Global Pulse

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  • Over 40% of Sudan’s population face high levels of acute food insecurity, monitoring group warns

    Over 40% of Sudan’s population face high levels of acute food insecurity, monitoring group warns

    CAIRO – As Sudan’s brutal civil conflict approaches its second full year, a leading global food security monitoring body has delivered a grim new assessment, revealing that more than two-fifths of the war-ravaged nation’s population is already suffering from extreme levels of acute hunger. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative that tracks and grades food insecurity worldwide, published its updated analysis Thursday, laying bare the catastrophic humanitarian fallout of the 14-month-old war between Sudan’s regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

    According to the report, nearly 19.5 million Sudanese are currently experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. Of this vulnerable population, 135,000 people are already in the most severe IPC Phase 5, a classification defined by catastrophic food shortages, widespread starvation, acute malnutrition at critical levels, and elevated mortality from hunger and preventable disease.

    The IPC’s assessment warns that the situation is on track to worsen dramatically in the coming months, as Sudan enters the annual June-to-September lean season, when crop supplies from the previous harvest are depleted before new yields can be harvested. Looking ahead to 2026, the group projects that roughly 825,000 children under the age of five will develop severe acute malnutrition – a life-threatening condition that disproportionately kills young children in conflict zones. That figure marks a 7% rise from 2024 levels, and a 25% jump from the rates of severe child malnutrition recorded before the war erupted.

    Even with limited aid access, more than 98,500 children have already received life-saving treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the first three months of 2025, according to IPC data. But widespread gaps in healthcare and humanitarian access leave hundreds of thousands more without the care they need to survive.

    Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict ignited in April 2023, when years of festering power-sharing tensions between the national army and the RSF boiled over into open armed confrontation across the country. The fighting has already killed at least 59,000 people, displaced roughly 13 million Sudanese from their homes, and pushed vast swathes of the country to the brink of mass starvation. Currently, more than 30 million Sudanese – over two-thirds of the country’s pre-war population – require emergency humanitarian assistance to meet basic survival needs.

    While the IPC confirmed that no regions across Sudan are currently classified as being in formal famine, the organization warned that 14 local areas across three hard-hit provinces – North Darfur, South Darfur and South Kordofan – are at imminent risk of famine if conflict intensifies, food access continues to shrink, healthcare and sanitation infrastructure further collapses, and more people are forced to flee their homes. Famine was formally confirmed in two Sudanese locations last year: el-Fasher, the largest city in western Darfur, and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.

    Compounding the existing crisis driven by internal conflict, Sudan’s agricultural sector – the backbone of the country’s food supply – is facing new, external pressures that threaten to deepen food shortages in the coming months. Farmers across the country are bracing for a prohibitively expensive planting season, as key input costs for fertilizer, fuel for farm machinery, and diesel for irrigation pumps have skyrocketed, driven in large part by ongoing tensions in the Middle East that have disrupted global supply chains.

    More than half of Sudan’s imported fertilizer arrives via sea routes from the Gulf region, where hundreds of commercial vessels have been stranded in recent weeks amid heightened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. The resulting supply disruptions have pushed domestic fuel prices in Sudan up by roughly 30%, making it even harder for small-scale farmers to plant the crops that would feed millions in the coming year.

  • Springboks’ Ntlabakanye given 18-month doping ban

    Springboks’ Ntlabakanye given 18-month doping ban

    South African international rugby prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who features for the Johannesburg-based Lions franchise, has received an 18-month competition ban after being found in violation of global anti-doping regulations. The sanction will effectively exclude the 27-year-old front-rower from competing at the 2027 Rugby World Cup hosted in Australia.

    The case dates back to a routine out-of-competition test conducted in 2025, where Ntlabakanye returned a positive result for Anastrozole, a classified hormone and metabolic modulator. While a positive test for this substance alone does not trigger an automatic mandatory suspension under current anti-doping frameworks, the prop further complicated his case when he voluntarily admitted to also using Dehydroepiandrosterone, more commonly known as DHEA.

    According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), DHEA is categorized as a banned substance because it works to naturally boost the body’s testosterone production. Elevated testosterone levels accelerate muscle recovery and growth, which can deliver an unfair competitive advantage to athletes who use the compound. Court documents confirm Ntlabakanye told investigators he was unaware DHEA was prohibited, believing it was a permitted supplement.

