Global Pulse

作者： admin

  • How worried should we be about hantavirus?

    How worried should we be about hantavirus?

    A hantavirus outbreak aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has triggered a mass international evacuation of passengers and crew, with global health authorities moving quickly to contain the spread of the virus while reassuring the public that the risk of widespread community transmission remains extremely low.

    Three passengers who traveled on the vessel have died, two of whom have been confirmed to have been infected with the Andes strain of hantavirus. To date, nine total cases have been linked to the outbreak, seven of which have been confirmed via laboratory testing. The origin of the outbreak is still under active investigation. Hantavirus is most commonly transmitted to humans from rodents, through inhalation of air contaminated with viral particles from rodent urine, feces, or saliva. Since the cruise sailed through remote, wildlife-rich regions, public health experts say an infected passenger could have picked up the virus either during an onshore excursion or before boarding the ship.

    Unlike highly contagious respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 or influenza, the Andes hantavirus does not spread easily through casual contact. While limited human-to-human transmission is possible through prolonged, close physical contact, World Health Organization (WHO) technical lead Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove emphasized in a Thursday update that this outbreak does not signal the start of a new global pandemic. “This is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently,” she stated, adding that the overall risk of global infection remains low. UK health officials have echoed this assessment, confirming the virus cannot spread through routine social interactions in public spaces such as shops, offices, or schools.

    Experts note that the cramped, shared living quarters common to even large cruise ships create conditions that could enable limited transmission between passengers in close contact, such as cabin mates. The first recorded death linked to the outbreak was a passenger who died on board the vessel on April 11; his wife, a Dutch national who disembarked when the ship stopped at St. Helena on April 24, later died, and officials are still working to confirm the cause of the first passenger’s death.

    All passengers and crew have now been evacuated and repatriated to their home countries for medical monitoring and isolation. Some passengers departed on earlier connecting flights, and global contact tracing efforts are underway to track every potential exposed individual as a precaution. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) chief scientific officer Prof. Robin May described the massive contact tracing operation as “quite a mammoth effort,” noting the work would continue for an extended period.

    Due to the virus’s incubation period, which can range from two weeks to more than a month, exposed passengers face a recommended isolation period of more than 40 days. Multiple countries have implemented formal quarantine protocols for repatriated citizens: 14 Spanish nationals are undergoing mandatory quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid, 20 British passengers arrived in the UK on a chartered flight Sunday and will spend 72 hours in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital before completing an additional 42 days of self-isolation at home. Prof. May confirmed all British evacuees are currently healthy and showing no symptoms, and added that the isolation period may be adjusted in the coming days as new scientific data emerges.

    As of the latest updates, new symptomatic and confirmed cases continue to be identified among evacuated passengers. One French passenger developed symptoms during repatriation and is currently isolating in Paris, where her health is reported to be deteriorating; 22 of her close contacts have already been traced. Two British citizens with confirmed cases are receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa, respectively. Spanish health authorities announced Monday that one quarantined passenger in Madrid has received a preliminary positive test result. Two U.S. passengers also reported potential exposure: one has developed mild symptoms, while the other received a weak positive test result for the Andes strain. Both were transported in specialized biocontainment units on their repatriation flight out of an abundance of caution, U.S. health officials confirmed.

    Common symptoms of Andes hantavirus mirror early influenza, including fever, fatigue, and muscle aches, and can progress to shortness of breath, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. While diagnostic testing is available, there is no specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus infection; clinical care focuses on managing symptoms, though early supportive hospital care has been shown to improve survival rates.

    Global health authorities have repeatedly stressed that the risk of infection for members of the general public with no direct connection to the MV Hondius outbreak remains extremely low, and there is currently no cause for widespread public alarm.

  • How the Trump-Xi summit could set superpower relations for many years to come

    How the Trump-Xi summit could set superpower relations for many years to come

    In the days leading up to US President Donald Trump’s first visit to Beijing since 2017, tightened security arrangements around Tiananmen Square have fueled widespread social media speculation of a large-scale organized welcome event, marking the buildup to what is widely regarded as one of the most consequential global leadership summits in recent years. What was once a quiet preparation process is now shaping up to be a defining meeting that could chart the course of US-China relations for the coming decade, with agendas spanning Middle East mediation, cross-strait tensions, trade disputes and cutting-edge technological competition.

    For months prior to the visit, the Trump administration had sidelined US-China relations to prioritize other pressing matters: the ongoing conflict with Iran, military operations in the Western Hemisphere, and pressing domestic political and economic concerns. But this week, all attention has shifted to Beijing, where every discussion between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping carries global stakes.

