Global Pulse

分类： world

  • ‘I was born in South Africa’, says beauty queen facing legal bid to deport her

    ‘I was born in South Africa’, says beauty queen facing legal bid to deport her

    A high-profile citizenship and deportation case involving 25-year-old beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina has been delayed until February 2027, leaving ongoing questions about her legal status in South Africa unresolved for the near future. The controversy first erupted in 2024, when Adetshina advanced to the finals of the Miss South Africa pageant, sparking public scrutiny over her family background and immigration eligibility.

    With a mother of Mozambican descent and a Nigerian father, Adetshina has consistently maintained that she was born in Soweto, a major township outside Johannesburg, and raised in Cape Town, meaning South Africa has always been her home. But South African authorities launched an investigation into her citizenship after contesting her eligibility for the pageant, ultimately revoking her South African national identity documents and travel papers in 2024, on the grounds that her mother, Anabela Rungo, had previously obtained South African citizenship through identity fraud. Rungo had her own citizenship revoked by officials in 2025.

    Under South African law, birth on national soil does not automatically grant citizenship to a child; at least one parent must hold South African citizenship or permanent residency for that status to be conferred. Following the revocation of her documents, Adetshina was classified as a prohibited person, prompting her to leave South Africa for Nigeria. There, she accepted an invitation to compete for the Miss Universe Nigeria title, which she went on to win.

    Earlier this year, Adetshina was arrested on charges of unlawfully reentering South Africa through a border crossing with Mozambique. She was later released from custody on a formal warning. South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has argued that Adetshina’s own actions confirm her non-citizen status: when she was in Nigeria, she applied for a South African travel visa and obtained Nigerian passports for herself and her young son, a step officials say would not have been necessary if she were a South African national.

    Outside the Cape Town courthouse this week, anti-migrant activists from the group March and March led a protest calling for Adetshina’s deportation. After Adetshina exited the building following the ruling, many demonstrators chased her vehicle as she left the premises. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Adetshina pushed back against both the government’s case and the public hostility against her. She stated that authorities have targeted her and attempted to use her case as a warning to other migrants, calling her treatment unfair.

    Adetshina added that she has followed all formal legal processes to have her citizenship status officially reviewed, and she rejected attempts to allow xenophobia and misinformation to shape how people in immigration situations are treated. The court granted the postponement to give Adetshina’s legal team time to finalize her judicial review challenging the Home Affairs deportation order. Until the next hearing in 2027, Adetshina will remain out of custody and at liberty in South Africa.

  • ‘Incredible’: SpaceX rocket spotted off Christmas Island coast

    ‘Incredible’: SpaceX rocket spotted off Christmas Island coast

    For nearly six months, a large chunk of SpaceX rocket hardware that launched into space from the company’s Texas launch site back in July had vanished without a trace, following its controlled crash landing into the Indian Ocean. Until this week, when local residents on Australia’s remote Christmas Island made an unexpected discovery: the massive booster structure drifting off their shoreline while being towed by a commercial vessel.

    Local witnesses described the sight as nothing short of incredible, with many sharing photos and videos of the large cylindrical rocket section bobbing in open water just kilometers from the island’s northern coast. The rocket had remained unaccounted for since its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, when SpaceX guided the discarded booster to a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean after completing its mission. It was expected to remain in the impact zone, but unreported ocean currents appear to have carried the large debris far off course before it was intercepted for towing.

    Christmas Island, an Australian external territory located roughly 360 kilometers off the southern coast of Indonesia, is no stranger to unusual maritime sightings, but few have drawn as much immediate attention as this piece of private space infrastructure. Local authorities have not yet issued any public comment on whether the debris poses any environmental or safety risks to the island, and SpaceX has not yet responded to requests for confirmation of the discovery.

  • Helicopter crashes at Mount Ololokwe in Kenya, killing six people

    Helicopter crashes at Mount Ololokwe in Kenya, killing six people

    A devastating aviation accident has claimed the lives of all six people on board a helicopter that went down in Kenya’s central Samburu County, at the iconic Mount Ololokwe located within a protected wildlife reserve, national air accident investigators confirmed in a statement to the BBC.