    Following formal charges brought by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), an independent anti-doping tribunal reviewed the evidence and handed down the 18-month suspension. The ban officially entered into force on 13 May 2025, and is scheduled to end in November 2026 – which falls after the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Ntlabakanye retains the right to launch an appeal against the ruling within a 21-day window from the announcement of the decision.

    In an official statement confirming the sanction, the Lions Rugby Company acknowledged that SAIDS had notified the club of the anti-doping rule violation. The franchise added that it would stand by the player throughout the remainder of the process, saying: “During this time, the Lions Rugby Company will continue to support Ntlabakanye as he navigates the process ahead.”

    Ntlabakanye earned his first senior international cap for the Springboks against Italy in July 2025, and went on to feature in two more test matches for the world-famous national side, bringing his total senior South Africa caps to three before the ban was announced. His final outing for the Lions came just last Saturday, where the Johannesburg side fell to defeat against Irish giants Leinster in the United Rugby Championship.

  • Inside the rise of the Haftar family’s Dubai-based ‘money man’

    Inside the rise of the Haftar family’s Dubai-based ‘money man’

    As international powers push to unify Libya’s fragmented political and military factions, a 46-year-old Libyan businessman has emerged at the center of explosive allegations linking him to a sprawling network of illicit finance, war profiteering, and smuggling that props up Khalifa Haftar’s eastern Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF).

    Ahmed Gadalla, also known by the alias Ahmed Alushibe, has built a globe-spanning business empire spanning four countries, with a luxury lifestyle that matches his high-stakes commercial portfolio: he resides in Dubai, holds a citizenship-by-investment passport from Saint Kitts and Nevis, wears half-a-million-dollar luxury watches, travels exclusively on private jets, and stays at five-star central London hotels when visiting the UK. His assets include at least eight residential properties in the UAE, a $3.7 million luxury apartment in Toronto (where he maintains permanent Canadian residency and donates to elite private health institutions), and a web of controlled assets ranging from Libyan state-owned enterprises to commercial banks, oil refineries, shipping firms, and private holding companies registered in the UAE, Malta, and the United Kingdom.

    Gadalla’s rise to prominence began long before his current high-profile business dealings. A Benghazi native who earned an engineering master’s degree in the United States, he moved to Dubai as a resident in 2008, and worked selling automotive and household goods for an American firm during the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. After Gaddafi’s fall, he leveraged growing connections to Emirati business and political circles to expand his operations, making his first major international trade trip to Guangzhou, China, in 2012. Today, he openly leads the Alushibe Group, a loose collection of Dubai-based firms he controls, and holds prominent positions including chairman of a major Libyan state-owned steel company, owner of Dubai-based UDS Shipping Services LLC and Malta’s International Seaport Holdings, and director of a central London-based IT firm. UK corporate records even list him as a former co-owner of a retail off-licence in Birmingham between 2019 and 2021, listing his nationality as Kittitian and residence as the UAE. In 2023, he also acquired Benghazi’s notorious Libyan Cement Company, previously linked to fugitive Austrian executive and suspected Russian spy Jan Marsalek, whose ties to the collapse of Germany’s Wirecard remain under global investigation.

    But new, detailed reports from the United Nations Panel of Experts on Libya and U.S.-based investigative non-profit The Sentry pull back the curtain on Gadalla’s operations, alleging that his legitimate business portfolio is a front for a kleptocratic network that funnels billions in stolen Libyan public wealth to Haftar’s LAAF, which has controlled eastern Libya since 2014 with military backing from the UAE and Egypt.

    According to the reports, Gadalla climbed the ranks of eastern Libya’s political and economic system over the past decade with direct backing from Saddam Haftar, son of Khalifa Haftar, and sits at the core of a transnational network accused of money laundering, fraudulent letters of credit, fuel smuggling, and arms trafficking. Investigators allege that Gadalla used his control of multiple Libyan banks, including Wahda Bank and the Bank of Commerce & Development, to fraudulently secure hundreds of millions in letters of credit from Libya’s Central Bank with the backing of LAAF armed groups. One Benghazi-based bank controlled by Gadalla even actively blocked official investigations into the fraudulent credit schemes, the UN report found. The Sentry also claims that Gadalla’s banks helped circulate counterfeit Russian-printed Libyan dinars, destabilizing the country’s already fragile economy.

