Global Pulse

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  • More than 1,600 candidates in May local elections make major pro-Palestine pledge

    More than 1,600 candidates in May local elections make major pro-Palestine pledge

    Ahead of the United Kingdom’s May 7 local elections, exclusive data obtained by Middle East Eye shows more than 1,600 candidates across major and minor political groups have signed a pro-Palestine rights pledge organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). The commitment, which binds signatories to advance Palestinian rights through their elected office, puts candidates at odds with the national Labour government’s official policy that bans local council boycotts of Israeli-linked businesses.

    The core of the PSC pledge requires elected officials to push for local councils to divest public pension funds and other administered assets from companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law. Signatories also vow to oppose all forms of council complicity in normalizing Israel’s actions, and commit to upholding what the pledge calls the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, as well as supporting accountability for alleged Israeli crimes of genocide, military occupation, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.

    Breakdown of the signatory data reveals a stark partisan divide. More than 1,000 Green Party candidates, over 200 Labour aspirants, more than 200 independent candidates and small local party groups, along with a handful of Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates have added their names to the pledge. This divide plays out across key battleground councils, many of which are expected to see major shifts in control following the election, which is being framed as the first major national electoral test since Keir Starmer took office as prime minister in July 2024.

    In Camden, the London borough that contains Starmer’s own parliamentary seat, 33 Green candidates signed the pledge, while not a single Labour candidate did. In east London’s Newham, where Labour holds 56 of 66 current council seats and faces a strong challenge from left-wing and Green challengers, only five Labour candidates signed, compared to 28 Greens and 19 Newham Independents. In Hackney, where polls indicate Labour is likely to lose its long-held council majority to the Greens, 31 Green candidates including the party’s mayoral hopeful Zoe Garbett signed, while just two Labour candidates joined.

    Similar gaps appear across regions of England. In the northern city of Bradford, 16 Greens, 12 members of the independent Your Bradford Independents Group and six Labour candidates signed. In the Midlands’ largest city Birmingham, 27 Greens, four independents and only one Labour candidate committed to the pledge. In Newcastle, where Labour holds 34 of 78 seats and risks losing control to a coalition of Greens and independents, two Greens and five Labour candidates are signatories.

    The pledge comes amid growing tensions between grassroots pro-Palestine activists and the national Labour government, which earlier this year doubled down on a 2016 national policy prohibiting local councils from implementing procurement boycotts targeting Israeli firms and businesses that trade with Israel. In January, Communities Secretary Steve Reed issued a formal warning to Labour-run councils, noting that municipalities could face legal action if they move forward with boycotts of Israeli-linked businesses.

    Despite the national warning, a growing grassroots movement across UK local government has pushed for divestment over the past two years. Multiple local authorities have passed votes to cut ties with companies that profit from Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories or supply arms to Israel, and several major councils including Islington, Lewisham, Wandsworth and Caerphilly have already removed companies listed by the United Nations as operating in occupied Palestinian territories from their pension fund portfolios.

    PSC deputy director Peter Leary emphasized that the widespread support for the pledge demonstrates cross-party backing for Palestinian rights, even as many national party leaderships reject divestment. “Councillors who can get their councils to stop all complicity – such as divesting pension funds that are linked to companies that are enabling Israel’s crimes – can play a crucial role, and voters at these local elections will be looking carefully to see who stands on the side of freedom and justice for Palestine,” Leary said.

    Green Party national elections coordinator Faaiz Hasan framed the divestment push as a link between international policy and domestic economic pain, noting that the ongoing conflict in Gaza and tensions across the Middle East have exacerbated the UK’s cost of living crisis. The Greens are campaigning for local councils to divest pension funds not just from companies linked to human rights abuses in Palestine, but from fossil fuel companies and arms manufacturers that profit from conflict and climate damage, Hasan added.

    Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, now heading the Your Party which backs independent local candidates across the UK, said his party’s challengers stand in stark contrast to right-wing alternative parties, campaigning on domestic progressive policies including free school meals, expanded social housing and the insourcing of public services, while unapologetically opposing the Labour government’s stance on Gaza. “They will be standing fearlessly against this government’s shameful complicity in genocide,” Corbyn said.

    The May 7 election will see more than 5,000 council seats across 136 local authorities contested, with the conflict in Gaza and UK foreign policy toward Israel emerging as one of the most salient issues in the campaign.

