Global Pulse

分类： society

  • Reckoning looms for golf carts that zip through Rome’s crowded historic center

    Reckoning looms for golf carts that zip through Rome’s crowded historic center

    ROME — Beneath the centuries-old grandeur of Rome’s iconic monuments and ancient ruins, a very modern travel phenomenon is stirring heated conflict: the tourist golf cart. What started as a novel way for visitors to zip through the Eternal City’s historic core has exploded in popularity, spurring city officials to launch a sweeping crackdown on the hundreds of unregulated vehicles currently outpacing local traffic laws.

    Critics of the golf cart boom paint a bleak picture of vehicles running amok through narrow cobblestone streets, parking illegally in restricted zones, worsening already crippling congestion and exacerbating Rome’s long-running overtourism crisis. Local outlets have used inflammatory language to frame the trend, describing it as an “invasion” and claiming the historic center is being “held hostage by golf carts.”

    But proponents of golf cart tours push back, arguing the small, electric vehicles are far quieter than large tourist vans and buses, take up less limited street space, and produce zero exhaust fumes that erode and stain the city’s irreplaceable historic landmarks. Tensions between golf cart operators and other road users have boiled over repeatedly, even drawing in frustrated local drivers. During an August ride-along conducted by The Associated Press, a confrontation erupted between an eight-seater van driver and a golf cart operator, with both shouting insults and gesturing angrily as they jostled for position on the narrow street — a clash that has become increasingly common.

    Today, golf carts speed past outdoor cafes where visitors dine on spaghetti carbonara at checkered tablecloths, weave past souvenir stalls selling everything from hot priest calendars to branded “Ciao Bella!” tote bags. Most tours are tightly scheduled blitzes of Rome’s most popular hot spots, giving visitors just enough time to stop for a cappuccino or gelato between stops — until the vehicles run afoul of city authorities.

    For tourists, the tours offer a convenient way to see Rome’s top attractions in just a few hours, leaving the rest of a short trip open for casual exploration. Ruth Sanderson, a 50-year-old traveler from Manchester, England, booked a golf cart tour as a birthday surprise for her husband during their first visit to Rome. Even on that tour, however, the operator parked illegally multiple times, including in a zone reserved exclusively for car-sharing vehicles near the Spanish Steps. “We don’t have designated parking spots for golf carts, so we park wherever we can, as legally as possible,” guide Martin Halili, who owns Wheel Tours, explained to the couple.

    Long before golf carts rose in popularity, Rome’s historic center has struggled with chronic parking and congestion. A 2023 field survey conducted by the city found the historic core has only 4,300 public on-street parking spots — roughly one-quarter the number of cars owned by local residents alone. On an average day, an additional 50,000 vehicles enter the restricted area, leaving every spare cranny of curb space claimed by illegally parked cars, vans, Vespas, motorcycles and double-parked delivery trucks. For local residents already fed up with unending traffic, golf carts were the final straw.

    Luigi la Licata, head of the Monti neighborhood association, told the AP that decades of over-authorization for multiple vehicle classes have already choked local streets, and unregulated golf carts are the most visible and recent addition to the chaos. “The golf cart is the most obvious one — and the latest — but there are many others,” he said.

    Data from TripAdvisor confirms how rapidly the trend has grown: golf cart tour bookings this summer jumped 147% compared to 2024. Viator, TripAdvisor’s tour booking subsidiary, is the single largest source of bookings for these tours. Current estimates put the total number of tourist golf carts in Rome at roughly 500. One-fifth of those operators belong to Metur, an industry association founded last December to build dialogue with local residents and city officials.

    Metur president Pascal van Duijnhoven acknowledges that overtourism is a serious challenge for Rome, and that the industry is not blameless. “Overtourism is a real problem, and we’re not denying it. And maybe we’re also part of it in a way. But if we’re part of it, then at least be part of it in a smart way,” van Duijnhoven said. “We believe, especially for Rome, that it’s a solution. And we really hope that people start looking at it like this. But we need a hand. We need some help from the authorities.”