    The most serious allegations tie Gadalla directly to Haftar’s disastrous 2019–2020 offensive on Tripoli, the UN-backed national capital, which killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Investigators say that in 2018, ahead of the planned invasion, Haftar’s network tapped Gadalla to manage offshore financing for the operation, which drew the bulk of its funding from the UAE and smaller contributions from Saudi Arabia. In 2019, Al Masraf bank, chaired by a Haftar family economic adviser, issued $300 million in loans to three obscure Dubai-based front companies controlled by Gadalla. The funds left the accounts almost immediately, with investigators confirming they directly funded LAAF’s military operations and most likely paid for the deployment of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, who played a key combat role in the offensive. After the offensive collapsed, the $300 million in loans were never repaid, leaving the Libyan public to shoulder the entire loss while Gadalla avoided any accountability, The Sentry reported.

    Gadalla is also linked to ongoing illicit smuggling operations stretching across the Sahel and North Africa. The UN Panel of Experts found that Gadalla purchases diverted fuel from armed groups in both eastern and western Libya, then uses his shipping network to illicitly export the fuel to the UAE for resale at massive profit. In July 2025, EU Operation Irini, the mission enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya, intercepted the Aya 1—a container ship owned by Gadalla’s UDS Shipping, named after his daughter—en route from the UAE to Benghazi. An inspection found 12 militarized vehicles hidden among the ship’s cargo, which the UN confirmed was destined for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese paramilitary currently fighting a brutal civil war in Khartoum. Gadalla is also accused of facilitating arms shipments that have been diverted to gold trafficking networks linked to the Islamic State in Niger, though he is not personally tied to that specific diversion.

    Gadalla has forcefully denied all allegations against him. In an interview with Middle East Eye, he rejected every claim made in both the UN and The Sentry reports, insisting he has always conducted business lawfully and transparently. He denied owning or controlling multiple Libyan banks, committing letter of credit fraud, financing the LAAF or the Wagner Group, engaging in fuel or arms smuggling, or owning the intercepted Aya 1 container ship. He noted that third-party investigations by global accounting firm Deloitte and Libya’s Attorney General Investigation Unit have already cleared the bank records in question, and said his legal team is formally challenging the allegations made by The Sentry, while he continues to engage with the UN Panel of Experts.

    The exposure of Gadalla’s alleged network comes at a pivotal moment for Libya, where the United States and its Western and regional allies are pushing to unify the Tripoli-based UN-backed government and Haftar’s eastern Benghazi administration after more than a decade of division. In April 2026, Libya’s rival legislative bodies approved a unified national budget for the first time since 2014, a move welcomed by all major global and regional powers including the US, EU states, the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. A week later, U.S. Africa Command held joint Flintlock military training exercises in Sirte, bringing together troops from both eastern and western Libya for the first time, as part of Washington’s push to reduce Russian influence in North Africa and unify Libyan security institutions.

    But investigators warn that networks like the one allegedly led by Gadalla continue to fuel a war economy that siphons off billions in public wealth, undermining efforts to build a stable, unified Libyan state. As diplomatic efforts for unification move forward, the case of Ahmed Gadalla lays bare how deeply entrenched kleptocratic and militia-linked networks have become in Libya’s post-revolution economic and political landscape.

  • How has Eurovision voting changed this year?

    How has Eurovision voting changed this year?

    The Eurovision Song Contest, one of the world’s most-watched live music events, is rolling out enhanced voting monitoring for this year’s competition, contest director Martin Österdahl has confirmed. The move comes in direct response to lingering public and stakeholder concerns that emerged following the 2023 contest, when questions were raised about potential unfair influence on the final results linked to Israel’s participation.

    Österdahl emphasized in a recent statement that event organizers have ramped up scrutiny of all voting activity this year, with teams tracking voting patterns “very, very carefully” to safeguard the contest’s long-standing commitment to fair and transparent competition. The changes to voting oversight come amid broader debates around political tensions impacting the pan-European music competition, which has prided itself on uniting countries through musical performance for nearly 70 years.

