Global Pulse

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  • The parents whose boys play in two World Cup teams

    The parents whose boys play in two World Cup teams

    For football fans across Scotland, picking a team to cheer on at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is a straightforward choice. But for one Aberdeenshire family, the tournament brings a once-in-a-lifetime joyous dilemma: two sons, wearing the jerseys of two different nations, both competing on soccer’s biggest global stage.

    Jack and Heather Souttar, lifelong football lovers from the small village of Luthermuir, are packing their bags this week to travel across the Atlantic to the United States, where their middle son John will make his World Cup debut starting for Scotland, while their youngest son Harry lines up for Australia. The unique situation is a dream come true for the proud parents, even as it requires careful logistics to pull off.

    John and Harry are both professional centre-backs, who cut their teeth in the Scottish football system before moving to top clubs across the United Kingdom. John, who earned his first Scotland cap in 2018, currently plays for Glasgow Rangers after previous stints at Dundee United and Heart of Midlothian. Harry, who got his Australian eligibility through Heather, who was born in the country, has been a mainstay of the Socceroos squad since 2019, and currently plies his trade at Leicester City following spells at Stoke City and Dundee United. What makes the 2026 tournament extra special is that it marks John’s first appearance at a World Cup, while Harry already featured for Australia at the 2022 Qatar edition.

    The logistical challenge for Jack and Heather is significant: their sons’ two opening round group stage matches are separated by 3,000 miles and six days of travel across the U.S. The couple have already planned for the first two matches, but say they are keeping their plans flexible, holding out hope that both Scotland and Australia advance deep into the tournament, requiring them to travel further to continue cheering on both boys.

    Far from the family being torn between loyalties, the Souttars say their support for both sons is equal. “It’s a big thing, I suppose. We want to support both kids and both countries. Then the ball’s in the air for the rest of it,” Jack said in an interview, adding that the brothers share a warm, friendly rivalry rather than any bitter competition. Though they occasionally scrapped as children, the pair are close, regularly discussing matches and supporting one another through the ups and downs of professional football.

    Football has been woven into the Souttar family’s life for generations. Jack himself played for Brechin City in his youth, and all five of his children – oldest son Aaron, followed by Mhiran, John, Ailsa and Harry – grew up playing the game and following it closely. Over decades, Jack and Heather logged thousands of miles driving across the UK to watch their sons play at youth and professional levels, a commitment they never saw as a burden.

    “I think the big thing is that it was never a task for us,” Jack said. “We trained at Dundee twice a week. Then we were going down to Glasgow twice a week and training down there… We were all over the country supporting them and, to be fair, we both really enjoy football. It was excellent. We didn’t want to be grumpy parents. We treated it as a holiday.”

    This World Cup is not the first time the Souttar family has had a chance to watch Scotland compete at the tournament. In 1998, the last time Scotland qualified for the World Cup before 2026, Jack traveled to France with 10-year-old Aaron, while a toddler-aged John stayed home with Heather, who was heavily pregnant with Harry. Heather never got to make that 1998 trip, and joked that she has waited 28 years for her turn to attend a World Cup with her family. “I never made it. I was very pleased that they went and I said ‘well, I’ll go to the next one’,” she said. “But here we are, 28 years later for the next one. I’ve waited a while.”

    This year, a group of four generations of extended Souttar family and friends will travel to the U.S. with Jack and Heather, who has organized the entire trip. The only absence will be Aaron, the oldest brother, who passed away in July 2022 at the age of 42 after a multi-year battle with motor neurone disease. Both John and Harry have spoken publicly about how Aaron shaped their careers and served as a role model for them growing up.

    One of the biggest questions the Souttars have been asked is what will happen if Scotland and Australia both advance far enough to face each other in a knockout match, pitting brother against brother on the world stage. But Jack says the family’s love for both sons will not change, no matter the outcome. “I don’t think, because we’re from Scotland, our feelings for Harry are any less. We’re just so proud – as any parent would be – for their kids doing well. In any sport or any walk of life,” he said.