    Officials from the Kenya Aircraft Accident Investigation Department have announced that formal identification of the crash victims is still ongoing, though local media reports have indicated that the aircraft was carrying a group of tourists when the incident occurred.

    According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), the crash occurred at approximately 9:13 a.m. local time, which corresponds to 6:13 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time. The helicopter was operating a scenic sightseeing flight, departing from a wildlife conservancy in Losaiba and en route to Ewaso Nyiro, a major river that runs alongside multiple of Kenya’s famous national game reserves.

    Visual evidence shared across social media platforms shows thick plumes of smoke rising from the crash site on the slopes of Mount Ololokwe. First responders from the Kenya Red Cross told the BBC that rough terrain has blocked ground access to the accident zone as of initial reports, so unmanned aerial drones are currently being deployed to map the site and gather preliminary on-the-ground information.

    KCAA confirmed that the aircraft involved in the accident is a Eurocopter EC130 B4, and that the agency is currently leading coordination of emergency response and recovery operations. The regulatory body added that Kenya’s Ministry of Transport alongside the Aircraft Accident Investigation Department will take charge of the full probe into what caused the crash, to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

    This latest crash adds to a troubling pattern of aviation accidents in Kenya, where helicopter incidents have occurred with alarming frequency in recent years. Just this past February, a crash in Nandi County, located in the Rift Valley region, left six people dead, including a sitting Kenyan member of parliament. In 2024, Kenya’s top military leader General Francis Omondi Ogolla was killed when an army helicopter carrying 11 passengers went down in western Kenya, with only two people on board surviving the impact. As far back as June 2021, at least 10 Kenyan soldiers lost their lives when their helicopter crashed during landing operations near the capital city of Nairobi.

  • Safari helicopter crashes in northern Kenya, killing 7 people, including 5 Americans

    Safari helicopter crashes in northern Kenya, killing 7 people, including 5 Americans

    A devastating aviation accident unfolded Wednesday morning in a remote wilderness region of northern Kenya, leaving no survivors among the seven people aboard a safari charter helicopter, authorities have confirmed. The tragedy has claimed the lives of five U.S. citizens, alongside high-profile victims including a top U.S. media executive and Ecuador’s national intelligence director.

    According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the crash occurred at 9:13 a.m. local time, as the aircraft traveled between Loisaba Conservancy, a popular protected wildlife area, and the Ewaso Nyiro region in Samburu County. Officials confirmed the manifest included six passengers and one local pilot, and Samburu County Police Commander David Nkoroi confirmed late Wednesday that all occupants died at the crash site.

    The wreckage came to rest in the rugged foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a scenic, remote tourist destination popular with international safari travelers. The aircraft, identified as a Eurocopter EC130 B4, is owned by local aviation operator Lady Lori Helicopters and was operating a charter trip for luxury travel firm &Beyond, carrying guests on a safari excursion. Following the crash, local operator Tropic Air Kenya deployed two of its own helicopters to support search and recovery operations, after an initial correction clarified Tropic Air was not the owner or operator of the crashed aircraft.

    U.S. authorities have formally confirmed that five of the deceased hold American citizenship. “The U.S. Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” the State Department said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss.”

    Among the U.S. victims is José Suárez, 55, president and general manager of multiple Telemundo stations across Florida. Suárez was an executive with Telemundo, the U.S.-based Spanish-language media network owned by NBCUniversal. In a joint statement, leaders from NBCUniversal and Telemundo expressed their profound grief over the loss. “We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that José was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya,” the statement read.

    Ecuadorian officials also confirmed the identity of another high-profile victim: Michele Sensi-Contugi, director of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center. A close confidant and associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Sensi-Contugi was traveling to Kenya as a tourist alongside his wife, Stephany Hollihan, who also died in the crash. Hollihan held dual U.S. and Ecuadorian citizenship, and the couple leaves behind two children. “In this moment of deep sorrow, the government extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones and close associates,” Ecuador’s presidency said in a statement posted to X.

