Global Pulse

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  • Russell Westbrook joins upstart basketball league Project B as co-founder and chief strategy officer

    Russell Westbrook joins upstart basketball league Project B as co-founder and chief strategy officer

    Fresh off his official retirement from the NBA last month, legendary nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion and 2017 league MVP Russell Westbrook is stepping into a groundbreaking new role in global basketball: co-founder and chief strategy officer of upstart mixed-gender professional league Project B.

    Westbrook isn’t just lending his name to the new venture, which is scheduled to tip off its global tour in January 2027 across major cities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The basketball icon holds a significant ownership stake in the league and will serve as a voting member of its board of directors, granting him sweeping influence over the organization’s strategic direction and long-term growth.

    In an official statement announcing his appointment, Westbrook emphasized that his new mission aligns with the core values that shaped his 16-year Hall of Fame-caliber NBA career. “At every step of my career, what was most valuable to me was making sure everyone had a seat at the table,” Westbrook said. “With Project B, we’re challenging the norm and bringing a new vision to the intersection of premium sport, culture, and entertainment. We’re reimagining the experience with players not only as key value drivers, but also as shareholders and decision makers.”

    Questions have naturally emerged about whether Westbrook will step onto the court as a player for the new league, but current official details offer no indication that he plans to join the playing roster. Project B has already begun building out its operational framework, launching its women’s division earlier and filling key executive positions for its upcoming men’s side. This past summer, the organization named former Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields as its head of men’s basketball, the first major leadership hire for the men’s circuit.

    To date, more than a dozen high-profile women’s basketball stars have already committed to competing in Project B, including standout names such as former WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike, 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick Azzi Fudd of the Dallas Wings, two-time WNBA champion Alyssa Thomas, All-Star Jonquel Jones, three-time All-Star Jewell Loyd, and Seattle Storm rookie Awa Fam. League organizers also expect a large pool of talented young emerging players from across the globe to join the rosters, building a diverse, competitive global product.

    One of the most notable promises the upstart league has made is a pay upgrade for its women’s athletes: Project B confirms that top player salaries on the women’s side will exceed the current maximum compensation offered by the WNBA, a move that addresses longstanding conversations about pay equity in professional women’s basketball.

  • Al-Khair Foundation strongly denies UK Lawyers for Israel allegation of Hamas links

    Al-Khair Foundation strongly denies UK Lawyers for Israel allegation of Hamas links

    A prominent UK-based international aid organization is at the center of a high-stakes regulatory investigation after a pro-Israel advocacy group formally accused it of ties to the proscribed militant group Hamas, prompting firm denials from the charity and renewed scrutiny of partisan efforts targeting Palestine solidarity work in Britain.

    The Al-Khair Foundation, which delivers critical humanitarian aid to vulnerable populations in Gaza, is now the subject of parallel probes by the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the UK Department for Education. The investigation was launched following a formal complaint submitted by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), an advocacy group that has long targeted organizations and individuals critical of Israeli government policy.

    The chain of events that led to the probes began in July, when Mohammad Yousef Hasna was arrested in the UK at the request of American federal law enforcement. US prosecutors have charged Hasna with providing material support to Hamas, which is listed as a banned terrorist organization by both the US and UK governments. Al-Khair Foundation has clarified that Hasna was never a direct employee of the organization, noting he worked for a separate partner charity that carries out humanitarian relief work in Gaza. No charges have been filed against Al-Khair itself in relation to the case.

    Within hours of learning of Hasna’s arrest on suspicion of terrorism-linked offenses, Al-Khair proactively submitted a mandatory serious incident report to the Charity Commission — a step the organization took before the regulator opened its formal inquiry. In an official statement released this week, the charity forcefully pushed back against all allegations of connections to Hamas or any other proscribed group.

    “We unreservedly condemn violence and extremism of all kinds,” the statement read. “Al-Khair Foundation as an organisation categorically denies any allegation of channelling support to, supporting or assisting Hamas or any proscribed entity in Gaza or elsewhere.” To address the inquiry fully, the charity has appointed an independent consultant to conduct a full factual review, with findings to be shared alongside all required legal and operational documentation for the investigation.

    The Department for Education’s parallel investigation centers on four schools operated by Al-Khair Foundation: three based in London and one in Oldbury, West Midlands. The charity emphasized that the school network operates completely independently from its international humanitarian aid programs, and has no connection whatsoever to Hasna. “The schools recognise the need for questions from the Department for Education and are responding to all of them,” the organization added.

    This investigation is not an isolated incident: for years, the Israeli government has repeatedly leveled unsubstantiated accusations of Hamas links against international charities that deliver aid to Gaza, where a decades-long blockade and escalating humanitarian crisis have left more than two million residents dependent on outside assistance. Al-Khair reaffirmed its commitment to serving vulnerable communities in the territory, noting its programs have reduced food insecurity and sustained life-saving support for thousands of families amid extremely challenging operating conditions. “We hope the inquiry process will allow us to present evidence that will establish the facts of the work of AKF, and the realities of our humanitarian operations in Gaza,” the charity said.