    For Heather, the 2026 World Cup is about more than just football: it is a chance to build new, lasting memories for the whole family, after 28 years of waiting. “On the football side we’ll have new stories, because we’ve heard the France ’98 stories for years, so we’ll have lots of new stories and new memories for all the family,” she said. “Memories and stories forever and that’s all you can want for families, isn’t it?”

  • World Cup 2026: Tournament kicks off under shadow of politics and restrictions

    World Cup 2026: Tournament kicks off under shadow of politics and restrictions

    The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the most prestigious tournament in global football, kicked off Thursday amid a wave of controversy that has pitted the joy of the world’s game against systemic issues ranging from harsh visa restrictions and exploitative dynamic pricing to overt political interference from the Trump administration. What was billed as a historic first tri-nation co-hosting effort between the United States, Mexico and Canada has instead been defined by barriers for teams, officials and fans, particularly those from Global South nations. Play opened with the host Mexico facing 2010 World Cup winner South Africa in Mexico City, followed by a Group Stage clash between South Korea and Czechia. The North American leg of the tournament gets underway on Friday, with Canada’s opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the afternoon and the United States taking on Paraguay in the evening. Of the tournament’s 104 total matches, 78 will be held across the U.S., while Canada and Mexico will host 15 matches apiece.

    Even before the opening kickoff, political tensions spilled onto the pitch. Thousands of protesters gathered at Mexico City’s Estadio Ciudad de Mexico ahead of the opening ceremony, drawing attention to the politicized landscape surrounding the event. But the most high-profile controversy has centered on actions by the Trump administration, which has enacted sweeping entry restrictions and targeted vetting that has disrupted teams and officials across the globe. Just days before the tournament began, U.S. border officials barred entry to Somali referee Omar Artan, one of 52 officials selected to officiate matches, who was stopped during a so-called “routine inspection” at Miami International Airport despite holding a valid U.S. visa. Artan, who would have made history as the first Somali referee at a men’s World Cup and was named 2025 Confederation of African Football Referee of the Year, was held for 11 hours of intensive questioning where he provided all required FIFA and supporting documentation before being detained and deported back to Somalia via Istanbul. The U.S. currently enforces a near-total travel ban on Somalia.

    Artan’s exclusion is not an isolated case. Iran, which is also under a full Trump-era travel ban, requested that all of its team’s matches held on U.S. soil be relocated to Mexico amid heightened security tensions tied to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. The request was initially rejected, before officials eventually allowed Iran to base its team in Mexico – but imposed a punishing requirement that the entire squad enter and exit the U.S. on the same day as each of their fixtures, eliminating any chance for proper pre-match acclimatization and preparation. Multiple members of Iran’s support staff were also denied visas entirely. U.S. officials publicly stated the restrictions were intended to prevent Iran from “abusing this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences.”

    Teams from other nations that fall under U.S. travel restrictions have also faced heightened, discriminatory security measures. Senegal’s national team underwent extensive baggage inspections directly on the airport tarmac upon arrival, while the Uzbek squad was greeted at their U.S. training facility by drug-sniffing dogs and mandatory security screenings. Senegal is subject to a partial U.S. travel ban. An Iraqi player was detained at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and the Iraqi team’s official photographer was barred from entering the country entirely.

    On the eve of the tournament opening, U.S. President Donald Trump – who has previously been awarded the FIFA Peace Prize – made a stunning announcement that the U.S. would launch military strikes against Iran and invade its territory, amplifying global security fears just as the tournament got underway. When asked about the ongoing visa disputes impacting World Cup participants, Trump only stated that the cases were under review, adding “We’re working on it very closely to make sure the right people come into our country.”

