Global Pulse

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  • Russian fuel shortages bite – but will Putin change tack in Ukraine war?

    Russian fuel shortages bite – but will Putin change tack in Ukraine war?

    Across Russia, even in the resource-rich capital of Moscow, a severe fuel crisis has brought the far-reaching consequences of the ongoing Ukraine conflict directly to ordinary citizens’ daily lives. A day of travel through Moscow’s streets reveals a consistent scene: lengthy queues of passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles snake out from nearly every operating petrol station, while any forecourt without a line has already run dry and closed its gates.

    For a country that ranks among the world’s top crude oil producers, this widespread shortage of gasoline and diesel has come as a shock to many residents. Even in the nation’s wealthiest, most well-supplied capital, federal and local authorities have failed to maintain steady fuel distribution for motorists. Among those waiting in lines, the prevailing mood is frustration rather than open rage, though quiet anxiety over future supplies simmers beneath the surface.

    Yekaterina, one motorist stuck in a queue, acknowledged widespread panic driven by fears of total fuel depletion, but expressed hope that restructuring distribution networks would resolve the issue. Elmar, another driver planning a long-distance trip to Dagestan, complained of skyrocketing prices and hours wasted waiting to refuel, saying he now doubts whether he can safely make the journey by car. When asked to identify who was responsible for the crisis, he offered a knowing, cautious smile, noting that open criticism of leadership is not something most Russians feel comfortable sharing in public. Valery, meanwhile, pointed to both systemic unpreparedness and Ukrainian missile strikes on energy infrastructure as contributing factors, saying it is absurd for a major oil-producing nation to face such widespread shortages, and expressed hope for a quick resolution to the chaos.

    The roots of the crisis stretch back to escalating Ukrainian drone and missile strikes targeting Russian oil refineries deep within Russian territory, including facilities within striking distance of Moscow. These strikes have disrupted domestic refining capacity, leaving the country unable to meet even baseline domestic fuel demand. The situation has been exacerbated by internet restrictions that limit the spread of real-time information about fuel availability, allowing panic to spread faster than accurate updates.

    Social media platforms are flooded with user-posted images of queues stretching for miles, and reports of violent scuffles between frustrated drivers have become common. In the Black Sea coastal resort of Anapa, local Cossack units have been deployed to maintain order at crowded petrol stations. Fuel rationing is now in place across most regions, many areas have banned the use of portable jerry cans to prevent bulk hoarding, a Siberian mayor has arranged for portable toilets to be installed for drivers waiting multiple hours in lines, and local governments have been forced to cut back on public bus routes and municipal rubbish collection due to fuel shortages. Farmers across the country are already warning that the crisis could derail the critical summer harvest, threatening food security as well as energy supplies.

    The shift in public mood is already visible in independent and state-run polling. Independent pollster Levada Center recorded a drop in President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating to roughly 74%, while the share of Russians who believe the country is moving in the right direction fell 9 percentage points to just 52% between May and July. Last week, Gallup reported that Russian pessimism about the national economy has hit a 20-year high, with 60% of respondents saying local economic conditions are worsening. Even state-run polling firm VCIOM recorded a 3.4 percentage point drop in public trust in Putin over one week, falling to 73%.

    In Kyiv, military and political strategists are counting on this growing public frustration to build enough domestic pressure to force the Kremlin to enter peace negotiations. That expectation is shared by some NATO leaders gathering in Ankara, who are watching the economic turmoil closely for signs of political cracks in the Kremlin.

    The Kremlin has not ignored the growing discontent. Putin publicly addressed the shortage on state-run television, acknowledging that Ukrainian strikes have “obviously created problems” but insisting the situation is not critical. Even as he downplays the severity, authorities have moved quickly to mitigate the crisis: they have ramped up fuel imports, introduced price subsidies to cap rising costs, and authorized the sale of lower-grade fuel that many experts warn could damage vehicle engines.

    Analysts are divided on whether the fuel crisis will shift the Kremlin’s strategic course on the war. Christopher Weafer, head of regional consultancy Macro Advisory, called the shortage a potential “game-changer” for Russian economic growth, noting that “the costs of the conflict are rising. While the full impact from the fuel crisis will not be seen in the statistics until July, the likelihood of lasting crisis has significantly dimmed the growth prospects for the remaining part of the year.”

    Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at The New School in New York, argues that Western hopes for public pressure forcing Putin to the negotiating table are misplaced. “The more pressure he feels, the more likely he would act aggressively and repressively,” she explained. “I think it is serious, but the Western expectation that Russians are going to just take down the regime is very far-fetched.” She added that while many Russians feel anger and desperation, there is also widespread resignation to the current situation, making broad public opposition unlikely.

    All current indicators suggest Putin is doubling down on his military strategy rather than backing down. Last Friday, he was filmed meeting with frontline commanders in military fatigues, where he claimed ongoing victories on the front line and pledged to seize additional Ukrainian territory. “The Russian Armed Forces continue to confidently hold the strategic initiative in the special military operation zone,” he stated. He also ordered commanders to analyze the involvement of Ukraine’s European allies in what he calls “real combat actions” that are prolonging the conflict, saying the analysis would inform future decision-making. The vague, charged statement has raised alarm in diplomatic and military circles, leaving Western capitals questioning what escalation Putin may pursue next.

