Global Pulse

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  • Founder of Asian super-app Gojek sentenced to years in jail for corruption

    Founder of Asian super-app Gojek sentenced to years in jail for corruption

    In a high-profile verdict that has sent shockwaves through Indonesia’s political and tech sectors, former Indonesian Education Minister and celebrated tech entrepreneur Nadiem Makarim has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges connected to a national school laptop procurement program. The 41-year-old co-founder of Southeast Asian super-app Gojek, who left his private sector role to enter government in 2019 under former President Joko Widodo, has repeatedly maintained his innocence and announced plans to appeal the ruling immediately after the verdict was delivered.

    The case revolves around the Education Ministry’s 2021–2022 procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools across the archipelago. Prosecutors argue that Nadiem deliberately rigged the tender process to favor Google, a major Gojek investor, crafting bidding specifications that exclusively matched Google’s Chrome operating system. They allege the purchase went forward despite a 2018 internal ministry assessment confirming Chromebooks, which require continuous internet connectivity, are unsuitable for Indonesia’s many remote regions with limited or no fixed internet access. Prosecutors further claim Nadiem’s actions siphoned $45 million in personal illicit gains, caused $125 million in total state losses, and undermined the country’s public education system, violating Indonesia’s national anti-corruption commitments.

    Alongside his 10-year prison term, the Jakarta court ordered Nadiem to pay 809 billion rupiah ($45 million) in restitution, equal to the amount he was found guilty of wrongfully acquiring. An additional 1 billion rupiah fine was also imposed. If the restitution is not paid, Nadiem will face an extra five years behind bars; non-payment of the fine will add another 190 days to his sentence. Nadiem has confirmed he is unable to meet the restitution requirement, meaning his effective sentence will reach 15 years if the conviction is upheld on appeal.

    Nadiem has rejected all allegations outright. He asserts that the 809 billion rupiah in question never left Gojek’s corporate accounts, and he never personally accessed or profited from the funds. He also denies any connection between Google’s investment in Gojek and the procurement decision, noting that the Chromebook purchase actually reduced overall costs for the Indonesian government compared to competing alternatives.

    Hundreds of Nadiem’s supporters, including dozens of Gojek ride-hailing drivers, gathered outside the Jakarta courthouse ahead of the verdict to voice their backing. Many carried white banners reading “We are with Nadiem” and “Free Nadiem,” and when Nadiem arrived to the court, he greeted the crowd, breaking down in emotion when embraced by a long-time Gojek driver. Inside the building, supporters watched a live stream of the proceedings in an adjacent room; when the guilty verdict and sentence were read, the crowd outside erupted in loud boos, while Nadiem was visibly seen crying in the courtroom.

    Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Nadiem struck a somber note. “I do not know what words I can use to explain how I feel today,” he said. “I do not know whom I should ask for help, or where I can seek justice. My only hope is in the Indonesian people, in those who still believe that truth still exists in this country.” His family has stood firmly by him throughout the 10-month legal process. “It’s been difficult for almost 10 months. As a family, we have continued to pray, fight, and stand by him throughout this time,” his mother-in-law Sania Makki told the BBC.

    The conviction has sparked fierce debate and controversy across Indonesia, with many critics and analysts arguing the case is politically motivated. Critics claim Nadiem is a target of a broader crackdown on political opponents of current President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, with anti-corruption frameworks being weaponized to target dissent. “The eradication of corruption is being used to attack those who are not liked, or those who are critical of people in power,” prominent Indonesian lawyer and activist Todung Mulya Lubis told the BBC.

    Many observers also warn the verdict could have a chilling effect on young Indonesian professionals and entrepreneurs considering entering public service. For many young Indonesians, Nadiem is a symbol of successful private-sector innovation turned public good, so the conviction has stoked widespread fear that outsiders who join government to pursue reform will be targeted for criminalization. “There’s a feeling of fear. It’s like, so if someone that’s from outside of the government tries to work with the government or tries to do good in their own field in this country, am I going to get criminalised?” said artist and political activist Andovi da Lopez. “I can’t speak for everybody, but in my circle, there’s this fear and people just say, ‘just don’t work with the government, just don’t.’ And that fear is real.”

    Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, noted that Nadiem is widely viewed by young Indonesians as a reformer trapped in a broken political system. “To young Indonesians, Nadiem is seen as someone who ‘wants to bring change but is trapped in a government system that has systemic problems,’” Hamid said. “Maybe [Nadiem] was perceived as forcing [the government] to innovate policies, and maybe he wanted to do it too fast.”

