Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Soldier kills four in gun rampage in Russian-occupied Crimea

    Soldier kills four in gun rampage in Russian-occupied Crimea

    A violent shooting spree carried out by an active member of Russia’s armed forces has left four people dead and multiple others injured in the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian territory illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, regional authorities confirmed.

    According to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the regional governor installed by the Kremlin, the violence unfolded when the gunman turned his weapon on fellow service members first. This initial attack killed one soldier and left a second service member with critical injuries. After attacking his colleagues, the shooter fled to the nearby village of Khmelnytske, where he targeted unarmed civilians.

    Three local residents lost their lives in the civilian attack: a 71-year-old man, a 59-year-old man, and a 64-year-old woman. Three additional civilians were also wounded in the rampage, with medical teams working around the clock to stabilize their conditions. Razvozhayev stated that clinical teams are deploying every available resource to save the lives of those injured, though it remains unclear whether the overall death toll will climb as the injured receive treatment.

    The attacker has already been taken into custody by authorities, who have launched a formal investigation to uncover the motive for the mass shooting. As of the latest updates, the suspect has not been publicly named, and regional officials have not released any details about which branch of the Russian armed forces he was serving in at the time of the attack. In a public statement following the incident, Razvozhayev urged local residents and media outlets to only share information from official government sources, warning against the spread of unsubstantiated rumors about the shooter’s identity or potential motivations.

    Crimea has remained one of the most contentious flashpoints in tensions between Russia and Ukraine since 2014, when Moscow invaded and annexed the peninsula from Ukraine. The overwhelming majority of the international community refuses to recognize Russia’s annexation, classifying Crimea as illegally occupied Ukrainian territory. Russia has since maintained a heavy, permanent military presence across the peninsula, which has increasingly come under attack from Ukrainian drone and missile strikes as the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year.

  • Moment pilot caught with 70,000 ecstasy pills at Indonesian airport

    Moment pilot caught with 70,000 ecstasy pills at Indonesian airport

    In a major drug bust that has drawn regional attention to aviation security gaps, Indonesian customs officials have arrested a Malaysian commercial pilot at Jakarta’s main international airport after seizing roughly 26 kilograms (equivalent to four stone) of ecstasy concealed in the pilot’s checked luggage.

    The seizure, which totals 70,000 individual ecstasy pills, marks one of the larger drug intercepts involving a licensed aviation professional in Southeast Asia in recent years. Law enforcement sources confirmed that officers detected the illicit substances during routine baggage screening following the pilot’s arrival on an international inbound flight. Authorities have not yet publicly released details on the pilot’s intended route for the narcotics or whether additional co-conspirators are being sought in connection with the smuggling operation.

    The incident has reignited debates across Southeast Asia over vulnerabilities in global aviation supply chains and crew screening procedures. The region remains a key transit corridor for international drug trafficking networks, which have increasingly attempted to exploit the trusted status of aviation workers to move illicit substances across borders. Indonesian anti-narcotics officials have announced they will launch a full investigation into how the drugs were able to be brought through initial security checks before the pilot departed for Jakarta, and are working with Malaysian law enforcement to trace the origin of the seizure.

  • Five dead in Moscow region as Ukraine continues warehouse strikes

    Five dead in Moscow region as Ukraine continues warehouse strikes

    The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered a new phase of escalation, as reciprocal long-range drone strikes carried out overnight Tuesday have left at least nine people dead and dozens more injured across both countries. The exchange of attacks underscores the expanding reach of Ukrainian drone capabilities, which now allow Kyiv to strike targets deep within Russian territory, far from the front lines of the ground war.

    Andrei Vorobyov, governor of Russia’s Moscow region, confirmed that a Ukrainian drone attack targeted an industrial site in Novoselki, a town located roughly 43 miles south of the Kremlin. The strike ignited a large blaze at a local warehouse, killing five people and wounding 10 more. Of those injured, seven were listed in moderate condition and one remained in serious condition as of Wednesday morning.

    While Vorobyov did not publicly confirm the exact ownership of the targeted facility, both Ukrainian media reports and regional sources have linked the site to Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform often nicknamed the “Russian Amazon” for its dominant market position. This attack follows a string of recent strikes on Wildberries infrastructure across Russia carried out by Ukrainian forces over the past several weeks.

    Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that Wildberries depots are being repurposed to store and distribute supplies for the Russian military, a claim the Russian government and the company itself have consistently denied. Overnight, additional Wildberries warehouses in the St. Petersburg and Tver regions were also confirmed as targets of Ukrainian drone attacks. The company has not issued any formal statement on the Moscow region strike, but did confirm that its St. Petersburg facility sustained damage in the attack.

    Alongside its advances in drone development that allow deep strikes into Russian territory, this wave of attacks has prompted an immediate and deadly retaliation from Russian forces. Russia launched its own coordinated series of drone and missile strikes across multiple Ukrainian cities overnight, leaving four civilians dead and multiple others injured.

    Ukraine’s State Emergency Service detailed the human cost of the Russian retaliation: an 89-year-old woman was killed and seven people, including two young girls aged 2 and 12, were injured in a strike on the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv. In the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, a strike on a residential neighborhood killed three people—a woman and two girls aged 5 and 10—and wounded four more. Strikes on Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi left two people injured, while a food warehouse in the central city of Dnipro was set ablaze by attacking projectiles.

    In the immediate aftermath of the wave of attacks, Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced that its air defense forces had intercepted and destroyed 320 Ukrainian drones launched during the overnight operation. The latest exchange of deep strikes comes as Ukraine continues to expand its domestic drone production program, building capabilities to strike military and logistical targets far behind Russian front lines, increasingly bringing the conflict to Russian population centers close to the seat of power in Moscow.

  • Guatemala issues ‘danger’ alert after Fuego volcano erupts

    Guatemala issues ‘danger’ alert after Fuego volcano erupts

    One of Central America’s most consistently active volcanoes, Fuego, has erupted, pushing Guatemalan national authorities to activate the country’s second-highest emergency alert level and order the evacuation of at-risk nearby communities. The volcano first began erupting early Monday, and activity grew significantly more intense as the day progressed, according to official updates. By nightfall, fast-moving lava flows had begun streaming down the volcano’s slopes, while massive plumes of toxic gas and volcanic ash surged more than six kilometers into the sky.

    Guatemala’s national disaster coordination agency Conred confirmed the nationwide orange danger alert in an official post to social media platform X, noting that the orange designation sits one step below the country’s highest red alert level, which is reserved for the most severe catastrophic events. Located just 35 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City, the 3,763-meter-high volcano prompted immediate evacuation orders for two villages situated close to its crater by Monday afternoon.

    Drone and on-the-ground footage released by Guatemalan emergency services captured the dramatic power of the eruption, with ash turning the sky a deep, fiery red and incandescent lava cutting distinct paths down the volcano’s forested slopes. In a public video address shared across social platforms, Conred spokesperson Valeria Urizar urged at-risk residents to prioritize personal safety: “If an official evacuation order is issued, or conditions on the ground start to put your life in danger, follow protocols for immediate self-evacuation.”

    Guatemala’s Institute of Volcanology further warned in a formal bulletin that Fuego’s activity is trending toward a far more explosive phase, increasing risks for surrounding populations. The agency highlighted that fast-moving flows of superheated volcanic debris are a major ongoing hazard, with communities along the volcano’s western and southern slopes facing the greatest level of threat.

    As a precautionary measure, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education has suspended all in-person classes for two municipalities located near the volcano. National traffic police have also closed a key circular highway that links Guatemala’s southern Pacific coast to Antigua, a top international tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site, to prevent travelers from entering high-risk zones. The Institute of Volcanology confirmed that ash plumes have reached altitudes of more than 6,000 meters, with light to heavy ash fall already reported in multiple nearby communities.

    Fuego’s latest major eruption marks one in a series of significant events from the volcano in recent years, as Guatemala sits atop the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity. In 2018, a catastrophic eruption of Fuego sent fast-moving lava flows pouring into the nearby village of San Miguel Los Lotes, killing 215 people and leaving an equal number of residents unaccounted for. More recently, an eruption in 2023 prompted the evacuation of roughly 1,200 at-risk residents, and just last year, another outburst of gas and ash forced the evacuation of more than 500 people to emergency shelters. On both occasions, authorities suspended local school operations and closed the same key highway connecting the south coast to Antigua, mirroring the precautions being implemented this week.