  • A southern Chinese region reels from floods and destruction from remnants of tropical storm

    A southern Chinese region reels from floods and destruction from remnants of tropical storm

    As remnants of Tropical Storm Maysak dumped historic volumes of rain across southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, authorities and local residents are grappling with widespread destruction, massive displacement, and a growing humanitarian crisis that emerged by Wednesday. As of Tuesday evening, regional officials confirmed six fatalities and 11 people still unaccounted for in the flood disaster, with more than 130,000 local residents forced to evacuate their inundated communities, according to the region’s official propaganda office.

    Many stranded residents remained trapped in affected areas waiting for emergency rescue teams to reach them, even days after the worst of the rainfall began. Lu Xiaofei, a professional working in the nearby tech hub of Shenzhen, shared details of her brother’s trapped family in Lu Village, located in Guangxi’s Qintang District. Her brother, his wife, their 9-month-old infant, his parents, and elderly grandfather have been confined to the second floor of their home, after floodwaters rose to more than the height of an adult. Since Tuesday morning, the household has been cut off from both electricity and running water, Lu told the Associated Press in a phone interview.

    Lu added that her brother reported flood levels climbed further overnight, leaving the family in an increasingly desperate situation: their supplies of drinkable water are nearly exhausted, and local emergency responders have not yet reached their community. Dozens of nearby villagers face identical unaddressed crises, she said. Many other trapped residents have turned to social media to plead for assistance, posting footage of their submerged neighborhoods and drawing public attention to critical shortages of food, water, and emergency supplies.

    Local Chinese outlet Litchi News has also reported a secondary hazard spreading through Hengzhou City: snakes from commercial breeding facilities were swept away by floodwaters and are now loose across populated areas. Multiple residents have reported the loose snakes attempting to enter local homes, with more than a dozen people already bitten by the wandering reptiles, according to a local villager quoted by the outlet.

    China’s National Meteorological Center confirmed that relentless heavy rain has pummeled central-eastern and southern districts of Guangxi since last Saturday. Cumulative rainfall totals have hit between 100 and 400 millimeters (4 to 16 inches) across most affected areas, while the hardest-hit locations have recorded more than 900 millimeters (35 inches) of total precipitation. Forecasters warned that additional heavy rainfall would continue to batter the region through Wednesday, worsening already dangerous flood conditions. In response to safety risks, multiple regional passenger train services have been suspended indefinitely.

    As Guangxi continues its emergency response to Maysak’s aftermath, a new severe weather threat is already approaching southeastern China: Super Typhoon Bavi is projected to make landfall in the region over the coming weekend. The extreme weather disaster in China is part of a broader pattern of deadly monsoon and tropical storm activity across South and East Asia this season. In southeastern Bangladesh, monsoon rain-triggered landslides have killed multiple Rohingya refugees, including five children, while neighboring India has seen more than a dozen fatalities from severe monsoon flooding across its northern and eastern regions over the past three days.

    This reporting featured contributions from AP writer Fu Ting based in Washington, D.C.

  • Oil prices jump nearly 6% after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’

    Oil prices jump nearly 6% after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’

    Global financial markets faced a day of heightened volatility on Wednesday, driven by a sudden escalation of geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran that sent crude oil prices jumping sharply, while a painful correction in overinflated artificial intelligence-related equities dragged most major global indexes lower.

    The market upheaval began after U.S. President Donald Trump announced from the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey that the interim ceasefire agreement with Iran is effectively “over,” even as he left the door open for continued diplomatic negotiations. Trump’s announcement came in direct response to recent attacks on three commercial vessels operating in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which preceded new U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets.

    Within hours of Trump’s comments, international oil benchmarks surged by more than 5%: Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 5.6% to top $78 per barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate benchmark jumped 5.8% to settle at $74.55 a barrel. This sharp reversal comes after oil prices had steadily declined from peaks above $100 a barrel, returning to roughly pre-conflict levels seen before the U.S.-Iran war began in late February.

    The existing 60-day interim ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran had opened the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil trade, to unobstructed free passage. But the agreement has been fraught with tension from the start: Iran has maintained its right to control vessel routing through the strait and has vowed to impose transit fees once the interim deal expires, a move that would upend decades of established open access practice for the waterway. Tuesday’s attacks targeted ships that were all following the traditional routing along Oman’s coastline, rather than the new route mandated by Tehran, setting off the latest cycle of escalation.

    The geopolitical shock to oil markets arrived alongside a growing wave of investor anxiety that the months-long AI stock boom has pushed valuations far beyond what underlying productivity and profit gains can support, even after massive investments in chip manufacturing capacity and data center infrastructure.

    Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, noted in a Wednesday market commentary that geopolitical developments will almost certainly drive short-term market sentiment. “A further deterioration in the situation could weigh further on equity valuations along with rising stress in technology,” she warned.

    The investor sell-off hit European markets first: Germany’s DAX index fell 1.1% to close at 25,191.69, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.9% to 8,358.67, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slid 0.8% to 10,579.09. U.S. equity futures also pointed to further declines ahead of the opening bell, with S&P 500 futures edging 0.1% lower and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down 0.4%.