    One of the most pressing topics on the agenda is China’s emerging role as a mediator in the three-month-long US-Israel-Iran conflict. Working alongside Pakistan, Beijing put forward a five-point peace plan in March aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire and reopening the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, with Chinese diplomats privately pushing Iranian officials to engage in diplomatic negotiations.

    Beijing has strong personal incentives to end the conflict quickly. Already grappling with slowing domestic growth and rising unemployment, China’s export-reliant economy has felt acute pain from the war-driven surge in global oil prices: higher fuel costs have pushed up production costs for petrochemical-dependent sectors from textiles to plastics by as much as 20% for some domestic manufacturers. While China’s own substantial oil reserves and leading position in renewable energy and electric vehicles have buffered it from the worst of the fuel crisis, the conflict still drags on an already sluggish economy.

    That said, Beijing is not offering mediation for free. US officials are well aware of China’s influence in Tehran, demonstrated by last week’s high-profile visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Beijing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has openly called on China to pressure Iran, saying: “what you are doing in the Strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.” Washington has also lobbied Beijing to support a new UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Strait, after Russia vetoed an earlier draft.

    Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Advisor for US-China relations at the International Crisis Group, notes that the US has already acknowledged Beijing’s indispensable role in any long-term diplomatic resolution of the conflict: “I think if we’re going to bring Iran back to the negotiating table in an enduring way, I think that the United States recognises that China is going to play some role.” For his part, Trump has adopted a soft stance on China’s ties to Tehran, downplaying concerns even after Washington sanctioned a Chinese refinery for transporting Iranian oil. “It is what it is, right? We do things, too, against them,” he told reporters recently.

    Cross-strait tensions over Taiwan will be another unavoidable core topic of the summit. Last December, the Trump administration’s $11 billion arms sales deal to Taipei drew fierce backlash from Beijing, but Trump himself has sent contradictory signals on US security commitments to the island, which China claims as an inalienable part of its territory. The US president has publicly downplayed US willingness to defend Taiwan, saying that Taiwan does not adequately compensate the US for security guarantees and even imposed a 15% tariff on Taiwanese goods last year, accusing Taipei of stealing US semiconductor manufacturing.

    Rubio has confirmed that Taiwan will be on the meeting agenda, but stressed that Washington’s goal is to avoid new tensions between the two superpowers. “We don’t need any destabilising events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific, and I think that’s to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese,” he said. For China, Taiwan is a non-negotiable red line: Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently urged the US to make the “right choice” in a call with Rubio, while Beijing has ramped up daily military patrols around the island.

    Some analysts speculate that Beijing may push for a revision of the long-standing 1982 US policy wording on Taiwan, seeking to upgrade Washington’s current position of “not supporting Taiwan independence” to a clearer statement of “opposing Taiwan independence.” But John Delury, a senior fellow from the Centre on US-China Relations at the Asia Society, is skeptical of any major breakthrough: “Even if Trump says something kind of left field that looks like some capitulation on Taiwan, because he’s not so careful with his use of language, the Chinese know better than to put much stock in that, because he can reverse it with a Truth Social post a week later.”

    Trade, the historic flashpoint of US-China tensions, is also back on the agenda after months of escalating friction. Throughout 2025, the world’s two largest economies teetered on the edge of a full-blown new trade war that would have shaken the global economy: Trump repeatedly adjusted tariffs on Chinese goods, at one point pushing rates above 100%, while Beijing retaliated by cutting rare earth exports to the US and suspending purchases of American agricultural goods, hitting Trump’s key support base of rural farming states.

    Tensions have cooled significantly since Trump and Xi met on the sidelines of a conference in South Korea last October, and a recent US Supreme Court ruling limiting the president’s unilateral authority to impose tariffs has also curbed Trump’s more impulsive trade instincts. Still, major disagreements remain: Trump will push for increased Chinese purchases of US agricultural products, while Beijing will demand that Washington scrap a newly launched trade probe into alleged unfair Chinese business practices that would allow Trump to reimpose sweeping high tariffs.

    Michael O’Hanlan, Phil Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, notes that this will be a tough negotiation for Washington: “It could be tough for the US to give up investigations of all unfair Chinese trade practices given how widespread and distorting the latter still are.” According to Reuters, Trump will be accompanied by CEOs from top American firms including Nvidia, Apple, Exxon and Boeing, highlighting the deep business stakes of the visit. While China is less dependent on US trade than it was during Trump’s first term, Beijing still prioritizes global economic stability as it pursues domestic growth, making a smooth meeting a key priority for Xi.

    Ryan Hass, Director of the John L Thornton China Centre at the Brookings Institution, summed up the fragile dynamic ahead of the summit: “So long as the visit proceeds smoothly and Trump concludes he was treated respectfully, then the uneasy calm in the bilateral relationship will endure. If, on the other hand, Trump leaves feeling disrespected or trifled with, then he could have a change of heart.”