    Officials have not yet released the full identities of all victims, and investigations into the cause of the crash are still in the early stages. The crash adds to a growing pattern of fatal aviation accidents in Kenya, a nation whose multi-billion dollar tourism industry relies heavily on small air carriers to shuttle visitors between remote wildlife and wilderness destinations that are inaccessible by road. In February of this year alone, another fatal helicopter crash in the hilly region of western Kenya killed six people, including a sitting Kenyan legislator.

  • Liberia agrees to accept 1,200 foreign deportees from the US

    Liberia agrees to accept 1,200 foreign deportees from the US

    As the second Trump administration ramps up its nationwide crackdown on unauthorized immigration, the West African nation of Liberia has signed a landmark agreement to host up to 1,200 foreign nationals deported from the United States over the coming 12 months, marking one of the largest third-country deportation deals Washington has secured to date.

    Third-country deportation arrangements, which have become a core policy tool for the current US administration, typically involve moving deportees who cannot be legally returned to their countries of origin — often due to formal protection from deportation on grounds of persecution, conflict, or human rights risks — to a neutral host nation. At this stage, no public information has been released confirming whether any of the 1,200 people bound for Liberia hold active international or US protection orders that would bar their removal to their home countries.

    In an official statement, Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah clarified that the government is receiving all deportees as invited guests rather than criminal detainees. An inaugural group of 20 deportees is scheduled to arrive in Liberia this Thursday, Piah confirmed, adding that all arrivals will be free to leave the country at their own discretion or submit formal applications for asylum if they wish to remain. Piah emphasized that none of the deportees being sent to Liberia have criminal records or are facing active criminal prosecution in either the United States or Liberia.

    The decision to accept the deportees aligns with Liberia’s foundational identity as a safe haven for displaced people, Piah explained. Founded in the early 19th century as a resettlement settlement for freed African-American slaves and emancipated Black people from the United States and Caribbean, Liberia has a decades-long tradition of offering shelter to people fleeing persecution, war, and systemic violence. “To reject these third country nationals would be acting against our best interest,” Piah said of the policy. “This is entirely a humanitarian arrangement.”

    Piah also pushed back against widespread speculation that Liberia received financial compensation for agreeing to the deal, stating clearly that the government “not demanded or received any compensation or promise of rewards in exchange for its consent to participate in the programme.” He did confirm, however, that the United States will provide technical and operational support to help Liberia manage the arrivals and broadly strengthen the country’s national migration management system. No details have been released about the national origins of the deportees bound for Liberia.

    Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has already deported dozens of migrants to third countries across Africa and beyond, and multiple African nations have already signed similar agreements to host US deportees that cannot be returned to their home countries. These nations include Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone.

    The US has publicly defended these third-country arrangements as fully compliant with international and domestic law, but the policy has drawn sharp criticism from global human rights groups, which argue the deals lack transparency and often end with deportees being forcibly sent back to the high-risk countries they originally fled. Ghana has already been hit with multiple legal challenges over accusations it has violated international human rights law by forcing US-deported migrants to return to the countries they fled. In Eswatini, government officials confirmed this week that two migrants deported from the US to the southern African kingdom have already voluntarily returned to their home countries of Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last year, Eswatini confirmed it received $5.1 million (£3.8 million) from the Trump administration for its participation in the scheme, a disclosure that sparked widespread condemnation from rights advocates.

    As of Wednesday, the US State Department has not issued any public comment on the new agreement with Liberia.

  • Tragedy as Australian national dies in Vietnam, DFAT offering consular support to family

    Tragedy as Australian national dies in Vietnam, DFAT offering consular support to family

    Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has officially confirmed that an Australian citizen has died in Vietnam, with the circumstances surrounding the death still undisclosed as of the latest update. In line with its standard protocols for overseas fatalities, the department has activated consular support for the deceased’s family, offering guidance and practical help through a difficult period.

    DFAT extended its official sympathies to the grieving family in a public statement released earlier this week. “We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” the statement read. Citing strict privacy obligations that govern its handling of consular cases, DFAT declined to share any additional details about the individual or the events leading up to the death. A department spokesman clarified that no further comment would be provided publicly out of respect for the family’s privacy.

