Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Turkey casts itself as ‘adult in the room’ amid global reordering, FM tells Oxford audience

    Turkey casts itself as ‘adult in the room’ amid global reordering, FM tells Oxford audience

    In a high-profile address at the University of Oxford on Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan laid out Turkey’s evolving role in the shifting global order, framing Ankara as an influential “middle power” uniquely equipped to broker diplomacy across the world’s most intractable conflicts.

    Speaking at an event organized by the Global Orders Programme of the Oxford Centre for Global History, Fidan argued that the rising influence of middle powers marks a fundamental structural shift in modern international politics. In an era of unprecedented global uncertainty, he noted, nations with deep-rooted strategic histories are better positioned to navigate instability and bridge divides between competing actors.

    Fidan emphasized that global politics today desperately requires actors committed to sustained diplomacy, de-escalation of tensions, and keeping open channels of dialogue — and he made clear Turkey views itself as a leading state ready to fill that role. “It is no coincidence that in many international circles today, Turkey is increasingly referred to as the adult in the room,” he stated.

    The remarks came against a tense backdrop: a fragile temporary ceasefire is holding between the U.S. and Iran, with indirect diplomatic talks set to get underway in Islamabad this weekend amid persistent uncertainty over the future of the broader conflict. The nine-week conflict has already claimed thousands of lives and sent shockwaves through global energy markets, after Iran partially closed the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass. The closure has driven energy prices sharply upward and reduced shipping traffic to a small fraction of pre-war levels.

    Addressing ongoing behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, Fidan confirmed Turkey has been actively facilitating communication between the two sides. “I think I’ve been in constant communications with both sides… we are trying to help as much as we could whenever it is necessary,” he told reporters, adding that Ankara leverages its long-standing ties with both nations to deliver messages between parties and build momentum for negotiation. He added that Turkey’s long-standing mediation framework avoids imposing outcomes on conflicting sides, instead focusing on creating conditions for parties to reach their own negotiated settlements.

    On the topic of recent U.S. threats of punitive measures against NATO allies that refused to back its hardline stance on Iran — including reported discussion of potential expulsion of Spain from the alliance — Fidan noted Turkey itself has not faced similar pressure from Washington. “I think we are in good coordination with the leadership of the US,” he told Middle East Eye, adding that just two weeks prior, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump to congratulate him on agreeing to the ceasefire and joining diplomatic talks.

    Fidan reiterated Turkey’s long-held position that any military action against Iran was premature, noting that diplomatic talks had the potential to produce tangible progress. He also expressed solidarity with Spain, saying, “I respect the position of the European countries… Spain is following a steady and stable line… asking for peace in Gaza, in Iran, in Russia. I think this is a position we also adopt.”

    Beyond the US-Iran conflict, Fidan highlighted Turkey’s ongoing mediation efforts in other global hotspots, including the war in Ukraine. Ankara has previously hosted direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials, and remains engaged in diplomatic efforts. However, he noted that global attention has shifted toward the Middle East due to the far faster, broader global spillover from the US-Israel-Iran conflict. “The human tragedy… is huge, unbearable,” he said of the war in Ukraine, but added that the current Middle East conflict has had even wider global ripple effects in a shorter time frame.

    Looking ahead to the upcoming talks in Pakistan, where U.S. negotiators including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to arrive Saturday, Fidan offered cautious optimism. Iranian officials have signaled they will not hold direct talks with U.S. delegates, instead conveying their positions through third-party mediators. Fidan noted that both sides are feeling mounting pressure from the ongoing conflict, which could push them toward a negotiated resolution.

    He also laid out potential outcomes for the Strait of Hormuz, the critical energy chokepoint at the center of the conflict. The first, preferred outcome is a negotiated return to the pre-conflict status quo, with unimpeded free maritime passage and no additional restrictions or costs for shipping. If talks collapse and conflict resumes, however, Fidan noted Turkey will evaluate its position aligned with its core foreign policy priorities, with President Erdogan already clear on the country’s approach.