    Beyond political and visa chaos, the 2026 tournament has been marred by exorbitant ticket pricing that has priced out all but the wealthiest fans, a crisis amplified by the introduction of “dynamic pricing” for the first time in World Cup history. The new model allows ticket platform algorithms to adjust prices in real time based on consumer demand, pushing costs to unprecedented levels. As of the tournament’s opening day, the cheapest available ticket for the U.S.’s opening match in Los Angeles stood at $1,183, while the next U.S.-based fixture between Qatar and Switzerland carries a minimum entry price of roughly $614. Even for a lower-demand Group Stage match between Haiti and Scotland in Massachusetts, the cheapest available seat costs just under $650. A high-profile clash between top-ranked Brazil and Morocco in New Jersey will see fans pay a minimum of $1,633 just to attend.

    Unlike past World Cups held in South Africa, Brazil, Russia and Qatar – which offered subsidized ticket rates for local residents – the U.S. has implemented no federal program to make tickets affordable for average fans. While prices in the U.S. are the highest across the three host nations, even opening match tickets in Mexico during the second round of sales in April 2026 ranged from $3,000 to $10,000, according to CNN reporting. Minor price cuts have emerged in the days leading up to kickoff, but volatile price fluctuations have left costs far out of reach for most casual fans. Leading U.S. sports outlet The Athletic has labeled the 2026 ticket pricing structure an outright “rip-off.”

    Visa restrictions have created additional layers of barriers for international fans hoping to attend. The U.S. already maintains one of the strictest visa application regimes in the world, requiring visitors from Global South nations to disclose extensive financial records, full employment histories, next-of-kin details, attend mandatory in-person interviews and pay hundreds of dollars in application fees just to be considered. The Trump administration has added a new requirement for extensive social media vetting of all non-immigrant visa applicants, ostensibly to screen for national security threats, but critics argue the process is used to exclude applicants with political views that conflict with the administration’s agenda.

    Unlike the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 tournament in Qatar, both of which implemented simplified special entry processes for ticket holders, the U.S. has created new hurdles that disproportionately impact fans from lower-income countries. In December 2025, Trump added 39 nations to the U.S. travel ban, including four participating World Cup nations: Haiti and Iran were placed under full entry bans, while Senegal and Ivory Coast face partial restrictions. The administration also imposed a mandatory visa bond scheme requiring travelers from 50 nations to pay deposits ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to the State Department before receiving a visa, though the rule was partially rolled back in mid-May to exempt ticket holders and team staff from participating nations including Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.

    Advocates and rights groups have criticized FIFA for failing to push back against these discriminatory restrictions, arguing the global governing body has effectively legitimized the U.S.’s policies. Even FIFA’s much-promoted “once-in-a-lifetime 2026 World Cup Final experience” package, which includes tickets and accommodation, is only open to legal residents of 16 countries – explicitly excluding residents of co-host Mexico from entering.

    Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, defended the administration’s policies in December 2025, telling reporters “I’ve known the president for 25 years. The president does not rule out anything that will help make American citizens safer.”

    Tensions extend far beyond entry restrictions, with rights groups warning that even fans and officials with valid visas face risks of detention, invasive questioning and aggressive immigration enforcement during their stay. The issue gained attention after a father of two was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a FIFA Club World Cup match in New Jersey in July 2025. In late April 2026, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued an official national travel advisory warning foreign visitors of the risks of entering the U.S., including arbitrary detention and deportation, invasive social media screening, racial profiling, suppression of free speech, widespread surveillance, and even the risk of inhumane treatment or death in U.S. detention facilities.

    The ACLU has also raised concerns about the rights of people already residing in the U.S., particularly those protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies. In late May, workers at Inglewood, California’s SoFi Stadium – which will host multiple World Cup matches – publicly demanded that ICE have no involvement in the tournament. Workers raised alarms that FIFA may be sharing personal data of staff and attendees with ICE and foreign intelligence agencies. “We cannot celebrate the World Cup while workers, tourists, immigrant families, and local communities are made to feel unsafe. Los Angeles should be a city of welcome – not fear,” Yolanda Fierro, a SoFi Stadium worker and member of Unite Here Local 11 trade union, said in a statement.

    Activists stress they are not calling for a boycott of the tournament, but rather for all visitors to prepare for the risks they may face. “It is a call for precaution – for awareness of risks, for preparation, and for safety planning,” explained Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s human rights program.