  • Trump claims Virginia redistricting election was ‘rigged’

    Trump claims Virginia redistricting election was ‘rigged’

    A fresh wave of political tension has swept across the United States ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections, after former President Donald Trump made baseless claims of electoral cheating surrounding a recent Virginia ballot measure that could hand Democrats up to four additional U.S. House seats currently controlled by Republicans.

    Virginians headed to the polls on Tuesday to vote on a redrawn congressional district map, a decision that carries outsized national implications for control of the lower chamber of Congress. This vote comes as part of a growing national “redistricting arms race” that launched after Trump encouraged conservative-led states to revise their voting maps to help Republicans defend their narrow current majority in the House.

    On his social platform Truth Social, Trump issued an unsubstantiated warning: “A RIGGED ELECTION TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT.” The claim echoed the same false assertions of systemic fraud he pushed following his 2020 presidential election loss. “All day long Republicans were winning, the Spirit was unbelievable, until the very end when, of course, there was a massive ‘Mail In Ballot Drop!’” he wrote. To date, no U.S. investigative body has ever uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud, including in the nation’s mail-in voting system.

    Right now, Republicans hold a razor-thin advantage in the House: with 217 Republican seats, 212 Democratic seats, and one independent who aligns with the Republican caucus, following the recent death of a Democratic representative from Georgia. Historically, the sitting president’s party almost always loses House seats during midterm elections. If Democrats flip control of the chamber in November, it would not only derail Trump’s core policy agenda but also clear the way for a wave of Democratic-led congressional investigations into the former president.

    In the U.S., partisan gerrymandering — the practice of redrawing electoral boundaries to intentionally benefit one political party — is only prohibited when it is drawn along discriminatory racial lines.

    Ahead of the vote, Trump, a Republican, warned that a Democratic win in Virginia would be “a disaster.” In response, Democratic Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger pushed back in a post on X, writing that voters “pushed back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress. As we watched other states go along with those demands without voter input, Virginians refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.”

    Trump’s false fraud claims come as he continues to press congressional Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping proposal to overhaul U.S. voting rules that would require all voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to cast a ballot. He is also currently facing lawsuits from Democratic-led state governments over a previous executive order aimed at restricting access to mail-in voting.

    The former president has spent years spreading unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting is rife with systemic fraud. Notably, however, Trump himself recently voted by mail in a Florida election, arguing his status as former president justified the choice; his wife and son have also used mail-in voting in recent elections.

    By federal requirement, U.S. states typically redraw their congressional district maps once every 10 years, following the release of new population data from the U.S. Census. Mid-decade redistricting, like the moves currently underway across multiple states, is an unusual shift that was triggered after Trump pressured Republican states to revisit their maps. Texas became the first state to approve a mid-decade redraw, setting off a cascade of map changes from both major parties to gain electoral advantage.

    Last November, California voters approved new Democratic-drawn maps that give the party an edge in five new congressional districts. On the Republican side, North Carolina and Missouri have both passed revised maps that favor GOP candidates. In Utah, a court-ordered redraw is expected to give Democrats a competitive advantage in one district, making the national map battle far more unpredictable ahead of November’s critical vote.

  • Pet owners hit with steep bills after EU passport rule change

    Pet owners hit with steep bills after EU passport rule change

    A sweeping update to cross-border pet travel regulations has thrown British pet owners into chaos, with hundreds facing unexpected steep fees, cancelled pre-planned holidays and widespread confusion just days after the new rules took effect this Wednesday.

    Previously, UK residents could use the long-standing EU pet passport scheme, a one-time vet-issued document that remained valid for an animal’s entire life. The passport included all required records such as microchip details, up-to-date rabies vaccinations, owner contact information and issuing vet data, allowing for seamless repeated travel across EU borders. Under the revised regulations, however, this system is no longer available for Great Britain-based residents — even holders of EU passports who split their time between the UK and the EU no longer qualify. All pre-existing EU pet passports issued to GB residents are now invalid.

    Instead, pet owners must now apply for a brand new Animal Health Certificate (AHC) for every single cross-border trip, creating recurring costs and logistical hurdles that many say are unmanageable. Multiple pet owners shared their frustration with the BBC, noting that poor advance communication about the rule change left many caught off guard, with pre-booked, non-refundable trips now forced to be scrapped.

