Global Pulse

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  • Suspected Irish crime boss lands in Dublin after extradition from Dubai to face allegations

    Suspected Irish crime boss lands in Dublin after extradition from Dubai to face allegations

    After months of legal battles and international cooperation between Irish and UAE judicial processes, one of the world’s most high-profile alleged organized crime leaders has finally arrived in Ireland to answer to a litany of serious criminal charges. Daniel Kinahan, the 49-year-old purported head of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, was extradited from his long-time base in Dubai and landed at a Dublin suburban airport on an Irish Air Corps aircraft Sunday evening, following a ruling by Dubai courts that rejected efforts to block his handover to Irish authorities.

    Following his arrival, Kinahan was immediately transported to Dublin’s Special Criminal Court, the specialized Irish judicial body tasked with hearing organized crime and terrorism cases. The court, which uses a three-judge panel instead of a jury in cases where regular courts are deemed unable to guarantee fair and effective justice, charged Kinahan with directing the activities of a transnational criminal network. He was remanded into custody at high-security Portlaoise Prison, located roughly 145 kilometers southwest of Dublin, and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on October 5.

    Irish public broadcaster RTE confirmed that an extensive multi-agency security operation was mounted to oversee Kinahan’s transfer and detention, involving armed police, military personnel and Irish prison service officials. As part of heightened security protocols, authorities used a recently acquired bombproof escort van designed specifically for transporting high-risk prisoners and organized crime suspects.

    The unprecedented security measures come in the wake of a years-long deadly gang feud between the Kinahan network and a rival Irish criminal organization. In 2022, U.S. authorities documented that the feud had already claimed 18 lives when they announced a $5 million reward for information that would lead to the dismantling of the Kinahan group or the arrest and conviction of Daniel Kinahan himself. That same year, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on six Kinahan gang members and three front businesses tied to the organization, noting the feud had also killed two innocent bystanders who were not involved in criminal activity.

    Law enforcement agencies across Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain and the United States have targeted the Kinahan network since 2016, when a shocking public shooting broke out during a boxing match weigh-in at a Dublin hotel – an incident that ignited the ongoing deadly feud. At the time of the shooting, Kinahan was working as a professional boxing promoter.

    Global law enforcement alleges the Kinahan network runs a sprawling transnational empire centered on large-scale drug and weapons smuggling, paired with sophisticated money laundering operations. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Kinahan oversaw daily gang operations from Dubai, coordinating bulk cocaine purchases from South America, organizing distribution across Ireland, and directing smuggling efforts to move illegal drugs into the United Kingdom. Authorities also claim the gang smuggles tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine and cannabis into Europe alongside illegal firearms, then funnels illicit profits through a web of seemingly legitimate businesses to clean the proceeds. The U.S. Treasury has additionally documented that Kinahan has ordered payments to incarcerated gang members, including one individual convicted of plotting murder on the network’s behalf.

    Kinahan was first taken into custody by Dubai law enforcement in April this year, acting on an outstanding Irish arrest warrant. Just last week, during a phone interview with Scottish podcaster James English that was later posted to TikTok, Kinahan issued a public denial of all allegations, claiming he is the victim of a coordinated conspiracy to destroy his reputation. He acknowledged extradition proceedings were sped up under a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, but said he is confident an Irish trial will clear his name. “I believe, in a way, I am a scapegoat,” Kinahan said in the interview. “And anyone that looks into this so-called feud that they say they have created, then you will see, you will see things yourself if someone has the time to look into it.”

    This extradition marks the latest major milestone in the global crackdown on the Kinahan network. Back in March 2022, Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, the network’s top leader in the United Kingdom, was sentenced to 21 years in prison after being convicted of running a major drug smuggling operation into the UK. Two additional co-conspirators received 20-year and 19.5-year sentences for their roles in the conspiracy. The UK’s National Crime Agency confirmed that during investigation, authorities seized 15 kilograms of cocaine and 220 kilograms of cannabis hidden inside a tracked asphalt removal device at the Port of Dover on the English Channel. Kavanagh, who resided in a fortified mansion with bulletproof glass and reinforced doors in Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham, had multiple weapons and £35,000 in mixed currency – including British pounds, euros, and Emirati dirhams – seized during a 2019 raid on his property.