    Behind the complaint lies a long pattern of advocacy by UKLFI, which was founded in 2011 and has become a leading actor in pressuring UK-based organizations and individuals that express support for Palestinian rights or criticism of Israeli government policy. The European Legal Support Centre’s Britain Index of Repression, which documents systemic efforts to suppress Palestine solidarity activism across the UK, lists UKLFI 128 times. The centre’s research shows that UKLFI frequently acts as an initiating or escalating actor in campaigns against Palestinian solidarity activity, using formal complaints, legal threats, and public pressure to push schools, universities, employers, and public bodies to launch disciplinary proceedings or cancel planned events. This pattern of activity, the centre argues, has created a “chilling environment” where even lawful Palestine-related organizing is often abandoned out of fear of costly legal action and professional reputational harm.

  • ‘Below the dignity of the office’: Canadian officials condemn Pete Hegseth cadet post

    ‘Below the dignity of the office’: Canadian officials condemn Pete Hegseth cadet post

    A controversial social media post from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ignited widespread outrage across Canada, deepening already strained bilateral relations that are roiled by an escalating trade dispute between the two North American allies. Hegseth shared an image pulled from a local Canadian cadet training program’s social media account, which shows a young female cadet accepting an achievement award from her female instructor. To the post, he added a Canadian flag emoji and the caption “this is real”, a comment widely interpreted as a deliberate attempt to disparage Canada’s entire military establishment by mocking the physical appearance of the two women in the photo.

    Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty was among the first senior officials to condemn the action, stating Tuesday that Hegseth’s social media jab fell far below the standard of dignity expected for a cabinet-level defense secretary. The controversy comes at a moment when U.S.-Canada relations are already at a multi-decade low: the two nations are locked in a bitter trade dispute that has repeatedly devolved into personal insults and public taunts, and the Trump administration has spent years arguing that Canada unfairly relies on U.S. military power for its national defense while failing to meet its own alliance spending commitments.

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made clear Tuesday that there will be no resumption of stalled trade negotiations until the Trump administration ends its pattern of provocative public attacks. “Any trade discussions will only begin again when the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions,” Carney told reporters.

    When pressed for comment on Hegseth’s post, the Pentagon offered only a terse response, saying the content “speaks for itself” and declining further clarification. Canada’s national cadet program, which falls under military oversight, provides leadership development and practical skills training to young Canadians between the ages of 12 and 18, making the mockery of teen participants particularly inflammatory for Canadian audiences.

    The Army Cadet League of Canada, a civilian non-profit that supports the national program, issued an official statement strongly condemning the attack. The organization emphasized that “directing derogatory commentary toward youth who are actively working to better themselves and serve their communities is unacceptable,” and added that it rejects any form of online harassment or mockery of cadets’ hard-earned achievements.

    Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jennie Carignan, told public broadcaster CBC that military officials have already reached out directly to the two cadets involved in the incident to offer support and align on next steps. “We are consulting with them on how they want to go about doing this,” Carignan said, confirming that the cadets’ preferences will guide any official response from the Canadian Armed Forces.

    Multiple Canadian lawmakers from across the political spectrum have joined the condemnation, including Scott Anderson, a Conservative Member of Parliament from Vernon and a former military reservist. In a public post directed at Hegseth, Anderson argued that the U.S. defense secretary had failed to uphold the basic “responsibility and decorum” that comes with his high office. “You have chosen to set both aside and insult two female Canadian non-combatants, and to intentionally shame them before millions. You should be ashamed,” Anderson wrote. He added that while the U.S. and Canada are deeply connected through shared economies, integrated continental defense systems and intertwined cultural ties, the two remain sovereign nations, and Hegseth’s behavior crosses a fundamental line of respect. “Our economies, our continental defence and our cultures are irretrievably intertwined and yet we are two distinct nations. Canadians and Americans should have no problem with each other, but I have a problem with you,” Anderson added.

    The current tensions between the two nations trace back to last month, when planned bilateral trade talks collapsed after both sides traded accusations of last-minute demands that derailed a tentative preliminary agreement. In the immediate aftermath of the breakdown, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, and Canada has announced matching retaliatory tariffs set to take effect next week. The exchange of tariffs has been accompanied by a steady stream of personal and political insults: Ontario Premier Doug Ford publicly called U.S. President Donald Trump a “loser”, Trump has made the outlandish proposal to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America”, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy went so far as to falsely claim Canada “doesn’t have a military”.

    Despite the current downward spiral in relations, the U.S. and Canada have a decades-long history as close defense partners, including Canada’s long-standing deployment of troops alongside U.S. forces in the War in Afghanistan. In recent months, Canada has also significantly ramped up its defense spending after years of falling short of NATO’s mandatory spending targets, a move that was intended in part to address long-standing U.S. criticism of Canada’s defense contribution.