    Sixty-three-year-old Jane Keles, who owns a mobile home in Picardy, northern France with her husband, was scheduled to travel next week with her two dachshunds, Otto and Lola. She only learned of the rule change this Monday, just days before her departure, and discovered her existing EU pet passports were no longer accepted. After already arranging time off work and booking a cat sitter for the trip, Keles was forced to cancel. Rescheduling for June will cost an extra £500 in rebooking fees alone, she says, and the recurring cost of AHCs for her two dogs is pushing the couple to consider selling their French mobile home entirely, as they make regular cross-border trips. For each trip, Keles estimates the new documentation will cost £80 per dog for required rabies boosters plus a £155 fee for the certificates themselves, creating a significant new financial burden.

    Seventy-seven-year-old Mike Walton, a UK resident near Manchester who holds an Irish passport and splits his year between the UK and Portugal, is facing a similar dilemma. His two Bichon Frisés already hold EU pet passports that contain all the same health and identification information required for an AHC, but the documents are no longer accepted. When he reached out to his long-time vet of 10 years — who knows his dogs well — he was told the clinic does not issue AHCs. Other local clinics only offer the service to their own registered clients, forcing Walton to either switch vets against his wishes or abandon his travel plans. He has been quoted roughly £300 in total fees and rabies booster costs for his two dogs for a single trip.

    The new rules have also had a severe impact on assistance dog owners. Guide Dogs for the Blind, a leading charity supporting visually impaired people, issued a statement saying the new regulations underscore the critical need for the UK to rejoin the EU pet passport scheme. The organization noted that the repeated cost and administrative complexity of obtaining an AHC for every journey has already stopped many guide dog owners from working, attending critical professional and personal events, and travelling independently.

    Many pet owners say they received no advance notice of the rule change, only learning of the update within days of it taking effect. The lack of clear communication has left even seasoned cross-border travellers confused, with some owners even questioning whether the rules will be strictly enforced at border crossings.

    In response to the growing outcry, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has confirmed the new rules are in effect as of April 22, and advised all GB residents travelling to the EU with pets to obtain an AHC before departure to avoid delays or being denied entry. The UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has updated its official guidance to note that EU pet passports are now only issued to and valid for individuals whose primary residence is within the EU, excluding even those who own holiday property or visit the EU seasonally. APHA urged all pet owners to check the latest official guidance on the GOV.UK website as well as entry requirements for their specific EU destination before making any travel plans, and noted that pet travel to the EU remains possible with the correct new documentation.

  • Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving, in latest departure of a top defense leader

    Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving, in latest departure of a top defense leader

    In an unexpected announcement that underscores ongoing turmoil in top U.S. defense leadership, the Pentagon disclosed Wednesday that United States Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his post effective immediately. The departure makes Phelan the first leader of a U.S. military branch to exit office during President Donald Trump’s second term, and adds to a growing string of high-profile departures and ousters among top defense officials.

    No official explanation has been offered for the sudden exit of the Navy’s top civilian leader, which comes at a tense moment for the service: the U.S. Navy is currently enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports and intercepting vessels tied to the Tehran government across global waters, amid a fragile ceasefire in an ongoing regional conflict.

    Phelan’s exit is the latest in a wave of leadership reshuffles at the Department of Defense, coming just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed General Randy George, the Army’s highest-ranking uniformed officer. Since assuming office last year, Hegseth has removed a number of other top generals, admirals and senior defense leaders from their posts.

    The abruptness of Phelan’s departure was highlighted by his public schedule just one day prior: on Tuesday, he spoke to a large gathering of sailors and defense industry representatives at the Navy’s annual Washington D.C. conference, and held press briefings to outline his upcoming policy agenda for the service.

    Pentagon spokesman Sean Phelan confirmed the leadership change in a social media post, announcing that Undersecretary Hung Cao would take over as acting Navy Secretary immediately.

    Cao, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Navy with combat deployment experience, is no stranger to Republican politics. As a Trump-endorsed candidate in 2024, he mounted an unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic Senator Tim Kaine in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race. Cao first came to the U.S. as a child refugee, fleeing communist rule in Vietnam with his family in the 1970s. During his Senate campaign, he drew sharp criticism of the Biden administration, comparing Cold War-era Vietnam’s communist government to Biden’s leadership. In a campaign video, he claimed the U.S. was “losing our country,” blaming Biden for the criminal investigations into former President Trump and highlighting issues including border security and retail crime.