    Beyond geopolitics and trade, the rising competition over cutting-edge technology – particularly artificial intelligence and semiconductors – will be a central theme of the talks. China is currently investing heavily in AI and humanoid robotics, core components of what Xi calls “new productive forces” that Beijing hopes will drive its next phase of economic growth. But many US policymakers accuse China of pursuing policies to co-opt or steal American technology to advance its domestic industries, leading Washington to impose sweeping restrictions on exports of the most advanced microchips to China, despite pushback from US chip manufacturers.

    While the recent resolution of the TikTok ownership dispute represented a rare positive breakthrough in a tech relationship long plagued by accusation and mistrust, frictions have reemerged in the fast-growing AI sector. The White House has accused Chinese AI firms of large-scale theft of American AI models, while Beijing has reportedly blocked US firm Meta’s acquisition of Singapore-based Chinese-founded AI startup Manus. Yingyi Ma, a researcher at the John L Thornton China Centre, notes: “An opening chapter of an AI cold war is emerging. The deeper contest is not over who copies whose model, but over the talent capable of building the next generation of frontier AI.”

    China has recently showcased its advanced robotic capabilities with humanoid bots performing martial arts and outrunning human runners in Beijing marathons, but analysts point out that while Chinese firms excel at building the mechanical bodies of these systems, they still rely on US-made high-end chips to power the advanced artificial intelligence that operates them. For Beijing, this creates a natural opening for a potential trade: access to China’s dominant position in rare earth minerals – which processes 90% of global supply, critical to everything from smartphones to wind turbines to jet engines – in exchange for relaxed US restrictions on high-end chip exports.

    Despite the wide range of high-stakes issues on the agenda, Trump’s Beijing visit will be a condensed two-day whirlwind tour of meetings and official events, including formal talks, a state banquet and a visit to the historic Temple of Heaven. While substantive final agreements may not be reached in such a short time frame, analysts broadly agree that even this brief face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest powers will set the long-term trajectory for bilateral relations and global politics for years to come.

  • Israel has tried to drag US into war on Iran for decades, says former Qatari PM

    Israel has tried to drag US into war on Iran for decades, says former Qatari PM

    In a high-stakes interview on Al Jazeera’s flagship current affairs program *Al Muqabala*, one of Qatar’s most influential veteran statesmen has laid out a stark assessment of Middle East geopolitics, framing the ongoing conflict with Iran as the culmination of 30 years of Israeli efforts to redraw the region’s map by force.

    Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, who previously served as both Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, outlined how Israeli hardliners led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have worked since the 1990s Bill Clinton administration to pressure Washington into launching a full-scale war against Iran over its nuclear program. For decades, successive U.S. governments — including even the first administration of Donald Trump — resisted calls for an all-out conflict, but Sheikh Hamad says Netanyahu ultimately succeeded in persuading the current U.S. administration to back the campaign by selling a false narrative of quick victory.

    “He convinced the U.S. administration that the war would be short and swift, and that the Iranian regime would fall within weeks,” he said, drawing a parallel to flawed U.S. assumptions around regime change in Venezuela. The former diplomat added that Washington’s greatest strategic strength has always lain in its ability to avoid unnecessary military intervention, not in its willingness to deploy force, noting that Netanyahu stands as the primary beneficiary of the conflict, using it to advance his long-held goal of expanding Israeli territory to form a “Greater Israel”.

    Since the U.S.-Israeli campaign launched on February 28, Iran has retaliated with strikes targeting Gulf nations including Qatar, as well as U.S. military bases, critical energy infrastructure, and civilian sites across the region. Sheikh Hamad explicitly condemned Iran’s attacks on civilian, industrial and energy facilities, while acknowledging that Gulf states have repeatedly voiced opposition to the current conflict. Despite widespread outrage over the strikes, he argued that geographic proximity makes long-term coexistence with Iran unavoidable, requiring sustained dialogue between Gulf governments and Tehran.

    Most notably, Sheikh Hamad argued that internal disunity among Gulf nations poses a greater threat to regional stability than Iran, Israel, or foreign military presences in the region. To counter this risk, he called for the urgent establishment of a unified “Gulf NATO”, a cohesive security bloc anchored by Saudi Arabia that brings together strategically aligned Gulf states.

    He explained that while the U.S. security umbrella has provided regional deterrence for decades, Washington’s growing strategic pivot to the Indo-Pacific and its focus on countering China means Gulf nations can no longer rely indefinitely on American protection. Instead, he argued the bloc should pursue deep strategic partnerships with key regional powers including Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt.

