Global Pulse

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  • US Democrat Ro Khanna says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers

    US Democrat Ro Khanna says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers

    A high-profile Democratic U.S. lawmaker has brought new international attention to escalating tensions in the occupied West Bank after revealing he was held for an hour and a half by armed Israeli settlers during an official visit last week. Ro Khanna, a 49-year-old California congressman who is openly considering a 2028 bid for the U.S. presidency, told reporters the incident unfolded Wednesday as he and his travel team traveled through the territory to assess the human impact of Israeli occupation.

    Khanna and his staff were riding in a private van en route to the destroyed Palestinian community of Khirbet Zanuta when a group of settlers carrying semi-automatic M4 rifles surrounded the vehicle and blocked their path, cutting off any route forward. In a public post shared to the social platform X shortly after the incident, Khanna said that even after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrived at the scene, military personnel aligned with the settlers and continued the unplanned detention of his delegation.

    “We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed – they had ruined the school, they had wiped out the entire community, and we were simply documenting what we saw,” Khanna explained to reporters in an interview. “These extremists came in with machine guns, American-made M4s, blocked the road, and detained us. When they called the IDF, the IDF took their side, not the side of a visiting American congressional delegation.”

    A spokesperson for the IDF pushed back against Khanna’s account in an official statement issued after the incident. The military said troops and local police were dispatched to the area after receiving an initial report that settlers had blocked civilian vehicle traffic. “Upon their arrival, the troops dispersed the Israeli civilians and allowed the vehicles to continue on their way,” the statement read. The BBC also confirmed it had requested additional comment from the IDF, with no further response provided as of press time.

    One of Khanna’s aides, who was present during the detention, confirmed that the delegation reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to request assistance while they were blocked. The group was ultimately released after a contingent of Israeli police intervened to end the standoff.

    The incident comes amid long-running global controversy over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, territory Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Since 1967, Israel has constructed more than 160 formal settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem that are home to roughly 700,000 Israeli Jewish citizens. These settlements are universally recognized as illegal under international law, a position the Israeli government has rejected repeatedly. Today, an estimated 3.3 million Palestinian residents live in the occupied West Bank alongside the settlements, with growing frequency of violent clashes between settlers and local Palestinian communities that the IDF has failed to curb in many cases.

  • Buttler and Brook sparkle as England goes top of T20 rankings with clean sweep over India

    Buttler and Brook sparkle as England goes top of T20 rankings with clean sweep over India

    Southampton, England – In a dominant display of aggressive batting that rewrote the T20 international record books, England secured a resounding 56-run victory over India on Saturday, sealing a 4-0 clean sweep of the five-match series and claiming the number one spot in the ICC men’s T20 world rankings.

    The iconic clash at the Utilita Bowl was defined by a sensational second-wicket partnership between star wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler and stand-in captain Harry Brook, who combined for a staggering 233-run stand – the highest partnership for any wicket in England’s T20 international history. The pair rained sixes across the ground, powering England to a final total of 257 for three wickets, the third-highest team total in England’s T20 history and the nation’s largest ever score against India.

    Buttler led the charge with a blistering 131 runs off just 64 deliveries, marking a welcome return to top form for the experienced batter. He smashed 12 fours and 8 sixes on his way to notching his second career T20 international century. Brook continued his outstanding run of form through the series – which opened with a washout abandoned due to bad weather – remaining unbeaten on 95 runs from only 45 deliveries, with 4 fours and another 8 sixes to his name. Only late in the innings did India manage to break the partnership, with all-rounder Shivam Dube claiming two wickets including Buttler’s, though his single costly over conceded 22 runs.

    India’s defeat came after the side won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that would ultimately prove costly. Ahead of the match, India opted to rest 15-year-old teenage prospect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who had failed to deliver a impactful performance across the first three matches of the tour.

    Chasing a mammoth target of 258 runs, India got off to a disappointing start, with opener Abhishek Sharma departing for just three runs. Despite middle-order resistance from Ishan Kishan, who hit 56 runs off 35 balls, and Tilak Varma, who raced to a 25-ball 53, India could only manage a final total of 201 for eight wickets. England’s bowlers controlled the chase effectively: all-rounder Sam Curran finished with figures of three wickets for 36 runs, while veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed two wickets for just 24 runs. With the result, England displaced India from the top of the T20 rankings, capping off a near-perfect series with an unassailable 4-0 lead heading into the final dead rubber.

