Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Israel extends detention of ‘tortured’ Gaza flotilla activists

    Israel extends detention of ‘tortured’ Gaza flotilla activists

    In a development that has drawn sharp international condemnation, an Israeli court has granted a two-day extension to the detention of two pro-Palestinian activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla in international waters, their legal representative confirmed Sunday.

    The two detainees — Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian descent, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian national — were taken into Israeli custody by Israeli authorities late Wednesday after the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. More than 100 other fellow activists on board the aid vessel were instead diverted and transferred to the Greek island of Crete following the raid.

    Allegations of abusive treatment have quickly emerged from the detention process. According to Brazil’s embassy in Israel, which conducted an official monitored visit with Avila, the activist reported being tortured, beaten and subjected to ongoing mistreatment while held by Israeli officials. During the visit, which separated Avila from embassy representatives by a glass barrier and prevented open, unmonitored communication, diplomatic staff observed clear visible bruising on his face. Avila also told officials he experiences severe persistent pain, most acutely in his shoulder.

    The Global Sumud Flotilla organization, which coordinated the aid mission, has also backed abuse claims against Abu Keshek, citing direct eyewitness accounts that confirm he was tortured and subjected to severe ill-treatment while held aboard an Israeli military vessel before being transferred to Israeli territory.

    An official spokesperson for the Israeli judiciary confirmed the two-day extension of the activists’ remand, pushing their next custody review to May 5. Israeli authorities had originally petitioned the court for a four-day extension of detention, basing their request on a series of contested criminal allegations against the pair.

    Adalah, the Israeli legal rights group representing the two activists, has publicly outlined the charges: assisting an enemy during wartime, unauthorized contact with a foreign agent, membership in a terrorist organization, providing services to a designated terrorist group, and transferring property to terrorist actors. Both Abu Keshek and Avila have formally rejected all allegations against them.

    Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, the Adalah solicitors arguing the case before the Israeli court, emphasized that the entire legal proceedings against the foreign activists are fundamentally “flawed and illegal.” The legal team noted there is no valid legal basis for applying Israeli criminal law extraterritorially to actions carried out by foreign nationals in international waters, where the flotilla was intercepted. Abu Salih further added that both men were subjected to physical violence during their transfer to Israel, and were held continuously handcuffed and blindfolded from their arrest through Thursday morning.

    As of Sunday, the Israeli military had not issued an immediate response to a request for comment from Reuters on the abuse allegations. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has previously labeled organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla as “professional provocateurs.”

    The mission that ended in interception is the second Global Sumud Flotilla, which set off from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12 with the explicit goal of breaking Israel’s long-running aerial, land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip by delivering desperately needed humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. In response to the arrests, the governments of Spain and Brazil released a joint official statement Friday branding the detention of the two activists as illegal under international law.

  • Kenya’s rainy season turns deadly again, with 18 killed and 54,000 households hit over a week

    Kenya’s rainy season turns deadly again, with 18 killed and 54,000 households hit over a week

    NAIROBI, KENYA — A new week of relentless heavy rainfall has brought catastrophic devastation across Kenya, leaving 18 people dead in just seven days, national police confirmed in an update released Sunday. Authorities say most of the recent fatalities were caused by drowning, as swollen waterways and saturated terrain have turned everyday landscapes into life-threatening hazards.

    According to data from Kenya’s Interior Ministry, the crisis has disrupted the lives of more than 54,000 households spread across every region of the East African nation. The capital city of Nairobi has not been spared, with 6,000 local households already impacted by rising floodwaters that have submerged neighborhoods and blocked access to basic services.

    Across the country, critical public infrastructure has suffered extensive damage. Dozens of primary and secondary schools have been flooded, forcing widespread school closures that have put thousands of students out of classrooms. Multiple healthcare facilities have also been inundated, disrupting access to medical care for vulnerable communities. Seventeen major roads connecting regions across Kenya are now impassable, cutting off supply routes and emergency access to hard-hit areas.

    Beyond flooding, the saturated soil has triggered destructive mudslides in the western Rift Valley region, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes for safer ground. Authorities have also issued evacuation orders for communities living downstream along the Tana and Athi rivers, where water levels behind the nation’s hydroelectric dams have climbed to dangerous heights, raising the risk of downstream flooding.