    Organizers have not announced sweeping changes to the core voting structure— which combines public televoting and jury scores from participating countries— but have added new layers of data analysis to flag any unusual or coordinated voting activity that could skew the final rankings. The goal of the adjusted monitoring process is to maintain public trust in the contest’s outcome, ensuring that results reflect genuine audience and expert appreciation of competing entries rather than external interference.

  • Greece says new biometric checks are active for non-EU travelers, but some could pass without scans

    Greece says new biometric checks are active for non-EU travelers, but some could pass without scans

    ATHENS, Greece – Amid swirling confusion over travel rules ahead of the peak summer tourism season, Greek authorities have clarified that the new EU-mandated biometric screening system for non-European Union travelers at the country’s entry points is fully functional, directly contradicting earlier reports of a temporary seasonal exemption for British visitors. The clarification comes as Greece, one of Europe’s top tourism destinations, balances European regulatory obligations with the economic urgency of supporting its critical travel industry.

    Responding to queries from the Associated Press on Thursday, the Greek Foreign Ministry confirmed that no official notification of nationality-based temporary waivers has been issued. “We have not received any further update or clarification as to whether, for example, specific nationalities are temporarily exempt from the relevant procedure,” the ministry stated.

    The biometric screening framework, officially named the EU Entry-Exit System (EES), launched at Greek airports and border crossings on April 10 as part of a bloc-wide rollout that replaces traditional ink passport stamps with digitally stored biometric data, including facial photographs and electronic fingerprint records. The system is designed to streamline border security and track cross-border travel more efficiently across the Schengen area.

    Confusion over exemptions first emerged after a visit by Greek officials to the United Kingdom, during which informal comments suggested British travelers – who make up one of the largest tourist groups visiting Greece annually – would be waived from the requirement for the 2024 summer travel season. Even the UK Foreign Office updated its official travel guidance to reflect this initial claim, noting that “Greek authorities have indicated that they will not collect biometric data (fingerprints and photos) for UK travelers as part of EES. Follow the advice of authorities on the ground.”

    That informal understanding was quickly corrected by senior Greek and EU officials, who made clear that temporary suspensions of the system are only permitted during periods of extreme peak passenger congestion at specific individual entry points, and are never granted on the basis of nationality or country of origin. In short, no national group will be automatically exempt from the screening requirement.

    Even with that clarification, many non-EU travelers may still avoid the biometric check process in practice this summer. European Union rules allow for temporary pauses in biometric collection during the early rollout phase of the system to prevent crippling airport delays that could disrupt travel. Last week, Greek police reaffirmed that the EES is in full operation, but added that authorities would “take all necessary measures to ensure the smooth flow of visitors … making full use of provisions in Union legislation” – a nod to the potential temporary suspensions at busy airports when passenger numbers surge.

    The confusion around the rule has stoked anxiety among private Greek tour operators, who worry that added screening requirements could deter last-minute travel bookings from the UK – a key market for Greek tourism. Operators also note that the requirement creates a clear disparity between non-EU travelers and EU citizens, who face no routine passport checks when moving within the Schengen bloc.

    Tourism is one of the largest drivers of the Greek economy, accounting for a substantial share of national output. In 2023 alone, nearly 38 million international travelers visited the country, pumping 23 billion euros ($25 billion) into Greece’s 204-billion-euro national economy. Germany topped the list of source markets with nearly 6 million visitors, followed closely by the United Kingdom with 4.9 million. The upcoming summer travel season is widely seen as critical to sustaining the country’s post-pandemic economic growth.

  • What to know about Xi’s warning to Trump over the ‘Taiwan Question’

    What to know about Xi’s warning to Trump over the ‘Taiwan Question’

    In a high-stakes diplomatic summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and former U.S. President Donald Trump, Beijing has delivered its starkest warning to Washington in recent years over the long-running Taiwan dispute, emphasizing that mishandling the issue could trigger direct confrontation between the two global powers.

    According to an official readout released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xi framed the Taiwan question as the single most sensitive and consequential issue shaping the future of bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington. Striking an uncompromising tone, Xi stated that Taiwan independence and cross-Strait peace are fundamentally incompatible, incompatible as fire and water. He added that a constructive approach to the issue would pave the way for overall stability in U.S.-China ties, while mismanagement would lead to open clashes and even full conflict that would put the entire bilateral relationship in catastrophic jeopardy.