    Across Asian trading sessions, losses were even steeper for AI-heavy indexes. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.1% to 66,819.05, while South Korea’s Kospi plummeted 5.4% to 7,246.79. The South Korean benchmark has seen extreme whipsaw movement in recent weeks, briefly topping the 9,000 mark last month before entering a sharp correction driven by heavy selling of top tech stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, two of the world’s largest memory chip manufacturers for AI systems. Samsung extended its losses to fall 6.3% in early Wednesday trading, after a 7% drop the previous session, while SK Hynix gave up early gains to close 5.7% lower.

    Not all Asian markets moved lower: Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.6%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 3% to 24,193.56, led by a 14% surge in shares of Chinese AI startup Zhipu (also known as Z.ai, traded as Knowledge Atlas Technology). The company made its $558 million Hong Kong trading debut in early January, and a six-month lock-up period for its cornerstone investors was set to expire this week. Market analysts had previously warned the expiration could trigger a large sell-off, but state-owned China National Radio reported late Tuesday that nearly 70% of cornerstone investors have committed to retaining their holdings. Zhipu’s share price has already soared more than 1,300% since its January debut, defying broader market caution. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index bucked the Hong Kong trend to decline 0.5% to 3,970.88, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% and India’s Sensex lost 0.7%.

    The AI stock sell-off first began on Wall Street on Tuesday, when the sector’s roller-coaster rally reversed sharply to drag the broader market lower. The Nasdaq composite, which has a heavy weighting toward tech and AI stocks, fell 1.2%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.4% and the Dow fell 0.2% despite a majority of individual S&P 500 stocks posting gains. Top semiconductor stocks bore the brunt of the selling: Advanced Micro Devices fell 6.5%, Intel dropped 9.7%, and Micron Technology lost 4.7%. Even SpaceX, parent company of AI firm xAI, fell 6.8% in its first trading day after being added to the Nasdaq 100 index.

    In currency markets, the U.S. dollar saw mild gains, rising slightly to 162.26 Japanese yen from 162.11 yen in the previous session, while the euro edged up to $1.1426 from $1.1414.

  • UN officials urge Western nations to engage with Afghanistan to prevent it sliding into instability

    UN officials urge Western nations to engage with Afghanistan to prevent it sliding into instability

    Two senior United Nations leaders have issued a stark warning to Western nations: continued disengagement from Afghanistan risks pushing the conflict-weary country back into widespread instability, with ripple effects that will extend far beyond its borders. The warning came during a joint visit to Afghanistan by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih and UN Development Program chief Alexander De Croo, who spoke to The Associated Press in a shared interview Tuesday. Salih, who joined the conversation via video link, emphasized that recent global policy toward Afghanistan has delivered a clear lesson: turning a blind eye to the country’s crises serves no one’s interests.

    “Despite the long list of unresolved challenges this nation faces, it is far more prudent to remain engaged, provide targeted support and back policy reforms that keep Afghanistan stable and secure,” Salih said. Without active international engagement, he added, the world risks a resurgence of instability that fuels transnational threats including drug trafficking, violent extremism, organized criminal activity and large-scale refugee displacement.

    After four decades of continuous armed conflict, Afghanistan is an impoverished nation almost entirely reliant on international aid, and it currently grapples with a cascading series of overlapping crises that compound one another: devastating natural disasters amplified by accelerating climate change, and the largest single wave of returning refugees the globe has witnessed in 70 years. “In Afghanistan, you never face just one crisis at a time,” De Croo explained to reporters. “Crises stack one on top of the other, and that layered pressure is what we see shaping daily life here right now.”

    Since 2023, nearly 6 million Afghans have been forced to return to their home country, the overwhelming majority expelled from neighboring Pakistan and Iran amid harsh government crackdowns on undocumented migrants. UN projections indicate an additional 2 million Afghans could be forced to return in 2025, placing already strained local communities under unprecedented pressure. With widespread poverty endemic across Afghanistan and acute malnutrition threatening the lives of the most vulnerable groups, most host communities already operate with barely enough resources to support their existing populations.

    Already difficult conditions have been made far worse by deep cuts to international aid, and the Taliban government’s systemic exclusion of half the country’s population: since seizing power in August 2021, following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO troops, the Taliban has banned women and girls from accessing secondary and higher education, and barred women from working in most sectors of the economy. Afghanistan also remains largely diplomatically isolated: no Western country has extended formal recognition to the Taliban-led government, though Russia became the first major global power to grant recognition in 2025. A small crack in this isolation emerged last month, when a Taliban government delegation traveled to Brussels to hold talks with European Union officials focused on diplomatic cooperation and the repatriation of Afghans residing in European countries.

    Against this daunting backdrop, the two UN leaders acknowledged that unexpected progress has been made in key policy areas, most notably public security, anti-corruption efforts and the reduction of illicit drug production. “I would not ignore the progress that has been achieved — progress few observers would have predicted possible just five years ago,” De Croo said. He highlighted that opium production, for which Afghanistan was long the world’s largest supplier, has dropped by 95% since the Taliban government launched a national poppy eradication campaign.