    Kenya’s national Meteorological Department is warning that the crisis is far from over, forecasting that intensified rainfall will persist through the first half of May. This ongoing downpour is part of an unusually severe rainy season that began in March, which has already left a wide path of destruction across the country. By the end of March, the early weeks of the rainy season had already claimed the lives of more than 100 Kenyans, making this one of the deadliest rainy season events in recent years for the nation.

  • Kyiv hits Russian oil sites as eight killed in both countries

    Kyiv hits Russian oil sites as eight killed in both countries

    Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, cross-border drone attacks have escalated sharply over the weekend, leaving at least eight people dead across both countries and marking one of the largest daily exchanges of unmanned strikes in the conflict. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces had targeted key Russian maritime assets, including a Russian cruise missile carrier and three vessels belonging to Moscow’s shadow fleet of sanctioned oil tankers.

    Zelensky stated the missile-carrying vessel was hit at the Port of Primorsk, located in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad Region—an area that hosts critical Russian oil export terminals that have come under repeated Ukrainian attack in recent weeks. Past strikes on these facilities have sparked large-scale blazes that sent toxic black smoke plumes into the atmosphere, with Kyiv estimating the attacks have already cut off billions of dollars in Russia’s key oil export revenue. Of the three shadow tankers targeted, one was hit at Primorsk, while the other two were struck off Russia’s southern Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Zelensky also released night-vision footage showing a Ukrainian naval drone approaching one of the tankers anchored off Novorossiysk to confirm the strike. Local Russian authorities in Leningrad Region confirmed a port fire following the Ukrainian attack, but have not released any details on the extent of damage to infrastructure or vessels.

    Shadow fleet tankers are aging, unregistered or under-documented vessels that Russia relies on to ship its crude oil to global markets after Western nations imposed sweeping price caps and trade sanctions on Russian energy exports following the 2022 invasion. Sunday’s strike marks a major escalation in Ukraine’s campaign to disrupt Russia’s energy revenue stream that funds its war effort.

    In a public statement on social media Sunday, Zelensky warned Moscow that Kyiv would expand retaliatory strikes on Russian energy infrastructure if Russia does not end its invasion. “Russia can end its war at any moment. Prolonging the war will only expand the scale of our defensive operations,” he said. Ukraine frames its strikes on Russian territory and energy assets as legitimate retaliation for ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

    The weekend exchange of drone fire was one of the largest single-day exchanges of unmanned attacks since the war began. Kyiv’s air force reported that Russia launched 268 drones and one ballistic missile at Ukrainian targets in the overnight barrage, while Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed Ukraine launched 334 drones targeting Russian territory over the same period.

    Civilian casualties were reported on both sides. On Russian-controlled territory, two people were killed in the border region of Belgorod, one person was killed near Moscow, and a teenage civilian was killed in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine. On the Ukrainian side, two civilians died in attacks on the southern coastal Odesa Region, one was killed in the frontline Kherson Region, and another death was recorded in a strike on the major industrial city of Dnipro. Images released from Dnipro show the full roof of a five-story residential apartment building collapsed, with exposed wooden support beams and rubble scattered across the damaged top-floor units.

    Both sides have repeatedly denied intentionally targeting civilian populations. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, tens of thousands of people have been killed, the vast majority of them Ukrainian civilians and soldiers. Data compiled by AFP from Ukrainian air force records shows that in April, Russia ramped up its long-range drone campaign to a record high, launching an average of more than 200 attack drones per day against Ukrainian targets. Diplomatic efforts to negotiate a ceasefire or end to the conflict have remained stalled for months, with neither side showing willingness to agree to major concessions to de-escalate the fighting.

  • Two US service members reported missing in Morocco, officials say

    Two US service members reported missing in Morocco, officials say

    In a developing incident reported over the weekend, two American service members have been declared missing while taking part in a large-scale multinational military exercise in southern Morocco, U.S. Africa Command (Africom) confirmed in a statement released Sunday.