    Fidan also signaled that Turkey would be open in principle to joining multinational demining operations in the Strait of Hormuz if a final peace agreement is reached between Iran and the U.S., framing such work as a humanitarian duty. “If Iran and the Americans reach an agreement and peace is achieved, a coalition could carry out technical work there, including mine clearance,” he said. He stressed, however, that any Turkish participation would be contingent on the broader political context, and Ankara would re-evaluate its involvement if the coalition were dragged into renewed hostilities.

    Fidan’s visit to the U.K. marked a two-day diplomatic trip that culminated in the signing of a new strategic partnership agreement between Turkey and the United Kingdom. Turkey is also set to host the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara this coming July.

  • Iranian FM to meet Pakistani PM on regional situation: local reports

    Iranian FM to meet Pakistani PM on regional situation: local reports

    ISLAMABAD, April 25 — A high-level diplomatic visit from Iran to Pakistan kicked off late Thursday night local time, with top diplomats set to hold key discussions on escalating regional tensions that have drawn international attention in recent months.

    Local Pakistani media outlets confirmed Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi touched down in Islamabad on the evening of April 24 at the head of a nine-member official delegation. Immediately following his arrival, the Iranian foreign minister held an early morning closed-door meeting with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, according to initial reports from the region.

    Araghchi’s schedule for Saturday includes a formal summit with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where the two sides will center talks on the evolving regional security situation, multiple local media sources have confirmed. Senior officials from Pakistan’s federal government and military command are also expected to participate in the talks, the reports added.

    During the scheduled meeting with the Pakistani prime minister, the Iranian delegation will deliver an official message from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Pakistani leadership, according to people familiar with the diplomatic agenda. The exact content of the message has not been released to the public as of Friday afternoon, but diplomatic sources note the visit comes amid growing cross-border security concerns and shifting geopolitical dynamics across South Asia and the broader Middle East.

    The visit marks the highest-level in-person diplomatic exchange between the two neighboring nations in 2026 so far, and comes as both countries work to strengthen bilateral coordination on shared security and regional challenges. Analysts point that close alignment between Islamabad and Tehran has grown increasingly critical as instability in neighboring regions spills across borders, making this round of talks a key moment for bilateral and regional diplomacy.

  • I was at the top of Mexico pyramid when a gunman opened fire

    I was at the top of Mexico pyramid when a gunman opened fire

    On a sightseeing excursion that was supposed to be the highlight of her academic conference trip to Mexico City, a Glasgow-based architecture historian survived a deadly mass shooting at one of the country’s most iconic cultural landmarks, and has now shared the harrowing details of her escape.

    Dr. Giovanna Guidicini, 46, an Italy-born scholar who has lived and worked in Scotland for 20 years at the Glasgow School of Art, travelled to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Teotihuacán with her colleague Dimitrij Zadorin on the final day of her trip. Just minutes after the pair reached the summit of the Pyramid of the Moon and snapped a celebratory selfie amid a crowd of other tourists, chaos erupted across the ancient terrace.

    Guidicini told BBC News that the first loud popping sounds initially struck her as a planned performance or entertainment for visitors at the archaeological park. But a second round of noise, followed immediately by panicked screams, made clear the danger the group was in. “That is when I realised it was real,” she recalled. “The gunman was 20ft away from us and shooting towards the queue of people waiting to exit down the stairs. The screams brought the situation to life more than the gunshots.”

    With the only formal exit stairway blocked by the gunman — identified by Mexican authorities as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramírez — Guidicini and her colleague were trapped 70 feet above the ground, with no cover and no clear path to safety. “Quickly we lay flat on the ground. It was a really scary feeling – just total helplessness,” she said. “We could still hear the screams and shootings but we had stopped looking.”

    It was not long before the trapped group spotted a risky alternative escape route: climbing straight down the steep, stepped stone faces of the pyramid, with each tier dropping roughly 15 feet from the ledge above. Joined by 6 to 8 other tourists, the pair scrambled down the uneven stone layers, with fellow visitors helping each other navigate the precarious descent to get out of the gunman’s line of fire. For Guidicini, the discovery of even this dangerous escape route brought a wave of relief.