    De Croo stressed that if the international community abandons Afghanistan now, the negative consequences will not be contained within the country’s borders. “If Western nations want to live in peaceful, stable societies, that goal cannot be achieved through domestic policy alone,” he explained. “Your own peace and stability depends on peace and stability in your broader neighborhood.”

    The draconian national restrictions imposed on women and girls remain the single biggest point of tension between the Taliban government and the global community. The UN leaders confirmed they raised the issue directly during meetings with Afghan officials during their visit, and both argued that constructive, sustained engagement is the only path to incremental progress on the issue. “We hope that constructive engagement will open a path forward to reform,” Salih said. “Tangible progress and inclusive policy reforms are essential to building a political system that serves all Afghans.”

    Deep cuts to international aid have already left measurable, lasting damage across the country, De Croo confirmed. Over the past 12 months alone, 422 medical facilities have been forced to shut down because of lost funding, leaving more than 3 million Afghans without access to basic primary healthcare. Earlier this year, the World Food Program announced that funding shortfalls had forced it to turn away three out of every four acutely malnourished children seeking life-saving nutritional support.

    While the Taliban launched its poppy eradication campaign shortly after taking power, De Croo noted that the sharp drop in opium production was also supported by international programs that provided alternative crop options for farming households dependent on poppy cultivation. Funding for these programs has been slashed dramatically amid broader international aid cuts, raising fears that poppy production could rebound if support is not restored. “If we cannot continue working with farmers to provide them with viable alternatives to drug production, we risk seeing the entire trade reemerge,” De Croo warned.

    Although global media and political attention has shifted away from Afghanistan in recent years, Salih noted that despite all the country’s challenges, the current moment offers a critical opening for the international community to reengage. “It is vital to remind the world that the cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of sustained engagement,” Salih said. “The truth is simple: you cannot ignore Afghanistan, and the problems that emerge in Afghanistan will not stay contained in Afghanistan.”

  • ‘Robbed’: Egypt-Argentina match sparks accusations of World Cup bias

    ‘Robbed’: Egypt-Argentina match sparks accusations of World Cup bias

    A dramatic late comeback victory for Argentina against Egypt in the World Cup round of 16 has been drowned out by widespread controversy, with Egyptian players, coaching staff, fans, and high-profile public figures calling out a series of lopsided key refereeing decisions that they claim cost Egypt a historic quarter-final spot. Egypt looked set to secure a stunning upset after jumping out to a 2-0 lead early in the second half, holding the advantage deep into the closing stages of the match. But Argentina flipped the script with three unanswered late goals, snatching a stoppage-time winner to seal a 3-2 win and advance to the final eight. What should have been a celebration of one of the most dramatic knockout-stage comebacks in recent World Cup history quickly turned into a national outcry for Egypt, with multiple questionable calls at critical junctures sparking fury over biased officiating. The most high-profile dispute came over a disallowed Egypt goal that would have put the North African side 3-1 up, a call that Egyptian camp says changed the entire trajectory of the match. The Egyptian side also had repeated late penalty appeals turned down by officials, and protests from the Egyptian bench were ignored in the moments before Argentina’s match-winning stoppage-time goal. Scenes of anger played out on the touchline immediately after key calls, with members of Egypt’s coaching staff surrounding officials to contest decisions, and players confronting match referees over the rulings. The frustration spilled over onto social media platform X, where thousands of fans and dozens of high-profile figures weighed in to condemn the inconsistent officiating, with many arguing the lopsided calls robbed Egypt of a fair shot at advancing. In his post-match press conference, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan did not hold back in his criticism, insisting his side was the better team on the pitch and that the final result was fundamentally unfair. He questioned the logic behind the disallowed Egypt goal, and raised eyebrows by suggesting that tournament organizers had implicit “marketing” incentives to keep the previous World Cup champions in the competition. Despite the disappointment, Hassan praised his players’ effort, saying they had delivered everything the nation asked of them. Egyptian winger Mustafa Ziko was visibly overcome with emotion in his post-match interview, breaking down in tears as he accused the referee of unfair officiating. He said the incorrect calls had wasted the hard work and hope of an entire nation, and labelled the entire tournament’s officiating in the match as biased. The criticism extended far beyond the Egyptian camp, with prominent global figures from sports, politics, and other fields adding their voices to the outcry. Former world chess champion and political commentator Garry Kasparov highlighted the clear inconsistency in rulings: he pointed out that Egypt’s goal was disallowed for a minor foul far from the goalmouth, but an identical scenario just minutes later that led to an Argentina goal was allowed to stand. He went further, calling FIFA a “corrupt joke” and accusing the governing body of favoring high-profile star teams. Former England captain and legendary striker Alan Shearer, now a leading football pundit, echoed the criticism of inconsistent decision-making, writing on X that “Either both are fouls or neither is a foul. But they’re not going to re-referee they told us.” BBC Sport football correspondent Dale Johnson also argued that the ruling to disallow Egypt’s goal ran completely counter to the officiating standard used throughout the entire tournament. He noted that match officials had adopted a “light touch” approach to minor contact for the entirety of the competition, making it inexplicable that they would overturn a goal for a very minor shirt-tugging incident via VAR. Football analyst Geronimo Morgans added another layer of criticism, pointing out that VAR failed to review two clear fouls against Egyptian players inside the Argentina penalty area in the build-up to Argentina’s equalizing goal scored by Enzo Fernandez, while a far less significant foul was used to overturn Egypt’s valid second goal. “Why does the treatment have to be so one-sided?” he asked, concluding that “Egypt have been robbed.” Even Egyptian Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei waded into the debate, writing on X that FIFA had “lost a lot of credibility and trust” for reasons “known to everyone.” Former British ambassador and political commentator Craig Murray summed up the widespread sentiment of foul play with a viral quip: “Not my invention, but FIFA = Fixing It For Argentina has been blatant.” For Argentina, the controversial win moves them forward to the World Cup quarter-finals, where they will turn their focus to their next matchup. For Egypt, the tournament ends far earlier than the team and its supporters hoped, bringing an end to an impressive unbeaten campaign that captured the imagination of the football world. The early exit leaves a bitter taste for the Egyptian camp, who remain united in their belief that they were denied a fair opportunity to continue their historic World Cup run through lopsided officiating.