    The missing service members were participating in African Lion 2026, the yearly joint military drill that brings together U.S. military personnel, NATO alliance partners, and multiple African partner nations. The exercise’s core mission is to enhance interoperability, strengthen tactical coordination, and deepen security cooperation across transatlantic and African defense forces.

    According to Africom’s official update, the two troops were reported missing Saturday in the area adjacent to the Cap Draa Training Area, located just outside the southwestern Moroccan city of Tan Tan. This coastal desert region near the Atlantic coast forms the primary training ground for large-scale maneuver drills during African Lion.

    A comprehensive search and rescue operation has been activated to locate the missing service members, with assets contributed by multiple nations. The mission draws on ground search teams, air reconnaissance sorties, and maritime patrol resources from the United States, Moroccan defense forces, and other participating partners. As of the latest update, the search remains ongoing with no further details released on the circumstances of the disappearance or the identities of the missing troops.

  • A cargo ship near Strait of Hormuz reports being attacked as Iran makes new peace proposal

    A cargo ship near Strait of Hormuz reports being attacked as Iran makes new peace proposal

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A new suspected attack targeting an unidentified northbound cargo ship has been documented off the coast of Sirik, Iran, east of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), Britain’s leading maritime security monitoring agency, announced Sunday. This incident brings the total number of maritime attacks recorded in and around the world’s most critical energy chokepoint to at least two dozen since the outbreak of the ongoing Iran war, and marks the first reported assault in the region after a lull that began April 22, when another cargo vessel came under fire. All crew members aboard the targeted ship emerged unharmed, UKMTO confirmed, though no group has yet stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack. The overall threat rating for commercial shipping transiting the area remains classified as critical, as Tehran has effectively disrupted normal traffic through the strait through a campaign of targeted attacks and threats against passing vessels. For months, Iranian officials have maintained that any non-U.S. and non-Israeli flagged vessels may safely pass the waterway only upon payment of a transit toll. The small assault craft used in these attacks, many operated by Iranian forces and outfitted only with twin outboard motors, are notoriously agile, difficult for international naval forces to detect, and have been linked to multiple assaults on commercial shipping in recent months. Tensions in the region remain high even as a fragile three-week ceasefire between U.S.-led forces and Iran has largely held. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that additional military strikes against Iranian targets remain on the table should diplomacy fail to resolve the standoff. Parallel to the maritime security escalation, Iran has submitted a new 14-point peace proposal to the United States through diplomatic intermediary Pakistan, which hosted direct, face-to-face negotiations between the two countries last month. The proposal, reported by Iranian state-linked security outlets Nour News and Tasnim, aims to reach a full end to hostilities within a 30-day timeline rather than just extend the current ceasefire. It calls for the U.S. to lift all sweeping economic sanctions on Iran, end the ongoing American naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw all U.S. military forces from the broader Middle East region, and force an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Notably absent from the proposal is any mention of Iran’s controversial nuclear program and its stockpiles of enriched uranium – the core longstanding point of contention between Tehran and Western powers, which Iran has indicated it prefers to address in later negotiations. Pakistan continues to serve as a key go-between for the two adversaries, with the country’s prime minister, foreign minister and army chief all pushing for sustained direct dialogue between Washington and Tehran, according to two unnamed Pakistani officials authorized to discuss the sensitive diplomacy. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Abbas Araghchi also held talks with his Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi, whose government oversaw previous rounds of pre-war negotiations between the two sides. The strategic Strait of Hormuz, located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, normally carries roughly 20% of the world’s daily traded oil and natural gas, alongside critical fertilizer shipments that global food markets depend on. Since the outbreak of war on February 28, Iran’s tightening grip on the waterway has sent shockwaves through global energy and commodity markets. During a visit to the strategically vital Larak Island port facilities Sunday, Iranian deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad reaffirmed Tehran’s uncompromising stance, saying, “Iran will not back down from our position on the Strait of Hormuz, and it will not return to its prewar conditions.” Nikzad does not hold formal decision-making authority in the Iranian legislature, but his comments signal the hardline position popular among Iranian political elites. The U.S. has responded by warning global shipping companies that any form of payment to Iran for safe transit – including digital assets – could expose them to harsh U.S. sanctions. Compounding pressure on Tehran, the U.S. naval blockade implemented April 13 has cut off most of Iran’s oil export revenue, a critical lifeline for the country’s already ailing economy. U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that 48 commercial tankers have already been ordered to turn back from Iranian ports. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News Sunday that Iran has collected less than $1.3 million in total transit tolls to date – a tiny fraction of the country’s pre-war daily oil export earnings. “They’re going to have to start shutting in wells, which we think could happen in the next week,” Bessent said, noting that Iran’s onshore oil storage facilities are rapidly filling to capacity. Iran’s domestic economic situation continues to deteriorate rapidly, with the national currency the rial hitting new record lows against the U.S. dollar Sunday. On the second day of Iran’s working week, the dollar traded at 1,840,000 rials in Tehran’s central Ferdowsi Street currency exchange, a sharp drop from the already record low of 1.3 million rials per dollar recorded last December. At that time, the currency collapse sparked widespread nationwide protests over the soaring cost of living. Iranian markets remain deeply unstable, with prices for basic consumer goods rising on a daily basis, and local media reports indicate that dozens of factories have failed to renew worker contracts after the Iranian new year in March, leaving thousands unemployed. Yousef Pezeshkian, son and senior adviser to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, acknowledged the stalemate in a Telegram post over the weekend, writing that both the United States and Iran continue to view themselves as the war’s victor and remain unwilling to make concessions. In a separate development Saturday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee issued an urgent public appeal for Iran to immediately allow imprisoned 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to transfer to Tehran to receive specialized care from her personal medical team, after a sharp deterioration in the human rights lawyer’s health. The committee confirmed it is in regular contact with Mohammadi’s family and legal team, and warned that the activist’s life remains in imminent danger. Mohammadi, who is imprisoned in Zanjan prison in northwestern Iran, fainted twice in custody Friday, and was admitted to a local hospital, according to her personal foundation. Her legal team has said she is suspected to have suffered a heart attack in late March. This report included contributions from Associated Press correspondent Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, with additional reporting from Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan.