    For Hegseth, the international backlash adds to a growing list of domestic challenges he currently faces. A veteran himself, Hegseth has already been under significant pressure in Washington following a string of high-profile departures of senior military leaders from the Pentagon, and growing public criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the ongoing war with Iran. He has also built his public profile around pushing for strict standards for the appearance and physical fitness of U.S. troops, framing his agenda as a push to restore what he calls the military’s “warrior ethos.”

  • Jury in Malta acquits businessman in killing of investigative journalist

    Jury in Malta acquits businessman in killing of investigative journalist

    VALLETTA, Malta – In a verdict that has sent shockwaves across the Mediterranean island nation and reverberated through European media and accountability circles, a Maltese jury has acquitted Yorgen Fenech, the high-profile local businessman accused of orchestrating the 2017 car bomb killing of iconic anti-corruption investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The outcome comes nearly eight years after the assassination that upended Maltese politics, forced a sitting prime minister from office, and pulled back the curtain on deep-rooted impunity within the EU’s smallest member state.

    Caruana Galizia, 53, was killed instantly on October 16, 2017, when a remote-detonated explosive device attached to her vehicle blew up as she drove away from her home. For years before her death, the fearless reporter built a reputation for aggressive, unflinching investigations into public and private sector corruption across Malta’s political divide. Her work, much of it published in the wake of the 2016 Panama Papers leak, exposed alleged links between top officials in then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s inner circle and secret offshore accounts in tax havens. She did not spare opposition leaders or prominent business figures from scrutiny, and by the time of her murder, she was defending herself against more than 40 active libel suits filed by the figures she had targeted.

    Fenech, who was formally indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and complicity in murder in 2021, was accused by prosecutors of ordering the killing and funding the plot. He had consistently maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and on Wednesday, the jury delivered a unanimous not guilty verdict on both counts. He is the final defendant to be tried among six people charged in connection with the assassination plot.

    The case has long been intertwined with Malta’s political upheaval. Fenech was a key figure in a business consortium that secured a controversial, multi-million-dollar government contract to construct a new power plant on the island. His dramatic 2019 arrest, carried out as he attempted to leave Malta aboard his private yacht, triggered months of widespread mass protests across the country that ultimately forced Muscat to step down from office. Following Wednesday’s acquittal, Fenech left the Valletta courthouse without issuing any public statement, walking through a chaotic crowd of shouting hecklers to a waiting getaway car.

    Caruana Galizia’s family, which has led a years-long campaign to secure full accountability for her death, was present for the reading of the verdict. Her three sons left the courtroom immediately after the ruling without comment, releasing a formal statement to the public hours later via Facebook.

    The statement called the verdict a denial of the justice Caruana Galizia deserved. “Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed. Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost,” the family wrote.

    As is standard practice in Maltese criminal proceedings, no recording devices or press cameras were permitted inside the courtroom during the trial.

    Five other co-defendants have already been convicted or granted immunity for their roles in the plot. Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio pleaded guilty to carrying out the killing in 2022, and each received a 40-year prison sentence. Earlier this year, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius, who were convicted of supplying the explosive device used in the attack, were sentenced to life in prison – Malta’s maximum available penalty for murder. Vincent Muscat, another co-conspirator, pleaded guilty to his role in 2021 and was sentenced to 15 years behind bars. Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who admitted to acting as a middleman in the plot, received a presidential pardon in 2019 in exchange for his testimony against Fenech and other co-defendants.

    A 2021 independent public inquiry into the assassination concluded that the Maltese state bears direct institutional responsibility for Caruana Galizia’s death, finding that a culture of impunity tolerated and enabled by the highest levels of government created the conditions for the killing to occur.

  • Tunisia steps up civil society crackdown as anger mounts over power and water shortages

    Tunisia steps up civil society crackdown as anger mounts over power and water shortages

    As record-shattering summer heat pushes Tunisia into a dual crisis of widespread infrastructure collapse and growing public fury, President Kais Saied’s administration has intensified a sweeping, systematic crackdown on the country’s already beleaguered civil society sector, a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation has found. In a 49-page report published Wednesday, the global rights watchdog warns that the escalating targeting of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is not isolated harassment, but a deliberate campaign to eliminate independent civil society from the North African nation entirely.

    The report lays out a detailed timeline of repression that began between May and December 2024, when authorities arrested 14 staff members from two types of groups in particular: organizations that provide support to asylum seekers, and anti-racism advocacy groups. From 2025 through the first half of 2026, at least 47 individuals linked to targeted NGOs have gone through prosecution in Tunisian courts, the investigation found. At least 10 of those people have been held in pre-trial detention for periods longer than the 14-month maximum allowed under Tunisian national law, a clear violation of domestic legal standards.