    For Australian families that lose a loved one while they are traveling or living abroad, DFAT’s consular services cover a broad range of practical and administrative needs. These include coordinating communication between local Vietnamese authorities and relevant Australian agencies, supporting families through the process of making funeral arrangements, and facilitating the repatriation of the deceased’s remains back to Australia if that is the family’s wish.

    As of the latest update one hour ago, no further details have emerged regarding the identity of the deceased or the cause of death, pending the outcome of any ongoing local procedures. The case remains one with unclear circumstances, and DFAT has indicated it will continue to focus on supporting the family rather than releasing public updates.

  • Afghan farmers turn their grapes into raisins after border closures slash fruit exports to Pakistan

    Afghan farmers turn their grapes into raisins after border closures slash fruit exports to Pakistan

    It is peak harvest season in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s southern grape heartland, and 2024 has delivered a plump, abundant crop that should be a reason for celebration across the region’s agricultural communities. Instead, this year’s bounty has become a devastating economic burden, as months of cross-border fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan have sealed off the primary export market for Kandahar’s world-famous grapes.

    For months, sporadic armed exchanges along the two nations’ rugged, 2,600-kilometer shared border have killed hundreds of civilians and service members on both sides. The conflict stems from Islamabad’s accusation that Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government shelters militant groups carrying out cross-border attacks inside Pakistan — a claim the Taliban-led Kabul administration has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

    As fighting escalated, Pakistan closed key border crossings, severing a critical trade artery that for decades has carried the bulk of Afghanistan’s fresh fruit exports to international and regional markets. Trapped with thousands of tons of perishable fresh grapes that cannot reach Pakistani buyers, Kandahar’s producers have been forced to flood the small domestic market with excess supply, sending fresh grape prices plummeting overnight.

    To avoid letting their entire harvest go to waste, many growers have pivoted to drying bunches of fresh grapes to make long-lasting raisins, a lower-value product that can be stored and sold gradually. Even that adaptation has failed to deliver relief: glutted domestic markets have pushed raisin prices down to a fraction of their usual levels.

    Inside a sprawling storage warehouse in Kandahar’s Zhari District, rows of fresh green grapes hang from wooden drying racks, as large ceiling fans circulate hot summer air to speed the curing process. For orchard owner Sakhi Jan, who supports a household of 10 people in Zhari, the price collapse has left him on the brink of financial ruin. Where 7 kilograms of raisins once sold for 1,000 to 1,200 afghanis (equal to $13 to $16), that same volume now fetches just 400 to 450 afghanis, or roughly $5 to $6.

    In a nation already grappling with widespread systemic poverty and chronic malnutrition that disproportionately harms children and vulnerable households, even small income losses can push families into hunger. Jan says the daily struggle to make ends meet has become far more severe than anything he experienced in previous years.

    “We are grateful for the harvest, but things aren’t like they used to be. The struggle is much harder now,” Jan explained. “In the past, work was steady, we could sell our grapes at a fair price, and people generally got by. Now the hardship is immense.” He stressed that reopening border crossings to restore trade flow is the only solution to the crisis, adding: “We urge both our government and Pakistan to open these routes and reach an agreement. The current situation is causing great hardship for all of us.”

    Abdul Baqi Bina, deputy director of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, confirmed that the border shutdown has devastated Afghanistan’s entire fresh fruit export sector, hitting pomegranate producers as hard as grape growers. He shared stark trade data to illustrate the collapse: in 2023, Afghanistan’s five southern grape-growing provinces exported a total of 44,225 tons of grapes worth $13.8 million. Nearly 98% of that volume — 43,000 tons — was shipped through Pakistan to domestic and international buyers, with just the remaining 1,225 tons exported to Bangladesh, Iraq and India. So far in 2024, total grape exports from the region amount to only 256 tons, valued at just $100,000.