    Before his nomination as Navy Secretary by Trump in late 2024, Phelan had no prior military service nor previous civilian leadership experience within any branch of the U.S. armed forces. A prominent major donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign, Phelan made his career as the founder of Rugger Management LLC, a private investment firm. His only formal connection to the U.S. military prior to taking office was an advisory role with Spirit of America, a non-profit organization that provides support for defense initiatives focused on Ukraine and Taiwan.

    As of Wednesday evening, The Associated Press had not succeeded in reaching Phelan’s office for a comment on his sudden departure.

  • China weathered Trump’s tariffs – but the Iran war is taking a toll

    China weathered Trump’s tariffs – but the Iran war is taking a toll

    In the narrow back alleys of Foshan, one of China’s busiest manufacturing hubs, a group of weary workers huddle under a dusty tree, their expressions etched with anxiety. Storefront signs advertising short-term factory positions line the street behind them, but few workers here hold steady, well-paying jobs. Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, the workers share the harsh reality of their daily struggles. “No one understands what our life is like,” one middle-aged worker murmurs. Another adds a desperate, rare plea to a visiting foreign reporter: “We work endless hours and have no life of our own. Please help us.”

    These workers have long navigated the seismic shifts reshaping China’s industrial sector, as the country moves away from low-cost mass manufacturing toward automated high-tech production. Many older, less skilled workers have already been left adrift, struggling to earn enough to support families back in rural hometowns. But their precarious situation has worsened dramatically since the US-Israel conflict with Iran erupted, sending new shockwaves through an already fragile Chinese economy.

    Long before the Middle East conflict ignited, China’s economy was grappling with mounting pressures: slowing domestic growth, persistent youth unemployment, and lingering ripple effects from former US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs implemented the previous year. Despite official data reporting roughly 5% annual GDP growth and resilient export volumes, public discontent over working conditions and economic uncertainty has continued to simmer beneath the surface. Now, the regional conflict has added a fresh layer of strain, squeezing factory order volumes, pushing up input costs, and eroding already fragile job security.

    In Foshan, the best opportunities available to most workers these days are the temporary positions advertised in bright red paint on roadside signs: a few weeks of molding plastic components or assembling smartphone parts for 18 to 20 yuan per hour, a rate that translates to just a few dollars a day. Most workers searching for work here are over 40, and many say they have grown exhausted from constant economic uncertainty. “I’m going to head north to try my luck elsewhere,” one migrant worker from a central Chinese province says, packing his few belongings into a frayed canvas bag.

    This widespread economic pain is a core reason Beijing has repeatedly called for an immediate end to the conflict. While China’s strategic investments in renewable energy, electric vehicles, and its own domestic oil reserves have shielded it from the worst of the global fuel price crisis, the conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most critical energy and trade chokepoints. For an export-reliant Chinese economy already stuck in low gear, this disruption has translated to widespread pain across industrial supply chains.

    An hour’s drive from Foshan, in Guangzhou’s sprawling fabric market—the largest of its kind on the planet—the impact of higher energy costs is already palpable. Motorcycles piled high with brightly colored fabric rolls weave through crowded streets, while small delivery vans honk their way between loading bays serving thousands of small textile traders. Here, every business relies on cheap, stable oil supplies to produce the petrochemical inputs needed to make synthetic fabrics. Traders across the market report that shipping and raw material costs have jumped by roughly 20% since the conflict began.

    “Costs go up, but our customers refuse to accept higher prices,” one fabric trader explains over tea in his small back-office storage room. “Orders are drying up, and unsold fabric rolls are piling up in our warehouses. If we don’t pass the extra costs on to buyers, we have to swallow them ourselves—and we’re already working on thinner margins than we can afford.” A year ago, during the height of the US-China trade war, traders here spoke with open defiance against external pressure. Today, there is only quiet resignation.