  • Noskova holds off extraordinary Muchova fightback to win Wimbledon

    Noskova holds off extraordinary Muchova fightback to win Wimbledon

    On a tense, emotion-charged afternoon at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, 21-year-old Czech rising star Linda Noskova delivered one of the most dramatic women’s singles finals in recent Grand Slam history, battling back from the brink of collapse to defeat close friend and compatriot Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 and claim her maiden major title.

    Noskova, the tournament’s ninth seed, appeared set for a straight-sets rout just an hour into the match, holding a commanding 6-2, 5-2 lead and earning five consecutive championship points to close out the win. But as the finish line came into view, nerves got the better of the first-time Grand Slam finalist, allowing 10th seed Muchova to storm back with five straight games to force a deciding third set. The 15,000-strong Centre Court crowd watched in stunned silence as Noskova’s seemingly unassailable lead slipped away, leaving the young contender facing an unexpected battle for the Venus Rosewater Dish.

    What followed was a masterclass in mental resilience. Rather than letting the collapse derail her, Noskova reset her focus, held steady through the decider, and earned a sixth championship point when she stepped up to serve for the title once again. This time, she did not falter: an ace set up match point, and she sealed the win with a clinical service winner that sent her collapsing to the grass in a flood of relief. Muchova, her doubles partner at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was quick to embrace her compatriot at the net, joking post-match that she was now “my ex-friend” before praising Noskova’s mental toughness. “The way you handled it and the way you played was unbelievable. You deserve it,” Muchova said.

    In her emotional on-court victory speech, Noskova paid tribute to her family, and to her mother Ivana, who passed away on the eve of the Wimbledon tournament two years prior. “I wouldn’t be here without her,” she told the crowd, before blowing a kiss to the sky that earned a standing ovation from the stands. She also thanked her father, who traveled to London for the match, saying “I know you don’t like flying so I appreciate it” as she teared up. She later added of her opponent and the milestone: “I’m glad I played my first major final with you and I think we made history today.”

    Noskova’s win cements the Czech Republic’s ongoing dominance at the All England Club, making her the third Czech women’s singles champion in four years, following Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024. Her triumph was watched from the stands by two of Czech tennis’ biggest icons: nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, and two-time winner Petra Kvitova, one of Noskova’s childhood idols.

    Long touted as one of the sport’s most promising young talents, Noskova has lived up to the hype years after she first emerged as a top-ranked junior. She became the youngest player in the WTA top 100 back in 2022, and a run to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open confirmed her ability to compete at the highest level. Entering this year’s Wimbledon, she had already built momentum by winning the grass-court title in Berlin last month, and her run to the fourth round at the 2023 Wimbledon left her feeling confident on the All England Club’s turf.

    This title run was far from easy, even before the dramatic final. Noskova had to save match point against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the third round to keep her tournament alive, making her only the third woman in history to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title after surviving match point earlier in the tournament, following Venus Williams in 2005 and Serena Williams in 2009.

    Along with lifting the iconic Venus Rosewater Dish, Noskova walks away with a £2 million prize purse and a new career-high WTA ranking of seventh in the world, confirming her place among the sport’s elite as she begins what looks set to be a storied Grand Slam career.

  • Typhoon makes landfall in China after forcing nearly two million to flee

    Typhoon makes landfall in China after forcing nearly two million to flee

    A powerful typhoon that carved a destructive path across the Pacific has made landfall in eastern China, forcing nearly 2 million people across multiple regions to abandon their homes for safer ground in one of the largest pre-storm evacuation efforts in recent years. Typhoon Bavi came ashore around 11:20 pm local time Saturday in Yuhuan, a city in China’s coastal Zhejiang province, carrying maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometers per hour, according to the provincial meteorological observatory in a report carried by China’s official Xinhua News Agency.

    Before reaching the Chinese mainland, the storm system already left a wake of disruption across northern Taiwan and Japan’s remote southwestern Ryukyu Islands, toppling urban trees, cutting electrical power to tens of thousands of households, and forcing widespread shutdowns of businesses and transport links. The landfall comes as China has already faced a week of devastating extreme weather across its central and southern regions, where earlier storms killed at least 39 people, swelled dozens of rivers past flood stages, and caused a reservoir dam to collapse.