    Once the group reached the base of the pyramid, they made their way to the perimeter of the site, where a barbed wire fence blocked their path to the outside. Local residents spotted the fleeing group, drove a pickup truck to the fence to help them climb over, and caught visitors on the other side. The group then took shelter at a nearby restaurant, where staff provided them with food and water as first responders arrived on scene. By the time Guidicini and Zadorin reached the street, they could see heavily armed police and military units converging on the archaeological complex to secure the area.

    The attack, which unfolded on Monday, left one 32-year-old Canadian tourist dead and 13 other visitors from countries including Russia, Colombia and Brazil injured. The gunman ultimately died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the shooting. Guidicini, who was scheduled to fly back to Glasgow that same evening, alerted her family and friends back home that she had survived unharmed as news of the attack spread internationally. She has since said that in the wake of the incident, she has seen footage and images online of other visitors who were trapped on the terrace as hostages, including a clip of the gunman making violent threats in Spanish, referencing human sacrifice and threatening that trapped visitors would never return to Europe.

    Mexican officials have moved quickly to distinguish this attack from the country’s ongoing cartel-linked violence. The shooting comes less than two months after widespread unrest broke out across Mexico following the reported killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader “El Mencho” by security forces, but authorities confirm that the Teotihuacán gunman acted alone and had no known connections to organised criminal groups. The attack has still created significant political and security challenges for the Mexican government, coming just weeks before the country is set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will draw millions of international tourists to Mexican sites.

    Now back home in Glasgow, Guidicini said that as the initial shock of the experience fades, the lasting trauma of the shooting has begun to set in. She recalled a recent incident where sudden exposure to the sound of gunfire in a background television scene triggered a severe stress response. “When I heard gunshots I jumped, I felt really cold and uncomfortable,” she said. “I hope that this doesn’t last forever.”

  • Armed groups launch coordinated attacks across Mali

    Armed groups launch coordinated attacks across Mali

    On a fateful Saturday, coordinated violent attacks unfolded across multiple regions of Mali, sending shockwaves through the West African nation already grappling with a decade-long security crisis. Explosions and continuous gunfire were first reported in Bamako, the country’s capital, with heavy clashes concentrated around the Kati military base, a key defense installation on the outskirts of the city. Military forces quickly moved to secure the area, blocking major access roads as counteroffensive operations got underway.

    Mali’s ruling military junta confirmed in an official statement that fighting remained active as of Saturday morning, noting that defense and security personnel were fully engaged in repelling the invading attackers. Parallel attacks were also reported in three other key cities spanning the country: Gao in the volatile eastern region, Kidal in the restive north, and Sevare in central Mali. Regional security analysts characterize the synchronized assault as the largest-scale jihadist offensive targeting the country in several years.

    All commercial flights into Bamako were suspended early Saturday, according to a traveler who spoke to the BBC, though it remains unconfirmed whether the Modibo Keita International Airport itself sustained damage or was directly targeted. The U.S. Embassy in Mali issued an urgent security advisory shortly after the attacks began, urging all U.S. citizens to shelter in place, avoid all non-essential travel, and stay clear of areas near the airport and the Kati military base amid ongoing active combat.

    Ulf Laessing, director of the Sahel Programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation based in Mali, told the BBC that the coordinated nature of the attacks marks them as the most expansive and organized jihadist operation Mali has faced in years. While the military has confirmed it is battling unidentified terrorist groups, full details on the scope of casualties, captured territory, and attacker affiliations remain unclear as operations continue. Social media videos have circulated claiming responsibility from two groups: Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a major al-Qaeda-linked jihadist faction, and the Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a separatist rebel group.

    FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane claimed in a social media post that the group’s fighters had seized control of multiple strategic positions in both Gao and Kidal, and called on neighboring military-led states Burkina Faso and Niger to refrain from intervening in the conflict. The BBC has not independently verified these claims amid ongoing restricted access to conflict zones.