  • Sri Lanka closes some schools as heavy rains trigger floods and mudslides, killing 5

    Sri Lanka closes some schools as heavy rains trigger floods and mudslides, killing 5

    Five people have been confirmed dead and three injured after intense monsoon rains unleashed catastrophic floods and mudslides across Sri Lanka, prompting emergency authorities to shut down schools in the island nation’s mountainous tea-growing heartland this Tuesday. The downpour, which has hammered the country for 48 consecutive hours, has left a trail of destruction, submerging residential neighborhoods, agricultural fields and critical transport links, according to official updates. The Disaster Management Center (DMC), Sri Lanka’s government-led emergency response agency, reports that the worst damage is concentrated in the island’s central highland zone.

    DMC spokesperson Pradeep Kodippili confirmed that the five fatalities all occurred when mudslides crashed into two separate residential properties in the central region. Along with the three injured, two additional residents remain unaccounted for as of Tuesday’s update. Preliminary damage assessments show that 129 homes have been partially or fully destroyed by the extreme weather, and more than 1,900 displaced residents have been evacuated to emergency safety shelters across the affected area.

    In response to the crisis, the Sri Lankan government has deployed both navy and army personnel to carry out search and rescue operations for residents trapped by floodwaters and mudflows. Local broadcaster Hiru TV released on-the-ground footage showing service members and civilian volunteers pulling trapped residents out of inundated homes, as teams work to clear hazards ahead of expected additional rain. Footage from other local outlets also documented blocked arterial roads in central Sri Lanka, where boulders dislodged by mudslides, mud deposits and downed power poles have cut off access to multiple hard-hit communities.

    This latest natural disaster comes as Sri Lanka is still grappling with the long-term recovery from the catastrophic damage inflicted by Cyclone Ditwa in November 2023. That storm killed nearly 640 people, displaced more than two million across the island, and caused an estimated $4.1 billion in infrastructure and property damage. Sri Lanka’s Central Province, which is currently bearing the brunt of the current flood and mudslide crisis, was also the worst-hit region during the November cyclone, and the national government has faced persistent challenges funding full reconstruction of damaged roads, railways and housing in the area.

    For Sri Lanka, flood and mudslide events are an annual hazard that repeatedly threaten lives and livelihoods across the island. The country’s central hill regions are particularly vulnerable to deadly mudslides during the monsoon season, when heavy saturated soil gives way on steep slopes, while low-lying coastal and riverine areas face widespread flooding. These seasonal events routinely force thousands of residents to abandon their homes each year, putting repeated strain on the nation’s already stretched emergency response infrastructure.

  • Drone strike on North Darfur court kills at least 35, rights group says

    Drone strike on North Darfur court kills at least 35, rights group says

    Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict entered a new phase of deadly escalation on Sunday, when a drone strike attributed to the country’s national army hit a customary court in the North Darfur village of al-Zawiya Ghara, claiming at least 35 lives and leaving multiple others wounded. Al-Zawiya Ghara is among the dozens of rural settlements across North Darfur currently held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the powerful paramilitary group that has fought the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of the country since April 2023. According to the Emergency Lawyers Group, a civilian watchdog that tracks violence against non-combatants in Sudan, all fatalities and casualties were people located inside the court building or in its immediate surrounding area when the attack unfolded. Local tribal and community leaders were gathered for an official meeting inside the court at the time of the strike, which saw the drone launch at least four separate missiles directly at the structure. Sudanese outlet Sudan Tribune confirmed that the death toll includes two senior RSF field commanders, four tribal elders, and traditional leaders from the Mahameed branch of the Rizeigat ethnic group.

    Sunday’s targeted strike comes as the SAF has ramped up drone operations across the Darfur region in recent weeks. The military push follows a string of major SAF victories over RSF forces in North Kordofan, and aims to chip away at RSF control of Darfur by weakening the paramilitary’s command positions and supply lines. In the wake of the attack, the Sudan Founding Coalition (Tasis), a political bloc largely dominated by RSF-aligned figures, formally blamed the SAF for the civilian deaths. Ahmed Tugod Lisan, a spokesperson for Tasis, speaking to Sudan Tribune, called for an independent international investigation into the strike to hold all responsible parties legally accountable. The Emergency Lawyers Group has joined the call for a full probe, and condemned the deliberate targeting of the court, describing attacks on civilian populations and civilian infrastructure as a flagrant and grave violation of binding international humanitarian law. In a formal statement, the group added that drone strikes targeting populated civilian areas and public gatherings have become increasingly common in Sudan’s conflict, drastically raising the daily safety risks for millions of ordinary Sudanese trapped in war zones.