    Meteorologists forecast Bavi will continue tracking northwest after landfall, gradually weakening as it moves inland. As of Saturday morning, Chinese authorities had already relocated 1.72 million residents in high-risk zones to emergency shelters. In anticipation of the storm’s arrival, Zhejiang suspended all in-person classes, non-essential work, public transport and outdoor events, canceling more than 400 flights and dozens of intercity train services to minimize risk.

    Wenzhou, a major Zhejiang metropolis home to nearly 10 million people, emphasized in an official statement that its full-scale, proactive mobilization left no resource spared, with all efforts focused on preparing for the worst possible outcome. Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed local residents reinforcing shop shutters with wooden planks and applying protective tape to windows, as forecasters warned Bavi would bring exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern Zhejiang and neighboring northeastern Fujian province.

    Further north, torrential pre-emptive rainfall prompted Beijing authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 residents, as the capital increased water discharge flows from the strategic Miyun Reservoir to create extra storage capacity for incoming floodwaters. State media reports show an additional 130,000 residents have been evacuated across Fujian, while roughly 34,000 people left high-risk and coastal areas of Shanghai.

    In northern Taiwan, streets sat largely empty as businesses remained closed for a second consecutive day, battered by strong wind and heavy rain. The storm forced the evacuation of more than 14,000 residents across the island, canceled hundreds of flights, and left more than 170,000 households without power. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration warned of extremely torrential rain across northern sections of the island and dangerous coastal waves reaching up to 10 meters as Bavi passed just north of Taiwan’s coastline.

    The storm system’s origins stretch back to earlier this week, when it made landfall in Guam and the Northern Marianas as a powerful super typhoon before weakening to a standard typhoon as it moved west across the Pacific. The death toll from Bavi has already climbed to 18 in the Philippines, where the storm triggered deadly landslides and flooding, mostly on the southern island of Mindanao. Nearly 11,000 Filipinos have fled their homes, dozens of ports remain closed, and more than 300 vessels have been forced to seek shelter in safe harbors.

    In Japan, thousands of households and public facilities across Okinawa Prefecture lost power when Bavi pounded the southwestern islands, with the Miyako region suffering the worst damage. Japanese carriers canceled dozens of domestic flights, disrupting travel plans for more than 26,000 passengers.

    Climate scientists have linked the increasing intensity of tropical storms like Bavi to rising ocean temperatures. Last week, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service confirmed that oceans globally recorded their hottest June on record, with projections that new temperature records will be set in the coming months. Warmer ocean waters fuel more rapid intensification of tropical cyclones and add more moisture to storm systems, which translates to heavier rainfall when they make landfall. This year’s weather has been further amplified by the return of El Niño, a natural climate pattern that warms Pacific surface temperatures and occurs every two to seven years.

    Initially, forecasters predicted Bavi would become the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in more than 30 years, but CWA senior forecaster Jason Cheng noted the storm’s strong wind radius has since shrunk to 350 kilometers. The shifted forecast and scaled-back impact left some Taiwanese residents frustrated with the early government warnings that prompted widespread shutdowns. “Look at how it caused people to scramble for groceries and clear out supermarket shelves. Honestly, there hasn’t even been much wind or rain these past two days,” said Li, a breakfast shop owner in the northern coastal city of Keelung.

  • Exclusive: Syria, Iraq and US plan to unveil Mediterranean pipeline deal to bypass Strait of Hormuz

    Exclusive: Syria, Iraq and US plan to unveil Mediterranean pipeline deal to bypass Strait of Hormuz

    A landmark transnational energy project is set to move forward after senior Iraqi and regional officials confirmed to Middle East Eye that Iraq, Syria and the United States have reached an agreement to reactivate the decades-old Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, a 500-mile corridor stretching from northern Iraq’s major oil fields to Syria’s Mediterranean coastline. The initiative is framed explicitly as a strategy to reduce Iraq’s overreliance on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has tightened control amid escalating regional tensions tied to the US-Israeli war. The formal unveiling of the agreement is scheduled for next week, during Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s upcoming visit to the White House for talks with US President Donald Trump, sources confirmed.

    Leading the behind-the-scenes negotiations on the US side is Tom Barrack, Trump’s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, who has spent weeks ironing out project details ahead of Zaidi’s trip, which will also include a stop in Texas, America’s core energy production hub. Senior Iraqi sources tell MEE that Barrack has built a strong working partnership with Zaidi, and frames the pipeline project as a blueprint for future US-aligned commercial development across the Levant that would deliver mutual benefits to Washington and regional host governments.