    The current assault comes against a long-running backdrop of instability in Mali, which has been ruled by a military junta led by General Assimi Goïta since he seized power in a 2020 coup. The junta initially rode a wave of popular support after promising to resolve the country’s decade-long security crisis, which began with a 2012 ethnic Tuareg separatist rebellion that was later co-opted by transnational Islamist militant groups.

    In 2013, a United Nations peacekeeping mission and French counterinsurgency forces deployed to Mali to roll back advancing jihadist control. Both forces have fully withdrawn from the country since the junta took power, and the military government replaced them with Russian mercenary fighters to lead counterinsurgency operations. Despite this shift, the jihadist insurgency has only expanded, with large swathes of northern and eastern Mali remaining outside of central government control to this day.

    Most recently, Mali joined with neighboring military-led states Niger and Burkina Faso to exit the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the region’s long-standing political and economic bloc. The three countries have formed a new bloc called the Alliance of Sahel States, which aims to coordinate shared security resources, develop cross-border infrastructure, establish a common market and currency, and enable free movement of people, with a long-term goal of deeper regional political and economic integration.

  • Gunfire in Mali as army battles ‘terrorist groups’

    Gunfire in Mali as army battles ‘terrorist groups’

    On a violent Saturday across junta-governed Mali, Malian army troops engaged in fierce combat with armed groups the military labels as terrorist organizations, marking a fresh eruption of violence in a West African nation that has been mired in over 10 years of brutal jihadist insurgency. Eyewitness accounts confirmed active fighting broke out not only in Mali’s capital Bamako, but also in several other major population centers across the landlocked country, which has been under military rule following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. An official statement from the Malian military confirmed that unidentified armed groups launched coordinated assaults on multiple strategic sites and military barracks across the capital and interior regions of the country early Saturday morning. To date, no organization has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the coordinated attacks, but the assault aligns with previous efforts by jihadist factions to destabilize the central government: last year, insurgents attempted to shut down the capital by severing its fuel supply lines. Confirmed locations of fighting include the capital Bamako, the northern cities of Gao and Kidal, and the central Malian city of Sevare. Witnesses additionally reported sustained heavy gunfire in Kati, a suburban town on the outskirts of Bamako that serves as the official residence of Mali’s military leader, General Assimi Goita. Local residents of Kati shared imagery on social media platforms showing extensive damage to civilian residential properties, with one resident telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) that locals remain trapped inside their homes amid ongoing clashes. Military helicopters were observed circling low over Bamako, with operations concentrated near the capital’s international airport. An on-the-ground AFP correspondent in the capital reported that city streets were almost entirely deserted, with only sporadic gunfire echoing across empty neighborhoods. Mali sits on vast reserves of gold and other valuable mineral deposits, but it has been locked in a crippling security crisis since 2012, when insurgent violence first erupted. Today, the country faces simultaneous threats from jihadist factions aligned with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, local organized criminal networks, and separatist movements. Like the military administrations that hold power in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, Mali’s junta has cut diplomatic and military ties with its former colonial ruler France and multiple other Western nations, reorienting its foreign and defense policy to build closer ties with Russia. The Goita-led government has also drawn widespread international criticism for its crackdown on press freedom and systematic silencing of opposition political voices, including a full ban on all political party activity. The junta initially made a public pledge to transition power back to civilian rule by March 2024, but in July 2025, it approved legislation extending General Goita’s presidential term by five years, with the provision that the term can be renewed “as many times as necessary” without holding a democratic election. Despite this authoritarian shift, the second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has moved to open diplomatic channels with the three Sahel juntas, while Togo has positioned itself as a neutral intermediary between Western governments and the three states, which have formally organized themselves as the Alliance of Sahel States. Over the course of the 13-year insurgency, thousands of Malian civilians and security personnel have been killed in attacks, and tens of thousands of residents have been displaced, seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Mauritania. Russia’s Wagner Group, a private military contractor that had deployed fighters alongside Malian army forces to combat jihadist insurgents starting in 2021, announced it would wrap up its original mission in Mali in June 2025. The group was subsequently reorganized into Africa Corps, a new organization placed under the direct command of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Since September 2025, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (known by its Arabic acronym JNIM), an al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist faction, has carried out repeated targeted attacks on fuel tanker convoys traveling to Bamako. At the peak of that campaign in October, the capital was brought to a near-complete standstill. After several months of relative quiet, Bamako faced a renewed diesel shortage in March 2026, with all available fuel supplies redirected to meet critical energy sector needs.