    Turning to the ongoing crisis in Gaza, Sheikh Hamad condemned what he called Israel’s genocidal war in the enclave, revealing that intelligence indicates Israel is deliberately plotting to depopulate Gaza by encouraging Palestinian residents to leave. He stressed that any negotiations on the disarmament of Hamas must be tied to a clear political roadmap leading to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. He also praised Saudi Arabia’s decision to reject normalization of relations with Israel until such a plan is in place, noting that this principled stand has upended Netanyahu’s long-term strategic calculations.

  • Birmingham jury fails to convict pro-Palestine activist accused of supporting Hamas

    Birmingham jury fails to convict pro-Palestine activist accused of supporting Hamas

    A high-profile terrorism case against a British-Palestinian activist has ended in a hung jury, forcing the court to schedule a full retrial scheduled for late 2027.

    Majid Freeman, 38, also known by the alias Majid Novsarka and based in Leicester, stood trial for two weeks at Birmingham Crown Court, answering to charges tied to social media posts he published on X and Instagram between 2023 and 2024. Prosecutors accused Freeman of two key offenses: intentionally encouraging terrorist activity and publicly backing Hamas, the Palestinian militant group classified as a proscribed terrorist organization by the UK government. Freeman has repeatedly denied all allegations throughout legal proceedings.

    After more than 13 and a half hours of closed deliberations, the jury notified the judge that they could not reach a required majority verdict on any of the charges brought against the activist. This deadlock automatically triggers the scheduling of a new trial, which is set to open in September 2027 and run for four weeks.

    Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse following the jury’s announcement, Freeman said he welcomed the retrial, framing it as a new chance to bring evidence of Israeli military actions in Gaza before a British civilian jury. He criticized the prosecution’s case, noting that the Crown had spent significant public resources to pursue charges rooted in social media content including emojis, Islamic prayers (duas), and public posts. “After almost a week of deliberation, the jury could not agree that I was guilty. They could not agree,” Freeman emphasized.

    The prosecution, led by senior barrister Tom Williams KC, argued during the trial that Freeman leveraged his social media platforms to promote and incite violent acts. Prosecutors pointed to specific content on Freeman’s accounts, including a 2024 reposted video from independent outlet Middle East Eye that showed an Israeli soldier shooting an elderly Palestinian woman in Gaza. They also claimed Freeman used visual symbols, including a red triangle, that prosecutors allege are associated with Hamas, and that his posts consistently amplified the group’s messaging. Prosecutors branded Freeman an “effective propagandist” who used short-form videos and casual messaging to humanize Hamas and build long-term public support for the organization in the UK.

    In his testimony to the court, Freeman clarified his position, drawing a distinction between backing Hamas as a political organization and supporting the right of armed resistance to occupation. “I do not support Hamas as a group,” Freeman told the jury. “I believe that not just Hamas, but every group has the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression. That includes using force.”

    Freeman’s defense team, led by Hossein Zahir KC, pushed back aggressively against the prosecution’s claims. The defense argued that Freeman does not support Hamas as an organization, and instead advocates broadly for what he terms Palestinian resistance. Zahir urged jurors to contextualize Freeman’s social media posts against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, which the defense described as a genocide against Palestinian civilians. The defense noted that Freeman’s use of the hashtag #GazaResists reflected his focus on the broader Palestinian cause rather than endorsement of any specific proscribed group. “Social media is fast-moving and often harsh, but his intention was to raise awareness, not to incite violence,” the defense told the court.

    This is not the first high-profile legal case Freeman has faced in recent years. Earlier in 2024, an English court acquitted Freeman on charges connected to 2022 intercommunal riots between Hindu and Muslim youth in Leicester. In that case, police had alleged Freeman pushed an officer, used abusive language toward law enforcement, and incited violent confrontation during the unrest.

    This case, which centers on the boundaries of free speech for activists criticizing Israeli policy in Gaza, has underscored the growing legal tensions in the UK between counter-terrorism prosecutions and the right to advocate for Palestinian causes amid the ongoing war.

  • What is Jerusalem Day and the March of Flags?

    What is Jerusalem Day and the March of Flags?

    This week, Israelis are set to observe Jerusalem Day, a national holiday that marks the capture of East Jerusalem by Israeli military forces in the 1967 Six-Day War. The annual commemoration will kick off at sunset on Thursday, May 14, and conclude at nightfall the following day, May 15 – one day before Palestinians mark the Nakba, the catastrophic displacement and violence that accompanied the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

    The origins of the holiday stretch back to 1968, just one year after the 1967 war, when Israeli lawmakers voted to establish a formal observance of Israel’s seizure of Palestinian-inhabited East Jerusalem. It was formally enshrined as a national holiday in 1998, when then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed the legislation into law during his first term in office. Immediately following the 1967 conflict, Israel annexed the occupied areas of Jerusalem, granting permanent residency status to local Palestinian residents. That status allows Palestinians to vote in municipal elections, but bars them from voting for Israel’s national parliament, the Knesset. Today, roughly 350,000 Palestinians call East Jerusalem home, the majority of whom hold no Israeli citizenship and have no national representation in the government that governs their daily lives.

