Global Pulse

分类： society

  • ‘Dream come true’: Owners reunite with pets in quake-hit Colombia

    ‘Dream come true’: Owners reunite with pets in quake-hit Colombia

    In the shadow of collapsed homes and widespread destruction that has left Colombia reeling from one of its deadliest seismic events in recent years, small moments of joy are cutting through the grief: beloved pets pulled from rubble are being reunited with their heartbroken owners, offering glimmers of hope when all feels lost.

    On Monday, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake ripped through western Colombia, battering Cali — the country’s third-largest city — and large stretches of the nation’s renowned coffee-growing region and Pacific coastline. Official death tolls have climbed to at least 273, with thousands more injured, and more than 12,000 homes reduced to rubble. The disaster has left countless families displaced and destitute, with hundreds of people still unaccounted for days after the tremor struck.

    Rescue teams have worked around the clock, digging through concrete and twisted debris in a race against time to find surviving victims. By Thursday, the critical 72-hour window for finding trapped people alive had closed, but for a handful of Colombians, the search yielded an unexpected gift: the safe return of their furry family members.

    Standing outside her crumpled home in Cali, 56-year-old lawyer Vickye Giraldo beams as she clutches her rescued kitten Polux tight to her chest, pressing a gentle kiss to the cat’s head. Giraldo shared her damaged apartment building — which now tilts dangerously to one side — with two dogs and two cats. One dog escaped alive, the other perished in the collapse, and her second cat remains missing. After days of fear that she would never see Polux again, the reunion has felt nothing short of miraculous.

    “These have been very hard days, thinking we might not be able to rescue them, but in the end it’s a dream come true. It really is,” Giraldo told Agence France-Presse, her voice thick with tears as she held her cat close. “It’s an indescribable moment.”

    She is not alone in finding small hope amid overwhelming loss. When a team of rescuers pulled a weak, trapped dog from a second collapsed structure on Thursday, onlookers erupted in applause. A team of veterinarians immediately rushed to the animal’s side, offering water before carrying the creature away on a stretcher for further care.

    For many Colombians affected by the quake, pets are not just animals — they are family. That is the belief driving volunteer rescuers like Nelson Vidales, who has joined the effort to locate trapped pets even as the bulk of search efforts focus on missing humans.

    “Pets are like children. I insist on that,” Vidales told AFP. “I know there are a lot of people thinking about humans, but the time must come when pets are looked for too. That’s what I’m here for.”

    Even as many families still wait for good news — Andrea Paredes, another Cali resident, has not given up hope of finding her missing dog and cats, after her husband only managed to escape with one small dog during the quake — the small reunions have reminded a shaken nation of the bonds that persist even in disaster.

  • BBC Verify speaks to woman who filmed ICE agent pointing gun at her

    BBC Verify speaks to woman who filmed ICE agent pointing gun at her

    A troubling encounter between a Virginia resident and a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent has come under public scrutiny after the woman captured video showing the agent pointing a loaded firearm directly at her. BBC Verify, the British public broadcaster’s independent fact-checking and investigative verification team, has launched a review of the circulating footage and conducted a firsthand interview with the woman who recorded the incident to confirm its authenticity and gather details of what led to the confrontation.

    The raw footage, which was voluntarily shared with the BBC team by the woman, has already sparked growing discussion over law enforcement tactics and use of force during civil interactions. While full context of the encounter, including the ICE agent’s justification for drawing the weapon and the sequence of events preceding the moment captured on camera, has not yet been fully released, the verification process conducted by BBC Verify has confirmed the footage is unaltered and was recorded by the woman in Virginia as she claimed. No additional details about the location of the incident within the state, the date it occurred, or whether any formal complaint has been filed against the agent have been disclosed as of the latest reporting.

  • Australian tenants forced to swallow relentless rent increases as housing crisis deepens, finance expert warns

    Australian tenants forced to swallow relentless rent increases as housing crisis deepens, finance expert warns

    Australia’s rental market is facing escalating pressure, with finance experts warning that landlords are legally boosting rental prices exactly once every year, passing on the costs of rising interest rates and recent tax reforms to already vulnerable tenants. In Sydney, the country’s most expensive rental market, the median weekly rent has climbed to $824, leaving low-income and fixed-income households grappling with unbearable housing costs.