  • Argentina’s inflation slows to 8-month low in a boost for President Milei

    Argentina’s inflation slows to 8-month low in a boost for President Milei

    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Fresh economic data released Thursday has delivered a rare glimmer of good news for Argentine President Javier Milei, as the country’s inflation rate cooled for the second straight month in May, following nearly a year of unrelenting price hikes that threatened to erode the libertarian leader’s core policy progress.

    Government statistics agency INDEC reported that consumer prices climbed 2.1% in May compared to April, a figure that Economy Minister Luis Caputo celebrated as the lowest monthly inflation rate recorded in eight months. However, the annual inflation rate ticked upward slightly to 33.2% this May, a statistical shift driven by an unusually low 1.5% monthly inflation reading in May 2025, which marked a seven-year low at the time.

    Since that 2025 low, prices have remained persistently high, squeezing household budgets across the country and stoking widespread public discontent with Milei’s administration. The government is already grappling with overlapping crises: a string of high-profile corruption scandals, and a deep economic downturn hitting labor-heavy sectors including retail and manufacturing.

    Breaking down May’s price movements, communications services saw the steepest increase at 3.4%, driven by rising phone and internet bills. Education costs followed close behind, while food prices accelerated 2.5% year-over-year, continuing to put pressure on low- and middle-income households.

    Beyond the inflation data, the Milei administration secured another vote of confidence from global markets this week: major credit ratings agency S&P Global announced late Wednesday it had upgraded Argentina’s sovereign credit rating to stable B-, up from the CCC tier widely considered to signal high risk of sovereign default. The upgrade cited the government’s consistent track record of meeting debt repayment obligations.

    Milei publicly celebrated the dual wins on social media, sharing the INDEC inflation report and praising Caputo — who goes by the nickname “Toto” — with the enthusiastic comment, “Let’s goooooo Toto!”

    While the credit upgrade still leaves Argentina well below investment grade status, it marks a key step forward for Milei’s long-term policy goal of restoring the crisis-prone Argentine economy’s access to global capital markets. It has been six years since Argentina defaulted on its foreign debt for the ninth time in the country’s modern history.

    Milei took office in late 2023 on a promise to crush Argentina’s long-running sky-high inflation and reverse decades of chronic fiscal deficits. More than two years into his term, his sweeping austerity and deregulation agenda has delivered tangible progress: the country has posted a rare budget surplus, won over skeptical international investors, and brought annual inflation down from the 200% peak it hit when he first took office to the current 33% reading.

    Yet significant headwinds remain that threaten to undermine Milei’s agenda. Even with slowing inflation, the cost of living in the capital Buenos Aires is now comparable to major European capitals, and price growth continues to outpace real wage gains for most workers. Unemployment has crept upward as thousands of workers have been laid off from domestic industries that cannot compete with a flood of cheap imported goods.

    Compounding economic pressures, corruption scandals — which Milei vowed to eliminate when he campaigned for office — have eroded public support even as the administration cuts funding for core public services including education, health care and social assistance.

    The most recent controversy involves Milei’s top aide and cabinet chief Manuel Adorni, who is currently under investigation for alleged illicit enrichment. Investigators are probing Adorni’s lavish travel, including an all-cash luxury trip to Aruba, and high-value real estate purchases that appear out of line with his modest public salary. On Wednesday, Adorni admitted to hiding $500,000 in undeclared savings and unreported cryptocurrency investments, deepening the political scandal.

  • Police investigate ‘8647’ written in grass on US national mall

    Police investigate ‘8647’ written in grass on US national mall

    U.S. law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into an unusual, large-sized marking etched into the grass of Washington DC’s National Mall that spells out the numerical sequence 8-6-4-7, a code that has become associated with anti-Donald Trump rhetoric in recent political discourse.

    For context, the two-digit number “86” has long circulated as American slang meaning to forcibly remove or eliminate a person or thing. Current Trump administration officials have publicly asserted that the full 4-digit sequence, which ends in 47—Trump’s official designation as the 47th U.S. president—functions as a coded call to incite violence against the sitting president.