    For Israelis, the holiday centers on commemorating soldiers killed in the 1967 battle for Jerusalem, and is framed as a celebration of the reunification of the city under full Israeli control. This year, the Jerusalem Municipality has called on participants to “march with courage and valour, with Israeli flags raised high, and connect themselves with the celebration of Jerusalem’s eternity, and bind Jerusalem forever.”

    The centerpiece of the annual observance is the Flag March, which draws tens of thousands of participants, the majority of whom identify with Israel’s ultra-nationalist and far-right factions. Per the Knesset’s official description of the event, the large procession starts in central Jerusalem, moves into the Old City, and concludes at the Western Wall with a collective prayer of thanksgiving. But human rights groups and independent media have repeatedly documented the event as a flashpoint for anti-Palestinian violence, harassment, and provocation.

    Far-right Israeli leaders routinely use the march as a platform to broadcast their expansionist and supremacist agenda. Last year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told a crowd gathered near the Western Wall that “we are conquering the Land of Israel. We are liberating Gaza. We are settling Gaza. We are defeating the enemy.” Smotrich’s comments, delivered months ahead of a 2025 ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war, drew loud applause from attendees. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has overseen a sharp rise in settler incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound since taking office in 2022, used the 2024 march to deliver an overtly provocative message: “Jerusalem is ours. Damascus Gate is ours. The Temple Mount is ours. … it is ours.”

    Under Ben Gvir’s leadership, Israeli police deployed more than 3,000 officers to secure the 2024 march, clearing a path for participants through the Old City’s Damascus Gate and Muslim Quarter. Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has documented that during the procession, far-right participants regularly hurl racist chants, assault Palestinian residents, and vandalize Palestinian property in the Muslim Quarter, while local businesses are forced to close and residents are confined to their homes to avoid violence. Independent Israeli left-wing outlet Local Call has described the march as “a display of racism and violence under police protection,” noting that once confined to fringe far-right groups, open racist chants have become widespread across participants in recent years, amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

    B’Tselem has recorded dozens of violent incidents targeting both Palestinian residents and journalists covering the event. In 2023, before the start of the current Gaza war, one reporter told the group that “groups of Jews threw stones, plastic water bottles, and broken flag poles at us,” with at least two correspondents hit by rioters. Another journalist described being struck in the head by a projectile, saying he was too afraid to leave the area before the march concluded out of fear of further attack. Uri Erlich, spokesperson for Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh, which defends cultural heritage rights in the region, noted that a broader shift has occurred in recent years: “It is not the march that has become more extreme, but [Israeli] society.”

    This year’s observance comes amid new controversial policy moves from the Israeli government. Multiple reports confirm the government plans to redraw Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries for the first time since the 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem, expanding the city’s borders further into the occupied West Bank’s Palestinian-inhabited territory. Additionally, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported last month that the government has allocated more than 1 million shekels ($344,000) to fund new satellite flag marches led by Israeli settlers in cities across the country outside Jerusalem.

    The stated goal of the program is to reinforce “a sense of connection and identification with Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, even among those who do not live in it.” Marches are scheduled in Lod, Ramla, Haifa, Yavne, Ashdod, Beersheba, Herzliya, Petah Tikva, and Raanana, many of which have large Palestinian citizen populations. This is not the first time parallel flag marches have been held outside Jerusalem: in recent years, processions in cities including Lod and Jaffa have already sparked severe intercommunal tension with local Palestinian communities.

    This year’s Jerusalem Day, held on the eve of the Nakba commemoration – which marks the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine that left an estimated 13,000 Palestinians dead and 750,000 displaced from their ancestral homes – is expected to reignite longstanding international and regional tensions over the status of Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinian residents in the city.

  • I led hikers up an Indonesian volcano – and then it erupted

    I led hikers up an Indonesian volcano – and then it erupted

    Nestled on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island in North Maluku, the chronically active Mount Dukono turned deadly on a Friday morning in May, when a sudden volcanic eruption claimed three lives in a group of hikers who had accessed the restricted mountain despite official climbing bans. For Reza Selang, the local Indonesian guide who led the 20-person expedition, the harrowing moments of the blast remain seared into his memory, leaving him grappling with overwhelming grief, guilt, and ongoing legal scrutiny.