    Taylor Blackburn, a money expert at comparison platform Finder, explained that a combination of three consecutive Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate hikes in early 2026 and federal government changes to negative gearing rules have pushed property owners to maximize returns on their rental investments as soon as legally allowed. In New South Wales, state legislation only permits landlords to increase rent once every 12 months, and Blackburn says many property owners are already issuing new rent increase notices exactly 365 days after their last hike, taking full advantage of the legal window to pass on higher ownership costs.

    “Property owners are looking to get the best possible return from their investment, and a severe shortage of quality rental stock in major capital cities gives them the leverage to do that,” Blackburn said. “When property owners face higher mortgage costs on their own homes, they offset that pressure by raising rents on their investment properties. That dynamic has been amplified by recent negative gearing changes, which push landlords to collect more rental income to keep their investment cash flow positive.”

    Australia’s negative gearing policy previously allowed residential property investors to deduct rental losses from their personal taxable income, reducing their overall annual tax bill. Changes passed in May restricted this tax concession exclusively to newly built residential properties, while also adjusting the 50% Capital Gains Tax discount that applies to profits from asset sales. Blackburn noted the reforms have had a clear, direct impact on landlords’ decisions to increase rental prices more consistently.

    The broader economic context has worsened the crisis for tenants. The RBA raised the cash rate three times between February and May 2026 for a total increase of 75 basis points, bringing the cash rate to 4.35%, where it has been held for three consecutive months. Following the rate hikes, financial conditions across the country have tightened, and economic growth has slowed, though RBA policymakers have emphasized that inflation remains well above target. Recent housing market downturn has been widely linked to these tax and interest rate changes by industry analysts.

    Latest data from property analytics firm Cotality shows national median rents rose 2.1% in the March 2026 quarter, pushing the combined capital city median to $724 per week. Darwin recorded the largest annual surge, with rents jumping 9.2% in the 12 months to March, while Sydney remained the nation’s priciest market at $824 weekly.

    Gareth Spence, senior economist at the National Australia Bank (NAB), explained that higher cash rates filter through to rental costs just as they do to home loan mortgage rates. He added that broader structural pressures have compounded the issue, with rental vacancy rates sitting at near-record lows across the country and property investors pulling back from new purchases.

    “The biggest challenge for renters right now is just how tight the market is,” Spence said. “We have extremely low vacancy rates, less investor activity, and that creates supply constraints that don’t just affect home purchase affordability – they make renting incredibly difficult for millions of households.”

    For tenants already living on tight budgets, the consistent annual rent hikes are pushing many to the brink. Finder’s research finds that more than 40% of Australian renters live paycheck to paycheck, with less than $1,000 in total cash savings to cover unexpected costs. For those living on fixed incomes, such as pensioners or low-wage workers, rental price growth is far outpacing any increases in income, leaving many at risk of housing instability.

  • Second Alan Jones alleged victim to give evidence in blockbuster trial

    Second Alan Jones alleged victim to give evidence in blockbuster trial

    One of Australia’s most high-profile former radio personalities, 85-year-old Alan Jones, is currently standing trial on dozens of sexual offense charges at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, and the second of his six accusers is preparing to give evidence to the court this Friday. Jones has entered a firm not guilty plea to all 22 charges brought against him, which include 20 counts of indecent assault and two additional counts of sexual touching. He has repeatedly denied all claims that he kissed or groped any of the six male complainants, and is actively fighting the allegations in court.

    The complainant set to take the witness stand on Friday morning is only publicly identified as “Complainant C” to protect his privacy. Court documents and pre-trial proceedings have confirmed that C previously worked alongside Jones, and the veteran broadcaster faces eight separate counts of indecent assault connected directly to C’s accusations. Specific allegations laid out in the case include that Jones touched C’s penis over his clothing while C was driving Jones, that Jones kissed C in elevators at both Jones’ Circular Quay apartment building and his workplace, and that Jones carried out a similar sexual touch to C over his clothing at a restaurant in Mosman.

    Prosecutors from the Crown have previously informed the court that they plan to call approximately 20 separate witnesses to testify in relation to C’s allegations, marking a key phase in what has become one of the most closely watched criminal trials in New South Wales this year. Jones has maintained a consistent, strenuous denial of all accusations from the six complainants since the charges were first brought, rejecting every claim of inappropriate sexual contact made against him.