    This attack is the latest development in a three-year-long civil conflict that has seen both the SAF and the RSF accused of widespread war crimes and crimes against humanity. A United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that the RSF’s 2025 siege of el-Fasher, one of Darfur’s largest urban centers, carried all the hallmarks of genocide. The RSF has also been repeatedly accused of carrying out drone strikes that kill and maim civilians across Sudan over the course of the war.

    The al-Zawiya Ghara strike also follows a landmark judicial ruling earlier in July that marked the first conviction of top RSF leadership since the war began. An anti-terrorism and state crimes court based in Port Sudan, which is held by the SAF, sentenced RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (widely known as Hemedti) and 15 other senior RSF figures to death in absentia. The court convicted the group on multiple charges including their roles in the 2023 assassination of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar, as well as broader charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, illegal warfare, and genocide committed in the West Darfur capital of el-Geneina.

    Presided over by special judge Mohamed al-Amin, the trial centered largely on the assassination of Governor Abakar, who was killed just one day after he publicly condemned RSF shelling of the el-Jamarik neighborhood in el-Geneina. Circulated online video footage shows RSF soldiers mutilating Abakar’s body after his killing, but the paramilitary group has consistently denied any involvement in the assassination, instead shifting blame to the SAF. Human Rights Watch released a 2024 investigation concluding that the violence carried out in el-Geneina by RSF and allied militias amounted to ethnic cleansing, and likely meets the international legal definition of genocide, targeting the Masalit people and other non-Arab communities in the region. A June 2023 report from Middle East Eye estimated that roughly 1,500 people were killed in el-Geneina in the first two months of the war alone. The violence forced tens of thousands of Masalit residents to flee el-Geneina and West Darfur on foot, seeking safety across the Sudan-Chad border in eastern Chad.

    Among the convicted defendants are Hemedti’s two brothers: Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s deputy leader, and Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, commonly known as al-Qoni. The court also convicted Abdel Rahman Juma Barkallah, the top RSF commander for West Darfur, and al-Tijani al-Tahir Karshoum, the former deputy governor of West Darfur. The ruling held Hemedti directly legally responsible for directing the genocide of the Masalit people and orchestrating the siege of el-Geneina, citing evidence of systematic destruction and looting of civilian property, as well as deliberate targeted attacks on non-combatants, residential neighborhoods, schools, and places of worship. Abdel Rahim Dagalo was convicted of co-organizing the el-Geneina siege, mass civilian displacement, and the genocide of the Masalit community, while Qoni was found liable for facilitating the siege. Barkallah was held responsible for leading frontline RSF troops during coordinated systematic assaults on Masalit residential areas. In addition to the death sentences, the court ordered the full confiscation of all RSF-linked assets across SAF-held territory, and instructed Sudanese authorities to request Interpol red notices to facilitate the arrest and extradition of all convicted figures who remain at large.

  • Runaway online rumors sparked frantic rush by migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta

    Runaway online rumors sparked frantic rush by migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta

    In the early days of last week’s unprecedented migration event along the Morocco-Spain border, the spark that lit the crisis was not an organized smuggling operation, but a cascade of false claims shared across mainstream social media platforms. What began as scattered Instagram posts claiming the border with the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta had opened soon spread to Facebook and TikTok, building a viral wave of misinformation that drew more than 60,000 aspiring migrants to the crossing point in just 72 hours, in the largest single migration surge between the two nations in recent history.

    The false narrative took root quickly across northern Morocco. Hundreds of kilometers from Ceuta in the coastal city of Larache, three young men saw a video posted to an Instagram account calling itself *Haraga Ceuta* — a name referencing the colloquial term for young Moroccans who destroy identity documents to attempt irregular entry to Europe — that claimed the border barrier had been lifted. For young people already grappling with systemic youth unemployment that leaves nearly four in 10 people aged 15 to 24 out of work, the claim was too promising to ignore.

    Across multiple platforms, the misinformation evolved from a general rumor to step-by-step guidance for aspiring migrants. TikTok creators shared detailed route maps for the 5-kilometer swim around Ceuta’s border breakwater. Private Facebook groups dedicated to border crossing chatter shared screenshots of commercial vessel-tracking platforms to pinpoint windows when Spanish and Moroccan coast guard patrols were thinly staffed. Users traded tips for inflatable boat use and even advertised wetsuits for sale to people preparing the swim. By the time local and national authorities on both sides noticed the growing movement, thousands of people were already boarding packed buses, regional trains and taxis headed for the Moroccan border city of Fnideq, the primary starting point for Ceuta crossing attempts.