    Regulating the booming industry has proven far from straightforward for city leaders. Eugenio Patanè, Rome’s deputy mayor for sustainable mobility and transport, has been working to overhaul traffic rules citywide to cut congestion, not just for golf carts. In July, the city implemented a new rule requiring electric vehicles to pay to enter the historic center, aligning them with the existing fees for gasoline-powered cars — a policy shift that prioritizes cutting congestion over solely reducing emissions. Since the policy took effect, the number of authorized vehicles entering the center has dropped by roughly one-quarter to 350,000, and Patanè has set a goal of cutting daily entries in half long-term.

    But reining in golf carts has hit multiple roadblocks. First, inconsistent technical classifications mean some carts fall under existing traffic regulations, while others are able to operate with no restrictions. Second, oversight of passenger transport and tourism licensing is currently controlled at the regional level, not by the city of Rome. Patanè has requested that the Lazio region transfer regulatory authority to the city, a move he expects to be finalized this month. Once the city gains control, Patanè plans to introduce new rules that will set fixed approved tour routes, cap the total number of golf carts allowed to operate, and create a licensing system to select authorized operators.

    “Cities where this golf cart phenomenon is expanding truly have very few weapons,” Patanè said. “We will be able to regulate this phenomenon that has now become rampant and, in some cases, even worrisome.”

    As the city waits for regulatory power to transfer, a reckoning is already underway for operators. Enforcement actions have already increased sharply, with operators facing inconsistent but often severe penalties. Van Duijnhoven told the AP that authorities stopped vehicles owned by Metur members 14 times in the second half of August alone, with document reviews lasting up to an hour. Unlicensed operators can face penalties including having their vehicles impounded for more than a month, or fines as high as 4,000 euros ($4,600) for unlicensed tour guiding.

    During an AP visit to the area just one block from the Pantheon, reporters observed an Italian financial police officer stopping a golf cart carrying a family from Florida, spending a half-hour inspecting documents, copying down visitor ID information. Three nearby private hire vans, also parked illegally, received no enforcement action at all. Operators argue that existing private hire and taxi drivers, who see golf carts as a threat to their business, are behind the push for harsh enforcement.

    Halili, the guide who led the Sanderson family’s tour, says established transport lobbies have “waged a war” against golf cart operators, filing repeated complaints and appeals to block their operations. “They have it in for golf carts,” he said.

  • Watch: Inside court as Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks judge to remove juror

    Watch: Inside court as Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks judge to remove juror

    The high-profile triple-murder trial of Lindsay Clancy has reached a critical juncture, as the defendant’s legal team made a notable courtroom request to remove one seated juror from the panel. On-record footage captured the in-court proceeding where Clancy’s defense lawyer formally presented the motion to the presiding judge, marking a new development in a case that has drawn widespread public attention.

    Following the submission of the motion, the jury has now moved into its seventh consecutive day of closed-door deliberations, as panelists continue weighing evidence and testimony to reach a unanimous verdict in the killings of three young children. Court observers note that the extended deliberation period signals the complexity of the case and the seriousness with which jurors are approaching their decision-making responsibility. No immediate ruling on the defense’s juror removal request has been reported as of the latest updates from the courthouse.

  • Kenya’s chai tea lovers are not happy as the nation’s cows run dry

    Kenya’s chai tea lovers are not happy as the nation’s cows run dry

    For Kenyans, milky spiced chai is far more than just a popular drink: it is a cultural staple woven into every part of daily life, from morning breakfast tables to business meetings and social gatherings. Millions of people reach for multiple cups of this warm, creamy brew every day. Today, however, that beloved tradition is under threat as a nationwide milk shortage has left supermarket dairy shelves nearly empty, forced retailers to ration purchases and hike prices, and put unprecedented strain on small food businesses that rely on steady milk supplies.

    The national government has pointed to prolonged drought as the primary driver of the recent supply collapse, noting that parched conditions have drastically shrunk available pasture for dairy cattle and crippled overall production. Even the country’s dairy industry regulator has acknowledged the severity of the crisis, confirming widespread “supply constraints” and critically low stock levels that are unusual for this East African nation, which is one of the continent’s top milk producers.

    The shortage is already hitting small business owners hard. Muthoni Macharia, who runs a casual restaurant in the capital city of Nairobi, normally purchases more than 70 packets of fresh milk each week to meet customer demand for chai. For the past week, she has spent her days scrambling to track down scarce supplies, losing business when she cannot meet her customers’ expectations. “If they come in groups, and there’s no milk tea, you see that’s a loss for me,” Macharia explained, adding that the shortage is most disruptive during the busy morning rush hour. While a handful of customers accept black tea as a substitute, most refuse, leaving her with lost sales and unhappy regulars.