  • Russian strikes kill 10 as Zelensky says Ukraine hits oil tankers and terminal

    Russian strikes kill 10 as Zelensky says Ukraine hits oil tankers and terminal

    Over a 24-hour period, a fresh wave of Russian drone and missile assaults across multiple Ukrainian regions has left at least 10 civilians dead and 76 others injured, marking another escalation in the ongoing aerial campaign targeting Ukrainian populated areas. Fatalities were confirmed across five Ukrainian administrative regions, consistent with Russia’s sustained pattern of regular strikes on urban and civilian infrastructure throughout the country. Three fatalities were recorded in separate incidents in the southern Kherson region, according to the region’s governor. Two deaths each were reported in Odesa, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia, while one additional fatality was confirmed in the northeastern Sumy region. Ukrainian air defense forces reported they intercepted the vast majority of incoming Russian weapons, which included one ballistic missile and close to 270 attack drones launched in the assault.

    Parallel to these defensive operations against Russian strikes, Ukrainian authorities have confirmed a series of successful cross-border attacks targeting key Russian energy infrastructure and maritime assets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a major oil terminal in northwestern Russia sustained extensive damage, while two Russian oil tankers were hit in strikes near the key Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Zelenskyy confirmed the two damaged tankers were part of Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’ of vessels operated to bypass Western price caps and sanctions on Russian crude oil exports. No official details on the extent of damage to the ships have been released by Russian authorities as of yet.

    Zelenskyy added in a Telegram post accompanying black-and-white footage that appeared to show a naval drone approaching one of the targeted tankers: ‘These tankers were actively used for transporting oil. Now they will not be.’ In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have ramped up a coordinated campaign of long-range drone strikes on Russian oil export infrastructure spread across the country’s western and southern regions. Kyiv officials confirm these strikes have taken out billions of dollars in Russian oil export capacity. Over the weekend, Zelenskyy added that infrastructure at the Primorsk export terminal in Russia’s Leningrad region, located near the Finnish border, was also heavily damaged, alongside three vessels stationed at the facility.