    Amid the widespread uncertainty, however, there are glimmers of opportunity, on display at the annual Canton Fair in Guangzhou, where thousands of Chinese manufacturers welcome global buyers in cavernous exhibition halls. This is the image Beijing is eager to project to the world: a forward-looking innovation hub, showcasing cutting-edge technology while the United States remains mired in Middle East conflict. Humanoid robots wave and sing for visitors taking selfies, long lines form to test AI-powered translation glasses and assistive robotic climbing legs, and everyday consumer goods from stain-clearing smart vacuums to high-end espresso machines draw crowds.

    Even here, though, price tags are climbing, due in large part to higher oil-derived plastic input costs. But the conflict has also reinforced one key competitive advantage for Chinese manufacturers: electric vehicles (EVs). Data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association shows that Chinese factories exported 350,000 EVs in March alone—a 30% increase from February and a 140% jump from March of the previous year. EVs have long been one of China’s top exports to the Middle East, but the conflict has disrupted shipping routes, leaving many shipments stranded at Chinese ports.

    Joyce Liu, an EV trader at the Canton Fair, explains that her business has been upended by the conflict. “Last year, 90% of our cars went to the Middle East, but this year we’ve almost completely stopped doing business there because of the war,” she says. “Some of our finished vehicles are still waiting for loading at Chinese ports right now.” Liu has come to the fair this year to court new buyers from Africa, South America, and South Asia—and she is not alone. As petrol and diesel prices skyrocket globally, waiting lists for affordable Chinese EVs have grown rapidly in dozens of developing economies.

    Even Middle Eastern buyers are still exploring opportunities, despite the conflict. A trade delegation from Oman spent days inspecting EV models at the fair, and ultimately agreed to a new deal, haggling over terms under bright exhibition spotlights beside a banner printed in both English and Arabic. “We are here to build cooperation with Chinese companies,” says Zahir Mohammed Zahir al-Kaabi, a member of the Omani delegation. “Times are hard right now, but Inshallah the war will end soon and business will grow.”

    That outcome—an early end to the conflict—is exactly what Beijing is working toward. Analysts note that despite some geopolitical opportunities for China in the conflict, the country is far from emerging as a clear winner. “Ironically, China has long hoped to see a relative decline in US global influence, but this is not the kind of declining US it wanted,” explains Yu Jie, a senior research fellow at London-based think tank Chatham House. “Beijing would far prefer a more predictable US that is easier to engage and manage.”

    Yu adds that Beijing is walking a careful diplomatic line right now, eager to avoid irritating the Trump administration ahead of a scheduled US-China summit in May. “Beijing will do everything it can to keep that meeting on track,” she says. So far, China has taken a measured approach: it has publicly called for an immediate ceasefire, pushed its long-time ally Iran to enter negotiations, and echoed Trump’s own calls for de-escalation, while holding high-level meetings and calls with leadership from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    This diplomatic outreach is a deliberate show of soft power, says William Figueroa, a professor of history and international relations at the University of Groningen. “China wants to demonstrate to both the United States and regional partners that it is serious about its commitments in the Middle East—and this message is for a global audience,” he explains. The moment makes clear that China is no longer just the center of the global manufacturing economy; it is increasingly a central player in global geopolitics.

    Back in Foshan, though, these global power shifts mean little to the struggling migrant workers scraping by on low wages. One older worker pulls out a Canton Fair entry pass from his pocket, laughing as he takes another drag from a cigarette. He earned 150 yuan—around 20 dollars—for a 14-hour shift cleaning exhibition hall toilets. For him, and for millions of workers like him across China’s industrial heartland, the conflict has only added another layer of uncertainty to a life already defined by hardship.

  • Corbyn slams ‘surveillance state’ after UK universities pay firm to spy on pro-Palestine students

    Corbyn slams ‘surveillance state’ after UK universities pay firm to spy on pro-Palestine students