  • Cyprus natural gas to supply Europe by first half of 2028, minister says, as EU seeks new sources

    Cyprus natural gas to supply Europe by first half of 2028, minister says, as EU seeks new sources

    Against a backdrop of widespread European energy market volatility triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian war and escalating Middle East geopolitical unrest, Cyprus has positioned itself as a emerging alternative energy supplier for the continent, with its first undersea natural gas shipment from the Cronos field slated to reach European markets as early as March 2028, the island nation’s Energy Minister Michael Damianos confirmed in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.

    Last month, development partners TotalEnergies (France) and Eni (Italy) formally signed off on a final investment decision to advance the Cronos project, located off Cyprus’ southern coast in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This milestone marks the first time that natural gas extracted from East Mediterranean offshore deposits will be exported directly to European consumer markets, filling a critical gap as the continent works to diversify its supply chains away from traditional sources.

    Per the consortium’s official timeline, preliminary construction work on a 105-kilometer pipeline connecting the Cronos field to existing processing infrastructure at Egypt’s massive Zohr natural gas deposit will kick off before the end of 2025, with construction expected to take up to 18 months to complete. Once extracted, raw natural gas from Cronos will be routed through the new pipeline to Egypt’s Damietta liquefaction facility on the country’s northern coast, where it will be converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for seaborne transport to European terminals. This route was selected as the most economically viable option for the project, coming in with an estimated total cost of roughly $2 billion (1.73 billion euros) — half the projected cost of developing alternative export infrastructure within Cypriot territorial waters, thanks to access to Egypt’s already operational energy network.

    Under the project agreement, nearly all of Cronos’ estimated 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves is earmarked for European consumption, though a contractual clause allows up to 20% of output to be diverted to meet Egypt’s growing domestic energy demand if needed. Damianos noted that while Cronos is a relatively modest reserve that will not generate massive state revenue for Cyprus, the project carries far greater strategic significance for the small island nation. “Its importance is not the money, its importance is the commencement of being a producer and having first gas,” he explained.

    Cronos is just one of six proven natural gas deposits discovered to date in Cyprus’ offshore Exclusive Economic Zone, with more large-scale developments already in the pipeline. Energy giants ExxonMobil and QatariEnergy hold development licenses for the Glaucus and Pegasus fields, which together hold an estimated 6.9 tcf of natural gas, with first production targeted for 2033. Damianos added that ExxonMobil, which has a track record of delivering projects ahead of schedule, plans to expand its exploration activities off Cyprus and is in line to receive an additional exploration license for new hydrocarbon prospects. The Aphrodite field, Cyprus’ first offshore gas discovery made 15 years ago, holds an estimated 5.6 tcf of reserves. A final investment decision from the Chevron-led development consortium is expected by summer 2027, with a planned direct pipeline connection to Egyptian processing facilities to supply Egypt’s domestic market. A long-running border dispute over a portion of the Aphrodite field that extends into Israeli waters is expected to be resolved via arbitration by next month, Damianos confirmed.

    Beyond natural gas development, Cyprus is also advancing a landmark interconnector project to integrate its power grid with the broader European network, and eventually link up with Israel as well. The Great Seas Interconnector, a subsea electricity cable project, has secured backing from French investment firm Meridiam, and forms a core infrastructure building block for the European Union’s IMEC initiative, a planned new energy and trade corridor connecting Europe to the Gulf region and India. The project would end decades of energy isolation for both Cyprus and Israel, but it has recently hit delays over cost overruns that push total spending above the original $2.2 billion estimate. The European Investment Bank is set to release a revised cost assessment in the coming months to clarify the project’s final budget.

    Under current agreements, Cypriot residential and commercial energy consumers could be on the hook for up to 63% of construction costs, which would trigger a substantial increase in domestic electricity prices. To mitigate this burden, project organizers are actively courting additional private sector investment and exploring options for increased European Union grant funding. The EU has already committed 760 million euros ($658 million) to the project. “It’s a very important project for Europe because it connects Cyprus which is isolated to the European grid. And the idea is to then proceed and connect to Israel,” Damianos said.

  • A Tibetan cooperative keeps a centuries-old weaving tradition alive

    A Tibetan cooperative keeps a centuries-old weaving tradition alive

    High on the windswept Tibetan Plateau, 12,100 feet above sea level in Shannan, more than a dozen skilled artisans sit hunched over traditional wooden looms, their hands moving in steady, practiced rhythm. They guide shuttles through tight rows of locally sourced wool yarn, pulling each thread into place with careful precision—a repetitive motion that has kept a centuries-old Tibetan cultural tradition alive against the odds. This is the art of weaving Pulu, the thick, durable wool fabric that has clothed plateau communities for hundreds of years, and at the Ethnic Huaji Handwoven Cooperative, this craft is getting a new lease on life.