    Russian officials reported that in total, Ukraine launched at least 334 drones in cross-border attacks over the same 24-hour period, with the Leningrad region facing the heaviest assault. While Moscow has largely sought to downplay the impact of Ukrainian long-range strikes on its territory, the Kremlin has openly acknowledged growing security concerns over the deep strike range of Ukrainian drones. Most notably, this security anxiety prompted the Kremlin to announce this week it would scale back its annual Victory Day military parade, scheduled for May 9 to mark the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, citing what officials described as an elevated ‘terrorist threat’ from Ukraine.

  • 2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco

    2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco

    A developing emergency is unfolding in southwestern Morocco, where two American service members have gone missing following their participation in a yeary multinational military exercise hosted in the North African nation, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced in an official update Sunday.

    Joint search-and-rescue missions have been mobilized by the Moroccan government, U.S. military personnel and other partner nations that took part in the African Lion drills, according to AFRICOM’s public statement. The command confirmed that the circumstances surrounding the disappearance are still being probed, and search activities are continuing across the affected area.

    The incident was recorded on May 2 in the vicinity of the Cap Draa Training Area, located near Tan Tan along Morocco’s Atlantic coastline. The African Lion exercise kicked off across four different North and West African nations in April, with additional training activities hosted in Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal, and was originally scheduled to conclude in the first week of May.

    First launched in 2004, African Lion stands as the largest annual joint military training exercise led by the U.S. across the African continent. The event routinely draws senior military leadership from the U.S. and its key partner states across Africa, bringing together thousands of service members to coordinate on tactical training and security cooperation. U.S. military leaders have long framed the annual multinational exercise as a critical platform for deepening regional security partnerships, boosting participating forces’ operational readiness, and preparing for a range of unforeseen global crises.

  • Nigeria summons South African envoy over attacks on its nationals

    Nigeria summons South African envoy over attacks on its nationals

    A wave of violent anti-immigrant attacks targeting foreign nationals across South Africa has sparked diplomatic tension between the continent’s most industrialized nation and Nigeria, after Abuja formally called in Pretoria’s acting high commissioner to address the escalating crisis.

    According to an official statement from Nigeria’s foreign ministry, the scheduled Monday meeting will center on delivering Nigeria’s formal and profound concern over the recent string of xenophobic actions, including organized anti-immigration marches by nativist groups, documented assaults on Nigerian citizens, and coordinated attacks on businesses owned by Nigerian nationals. Ministry officials have explicitly warned that the ongoing unrest poses a tangible risk to the longstanding bilateral relations between the two African economic powerhouses.

    Local South African media reports confirm that at least six foreign nationals have been killed in recent weeks: two Nigerian citizens and four Ethiopian nationals, with additional attacks recorded against migrants from other African countries across the country. As the economic hub of Southern Africa, South Africa has for decades drawn migrant workers from across the continent seeking greater employment opportunities and economic stability, a trend that has fueled growing resentment among segments of the local population.

    South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly condemned the violent attacks on migrants, but has also coupled this condemnation with a warning to all foreign residents that they must abide by South Africa’s domestic immigration laws. During his annual Freedom Day address last week, which marked the anniversary of South Africa’s first post-apartheid democratic elections in 1994, Ramaphosa reminded citizens of the critical solidarity and support African nations across the continent provided during the decades-long fight against the racist apartheid regime.

    Despite this official message of unity, anti-immigrant sentiment has hardened in many communities. Many South African residents blame undocumented migrants for straining public services, taking scarce formal employment opportunities from local workers, and fueling rising rates of organized crime, particularly drug trafficking. Hardline anti-immigration groups have taken to extrajudicial patrols, stopping people outside public facilities including hospitals and schools to demand proof of legal residency.

    During a large anti-immigrant march held in the capital Pretoria last week, organizers ordered all foreign-owned businesses to shut their doors ahead of the demonstration to avoid potential violence. One Nigerian resident, speaking to BBC Pidgin on the sidelines of the unrest, expressed deep disappointment with the targeting of African migrants. “It is not okay because we are blacks, we are brothers… everybody comes here just to survive,” he said.

    A South African security worker, who was blocked from reaching his job by the protest march, echoed that frustration. “It’s not what we expected as fellow Africans,” he told reporters. “It’s just making us scared – imagine if we’re scared in our own African continent – what if we go to Europe?”