  • US cancels waiver allowing Iran oil sales as Gulf vessels attacked

    US cancels waiver allowing Iran oil sales as Gulf vessels attacked

    Escalating tensions in the Gulf region have triggered a major shift in US policy toward Iran, with the Trump administration announcing Tuesday it will revoke a temporary license that had eased oil sanctions on Tehran. The decision comes in direct response to a series of targeted attacks on commercial vessels operating in the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, with both Qatar and Saudi Arabia formally blaming Iran for the incidents that have put global energy security at risk.

    The sanctions waiver, which had allowed Iran to produce, export, and ship crude oil and related petroleum products through August 21, was a core compromise in ongoing negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire to end long-running hostilities in the Middle East. The relief had represented the primary economic incentive the US extended to encourage Iranian cooperation in peace talks, a concession that had already emerged as a major sticking point in discussions between the two sides.

    Within a window of just a few hours on Tuesday, three separate commercial tankers came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest and most vital maritime chokepoints for global energy trade. Among the damaged vessels was a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker that was traveling off the coast of Oman when the attack occurred, according to Qatari government officials and independent maritime monitors.

    In response to the incident, Qatar’s foreign ministry issued a formal condemnation, summoning Iran’s deputy ambassador to Doha to file an official diplomatic complaint. “We demand a full explanation for this unacceptable act and call on Iran to immediately cease any practices that undermine regional security, and refrain from endangering the safety of international shipping and global energy supplies,” the ministry said in an official statement. A second, Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker was also struck in the same area of the Gulf, per announcements from the Saudi foreign ministry, which also publicly blamed Iran for the assault.

    While Iran has not issued any formal claim of responsibility for the attacks, it has been locked in a tense standoff with regional powers over shipping routes in the strait in recent days. Tehran has pushed back against the growing trend of commercial vessels bypassing Iranian territorial waters to use an alternative southern route through Omani territorial waters, a shift that has cut into Iranian revenue and leverage over regional maritime traffic.

    In comments to AFP, a senior United States official reiterated Washington’s firm stance against Tehran’s actions in the region: “Iran’s actions in the strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences.” The revocation of the sanctions waiver quickly rippled through global energy markets, with Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, surging nearly 5% in trading as investors priced in heightened geopolitical risk and potential disruptions to energy supplies.

  • A mountain of rubbish in Indonesia has been on fire for more than a week

    A mountain of rubbish in Indonesia has been on fire for more than a week

    An eight-day underground fire that has ravaged a massive open-air waste mountain on the outskirts of Jakarta has pushed hundreds of residents from their homes, pushed local hospitals to treat a surge of respiratory illness, and laid bare a systemic national waste management crisis decades in the making. The inferno, which ignited on June 30 at the Jatiwaringin Landfill in Tangerang Regency, has spread across more than 15 hectares of piled waste, blanketing nearby residential neighborhoods in thick, toxic smoke that pushed local air quality into hazardous levels, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment.

    Initial investigations by environmental activists point to a buildup of methane gas released by decomposing organic waste trapped beneath thousands of tons of uncompacted rubbish as the most likely cause. A small initial spark, fanned by strong seasonal winds, spread the fire across multiple hard-to-reach sections of the waste mountain, where deep-seated smoldering continues to plague firefighting efforts eight days on. Unlike conventional surface fires, this blaze burns within the compacted layers of waste, requiring specialized response tactics. Authorities have deployed a large contingent of resources including helicopters, water tankers, bulldozers, and surveillance drones to contain and extinguish the fire, with officials projecting full containment by the end of the week.

    For local residents, the impact has been immediate and devastating. Hundreds have been forced to evacuate their smoke-filled homes to government-run emergency shelters, with many reporting severe respiratory irritation from toxic fumes. “The smoke was so thick you couldn’t see anyone,” 45-year-old local resident Sarmanah told reporters. “It stings the nose, makes you cough and have a runny nose, and makes you unable to breathe… We were forced to leave the house because we couldn’t take it anymore.” As of the latest update, local health authorities have examined at least 234 residents for smoke-related respiratory issues, with 72 confirmed cases of acute respiratory tract infection. While hazardous air quality has eased slightly in recent days, active hotspots and smoldering pockets of fire remain in the western and southern sections of the landfill.