    Originally completed in 1952 by the Iraq Petroleum Company, the pipeline was built to carry up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It was shut down by Baghdad in the 1980s after Syria aligned with Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, then suffered extensive damage following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, leaving it completely non-functional for decades.

    Extensive modernization and reconstruction work will be required to bring the corridor back online, including new storage infrastructure, upgraded pumping stations and replacement electrical systems. One senior regional official told MEE that a full, wholesale replacement of the aging pipeline is the most likely path forward, with a total construction timeline of two to three years. The official added that a consortium of US energy firms has already been assembled to lead the reconstruction effort, a clear signal of the US government’s commitment to advancing the project.

    Initial discussions between Baghdad and the new Syrian government to revive the pipeline first emerged in late 2024, shortly after Islamist militias loyal to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad. Those early talks failed to gain sufficient momentum to move forward, until shifting regional dynamics created new urgency for the project.

    That urgency stems directly from Iran’s expanding control over the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing regional war. In recent months, Iraq has relied on small-scale crude exports via tanker trucks crossing into Syria, but volumes have been far too low to meet Baghdad’s revenue needs.

    “Iraq has started to see Syria in a different light,” independent Iraqi analyst Sarhang Hamasaeed told MEE. “Prior to the war, there was deep skepticism. The reality of the war made it clear that Iraq needs Syria as an alternative export route.”

    Regional sources confirm that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will travel to the US to attend the official signing ceremony for the pipeline agreement. The project comes amid a sweeping reset in US-Syria relations: after al-Sharaa toppled Assad, he aligned with Washington, and now enjoys strong backing from Turkey and Gulf powers including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration has already rolled back multiple layers of sanctions on Syria, including sanctions on al-Sharaa’s former rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which evolved from al-Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front.

    Last week at a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump issued unusually public praise for al-Sharaa, calling him “fantastic” and “highly respected”. The US also announced last week it would remove Syria from its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, a designation the country had held since 1979. The delisting clears a major regulatory hurdle for US firms to participate in the pipeline project.

    Earlier this month, the Iraqi government already approved a preliminary agreement for US firms Capital TI and Chevron, alongside a Qatari energy company, to explore development of both the original Kirkuk-Baniyas route and a second line from the Iraqi oil hub of Haditha in Anbar Province to Baniyas.

    For Iraq, the stakes of the project could not be higher. Roughly 95% of Iraq’s oil exports currently flow through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the country extremely vulnerable to Iran’s chokehold on the waterway. Data from energy analytics firm Vortexa released last month shows that Iraq’s seaborne oil exports in May fell to just 8% of the 2024 average. With oil sales accounting for 90% of the Iraqi government’s annual budget, the disruption has created a severe fiscal crisis for Baghdad, making an alternative export route a matter of national economic survival.

    Baghdad’s ruling coalition is dominated by Shia political parties and militias with close ties to Iran, which have historically been wary of partnering with al-Sharaa, a Sunni leader with a history as a hardline Islamist insurgent. But the acute economic pressure from disrupted Hormuz exports has pushed Baghdad to prioritize the project despite internal opposition.

  • Trump says US ready to ‘destroy’ Iran after Israeli intelligence warns of ‘assassination plot’

    Trump says US ready to ‘destroy’ Iran after Israeli intelligence warns of ‘assassination plot’

    Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran have reached a new boiling point after former U.S. President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary threat of overwhelming military retaliation against Tehran, following Israeli intelligence warnings of an alleged plot to assassinate him. The dramatic escalation comes as a previously Pakistan-brokered ceasefire between the two nations teeters on collapse, marked by new airstrikes, fresh sanctions, and dueling accusations of broken commitments.

    According to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous intelligence sources, Israeli security agencies recently shared new details of what they described as a “specific” and “active” Iranian plan to target Trump with Washington. CNN further confirmed that the intelligence prompted elevated security precautions, leading the U.S. Secret Service to request a last-minute change to Trump’s travel itinerary following the NATO summit held in Washington D.C.. Trump ultimately departed the region aboard an older aircraft, while his newer, Qatari-donated jet was sent separately to his next destination in the United Kingdom, a shift directly tied to the newly uncovered threat.

    In a fiery post shared on his Truth Social platform, Trump doubled down on the warnings, announcing that 1,000 American missiles are already locked and targeted at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more waiting to be deployed immediately should Tehran move forward with the alleged plot. “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able – for a one year period of time, subject to extension – to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” the post read.