    One of the highest-profile cases highlighted in the report is that of Saadia Mosbah, a leading Tunisian human rights defender. In March 2026, Mosbah was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a substantial fine on what HRW calls “abusive charges of financial crimes” that are widely seen as politically motivated. Five additional employees of asylum support organizations have also been convicted on similar fabricated charges tied directly to their professional work assisting vulnerable populations, the report confirms. All targeted organizations have been forced to cease operations entirely, leaving critical gaps in services for marginalized communities across Tunisia.

    Saied’s government has also weaponized existing counterterrorism and anti-money laundering laws to criminalize even basic assistance to foreigners living in Tunisia with irregular immigration status, turning humanitarian work into a criminal act.

    The government’s crackdown on dissent has done little to quell growing public anger, which has boiled over into mass street protests in recent weeks amid an unfolding climate and infrastructure emergency. This summer, temperatures in Tunisia have repeatedly climbed close to 50 degrees Celsius, driving unprecedented demand for electricity for cooling and increased strain on water supplies. To cope with constrained generation capacity, the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas rolled out rolling, rotating power cuts across multiple regions of the country.

    Those outages have triggered a cascading crisis that has hit the country’s water distribution network, which depends on electric-powered pumping stations to deliver supplies to homes and businesses. The outages have added extra pressure to a water system already severely weakened by years of persistent drought. Compounding the crisis, power cuts and shortages of raw plastic have disrupted production of bottled water, leaving communities without reliable access to safe drinking water during the record heat wave.

    The public health system has been pushed to breaking point as a result. Emergency departments across the country are already overwhelmed treating heat-related illnesses, and on August 29, the Tunisian Organisation of Young Doctors issued a statement warning of an “unprecedented” spike in heat-related deaths, and calling on the Saied administration to declare an official national health emergency.

    Facing growing public outrage over the failures of basic services, Saied has responded by blaming unspecified actors for sabotage, a familiar pattern of conspiratorial rhetoric from the president. He has claimed the outages and shortages are “premeditated acts aimed at inflaming the situation by any means necessary, spreading lies and rumours to sow confusion” and “mistreating citizens even in the most basic services” — but has failed to produce any public evidence to back up these claims.

    The current crackdown on civil society is part of a broader erosion of democratic norms that began shortly after Saied’s July 2021 power grab, when he dissolved the sitting parliament, seized executive authority, and moved to consolidate power under his personal control. Since that time, Tunisian civil liberties have deteriorated to what multiple local and international rights groups describe as an “alarming” state, with widespread condemnation of what they call Saied’s “authoritarian drift” and the sharp, systemic erosion of fundamental rights across the country. Dozens of journalists, opposition politicians, and human rights defenders have been arrested, with many handed lengthy, heavy prison sentences in recent years.

  • Exclusive: Blair asked PA to remove ‘Palestine’ from textbooks, former UK envoy says

    Exclusive: Blair asked PA to remove ‘Palestine’ from textbooks, former UK envoy says

    In a bombshell revelation shared during the David Hearst Podcast, former British Permanent Representative to the United Nations Jeremy Greenstock has pulled back the curtain on a controversial diplomatic demand tied to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, the U.S.-established body tasked with overseeing post-war Gaza reconstruction. According to Greenstock, the board tapped former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to pressure the Palestinian Authority (PA) to strip all references to the word ‘Palestine’ from its national school curricula, replacing the term with ‘Samaria’ – the Jewish historical designation for the region. Greenstock, who served as Blair’s senior diplomatic envoy during his time in Downing Street, confirmed the condition was explicit: only if the PA complied with the erasure would the Board of Peace recognize it as a legitimate negotiating partner for a final peace deal with Israel to end the ongoing Gaza conflict.

    The demand was immediately and unequivocally rejected by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Greenstock confirmed. This revelation has sparked fierce debate over the underlying principles guiding the U.S.-backed peace body, with Greenstock questioning the board’s commitment to basic concepts of justice, historical fairness, and longstanding diplomatic norms in the Middle East.

    Blair’s own policy institute, the Institute for Global Change, has issued a flat denial that the former prime minister made the request. Still, the disclosure lines up with a growing, coordinated global campaign led by Israel and its supporters to eliminate references to ‘Palestine’ and Palestinian identity from educational materials and public cultural institutions, multiple recent investigations and on-the-ground actions confirm.

    Greenstock, speaking from his decades of firsthand experience in Middle East diplomacy, also pulled no punches in his assessment of Blair’s current role heading postwar Gaza planning for the Board of Peace, noting the former prime minister has already encountered significant headwinds in the position. ‘Because of his record on Iraq and on Palestine since he left government, he will be seen as prejudiced. So I think he will have, and is having, difficulties,’ Greenstock explained. He went further, dismissing the entire Board of Peace as an ‘abstract and arbitrary committee’ structurally incapable of shouldering the weight of the high-stakes decisions required to resolve the future status of the Palestinian territories. ‘I don’t think the Board of Peace is a strong enough construct to bear the weight of the difficult decisions that are going to have to be made,’ he emphasized.