    Environmental campaigners say the Jatiwaringin fire is not an isolated accident, but a predictable “ecological disaster resulting from systemic negligence” that has plagued Indonesia’s waste management sector for years. According to the Indonesian environmental NGO Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the Jatiwaringin facility was only designed to handle 2,700 tons of waste per day, which meets just 59% of Tangerang Regency’s total daily waste output. The excess waste is dumped illegally in unregulated open sites within 100 meters of residential neighborhoods, creating sprawling, unmanaged waste mountains that trap methane and create a persistent public safety risk.

    Long before the current blaze, local residents reported constant issues with foul odors, pest infestations, and fears of catastrophic landslides from the overgrown waste piles. Climate change and more frequent extreme heat waves have exacerbated the risk, turning these unregulated dumping grounds into what activists describe as “time bombs” waiting for a single spark to ignite. This pattern is not unique to Jatiwaringin: major landfill fires swept across multiple Indonesian sites in 2023, including a 40-hectare blaze at Bandung Regency’s Sarimukti Landfill and a fire that destroyed 80% of a 35-hectare Tangerang landfill, both linked to methane buildup from poor waste management.

    In response to the disaster, Indonesian officials announced that a full investigation into the cause of the Jatiwaringin fire will begin once extinguishing operations are complete. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry also plans to conduct a nationwide evaluation of 390 landfills starting in early August 2026, and confirmed that Jatiwaringin already received administrative sanctions for poor management practices in 2025. Authorities have ordered local governments to transition to controlled landfill systems, where waste is compacted and regularly covered with soil to reduce methane buildup and fire risk.

    But activists warn that incremental changes and emergency responses are not enough to address the root of the crisis. Walhi campaigner Wahyu Eka Styawan argues that persistent underfunding for regional waste management, weak enforcement of existing environmental regulations, and a lack of public education on source-separated organic waste have created conditions where disasters like this are inevitable. “This is a time bomb of accumulated waste management problems that have been ignored for years without fundamental improvements,” Wahyu said. Without systemic changes that reduce waste at the source, implement consistent sorting, and process organic waste to prevent methane formation, he added, “It could definitely catch fire again if the pattern isn’t changed. Once the weather gets hot again, be prepared for more fires.”

  • Chinese men in Germany used Telegram groups to share rape videos and drugging tips, prosecutors say

    Chinese men in Germany used Telegram groups to share rape videos and drugging tips, prosecutors say

    BERLIN — Framed to outsiders as an exclusive “German expert driving school”, a sprawling network of hidden Telegram group chats hid a horrific, well-organized criminal enterprise: a ring of predators who openly bragged about raping drugged, unconscious women, traded step-by-step tips for carrying out attacks, and even shared graphic photos and videos of their assaults. Court documents reveal the group used dehumanizing coded language to mask their crimes: women were labeled “cars”, sedating medications “fuel”, rape “driving”, and victims were dismissively called “dead pigs”.

    After years of the network operating undetected, German law enforcement has uncovered a ring primarily made up of Chinese men targeting mostly Chinese women living across Germany. To date, three core members of the group have been convicted on rape and related charges, with a fourth high-profile defendant awaiting a verdict in a Berlin court.

    The full scale of the abuse remains shrouded in secrecy, in large part due to strict German privacy rules that restrict public disclosure of court details and limit what prosecutors can share outside of official proceedings. During the ongoing Berlin trial, portions of hearings have even been closed to the general public. This lack of transparency has contributed to the case flying under the radar in mainstream German discourse, but members of Germany’s local Chinese community — mostly women — have mobilized to show solidarity, traveling hundreds of kilometers to attend court hearings to support victims they have never met.

    Fu Xiao, one community member who made the 310-mile trip to Berlin to observe the trial, emphasized the anger over the group’s blatant misogyny. “What makes one really angry is to see that such groups hate women, they have no respect. Women aren’t seen as people,” she said.

    While Chinese state media has covered the court proceedings extensively, public discussion on Chinese-language social platforms including Rednote has faced partial censorship. Screenshots and searches confirm that posts using direct keywords referencing the case are often deleted or banned, while content using indirect phrasing such as “date rape” or “students studying abroad in Germany” often avoids removal. Neither China’s Ministry of Public Security nor Rednote have responded to requests for comment on the censorship policy.

    Legal observers and judges have drawn clear parallels between this case and the high-profile Gisèle Pelicot trial in France, where a woman was drugged and repeatedly raped by her husband and dozens of strangers he recruited over a decade. Pelicot’s choice to waive her anonymity sparked a global reckoning with systemic rape culture, and German judges note the “German Driving School” case is far from an isolated incident tied to any single nationality or region.

    “This is not a Chinese or French phenomenon, but one that also exists in Germany and, ultimately, worldwide,” said Judge Markus Koppenleitner during a Munich hearing for one of the convicted defendants.

    The exposure of the German ring has already rippled across the globe, triggering new investigations and arrests linked to similar networks of predatory misogynist groups. Last year, German investigators shared intelligence with Los Angeles law enforcement that led to charges against a Chinese graduate student accused of drugging and assaulting three local women, who allegedly obtained his sedatives from a contact connected to the German network. Just last month, Dutch police arrested four men on suspicion of drug-facilitated sexual abuse after receiving tips from German and UK authorities; the Dutch group also used social media chat groups to share assault footage and coordinate attacks.