    The U.S. Park Police confirmed in an official statement that officers first responded to a formal report of vandalism at the site at approximately 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday, which translates to 16:30 GMT. As of the latest update, investigators have not yet confirmed what caused the discoloration of the grass that created the visible numbers. Officials confirmed that grass samples have been collected for forensic testing, and the probe remains active and ongoing.

    Photographs captured at the site show clear markings for the numbers 8, 6, and 7, but the third digit 4 is faint and not distinctly visible in existing imagery. The location of the marking places it just a short distance from the National World War II Memorial, one of the most visited historic landmarks on the National Mall.

    This ongoing investigation comes at a moment of already heightened political tensions, as federal prosecutors are currently pursuing criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey over a separate social media post that featured the same 8-6-4-7 sequence arranged out of seashells on a beach. Comey faces multiple felony charges tied to allegations that the post constituted a criminal threat to kill President Trump. Comey has forcefully denied all wrongdoing, dismissing the prosecution as a blatant politically motivated attack targeting his opposition to the Trump administration.

    The coded number sequence has been adopted repeatedly by Trump’s political opponents over the course of his second term, appearing at multiple anti-administration protests across the country. The faded marking on the National Mall, which is most notable for the clear visibility of the leading 8 compared to the other three digits, emerged amid a high-profile citywide beautification initiative for federal monuments and public spaces that is being personally led by Trump. The initiative includes $13.1 million in allocated funding—equal to roughly £9.6 million—for renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as well as a controversial plan to construct a large commemorative arch decorated with gilded sculptures of iconic American symbols including lions and eagles.

  • Trump names new spy chief after pushback over previous pick

    Trump names new spy chief after pushback over previous pick

    U.S. President Donald Trump has tapped Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, to serve as the nation’s highest-ranking intelligence chief, filling a vacancy that opened after his first nominee failed to win congressional support over insufficient intelligence experience.

    Clayton, who currently holds the top prosecutorial role in one of the country’s most high-profile judicial districts, is already overseeing a number of major national and international cases. Most prominently, he leads the drug trafficking prosecution against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. His office has also taken charge of reviewing documents tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and prosecuted an Iraqi national charged with planning terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on behalf of the Iranian government.

    Before taking on his current role as U.S. Attorney, Clayton held leadership positions at the top-tier global law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, and previously chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal regulator that oversees U.S. stock markets. In a public post shared to his social platform Truth Social, Trump lauded Clayton’s professional standing, noting that “Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay.” He also urged the U.S. Senate to move quickly to approve the nomination.

    The nomination comes after Trump’s initial pick for the role, Bill Pulte, faced widespread bipartisan pushback on two key fronts: Pulte had no prior professional experience in intelligence gathering, and lawmakers raised alarms that he had abused his position as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to target Trump’s political opponents. Pulte was accused of making criminal referrals for alleged mortgage fraud against individuals Trump deemed enemies, though none of those referrals have resulted in convictions. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has since launched an investigation into whether Pulte altered FHFA’s investigative processes to carry out the political targeting.

    The outgoing director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, will wrap up her tenure on June 30, leaving a pressing timeline for Senate confirmation. Unlike the first nomination, Clayton’s pick has already earned bipartisan praise from key Senate lawmakers. Republican Senate Whip John Thune described Clayton as “a very qualified professional with a great skill set for managing a complex problem set.” Mark Warner, the top Democratic member of the Senate committee that will hold a confirmation vote on Clayton, also endorsed his qualifications, calling him “very qualified.”

    According to reporting from The New York Times, CIA Director John Ratcliffe had publicly advocated for Clayton to take the lead of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees all 18 U.S. federal intelligence agencies, making it the country’s top civilian intelligence leadership role.

  • Elon Musk’s SpaceX valued at nearly $1.8tn ahead of record share sale

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX valued at nearly $1.8tn ahead of record share sale

    Elon Musk’s aerospace and artificial intelligence firm SpaceX has secured $75 billion in pre-initial public offering (IPO) funding from global financial institutions, positioning the company for what is projected to be the highest-valued public stock debut in history when trading opens Friday on the Nasdaq exchange.

