Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Dubai ruler confronted in London over UAE involvement in Sudan war

    Dubai ruler confronted in London over UAE involvement in Sudan war

    A tense confrontation has played out on the streets of one of London’s most exclusive neighborhoods, bringing international attention back to the United Arab Emirates’ widely documented but consistently denied involvement in Sudan’s devastating 15-month-long civil war. A video circulated online Sunday captured the moment a Sudanese protester shouted accusations at Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and UAE prime minister, as he traveled through London’s Knightsbridge district.

    Standing across the street from Al-Maktoum and his security entourage, the protester repeatedly called out: “Emiratis and UAE, they’re killing Sudanese people. UAE is killing people in my country. Stop killing my people.” The confrontation escalated rapidly when a member of Al-Maktoum’s group, who appeared to be Emirati, launched a vicious racist verbal attack against the protester, yelling expletives and calling him a “Black bitch” before moving across the road to confront him directly.

    The protester also named UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in his accusations, shortly after local Emirati media confirmed that the two top UAE leaders had held a closed-door “fraternal meeting” at London’s Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel the previous Thursday. The state-aligned coverage framed the meeting as a demonstration of the “enduring bonds of unity, mutual respect and shared values” that anchor the UAE’s leadership.

    The Sudanese man’s accusations align with a growing body of public evidence that contradicts the UAE’s official denials of backing the Rapid Support Forces, Sudan’s powerful paramilitary faction that the United Nations and United States have formally accused of perpetrating genocide in the ongoing conflict. Since war broke out between the RSF and Sudan’s regular armed forces in April 2023, UN independent experts, international human rights groups, and investigative reporting from Middle East Eye have traced consistent arms flows to the RSF facilitated by smuggling networks operating out of Libya, Chad, and the self-declared independent region of Somaliland. Earlier this year, MEE reporting also exposed the use of an Ethiopian military base to funnel support to the paramilitary.

    Multiple sources close to Emirati leadership and analysts aligned with Abu Dhabi have tacitly acknowledged the longstanding support the UAE has provided to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who holds extensive hidden property holdings in Dubai through a network of anonymous shell companies. Defenders of the UAE’s involvement have pushed back against international criticism, pointing out that the RSF’s rival Sudanese Armed Forces receives backing from Egypt and Turkey, arguing that singling out Abu Dhabi for condemnation is hypocritical.

    The human cost of the conflict reached a new peak in recent weeks when RSF fighters seized el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, the region where the paramilitary has its roots. Witnesses and UN investigators confirm that RSF fighters carried out mass executions, systematic rape, and widespread looting against civilian populations in the city – a campaign UN officials confirmed bears “all the hallmarks of genocide”. The conflict has already spawned the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe, with more than half of Sudan’s 48 million people facing acute food insecurity and over 10 million people displaced from their homes.

    The London confrontation is not the first time Al-Maktoum has faced controversy during visits to the UK. British courts have previously ruled that the Dubai ruler ordered the abduction of his two daughters, Latifa and Shamsa, after they attempted to escape his control in the UK – Shamsa in 2000 and Latifa in 2018. A 2021 High Court ruling also found that Al-Maktoum had used NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware to illegally hack the phones of his ex-wife, Jordanian Princess Haya, and her associates, as part of a campaign of intimidation during their divorce proceedings.

    Despite the public confrontation, Al-Maktoum has continued his documented London vacation, posting a message on his official X (formerly Twitter) account Monday that framed family time as the most valuable vacation investment. “Life taught me… that the greatest investment in vacations is not the number of cities we visit… but the number of moments we create with our families,” he wrote alongside a photograph from his trip. “Beautiful memories are happiness and energy that drive us to more work, achievement, and success.”

    Western governments, including the United Kingdom, have faced widespread criticism for their failure to publicly challenge the UAE’s role in the Sudan war, with critics linking the silence to extensive economic ties between Abu Dhabi and Western political and business circles.

  • Watch: Moment powerful earthquake shakes Colombia and crumbles buildings

    Watch: Moment powerful earthquake shakes Colombia and crumbles buildings

    A massive 7.4-magnitude earthquake has ripped through western Colombia, leaving a trail of destruction that has claimed the lives of at least 111 people and left dozens more with injuries, local authorities confirmed. Dramatic footage captured the terrifying moment the powerful temblor struck, shaking structures violently and causing multiple buildings to crumble into rubble across the affected region.

    Emergency response teams have been deployed to the hardest-hit areas, working frantically to clear debris and search for any survivors who may be trapped under collapsed infrastructure. Local officials have warned that the death toll could still rise as rescue teams continue to reach remote communities cut off by the disaster. The quake, which struck deep in the country’s western region, sent residents scrambling for safety as buildings swayed and cracked, with many people in populated areas reporting widespread panic during the shaking.