    Last week, the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol launched Operation Medusa, a coordinated international crackdown specifically targeting online networks that facilitate drug-facilitated sexual assault. Led by law enforcement from Germany and the United Kingdom, the operation has already resulted in 57 arrests across multiple countries.

    The case has also reignited long-simmering criticism of Telegram, the encrypted messaging platform that hosted the abusive chats for years in direct violation of the platform’s own terms of service. Questions continue to mount over how the chats — some boasting tens of thousands of members dating back to at least 2020 — operated undetected for so long. In 2024, Telegram’s founder was arrested in Paris over allegations the platform has repeatedly become a haven for criminal activity, ranging from drug trafficking to the distribution of child sexual abuse material. He has denied all wrongdoing, framing the abuse as a growing pain tied to Telegram’s surging user base that outpaced content moderation capacity.

    In a generic statement, Telegram said “Sexual violence is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and such content is routinely removed,” adding that the platform complies with all legal obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act. The company declined to answer specific questions about the German network, including whether moderators were aware of the abusive content, what steps were taken to remove it, and whether the platform alerted law enforcement to the ongoing criminal activity before police made their own discovery.

    Court documents confirm the earliest chats linked to the network date to 2020. Magdalena Gebhard, an attorney who represented one victim in a prior convicted case, told reporters the network had a core inner circle of eight ringleaders, while some of the broader public chat groups counted up to 50,000 members. German police only first learned of the network’s existence in 2024, after ringleader Dapeng Z. shifted his tactics from assaulting female acquaintances to targeting strangers he met online, leaving a trail that alerted authorities. Dapeng Z. was arrested in Germany the same year in a joint operation with Chinese law enforcement, and sentenced to 14 years in prison in February on charges of aggravated rape, attempted murder, and other offenses. He has since filed an appeal, and his legal team has not responded to requests for comment.

    Authorities have not publicly released a full count of confirmed victims or linked perpetrators, and stress the investigation remains ongoing. Multiple victims only learned they were assaulted after police uncovered graphic video footage of the attacks stored in the group chats. On Wednesday, the fourth inner circle defendant, Zhiting S., will receive his verdict in Berlin. Prosecutors allege Zhiting S. used his prior medical training to share detailed guidance with the chat group on which sedatives were most effective for subduing victims before assault, and at least one attacker followed his instructions to carry out an assault in Frankfurt. He is also charged with possession of child sexual abuse material and the repeated sexual assault of a woman in China, which he documented and shared to the network. Under German law, defendants are not required to enter formal pleas, and Zhiting S.’s legal team has declined to comment on the charges.

    Editor’s Note: This report contains discussion of sexual violence. Individuals affected by sexual assault can seek support at 1-800-656-4673 in the U.S., 116 016 in Germany, and 15117905157 in China.

  • Will Le Pen rise again? French nationalist leader defiant after court’s ruling

    Will Le Pen rise again? French nationalist leader defiant after court’s ruling

    On a Tuesday in mid-2026, a Paris court of appeal handed down a ruling that sent shockwaves across French political life: it upheld far-right nationalist leader Marine Le Pen’s conviction for misappropriation of public funds, but slashed the original five-year ban on running for public office, clearing a path for her to launch a historic bid for the French presidency. By early Wednesday morning, France was still reeling from the rapid cascade of political drama that followed: within hours of the verdict, Le Pen defied all expectations of her political demise and officially confirmed she would contest the 2027 presidential election, immediately rolling out her social media campaign to supporters across the country.

    Le Pen’s campaign branding leans heavily into deliberate political messaging. Her online campaign poster, emblazoned with the slogan “Pour la France” (“For France”) and subtitled “La Renaissance” (“The Rebirth”), features Le Pen smiling with outstretched arms against the backdrop of France’s blue-white-red tricolor. The choice of “Renaissance” is no accident: it is the official name of incumbent President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist political party, a sharp jab at the leader who has repeatedly categorized Le Pen’s National Rally as an extremist political force, and who promised upon his first election to eliminate voter support for far-right extremism.

    For years, Le Pen has built her political brand around a populist divide: framing her movement as the voice of “the people” and “patriots” pushing back against a detached “metropolitan elite” and what she dismisses as “globalist” interests. Her core platform centers on putting French citizens first in policy, a message that has resonated deeply with a large swathe of the French electorate disillusioned with traditional mainstream politics and frustrated by widening societal inequality. This is not Le Pen’s first attempt at the presidency: she lost twice to Macron in 2017 and 2022, but Macron is constitutionally barred from running for a third term, and current polling puts Le Pen in a stronger position than ever before. She has also repeatedly defied predictions of her political end, bouncing back from major setbacks—including a poorly received 2017 televised debate against Macron—to rebuild her movement and grow her support.

    Prior to the appeal ruling, most political observers had predicted the court would reaffirm the full public office ban, effectively ending Le Pen’s decades-long political career. Instead, the court left the decision to run to Le Pen, only requiring her to wear an electronic monitoring tag for 12 months as part of her sentence. Le Pen responded to the verdict with characteristic defiance: in a televised address shortly after the ruling, she confirmed her candidacy, announced she would appeal the conviction to France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, and refused to wear the ankle tag until the court issues its final ruling, arguing the French electorate should be the ultimate judge of her candidacy.