    The historically separate governance of China and Taiwan dates back to the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when defeated Nationalist Party forces retreated to the island after the Communist Party claimed victory on the mainland. Over the following decades, Taiwan transitioned from decades of martial law to a fully functional multi-party democracy, a status that Beijing has never recognized. China continues to claim the self-governing island of 23 million people as an integral part of its territory, reserving the right to retake it by force if necessary. Cross-Strait relations have deteriorated sharply since 2016, when Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party was elected president of Taiwan. Beijing responded by cutting off all official bilateral dialogue with Taipei, and in recent years has ramped up military pressure, deploying warships and fighter jets to air and sea spaces close to the island on an almost daily basis. Beyond military coercion, Beijing has also successfully poached a number of Taiwan’s remaining formal diplomatic allies, steadily isolating the island on the global stage.

    The U.S. maintains no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is the island’s largest and most critical unofficial ally, bound by domestic law to ensure Taiwan has the capability to defend itself against potential aggression. For decades, Washington has maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity”, refusing to explicitly confirm whether it would intervene militarily if China launched an attack on the island. Following Xi’s comments, then-U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed that long-standing U.S. policy on Taiwan remained unchanged, while warning that a military seizure of Taiwan by force would be a catastrophic mistake for Beijing.

    Beyond its geopolitical significance, Taiwan holds a critical position in the global tech supply chain: it is the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors, AI servers, and high-precision instruments, and the global AI boom of recent years has pushed the island’s top technology firms to record-breaking revenue and profit levels.

    Regional analysts note that Xi’s unusually stern rhetoric reflects growing anxiety in Beijing over shifting U.S. policy and deepening ties between Washington and Taipei. In December preceding the summit, the Trump administration announced an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan — the largest ever offered to the island — and Trump has repeatedly pressured Taipei to increase its own defense spending.

    William Yang, senior Northeast Asia analyst at the International Crisis Group, explained that Beijing’s forceful readout of the summit carries a clear signal. “If China had secured any meaningful concession on Taiwan from Trump, it would have been reflected in Beijing’s official statement. The absence of any such mention and the relatively stern tone suggest Trump may not have budged on Taiwan in principle,” Yang said.

    Ma Chun-wei, a scholar of cross-Strait relations at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, added that Beijing is also concerned that the Trump administration has begun to deviate from long-standing standardized diplomatic language on the Taiwan issue. While the U.S. has for decades acknowledged Beijing’s position on Taiwan while maintaining unofficial ties with the island, the Trump administration’s December national security strategy only reaffirmed a commitment to opposing any unilateral change to the status quo, a framing that experts say leaves room for interpretation that worries Beijing.

    For Xi, Ma noted, taking a hard line on the Taiwan issue is also a matter of domestic political credibility: “For Xi Jinping, he must show that the Taiwan issue is in China’s hands. He must demonstrate this image, or else he would be criticized,” Ma explained.

    The report was filed from Bangkok by AP correspondents, with additional contributions from Simina Mistreanu in Bangkok and Michelle L. Price in Washington.

  • Why were Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions overturned?

    Why were Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions overturned?

    One of the highest-profile criminal cases in recent United States history has taken a dramatic legal turn: the South Carolina Supreme Court has overturned Alex Murdaugh’s convictions for the murder of his wife and son, and has mandated that he stand trial again. This unexpected development has drawn widespread attention to systemic questions about judicial conduct and the integrity of high-stakes criminal proceedings, with legal analysts and the public alike dissecting the ruling’s far-reaching implications.

    Murdaugh, a former prominent personal injury lawyer from a powerful South Carolina legal dynasty, was found guilty in 2023 of murdering his wife Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and their 22-year-old son Paul Murdaugh at the family’s hunting estate in 2021. The trial captivated national media, shining a light on the decades-long influence of the Murdaugh family in South Carolina’s legal and political circles, as well as a web of financial fraud and alleged misconduct that had already entangled Alex Murdaugh. Following the guilty verdict, he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.