    When the crowds converged on Ceuta’s narrow concrete breakwater, chaos erupted. Hundreds of migrants attempted to scramble up the structure’s slick, algae-covered rocks at once, pushing and climbing over one another to reach Spanish territory. Multiple migrants interviewed by the Associated Press described seeing people knocked into the churning water, trapped beneath the bodies of other climbers and unable to resurface. “I stepped on the face of a dead man while I was climbing out. I hope God forgives me and all those whose bodies were found,” said Lahcen Kalouch, a Moroccan migrant who returned home just days later, visibly distraught from the experience.

    When the crisis finally eased, official counts placed the total death toll at more than 80: 72 fatalities on the Spanish side of the border, and 11 more on Moroccan territory, with deaths caused by drowning, stampede injuries and exposure. Nearly all of the 60,000 migrants who crossed into Ceuta have since returned to Morocco, expelled by Spanish authorities or choosing to leave after Ceuta’s infrastructure collapsed under the sudden surge, leaving new arrivals without access to shelter, clean water and food.

    Many migrants were found to have misinterpreted recent Spanish policy changes as an open invitation to cross. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had recently announced a new immigration regularization program, but the policy only applied to people already residing in Spain before January 1 of this year — most of whom are Latin American migrants who entered legally but overstayed their visas. Online misinformation twisted the policy into a promise that any new migrant arriving in Ceuta would receive legal status and access to work, a false claim that spread rapidly despite no official endorsement from the Spanish government. “Pedro Sánchez is a liar. He told us if we came, we would get jobs and papers, but they sent us back,” said Adam Assil, a migrant from Casablanca, echoing the false narrative that circulated online despite Sánchez never making such a promise.

    Officials on both sides have acknowledged that the spread of digital misinformation was a core driver of the mass movement, but failed to explain how such a large crowd was able to cross the border unchecked. Moroccan authorities opened an investigation into the spread of false claims, but have not released any evidence identifying who created or amplified the original misleading posts. Most of the social media accounts behind the rumors were deleted within days of the crossings, and attempts by the AP to contact account operators received no response. Ceuta’s local government says it warned the national Spanish government of an impending surge days before the crisis, but the Spanish Interior Ministry claims it received no such advance warning, while praising cross-border cooperation to repatriate most migrants.

    “Nobody addressed how these individuals managed to breach the border,” said Mustapha Azaitraoui, a Moroccan geographer who specializes in migration dynamics. “If a large group of people can cross the border under these circumstances, it suggests a broader security issue that has yet to be acknowledged publicly.”

    Both national governments have pinned blame on organized human smuggling networks, claiming criminal groups coordinated the mass crossing to profit from irregular migration. But most returning migrants interviewed by the AP rejected that framing, saying they made the decision to travel independently, motivated by the false rumor of an open border and desperate economic conditions at home. “No one smuggled me there. I wanted to go of my own free will, but that country is not worth all this sacrifice,” Kalouch said. 17-year-old Omar Danbor from Fnideq echoed that sentiment: “There are no mafias. The border was open, and I crossed. But now I regret it.” Spanish officials note that investigations into potential smuggling involvement are ongoing, while Moroccan authorities declined to answer questions about the issue.

    Beneath the viral misinformation that triggered the surge, analysts and migrants point to persistent economic inequality and lack of opportunity for young Moroccans as the root cause of the event. While Morocco’s national economy is projected to grow by 4.5% this year, with major investments in automotive manufacturing, advanced ports and industrial infrastructure that have positioned the country as a rising regional economic hub, those gains have not trickled down to many young people. Youth unemployment sits at 37% nationwide, and nearly 20% of university graduates are unable to find work. For many, the dream of building a stable life in Europe is reinforced by family members who migrated and returned with visible signs of success: new cars, imported clothing and steady foreign income.

    One 16-year-old migrant, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of stigma after his failed attempt, summed up the desperation that drove thousands to join the surge. Growing up just dozens of kilometers from Ceuta, he had long seen Europe as a dream that was physically close but permanently out of reach. When he saw viral Facebook posts claiming the border was open and thousands were already crossing, he joined the crowd. Days later, he was back on Moroccan soil, begging strangers for taxi fare to get home, still shaken from the experience. “They fired tear gas at me and beat me with batons. There’s nothing for me there,” he said, wiping away tears. “I just wanted to provide for my mom.”