    Many have also drawn parallels between Nadiem’s case and that of two other political allies of former President Joko Widodo: ex-trade minister Tom Lembong and ruling party official Hasto Kristiyanto. Both men were convicted of corruption in recent cases, but were pardoned by current President Prabowo as part of a stated policy of national reconciliation, raising questions about unequal application of justice. The verdict arrives amid growing public unrest in Indonesia, driven by soaring cost of living and a sharp depreciation of the rupiah. Large-scale protests against Prabowo’s economic policies have spread across the country in recent weeks, with activists arguing government policies are pushing the nation toward economic crisis.

  • Pope begs breakaway traditionalist group to back off plan to consecrate its own bishops

    Pope begs breakaway traditionalist group to back off plan to consecrate its own bishops

    VATICAN CITY — One day ahead of a planned ceremony that church leadership calls a fundamental break from Catholic teaching, Pope Leo XIV has issued an urgent, heartfelt appeal to the leadership of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a breakaway traditionalist Catholic group, to abandon their plan to consecrate four new bishops without Vatican approval. In a public letter addressed to SSPX Superior General Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the pope labeled the proposed act as schismatic and a “sin of extreme gravity.”

    “I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back,” Leo wrote in the missive, released by the Vatican a day before the scheduled consecration ceremony at the SSPX’s seminary in Econe, Switzerland. Under longstanding Catholic canon law, any episcopal consecration carried out without explicit papal approval automatically incurs a sentence of excommunication for all parties involved: the four bishop nominees and the prelate who will lead the ceremony. The Vatican has already confirmed that the same penalty imposed during the group’s 1988 schism will apply to this new act if it proceeds.

    The SSPX has stood in opposition to the Catholic Church since its founding, formed to push back against the sweeping modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council. The landmark council reshaped core tenets of Catholic life, updating the church’s approach to interfaith relations, expanding the role of lay worshippers in parish life, and allowing the celebration of Mass in local vernacular languages instead of the traditional Latin that had been standard for centuries.

    The original rift between the SSPX and the Holy See dates back to 1988, when group founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without formal papal consent — an act classified as a grave canonical offense in church law. The Vatican moved immediately to excommunicate Lefebvre and all four new bishops, and the SSPX has remained without official legal status within the global Catholic Church to this day. Even without that formal recognition, the group has expanded steadily over the past three and a half decades, according to the SSPX’s own published statistics. It now counts 2 active bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates, and 250 religious sisters across 50 countries, operating as a parallel ultra-traditional Catholic institution aligned with pre-Vatican II teachings that poses an ongoing challenge to papal authority.

    In his letter, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the Vatican’s longstanding offer of open dialogue to reconcile the SSPX with the global church, arguing that moving forward with the consecrations would undermine the spiritual interests of the SSPX’s own followers. “I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit, and in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments,” the pope wrote.

    This report is based on original coverage from the Associated Press, which receives funding for religion reporting through a collaboration with The Conversation US, supported by the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP retains full editorial responsibility for all its content.

  • By the numbers: What to know about Spain’s legalization program for immigrants

    By the numbers: What to know about Spain’s legalization program for immigrants

    MADRID – Spain’s groundbreaking immigration regularization program, launched earlier this year to bring undocumented migrants living and working in the country into legal status, has drawn far more applicants than initial government projections, with nearly 1 million people submitting requests by mid-June ahead of this week’s application deadline.

    Unveiled by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s progressive government in January and opened for submissions in April, the initiative closes its application window on June 30. Eligible undocumented immigrants who have resided in Spain for a minimum of five years and hold a clean criminal record can receive a one-year renewable residence and work permit, allowing them to access public services and contribute legally to the Spanish economy. When the program was first introduced, Spanish officials projected that roughly 500,000 people would qualify for legal status. However, that estimate has already been blown past: by June 12 alone, the government confirmed it had received more than 900,000 applications, and immigration analysts forecast the final total will cross the 1 million threshold once all submissions are counted. This matches pre-program projections from independent think tanks and Spanish law enforcement, who long estimated the actual number of undocumented people living in Spain hovered around 1 million.

    For Sánchez, a leading progressive figure in European politics, the regularization policy is both a moral and economic imperative. “This is an act of justice and a necessity,” the prime minister has argued, noting that migrants already residing and working in Spanish communities deserve the right to operate under equal legal conditions, and to contribute taxes to public systems that all Spaniards rely on.