    In his explanation of the court’s ruling, BBC correspondent Bernd Debusmann points to a key controversy that undermined the original trial: the misconduct of the lead law enforcement officer who led the investigation into the Murdaugh killings. The court found that the officer, who had been accused of multiple instances of corrupt and unethical conduct in other cases, failed to disclose critical information about his own history of problematic behavior to the defense during the original trial’s jury selection process. This failure, the supreme court ruled, violated Murdaugh’s constitutional right to a fair and impartial trial, a core protection in the U.S. criminal justice system.

    The ruling has reignited debates across the country about the standards of conduct for law enforcement in high-profile cases, as well as the safeguards in place to prevent wrongful convictions. Legal experts note that the supreme court’s decision does not acquit Murdaugh of the murder charges; it simply orders that the case be retried with a new jury, free from the procedural irregularities that marred the first proceeding. As the legal process moves forward, the case continues to hold national attention, with observers waiting to see how the new trial will unfold and whether it will bring a definitive conclusion to a case that has already shaken South Carolina’s legal establishment to its core.

  • Polish capital makes history with the first same-sex marriage registration

    Polish capital makes history with the first same-sex marriage registration

    In a landmark step for LGBTQ+ equality in Central Europe, Poland’s capital Warsaw marked a historic milestone Thursday by issuing its first official transcription of a same-sex marriage, acting in compliance with binding court orders that mandate recognition of same-sex unions legally registered in other European Union member states.

    The process set in motion months ago, when the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest judicial body, ruled last November that Poland must formally recognize same-sex marriages completed in other EU nations, even though Poland’s domestic legislation does not currently allow for same-sex marriage within its borders. That top EU ruling was subsequently upheld and applied this March by Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court, which ordered local authorities to recognize the 2018 marriage of two Polish men that was legally registered in Germany.

    Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a prominent center-left political figure, confirmed the breakthrough in a public announcement Thursday. “This morning we issued the first transcription of a marriage certificate for a same-sex couple, in accordance with the court rulings,” Trzaskowski stated. Going beyond the mandatory court order, the mayor also pledged that Warsaw would take a proactive approach to recognizing future same-sex marriages contracted by Polish couples in other EU countries, even in cases where no individual court ruling has been issued for a specific couple.

    The move aligns with commitments from Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk, whose centrist government took office late last year with a pro-EU, pro-equality agenda. Speaking earlier this week, Tusk confirmed that his administration was working to speed up implementation of the court rulings across the country. Addressing directly to same-sex couples in Poland, Tusk offered a public apology for decades of marginalization. “I apologize to all those who, for many years, felt rejected and humiliated,” he said.

    Tusk also called on public officials across the country to uphold equal treatment for LGBTQ+ Poles, regardless of their own personal beliefs. “I appeal to all officials to respect the dignity of each individual and to remember that these people live around us, among us, near us, and that they deserve the same feelings of respect, dignity and love as any other person,” he emphasized.

    The milestone comes after decades of grassroots advocacy by LGBTQ+ activists in Poland, where national law has long banned both same-sex marriage and formal civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Crucially, the recent court rulings do not require Poland to fully legalize same-sex marriage domestically, a distinction that has softened some opposition from conservative groups. Tusk’s government ran on a platform that included legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples, a key campaign promise that has hit a wall in recent months. The proposal faces persistent pushback from hardline conservative factions within Tusk’s own governing coalition, as well as firm opposition from Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a devout Catholic who has repeatedly voiced opposition to LGBTQ+ equal rights measures.

    This development comes amid a broader push for LGBTQ+ protections across the European Union, where the European Commission has recently moved forward with a proposed ban on the controversial practice of gay “conversion therapy”, a discredited practice aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation.

  • Israeli minister criticizes Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for waving Palestinian flag

    Israeli minister criticizes Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for waving Palestinian flag

    In the wake of FC Barcelona’s 2025 La Liga title victory, a celebratory parade through the streets of the Catalan capital has sparked international controversy, after 18-year-old star winger Lamine Yamal displayed a large Palestinian flag during the open-top bus procession.

    Local officials estimated that close to 750,000 fans turned out to line Barcelona’s streets on Monday, just 24 hours after the club secured its latest domestic league crown. Yamal, a rising Muslim football talent who is set to represent Spain at the upcoming men’s FIFA World Cup in North America, later shared images of himself holding the flag to his public Instagram account, where he boasts millions of followers worldwide.