    Founded in 2008 by third-generation Tibetan artisan Pasang, the cooperative does more than just produce handwoven textiles: it is on a dual mission to safeguard one of Tibet’s oldest endangered weaving traditions and create stable, inclusive employment for local residents. Today, the workshop employs more than 100 people from surrounding communities, including artisans living with disabilities, while passing down rare skills to younger generations of Tibetans who might otherwise never learn the craft. For Pasang, the work is personal—when he was learning the trade from his parents decades ago, fewer than 10 people across the region still knew how to produce Zeter, the cooperative’s specialty and the rarest, most refined variant of Pulu.

    Unlike ordinary Pulu, Zeter is spun from the exceptionally soft wool harvested from the necks and backs of local Shannan sheep. This finer material makes the spinning and weaving process far more technically demanding than standard Pulu production, but the result is a textile that is lighter, softer, and far more delicate than its everyday counterpart. According to historical records preserved by Pasang and local communities, Zeter was so highly prized that during China’s Ming Dynasty, it was sent as a tribute from Tibetan leaders to the imperial court in central China. Today, the craft holds even greater significance: it has been formally recognized as part of China’s national intangible cultural heritage, a designation that has helped bring new attention to Pasang’s work to keep it alive.

    The history of the craft is woven into the very space of the cooperative. At the center of the workshop, two statues stand framed by rows of wooden looms: one of 7th-century Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, and the other of his Chinese bride Princess Wencheng. Local tradition holds that Princess Wencheng introduced advanced weaving techniques to Tibet after her marriage to the king, merging cultural practices from across the region into the craft still practiced today. In official Chinese historical narrative, the royal union symbolizes deep, long-standing cultural and historical ties between Tibet and the rest of China, a connection Pasang says is reflected in the blended cultural heritage of Pulu weaving. “It integrated Tibetan and Chinese cultures,” he explained of the fabric’s centuries-long history.

    All wool used in the cooperative’s workshop is sourced locally from sheep herds that graze the high-altitude grasslands surrounding Shannan, keeping supply chains local and supporting regional herding communities. Finished products—including soft scarves, warm shawls, tailored jackets, handwoven bags and other textiles—are displayed in a small showroom adjacent to the workshop, with most sales going to customers across Tibet, followed by buyers from other regions of China.

    For the artisans who work at the cooperative, the craft is far more than a job—it is a connection to their cultural identity and a lifeline to stable income. Eighty-year-old Tsering Yangchen, who has woven at the workshop for seven years after relocating to Shannan from another county, says she struggled to find steady work before joining the cooperative. Instructors at the workshop taught her the craft from scratch, and today she calls Pulu far more than just a product to sell. “We usually wear them,” she said of the handwoven textiles. “They are made from pure wool.”

    This report comes from an Associated Press reporter who participated in a government-organized reporting trip to Lhasa and Shannan last month, which included access to the cooperative, cultural heritage sites, Buddhist temples, tourist destinations, a local eldercare center, and other regional businesses. Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this reporting.

  • Australian teen who killed UK woman has reduced sentence overturned

    Australian teen who killed UK woman has reduced sentence overturned

    In a landmark ruling that has resonated across Queensland and beyond, Australia’s High Court has overturned a previous reduced sentence for a teenage killer who stabbed British-born mother Emma Lovell to death during a 2022 home invasion, restoring the harsher penalty handed down in the original trial.

    Lovell, a 41-year-old originally from Suffolk in the United Kingdom, relocated to Australia with her husband Lee in 2011, settling in Brisbane to build a life with their two teenage daughters. Her life was cut short in a brutal attack on Boxing Day 2022, when she and Lee confronted two teenage intruders who had broken into their suburban Queensland home. During a violent struggle that unfolded after the couple forced the intruders out into their front garden, the then-17-year-old offender stabbed Lovell in the heart. Emergency responders performed emergency open-heart surgery at the scene as Lovell’s daughters watched helplessly, but she did not survive her injuries and died shortly after being transported to hospital.

    The case sparked widespread public anger and became a catalyst for Queensland state government to introduce controversial stricter youth crime legislation, amid growing community concern over violent youth offending. The second teenager involved in the break-in was acquitted of murder, and ultimately received an 18-month detention sentence on lesser charges of burglary and assault.