    For veteran grape exporter Haji Abdul Hai, who has worked in the trade for decades, the current shutdown is unprecedented. “In my 50 years of life, I have never seen these roads closed to the extent they are now,” he said. He noted that past border disputes only resulted in short-term closures of a few days, and alternate crossings usually remained open to allow trade to continue. “But now, we are facing truly major difficulties that we have no way to navigate on our own,” he added.

    Even seasonal farm workers, who rely on grape harvest season for the bulk of their annual income, have been hit hard. Qudratullah Popal, a harvest worker at a large local orchard, said the farm employed roughly 1,500 seasonal pickers during last year’s harvest. This year, that number has plummeted to just 15, as the orchard’s owners have no reason to harvest large volumes of grapes they cannot sell.

    “There have been good harvests. Grapes turned out well, but the issue is they cannot be exported to other countries. They are being sent to domestic locations … where there is already an abundance of grapes,” Popal said. “When routes are blocked and trade halts, everyone’s livelihood is paralyzed: traders, laborers and orchard owners alike.”

  • Tokyo opposes US sanctions on Japanese ICC chief Akane

    Tokyo opposes US sanctions on Japanese ICC chief Akane

    A fresh wave of United States sanctions targeting the top leadership of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has triggered international condemnation, with close US ally Japan leading criticism of the measures against its own national, ICC President Tomoko Akane.

    On Tuesday, the second Trump administration imposed economic and travel restrictions on Akane and Senegalese Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, expanding a long-running US campaign against the Hague-based judicial body. Washington frames the ICC as a “corrupt and fatally politicised” institution that oversteps its authority to threaten national sovereignty. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed in a statement that the two sanctioned officials directly participated in ICC investigations, detentions and prosecutions of officials from governments that have not granted the court jurisdiction, though he provided no specific evidence to support the allegation.

    Japan, which is the ICC’s largest financial contributor and has long backed the court’s mission to hold perpetrators of the world’s worst atrocities accountable, formally rejected the sanctions the following day. “Japan has consistently supported the ICC in its efforts to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to uphold the rule of law,” foreign ministry press secretary Toshihiro Kitamura said in an official statement. “From this standpoint, the announced measures are very unfortunate.”

    The ICC itself pushed back sharply against the punitive measures, warning that they pose a fundamental threat to the global legal order. “When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the court said in a response. The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC at its headquarters in The Hague, also joined the criticism, with Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen writing on X that the country “disapproves of the latest sanctions against officials and staff of the ICC,” adding that “international courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates.”

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, praised the US action, echoing Washington’s hostility toward the court. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu earlier in 2024 over alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza war, making the court’s investigations into Israel a core driver of the latest US sanctions. Netanyahu called the ICC a “kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law” in an X post Tuesday evening.

    This sanctions announcement is the latest escalation in a broader US diplomatic offensive against the ICC launched last month. At that time, Washington accused the court of threatening US national interests and called on partner nations to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty that established the court. To date, Chad and the post-Maduro Venezuelan government, which has aligned with the US, have already announced their withdrawals. The ICC has warned that these exits weaken global collective efforts to pursue accountability for mass atrocities.

    Founded in 2002, the ICC operates as a court of last resort, only stepping in to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national legal systems are unwilling or unable to deliver justice. The US is not a member state: it signed the Rome Statute but never ratified the treaty, joining Israel, Russia and China in remaining outside the institution.

    Human rights groups have roundly condemned the new sanctions, with four organizations already filing a lawsuit against Trump in a New York federal court over existing ICC sanctions, arguing the measures block war crime victims from accessing justice. Balkees Jarrah, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, one of the plaintiffs, called the latest action “just the latest example of the Trump administration’s utter contempt for international law and a naked attempt to shield American and Israeli officials implicated in serious crimes from justice.”

    Akane, a 70-year-old Japanese jurist who has served as an ICC judge since 2018 and was elected court president in March 2024, has already been targeted by sanctions from another country: Russia issued an arrest warrant for Akane and other senior ICC officials after the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the forced deportation of Ukrainian children in 2023. At that time, Akane downplayed the impact of such targeting, noting “Even if one judge were to die, we are easily replaceable, so there is really no value in targeting us.”