    Kenya boasts a long-standing, robust commercial dairy sector, and industry data ranks Kenyans among the highest per capita consumers of milk in Africa, with pasteurized fresh milk dominating urban markets and raw and fermented milk more common in rural areas. That makes the current shortage all the more shocking for consumers, and it has sparked widespread public frustration — even giving rise to unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that supermarkets are deliberately hoarding supplies to drive up profits.

    Official data from the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB), the government regulator that oversees the dairy sector, confirms a steady downward trend in supply: formal milk deliveries to processors dropped 3.7% between June and July, falling from 84.4 million litres to 81.3 million litres, and preliminary data shows an even steeper decline in August. The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek), the country’s leading consumer advocacy group, says the supply contraction has been ongoing since the start of 2025, caused by two interconnected factors: delayed seasonal rains that have cut grazing land, and a 45% spike in the cost of commercial animal feed.

    Fresh milk prices have already jumped from 70 to 80 Kenyan shillings ($0.54 to $0.62) per litre, and Cofek argues that the current crisis was both predictable and largely avoidable. The organization blames state dairy processor New KCC and KDB for failing to properly process and store last year’s milk surplus into powdered milk, a buffer that processors typically convert back to liquid milk to offset low fresh milk supplies during dry seasons. “Had these buffers been in place, today’s supply shock would have been substantially cushioned,” Cofek said in a statement. The group has called on the government to implement an emergency recovery plan, including feed subsidies for smallholder dairy farmers, tax waivers on animal feed inputs, and aggressive price monitoring to crack down on opportunistic price gouging and unnecessary rationing.

    In response to public outcry, KDB managing director William Maritim has framed the shortage as a “temporary supply constraint”, stressing that milk remains available to consumers overall. He did acknowledge that short-shelf-life fresh pasteurized milk has been far more impacted than longer-lasting UHT milk, which is less popular with most Kenyan consumers.

    Shoppers in Nairobi who spoke to the BBC expressed growing anxiety about rising costs and unreliable supplies. Bernard Abok, an office worker who shops for groceries after work, said unpredictable stock and constant price hikes have become a constant frustration. “Sometimes when I go to the supermarket I find there is none. When I do find some, the price has gone up. Today it is this price, tomorrow it has gone up again,” he said. Patricia Gathoni, a mother, said she has already been forced to stretch scarce milk by adding water for her children, and warned she will have to completely rethink her family’s diet if prices continue to climb.

    Earlier this week, senior agriculture ministry officials held emergency talks with Kenya’s dairy processors association to address the crisis. The government has committed to immediate interventions to support farmers, stabilize supply and protect consumers from unfair price hikes. Jonathan Mueke, the ministry’s top livestock development official, said the immediate priority is getting affordable feed to struggling dairy farmers, including allowing duty-free imports of yellow maize for animal feed.

    Looking beyond the immediate crisis, the government is also developing long-term policy solutions to address Kenya’s recurring cycle of dairy gluts and shortages. During periods of oversupply, excess milk often goes to waste because farmers lack adequate storage and processing capacity, leaving them forced to sell perishable milk for far below market value. To fix this structural gap, Mueke said the government is considering creating a dedicated stabilization fund to support milk preservation and storage during surplus periods, to be drawn on during dry seasons when supplies fall short. The administration is also planning to temporarily import milk from neighboring countries to quickly ease the current shortage, a move that could bring much-needed relief to Kenya’s legion of chai lovers who have been forced to go without their favorite drink.

  • Tensions flare as judge declines to remove holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial

    Tensions flare as judge declines to remove holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial

    One of the most emotionally charged criminal trials in recent U.S. history has hit a new impasse, as a Massachusetts judge has refused to dismiss a holdout juror who stands accused of ignoring binding court instructions on the legal standard of reasonable doubt. The case, which has captured national public attention, centers on 36-year-old Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse who faces three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her three young children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan — at the family’s Massachusetts home in January 2023.