    In the 2024 original trial, the judge ruled the teenager’s murder was “particularly heinous”. While the court acknowledged the offender’s unstable childhood and other mitigating personal circumstances, the judge found these factors did not offset the extreme severity of the crime. The teenager was sentenced to 14 years in prison, with a requirement to serve 70 percent of the sentence — a minimum of nine years and nine months — before becoming eligible for parole.

    The teenager launched an appeal against the sentence the following May, arguing the original penalty was “manifestly excessive”. Queensland’s Court of Appeal sided with the offender, cutting the required non-parole period from 70 percent to 60 percent of the total sentence, a reduction of 17 months, citing the defendant’s early guilty plea, claims of genuine remorse, and potential for rehabilitation as justification for the lighter sentence.

    That reduced sentence was immediately challenged by Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, who brought the case to the High Court of Australia in April 2025. On Wednesday, the High Court quashed the appeal court’s ruling, determining that the lower appeal court had no legal standing to alter the original trial judge’s sentence decision.

    Following the announcement of the High Court’s verdict, Frecklington said she was pleased with the outcome, noting she had pursued every possible legal pathway to protect what little justice had originally been granted to the Lovell family. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli called the ruling a “big win” for Lovell’s relatives, while acknowledging that no sentence could ever bring Emma back or undo the pain the family has endured.

    For Lee Lovell, the ruling delivers a long-awaited sense of validation. Speaking to reporters shortly after the decision was handed down, he said the outcome confirms “Emma’s life did matter”, and that his eldest daughter was “pretty pleased” with the result. Even with the ruling in hand, he acknowledged that the upcoming Boxing Day — which will mark four years since Emma’s killing — will remain a difficult anniversary for the family. “It feels like a few months ago that it happened,” he said, adding that after years of drawn-out court proceedings, he hopes the family can now begin to rebuild some semblance of normal life. Lovell’s parents, who traveled from the United Kingdom to be in Australia for the ruling, are set to return home on Thursday.

  • UK mansion where ‘listeners’ spied on Nazi generals becomes museum

    UK mansion where ‘listeners’ spied on Nazi generals becomes museum

    During the darkest years of World War II, an elegant country mansion just north of London played host to an extraordinary covert operation: high-ranking Nazi generals detained as prisoners of war lived in comfortable, well-appointed rooms upstairs, unaware that a team of hidden intelligence listeners sat in the basement below, recording every offhand comment and secret they let slip. That facility, known as Trent Park, has now been transformed into the new Trent Park House of Secrets museum, finally bringing the little-recognized operation and the unsung heroes who ran it into the public eye.

    Before the war, Trent Park was celebrated for its luxurious interiors and elite social circle, owned by a wealthy British politician whose guest list included icons like Charlie Chaplin and future prime minister Winston Churchill. When the conflict broke out, the British government repurposed the sprawling estate as part of a secret network of intelligence-gathering facilities, fitting nearly every space from the drawing rooms to the garden with hidden bugging devices. These microphones connected to monitoring equipment in the former servants’ quarters, where listeners worked around the clock transcribing every word captured from the prisoners’ casual conversations.

    Between 1942 and 1945, 84 German generals and 22 lower-ranking officers were detained at the site, officially labeled Camp No. 11. Far from the harsh conditions of standard POW camps, the men were provided with valets, given access to recreational activities, and even permitted to take day trips off the property. The intentionally comfortable arrangement was a carefully calculated strategy: British intelligence leaders believed relaxed, unsuspecting prisoners would let sensitive information slip, a tactic museum director Giuseppe Albano describes as “brilliantly devious.” Many prominent Nazi officers passed through the estate, including General Dietrich von Choltitz, the last Nazi military commander of Paris, who was detained there after surrendering the city against Adolf Hitler’s orders in August 1944.

    Unaware that even conversations near open windows or on garden walks were being recorded, the detainees inadvertently revealed critical intelligence that reshaped the course of the war. Most notably, offhand comments about Germany’s V-2 ballistic missile program exposed the location of the program’s primary research facility. This intelligence allowed the British Royal Air Force to launch a devastating bombing raid on the site that delayed the deployment of the weapons, which were already targeted at London, by months. The eavesdropping operation also uncovered confessions of war atrocities: von Choltitz admitted in one bugged conversation that “the worst job I carried out was the liquidation of Jews.” British officials chose not to use these transcripts in post-war Nuremberg trials, however, to avoid revealing the highly classified bugging operation to the public.