    Colombian national disaster management agencies have activated emergency protocols to coordinate search-and-rescue efforts, deliver medical care to the injured, and provide temporary shelter to hundreds of residents who have been displaced from their damaged or destroyed homes. International aid organizations have also begun monitoring the situation, standing by to offer support if the Colombian government requests additional assistance.

  • Watch: What we know about Tupac murder suspect Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis

    Watch: What we know about Tupac murder suspect Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis

    More than 27 years after the fatal shooting of legendary hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, one of the long-awaited trials connected to the iconic musician’s murder has officially begun. The 63-year-old defendant, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former street gang leader with documented ties to 1990s Los Angeles-area gang conflicts, appeared in court this Monday to formally face the charges against him.

    Davis is the only suspect to have gone to trial in the high-profile cold case that has captivated true crime enthusiasts and hip-hop fans across the globe for nearly three decades. Following his indictment by a grand jury last year, legal proceedings moved forward this week, marking a major milestone in a case that has long been shrouded in speculation and unconfirmed reporting. When asked to enter his plea to the murder charge, Davis firmly maintained his innocence and entered a formal not guilty plea before the court.

    The killing of Tupac Shakur in September 1996, which occurred after a drive-by shooting following a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, has remained one of the most high-profile unsolved murders in American entertainment history. For years, law enforcement investigations faced roadblocks from witness reluctance and conflicting evidence, leaving the case cold for decades. Davis has long been linked to the case in unofficial reports, and his arrest and trial represent the first concrete legal progress to bring a resolution to the case in a generation.

  • New train service connects Finland and Sweden for first time in decades

    New train service connects Finland and Sweden for first time in decades

    For nearly four decades, a key rail link connecting northern Finland and Sweden sat idle, severing a critical transport artery between the Nordic region and the rest of continental Europe. That changed on Monday, when an inaugural double-decker passenger train pulled out of Oulu, Finland’s coastal northern city, shortly after 5 a.m. local time, marking the official restart of cross-border service between Oulu and the Swedish border town of Haparanda.

    When the train crossed the Torne River and glided into Haparanda’s station, hundreds of gathered spectators greeted it with cheers and waving Finnish and Swedish flags, celebrating the end of the 40-year hiatus. The original service was discontinued between the late 1980s and early 1990s, dragged down by low ridership and a long-standing infrastructure mismatch between Finland and the rest of Europe.

    This infrastructure difference traces back more than a century: when Finland was part of the Russian Grand Duchy, it adopted Russia’s wider rail gauge, which remains the national standard today. That divergent track width long prevented seamless through-running between Finnish rail networks and the European standard gauge used across most of the continent. Currently, Finland is in a gradual process of upgrading key border and arterial routes to align with the European standard, laying the groundwork for greater cross-continental connectivity.

    The newly launched service will run two round trips daily, with the 100-minute journey from Oulu to Haparanda tracing Finland’s western coast before crossing the border. While passengers heading further south from Haparanda must transfer to a Sweden-based train to continue their trip, the restored link unlocks an unprecedented pan-European rail route: it is now possible to travel approximately 5,000 kilometers entirely by rail from the Algarve region of southern Portugal all the way to Kolari, Finland’s northernmost railway station, a route believed to be the longest contiguous rail journey on the continent. It also cuts travel time between the two Nordic capitals, enabling a 24-hour rail trip between Helsinki and Stockholm.

    Finnish Transport Minister highlighted that the return of this cross-border service is tangible proof of steadily growing cooperation between Finland and Sweden, two neighboring Nordic nations with deep economic and social ties. Elisa Markula, CEO of Finland’s state-owned railway operator VR, which leads the new service, noted that the launch aligns with a continent-wide resurgence in rail travel popularity. “Train travelling in all Europe is having a renaissance. Also in Finland, our passenger numbers are increasing a lot,” Markula told reporters from AFP. She expressed optimism that the new cross-border route will capture growing public demand for sustainable, convenient cross-border travel across the European Union.

  • Colombia quake leaves 69 dead, with more trapped under rubble

    Colombia quake leaves 69 dead, with more trapped under rubble

    A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has devastated western Colombia on Monday morning, leaving at least 69 people dead, dozens more trapped beneath collapsed building debris, and triggering panic across multiple neighboring countries.

    The tremor struck at 7:34 a.m. local time, centered 100 kilometers deep beneath the San Jose del Palmar municipality in the coastal Choco region, a low-income area where full damage counts have yet to be confirmed. The highest death toll has been recorded in Risaralda, where 40 people lost their lives. An additional 27 fatalities were reported in the Valle del Cauca department, and two more people died in Manizales, a major hub in Colombia’s famed coffee-growing region.