    Nigeria is not the only African nation to take formal diplomatic action over the unrest. Last month, Ghana also summoned South Africa’s top diplomatic envoy after a viral video spread widely across social media showing a Ghanaian man being aggressively confronted by anti-immigrant activists who demanded he show proof of legal immigration status.

    The current rise in xenophobic tension traces back to earlier this year, when controversy erupted after the head of Nigeria’s community in the South African port city of KugoMpo, formerly known as East London, was installed in a traditional local leadership position loosely translated as “king.” Many local South African residents framed the move as an illegitimate power grab by foreign communities, stoking widespread anger that has since spread across the country.

    Official South African government data estimates that roughly 2.4 million legal migrants currently reside in the country, accounting for just under 4% of the total national population. Demographers estimate that a much larger number of migrants reside in the country without formal immigration documentation. The vast majority of migrants come from neighboring Southern African countries including Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, nations that have a long history of providing migrant labor to South Africa’s economy. A far smaller share of the migrant population hails from Nigeria.

  • Ukraine hits key Russian oil-loading port and 3 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers

    Ukraine hits key Russian oil-loading port and 3 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers

    On Sunday, Ukraine escalated its long-range targeting campaign against Russian energy assets, launching a coordinated wave of drone strikes that hit a major Baltic Sea oil export terminal and multiple vessels Kyiv links to Russia’s sanctions-evading shadow crude fleet. The cross-border attacks came amid a wave of reciprocal strikes that left civilian casualties on both sides, deepening the ongoing military escalation in the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

    The first and highest-profile strike targeted Primorsk, Russia’s largest Baltic Sea oil export terminal operated by state-owned energy giant Transneft. Located more than 1,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory, between the Russian-Finnish border and St. Petersburg, the facility is capable of processing hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude daily and has been targeted by Ukrainian drones multiple times since March. Russian regional governor Alexander Drozdenko confirmed that a nighttime drone attack sparked a fire at the port, but noted no oil spill occurred. He offered no immediate details on potential casualties or the extent of infrastructure damage.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed the operation delivered significant damage to Russian assets in a post on the Telegram messaging platform Sunday. He confirmed the strike, adding that one more Russian Kalibr missile-carrying vessel had been put out of action, alongside destruction of key port infrastructure. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian drones hit a Karakurt-class missile ship, a Russian patrol boat, and one tanker belonging to Russia’s notorious shadow oil fleet — a network of unregistered or loosely registered vessels used to bypass Western price caps and sanctions on Russian crude exports.

    In an earlier separate statement Sunday, Zelenskyy announced a second strike targeting two additional shadow fleet tankers near the entrance to Novorossiysk, Russia’s major Black Sea port. “These tankers were actively used to transport oil. Now they won’t,” he said, confirming the operation was directed by the chief of Ukraine’s general staff, Andrii Hnatov. The Kremlin has not issued any official confirmation of Zelenskyy’s claims regarding the two tanker strikes as of Sunday evening.

    Sunday’s attacks mark the latest acceleration of Ukraine’s recent campaign against Russian energy export infrastructure. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly justified the targeting, noting that oil and gas revenue forms a core pillar of funding for Russia’s full-scale invasion, which entered its third year in February 2024.

    The coordinated Ukrainian strikes were matched by a large-scale Russian air assault across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, which left multiple civilians dead and injured. Ukraine’s Emergency Service confirmed that a Russian drone strike on the southern Odesa region killed two people and wounded three more, damaging three residential buildings and port infrastructure before emergency crews extinguished a resulting fire. In central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, six people were wounded in overnight strikes. A passenger bus carrying 40 children was damaged in the attack, though no children onboard were injured.

    Reciprocal strikes also caused civilian casualties inside Russian territory. A 77-year-old man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike west of Moscow near the town of Volokolamsk, 120 kilometers from central Moscow, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed via Telegram. Russian officials said six drones were intercepted and downed in the Moscow region, which surrounds the capital, and Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed an additional five drones were shot down while approaching the city itself. In western Russia’s Smolensk region, three people — a man, woman and child — were injured after debris from a shot-down Ukrainian drone crashed into an apartment block, local governor Vasiliy Anokhin reported.