  • Seven dead in major Russian attack on Ukraine

    Seven dead in major Russian attack on Ukraine

    A wave of massive overnight Russian strikes targeting multiple Ukrainian cities left at least seven civilians dead and widespread destruction across the country, sparking cross-border security alerts and triggering long-range retaliatory drone attacks by Ukrainian forces deep into Russian territory.

    The deadliest single incident from the assault unfolded in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where a Russian projectile slammed into a multi-story residential apartment building. Images released by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service show the structure heavily scarred by the blast, with large sections of the facade collapsed and rubble spilling into the surrounding street. As of Saturday morning, rescue teams were still digging through the debris in search of trapped survivors, while local authorities confirmed five fatalities from the strike alone.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that the bombardment stretched across nearly the entire night, noting that Russian forces have not altered their long-standing targeting tactics. “The Russians’ tactics have not changed: strike drones, cruise missiles, and a significant amount of ballistics,” Zelenskyy wrote on his official social media channels. “Most of the targets are ordinary infrastructure in cities. Residential buildings, energy, and enterprises have been damaged.” In total, Ukrainian defense officials reported that Russia launched more than 600 drones in the assault — the largest single Russian attack in several days — and added that Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted the vast majority of the incoming projectiles.

    Beyond Dnipro, the strikes reached multiple other population centers across Ukraine: two civilians were killed in the northern city of Chernihiv, while additional strikes targeted the southern port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

    The intensive drone and missile attack triggered security responses far beyond Ukraine’s borders. When multiple Russian drones were detected near the Romania-Ukraine border, Royal Air Force jets deployed to Romania as part of NATO’s collective defense mission were scrambled to intercept the objects. Early unconfirmed reports claimed the British jets had shot down several drones, but both the UK Ministry of Defense and Romanian defense officials quickly debunked the claim. Romania’s defense ministry clarified that the British aircraft never entered Ukrainian airspace, and no drones crossed into Romanian territory, meaning no shootdown was required. The department did confirm it is investigating the crash of an unidentified object on Romanian soil near the border that fell during the Russian assault.

    In response to the Russian strikes, Ukraine launched one of its longest-range drone operations in recent weeks, striking targets hundreds of kilometers inside Russian territory. In Yekaterinburg, a Ural Mountains city located roughly 1,600 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian border, a building was hit by a drone that left six people injured, according to the region’s governor. Near the city of Chelyabinsk, local officials reported that air defense forces intercepted multiple drones that were targeting a local industrial facility.

    Russian defense officials reported on Saturday that their own air defense networks shot down 127 Ukrainian drones across more than a dozen of the country’s regions. The ministry also issued a claim that Russian forces had seized full control of Bochkove, a small village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region located close to the international border with Russia. Russian forces have made repeated attempts to push south from the border toward the major city of Kharkiv in recent weeks. As of Saturday afternoon, Ukrainian officials had not issued any public comment on the territorial claim, and the BBC has not been able to independently verify the assertion.

    The exchanges of fire come as peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain fully deadlocked, and Kyiv continues to court international military and political support for its defense efforts. On Friday, one day before the massive Russian strike, Zelenskyy held a second meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in recent months, as Ukraine works to build closer diplomatic and security ties with Gulf Arab nations. Official readouts of the meeting confirmed the two leaders discussed strengthening cooperation on air defense systems and expanding joint military production. Gulf nations have grown increasingly interested in Ukraine’s drone warfare expertise in the wake of recent cross-border attacks attributed to Iran, making this a key priority for both sides in the new partnership.