    Local officials across affected areas have described a catastrophic situation. In Manizales, an AFP correspondent on the ground confirmed that a historic tower of the city’s iconic cathedral collapsed, and dozens of other structures sustained severe damage. “A great many buildings in the city sustained damage,” said 50-year-old local administrator Jaime Zuluaga. “Traffic is paralyzed and people don’t want to go back to their homes for fear of an aftershock.” In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, 20 structures have crumbled, leaving an unknown number of residents trapped under rubble, according to Mayor Alejandro Eder. In the epicentral region’s capital Quibdo, Choco Governor warned of extensive destruction, with amateur footage showing multiple buildings reduced to piles of rubble.

    The shaking was powerful enough to be felt hundreds of kilometers away, in the Colombian capital Bogota, as well as in neighboring Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. In Bogota, where only minor damage was reported, AFP reporters witnessed thousands of residents, many still in their pajamas, fleeing multi-story buildings into the streets in panic when the tremor hit. “The quake was very, very strong,” said 29-year-old local content creator Valeria Polo.

    In the wake of the disaster, authorities have enacted emergency measures across western Colombia. The country’s civil aeronautics agency announced the immediate suspension of operations at six regional airports, and the national football governing body has postponed all upcoming scheduled matches out of caution. Emergency response teams have been deployed to affected regions to conduct search and rescue operations for survivors trapped in rubble.

    The disaster comes just four days after Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn into office. The new head of state announced he was convening an emergency meeting of government officials in Bogota to coordinate the response, and addressed the nation in a televised message. “To the Colombians who are going through difficult times today, I want to say: You are not alone,” he said.

    International offers of support have already poured in from across the globe. De la Espriella, who campaigned on a platform of closer ties with the United States and Israel, has received public messages of solidarity from both nations. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media platform X that Washington was “closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia.” Israel also offered assistance, along with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.

    The disaster comes just months after a pair of large earthquakes, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, hit neighboring Venezuela in June, killing more than 6,000 people and leaving a trail of widespread destruction across the country’s northern regions.

  • Earthquake hits hospital in Cali

    Earthquake hits hospital in Cali

    A significant seismic event has rocked western Colombia, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake that particularly impacted a local hospital in the city of Cali. Geophysical authorities have confirmed the quake was powerful enough to cause substantial structural damage to the medical facility, disrupting critical healthcare services for the surrounding community. Emergency response teams have been mobilized to the area to assess the full scope of the damage, evacuate patients and staff to safer alternate locations, and begin clearing debris. While initial reports have not yet confirmed full casualty figures, the incident has sparked urgent calls for regional support to address the sudden disruption to medical care for Cali residents. Local government officials are working alongside national disaster management agencies to coordinate relief efforts, as teams work to stabilize the area and evaluate whether aftershocks could pose additional risks to already damaged infrastructure. This earthquake adds to the long history of seismic activity that Colombia, which sits along the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire, faces on a regular basis, highlighting ongoing challenges for urban infrastructure resilience in earthquake-prone regions of the country.

  • Major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors, 18 confirmed dead

    Major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors, 18 confirmed dead

    A devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook western Colombia and nearby Latin American nations early on Monday, leaving at least 18 people dead and widespread structural damage across multiple urban centers in its wake. According to geological surveys, the earthquake struck at a depth of 100 kilometers, with its epicenter located in Colombia’s Choco province, triggering immediate emergency response deployments to pull survivors from collapsed infrastructure. The tremors were strong enough to be felt as far as Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela — a country still reeling from a pair of major deadly quakes that struck in late June. On-site reporting from Agence France-Presse correspondents confirms that thousands of residents in the Colombian capital Bogota fled multi-story buildings in panic immediately after the shaking began, many taking to the streets in their sleepwear as emergency sirens blared across the city.

    Early casualty reports put the highest death toll in Pereira, where Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local broadcaster Caracol Radio that 18 lives had already been lost in the city, describing the overall situation there as critical. Choco province, which lies directly over the quake’s epicenter, has reported severe structural damage to the provincial capital Quibdo, with circulating video footage showing multiple fully collapsed buildings. Full casualty counts for the region have not yet been released, as downed communication lines have slowed damage assessments. In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, Mayor Alejandro Eder confirmed that at least 20 buildings have collapsed, with reports of people still trapped under rubble. Emergency officials are using drone surveys to map the full extent of the damage across the metro area. Additional damage has been documented in other western Colombian cities, including Manizales, where local news outlets have broadcast images of leveled structures.