    Reza, who operates a small tour company in North Maluku, was contracted in 2025 by Singaporean adventure expedition organizer Timothy Heng to guide the mixed group of Singaporean and Indonesian hikers on a multi-mountain trek that included Dukono. The group began their ascent on Thursday afternoon, and Reza told the BBC that there were no visible signs of impending volcanic activity at that point, nor when the party reached the summit early Friday morning. Even a pre-ascent drone sweep of the crater captured no smoke or unusual activity. Reza allowed 14 hikers, including Heng, to approach the crater with a promise of a quick descent, while he and the remaining six hikers waited at a lower elevation.

    At 7:40 a.m. local time, just one minute after Reza launched his drone to monitor the group near the crater, the mountain erupted. The first blast only released plumes of smoke, but a far more violent second eruption followed 15 to 20 seconds later, hurling massive volcanic rock fragments and ash across the summit. Panicked, the group scattered and fled down the slope, but Reza spotted Singaporean hiker Shahin Muhrez bin Abdul Hamid injured and stranded near the crater via his drone feed. Reza rushed upward to rescue Shahin, and Heng, who had already escaped, turned back to help.

    As the two men dragged the injured hiker down the mountain, with flying rocks falling on all sides, a 2-meter-wide boulder dislodged from the crater and bounced toward them. In a split second, Reza recalled, Heng pushed Shahin behind him and absorbed the full impact of the rock. The boulder crushed both men instantly, killing them on the spot. Shocked frozen for nearly a minute, Reza fled down the mountain to alert emergency authorities.

    Indonesian officials launched an immediate search and rescue operation for the two dead Singaporeans and a third missing hiker, Indonesian national Angel Krishela Pradita. Angel’s body was recovered near the summit on Saturday, while the remains of Heng and Shahin were extracted from beneath ash and rock on Sunday. All surviving hikers were evacuated to a nearby local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, and the remaining Singaporean citizens have since returned to their home country.

    The tragedy has shone a light on longstanding lax enforcement of volcanic hazard restrictions in Indonesia, a nation positioned along the Pacific Ring of Fire that sees frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Authorities confirmed that Mount Dukono has erupted more than 200 times since late March 2026, and that a full suspension of climbing permits and a ban on entry within 4 kilometers of the crater had been in place since April 17. Officials added that warnings had been posted to social media and displayed on physical banners at all trail entrances to the mountain. The area is now permanently closed to all visitors, and officials have pledged to sanction anyone who violates the entry ban.

    Reza maintains that he had no knowledge of the full prohibition, noting that local villagers he regularly hires to assist with guiding expeditions also did not alert him to the new restrictions. He acknowledged that he was aware Dukono was rated at Level 2 on Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic alert system, a classification that marks increased observable activity and restricts access to high-risk zones, but added that other popular Level 2 volcanoes in Indonesia, such as Mount Rinjani, still allow hiking outside restricted crater zones. He told reporters he leads climbs up Dukono almost monthly without incident, a common practice among local tour operators despite the mountain’s active status.

    Indonesian police have launched a formal investigation into the incident, focusing on allegations of negligence by tour operators and individual organizers. Reza has already been questioned by investigators, and has turned over his drone footage of the eruption as evidence. Police confirmed two people associated with Reza’s tour company have been questioned as witnesses, but are still examining the role each party played in organizing the unauthorized climb. Officials have stated they will not show leniency to any parties found responsible for negligence that led to the deaths. Reza says he accepts whatever legal consequences result from the investigation, and only hopes the process concludes quickly.

    In the days following the eruption, Reza has been open about his crippling guilt and regret over the tragedy. He told the BBC he is haunted by endless ‘what-ifs’ – what if the group had never climbed, what if he had never accepted the expedition contract. ‘I feel very guilty toward the victims and their families,’ he said. ‘I feel like I want to go [to Singapore] and kneel at the victims’ parents’ feet. I want to apologise.’

  • Iran offer was ‘reasonable,’ official says after Trump rejection

    Iran offer was ‘reasonable,’ official says after Trump rejection

    On a Monday press briefing, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei pushed back against former U.S. President Donald Trump’s outright rejection of Tehran’s counter-proposal for a nuclear and regional peace agreement, defending the initiative as a reasonable and good-faith effort to de-escalate long-standing tensions. “The only thing we have demanded is Iran’s legitimate rights,” Baghaei stated, countering accusations of Iranian intransigence by accusing Washington of clinging to a set of non-negotiable unreasonable demands that have stalled progress toward a diplomatic resolution.

    Trump’s rejection came via a public social media post over the weekend, where he dismissed Iran’s counteroffer to Washington’s latest proposal as “totally unacceptable” and added “I don’t like it,” offering no specific details about which provisions he found objectionable. The abrupt, vague dismissal immediately roiled global energy markets, driving crude oil prices sharply higher as investors priced in heightened risk of a wider regional conflict.