    This policy marks a clear break from the hardening immigration stance adopted by many other European Union member states and the United States, where stepped-up deportation operations have become the dominant policy response to undocumented migration in recent years. While this is the seventh mass immigration regularization initiative Spain has carried out since 1986, the volume of applicants for the 2024 program is unprecedented. Previous amnesty efforts never crossed the 600,000 application mark: the largest prior effort, held in 2005, resulted in roughly 576,500 immigrants gaining legal status. Three of the past six regularization programs were implemented under Socialist prime minister Felipe González starting in 1986, while conservative leader José Aznar’s government oversaw two more initiatives during the 2000s.

    By mid-June, Spanish officials had already processed roughly 360,000 applications, with successful applicants approved for temporary legal status. The government retains a three-month window after the application deadline to process all submissions, so the final number of people granted status will continue to rise in the coming months.

    Demographic breakdowns of applicants show that 30% of all requests come from Colombian nationals, reflecting the large Colombian-born community already resident in Spain – per the country’s National Statistics Institute, more than 980,000 Colombian-born people currently live in Spain. Moroccan applicants account for 14% of total submissions, followed by Venezuelans at 10% and Peruvians at 9%. These migration flows align with broader demographic shifts in Spain: today, roughly one in five of the country’s 50 million residents are foreign-born, totaling around 10 million people. Most of these residents arrived from Latin America and North Africa, fleeing political instability, violence, or economic hardship in search of better opportunities in Spain.

    Industries at the core of the Spanish economy – including agriculture, tourism, and domestic services – rely heavily on migrant labor, a reality that supporters of the program cite as a key justification for bringing undocumented workers into the formal economy. Even so, the initiative has sparked significant public debate and scrutiny across Spain, dividing public opinion over the country’s approach to migration.

    As of mid-June, 360,000 applicants have already been processed, and officials are working through the remaining backlogged submissions in the months following the deadline. Analysts widely expect the final count of approved applicants will make this the largest immigration regularization effort in Spanish history.

  • Man arrested after arson attack on Islamic prayer hall

    Man arrested after arson attack on Islamic prayer hall

    A suspected arson attack at an Islamic prayer facility in central Dublin has led to the arrest of a man in his 40s, Irish law enforcement confirmed Tuesday. The incident unfolded at approximately 3:35 p.m. local time on Monday at Al Madinah Hall, located on Dublin’s busy Talbot Street.

    Thankfully, no people inside or around the building at the time of the blaze suffered injuries, according to updates from Gardaí, the Republic of Ireland’s national police service. Emergency response teams from the Dublin Fire Brigade were quickly dispatched to the scene, where they contained and fully extinguished the fire before it could spread beyond the targeted property. The blaze did leave visible structural and property damage to the prayer hall, though no further details on the extent of the damage have been released to the public.

    The suspect taken into custody is currently being held for questioning at a police station in Dublin’s north city district, as investigators continue to piece together the details of the attack. Irish national public broadcaster RTÉ cited sources close to the investigation noting that Gardaí are working along a clear line of inquiry, and have already ruled out any connection between the attack and racist or far-right extremist groups.

    In a public appeal for community cooperation, Gardaí have urged any members of the public who were in the area around the time of the incident, or who have relevant surveillance camera footage or information that could advance the probe, to contact the investigation team immediately. The investigation into the suspected arson remains active and ongoing as of this report.

  • Britain sets out a plan for future defense with a focus on drones and a fight over money

    Britain sets out a plan for future defense with a focus on drones and a fight over money

    LONDON – As global conflict grows increasingly defined by technological innovation, the United Kingdom is set to roll out a landmark new defense strategy Tuesday that places autonomous military systems at the core of its future military capabilities. The long-delayed Defense Investment Plan, years in the making, has emerged amid bitter internal wrangling over funding, shifting geopolitical risks, and a wave of political upheaval that has shaken the current British government.

    For months, the plan has been stalled after tense negotiations between top military commanders and Treasury officials, who clashed over the price tag of modernizing Britain’s armed forces to match a rapidly deteriorating global security landscape. Like many fellow NATO allies, the UK faces dual pressures: the need to counter an increasingly assertive Russia, and growing uncertainty over the reliability of long-standing security commitments from the United States.

    Internal tensions boiled over in June when former Defense Secretary John Healey stepped down from his post, criticizing the ruling government for refusing to commit sufficient military funding at a moment of growing global danger. Healey pushed for the UK to raise defense spending to 3% of gross domestic product by 2030, pointing to British intelligence assessments that Russia could launch an attack on a NATO member nation by that date. He noted that the Treasury’s original proposal would only lift spending to 2.6% of GDP next year, reaching just 2.68% by 2030 — far short of the target he called necessary.

    Under Healey’s successor, current Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis, the proposal has been refocused in recent weeks, with a small funding increase added to the original 13.5 billion pounds ($18 billion) package Healey was offered. Even with the adjustment, however, the final total is expected to fall far short of the 28 billion pounds ($37 billion) that senior defense leaders had requested.