    A joint investigative journalism investigation by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates has ignited fierce public and political backlash across the United Kingdom, after uncovering that 12 leading British higher education institutions have contracted a private intelligence firm led by former military intelligence officials to monitor pro-Palestine student protesters and academic staff. Since 2022, the 12 universities – including globally renowned institutions such as the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London and King’s College London, alongside the University of Sheffield, University of Leicester, University of Nottingham, and Cardiff Metropolitan University – have paid Horus Security Consultancy Limited at least £440,000 (equivalent to roughly $594,000) for the surveillance work. The firm, which brands itself as a “leading intelligence” provider, was tasked with scanning public and private social media accounts of campus community members to track expressions of solidarity with Palestine, as well as compiling purported counter-terrorism threat assessments for the institutions. The investigation also documented specific cases of targeted surveillance: a 70-year-old Palestinian scholar, Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, who was invited to deliver a guest lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2023, was placed under monitoring by Horus agents, alongside a pro-Palestine PhD candidate studying at the London School of Economics. Speaking out about the experience, Abdulhadi condemned the arbitrary surveillance as a fundamental violation of academic freedom and due process. “You’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty… but they actually made an assumption of guilt and started investigating me because of my scholarship,” she said. Abdulhadi further questioned what scholars must self-censor in their research and teaching to avoid what she called “this unwarranted, unfair and unjust scrutiny and surveillance.” Founded in 2006 as an internal project within the University of Oxford’s own campus security department, Horus is currently overseen by Colonel Tim Collins, who has held the role of director at the firm’s parent company since 2020. Collins has a well-documented history of controversial public positions: he has publicly called for the deportation of non-British citizens who participate in what he labels “misbehaving” protests, and has repeatedly claimed that pro-Palestine demonstrations across the UK are the product of a “Russian/Iranian orchestrated media campaign.” Multiple human rights and international experts have decried the surveillance program as a dangerous attack on civil liberties. Gina Romero, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly and association, warned that the use of artificial intelligence by private firms to harvest and analyze personal student data raises “profound legal concerns” and has created a “state of terror” among student activists who wish to exercise their right to peaceful protest. Orlaith Roe, public affairs and communications officer at the UK-based International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), described the revelations as deeply alarming. “It is deeply frightening that some of the UK’s most respected universities have paid a private firm run by former military intelligence officials to surveil their own students and academics, particularly those in the pro-Palestine movement,” Roe said. She added that the UN special rapporteur’s characterization of the surveillance as creating a “state of terror” should be a urgent wake-up call for anyone who defends the rights to free speech and peaceful assembly in the UK. “This is not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of targeted monitoring of dissent in the UK – and without urgent scrutiny, it will not be the last,” Roe warned. Longtime UK MP and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who leads the Your Party political grouping, echoed these criticisms, arguing that the surveillance program is the latest sign of the UK sliding toward authoritarian surveillance policies. “Britain is becoming a surveillance state,” Corbyn told Middle East Eye. “This is yet another disturbing example of an increasingly draconian crackdown on Palestinian solidarity. Universities are meant to encourage students to learn, not intimidate them into silence.” As of the publication of the investigation, neither Horus Security Consultancy nor most of the universities named in the report have responded to multiple requests for comment from journalists. On its official website, Horus claims it adheres to “the strongest ethics in whatever we do, and are fully transparent and legally compliant in whatever territory we operate in.”

  • Officials release cause of death for teen found dead in singer D4vd’s trunk

    Officials release cause of death for teen found dead in singer D4vd’s trunk

    After months of sealed investigative findings and public speculation, Los Angeles county medical officials have publicly confirmed that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was discovered in the trunk of a Tesla registered to viral singer D4vd, died as a result of multiple penetrating injuries. Officials officially classified the teen’s death as a homicide Wednesday, though the specific objects that caused the fatal wounds have not been disclosed to the public at this stage of the legal process.

    The grim discovery dates back to September 2025, when Hernandez’s body was found in the front boot of the vehicle registered to 21-year-old David Anthony Burke, the TikTok and streaming music artist professionally known as D4vd, best known for his hit tracks *Romantic Homicide* and *Here With Me*. Last week, more than seven months after the body was found, Los Angeles law enforcement took Burke into custody on multiple charges connected to Hernandez’s death, including one count of murder. During his first court arraignment on April 20, 2026, Burke entered a formal plea of not guilty, and his legal team has repeatedly stated they will aggressively defend his innocence.

    “The actual evidence will show that David did not kill Celeste and he was not the cause of her death,” Burke’s defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in an official statement shared with the BBC. “We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”

    While the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office completed its determination of cause and manner of death back on December 9, 2025, the findings were barred from public release to protect the active ongoing criminal investigation. Dr. Odey Ukpo, Chief Medical Examiner, publicly noted Wednesday that he has long criticized the decision to withhold the results, saying the extended wait has been an unnecessary burden on Hernandez’s grieving family.