  • Russian strikes kill six across Ukraine

    Russian strikes kill six across Ukraine

    Fresh Russian aerial attacks across multiple regions of Ukraine left at least six civilians dead and dozens more injured on Saturday, marking another chapter of persistent targeting of civilian infrastructure in the 2-year full-scale invasion, Ukrainian officials have confirmed.

    The deadliest violence unfolded in the eastern industrial city of Dnipro, where two separate strikes hit the same residential neighborhood over a short period. First, an overnight strike on a multi-story apartment block claimed four lives and left 27 people injured, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, announced via Telegram. A follow-up strike on a second residential building in the same area killed one additional civilian and wounded seven more, Ganzha added.

    Further south in the Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian drone strike struck a civilian minibus, killing one passenger and wounding four others, regional administration head Ivan Fedorov confirmed in a Telegram post.

    In a public address following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Russian military tactics have not shifted throughout the conflict: Moscow relies on a combination of attack drones, cruise missiles, and large volumes of ballistic missiles, with most of its targets located in urban areas far from front lines. “Residential buildings, energy facilities and businesses have been damaged,” he said, adding that the unrelenting attacks on civilian populations demand a much stronger response from Ukraine’s international partners, particularly European nations.

    “Every such strike should serve as a reminder to our partners that the situation requires immediate and firm action, and the rapid strengthening of our air defence,” Zelenskyy stated, renewing his call for the European Union to ramp up punitive sanctions against Russia.

    The appeal came just two days after EU leaders finally approved the bloc’s 20th package of sanctions against Moscow, a measure that had been stalled for months by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who left office two weeks ago. The new sanctions package targets Russia’s banking sector and tightens restrictions on Russian oil exports. Alongside the sanctions, the EU also approved a €90 billion ($105 billion) long-term loan for Ukraine, earmarked to reinforce the country’s air defense and cover core state budget expenses through 2027.

    Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, civilian casualties have become a daily occurrence across Ukraine, with bombardments hitting populated areas on an almost constant basis. Saturday’s attacks also drew a reciprocal response on Russian territory: one person was injured in a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s western Kursk region, which shares a border with Ukraine, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein announced Saturday. In neighboring Belgorod region, another series of Ukrainian drone strikes left one woman dead, a man with life-threatening injuries after an attack on a civilian car, and a second man wounded when his tractor was targeted, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed.

    Diplomatic efforts to resolve Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II remain deadlocked. U.S. mediation efforts that once focused on negotiating a path to peace have been redirected to the ongoing outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, leaving no active negotiations toward a ceasefire or peace deal in place.

  • Gunfire and blasts rock Mali as attackers hit capital and other cities, residents say

    Gunfire and blasts rock Mali as attackers hit capital and other cities, residents say

    Early on Saturday morning, a wave of synchronized armed assaults targeted multiple locations across Mali, including the capital city of Bamako and several urban centers in the country’s unstable northern region, leaving residents trapped in their homes and security forces locked in fierce firefights with assailants, according to official statements and on-the-ground accounts.

    In an official release, Mali’s military confirmed that “unidentified armed terrorist groups” launched targeted strikes against key infrastructure and military barracks within the capital, adding that troops had been deployed to the affected sites and were actively working to neutralize the remaining attackers.

    An Associated Press reporter based in Bamako reported hearing continuous volleys of heavy weapons and automatic rifle fire originating near Modibo Keïta International Airport, situated roughly 15 kilometers outside the capital’s central business district. The reporter also observed a military helicopter circling over residential neighborhoods adjacent to the airport, which shares a border with a key air base operated by the Malian Air Force. Local residents living in close proximity to the airport corroborated the reports of sustained gunfire, adding that three military helicopters were visible patrolling the area overhead.

    Accounts from residents in other cities across Mali confirmed outbreaks of gunfire and explosive blasts Saturday morning, reinforcing initial assessments that the attacks were a coordinated, multi-region operation planned by armed insurgent groups. A former mayor of the northeastern city of Kidal, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity over fears for his personal safety, confirmed that gunmen had entered the city, seized control of multiple residential neighborhoods, and engaged in open gun battles with Malian government forces.