    In comments ahead of the plan’s official launch, Prime Minister Keir Starmer framed the strategy as a critical step to equip frontline personnel with cutting-edge tools to deter emerging threats and protect British citizens. The full text of the 10-year roadmap is scheduled for publication later Tuesday, confirming the UK’s commitment to reach a NATO spending target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

    The push for modernization comes as the UK military seeks to reverse decades of capability decline, driven by Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its growing pattern of overt and covert military probes along NATO’s eastern flank. British military planners have drawn direct lessons from Ukraine’s war, where drone technology has upended traditional combat doctrine: Ukraine currently deploys roughly 200,000 drones per month to repel Russian advances. In response, the UK will direct billions in new investment to drone systems across the army, navy, and air force. In a shift from earlier plans to build a new fleet of conventional destroyers, the Royal Navy will instead develop hybrid vessels designed to serve as mobile command hubs for uncrewed drone and submarine systems.

    Pressure to boost British defense spending has also come from across the Atlantic. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long raised questions about NATO’s purpose and repeatedly criticized European allies for failing to meet their spending commitments, has made increased defense outlays a core condition of continued U.S. security support for the alliance.

    The disputes over defense spending have contributed to a growing political crisis in London. The resignations of Healey and junior Defense Minister Al Carns were among a series of political setbacks that led Starmer to announce his resignation last week. Starmer is expected to fulfill one of his final prime ministerial duties by attending the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey scheduled for July 7 and 8, before stepping down.

    The likely next prime minister, former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, will inherit immediate pressure to uphold the binding spending commitments laid out in the new defense plan. The main opposition Conservative Party has already dismissed the strategy as insufficient, with defense spokesperson James Cartlidge calling it “too little, too late.” Cartlidge argued the plan has been rushed through nearly a year behind schedule, only to allow Starmer to secure a policy legacy ahead of his departure from office.

  • Why are South Korean fans so angry at their football coach?

    Why are South Korean fans so angry at their football coach?

    The fallout from South Korea’s early exit from the FIFA World Cup has reached a dramatic conclusion, with head coach Hong Myung-bo stepping down from his post following widespread public anger over the team’s failure to progress beyond the group stage.

    The national team’s underperformance at the tournament left it unable to secure a spot in the knockout rounds, a result that fell far short of the expectations held by South Korean football supporters and the broader football community. Fans across the country voiced sharp criticism of Hong’s tactical decisions, team selection strategies, and overall management of the squad throughout the competition, holding him accountable for the disappointing early elimination.

    Hong Myung-bo, a former legendary South Korean footballer who previously led the national team at previous major tournaments, formally announced his resignation shortly after the team’s return from the World Cup, acknowledging the failure to meet performance targets and taking full responsibility for the outcome. The sudden departure opens a period of uncertainty for South Korean football, as the Korea Football Association now begins the process of searching for a new head coach to lead the program forward into upcoming qualifying cycles and international competitions. The fan backlash that preceded the resignation underscores the high stakes and deep passion surrounding men’s national football in South Korea, where consistent progress at the World Cup is seen as a point of national pride.

  • Australian man charged with murder over death of a teenage girl in Thailand’s Pattaya

    Australian man charged with murder over death of a teenage girl in Thailand’s Pattaya

    BANGKOK – Thai law enforcement officials announced Tuesday that an Australian man has been formally charged with murder and unlawful concealment of a corpse following the killing of a 17-year-old girl in one of Thailand’s most popular coastal tourist destinations. The case, which has drawn cross-border public attention, unfolded over four days before the suspect was taken into custody while attempting to flee the country.

    The teenage victim was first reported missing to local authorities last Friday. Investigators later confirmed that the last confirmed sighting of the girl came from condominium security footage, which captured her entering the residential building alongside the accused, identified as Simon Peter Carman, in Pattaya. The beach resort city sits roughly 93 miles east of Thailand’s capital Bangkok, drawing millions of international visitors every year.

    Following the pair’s entry to the condominium, additional surveillance footage shows Carman leaving the building alone, pulling a large hard-shell suitcase behind him. Investigators say he then loaded the bulky suitcase onto a motorbike and rode into a remote, unpopulated stretch of land parallel to a local railway line.

    Authorities intercepted Carman in the early hours of Saturday at Bangkok’s international airport, just minutes before he was set to board a commercial flight bound for Perth, Australia. At the time of his arrest, he was only charged with the rape of a minor. But a quick search of the route captured on security footage led officers to the suitcase holding the victim’s body shortly after his arrest, prompting the addition of the far more severe murder and body concealment charges.