    While full text of both the U.S. proposal and Iran’s counterproposal remain confidential, think tank expert Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, outlined leaked key concessions Iran has put forward that represent a significant shift from Tehran’s earlier negotiating positions. According to Parsi’s analysis, Iran has compromised on two of the most contentious sticking points in the talks: uranium stockpiles and long-term enrichment limits.

    Previously, Tehran refused to ship any of its existing uranium stockpile outside of the country, only agreeing to dilute the material to lower-grade, non-weapons grade. Under the new proposal, Parsi says Iran has offered to downblend a portion of its stockpile and send the remainder to a neutral third party for storage. On enrichment, Iran has also agreed to a 12-year moratorium on all domestic uranium enrichment — a major compromise that falls between Trump’s original demand for a 15- to 20-year pause and Tehran’s initial offer of just three to five years.

    “That Iran is willing to pause enrichment at all is a significant concession that I am not sure is fully appreciated by the American side,” Parsi noted in his analysis. He questioned why Trump has hardened Washington’s negotiating position beyond its original core red line of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, suggesting the shift is driven by pressure from U.S. ally Israel. “The insistence on shipping the entire stockpile out appears to be another example of Trump allowing America’s red lines to be replaced by Israel’s,” Parsi wrote. “It would be a shame if the entire negotiation collapses over this issue.”

    Trump confirmed over the weekend that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran’s proposal, calling the conversation “very nice” and noting the two leaders maintain a “good relationship.”

    Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, citing an anonymous informed source, further clarified the key terms of Tehran’s proposal on Monday. The document prioritizes an immediate end to ongoing hostilities, ironclad international guarantees against future U.S. aggression, the full lifting of crippling U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, and an immediate end to the U.S.-led naval blockade of Iran once an initial preliminary agreement is signed. It also reaffirms Iran’s sovereign authority over the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global energy chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supplies pass — contingent on Washington fulfilling its commitments under the deal. The proposal also includes provisions for advancing regional security and guaranteeing safe commercial passage through the strait.

    Baghaei pushed back hard against narratives framing Iran as the unreasonable party to the negotiations, pointing to Washington’s history of aggressive action in the region to counter the claim. “It is enough to look at Iran’s record,” he said. “Were we the ones who deployed troops? Are we the ones bullying countries in the Western Hemisphere? Were we the ones who committed assassinations twice during negotiations?” He also defended Tehran’s core asks, asking: “Is our proposal for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz unreasonable? Is establishing peace and security across the entire region irresponsible?”

  • South African president says he will not step down after impeachment call

    South African president says he will not step down after impeachment call

    South Africa’s sitting president Cyril Ramaphosa, who has held the nation’s highest office since 2018, has announced he will not step down amid growing pressure over the Phala Phala cash theft scandal, and will instead launch a legal battle to block the report that cleared the way for parliamentary impeachment proceedings against him. The announcement on Monday put an end to weeks of widespread public speculation over whether Ramaphosa would choose to resign to avoid the unfolding political crisis, with the president stating firmly: “I remain here and am not resigning.”

    The controversy at the center of the current political standoff traces back to an incident of large-scale cash theft from Ramaphosa’s private game farm, Phala Phala, where thousands of U.S. dollars were discovered missing from concealed storage inside furniture on the property. An independent investigative panel assembled to probe the incident concluded that there was prima facie evidence suggesting Ramaphosa may have committed serious misconduct related to his handling of the theft. Ramaphosa has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that the stolen funds were proceeds from the legitimate sale of buffalo through his private farming operation.

    Last week, South Africa’s Constitutional Court delivered a landmark ruling that upended the existing parliamentary process, finding that the national legislature had acted unconstitutionally when it voted in 2022 to reject launching a formal impeachment inquiry into Ramaphosa based on the Phala Phala panel’s findings. The top court ordered that the matter must proceed to a full impeachment examination in parliament, rather than being dismissed entirely.

    In response to the ruling, Ramaphosa confirmed that his legal team would petition the courts to review the independent panel’s investigative report and ultimately have it set aside. The president argues the findings are fundamentally flawed because they relied heavily on unsubstantiated hearsay evidence rather than verifiable, direct proof of misconduct. If Ramaphosa’s legal challenge fails and the impeachment process moves forward, the report will become the core foundation for opposition parties’ legislative efforts to oust him from the presidency.

    Political analyst Professor Richard Calland, who studies South Africa’s political landscape, noted that even if the impeachment vote proceeds to a floor vote in parliament, Ramaphosa is likely to secure enough support to remain in office. Calland added that Ramaphosa’s decision to pursue a legal challenge may be a strategic move to avoid a public, damaging impeachment hearing entirely — a process that would inevitably cause lasting harm to the president’s public reputation and political legacy, regardless of the final vote outcome.