    Clancy does not dispute that she strangled her children in the family home’s basement, but her legal team has mounted an insanity defense, arguing she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and was unable to discern right from wrong. Clancy herself was left paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from a second-floor window of her home immediately following the deaths, and she has attended recent court proceedings from a wheelchair.

    After six days of deliberations spanning roughly 35 hours, the nine-woman, three-man jury remains deadlocked, marking the third time the panel has notified the court of its inability to reach the required unanimous verdict. What makes this latest development unprecedented in the trial is the open division among jurors: the jury forewoman submitted a formal note to presiding Judge William Sullivan alleging that one member of the panel refused to follow the court’s written and verbal instructions on reasonable doubt, the strictest standard of proof in the U.S. legal system.

    This revelation sparked tense, dramatic exchanges in the Plymouth courtroom. Clancy’s lead defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, immediately filed a motion to dismiss the holdout juror, arguing that a juror who refuses to abide by the court’s legal instructions cannot fairly participate in deliberations. The prosecution, led by assistant district attorney Jennifer Sprague, pushed back against the request, setting off an animated sidebar discussion between the two legal teams and the judge that was not audible to reporters present. Court observers noted clear exasperation in Reddington’s body language and facial expressions throughout the exchange.

    Judge Sullivan opted to interview each juror individually to assess the situation before issuing his ruling, reminding the entire panel after the private questioning that a unanimous guilty verdict can only be handed down if every member of the jury believes the prosecution has proven Clancy’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In the end, the judge ruled that the holdout juror would remain on the panel, stating that it would be inappropriate for the court to insert itself into the internal dynamics of jury deliberations by taking sides in the deadlock.

    Following the ruling, Reddington appeared visibly frustrated and upset, and reporters observed him consoling Clancy, wrapping an arm around her as the court adjourned. Speaking to reporters after the session, Reddington confirmed that his motion to remove the non-compliant juror had been denied, and declined to confirm an 11-1 split reported by the jury forewoman, saying he had no insight into the lone juror’s specific position. Prosecutor Sprague, for her part, endorsed Judge Sullivan’s decision, noting that the court has no way to evaluate the substance of internal juror deliberations, nor should it attempt to do so.

    The court is scheduled to revisit the deadlock issue first thing Friday morning. If the jury ultimately fails to reach a unanimous verdict, Judge Sullivan will be required to declare a mistrial, leaving prosecutors to decide whether to pursue a second trial against Clancy. A conviction on the first-degree murder charges would result in an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. If the jury accepts Clancy’s defense and finds her not guilty by reason of insanity or lack of criminal responsibility, she would instead be committed to a state psychiatric facility for treatment.

    This case has drawn widespread public attention for its devastating context, shining a new light on the risks and impacts of severe postpartum mental illness in the United States. For anyone experiencing emotional distress or suicidal thoughts, support is available through global mental health organizations including Befrienders Worldwide, with additional resources listed for UK residents on the BBC Action Line.

  • Watch: Defence calls for one juror to be dismissed in Lindsay Clancy case

    Watch: Defence calls for one juror to be dismissed in Lindsay Clancy case

    The high-profile criminal case involving Lindsay Clancy has taken a new procedural turn this week, as legal teams and the court navigate a key request from the defense that could shape the outcome of the trial. Defense attorneys formally moved to have one individual juror removed from the panel that has been weighing the facts of the case, prompting a pause in proceedings to address the motion before the court could move forward. After the request was brought before the presiding judge, the court conducted necessary proceedings to resolve the defense’s application, and ultimately opted to send the full jury back to the jury room to continue their closed-door deliberations. Before the jurors withdrew to resume their discussions, however, the judge issued updated, clarifying instructions on points of relevant law to ensure all panel members have a clear understanding of the legal standards they must apply when reaching a verdict. This procedural step comes as the case has drawn significant public attention, with observers closely following every development in the court proceedings as the jury works toward a final decision. While details of the defense’s specific reasoning for requesting the juror’s dismissal have not been fully expanded on in the latest update, the action marks a notable moment in the trial, highlighting the careful procedural checks that guide criminal jury trials to safeguard the rights of the defendant.