    Trent Park is often overshadowed by Britain’s more famous World War II codebreaking hub Bletchley Park, the site famously depicted in *The Imitation Game* where Alan Turing cracked the Nazis’ Enigma encryption. Albano argues that the intelligence gathered at Trent Park was just as impactful as the work done at Bletchley Park, on par in its contribution to shortening the entire length of the Second World War. The two facilities operated as part of the same coordinated intelligence network, with all insights gathered at Trent Park shared directly with Bletchley Park’s codebreaking team.

    What makes the Trent Park story particularly remarkable is the identity of the listeners themselves. Most were fluent German speakers who had fled Nazi persecution as Jewish refugees, a group that faced widespread hostility in Britain at the time even as they risked everything to help the Allied war effort. Many never spoke about their top-secret work publicly in the decades after the war. Adam Ganz, whose late father Peter Ganz—a German Jewish refugee who survived the Buchenwald concentration camp before being recruited as a Trent Park listener—never talked about his service, even to his family. Ganz, now an Oxford professor, says his father’s quiet commitment to the work suggests he was proud of his contribution, even when it went unrecognized by the public for decades.

    After the war ended, government officials removed most of the bugging equipment from Trent Park, but small fragments of original wiring were left behind. These surviving pieces are now on display at the new museum, which was developed as part of a local area redevelopment led by a property developer. Many original transcripts of the bugged conversations have been released to Britain’s National Archives, though Albano confirms some materials remain classified decades later. For the first time, the museum has recreated the original basement listening rooms, and visitors can hear recorded excerpts of actual conversations, with actors reading from original transcripts—including one memorable moment where a general references a top-secret “rocket testing site” in the same breath as he asks for more bratwurst for visiting officers.

    For historians and the families of the listeners who operated the facility, the opening of the museum marks a long-overdue recognition of a critical, hidden chapter of World War II intelligence. “It’s important and valuable that that contribution is being recognised,” Ganz says of the work done by the refugee listeners at Trent Park.

  • How to avoid the worst of the Italian heat

    How to avoid the worst of the Italian heat

    As a record-breaking heatwave scorches across the Italian peninsula, sending temperatures soaring to dangerous levels that threaten public health, the country’s Ministry of Health has issued a rare red heat alert covering all 27 of Italy’s major urban centers. The high-risk designation includes top international tourist hubs, from the ancient capital of Rome and fashion capital Milan to the coastal cities of Naples and the canal city of Venice, falling right in the middle of Europe’s peak summer holiday travel season.

    While many long-term Italian residents have grown accustomed to rising summer temperatures amid the ongoing climate crisis — with some noting extreme heat is no longer an anomaly here — visitors and even Italians traveling from cooler regions have expressed shock at the intensity of the current heat event. With millions of travelers flocking to Italy this summer, the BBC consulted local site managers, tour guides, and travel experts to compile practical advice for enjoying a safe trip despite the sweltering conditions.

    Simone Quilici, director of Rome’s iconic Colosseum Archaeological Park, emphasized that venturing out to open-air historical sites during the peak hot hours after midday is a critical mistake. “This isn’t an isolated heat event, it’s part of the global climate change phenomenon we’re all living with,” Quilici explained, noting that Rome has adapted to repeated summer heatwaves. To accommodate visitors during the heatwave, Italian cultural and tourism authorities have extended evening opening hours for dozens of top attractions through August: the Colosseum stays open until 11:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, Rome’s Pantheon is open until 11 PM daily except Thursdays, and Milan’s Sforza Castle extends closing to 7:30 PM. At the Colosseum specifically, management has installed misting cooling fans at entry points and added additional emergency medical stations to handle heat-related incidents. Quilici also said he is working with archaeologists to plant more shade-providing vegetation across the park in long-term adaptation measures.

    Local tour operators have also adjusted their schedules to beat the heat. Mateo Medina, operations director for Rome-based tour company Vivicos International Travel, told reporters his firm has added new late-night tours running from 10 PM to midnight, and has seen a sharp spike in demand for early 8 AM tours before temperatures climb. For travelers looking to escape the midday sun, experts universally recommend air-conditioned cultural institutions as top alternatives to outdoor walking tours. Beyond major museums, Italy’s thousands of historic churches offer free, cool shelter while allowing visitors to engage with the country’s rich cultural and religious heritage. Air-conditioned indoor activities including hands-on cooking classes and wine tastings have also grown in popularity among heat-conscious travelers. For those who still want to enjoy the outdoors, Rome’s large public parks such as Villa Borghese, Villa Adriana and Parque de Acquedotti offer abundant tree shade, and the city’s underground Christian catacombs maintain consistently cool temperatures year-round.