    The incident quickly drew sharp rebuke from Israel’s top defense official. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz took to social media platform X to denounce Yamal’s action, framing it as a deliberate act of hate incitement amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “Lamine Yamal chose to incite hate against Israel while our soldiers combat the terrorist organization Hamas, an organization that massacred, raped and burned Jewish children, women and the elderly on Oct. 7, 2023,” Katz wrote.

    Yamal’s gesture comes amid longstanding, widespread criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza across Spanish society and politics. Since Hamas’ October 2023 cross-border attack that triggered the conflict, Israeli military operations have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, leading to broad condemnation from the Spanish government and general public. Spain is also one of five nations that have announced a boycott of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, in protest of Israel’s participation in the annual competition.

    The Gaza conflict has increasingly spilled over into global sports and cultural spaces, with growing public backlash against Israel’s military campaign driving high-profile protests across multiple disciplines. Last year’s Vuelta a España, one of cycling’s three Grand Tour races, faced repeated disruptions from demonstrators objecting to the inclusion of an Israeli-backed team. Football, basketball and other major sports have also seen public acts of protest from athletes echoing widespread global calls for a ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

  • Honda makes its first annual loss in 70 years

    Honda makes its first annual loss in 70 years

    Japanese automotive manufacturing giant Honda has logged its first annual operating loss in 70 years, after high-stakes investments in the global electric vehicle (EV) segment failed to deliver the projected returns the company counted on. For the 12-month period ending March 2026, the firm reported a staggering operating deficit of ¥423 billion, equal to roughly $2.68 billion or £1.99 billion, driven heavily by weaker-than-forecast consumer uptake of EVs across key markets.

    In response to the disappointing results, Honda announced it will walk back several aggressive EV production targets, and shift to sourcing key components from lower-cost suppliers based in China as part of a sweeping cost-cutting strategy. The company also pinned a portion of its losses on shifting policy dynamics in the United States, one of its largest global markets. Changes implemented by the Trump administration in 2025 eliminated the $7,500 tax credit that U.S. consumers previously received for purchasing new EVs, and introduced new tariffs on imported cars and auto parts. Even after a late-year reduction that cut the tariff rate from 25% to 15%, the levies have squeezed profit margins for most major foreign automakers operating in the U.S. market, including Honda.

    Founded as a motorcycle manufacturer before expanding into passenger vehicles, Honda has grown steadily since its 1957 stock market listing to become Japan’s second-largest automaker. Industry analysts note that the company’s large scale and long-standing legacy as a conventional gas-powered vehicle producer have left it poorly positioned to pivot quickly to match volatile swings in EV consumer demand.

    Going forward, Honda will refocus its resources on its consistently profitable motorcycle division, its in-house financial services arm, and hybrid vehicle manufacturing, segments that have delivered steady returns for the firm in recent years. The company named North America, Japan and India as its top three priority markets for future growth, while confirming it has suspended planned EV and battery production facilities in Canada.

    Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe confirmed that the company is abandoning two of its most high-profile EV targets: the goal to make EVs 20% of all new car sales by 2030, and the broader plan to transition 100% of the company’s vehicle lineup to electric power by 2040. Looking ahead, Honda projects it will post an additional ¥512 billion in EV-related losses during the 2026-2027 fiscal year ending March 2027.

    Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment firm AJ Bell, called the 70-year losing milestone “bleak but not surprising.” “Like many legacy automakers it gambled on motorists making a quick move to EVs – and lost as the world shifted,” Hewson explained. She noted that a combination of political policy changes, persistent global cost of living pressures, and stiff competition from lower-cost Chinese EV manufacturers forced Honda to scale back its ambitious EV plans and absorb massive write-down costs.

    Even with a recent uptick in EV demand driven by spiking gasoline prices tied to geopolitical tensions between the U.S., Israel and Iran, Hewson noted that large, established manufacturers like Honda face steep challenges adapting to rapid market shifts in real time. She warned that further volatility remains on the horizon, and that the industry could face additional unforeseen twists and turns in coming years that will test the resilience of legacy automakers still navigating the transition from conventional to electric vehicles.