    The new US sanctions bar Akane and Seye from entering the US and prohibit any transactions involving the pair through the US financial system, marking the fifth round of punitive measures against ICC officials since Washington first launched its campaign against the court.

  • Why did Uganda unveil a statue of Netanyahu’s brother at Entebbe?

    Why did Uganda unveil a statue of Netanyahu’s brother at Entebbe?

    In early August 2026, a life-sized bronze monument of Yonatan Netanyahu, the Israeli commando leader killed during the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue raid, was unveiled at Uganda’s Old Entebbe Terminal, 40 kilometers outside the capital Kampala. Commissioned by Ugandan Army Chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba — eldest son of long-serving President Yoweri Museveni — the installation marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most storied special operations in modern Israeli history, and comes just days before Uganda’s parliament approved a controversial deployment of Ugandan troops to Gaza as part of a UN-backed International Stabilisation Force. The timing, against a backdrop of ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians despite a October 2024 ceasefire agreement, has turned the quiet ceremony into a flashpoint for debates over African sovereignty, shifting diplomatic alliances, and the legacy of the 1976 raid.

  • Businesses reopen after eastern Indonesia earthquake displaced thousands

    Businesses reopen after eastern Indonesia earthquake displaced thousands

    Four days after a powerful 6.2-magnitude-level earthquake left at least 70 people dead, nearly 1,200 injured, and thousands displaced on Indonesia’s Flores Island, basic commercial operations have begun a gradual return to service, even as rescue teams continue searching for missing victims and tens of thousands remain displaced from their destroyed homes.

    The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, with the U.S. Geological Survey recording the quake at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast of the remote island, located in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province. Shallow seismic events in coastal regions often amplify surface damage, and this quake was no exception: official data from Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency confirms widespread destruction across the island, with at least 11,925 residential homes, 182 public health facilities, 653 educational institutions, 184 government administrative buildings, and 173 religious sites sustaining damage or complete collapse.

    In the immediate aftermath of the quake, authorities issued a tsunami warning that sparked panic among local residents, who fled for higher ground, before the alert was ultimately lifted. Through Tuesday, geological agencies had recorded more than 2,100 aftershocks, only 70 of which were strong enough to be felt by local communities. The persistent risk of further tremors has left thousands of residents sleeping outdoors in open areas, unwilling to return to damaged or unstable structures.

    As of Wednesday, grocery stores, gas stations, and public markets had resumed partial operations in hard-hit regions. In Maumere, the main port city of Sikka regency, reopened fuel stations and marketplaces drew large crowds of residents seeking to restock supplies. In Reo, a town in heavily impacted Manggarai regency, locals queued outside a partially reopened grocery store, which limited customer entry to comply with safety protocols amid ongoing structural risks.

    Many residents rely on these local businesses to meet daily needs that emergency food aid cannot fully cover. “Food aid has helped, but it doesn’t cover everything we need for daily life,” explained Delvina Panjaitan, who waited in line outside the Reo grocery store. “We still rely on grocery stores and markets, and we need them to be operating again.”

    East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena confirmed that immediate humanitarian needs for food and clean water have largely been met across the affected zone, and that local government offices in the seven impacted regencies have resumed full operations. “This is to accelerate post-disaster recovery and serve the community’s administrative needs,” the governor stated.

    Debris and rubble from collapsed structures still cover most public streets, however, and search-and-rescue teams continue excavating collapsed buildings and clearing mud from landslides triggered by the quake. Fathur Rahman, coordinator for the national search mission, noted that crews are still “anticipating the possibility of discovering more victims” trapped in the rubble. More than 40,000 people remain displaced, taking shelter in tents, official evacuation centers, and improvised makeshift camps across the island.

    Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago made up of more than 17,000 islands, sits along the tectonically active Pacific Ring of Fire, making it extremely prone to both major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This region of Flores has a history of devastating seismic disasters: in 1992, a major earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed roughly 2,500 people on the island, marking one of the deadliest natural disasters in Indonesia’s modern history.