    In Naples, top local tour guide Marco Carrino echoes the warning against midday visits to open archaeological sites like Pompeii, advising travelers to arrive as early as possible or plan visits for cooler months of the year. He suggests diverting to Naples’ National Archaeological Museum during peak heat, which houses one of the world’s most significant collections of Roman, Greek and Egyptian artifacts. Italian travel writer Alessia Armenise shared an unexpected local hack: neighborhood supermarkets. Fully air-conditioned, supermarkets’ fresh deli counters offer affordable, made-to-order sandwiches that beat overpriced tourist-focused eateries, she says. Armenise also advises structuring days around water features — swapping coastal hikes for boat tours that let travelers enjoy shoreline views from the water while cooling off with ocean spray, and stopping for traditional Italian frozen treats like Sicilian granita or Roman grattachecca to bring down body temperature.

    For travelers determined to tick major crowded sites like the Vatican off their bucket lists, experts urge advance online ticket booking to avoid long waits in sweltering direct sun, noting popular tickets often sell out days in advance. Off-the-beaten-path options also offer relief: smaller regional museums and galleries in lesser-known towns are far less crowded, often have on-site cafes where visitors can rest for hours in cool air. On particularly hot evenings, travelers can duck into local independent cinemas or historic theaters, many of which are air-conditioned and offer a chance to engage with local cultural life beyond major tourist sites. In Verona, Armenise recommends evening concerts at the ancient Verona Arena amphitheater, where cool evening temperatures make for a far more enjoyable experience than midday visits.

    In Florence, art historian and local guide Dr. Agata Chrzanowksa suggests day trips to the cool hills and mountain regions north of the city, highlighting the scenic Garfagnana region as an ideal escape for travelers with access to a car. For a cool stop within the city, she recommends the Odeon Cafe and Bookstore, a renovated art-nouveau historic theater that now operates as a climate-controlled bookshop and cafe where visitors can relax for hours. In Venice, veteran tour guide Fiona Giusto says the key to beating the heat is simple common sense: planning routes around shaded stops, staying consistently hydrated, and wearing sun protection like broad-brimmed hats and high-SPF sunscreen. For cool cultural activities in Venice, Giusto recommends visits to the historic Teatro La Fenice opera house and the Ca’ Rezzonico art museum, both of which offer full air conditioning.

  • Young guns for hire – the teenage hitmen recruited to kill across Europe

    Young guns for hire – the teenage hitmen recruited to kill across Europe

    On a frigid February night last year in a quiet Stockholm suburb, a figure cloacked in all black emerged from the darkness. Armed with a loaded handgun, he tracked 20-year-old Murad Abdelkader, a university student heading home after a late shift at a local McDonald’s. The gunman, 18-year-old Atilla Azimov, opened fire repeatedly as he closed in on his target, delivering a final execution-style shot to Abdelkader’s head as the young man lay defenseless on the ground. What made the tragedy even more senseless: Azimov had killed the wrong man.

    Azimov was not acting on his own. He had been hired to carry out the killing for a fee by the Foxtrot Network, a ruthless transnational organized crime syndicate with deep ties to the Iranian regime that has gained infamy for its brutal ‘violence-as-a-service’ (VaaS) business model. Since 2002, law enforcement estimates the network has been behind approximately 35 murders across Europe, plus multiple planned and executed attacks against Israeli targets, including two incidents involving explosives and hand grenades.

    The network’s core operating strategy is cynical and calculated: it recruits vulnerable, impressionable teenagers to carry out contracted hits for large promised payouts, yet almost never follows through on payment, as most of the young hired killers are arrested before they can collect. The recent conviction of Norwegian teenager Johannes Natland on conspiracy to murder charges by a London jury at the Old Bailey this week lays bare exactly how this exploitative system works.