    Under Thai criminal law, a conviction for premeditated murder carries the possibility of the death penalty. Kanoknan Sooksri, the lead Pattaya Police investigator assigned to the case, confirmed that Carman is currently being held in police custody and has been assigned a state-appointed defense attorney. The exact date of his first court appearance has not yet been finalized, and Carman has formally denied all charges brought against him.

    Security footage published by local Thai media outlets purports to show the full timeline of the incident: early Thursday morning, Carman and the victim are seen holding hands as they walk into the condominium’s elevator. More than 12 hours later, Carman exits the building alone, dragging the dark-colored suitcase that would later be found holding the girl’s body. A second video clip circulating online, also released by Thai media, captures Carman during his initial interrogation by police.

    In the recorded interrogation, Carman claimed to officers that he was only restraining the victim because she had become agitated and violent. He alleged that the teen threatened him with a knife after he attempted to hand her 500 Thai baht, the equivalent of roughly 15 U.S. dollars. “I had my wallet open to get the money out, and next thing there’s a knife to my face,” Carman told investigators in the clip.

  • Fire at petrochemical plant in eastern India injures at least 20 people

    Fire at petrochemical plant in eastern India injures at least 20 people

    A devastating fire at a Haldia Petrochemicals petrochemical facility in eastern India has left at least 20 people injured, with five suffering life-threatening critical wounds, local law enforcement confirmed. The emergency incident unfolded on Tuesday, when the blaze ignited along a naphtha transit pipeline at the plant, located in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal. The site sits roughly 130 kilometers southwest of the state capital, Kolkata, and the fast-spreading flames quickly extended beyond plant boundaries to threaten adjacent residential areas.

    In response to the emergency, more than a dozen fire engines were deployed to the scene to battle the intense blaze. Footage captured at the site shows emergency crews blasting large volumes of water onto the burning pipeline, while plumes of thick black toxic smoke billowed hundreds of meters into the sky over the district. First responders completed search and rescue operations successfully, evacuating all injured parties to regional medical centers for urgent treatment. Among the hurt are hourly plant workers and at least two on-site security officers, per police updates.

    Naphtha, the fuel product that was moving through the pipeline when the fire started, is an extremely flammable petroleum-derived product. It is most commonly used as a feedstock for manufacturing gasoline and a wide range of industrial chemical products, a factor that amplified the risk of the fire spreading rapidly. As of initial press updates, the root cause of the pipeline fire remains undetermined. Haldia Petrochemicals, the private firm that owns and operates the facility, released an official statement confirming that the company has launched an internal investigation into the incident to identify what triggered the blaze.

  • Watch: Young bald eagle takes first flight in California

    Watch: Young bald eagle takes first flight in California

    In a moment captured for thousands of nature enthusiasts across the globe, a young bald eagle named Luna has taken her first tentative but triumquent flight into the skies above Southern California’s Big Bear Valley. The milestone moment was broadcast live on a popular public streaming camera, operated and maintained by the non-profit organization Friends of Big Bear Valley, which has chronicled Luna’s growth from a tiny hatchling to a fully feathered young raptor ready to explore her mountain habitat.

    For months, the 24/7 live stream has drawn a loyal following of bird watchers, wildlife lovers, and casual viewers, who tuned in daily to track Luna’s development as she exercised her wings, hopped along the edges of her nest, and prepared for the moment she would leave her elevated nesting site. That long-awaited moment finally arrived this week, when the young bald eagle pushed off from the nest, spread her nearly six-foot wingspan, and soared into the clear California air.

    Friends of Big Bear Valley, a community group dedicated to preserving the ecosystems of the Big Bear Valley region, launched the eagle nest stream several years ago to give the public access to the hidden lives of bald eagles that nest in the area. The organization’s work has not only helped raise awareness about the recovery of bald eagle populations—once an endangered species in the United States—but also created an educational tool for schools and nature programs across the country.

    Viewers who tuned in to the stream described the moment as emotional and inspiring, with many sharing their reactions on social media and celebrating the young eagle’s first step toward independence. Wildlife biologists note that first flights are a critical milestone for young bald eagles, who will spend the next several months honing their hunting skills and exploring before establishing their own territories in the coming years.

  • Nvidia flew to Beijing with Trump to sell but China said no

    Nvidia flew to Beijing with Trump to sell but China said no

    A little over a month ago, a last-minute addition to then-President Trump’s trade delegation to Beijing made headlines that hinted at a far larger global shift. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia — the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization — had traveled to China to pitch the firm’s newly U.S. export-approved H200 AI chips. What he got in response was a clear rejection.