    The long-running Azawad separatist movement has waged a years-long campaign to establish an independent state in northern Mali. The movement initially forced government security forces to withdraw from most of the region in the early 2010s, before a 2015 peace agreement was reached that saw former rebel fighters integrated into the national military. That peace deal has since collapsed, allowing unrest to reemerge across the north.

    Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front, claimed in a Facebook post that the movement’s forces had seized control of multiple districts in both Kidal and Gao, a second major northeastern Malian city. The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of this claim. A resident of Gao, who also requested anonymity due to safety concerns, told the AP that gunfire and explosive detonations began in the early hours of Saturday and were still audible more than six hours later. “The force of the blasts is shaking the doors and windows of my home,” the resident said. “I am absolutely terrified.” They added that all shooting originated near the adjacent army camp and airport on the city’s outskirts.

    Even in Kati, a small town just outside Bamako that hosts Mali’s largest central military base, a resident reported being woken before dawn by the sounds of explosions and automatic weapons fire.

    This latest outbreak of large-scale violence comes less than a year after an al-Qaida-linked insurgent group carried out a major assault on Bamako’s airport and a military training camp in the capital in 2024, an attack that left dozens of people dead.

    For more than a decade, Mali and its neighboring Sahel countries Niger and Burkina Faso have been locked in a persistent battle against insurgent groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State, and the intensity of violence across the region has grown steadily over the past 10 years. Following a series of military coups that installed ruling juntas in all three nations, the new governments have cut traditional security ties with Western allies and turned to Russia for military support in countering the insurgency. Despite this shift, security analysts warn that the overall security landscape across the three countries has deteriorated sharply in recent months, with insurgent groups carrying out a record number of attacks against civilian and military targets. Government forces operating in the region have also faced widespread accusations of extrajudicial killings of civilians suspected of collaborating with armed militant groups.

    Associated Press reporter Mark Banchereau, based in Dakar, Senegal, contributed reporting to this article.

  • Russian attacks kill 3 and wound more than 20 in Ukraine’s Dnipro

    Russian attacks kill 3 and wound more than 20 in Ukraine’s Dnipro

    Overnight barrages of Russian drone and missile attacks targeting the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro have left at least three residents dead and 21 more injured, regional officials confirmed Saturday. Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha announced that rescue teams recovered the three fatalities from the collapsed rubble of a destroyed private home, warning that additional civilians may still be trapped beneath the debris.

    In a social media post on Telegram, Ganzha detailed that the sustained overnight assault ignited multiple fires across the city, damaging or partially destroying several multi-story apartment blocks, local commercial establishments, and one residential property. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed Saturday that 11 of those injured remain hospitalized for treatment following the attack.

    Further south in Ukraine’s Odesa region, located along the Black Sea coast southwest of Dnipro, another overnight drone strike left two people wounded. Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper stated that the attack damaged residential structures, critical port infrastructure, and multiple civilian vehicles in the southern part of the region.

    The wave of violence extended across the border into western Russia, where a drone strike in the Belgorod border region killed one civilian woman and left a civilian man with severe injuries, according to local Russian officials.

    These coordinated cross-border attacks came just 24 hours after Moscow and Kyiv completed a prisoner swap, exchanging 193 captured military personnel between the two warring sides. This recent exchange marks one of the rare constructive developments emerging from months of stagnant U.S.-brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Those talks have failed to deliver any meaningful progress on the core sticking points that have prevented a diplomatic end to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has now entered its third year (correction of original typo for clarity).

  • Road projects empower Tajik women

    Road projects empower Tajik women

    Nestled in the mountainous terrain of central Tajikistan, the communities strung along the proposed Obigarm-Nurobod transport corridor have long grappled with isolation. Limited connectivity cut residents off from regional markets, essential healthcare, and sustainable work opportunities — and women in these remote areas bore the brunt of this exclusion. Today, a major infrastructure project funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is rewriting this story, delivering far more than just paved roads and river crossings. Beyond improved mobility, the initiative is pioneering a new inclusive development model that empowers local women through skills training and economic independence, creating ripple effects that strengthen entire families and communities.