    “After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss,” Ukpo said in his statement. “It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter.”

    This week, following Burke’s arraignment, Hernandez’s family broke their silence to share their first public statement about the case. The teen, a resident of Lake Elsinore, was described as a vibrant, loving young person who enjoyed singing and dancing, and cherished weekly family movie nights.

    “Celeste was a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together,” her parents Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez said. “We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. We miss her deeply. All we want is Justice for Celeste.”

    Family attorney Patrick Steinfeld told the BBC the family remains “devastated after hearing the gruesome details that came out in David Burke’s arraignment.” The family also expressed gratitude to law enforcement, prosecutors, and their local community for the ongoing support they have received in the months since Hernandez was reported missing.

    Per case details laid out by Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Hernandez traveled to Burke’s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, and was never heard from again after that visit. Her parents filed a missing person report with authorities the same month, but her remains were not located until five months later, when they were found in the singer’s vehicle.

    Since Burke’s arrest, he has been held in custody without possibility of bail. In the months between the discovery of Hernandez’s body and his arrest, Burke stepped back from all public activity: his scheduled world tour was canceled, and multiple brand partnership deals were reportedly terminated by partners.

    Law enforcement officials have publicly defended the extended timeline of the investigation, pushing back against criticism over the months-long gap between the discovery of the body and criminal charges. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell explained Monday that decomposition of evidence, caused by the substantial period of time between Hernandez’s death and the discovery of her body, significantly delayed the determination of cause of death. Additional delays came from the need to interview dozens of witnesses, some of whom were uncooperative with investigators, and thoroughly process all evidence before filing charges to avoid jeopardizing the case.

    “My duty is not to fuel speculation. It’s to deliver justice, and that requires patience and discipline on everybody’s part,” McDonnell said. “This investigation was driven by a single purpose to secure justice for Celeste Rivas and for those who loved her. We had to be certain that nothing we did or said would ever jeopardise this case.”

    Hochman echoed that sentiment, noting that complex cases require thorough work to gather all available information before moving forward with charges. He has issued a public call for any member of the public with additional information connected to Hernandez’s disappearance or death to contact investigators immediately.

  • How the US-Iran war is costing China

    How the US-Iran war is costing China

    Escalating geopolitical friction between the United States and Iran has sent ripples across the global economy, and one nation that finds itself navigating a complex mix of challenges and openings is China. In an in-depth analysis from BBC correspondent Laura Bicker, the interconnected nature of global politics and economics means China is not a passive bystander to this regional standoff – it faces tangible economic headwinds even as it could secure quiet strategic advantages.

    First and most immediately, the conflict-driven disruption to energy markets has hit China’s bottom line. As the world’s largest crude oil importer, China relies heavily on stable supplies flowing through the Persian Gulf, a region that is immediately impacted by heightened US-Iran hostilities. When tensions spike, global oil prices invariably jump, inflating China’s import bills for energy. These higher costs trickle through the entire Chinese economy, pushing up operating expenses for manufacturers, raising transportation costs for domestic goods, and putting upward pressure on overall inflation. Beyond energy, broader trade routes through the Middle East also face increased risk of disruption, which raises shipping insurance premiums and creates delivery delays for Chinese goods heading to European and Middle Eastern markets, cutting into the competitiveness of Chinese exports.

    The political landscape, however, presents a different set of dynamics for Beijing. The ongoing focus of the United States on containing Iranian influence and managing conflict in the Middle East diverts American strategic attention and resources away from its competition with China. For years, the US has prioritized great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, but a sustained crisis with Iran forces the US to split its military, diplomatic and economic focus. This creates space for China to advance its own regional and global strategic goals, from expanding trade relationships across the Middle East through its Belt and Road Initiative to strengthening diplomatic ties with nations that are aligned against US policy in the region. Additionally, China can position itself as a neutral broker for peace between the two sides, burnishing its image as a responsible global power committed to diplomatic de-escalation.

    Bicker’s analysis notes that the balance of costs and benefits for China remains deeply dependent on how the conflict evolves. A full-scale, prolonged war would far outweigh any political gains, sending energy prices soaring to unsustainable levels and triggering a global recession that would devastate Chinese export demand. A low-intensity, prolonged standoff, on the other hand, allows China to absorb the limited economic costs while capitalizing on the strategic opportunities that come from a distracted United States.