    Critics across the French political spectrum have slammed Le Pen’s move as a Trumpian power play and a high-stakes political gamble. Legal and political analysts note Le Pen and her legal team are likely counting on the Court of Cassation’s famously slow procedural timeline: if a ruling does not come until spring 2027, Le Pen could already have won the presidency and gained the legal immunity that comes with the office for a full five-year term. However, the court could also choose to expedite proceedings given the unprecedented political stakes of the case. If a ruling comes before the election and requires Le Pen to wear the electronic tag during the final stretch of campaigning, it could remind swing voters of her embezzlement conviction, which involved €4.1 million (£3.5 million) in misused public funds drawn from French taxpayers. While the tag would not alienate her loyal base, it could turn off the moderate conservative voters Le Pen has worked aggressively to court in recent years.

    Left-wing lawmaker Francois Ruffin, leader of the Debout! Party, summed up the opposition’s position: “She has been found guilty twice of embezzling public money from French taxpayers. That makes her a criminal, and she has no business running for the highest office in the country.”

    The outcome of France’s 2027 presidential election carries major implications far beyond France’s borders. As the European Union’s second-largest economy, a nuclear-armed military power, and a key geopolitical actor at a moment of rising global tension with Russia and China, France’s leadership shapes the entire trajectory of European and transatlantic policy. Le Pen and her 30-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella—who Le Pen has tapped as her preferred prime minister if she wins—are both openly Eurosceptic and have expressed skepticism of NATO, continued French military support for Ukraine, and the major increase in defense spending that Macron has pledged. These policy positions have already sparked deep anxiety among European allies, who view a Le Pen presidency as a major shift that could reshape the European political order. While Le Pen is not guaranteed victory, current polling shows she enters the race as one of the most competitive candidates, with a clear path to the Elysee Palace.

  • AFL 2026: Melbourne coach Steven King downplays Demons’ finals talk

    AFL 2026: Melbourne coach Steven King downplays Demons’ finals talk

    As the Melbourne Demons continue their steady climb up the AFL ladder and speculation around a 2024 finals berth grows louder, first-year senior coach Steven King is refusing to get caught up in the hype, urging his side to stay focused on the immediate task at hand rather than looking ahead to September football.

    The Demons currently sit sixth on the premiership ladder after a dominant first-half blitz against Hawthorn kept their hopes of a top-four finish well and truly alive. Entering the run home to the finals, Melbourne has just one side currently ranked above them — Fremantle — left on their schedule, with a clash against 17th-placed Richmond at the MCG this Sunday as their next challenge. But King is acutely aware of how quickly fortunes can shift in the hyper-competitive modern AFL, where small margins separate ladder leaders from battlers and results can swing wildly week to week.

    When asked directly if it was too early to start discussing the so-called “F-word” — finals — King did not hesitate to shut down the premature speculation. “Yeah, it is, absolutely,” he told reporters. King, who took over the top coaching role at the club this off-season amid a major roster and leadership overhaul, said the uncertainty of the competition makes long-term forecasting pointless. “I know how marginal this competition is,” he explained. “One week you’re spoken about really highly and you slip up or come up against a really good team, and you can’t control what other clubs are doing around you.”

    Rather than looking ahead to a potential finals spot, King said his full attention is fixed on how his side will bounce back from a underwhelming fourth quarter in their previous win in Tasmania. While the line has become a common talking point for coaches across the league, King said it remains the unvarnished reality for his emerging side. “I think it’s too early for us to mention that word. I am really just keen to see how we respond from that fourth quarter in Tassie this week. That’s a bit of a cliche for a coach to say, but that’s pretty much the reality.”

    King added that Sunday’s opposition Richmond, fighting to avoid the wooden spoon this season, will be hungry to pull off an upset against the in-form Demons. “I think on the weekend Richmond will be looking at our game going that’s them at their best, and there’s a patch there that looks like an opportunity to get up,” he said. “We have to keep controlling what we can and therein lies a great opportunity for us as a club.”

    Off the field, the Demons have received positive injury news on key attacking targets, even as key forward Brody Mihocek remains sidelined in the short term. Mihocek returned to the club for a scheduled training appearance this Wednesday, just weeks after suffering a neck injury on King’s Birthday, providing a boost to the club’s long-term outlook. For this weekend, Melbourne remains quietly optimistic that star forward Bayley Fritsch will be fit to take the field despite a painful early injury against Hawthorn.

    Fritsch dislocated his finger in the opening stages of the win over the Hawks, but returned to the field to boot four goals in what King called an incredibly brave showing. “Yeah, good. He had that dislocation and had to go off, I think it broke a bit of skin,” King said. “He’s had that out so he will be a test this week, but we’re hopeful, he got through and kicked another four goals with it. It was a really brave effort from him and hopefully he can recover in time. Luckily, this Sunday gives us an extra day. (We’re) optimistic he’ll be right.” Fritsch is expected to wear a protective glove on the injured finger if he is cleared to take the field against Richmond.