    The timeline of diplomatic activity confirms Blair travelled to Israel in mid-August alongside Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior political advisor, and Nickolay Mladenov, the board’s high representative for Gaza. The trio held closed-door, high-stakes talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has already rejected the board’s proposed postwar roadmap for Gaza. Following the Israel meetings, the delegation travelled to Cairo to meet with a proposed Palestinian technocratic interim government that would take control of Gaza post-conflict, as well as representatives of Hamas.

    Greenstock’s criticism extends far beyond the Board of Peace and Blair’s role. In a sharp rebuke to Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the former envoy urged the UK government to stand firm on principle in its Middle East policy, questioning the contradiction of British support for Ukraine in the face of illegal Russian invasion, while failing to hold Israel accountable for its actions in occupied Palestinian territories. ‘How can Andy Burnham go to Kyiv and support President Zelensky because the Russians invaded Ukraine illegally against United Nations principles, to be condemned around the world for going against the United Nations Charter, and not stand up for justice in the Middle East in the Arab-Israel question?’ Greenstock asked.

    He called for a full review of British arms sales to Israel, and argued that under international law, the UK is obligated to arrest both Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant if they enter British territory, as both men face active arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court. ‘We’re under an obligation through our treaty position in the UN and through our support for the statute of the ICC. I think as far as the ICC is concerned, and if anybody who had been indicted by the judges of the ICC, they should be arrested,’ he stated.

    Greenstock also outlined his analysis of Netanyahu’s long-term strategic goals, arguing the Israeli prime minister is acting to fulfill a promise to his late father, historian Benzion Netanyahu, to annex the entire West Bank (referred to by Israelis as Judea and Samaria) and bring it under permanent Israeli sovereignty. He said Netanyahu saw the October 7, 2023 attacks as a unique opportunity to advance that goal.

    Turning to broader trends in global power and the ongoing regional conflict, Greenstock warned Israeli citizens that their country is rapidly losing soft power influence across the globe, a shift that will have long-term consequences for Israeli security. He emphasized that lasting peace can only come through compromise with regional actors, noting that military solutions to long-standing political disputes have repeatedly failed in the modern era. ‘If I was an Israeli citizen, I would worry that my country was losing soft power appeal around the world. It matters in the long term, and it matters for peace and security in the Middle East that there should be some sense of compromise,’ he said.

    Greenstock, who served as a senior coalition official in Iraq immediately after the 2003 invasion, reflected on his firsthand experience with U.S. foreign policy, arguing that America’s overreliance on hard power has led to repeated military failures across the Middle East over the past two decades. He noted that since the 1999 Kosovo conflict, neither the U.S. nor the UK has achieved a decisive, lasting victory in any military intervention, a trend he attributes to a fundamental misunderstanding of modern power dynamics. ‘We are in a world now where power has been diffused in all sorts of ways. And soft power has become more important. The capacity to persuade rather than compel has become extremely important… The legitimacy of using weaponry to force your will has become diminished in world opinion,’ he explained.

    On the recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Greenstock argued the Trump administration failed to adequately plan for the consequences of the attack, miscalculating Iran’s asymmetric military capabilities, including its ability to disrupt global oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz. He also suggested the timing of the strike was not accidental, noting it aligned with growing domestic political pressure on Trump over the Jeffrey Epstein files and multiple legal challenges facing his administration. ‘It’s not an accident that the timing of that attack on Iran might have been affected by things that were happening domestically,’ he said.

    Greenstock also addressed the recent Mecca Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, framing the pact as a clear response to growing Arab and Muslim distrust of U.S. leadership in the region. He explained that two key factors have eroded confidence in U.S. leadership: the repeated failure of U.S. hard power to deliver stable political outcomes in the Middle East, and the Trump administration’s explicit prioritization of ‘Make America Great Again’ domestic interests over the needs and priorities of U.S. allies in the region.

    Looking at the broader shift in global diplomacy, Greenstock noted that the core moral and legal principles enshrined in the UN Charter are increasingly being set aside in favor of unilateral pursuit of narrow national interest, a shift that has reshaped Middle Eastern politics more than any other region. Today, he argued, there is no shared framework of principles guiding regional negotiation, unlike the cooperative security model developed in Europe after the Cold War.

    Contextualizing the reported textbook demand, recent weeks have seen multiple high-profile actions advancing the erasure of ‘Palestine’ from public life. Just days before Greenstock’s interview, Israeli authorities began imposing their national curriculum on more than 45,000 Palestinian students in state-run East Jerusalem schools, part of a broader crackdown on Palestinian education in the occupied city. Earlier this year, UNRWA Lebanon, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has banned from operating, faced intense pressure that forced it to replace the word ‘Palestine’ with ‘West Bank’ and ‘Gaza Strip’ on sixth-grade geography maps, a move that sparked widespread protests and strikes across Palestinian communities. That pressure came even after an independent review led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna found no evidence to support Israeli claims that UNRWA staff participate in terrorist organizations.