  • British police try to track down theft of 70,000 pints worth of Guinness stout

    British police try to track down theft of 70,000 pints worth of Guinness stout

    A major beer theft has sparked a police investigation in northwest England, coming just weeks after a similarly high-profile stolen beer case captured public attention across the Atlantic.

    Cheshire Constabulary announced Thursday that two full trailer truckloads of Guinness, Ireland’s iconic creamy dark stout, were stolen from an industrial depot near the city of Liverpool this week. The stolen cargo amounts to roughly 800 barrels, which equals around 70,000 pints of the popular beverage. The Guinness itself is valued at 115,000 pounds ($155,000), while the two empty trailers stolen alongside the beer add an extra 50,000 pounds ($67,000) to the total stolen value, bringing the combined worth of the missing goods to approximately $222,000.

    The heist unfolded on Monday night, when two suspects driving stolen trucks pulled into the Runcorn industrial park where the depot is located. The pair hooked up the loaded trailers and drove off with the entire shipment undetected before the theft was discovered. The beer was originally en route to local pubs across the region to stock taps for regular patrons.

    Detective Sergeant Gary McClatchy, the lead officer on the case, leaned into the brand’s famous advertising slogan in a statement to the press. ‘It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you,’ but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,’ McClatchy said. ‘We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.’

    This large-scale beer theft comes amid a strange recent trend of high-value beverage heists, and follows just weeks after a similar stolen beer incident drew widespread social media attention in the United States. In that case, thieves broke into a Southern California warehouse and made off with roughly 34,000 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a popular budget lager. Officials with the Pabst company valued their stolen cargo at $70,000, and put out a $20,000 reward for any information that leads to the recovery of the stolen beer. The company garnered viral attention for its playful yet firm message to the thieves posted on Instagram: ‘To the thief: we don’t fault you for wanting to brag to your friends how much PBR you have, we just wish you obtained it the honorable way. P.s. this is real and we are deadly serious.’

    As of Thursday, British investigators have not announced any suspects or leads in the Guinness heist, and are asking anyone with information about the suspicious activity at the Runcorn industrial park on Monday night to come forward to assist with the investigation.

  • Watch: Gloria Steinem dedicated her life to fight for women’s equality

    Watch: Gloria Steinem dedicated her life to fight for women’s equality

    Gloria Steinem, the trailblazing feminist leader who reshaped global conversations around gender equity and guided the American women’s liberation movement through decades of grassroots activism, has died at the age of 92. The confirmation of her passing on Wednesday came from the organization she founded, the Gloria Steinem Foundation.

    Over the course of more than 60 years, Steinem built an unparalleled legacy as a writer, organizer, and advocate, turning once-marginalized demands for gender equality into a mainstream national and international movement. She rose to prominence in the 1960s as a voice for women’s rights, co-founding iconic feminist media outlets like Ms. magazine to center women’s experiences and challenge systemic gender discrimination. From fighting for reproductive freedom to addressing pay inequity and gender-based violence, Steinem never wavered in her commitment to building a more just world for all marginalized genders.

    Her work extended beyond policy advocacy; she inspired generations of activists to step into leadership, mentored countless emerging organizers, and helped reframe public understanding of what gender equality could look like. Tributes are already beginning to pour in from across the globe, with activists, political leaders, and ordinary people honoring her decades of tireless work that changed the trajectory of women’s rights globally.

  • Around 2,000 fall ill in Indonesia after eating free school meals

    Around 2,000 fall ill in Indonesia after eating free school meals

    Indonesia is grappling with a wave of mass food poisoning outbreaks that have sickened roughly 2,000 students and teaching staff across the archipelago over three days, all tied to the national government’s flagship free school nutrition initiative. The most severe incident unfolded at a public high school in Rembang Regency, Central Java, where 777 people developed acute food poisoning symptoms after eating lunch served through the Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG, or Free Nutritious Meals) program last Wednesday.

    Among those affected at the Lasem district high school were 752 students and 25 teachers, many of whom developed severe diarrhea that quickly overwhelmed campus facilities. “They had diarrhoea and took turns using the toilet,” Juhartutik, the school’s principal, told BBC News Indonesia in an interview. “There are 40 toilets in total, so they can’t accommodate everyone.” In response to the outbreak, the school dismissed nearly 1,200 enrolled students and all 95 non-teaching staff members, and a small number of the most severely affected patients were transported to local hospitals for emergency treatment. Juhartutik added that national government authorities have committed to covering all associated medical costs, and the local private distributor contracted to supply the program’s meals has already visited the campus to accept accountability for the incident.