    In an official filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SpaceX confirmed it sold newly issued shares at a fixed price of $135 apiece, matching the valuation estimate the company released publicly last week. At this share price, the company’s total market capitalization upon listing will reach nearly $1.8 trillion.

    The landmark valuation carries historic personal ramifications for Musk, already the world’s wealthiest individual. If the $1.8 trillion valuation holds after trading opens, Musk will become the first person in recorded history to amass a personal net worth exceeding $1 trillion.

    While the final opening share price will be determined by open market auction dynamics, industry observers are already predicting overwhelming investor demand for SpaceX stock. Interest from both large institutional investment funds and individual retail investors is widely expected to outpace supply of available shares, which could push the traded price above the $135 pre-IPO level.

    Multiple Wall Street analysts have already set bullish target prices for the stock that exceed the $135 baseline. Global financial services firm Oppenheimer, for example, released a research note Thursday projecting SpaceX’s share price will climb to $190 once public trading is underway. If the share price holds at or above $135, SpaceX will immediately rank among the top 10 most valuable publicly traded companies in the world.

    Market analysts also note that SpaceX’s IPO is being closely watched as a critical test case for other large unlisted technology firms eyeing public offerings in 2025. Leading artificial intelligence developers Anthropic and OpenAI, both of which currently carry private valuations approaching $1 trillion, have publicly confirmed they are on track to launch their own IPOs later this year. The outcome of SpaceX’s debut will likely set a precedent for market appetite for large high-growth private tech companies going public.

  • As Colts wrap up minicamp, Cam Bynum turns focus to helping Filipinos affected by earthquake

    As Colts wrap up minicamp, Cam Bynum turns focus to helping Filipinos affected by earthquake

    INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off the Indianapolis Colts’ three-day mandatory minicamp, starting safety Cam Bynum is already preparing for a far different mission than preparing for the upcoming NFL season: joining disaster relief efforts in the Philippines, a nation that holds deep personal meaning for him.

    Bynum’s ties to the Southeast Asian archipelago run far deeper than casual connection. His mother Jen is of Filipino descent, he owns property in the country, and his wife Lalaine is Filipino — the pair even held their wedding there in March 2023. Long an advocate for the Philippines’ national flag football program, cross-Pacific trips during NFL offseasons have become a regular tradition for Bynum and his family. This year, however, the trip will center on recovery, not relaxation, after a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country.

    The powerful offshore quake, one of the strongest to strike the Philippines in 50 years, hit near the southern province of Sarangani on Monday. Official data puts the death toll at at least 37, with tens of thousands of residents displaced from their homes. While Bynum said he counts himself lucky that all of his family and close friends in the affected region escaped unharmed, many have lost their homes to the destruction.

    “A week from now, I’m tied up here filming content for the NFL, which delays my departure a bit,” Bynum explained Thursday after practice. “But as soon as that wraps up, I’m heading straight for the Philippines. I’m grateful to have this window of time off before training camp to go there and actually contribute to the recovery.”

    Bynum, who grew up in California and played college football at the University of California, Berkeley before being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, is entering his second season as a key contributor to the Colts’ defensive secondary, even amid widespread roster changes made by the team this offseason. He has long been open about celebrating his Filipino heritage; two years ago, he shared a public video dinner with his mother and other family members where he discussed Filipino cultural traditions and beloved cuisine.

    With the Colts’ training camp set to kick off in just one month, Bynum’s trip will require careful balancing of his professional football preparation, personal rest, and new relief work. Through the Bynum Faith Foundation, the organization he founded, he will help coordinate community outreach and rebuilding projects in the earthquake zone.

    His daily routine will look familiar in some ways: he plans to stick to his workout schedule, holding 7 a.m. training sessions at a facility used by Filipino Olympic athletes, and even using local flag football players as a scout team to stay sharp for the upcoming season. But any leisure time that would usually be spent at beaches or with family will be redirected to highlighting the quake’s damage and amplifying the stories of affected communities.