  • Israel closes case against officers accused of killing Palestinian family: Report

    Israel closes case against officers accused of killing Palestinian family: Report

    A 2024 shooting incident that left four members of a Palestinian family dead, including two young children, in the occupied West Bank is on the verge of being closed without accountability, an Israeli news outlet has confirmed. The deadly encounter unfolded in March in Tammun, a northern West Bank town, when undercover Israeli special forces opened fire on the vehicle carrying 37-year-old Ali Bani Odeh, his 35-year-old wife Waad, and their four children. Ali, Waad, and their two youngest sons — 5-year-old Mohammad and 7-year-old Othman — were killed instantly. Two older children, 8-year-old Mustafa and 12-year-old Khaled, survived the attack but suffered severe shrapnel injuries to their faces and heads.

    In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Israeli forces blocked Palestinian medical responders from accessing the scene. After detaining the two wounded surviving children for more than 30 minutes, soldiers finally allowed medics to reach them only on the condition that the ambulance leave the area immediately after extracting the injured boys.

    An anonymous security source cited by i24News shared the military’s initial account of the incident: forces claimed they opened fire after spotting the vehicle speeding toward their position, saying officers “sensed imminent danger” and acted in self-defense.

    But human rights advocates have immediately pushed back on this narrative, rejecting the military’s claim of a threat. Heba Morayef, regional director for Amnesty International covering the Middle East and North Africa, noted that Israeli military officials have failed to produce any evidence that the Bani Odeh family posed any danger to the soldiers at the time of the shooting. She described the mass killing as a horrific event that fits a wider, deeply troubling pattern of escalating lethal force used by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians, where children and entire families too often bear the deadly cost. Morayef added that witness testimonies raise serious suspicions that the attack amounts to an extrajudicial execution, an unlawful killing outside any legal process.

    This pattern of justification is well-documented: the Israeli military almost always releases nearly identical claims of self-defense after its troops kill Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Independent and human rights observers have long criticized the Israeli military for rarely opening meaningful investigations into deaths of Palestinians at the hands of its troops, and for enabling a widely condemned “shoot-to-kill” policy that allows troops to use lethal force even when unarmed Palestinians pose no immediate threat to soldiers.

    According to reporting from the Israeli outlet, while Israeli police launched a formal investigation into the Bani Odeh family killing, the special forces officers who carried out the shooting were never questioned as part of the probe. The investigation concluded in recent days, and the case is now expected to be formally closed by Israel’s Attorney General’s office without any disciplinary or legal action against the involved personnel.

    The shooting and impending closure of the case comes amid a sharp spike in Palestinian deaths in the West Bank following the October 7, 2023, attacks. Data from independent monitors shows that Israeli military forces and illegal Israeli settlers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank since that date.

    For the town of Tammun, which is home to roughly 15,000 Palestinian residents, deadly Israeli military incursions are a regular occurrence. Forces almost always carry out these raids under the pretext of searching for “wanted individuals,” but the vast majority of people killed in these operations are unarmed civilians and children.

  • Watch: Alaska town sees its last sunset until August

    Watch: Alaska town sees its last sunset until August

    Perched on the frozen edge of the Arctic Circle, Utqiagvik — the northernmost incorporated city in the United States, located along Alaska’s rugged northern coastline — has marked one of its most dramatic annual astronomical events: the final sunset of the spring season that will leave the community bathed in nonstop daylight for nearly three full months.

    On the day of the final sunset, thousands of local residents and visiting astronomy enthusiasts gathered along the town’s windswept shoreline to watch the sun dip briefly below the horizon, a sight that will not be seen again in the region until mid-August. Following this fleeting sunset, the town will enter its annual period of midnight sun, a 84-day stretch of uninterrupted daylight driven by the Earth’s axial tilt, which tilts the northern hemisphere toward the sun during the spring and summer months.

    Unlike the polar night that engulfs Utqiagvik for roughly two months during the depths of winter, when the sun never rises above the horizon, the midnight sun phenomenon brings 24 hours of natural light that reshapes daily life for the town’s roughly 4,000 residents. Many locals embrace the constant daylight, extending outdoor work hours, planning late-night hiking and fishing trips, and hosting community gatherings that stretch into the early hours of the morning, when the sun hovers just above the northern horizon casting a soft golden glow across the Arctic tundra.

    This annual astronomical event draws hundreds of tourists to Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow) each year, boosting the local tourism economy that relies heavily on Arctic wilderness and unique astronomical attractions. Visitors come to capture photos of the final sunset, experience the otherworldly feeling of sunlight at midnight, and witness the distinct seasonal rhythm that defines life in one of the northernmost communities on Earth. When the sun finally sets again in August, the town will begin the slow shift toward the long dark polar night of winter, closing another annual cycle of extreme light and dark that shapes life on Alaska’s Arctic coast.