    The threatening rhetoric comes amid a rapidly unraveling interim truce agreed through a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding just one month prior. Earlier this week, the U.S. launched two consecutive nights of airstrikes across six Iranian cities, which Iranian officials say killed 17 people and wounded another 115. On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting Mojtaba Khamenei, a key financier linked to Iran’s supreme leader, alongside 13 additional individuals and entities – a move that directly violates the terms of the interim agreement, according to Iranian officials.

    Paragraph 9 of the signed MoU explicitly prohibits the U.S. from imposing new sanctions or deploying additional military forces to the region, while allowing Iran to maintain its current nuclear program status. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to social media platform X to condemn the actions, noting that Iran has strictly upheld its end of the agreement while Washington has flagrantly violated its commitments. “Iran has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary who is violating Para 9 of the MoU,” Araghchi wrote, adding that “there can only be mutual compliance” moving forward.

    Even amid the open hostilities, Trump confirmed that negotiations toward a final comprehensive peace agreement with Iran will continue, despite declaring the month-old ceasefire “over.” The outbreak of renewed violence was sparked by attacks on Qatari and Saudi oil tankers near the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, which triggered the U.S. airstrikes and subsequent Iranian missile and drone strikes on U.S.-affiliated military sites across the Middle East.

    Trump stated on social media that Iran itself requested that talks continue, and the U.S. has agreed to move forward with negotiations, even as the truce is no longer in effect. However, Iranian lead negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rejected any claims that Tehran would surrender to U.S. pressure, stressing that Iran has maintained full military preparedness in case Washington fully abandons the interim agreement. “We have never stopped preparing to defend our country, and if at any moment the Americans betray the understanding, we are ready for full-scale defence,” Ghalibaf said. “Ending the war is a priority for the countries of the world, but everyone should know that this conflict will never end with Iran’s surrender.”

    Pakistan, which has served as the primary mediator for the talks between Washington and Tehran, has stepped in to urge de-escalation. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, where he emphasized the urgent need for both parties to uphold the terms of the MoU and work to restore regional stability.

    Senior U.S. officials speaking to CBS News offered a nuanced perspective on the recent tanker attacks, noting that Iranian representatives have attributed the assaults to rogue hardline factions that seek to derail diplomatic negotiations. “They came back to the table and said, ‘We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let’s keep talking,’” one unnamed senior official told the network.

    This report was originally published by Middle East Eye, which provides independent, in-depth coverage of the Middle East, North Africa, and surrounding regions.

  • Sixteen starve to death in Uganda as drought kills crops

    Sixteen starve to death in Uganda as drought kills crops

    A devastating prolonged drought in Uganda’s northeastern semi-arid Karamoja region has left at least 16 people dead from hunger in recent weeks, according to official government statements, renewing long-running concerns over the region’s growing vulnerability to climate-driven food insecurity.

    Local farming communities report that staple crops including maize, sorghum, and soybeans have entirely failed this growing season. Since April, when the annual planting period begins, the region has recorded barely any rainfall — leaving parched fields and withered crops that have destroyed all hopes of a productive harvest. Thousands of households across Karamoja now face acute food shortages after losing their entire seasonal crop yield.

    Climate and agricultural experts point to a combination of overlapping drivers that have put the region on a cycle of recurring hunger crises. Recurring climate change-fueled low rainfall patterns, combined with widespread deforestation, unsustainable overgrazing, and persistent crop pest outbreaks, have steadily eroded the ability of local communities to withstand dry spells, leaving them increasingly exposed to severe food shortages. To address these systemic risks, experts are calling for long-term interventions: improved weather forecasting to help communities prepare for drought, expanded public investment in irrigation infrastructure, and wider adoption of drought-resistant crop varieties that can survive extended dry conditions.

    Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja announced that her office will request cabinet approval on Monday to allocate additional funding and acquire emergency food supplies for the affected region. The government has already begun rolling out initial emergency food aid distributions to hard-hit communities, but the scale of the crisis has left policymakers scrambling to scale up support.

    This is not the first time Karamoja has faced a catastrophic hunger emergency. A 2022 report from Uganda’s official human rights commission documented that more than 2,200 people died from starvation and hunger-related illnesses in the country’s northeast during that year’s drought. That crisis sparked national outrage after then-Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem drew widespread condemnation for calling hunger victims “idiots”, claiming that Uganda’s generally favorable climate and fertile land meant people should always be able to grow enough food to feed themselves.