  • Trapped by war, Bangladesh seafarer recounts Gulf ordeal

    Trapped by war, Bangladesh seafarer recounts Gulf ordeal

    After surviving a 115-day ordeal stranded in the volatile Gulf waters amid escalating regional conflict, 51-year-old Bangladeshi ship captain Mohammad Shafiqul Islam has returned home to share his harrowing experience of leading 31 crew members through near-constant missile attacks, resource shortages, and blocked shipping lanes.

    As captain of the bulk carrier *Banglar Joyjatra*, chartered by a Singapore-based firm, Islam arrived in the Gulf region in January 2024, one month ahead of the outbreak of open hostilities between the US-Israel alliance and Iran in February. The conflict quickly paralyzed the Strait of Hormuz, the economically critical chokepoint through which nearly 20% of the world’s daily oil trade passes, and Iranian attacks repeatedly targeted commercial shipping traffic across the Gulf.

    In an exclusive interview with AFP from his home in Cumilla, eastern Bangladesh, Islam laid out the sequence of events that trapped his vessel. After loading 39,000 tonnes of steel coils at Qatar’s Mesaieed Port, the *Banglar Joyjatra* reached the outer anchorage of the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Ali Port on February 26. Even before the first strike, the captain recalled an unnerving, ominous tension hanging over the water. That tension erupted in the early hours of February 28, when a missile slammed into an oil storage facility just 200 meters from the anchored bulk carrier, engulfing the tanks in raging flames that tugboats fought for hours to contain.

    Bangladesh’s ambassador to the UAE urged Islam to evacuate his crew immediately, but the veteran captain made the risky decision to remain aboard, clinging to hope that the regional situation would de-escalate quickly. Instead, more missile strikes followed. In the chaos of the attacks, the ship’s electronic navigation system failed, forcing Islam to fall back on decades-old skills to manually plot the vessel’s position, using lighthouses to keep the ship anchored safely.

    When attacks slowed a few days later, the *Banglar Joyjatra* unloaded its cargo and received orders to sail east through the Strait of Hormuz. By that point, however, Iran had effectively blockaded the key waterway. Just 25 nautical miles off Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps turned the vessel away, blocking it from proceeding. Repeated attempts to cross the strait over the following weeks ended with the same result, leaving the ship stranded offshore with dwindling supplies.

    As fresh water ran low and food stocks grew thin, Islam implemented strict rationing to stretch supplies for the 31-person crew. He noted that many of the sailors were young, on their first international voyage, and left deeply traumatized by the constant threat of attack. To calm frayed nerves, the captain organized informal support: some crew members found comfort in reciting the Quran for hours each day, while others passed the anxious time on TikTok, trying to distract themselves from the danger surrounding them.

    Even after a ceasefire was announced in April, the crew’s ordeal continued: a fresh attempt to cross the strait was still turned away by Iranian authorities. It was not until June 23 that the *Banglar Joyjatra* finally received official permission to traverse the Strait of Hormuz. Only after clearing the waterway did the exhausted crew allow themselves to relax. “We breathed a sigh of relief. God guided us,” Islam said.

    The captain added that his family back in Bangladesh had spent months of sleepless nights worrying about the crew, and every time he returns from a long voyage, they urge him to retire from seafaring. But despite the 115 days of fear and uncertainty he just endured, Islam says he has no plans to leave the sea he has spent his career on: “But I have decided to keep sailing for many more years.”

  • Jack Letts appeals for repatriations from Iraq in ‘out of the blue’ phone call to parents

    Jack Letts appeals for repatriations from Iraq in ‘out of the blue’ phone call to parents

    Nine years after the last direct conversation with their son, the parents of Jack Letts – a British-born Canadian man who traveled to Islamic State (IS) controlled Syrian territory as an 18-year-old in 2014 – have opened up about the chaotic mix of shock, relief, and lingering frustration that followed an unexpected phone call from their son, who is currently detained in Iraq.

    Sally Lane, Jack’s mother, told Middle East Eye she believes the unexpected three-minute call, which took place last month, signals growing pressure from Iraqi authorities to push Western governments to repatriate their citizens who are held on alleged IS links. The call came entirely without warning: Lane nearly ignored the unfamiliar call, but answered after recognizing the Iraqi country code, only to hear her son’s voice greet her with a simple “Hello Mum.”

    “It was very short and he said there were a million things he wanted to say to me. The good thing is he sounded perfectly sane and normal,” Lane shared in her interview.