    In the United Kingdom, a cross-party group of members of Parliament has recently called for a formal investigation into the British Museum’s decision to remove references to ‘Palestine’, ‘Palestinian’ and ‘Israelite occupation’ from its public displays. An investigation by Middle East Eye confirmed the museum’s decision came directly in response to targeted lobbying by pro-Israel activists between October and December 2024.

    Since the October 2024 ceasefire brokered by the U.S. that established the Board of Peace, violence has continued unabated in Gaza. Israel has carried out repeated air and drone strikes across the enclave, killing at least 1,300 Palestinians and wounding more than 4,000. Just this week, at least seven rapid air strikes hit an area west of Gaza City, followed by drone attacks on any moving person in the area, local reports confirm. While Hamas and other Palestinian factions have agreed to a disarmament plan as part of the ceasefire framework, Israel has refused to withdraw its forces from Gaza until the disarmament process is fully completed.

  • Netherlands moves billions in gold to London in ‘crisis preparedness’ move

    Netherlands moves billions in gold to London in ‘crisis preparedness’ move

    In a high-stakes strategic move that underscores growing global economic uncertainty, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has confirmed it moved 86 tonnes of gold worth billions of dollars out of the United States and Canada to be stored at the Bank of London, citing escalating geopolitical unrest as the core driver behind the months-long operation.

    The complex relocation was carried out between March and August of 2026, bank officials announced Wednesday. DNB President Olaf Sleijpen framed the shift as a critical step to reinforce the central bank’s resilience and crisis preparedness, noting that gold held at the Bank of England is widely recognized as the most liquid form of the precious metal, far easier to access and trade during periods of market disruption than reserves held in North America.

    Of the 86 tonnes reallocated, only 27 tonnes were physically transported across the Atlantic: 27 tonnes of gold bars were moved from New York and Ottawa to a DNB storage facility in Zeist, the Netherlands, before an equivalent volume and quality of bars was transferred onward to London, eliminating the need for melting and recasting the gold. The exact logistics of the transatlantic shipment remain undisclosed for security reasons. The remainder of the reallocation was completed through a strategic swap: DNB sold its gold holdings in New York and purchased matching volumes in London, a method the bank said allowed it to spread operational and security risks across the complex project.

    The announcement comes against a backdrop of mounting economic and geopolitical friction globally. A long-running trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada has intensified in recent months, with both sides imposing new retaliatory tariffs after negotiations collapsed. The U.S. has imposed tariffs on key Canadian industrial sectors including steel, aluminum, lumber and automobiles, plus an additional 50% levy on roughly C$28 billion (US$20 billion) worth of Canadian goods announced in August. Beyond the transatlantic trade rift, ongoing military tensions between the U.S. and Iran have created persistent uncertainty for the U.S. economy and global trade flows at large. While DNB did not name specific events tied to its reference of “geopolitical unrest,” market analysts broadly link the decision to these overlapping global risks.

    The reshuffle has significantly altered the geographic distribution of DNB’s total gold reserves. Before the move, 31.3% of the bank’s gold was held in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. Following the relocation, both the U.S. and Canada now hold just 18.5% of DNB’s gold reserves each. At the end of 2025, DNB’s total gold stock stood at 612.4 tonnes, valued at €72.2 billion. The share of reserves held in London has jumped from 18.1% to 32.1%, while the share kept within the Netherlands remains unchanged at 30.8%.

    Central bank gold analysts note that the move reflects a broader trend among European central banks of re-evaluating the geographic distribution of their gold reserves in response to shifting geopolitical and economic risks, with London’s long-established position as a global gold trading hub making it a preferred alternative for reserve holders seeking liquidity and security.

  • Iran strikes US bases across region after American attack kills 18, including children

    Iran strikes US bases across region after American attack kills 18, including children

    A major escalation of conflict has erupted across the Middle East after Iran launched coordinated missile and drone attacks against multiple United States military facilities in the region, a retaliatory move following deadly US airstrikes that killed 18 people on Iranian soil earlier this week.

    Among the casualties of the US strikes was a family gathering in the village of Kuhestak, located near the southern coastal city of Sirik, where at least four civilians—including two children attending a wedding—were killed. The strike has sparked widespread outrage across Iran, with top political and military leaders condemning the attack as an unprovoked act of aggression against innocent civilians.

    Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed it carried out the multi-site retaliatory operation, targeting US positions in three regional countries. First, in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, Iranian missiles and drones destroyed a US maintenance facility, weapons storage warehouses, and the guidance system of an American surveillance aerostat, according to state-run Iranian news agency IRNA.