    This Rembang outbreak followed closely on the heels of a separate mass incident the prior day at an Islamic boarding school in Sidoarjo, East Java, that left 730 people ill after consuming MBG-provided meals, according to local public health officials. One parent, Reni, described her child’s rapid onset of symptoms: dizziness and nausea that quickly progressed to severe abdominal cramping and gastrointestinal distress. Multiple patients in that outbreak required inpatient hospital care, and several affected students were so weak they had to be transported to care in wheelchairs.

    Additional cases have been confirmed across other regions of Indonesia this week, including hundreds of affected people at multiple schools in Tana Toraja, a highland regency in South Sulawesi. Parents and school staff have already reported troubling observations about the quality of meals served through the program, including slimy chicken portions, undercooked staple items, and unusual off odors that indicate improper handling. Health experts note that common culprits for mass food poisoning outbreaks like these include improper cold storage of perishable ingredients, inadequate food preparation practices, and microbial contamination of finished meals.

    Local public health and law enforcement authorities have launched formal investigations into the string of outbreaks, and laboratory testing of collected food samples is currently underway to pinpoint the exact source of contamination. Achmad Sholeh Syarifudin, the head of the local MBG food distribution unit in Lasem, has issued a public apology and accepted full responsibility for supporting the recovery of affected students and staff. He added that the unit will launch a full organizational review of its operational protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.

    The MBG program is a multibillion-dollar flagship policy of newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto, designed to address widespread childhood malnutrition by providing free daily nutritious meals to students across the country. However, the initiative has already faced significant controversy beyond the current food safety crisis: it has been dogged by persistent allegations of graft in procurement and distribution contracts, as well as widespread public criticism over its massive projected cost to the national budget. When addressing the outbreaks this week, the head of Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency acknowledged that accountability would be strictly enforced. “If it is identified that there was negligence and there are criminal elements, I apologise, we cannot help,” the official said, signaling that legal action would follow if wrongdoing is confirmed.

  • Latest school shooting in Thailand may spur calls in Asia for more active safety drills

    Latest school shooting in Thailand may spur calls in Asia for more active safety drills

    In the wake of a fresh school shooting incident in Thailand this week, policymakers and education authorities across Southeast Asia are ramping up discussions around expanding active shooter preparedness drills at educational institutions, a response to a growing regional trend of gun-related violence on campus.

    On Thursday, just one day after the Thai shooting, students in San Rafael, Philippines, joined thousands of schools across the country in participating in the annual Nationwide Simultaneous School Safety Drill. The exercise, organized by the Philippine Department of Education alongside multiple national public safety agencies, is designed to test emergency response protocols and strengthen overall school security against a wide range of threats.

    “It’s a new reality in the country,” stated Jonvic Remulla, Secretary of the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local Government, on the sidelines of the San Rafael drill. “We are preparing for all kinds of emergencies, from human-induced to weather-induced events. All of us should be ready.”

    The renewed push for preparedness follows a close call on Wednesday in Thailand’s Kamphaeng Phet province, roughly 120 miles north of Bangkok. According to local Thai media reports, a 14-year-old student opened fire multiple times on his school campus before being subdued by staff and authorities. No bystanders or students were injured in the incident, but it has reignited urgent conversations about school safety across the region that has already seen multiple deadly student-led school attacks in recent months.

    Just four months prior, in August 2024, both Thailand and the Philippines recorded fatal school shootings perpetrated by teen students. On August 7, a 14-year-old gunman carried out an attack at his high school and family home in Nonthaburi province, just outside Bangkok, that left eight people dead and more than 20 others wounded before the shooter died by suicide. Eleven days later, on August 18 in the southern Philippines, a 14-year-old student armed with two pistols killed a classmate on a high school campus before taking his own life. Two months before that, in June, two teenage students aged 14 and 15 opened fire at a high school in the central Philippines, leaving three students dead and at least 20 more injured. Both suspects were taken into custody following the attack.