    According to OTF GRIMM, a specialized Europol task force created to counter the spread of VaaS across the continent, Foxtrot recruits teen hitmen entirely through social media, and structures instructions in a gamified format that mimics the progression of popular video games. Andy Kraag, head of Europol’s European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, describes the model as ‘the calculated outsourcing of murder’ that preys on young people facing instability or vulnerability. Currently, 11 European nations impacted by the VaaS phenomenon participate in the task force: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

    Foxtrot’s leader, Rawa Majid, first fled Sweden, then left his subsequent operating base in Turkey, and now operates freely from Tehran, the capital of Iran. Investigations by Swedish investigative journalist Diamant Salihu, who has spent three years probing Foxtrot’s connections to the Iranian government, reveal that the network began working on behalf of the regime after Majid fled to Iran in October 2023. In exchange for safe haven and the ability to live without restriction in Iran, Majid agreed to carry out attacks on the regime’s behalf, targeting dissidents, opposition journalists, and Israeli interests. Some of the network’s attacks are still tied to domestic European drug turf wars, but a growing share align with Iran’s geopolitical goals. The UK government sanctioned both Foxtrot Network and Majid in April 2025.

    The Natland case offers a step-by-step look at how the network grooms and deploys young recruits. Natland, the 18-year-old son of two Norwegian journalists from Stavanger, grew up in a comfortable home but struggled with substance abuse and psychosis, spending time in rehab and a youth children’s home. It was there he met another teen who went by the online alias UnknownHustler, who first showed him a recruitment post: ‘Killing in England 270k’ – equal to roughly £21,000 (270,000 Norwegian kroner). The post originated from a 16-year-old recruiter operating under the name Generalen, who had lived in a children’s home for three years, and he formally brought Natland into the plot.

    Natland was then passed up the chain to a senior Foxtrot member with the username Agent 47, a reference to the protagonist of the popular Hitman video game franchise. Swedish authorities have identified Ali Shehad Ahmed, a close associate of Majid who often appears in photos alongside the network leader, as Agent 47. Agent 47 booked Natland a one-way ticket to Manchester Airport, helped him secure an emergency passport, and guided him through every step of his journey via the encrypted messaging app Signal before handing him off to a logistics coordinator known only as ‘1’.

    Treating Natland like a player in a video game, ‘1’ sent him custom maps and pre-recorded videos marking the location of hidden guns in woodland outside Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, followed by another clip showing where a hidden cache of cash was stashed near a pedestrian foot tunnel. After Natland checked into a local hotel and retrieved the weapons, Agent 47 messaged him to confirm the hit would move forward the next day. But law enforcement was already one step ahead: Natland was arrested the next morning before he even received the identity of his target. British counterterrorism investigators are still working to determine if the planned hit was part of a criminal turf dispute or a political assassination ordered by the Iranian regime.

    Generalen, the teen recruiter who brought Natland into the plot, was far more active than just this one planned attack. He was also responsible for recruiting at least two other teen killers who carried out murders in Sweden: Atilla Azimov, the man who mistakenly killed Abdelkader and is now serving a life sentence, and a 17-year-old who shot dead Ahmed Zamzam in Lund, southern Sweden, three and a half weeks before the Huddersfield plot was disrupted. As with almost all of Foxtrot’s recruits, neither killer ever received their promised payment – both were arrested before they could collect, a deliberate feature of the network’s business model, according to Salihu.

    ‘They don’t care at all if the teenagers get caught. Because when they get caught, they cannot ask for money that they have been offered, and we see no examples of money being paid to these young killers,’ Salihu explained. ‘It has been a deliberate policy to recruit younger and younger teenagers because they don’t think about the consequences of getting caught, and they are more willing to take the risks.’

    Generalen was ultimately caught when he plotted to kill the 14-year-old son of a Norwegian police officer. He recruited a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old to carry out the knife attack, but the 15-year-old tipped off police. When Generalen was arrested, investigators discovered details of the Huddersfield plot on his phone, allowing British authorities to arrest Natland before any violence occurred. Generalen was convicted in May and is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence.

    In the 15 months since OTF GRIMM launched, the task force has notched a series of key wins, with more than 280 arrests of suspects across the network, including several high-level leaders. One of the most significant arrests was that of Ali Shehad Ahmed, the suspected Agent 47, who was detained by Iraqi authorities in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. Sweden has formally requested his extradition to face charges for his role in the network. In May 2026, another key Foxtrot figure, former rapper Mohamed ‘Moewgli’ Mohdhi, was arrested in Tunisia.

    Despite these successes, Foxtrot’s leader Rawa Majid remains beyond the reach of law enforcement, operating openly from Tehran. ‘He’s still active,’ Salihu warned. ‘And as long as this network is active we will still continue, I fear, to see attacks on the enemies of the Iranian regime.’