  • Linyi strengthens global trade links through RCEP expo

    Linyi strengthens global trade links through RCEP expo

    The city of Linyi, located in China’s eastern Shandong province, is cementing its role as a key global trade nexus after successfully hosting the fifth RCEP (Shandong) Import Expo from April 20 to 22, 2026. The three-day trade event drew hundreds of international suppliers and thousands of business leaders from across the world, creating new pathways for cross-border commerce and strengthening economic ties under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership framework.

    A China Daily US-based contributor, Douglas Dueno, was among the attendees who explored the expo’s vast exhibition halls, where vendors displayed a diverse array of goods from across the globe and pitched collaborative opportunities to visiting investors and buyers. Unlike regional trade events limited to single industry sectors, this expo welcomed participants from a wide range of product categories, spanning consumer goods to industrial materials, reflecting the broad scope of RCEP’s trade integration goals.

    Organizers confirmed that the event gathered exhibitors not only from all 15 RCEP member states but also from non-member economies seeking access to China’s massive domestic market and regional trade routes. In total, more than 400 international suppliers set up booths at the expo, while over 5,300 domestic Chinese and overseas buyers traveled to Linyi to source products, negotiate supply agreements, and build long-term business partnerships.

    What sets Linyi apart as a host for large-scale international trade events is its established position as one of China’s top logistics and wholesale trade hubs. For decades, the city has built out a robust infrastructure ecosystem that includes streamlined customs clearance, far-reaching domestic and international distribution networks, and cost-effective logistics solutions that cut down on transit time and operational costs for cross-border traders. These advantages have created a natural backbone for events like the RCEP Import Expo, enabling exhibitors and attendees to move goods faster across borders and reach new consumer markets across the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

    The successful holding of this year’s expo builds on Linyi’s growing reputation as a strategic gateway for regional trade, highlighting how RCEP’s tariff reduction and trade facilitation policies are unlocking new opportunities for businesses of all sizes across member and non-member economies alike.

  • Gansu-Hunan power line delivers 10 billion kWh in Q1

    Gansu-Hunan power line delivers 10 billion kWh in Q1

    China’s flagship West-to-East power transmission infrastructure has notched a major milestone in the first quarter of 2026, with the ±800 kilovolt Gansu-to-Hunan ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission line delivering more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, operator State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company has announced. To put this output in context, the volume is enough to meet the full annual electricity demand of roughly 2.95 million average three-member households across China.

    A core component of China’s national West-to-East power transmission strategy, the 2,383-kilometer transmission corridor stretches from the Qilian converter station in northwestern China’s Gansu province, across Shaanxi, Chongqing and Hubei, all the way to its final terminal at the Shaoshan converter station in central southern Hunan. Since the project entered commercial operation in June 2017, it has cumulatively transmitted more than 200 billion kWh of electricity across regional boundaries, marking it as one of the country’s most productive cross-regional energy arteries.

    What sets this 2026 milestone apart is the growing share of low-carbon energy in the transmission mix: more than 40 percent of the electricity moved via the line so far this year comes from renewable sources. The infrastructure has been instrumental in unlocking large-scale development of Gansu’s abundant wind and solar energy resources, enabling bundled transmission of wind, solar and thermal power from the resource-rich northwest to high power-demand regions in central China. Beyond supporting economic growth in Hunan and surrounding regions, the optimized cross-regional energy allocation brought by the UHV project directly advances China’s national carbon peaking and neutrality goals by increasing the share of renewables in the national energy mix.

    To maintain reliable output amid growing demand, the line has sustained extended high-load operation through the first three months of 2026, with daily transmission volume exceeding 100 million kWh on 41 days this year. As the operating entity responsible for the project, State Grid Gansu Ultra-High Voltage Company has made power supply security its top organizational priority, rolling out a series of enhanced monitoring and maintenance measures to avoid service disruptions.

    The company has upgraded its full-lifecycle safety management framework and integrated a suite of advanced inspection technologies into its operations, including automated routine inspections, drone-based remote monitoring, and infrared and ultraviolet defect detection. These tools have enabled the construction of an all-weather, multi-dimensional monitoring system covering every segment of the line and all core converter station equipment, boosting overall equipment reliability and guaranteeing consistent, stable delivery of clean energy across regions.