    Regional gun violence data underscores the severity of the threat facing both nations. Multiple independent firearms surveys rank Thailand first in Southeast Asia for per capita gun ownership, while the Philippines holds the unenviable top position for per capita gun-related deaths in non-conflict settings across the region.

    The San Rafael drill brought together education officials, local government leaders, and representatives from disaster response and law enforcement agencies to simulate real-world emergency scenarios and evaluate response coordination. The core of the exercise was a 30-minute full-scale lockdown drill, followed by a structured debrief and evaluation with stakeholders from the Office of Civil Defense, Bureau of Fire Protection, Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and Philippine National Police.

    “Through this exercise, we want our schools to be number one in awareness — to be able to recognize these kinds of threats and respond through drills and exercises: what to do, where to go, and how responders would be able to perform their roles and do their part,” explained Malcolm Garma, Undersecretary of the Philippine Department of Education.

    Thailand has already moved forward with similar preparedness initiatives following its August deadly attack. Just last month, schools across Thailand held active shooter response drills, with footage released by Thai public broadcaster Thai PBS showing first responders guiding students at Bangkok’s Sarawittaya School through life-saving protocols, including how to barricade classroom doors with stacked desks and chairs to block an active shooter from entering.

    Regional security analysts note that the recent string of incidents is expected to push more Southeast Asian governments to mandate regular active shooter drills across all primary and secondary education institutions, as part of broader efforts to curb gun violence and protect student populations.

  • Eleven people sentenced to death in Vietnam drug trafficking case

    Eleven people sentenced to death in Vietnam drug trafficking case

    In one of the largest transnational drug trafficking busts in Vietnam’s modern legal history, a court has handed down death sentences to 11 convicted individuals, including the alleged ringleader of a billion-dollar smuggling operation that spanned Europe and Southeast Asia, state media confirmed this week.

    In total, 227 people faced trial for their roles in the coordinated network. Penalties across all defendants ranged from 18-month prison terms to life imprisonment, with 11 receiving the ultimate capital punishment. Ha Danh Nam, the man authorities identified as the mastermind who coordinated the shipment of illegal narcotics from France to Vietnam, was among those sentenced to death.

    The investigation into the criminal enterprise traces back to March 2023, when four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants arriving in Ho Chi Minh City from Paris were intercepted with more than 10 kilograms of illicit drugs hidden inside 157 toothpaste tubes. State-run legal newspaper Bao Cong Ly reported that the crew members were never prosecuted, as investigators confirmed they had unknowingly transported the contraband, which included MDMA and ketamine.

    Further probes uncovered that Nam’s smuggling operation systematically hid narcotics inside everyday consumer goods, including dietary supplements, laundry detergent, mouthwash, and coffee. The ring then recruited Vietnamese nationals living or studying in France to transport the hidden drugs, either in personal checked luggage or via international courier services directly to buyers in Vietnam. To evade detection, members of the network relied on end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms and processed financial transactions through bank accounts registered under stolen or fake third-party identities, prosecutors told the court. Over the course of the operation, the total value of illegal drug transactions linked to the network reached nearly 29 trillion Vietnamese dong, equal to roughly $1.1 billion or £815 million.

    Judges handed down sentences proportional to each defendant’s level of involvement in the ring, ranging from masterminding operations to low-level accomplice roles. In addition to the 11 death sentences, around 20 other defendants received life imprisonment for convictions on charges of illegal drug possession, distribution, transport, and organized trafficking.

    The verdict comes amid a period of gradual shift in Vietnam’s capital punishment policy. Vietnam remains one of 54 countries globally that retains the death penalty, according to human rights organization data. The Vietnamese government classifies the total number of people on death row as a state secret, but rights groups estimate that more than 1,000 prisoners are currently awaiting execution across the country.

    Just last month, the Vietnamese government tabled new legislative reforms that would remove the death penalty for six additional offenses, including drug trafficking. The proposed changes have not yet been enacted into law. This proposal follows a 2025 amendment to the national criminal code that eliminated capital punishment for eight other offenses, including embezzlement, espionage, and the charge of attempting to overthrow the government.

    The 2025 legal change already led to a high-profile sentence adjustment: real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, who was sentenced to death for embezzlement in 2024, had her capital sentence commuted to life imprisonment earlier this year after the reform went into effect.