  • Air India to test all pilots for banned substances

    Air India to test all pilots for banned substances

    In a sweeping move to restore public confidence in its aviation safety standards, Air India has announced it will immediately implement mandatory banned substance testing for all of its pilots, a policy that far exceeds current Indian regulatory requirements. The sudden policy shift follows a high-altitude incident earlier this month that left multiple people injured and sparked fresh scrutiny of the carrier’s safety protocols, coming on the heels of a devastating fatal crash just over a year prior.

    The triggering incident took place on August 4, when an Air India Airbus operating a flight from Phuket to Delhi experienced an unplanned rapid loss of altitude shortly after departing the Thai resort city. The plane dropped roughly 300 feet (91 meters) mid-ascent, resulting in injuries to 17 passengers and crew members. Preliminary investigations into the near-accident have revealed that the flight’s senior captain tested positive for marijuana, a banned substance under global aviation safety rules, and has since been ordered to undergo a confirmatory retest. Both the captain and co-pilot of the flight have been suspended from active flying duties pending the outcome of the full probe, which is being conducted jointly by Indian aviation authorities, aircraft manufacturer Airbus, and France’s civil aviation safety agency.

    The mandatory testing requirement will not be limited to Air India’s mainline fleet. The airline confirmed that pilots working for its low-cost subsidiary, Air India Express, will also begin undergoing the tests starting this Thursday. Current Indian aviation regulations only require airlines to conduct random drug testing of at least 10 percent of their pilot workforce annually. Air India’s new policy moves far beyond this baseline, a decision the carrier framed in an internal memo reviewed by the BBC as a necessary step to strengthen its safety culture.

    “It is important to go further in our testing,” the memo stated. “This initiative, which goes beyond regulatory requirements, reflects our determination to uphold the highest standards of safety and professionalism, and to provide reassurance to our passengers, stakeholders and the community at large.”

    The policy announcement comes at a time of intense ongoing scrutiny for Air India, which has not yet fully recovered from public outrage over the June 2025 crash of an Ahmedabad-to-London flight that went down shortly after takeoff. That disaster killed all but one of the 241 people on board, as well as 19 people on the ground, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in South Asia in recent decades.

    Testing will screen for both recreational banned substances and prescription medications that are prohibited under international aviation rules, as any form of impairment can pose catastrophic risks to flight safety. According to Air India, the tests will be integrated into existing training schedules at the airline’s in-house training academy, and will also be administered at other operational locations including pilot briefing centers and corporate offices.

    The policy change is the first major safety-related announcement from Air India since the arrival of its new chief executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, the former long-serving CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, who took over the top role at the Indian carrier last week.

  • Families mourn victims of Zimbabwe ferry disaster as death toll rises to 46

    Families mourn victims of Zimbabwe ferry disaster as death toll rises to 46

    HARARE, Zimbabwe — Communities across Zimbabwe are in mourning this week after a devastating capsizing incident on Lake Kariba, the world’s largest man-made reservoir by water volume, left at least 46 people dead and dozens more unaccounted for. On Thursday, hundreds of mourners including senior national cabinet ministers assembled at Nyamhunga Stadium in the lakeside town of Kariba to pay their final respects to the victims, with plain wooden coffins arranged in rows across the stadium’s central pitch under large canvas tents.

    The tragedy unfolded on Tuesday, when the overloaded, aging ferry set out from Kariba town bound for remote rural shoreline communities and isolated fishing camps scattered along the lake’s banks. For residents of these outlying areas, the ferry serves as a critical lifeline: years of underinvestment have left regional roads heavily damaged, and formal public road transport is either extremely limited or entirely non-existent for many local families. Many residents rely on the vessel both for daily travel and to move goods for small local businesses that support fishing communities.

    Authorities have not yet released an official final count of how many passengers were aboard the vessel when it overturned, nor a confirmed number of those still missing. Independent estimates suggest as many as 153 people were on board, far exceeding the ferry’s official maximum capacity of 90 passengers. As of Thursday, disaster management teams confirmed that 77 people have been rescued from the lake, with the death toll climbing by two to reach 46 since initial counts were released on Wednesday.

    The disaster has left countless families shattered, with some households losing multiple generations and multiple members. Collen Ndandalika, one grieving resident interviewed by state broadcaster ZBC News, lost his wife and three children in the sinking. “My wife and children all drowned. Two children have been recovered, but my wife and the other child are still missing. I still can’t believe this is a real world I am living in,” Ndandalika said. His wife had been traveling to rural camps to sell goods purchased in Kariba town, and had brought the couple’s children along to help with the business during school holiday breaks. “I have my brothers who are checking on the bodies to see if they can identify my wife and child. I am too traumatized to keep looking at dead bodies,” he added.