    Karamoja’s long-standing pattern of drought-driven hunger has underscored growing warnings across East Africa that climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, pushing marginalized rural communities into repeated cycles of crisis that require both emergency aid and long-term adaptive investment.

  • Merlier wins eighth stage of the Tour de France in bunch sprint

    Merlier wins eighth stage of the Tour de France in bunch sprint

    The 2024 Tour de France delivered yet another thrilling display of sprinting prowess on Saturday, as Belgian rider Tim Merlier pulled off a remarkable comeback victory to claim the eighth stage title in a chaotic bunch sprint finish in the Dordogne region. This win marks Merlier’s second consecutive sprint stage victory and his fifth overall Tour de France stage win across just three appearances in cycling’s most prestigious grand tour.

    Long before the finish line came into view, the stage was widely predicted to end in a mass sprint showdown. The 175.6-kilometer route through Dordogne, a region famous for its rolling hills, medieval castles, and prehistoric cave art, offered few natural obstacles to break up the peloton, setting the stage for the sport’s top fast finishers to compete for the win.

    Early in the stage, a three-man breakaway formed, featuring Belgian Liam Slock, Czech rider Jakub Otruba, and Frenchman Thibault Guernalec. The escape group built a lead of more than two minutes over the peloton at its maximum, but as the race approached the final climbs, their advantage began to melt away. On the 2.2-kilometer Cote du Buisson-de-Cadouin climb, Otruba launched an attack, only for Slock to power past him and strike out on his own solo bid for victory with 40 kilometers remaining.

    Slock, who went viral on social media last month after securing his first pro win despite crashing meters before the line at the Gippingen Grand Prix in Switzerland, held off the peloton valiantly for more than 30 kilometers. But the combined pressure of sprinters’ teams chasing a bunch finish dragged him back just 1.3 kilometers from the line, ending his fairy tale bid for an upset win.

    In the chaotic final kilometers, Merlier looked certain to miss out on the win after getting boxed in and caught out of position heading into the final turn. Former world champion Mathieu van der Poel worked to lead out his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen for the sprint, and Merlier was caught on the wrong side of a split when van der Poel accelerated early. But the Soudal Quick-Step sprinter dug deep, launching a searing long-range charge from distance to overhaul every rival ahead of him.

    In the final dash to the line, Merlier crossed first ahead of Ethiopian star Biniam Girmay, who finished second, while Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij—winner of the Tour’s first sprint stage on Wednesday—took third. Speaking after the finish, Merlier downplayed claims that he has established himself as the dominant sprinter in this year’s race, highlighting the fight he put in to secure position.

    “I needed to fight for my position all the time until the last minute,” Merlier told reporters. “Just before the corner, I was a bit boxed in, and then they almost crashed. I thought it was over, so I gave it a try to come back off the guys who did the lead out. I was coming with so much speed.”

    With this back-to-back sprint wins, Merlier now sits just 15 points behind green jersey leader Mads Pedersen of Denmark in the battle for the sprinters’ classification. Reflecting on his performance so far in this year’s Tour, Merlier said: “If you win one, you can win a second, and I’m happy. Three sprint stages, I won two. This is definitely my Tour de France.”

  • Merlier wins stage 8 of Tour as race favorite Pogačar keeps yellow jersey

    Merlier wins stage 8 of Tour as race favorite Pogačar keeps yellow jersey

    BERGERAC, France — The 2025 Tour de France delivered another dramatic day of racing Saturday, as Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier notched a fifth career Tour de France stage victory and a second consecutive win with a perfectly timed sprint finish on Stage 8, while defending champion Tadej Pogačar retained the overall race lead and the iconic yellow jersey. The 180-kilometer route stretching from the southwestern French town of Périgueux to southeastern Bergerac played out under sweltering, record-breaking temperatures, part of the ongoing heatwave that has gripped western Europe during this year’s race.

    Four-time Tour champion Pogačar finished safely within the main peloton alongside his biggest overall contender, two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard, and preserved his commanding 2-minute 42-second advantage over Vingegaard in the general classification. Pogačar’s young teammate Isaac del Toro remains in third place overall after eight days of racing.