    Residents across the affected region described the intense shaking that caught many off guard in the early morning hours. “There is no electricity or cell phone coverage. It was strong, really strong. Things fell in my house,” 66-year-old Martha Estrada, a resident of Colombia’s major coffee-growing region Eje Cafetero, told AFP. Valeria Polo, a 29-year-old content creator based in Bogota, echoed that account, saying “The quake was very, very strong.” Colombia’s civil aeronautics agency has announced that six regional airports in the western part of the country have suspended all operations to assess runway and terminal damage for safety. In Bogota, Mayor Carlos Galan told Blu Radio that damage in the capital was largely limited to minor cracks in building facades, with no major casualties or collapses reported as of yet. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has announced he will travel to the impacted region in the coming days to oversee emergency response efforts and meet with affected communities. Emergency management officials have stated there is no risk of a tsunami triggered by the earthquake, easing concerns of additional hazards for coastal communities. The disaster comes just six weeks after twin 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, killing more than 6,000 people and causing billions of dollars in property damage across that country.

  • Watch: What we know about suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan

    Watch: What we know about suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan

    One of the globe’s most high-profile fugitives, suspected organized crime leader Daniel Kinahan, has completed his transfer from United Arab Emirates custody into Irish law enforcement hands, and spent his first full night behind bars on Irish soil this week.

    The long-sought criminal figure, who has been linked to transnational drug trafficking, money laundering, and a string of violent organized crime activities spanning multiple continents for years, was taken into Irish detention following the completion of a controversial extradition process that had dragged on for months amid diplomatic and legal wrangling between Dubai authorities and Irish prosecutors.

    Kinahan’s arrest and extradition mark a landmark milestone in a multi-year international manhunt led by law enforcement agencies across Europe and the Middle East, who have targeted the Kinahan organized crime network for its alleged role in sprawling illegal operations that have generated billions of dollars in illicit revenue. Prior to his detention in Dubai last year, Kinahan had operated relatively openly in the emirate for years, even developing a high-profile public profile linked to international professional boxing promotion — a side venture that investigators believe was used to launder proceeds from his core criminal activities.

    Irish law enforcement officials have welcomed the extradition, framing it as a critical victory in global efforts to dismantle large-scale transnational organized crime networks. Kinahan now faces a series of criminal charges in Ireland, with legal proceedings expected to get underway in the coming weeks. Security analysts note that the removal of the suspected kingpin could trigger significant shifts in the global illicit trade landscape he long dominated, potentially creating power vacuums that lead to increased criminal competition in many regions.

  • Strong earthquake causes significant damage and injuries in Colombia

    Strong earthquake causes significant damage and injuries in Colombia

    On a Monday morning, a powerful magnitude-7.4 earthquake shook Colombia’s Pacific coastal region, leaving widespread structural damage in its wake and sparking urgent safety response across the country, Colombian officials confirmed. According to the Colombian Geological Survey, the seismic event hit at 07:34 local time (12:34 GMT), with a hypocenter depth of 96 kilometers, or around 60 miles. Its epicenter was located just 5 kilometers east of the small rural village of San José del Palmar in Chocó province.

    Nubia Carolina Córdoba, the governor of hard-hit Chocó province, confirmed that the quake had left a number of people injured, though she did not release an exact casualty count as of early reporting. In public remarks following the event, Córdoba emphasized that authorities remain on high alert for potential aftershocks that could worsen existing damage and put more residents at risk.

    The intensity of the quake was felt hundreds of kilometers away from the epicenter, reaching all the way to Bogotá, Colombia’s capital situated to the east of the impact zone. In response to the shaking, multiple buildings across the capital were evacuated as a safety precaution. Tremors were also detected in Manizales, a major city in Colombia’s renowned coffee-growing region. Local leading national newspaper El Tiempo shared user-submitted footage from Manizales showing a collapsed structure, with bystanders shouting to reach individuals believed to be trapped under the rubble.

    Monday’s earthquake comes just two months after a pair of powerful seismic events devastated northern regions of neighboring Venezuela, claiming the lives of more than 6,100 people. That disaster put the entire Andean region, which sits along the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and faces frequent seismic risk, on heightened awareness of earthquake preparedness and response protocols.

  • Powerful earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings

    Powerful earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings

    On a Monday morning, a substantial seismic event rattled western Colombia, sending waves of tremors across the South American nation and reaching as far as neighboring Ecuador. The sudden shaking forced thousands of residents to hurriedly evacuate their homes, office buildings and public spaces in search of safe, open ground.

    Both the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Colombia’s national geological institute confirmed the earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.4. Though the tremor packed significant power, it originated at a relatively deep depth below the Earth’s surface, a factor that experts often note can mitigate the worst of surface-level damage. The epicenter was pinpointed to San Jose Del Palmar, a small rural community located roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Colombia’s capital city, Bogota.

    In the immediate aftermath of the quake, emergency management authorities had not yet released any reports of structural damage or human injuries. Response teams have been dispatched to affected regions to conduct damage assessments and check on at-risk communities.

    This latest major seismic event comes just one month after a pair of powerful back-to-back earthquakes, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 respectively, hit neighboring Venezuela in late June. That devastating double earthquake event destroyed hundreds of buildings across the country and ultimately claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people, leaving a widespread trail of destruction and displacement.