    Lane is convinced Iraqi authorities facilitated the call, amid mounting frustration from Baghdad that Western nations including Canada and the United Kingdom have refused to take back responsibility for their nationals detained over suspected IS ties. Jack conveyed a clear message to his parents: Iraqi officials have made clear they do not want to continue holding these foreign detainees, and are pushing for their repatriation to their home countries before any legal proceedings begin. He told his mother that an Iraqi legal delegation had already met with Canadian detainees days earlier to deliver this same demand. John Letts, Jack’s father, confirmed he received an identical brief call from his son carrying the same message, quoting Jack as saying “The Iraqis don’t want us here and the Iraqis are desperate to send us back.”

    Now 30, Letts first traveled to IS-held Syria and Iraq in 2014 when he turned 18. Three years later, as IS territorial control collapsed, he was captured by Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, and was stripped of his British citizenship shortly after detention – a common measure taken against UK citizens who traveled to Syria during the civil war. For nearly a decade, Letts has been held without charge alongside hundreds of other suspected IS affiliates. Prior to last month’s calls, his parents had only received sporadic, limited updates on his condition and location, with the last direct communication via voice message shortly after his 2017 capture. In a 2024 interview, after a Canadian media crew located him in a Syrian prison, Letts denied ever being an IS member, though he noted he could not share full details while still in detention.

    In January of this year, Letts was one of more than 5,000 former detainees held in northeastern Syria transferred to Iraqi custody in a US-supported operation, part of the handover of security control from regional Kurdish authorities to Syria’s central government. Data from Iraq’s Ministry of Justice, reviewed by Middle East Eye, shows that more than 3,500 of the transferred detainees are Syrian, with dozens of other Western citizens among the group: at least five Canadians, 10 Britons, 27 Germans, and 13 Australians. Larger cohorts come from Arab nations including 187 from Morocco, 116 from Egypt, and 68 from Saudi Arabia, as well as 130 from Russia and 165 from Turkmenistan.

    Today, Letts is held in a foreign national detention facility run by Iraq’s Directorate for General Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism, located near Al-Karkh Central Prison on the outskirts of Baghdad. While Canada has previously repatriated female citizens and children held in Syrian displacement camps for families of IS affiliates, it has refused to repatriate male detainees on national security grounds. Since the transfer to Iraq earlier this year, Canadian embassy officials have visited Letts and other Canadian detainees, and facilitated the exchange of letters and photos between detainees and their families. But the Canadian government continues to reject calls for repatriation, advising families to hire Iraqi-based legal representation for their relatives.

    “The Canadian government has said that they can’t interfere in the judicial affairs of another country,” Lane explained. “They’ve just said you need to get a lawyer, either somebody appointed by the Iraqi court, or an international lawyer who is approved by the Iraqi Bar Association.”

    Legal experts and global human rights organizations have raised urgent alarms over the fate of foreign detainees transferred to Iraq, who face potential trials in Iraqi courts for alleged offenses committed in Syria after a decade of detention conditions widely condemned as unlawful. In February, Human Rights Watch warned that detainees transferred to Iraq face severe risks including enforced disappearance, unfair trials, torture, ill-treatment, and even violation of the right to life, due to well-documented failures of due process in Iraqi counterterrorism cases.

    Prominent human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith told Middle East Eye that prosecuting these detainees in Iraq for crimes not committed on Iraqi soil is “legal nonsense.” He argued that any accused individuals should face trial in their home countries, noting that most have already spent nearly 10 years imprisoned in what he described as “pretty barbarous conditions.”

    John Letts accuses the Canadian government of “hiding behind words” to avoid repatriation, pointing out that Ottawa’s position has not shifted even after the transfer to Iraq. When his son was held in Syria, Canada routinely refused to provide consular assistance to Letts and other detainees on the grounds that it had no diplomatic representation in the country during the civil war. “In practical terms, nothing has actually changed. The Canadian position is still no repatriations,” John Letts said. He remains deeply concerned about his son’s treatment in Iraqi custody, and even during the brief three-minute call, Jack shared the names of two fellow detainees he said were in urgent need of legal help before the line cut out. “He sounded together, but the bittersweetness is that you know he’s had a terrible time and that terrible time is still continuing,” John Letts added.

    Both of Letts’s parents say they plan to travel to Iraq in the near future to visit their son in detention. Middle East Eye has reached out to both Canadian and Iraqi foreign ministries for comment on the case.

