic regions across South America. All virus samples collected from passengers on the MV Hondius are identical to one another, and carry roughly 97% genetic similarity to known Andes strains circulating in South America, including variants found in rodent populations, the natural reservoir for the virus.

    Jean-Claude Manuguerra, head of the Pasteur Institute’s Environment and Infectious Risk unit, explained that the 3% genetic divergence seen in the sequenced samples falls within the expected range of natural viral variation. The small differences do not appear to alter the core biological characteristics of the virus that affect how it spreads or harms human hosts, he noted.

    The French passenger tested positive for Andes virus following her trip aboard the MV Hondius, and has since received inpatient care at a Paris medical facility. French public health officials previously disclosed that the patient was in serious condition when admitted. Currently, virological investigations remain ongoing, conducted in close collaboration between Pasteur Institute researchers, French national health authorities, and global public health partners. Rist added that the full genomic sequencing data will be shared openly with the international scientific community to support global monitoring and research efforts, noting that the new data will improve understanding of the virus and enable more rigorous ongoing public health surveillance.