    “Through our foundation, we’ll be running multiple outreach missions to map out exactly what the affected areas need most,” Bynum said. “Right now, communities are still without power, they don’t have access to clean water after all the pipes broke in the quake. My goal is to bring more attention to the destruction that’s happened, so we can reach as many people in need as possible.”

    He added that he has already been inspired by the collective response to the disaster in the Philippines. “This is a community effort, everyone is pitching in to lift each other back up,” he said. “You see people coming together through this terrible hardship, and that’s just the spirit of the Filipino people.”

  • UK defence minister quits with stinging rebuke of PM Starmer

    UK defence minister quits with stinging rebuke of PM Starmer

    In a shocking move that has sent ripples through British politics, Defence Secretary John Healey stepped down from his post Thursday, launching a blistering rebuke of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the UK Treasury over what he calls insufficient funding commitments for national defence. The sudden exit comes after months of repeated delays to the Labour government’s much-anticipated 10-year Defence Investment Plan (DIP), a policy framework the prime minister has yet to publicly release.

    In a resignation letter published on his X social media account, Healey made clear his frustrations with the leadership: “You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.” He added that after warning Starmer he would not sign off on a DIP that failed to deliver adequate funding for British armed forces, he had no choice but to resign, warning that the underfunded proposal would leave Britain “less safe” amid growing global security risks.

    Within hours of Healey’s announcement, two more members of the defence team resigned: Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who has previously been named as a potential Labour leadership contender, and Pamela Nash, a senior aide to Healey. The resignations mark a significant blow to Starmer’s already fragile authority, coming just one week ahead of a critical by-election that could open the door to a leadership challenge.

    Starmer responded quickly to Healey’s departure, pushing back against the criticism in a reply letter. The prime minister insisted his proposed spending plans would allow the UK armed forces to undergo necessary transformation and modernization, adding, “I will always do what is needed to keep our country safe.” He has repeatedly reaffirmed his commitment to publishing the DIP ahead of the NATO summit scheduled to take place in Turkey on July 7, despite repeated delays that have frustrated defence industry stakeholders and security experts.

    Starmer’s centre-left Labour government took power in July 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative Party rule. It campaigned on a promise to increase defence spending and prioritize NATO alliance commitments, a pledge that comes as Russian threats to European security grow and former U.S. President Donald Trump continues to pressure NATO allies to shoulder more of the cost of collective defence, reducing reliance on Washington.

    The prime minister has publicly pledged to raise UK defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product starting next year, with planned increases to 3% by 2029 if Labour wins re-election, and a final target of 3.5% by 2035. But behind the scenes, media reports have long pointed to deep internal discontent over the fine print of the spending plan. Healey revealed in his letter that he only received full access to the DIP draft earlier this week, and the proposal only projects defence spending will reach 2.68% of GDP by 2030, falling far short of public commitments. A source close to the former defence secretary added that the Treasury’s offer failed to set any firm timeline for reaching the 3% spending target. Calling the current proposal inadequate for Britain’s current security challenges, Healey said the plan fell “well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.

    Tan Dhesi, Labour MP and chair of the UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee, urged the government to treat Healey’s warning “with the utmost seriousness”, describing the resignation as “a grave moment” for the government.

    The political pressure on Starmer is already mounting ahead of next Thursday’s by-election in the Makerfield parliamentary constituency, where Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is running for a seat. Both Burnham and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who resigned last month in the wake of disastrous local election results for Labour, have confirmed they would run in any future Labour leadership contest, though no challenge has formally been launched yet. While Healey has also been named as a potential leadership contender, there is no immediate evidence linking his resignation to leadership plotting.

    Political analysts warn the resignations have exposed deep divisions within Starmer’s government that further erode his standing. Patrick Diamond, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, told AFP the development “underlines that Starmer has become a lame duck prime minister who cannot get decisions through his own government”.