  • I left my wife and twins behind – why this Nigerian man fled South Africa

    I left my wife and twins behind – why this Nigerian man fled South Africa

    In the wake of escalating anti-migrant protests that have roiled South Africa since early 2024, tens of thousands of foreign migrants have abandoned their lives, businesses and loved ones to flee the country, turning a wave of popular hostility into a continental diplomatic crisis that has strained Pan-African solidarity. For 47-year-old Nigerian migrant Richard Itoro, the decision to get on a voluntary repatriation flight to Lagos in June came after 15 years of building a stable life in Johannesburg: he owned a successful car dealership, purchased a home, and built a family with his South African wife and their twin children. But when anti-migrant sentiment reached a fever pitch, even his legal status could not shield him and his family from targeted intimidation.\n\nItoro says neighbors began harassing his wife, telling her she had betrayed South Africa by marrying a Nigerian and ordering the entire family to leave the country. ‘My family was just a small, peaceful, beautiful family. I never had any conflict with anyone,’ Itoro told the BBC, his voice breaking as he recalled saying goodbye to his wife. ‘Starting over from scratch back home is better than staying here, being harassed and living in constant fear for my life.’ Even with valid documentation proving his legal right to reside in South Africa, the Nigerian high commission refused to allow Itoro to bring his wife and children with him on the repatriation flight. He compared the experience to fleeing a besieged city on the last evacuation helicopter: ‘I watched the car pull away, and all I could do was wish I had told her not to cry.’ Today, Itoro rebuilds his life in Lagos, but he remains separated from his family, speaking to them every day while he waits for enough stability to bring them home. ‘It feels like I lost everything,’ he said. ‘It’s heartbreaking, but I hold out hope that my wife will join me soon.’\n\nItoro’s story is far from unique. The wave of anti-migrant protests reached a peak in late June, led by groups that claim they are targeting only undocumented migrants to address South Africa’s crippling 32% unemployment rate. Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s outspoken Culture Minister and leader of a key party in the country’s coalition government, has echoed this framing: ‘No man can feed another man’s children while his own children go hungry. Our people are starving for jobs,’ he said, backing calls for undocumented migrants to leave the country. He emphasized that South Africa remains open to migrants who enter through legal channels with proper documentation. But multiple African governments say even documented migrants have been targeted in the wave of hostility, putting paid to claims that the crackdown only targets people without papers.\n\nEmmanuel Asamoah, a 37-year-old Ghanaian hairstylist who moved to Soweto in 2023 to pursue better economic opportunity, is one such example. He had a valid stamp in his passport granting him permission to reside in the country, but earlier this year he was surrounded by a group of local residents who harassed him, pushed him, and demanded he leave. A video of the confrontation circulated widely on social media, sparking outrage across the continent. ‘They said we were ruining their country, that we were taking their jobs and their girlfriends, that they had nothing because of us,’ Asamoah recalled. He returned to Accra, Ghana’s capital, in May, where he has since opened a new cement business with support from a local entrepreneur. ‘I tell my former neighbors in South Africa: I’m back home fixing my country now,’ he said.\n\nThe crisis has already done severe damage to South Africa’s standing across the continent, with social media videos of attacks on migrants amplifying public anger in neighboring countries. Tensions spiked further last week after a Nigerian citizen was killed during a police arrest on suspected drug charges, prompting South Africa to launch an independent investigation into the death. Speaking after a meeting with his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola, Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye made clear that documented Nigerians have been targeted: ‘We have records of Nigerians with valid legal permission to stay in South Africa who have still been attacked.’ Lamola countered that South Africa is committed to prosecuting people who take vigilante action, but also defended the country’s right to enforce its immigration laws: ‘President Cyril Ramaphosa is very firm on South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce our immigration rules.’\n\nGhana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says the treatment of Ghanaian migrants violates the core spirit of Pan-Africanism and continental integration, pointing out that other African countries supported South Africa’s fight against apartheid before it ended in 1994. ‘South Africa should be the epitome of Pan-Africanism. We talk constantly about African integration and free movement of people,’ he told the BBC. ‘Even if you have serious challenges with high irregular immigration, is this how you resolve the issue?’ Beyond Nigeria and Ghana, Malawi has also organized repatriation transport for its citizens fleeing the hostility, with tens of thousands of migrants having left South Africa over the past two months alone. For the thousands of migrants who have returned home, the crisis has brought fractured families, dashed economic dreams, and an uncertain future – even as some have managed to build unexpected new starts on their home soil.