    The strikes extended further into the Arabian Peninsula, hitting two key US military bases in the United Arab Emirates: Al Dhafra Air Base and Al Minhad Air Base. The IRGC stated that dozens of Iranian army kamikaze drones targeted radar systems and core US personnel positions at both installations, noting that Al Dhafra serves as a primary operational hub for US military air operations, reconnaissance, and surveillance missions across the region.

    A third strike targeted Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, hitting the headquarters and official residence of the US commander stationed at the facility. The IRGC reported that the attack ignited a blaze in a drone hangar and launch infrastructure that the US has used to carry out strikes on Iran, destroying multiple American drones in the process.

    Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, announced in a report broadcast by state broadcaster IRIB that the retaliatory strikes inflicted heavy damage on US military infrastructure, weapons, and equipment. He added that a “significant number” of American commanders and service members were killed or wounded in the attacks, though this claim has not yet been independently verified. Zolfaghari stressed that offensive operations against US forces will continue until Washington faces consequences for its actions, warning that any future US strikes will trigger “heavier, broader and more destructive” Iranian responses. He also cautioned that regional countries that host and assist US military operations will be held responsible for any resulting fallout.

    Top Iranian political and military figures have sharpened their rhetoric in the wake of the civilian deaths. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a scathing rebuke of Washington, labeling US forces “Satan” in a post on the social platform X. “If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it’s Satan,” he wrote. IRGC political deputy General Yadollah Javani called on regional governments to expel US forces from their national territories, specifically warning Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan that any facility used to launch attacks against Iran will become a legitimate target for Iranian strikes.

    In response to the attacks, Bahrain confirmed its air defense systems intercepted incoming Iranian drones after authorities ordered residents to seek shelter across the country. Separately, the IRGC announced that two commercial oil tankers hit sea mines and became disabled while attempting to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, after US operatives directed the vessels onto what Tehran calls an “illegal route.” The IRGC noted it had previously warned shipping companies of the dangers of using the unapproved passage, adding that additional penalties will soon be imposed on companies that ignore official guidance and cooperate with the US.

    The sharp escalation of hostilities has sent shockwaves through global energy markets, as investors fear new disruptions to oil supplies and a slide into open direct conflict between the two countries. Brent crude prices climbed above $95 per barrel in immediate trading following the attacks.

    US President Donald Trump rejected widespread speculation that Washington is seeking to push Iran back into nuclear negotiations, writing on his social platform Truth Social that he prefers the current US strategic position, which he claims gives the US “almost total control of the Hormuz Strait” and has left Iran’s economy “totally collapsing.” He added that Iran was “playing out the inevitable” before asking, “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”

    In a separate, unrelated development, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arrived in Thailand for a five-day port call after more than 200 consecutive days deployed at sea. The extended deployment has been marked by reports of worsening onboard conditions and growing concerns over the mental health of the carrier’s sailors. Thousands of US personnel will stay near the coastal resort city of Pattaya, a destination widely known for its nightlife industry, for the duration of the port visit.

  • Woman charged with juror intimidation in Lindsay Clancy trial

    Woman charged with juror intimidation in Lindsay Clancy trial

    As one of the most divisive murder trials in recent U.S. history enters its jury deliberation phase, a 56-year-old Massachusetts woman has found herself facing serious criminal charges for allegations related to interfering with the judicial process.

    Dawn Light, a registered nurse with no prior criminal record, was taken into custody this week after authorities accused her of photographing members of the jury seated for the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a 36-year-old woman charged with murdering her three young children. According to official accounts, Light was located in a vehicle parked in a court-ordered restricted zone outside Plymouth District Courthouse on Tuesday. When law enforcement confronted her, she initially denied capturing any video or photos of individuals leaving the building, stating she was simply waiting to catch a glimpse of Clancy. A subsequent review of her mobile phone found deleted photos of jurors exiting the courthouse, leading to her immediate arrest.

    Light was arraigned on a charge of aggravated intimidation of a juror on Wednesday. Entering a plea of not guilty, her defense attorney Jennifer White framed the entire incident as a simple misunderstanding, telling the court that her client only intended to photograph Clancy, not the seated jury. Following the brief court hearing, Light was swarmed by a crowd of reporters gathered outside the courtroom, where she offered only one terse response when asked why she wanted to see Clancy: “Why not?”

    Prosecutors argued that Light’s actions pose a tangible threat to the integrity of the Massachusetts judicial system, which has already gone to extraordinary lengths to protect juror privacy and maintain the sanctity of the ongoing trial. Clancy’s highly publicized case has become a national and international media spectacle, drawing more than 200 registered reporters to the small coastal Massachusetts town and sparking widespread, deeply divided conversation across global social media platforms.