    Russian Defense Ministry figures released Sunday show that Russian air defenses intercepted and downed a total of 334 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea. For its part, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched a total of 269 drones and ballistic missiles against Ukrainian targets overnight. Ukrainian forces shot down 249 of the incoming drones, the service said in a Facebook update, while 19 drones and multiple ballistic missiles successfully hit targets in 15 separate locations across the country.

  • Australia sets its sights on Yorkshire’s young professionals

    Australia sets its sights on Yorkshire’s young professionals

    For generations, British people have been drawn to Australia by the promise of warmer weather, a more relaxed lifestyle, and greater professional opportunities. That long-running trend has hit a new milestone in 2024: new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows 39,580 people migrated to Australia from the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man this year, marking the highest annual number of arrivals from the region in a decade. An additional 10,660 migrants also arrived from Ireland, putting the upward trajectory of UK and Irish migration to Australia beyond doubt.

    Now, one of Australia’s less populated regions is leaning into this growing interest, launching a targeted outreach campaign across the UK and Ireland to lure young skilled workers to its borders. Australia’s Northern Territory, a vast, sparsely populated region famous for its rugged outback landscapes, unique wildlife and untouched coastal areas, is facing a critical workforce shortage, with officials estimating the region will need an additional 30,000 workers over the next five years to support growing industries spanning construction, healthcare, education, hospitality, business and technology. To fill these gaps, territory officials have been hosting pop-up information sessions across UK and Irish cities, including Leeds, Liverpool, Belfast and Cork, to introduce young professionals to the opportunities available in the region that are often overshadowed by more popular migration destinations like Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

    On a recent midweek evening in Leeds, dozens of young professionals traded post-work drinks at city center beer gardens for a chance to learn more about making the move to the outback. Among them was 24-year-old medical sales worker Chloe Rhodes, who has dreamed of moving to Australia since she was a teenager. “Here I’m happy, I’m alright, but I just want to strive for more,” Rhodes explained. “It’s the whole idea of the slower-paced lifestyle – and I grew up by the beach, so I like to be by the beach a lot.” Like many aspiring migrants, Rhodes faces hurdles to making the move: her current role is not included on Australia’s skilled occupation list for working visas, but she is hopeful her position at a global company will allow for an internal transfer, a process she says is already underway.

    For 26-year-old Caitlin Murphy, who already spent two years living in Western Australia, the Northern Territory has emerged as a top candidate for a permanent move with her partner. Murphy, originally from Scotland, is drawn to the territory’s laid-back pace of life, and is counting on her partner’s IT career to qualify them for a permanent visa. Her own background in law, however, will likely make it harder to transfer her professional qualifications, a challenge she says she is prepared to navigate.

    Geoff Totham, a Northern Territory government workforce development officer who has been leading the information sessions, says turnout for this year’s events has already been busier than the territory’s 2024 tour of the UK. He notes that most attendees know very little about the Northern Territory compared to better-known Australian states, but the region offers unique advantages that more populous states cannot match. “The more we market into this place, hopefully more people will realise that there are opportunities in the territory and, of course, that’s going to help us solve our workforce issues,” Totham said.

    For UK migrants who have already made the leap, the reality of life in Australia brings both rewards and unforeseen hurdles. Ben Cartwright, who left Leeds for Sydney 18 months ago, says he initially underestimated how hard it would be to break into his field of media and communications, even with prior UK experience. On a working holiday visa that limited him to six months with any single employer, Cartwright spent months working odd jobs to get by before landing a role as a magazine editor. Today, he says the effort has paid off: he earns more than double the salary he made for the same work in the UK. Adam Laver, a 27-year-old former BBC journalist who left Bradford for Adelaide at the end of 2024, says he loves his new coastal lifestyle, which includes an affordable home within walking distance of the beach. But he has struggled to find steady work outside of seasonal hospitality roles, which dry up during the cooler months. Laver now plans to move to Vietnam next month to teach English, and advises future migrants to save more and plan for transportation barriers that can limit job opportunities in less urbanized areas. Despite the challenges, the growing turnout for migration information sessions suggests that the draw of Australia’s lifestyle and opportunity remains as strong as ever for young British professionals.