    The tragedy has already sparked growing public criticism over the continued operation of the outdated, overcapacity vessel, as well as allegations of a slow initial rescue response. Multiple survivors have come forward to report that they begged the ferry’s captain to turn back to shore as strong winds built large waves shortly before the boat capsized, but their pleas were ignored.

    In an official condolence message, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa acknowledged the systemic failures that allowed the disaster to occur. The president admitted the tragedy had “exposed serious deficiencies in our maritime capabilities which we have to address immediately so that our places of recreation do not become death traps to the innocent.” Following the statement, Mnangagwa declared a national state of disaster, ordering all relevant government agencies to redirect available resources to support affected families and speed up ongoing search and recovery operations.

    Located on the Zambezi River along Zimbabwe’s northern border, Lake Kariba was created between the late 1950s and early 1960s with the construction of the Kariba Dam. Stretching more than 200 kilometers in length and reaching up to 40 kilometers wide in some sections, it remains the largest artificial lake on Earth by total water volume, and is a key economic and transportation hub for northern Zimbabwe.

  • Passenger train derails and 11 people injured after carriages overturn in southern England

    Passenger train derails and 11 people injured after carriages overturn in southern England

    A routine Thursday commuter and leisure trip between London and the coastal Sussex town of Eastbourne turned into a chaotic incident when a Southern Rail passenger service derailed outside the popular tourist destination of Lewes, southern England, leaving multiple people injured, British Transport Police has confirmed. Three of the train’s carriages overturned in the crash, which left two people with severe injuries and a further nine with minor harm. The train, which departed London’s Victoria Station bound for Eastbourne, was carrying roughly 150 passengers when it left the tracks.

    Rob Bradley, one of the passengers on board, was traveling with his 6-year-old daughter when the incident unfolded. He described how the train began to sway violently as it accelerated, before the carriage he and his daughter were occupying suddenly jolted upward, triggering an immediate emergency brake activation. “Everything got thrown forward. My laptop, my AirPods, our bags,” Bradley told the BBC in a post-evacuation interview. “The train kind of skidded for quite a while before it stopped and only then when we turned around did we see that the whole back of the train — literally where we were sat — was open and there was smoke and dust pouring into the carriage.”

    After the train came to a halt, Bradley saw that one of the rear carriages had flipped onto its side, sliding down a grassy embankment to rest in an open field below. Though Bradley and his young daughter escaped without physical injury, he witnessed other trapped passengers from the overturned carriages with visible blood on their heads and clothing. He added that a second passenger told him they had sustained lacerations after a train window shattered during the derailment.

    Aerial footage captured at the crash site shows emergency responders including firefighters and paramedics treating injured passengers in the adjacent field, with a large response fleet deployed: multiple ground ambulances and three air ambulances were on standby to transport severely injured people to local hospitals. British Transport Police confirmed that all 150 passengers were successfully evacuated from the crash site within approximately three hours of the derailment. As of Thursday, authorities have not confirmed what caused the incident, and a full investigation into the circumstances of the derailment is ongoing.

  • An explosion strikes an ammunition plant near Rome; no injuries reported

    An explosion strikes an ammunition plant near Rome; no injuries reported

    On Thursday, a powerful explosion triggered by an industrial fire ripped through an ammunition manufacturing facility in Colleferro, a small town located just outside of Rome, Italy. Local authorities confirmed that despite the dramatic scale of the incident, no casualties or injuries have been recorded so far.

    The affected site is operated by KNDS Ammo Italy, a defense sector manufacturer that produces military ammunition and a range of other defense-related products. According to initial official briefings, the incident originated in the facility’s powder-pressing production department, where volatile explosive materials are processed.

    Witnesses and local residents described hearing a deafening blast that shook buildings across the town. Visual content shared rapidly across social media platforms captured a massive, mushroom-shaped plume of thick smoke billowing high into the sky above the factory, shocking onlookers and sparking widespread public concern.

    Emergency services mobilized quickly to contain the blaze: local law enforcement secured the perimeter of the site, while 10 dedicated firefighting crews, supported by a surveillance helicopter, worked to extinguish the flames. The fire spread from the factory grounds to adjacent dry vegetation, complicating initial containment efforts.