    While law enforcement continues to dismantle key parts of the network, it remains unclear how deeply the organization’s ability to operate has been degraded. Compounding the threat is the fact that rival criminal groups, including the Dalen Network, Foxtrot’s main competitor, have already adopted the same VaaS model of exploiting vulnerable teens for hits. The model first emerged in Sweden, spread rapidly across Scandinavia and northern Europe, and reached the United Kingdom by 2025, as the Natland case demonstrates – meaning the risk of further violence remains very real for countries across the continent.

  • Nirmal Purja among 10 climbers feared missing after avalanche

    Nirmal Purja among 10 climbers feared missing after avalanche

    In a developing breaking emergency unfolding on one of the world’s most formidable high-altitude peaks, a 10-person international mountaineering expedition led by legendary Nepal-born climber and former British Royal Marine Nirmal Purja has been unaccounted for following a sudden avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.

    The destructive snow slide hit the climbing team around midday local time Thursday on the 8,047-meter mountain, located in Pakistan’s remote Karakoram mountain range, according to local Pakistani mountaineering authorities. In the hours since the avalanche struck, no contact has been reestablished with any member of the group, leaving rescue teams and the global mountaineering community deeply concerned.

    The expedition includes climbers of four nationalities: one American, one Chinese, one Omani, and five Nepali expedition members, alongside team leader Purja. Purja, one of the most high-profile high-altitude climbers of his generation, rose to international fame in 2019 for completing a historic feat: summiting all 14 of the planet’s peaks that exceed 8,000 meters in elevation in just over six months, a breakthrough achievement that redefined what was considered possible in elite alpinism.

    A former service member with the British Armed Forces, Purja’s path to becoming a world-famous climber began in 2003 when he enlisted in the British Army, earning a place in the Royal Marines in 2009. His professional climbing career launched unexpectedly in 2012, when he trekked to Everest Base Camp and made the spontaneous decision to continue upward to summit the world’s highest peak, launching his legendary career.

    Broad Peak, the 12th highest mountain on Earth, is widely recognized as one of the most technically challenging peaks for high-altitude expeditions, even in the best climbing conditions. Right now, rescue teams are preparing to launch a large-scale search operation, with aerial helicopter search efforts planned as soon as weather conditions in the region are stable enough to permit flight.

    The Alpine Club of Pakistan, the national governing body for mountaineering in the country, confirmed in an official statement Thursday that it has maintained constant coordination with Pakistani government agencies to launch an immediate search and rescue response. “Every possible effort is being made to secure helicopter support, and all available resources have been mobilized at the earliest opportunity,” the organization said. The statement concluded: “The Club prays for the safety and successful rescue of all the climbers and stands in solidarity with their families and the international mountaineering community during this difficult time.”

    This is an ongoing breaking news story, with new details expected to emerge as search operations progress. Readers can access the latest updates through the BBC News mobile app, or by following BBC Breaking on the social platform X.

  • Weekly quiz: Why was a French teenager fined for licking a straw?

    Weekly quiz: Why was a French teenager fined for licking a straw?

    Every week, major international headlines tend to focus only on a handful of high-profile events, pushing a range of other noteworthy happenings around the world to the margins of public attention. This week is no exception: three major developments have already dominated breaking news coverage, including a walkout by the United States delegation during a French envoy’s address at the United Nations, an out-of-control large wildfire that has been spreading along Suffolk’s coastal stretch, and a massive iceberg that has capsized in waters close to a populated Greenlandic town.

    Despite the saturation coverage given to these stories, however, many smaller but still notable events have flown under the radar for most news consumers. Compiled by editor George Sandeman, a new weekly interactive quiz has been launched to challenge readers to recall and recognize the other key developments that unfolded across the globe over the past seven days. For readers who enjoy testing their knowledge of current events, the quiz project maintains a growing archive of past challenges: enthusiasts can access last week’s published quiz, or browse through a wide selection of older quizzes from the collection to put their global awareness to the test. This week’s quiz also includes thematic content covering etiquette, law and order issues related to Singapore.

  • People evacuate Aeon Mall after earthquake strikes

    People evacuate Aeon Mall after earthquake strikes

    The provided news resource comes in the form of an MP4 video file hosted at the specified URL: http://news-minio.triplec.cc/news/2026/07/28/6d8c786877629822c13baa2fae547314.mp4. No readable text content of the news story is included alongside the link, only a notification directing audiences to access live updates for the developing story. At present, text-based analysis and full content reconstruction of the reported event cannot be completed without access to the transcribed or written details of the video coverage. Readers are advised to follow the linked prompt for real-time developments related to this unspecified news story.