    Ed Arnold, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a leading UK defence and security think tank, noted that Healey’s resignation “creates a sequence of political headaches” for Starmer. The prime minister must first quickly fill the vacant defence secretary post, then work to shore up internal support to finally get the delayed defence investment plan over the line for publication ahead of the NATO summit, a task that has grown far more difficult in the wake of the resignations.

  • UN experts, MSF condemn crackdown on women by Afghan morality police

    UN experts, MSF condemn crackdown on women by Afghan morality police

    In recent days, escalating tensions have gripped the western Afghan city of Herat after the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) rolled out new restrictive rules targeting women, banning public exposure of feet and the use of makeup. The heavy-handed crackdown that followed has drawn sharp international condemnation from United Nations independent experts and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), amid reports of civilian casualties, mass detentions, and mounting harm to women’s access to basic services.

  • US attack kills three Indian sailors in Gulf of Oman

    US attack kills three Indian sailors in Gulf of Oman

    In a sharp escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran that has sent ripples across global maritime security, three Indian crew members have been confirmed dead following a U.S. military strike on a Palau-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, India’s federal shipping minister announced Thursday.

    The attack on the MT Settebello unfolded late Tuesday, after U.S. Central Command (Centcom) accused the vessel of repeatedly ignoring instructions from American forces while violating Washington’s ongoing blockade on Iranian ports by carrying Iranian crude oil. Of the 24 Indian nationals on board the tanker, 21 crew members have been pulled to safety, but three initially reported missing were confirmed dead after search teams recovered and identified their remains, said Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

    Calling the deaths a devastating loss for India’s broader maritime community, Sonowal confirmed that the Modi administration is extending full support to the bereaved families of the deceased. “I have directed officials to prioritize immediate repatriation of the rescued crew and the swift return of the mortal remains of the deceased so their final rites can be carried out,” the minister added. In direct response to the fatal strike, New Delhi summoned the deputy chief of the U.S. mission in India to register its objection.

    This attack marks the third U.S. strike on commercial vessels off the Omani coast in less than a week, as Washington ramps up enforcement of its blockade of Iranian maritime trade. Just one day before the strike on the MT Settebello, U.S. forces targeted another Palau-flagged tanker with an Indian crew, the Marivex, in the same region, also citing non-compliance with U.S. instructions. All 24 crew members of that vessel were rescued by Omani military forces, and all Indian personnel were confirmed unharmed. On Thursday, India confirmed a third suspected U.S. strike hit the asphalt tanker Jalveer off Oman’s coast; the Royal Navy of Oman is coordinating the evacuation of all crew to the port of Shinas, with no reports of Indian casualties as of Thursday evening.

    The surge in U.S. maritime operations comes against a backdrop of rapidly escalating cross-border hostilities between Washington and Tehran, which reignited earlier this week following the downing of a U.S. military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz—a critical global chokepoint through which 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and 20 percent of its liquefied natural gas transit daily. Since the outbreak of the latest conflict in late February, Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the U.S. to impose a full naval blockade on Iranian ports that launched on April 13. Centcom reported Wednesday that since the blockade began, U.S. forces have disabled eight non-compliant vessels, redirected 134 compliant ships, and allowed 42 vessels carrying humanitarian aid to pass through the restricted area.

    In the wake of the helicopter downing, U.S. President Donald Trump launched new strikes on Iranian military infrastructure across the country overnight Wednesday into Thursday, with Iranian media reporting explosions in key areas including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Minab near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as multiple locations near Tehran. Iranian media reported at least three people were wounded in Tehran province. Trump defended the strikes Wednesday, accusing Tehran of dragging out ceasefire negotiations and claiming Iran had “played us for suckers,” saying the country “will have to pay the price.”

    Iran’s foreign ministry issued a sharp condemnation of the U.S. strikes Thursday, saying the attacks had rendered the nearly two-month-old ceasefire “practically meaningless” and holding Washington fully responsible for any “extremely serious consequences” of the escalation. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retaliated within hours, launching strikes on U.S.-linked military targets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, extending the cycle of violence across the Middle East.