    The Obigarm-Nurobod Road Project, a flagship infrastructure investment for central Tajikistan, centers on the construction of a critical long-span bridge and connecting road segments designed to boost regional connectivity and withstand extreme weather events. But project partners — including the AIIB and the China International Development Cooperation Agency — made the unconventional choice to pair core infrastructure construction with a standalone community development program focused explicitly on advancing women’s economic participation. Local organizations like the Center for the Development of Crafts and Modern Professional Skills in Roghun, led by director Jurayeva Safiya, have stepped in to deliver these on-the-ground programs.

    Jurayeva’s center, a purpose-built training hub with 12 fully equipped classrooms, offers short, accessible vocational courses in high-demand local trades ranging from tailoring and baking to traditional handicraft production and food processing. It complements these practical skills with foundational training in financial literacy and small business planning, designed to turn learners from passive aid recipients into self-sustaining entrepreneurs. For many participants, this model has already delivered life-changing results. Jurayeva points to the story of one single mother of four, who entered the program with no marketable skills and no independent income. After completing a 12-week sewing course, she launched her own home-based tailoring business, now running it alongside her daughters and earning a stable income that lets her support her family without outside assistance.

    “This is not charity — this is a genuine turning point,” Jurayeva explained. “When we give a woman the opportunity to build her own skill and her own business, she doesn’t just change her own life. She changes the future of her children, and she transforms the entire home.” Children grow up watching their mothers make decisions, build businesses, and succeed, she says, creating a intergenerational cycle of empowerment that extends far beyond the original training program. “When we teach a woman a profession, we aren’t just supporting one individual — we are lifting up an entire community,” she added.

    Already, early completed segments of the road project have delivered immediate tangible benefits for residents: travel times between mountain villages and regional district centers have dropped sharply, making daily commutes and emergency trips safer and more accessible. The improved corridor has also unlocked new access to regional markets that were previously too costly and time-consuming to reach, opening up new sales opportunities for local producers, many of whom are women. Looking ahead, the initiative plans to scale its women’s empowerment programming to expand its impact. Under the upcoming expansion, the entrepreneurship support program will train at least 340 women from communities along the road route, provide small grants and essential equipment for roughly 60 women-led microbusinesses, and open a new dedicated training center in Nurobod that includes on-site childcare to remove barriers for mothers looking to participate.

    Development leaders say the project’s integrated model offers a replicable blueprint for global infrastructure investment. “When development partners align financing, concessional resources, technical assistance, and on-the-ground development expertise, infrastructure becomes more inclusive, more resilient, and far more impactful,” explained Hun Kim, chief partnerships officer and director general of the AIIB’s Sectors, Themes and Financial Solutions Department. Speaking at a sub-forum of the Third High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development this week, Kim noted that the initiative is not a one-off pilot, but a model that can be replicated and expanded in other developing regions with the right cross-sector partnerships.

    Yao Shuai, deputy director of the Institute of International Development Cooperation at the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under China’s Ministry of Commerce, emphasized that centering women in development projects goes to the core of sustainable social progress. “When women shift from being passive recipients of development benefits to active participants in community governance and local development, the sustainability and social stability of an aid project are fundamentally enhanced,” Yao explained. The project, she added, reflects China’s long-standing approach to international development cooperation, which pairs large-scale landmark infrastructure projects with small, targeted “livelihood-focused” interventions through multilateral cooperation.

    This “integration of large and small, hard and soft infrastructure” model addresses the region’s critical connectivity gaps while ensuring that the economic benefits of new infrastructure reach marginalized groups, particularly women. By embedding gender-focused programming and vocational training into the project from its earliest design stages, local communities are able to participate throughout the entire project cycle, strengthening local ownership of the initiative. “By enhancing women’s economic independence during infrastructure development, such approaches integrate gender equality into the process and help elevate women’s role in local governance and social development,” Yao noted, adding that the model helps build more inclusive, resilient social structures across developing countries.