    Colleferro Mayor Giulio Calamita acknowledged that the incident sparked widespread panic across the community, noting that “there was a huge scare” for local residents. Importantly, he confirmed that all 24 workers who were present inside the facility when the explosion occurred have now been accounted for, and the blast was limited to a single production and storage zone of the plant, preventing wider damage.

    Francesco Rocca, president of the Lazio regional government, issued an official statement saying he was monitoring the developing situation with “great concern”. He emphasized that “at this time, the absolute priority is to ensure people’s safety and allow all personnel involved in the emergency response to operate under the best possible conditions.”

    As of Thursday evening, the root cause of the explosion remained undetermined. Local law enforcement and public prosecutors have launched an official investigation, with investigators already on site collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses to piece together what led to the incident.

  • Watch: Venomous snake pulled from football helmet

    Watch: Venomous snake pulled from football helmet

    A startling incident at a U.S. high school has put local sports communities on alert after a venomous cottonmouth snake was discovered concealed inside a student football player’s helmet. According to on-scene reports, the teenage athlete put on the protective gear ahead of team activities and wore it for nearly 60 minutes before anyone noticed the dangerous intruder tucked inside the hard shell.

    Coaches and team staff eventually spotted the snake and moved quickly to safely remove the venomous reptile from the helmet without incident. Miraculously, the student avoided any injury, escaping what could have been a life-threatening encounter with the venomous pit viper, which is native to wetland and forested regions across the southeastern United States.

    Local wildlife experts note that cooler seasonal temperatures often drive snakes to seek out warm, enclosed shelter, making stored sports equipment an unexpected target for wild creatures. Team officials have since announced new protocols for checking all gear before use to prevent similar surprises, reminding athletes and staff to remain vigilant when handling equipment that has been stored outdoors or in open sheds. The incident has spread widely on social media, with multiple outlets sharing video footage of the snake removal that has captured public attention nationwide.

  • Tanzanian rangers arrested as police investigate death in national park

    Tanzanian rangers arrested as police investigate death in national park

    A fatal incident in northern Tanzania’s high-profile Ngorongoro Conservation Area has sparked renewed scrutiny of harsh conservation enforcement practices, after local police took three park rangers into custody following the death of one civilian and the severe injury of two others who authorities say entered the protected zone without formal authorization.

    The confrontation unfolded on a Wednesday morning, when the rangers detained the three travelers who had mistakenly strayed into the conservation area. Police reports confirm the group was en route from the regional hub of Arusha to a funeral in Babati, a destination roughly 103 miles from their starting point, when they veered off the main road and into the protected park boundaries.

    According to statements to local media from Abdallah Nuru, the only traveler who avoided prolonged medical detention, the group realized their misdirection shortly after passing through the Ngorongoro park gate and immediately turned back to exit. Even after explaining they had lost their way and were traveling to a family funeral, Nuru says rangers accused the three men of being poachers and detained them immediately.

    Nuru described a brutal ordeal of abuse at the hands of the rangers: the three were ordered to remove all their clothing, roll across ground covered in sharp thorny shrubs, and were beaten repeatedly while officers poured water over them during the assault. Both 25-year-old Sefu Musa and the third traveler, Salimu Haji, lost consciousness during the attack. An injured Nuru managed to transport his two colleagues to a nearby hospital, where Musa was pronounced dead on arrival. Haji remains hospitalized in critical condition for treatment of his injuries, while Nuru returned to Arusha to speak with reporters and authorities.

    Police have confirmed the three rangers have been taken into custody as part of an ongoing formal investigation into the circumstances of Musa’s death. The incident is not an isolated case, however: human rights organizations and local indigenous communities have for years documented widespread allegations of excessive force, arbitrary detainment, and harassment targeting civilians during routine conservation enforcement operations across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

    Long-standing tensions over conservation policy in the region center on repeated forced relocation efforts targeting the Maasai people, an indigenous community that has coexisted with wildlife in the Ngorongoro ecosystem for centuries. Tanzanian government authorities have repeatedly defended these relocation and enforcement measures, framing them as critical necessary steps to protect the ecologically sensitive protected zone and enforce national conservation regulations.

    For additional reporting on news across the African continent, visit BBCAfrica.com, and follow BBC Africa on social media platforms including Twitter @BBCAfrica, Facebook, and Instagram.