    Speaking on the grueling heat conditions that tested every rider in the peloton, the Slovenian champion emphasized the extreme challenges of racing in high temperatures. “Just like every day, a lot of water and keep cooling the body down,” Pogačar said after finishing the stage. “The body gets tired in the heat. Definitely we need to be careful and keep cooling down, take care of nutrition, hydration.”

    The sprint finale mirrored the dynamics of Stage 7, with Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel putting in a hard early effort to position his teammate Jasper Philipsen for the run to the line. However, the team’s attack launched too soon, opening the door for Merlier to navigate a chaotic sprint that nearly ended in a crash, before timing his finishing kick to perfection to cross the line first.

    “I needed to fight for my position all the time … I almost crashed, thought it was over,” Merlier told reporters after the stage. “In this heat it was a really difficult effort.”

    Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay claimed second place in the stage, while Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished third. All three top sprinters clocked the same official stage time of 3 hours 52 minutes and 50 seconds.

    The extreme heat has already forced changes to the race’s upcoming schedule. Tour organizers announced Saturday evening that Sunday’s Stage 9, originally planned as an 185.5-kilometer hilly route from Malemort to Ussel in central France, will be shortened by 30 kilometers to 155.5 kilometers. The adjustment comes after the local department hosting the stage was placed on red heat alert, prioritizing rider safety amid dangerous high temperatures. This year’s Tour de France will conclude with its traditional final stage finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 26.

  • Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over Air Force One reporting

    Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over Air Force One reporting

    A dramatic collision between press freedom and federal law enforcement has erupted in the United States after The New York Times confirmed multiple of its reporters have been subpoenaed to give sworn testimony before a federal grand jury, stemming from the outlet’s reporting on alleged national security flaws linked to former President Donald Trump’s newly gifted Qatari Air Force One plane.

    Federal agents personally delivered the court orders to the reporters’ private residences, requiring their appearance before the panel in Manhattan this coming Wednesday. The investigation, launched by the Department of Justice (DOJ), centers on alleged illegal leaks of classified national security information connected to the reporting. The subpoenas make clear that testimony is sought to probe a suspected violation of federal criminal law, the Times confirmed.

    The controversy traces back to last year, when the Qatari government gifted the U.S. a pre-owned Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, valued at roughly $400 million, as an unconditional donation to join the Air Force One fleet. Trump formally unveiled the aircraft in a public event last month, with the U.S. Air Force asserting at the time that the luxury jet had already undergone modifications to meet presidential transport requirements, including upgrades to security systems, mission communications, logistics infrastructure and advanced technology. The service also added that any potential security risks carried over from the jet’s previous use had been fully neutralized.

    But in July 2026, amid rising tensions with Iran that included ongoing U.S. military strikes, the Times published a pair of explosive reports citing anonymous government sources. The outlet claimed that during Trump’s return trip from a NATO summit held in Turkey, U.S. Secret Service officials pressured Trump to abandon the new Qatari-gifted jet and switch to an older, proven Air Force One aircraft due to unaddressed security gaps. Reporters later elaborated that security officials warned the newer aircraft lacked critical defensive features, including advanced anti-missile capabilities needed to protect the sitting president. Multiple other major U.S. news outlets, including CBS News—partner outlet of the BBC in the U.S.—published matching reporting, with a former senior U.S. government official telling CBS that there had not been sufficient time or funding to retrofit the jet to meet all mandatory Air Force One security standards.

    When asked about the security concerns during a press appearance this week, Trump downplayed the risks, telling reporters: ‘I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.’

    The DOJ has defended its investigation in an official statement to the BBC, acknowledging the vital constitutional role of a free press in American democracy but arguing the department has a core responsibility to enforce rules governing classified information. ‘We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information,’ the statement read.

    For its part, The New York Time’s chief newsroom legal counsel David McCraw has decried the subpoenas as an unprecedented attack on press freedom. In sharp remarks, McCraw called the move a ‘brazen act’ that amounts to nothing less than a deliberate attempt to chill investigative journalism, saying it is designed to intimidate reporters and block the American public from learning information that is clearly in the public interest. ‘Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,’ McCraw added.

    Under U.S. law, the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by government insiders is classified as a federal criminal offense. At the same time, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides strong protections for press freedom, shielding journalists who publish information that serves the public good from prosecution in most cases. Grand juries, which are composed of ordinary citizens convened by the federal government, are tasked with reviewing evidence collected by prosecutors to determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to bring criminal charges against a suspect or suspects.