    Judge William Sullivan, who is overseeing the Clancy trial, issued a formal order explicitly banning any photography or filming of deliberating jurors, a restriction put in place to shield jury members from outside pressure and influence. In court, prosecutors described Light’s violation of this order as a severe breach of court rules that undermines the fair trial process. While prosecutors requested $50,000 in cash bail, the judge ultimately denied the request, though imposed a series of strict pre-trial conditions: Light is barred from entering court grounds, prohibited from contacting any individual associated with the Clancy trial, and ordered not to reproduce or distribute any juror-related photos that may be stored on her iCloud account.

    The Clancy trial itself has dominated headlines for months, in large part because it has ignited urgent public debates around critical societal issues: mental health access, the clinical impacts of postpartum psychosis, and the complex question of where to draw the line on criminal responsibility for acts committed while a defendant experiences severe acute mental illness. Since Thursday, the 12-member jury has been locked in deliberations to determine whether Clancy is criminally liable for the deaths of her three children. Despite the saturation media coverage surrounding the case, all deliberating jurors are strictly prohibited from consuming any news or social media content related to the trial, and are instructed to reach a verdict based solely on the evidence and testimony presented in the courtroom. Over the past several weeks, a rotating group of Clancy supporters has gathered outside the courthouse to demonstrate, adding another layer of public attention to the already high-stakes proceeding.

  • Uganda names its crude oil blend ‘Pearl Sweet’ ahead of commercial production

    Uganda names its crude oil blend ‘Pearl Sweet’ ahead of commercial production

    KIKUUBE, UGANDA – In a landmark step toward launching full commercial oil production by the end of 2024, Ugandan energy officials announced Wednesday that the East African nation’s first prospective crude oil blend will be branded “Pearl Sweet.” The official naming ceremony was held at the Kingfisher oil infrastructure site, operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), drawing government leaders and project stakeholders to mark the country’s imminent transition to an official oil-producing state.

    The carefully selected name carries dual meaning that blends national heritage and commercial practicality, Uganda’s Ministry of Energy explained in an official statement following the event. The “Pearl” moniker references former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s iconic 20th-century description of Uganda as “the pearl of Africa,” while the “Sweet” designation highlights the blend’s key commercial advantage: a naturally low sulfur content that makes it more desirable for refiners. Ministry representatives added that formal branding is a critical precondition for advancing marketing outreach and building partnerships with prospective global crude buyers.

    Geological surveys confirm Uganda holds approximately 1.6 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves, split between two major development projects led by international energy firms. French energy giant TotalEnergies holds the largest stake in the upstream operations, while CNOOC leads the separate Kingfisher project. The Uganda National Oil Company retains a 15% equity share in the developments on behalf of the Ugandan public.

    Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni framed the milestone as a turning point for national economic transformation. “This marks an important milestone in our journey to develop Uganda’s oil and gas resources for value addition and economic transformation,” Museveni said, emphasizing plans to capture maximum domestic value from the reserves through onshore refining, domestic petrochemical manufacturing, and electricity generation from associated natural gas. He added that developing the country’s oil sector will cut Uganda’s heavy dependence on imported petroleum products, strengthening national energy security.

    At full buildout, production is projected to plateau at roughly 230,000 barrels of crude per day, with blended crude set for export through a major new export network. Despite Wednesday’s celebration of progress, the two-decade journey from initial crude discovery to commercial production has been marked by repeated legal, regulatory, and environmental setbacks.

    The center of global controversy is the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a 1,443-kilometer heated pipeline that will connect the Lake Albert oil fields in western Uganda to the export terminal at Tanga, Tanzania. Environmental campaigners and climate activists have fiercely opposed the project, arguing that developing new fossil fuel reserves directly contradicts global emissions reduction commitments laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement.

    Much of the activist pressure has focused on TotalEnergies, which has been named as a defendant in at least two separate lawsuits filed in French courts by advocacy groups and local communities. The suits allege that the pipeline and associated oil development have violated local communities’ land rights and access to food, forcing thousands of people from their homes to make way for infrastructure.

    Additional ecological risks stem from the location of oil drilling and pipeline routing. Oil wells are being drilled within the boundaries of Murchison Falls National Park, a biodiverse wilderness on the Nile River home to hippopotamuses, giraffes, rare antelope species, and hundreds of native bird species. The pipeline itself will cut through protected forest reserves and game management areas, running along the shoreline of Lake Victoria, the continent’s largest freshwater body that supplies drinking water to more than 40 million people across the region.

    TotalEnergies has pushed back against criticism, stating that the pipeline uses cutting-edge construction and monitoring design that will guarantee safe operation for decades, with minimal risk of leaks or ecological harm. But the combination of climate risks and sensitive ecological positioning has kept opposition to the projects strong globally.

    Ugandan government officials have rejected external criticism, framing climate-focused opposition to the oil projects as an overreach that infringes on the country’s sovereign right to develop its natural resources to lift its population out of poverty. Officials note that an estimated 20 million Ugandans live on less than $2 a day, and oil sector revenues are projected to drive widespread investments in healthcare, education, and infrastructure that would deliver long-term benefits to millions of citizens.