Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Trump says all mines cleared from Strait of Hormuz

    Trump says all mines cleared from Strait of Hormuz

    Conflict in the Middle East has entered a dangerous new phase, with the United States imposing sweeping new economic sanctions on Iran after negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz collapsed following the expiration of a 60-day truce deadline. The strategic waterway, which carried roughly 20% of the world’s total oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the outbreak of hostilities, has been largely closed by Iran since the war began on February 28, when US and Israeli air strikes targeted Iranian positions.

    In a post published to his Truth Social platform, former US President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy has cleared all explosive mines from the Strait of Hormuz, adding a stark warning for Tehran: “Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed.” To date, Iranian officials have not issued any public response to Trump’s statement or the mine clearing operation.

    The closure of the strait has sent shockwaves through global energy markets, triggering extreme volatility in international oil prices. While Trump has repeatedly claimed US forces maintain full control over the waterway, Iran has fired on vessels it accuses of attempting to traverse the strait without formal authorization from Tehran. Beyond closing the strategic passage, Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against Israeli targets, US military bases across the Middle East, and American Arab allies in the Gulf region.

    A temporary ceasefire, designed to create space for diplomatic negotiations to end the broader conflict, has already collapsed, leaving intermittent cross-fire between US and Iranian forces as the new normal. This week’s announcement of fresh sanctions marks a significant escalation of economic pressure on Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a blunt warning that any country engaging in financial cooperation with Iran will face international isolation.

    The collapsed negotiations stem from a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding signed by the US and Iran back in June, which set a 60-day deadline to reach a preliminary agreement on Strait of Hormuz access, ahead of broader talks to resolve longstanding disputes over Iran’s nuclear program. The US and Western allies have long alleged Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, a claim Tehran has consistently and categorically denied. With the 60-day deadline now expired and talks stalled, Washington has moved forward with the new sanctions package, which Trump has predicted will bring about the collapse of the Iranian regime.

    Iran has operated under sweeping US sanctions for most of the period since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, and Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh has insisted Tehran is fully prepared to weather the new restrictions. He framed the new sanctions as another strategic misstep that will end in defeat for Washington. Still, Iran’s economy has already been hit hard by the ongoing conflict, compounded by a weeks-long US naval blockade of Iranian ports that has halted most of the country’s international trade.

    China, the world’s largest importer of Iranian crude oil, has issued a firm rejection of the new measures, calling them illegal unilateral sanctions. On Tuesday, Beijing announced it would take all necessary measures to protect its legal economic and trade rights with Iran. The US announcement comes just weeks ahead of scheduled high-level talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, leaving Washington bracing for potential retaliation from Beijing. China controls the processing of the vast majority of the world’s rare earths and other critical minerals, which are essential components for manufacturing everything from consumer electronics to advanced military technology. Beijing already implemented tightened export controls on rare earths during previous trade negotiations with the US, creating widespread supply chain disruptions.

    For its part, Iran has stated it intends to assert full sovereignty and control over the Strait of Hormuz, a position that directly contradicts the stance of the US and most of the international community, which considers the strait international waters where unimpeded transit must be maintained. Until the collapse of the June MoU talks, Iran had been holding negotiations mediated by Oman, a US ally in the region, to establish a new administrative framework for the strait. Those talks have yet to produce a breakthrough, and last week Trump issued an extraordinary threat to bomb Oman if the country interfered with his administration’s negotiations with Iran over the strait issue. With Washington now moving to a new, more confrontational phase of the conflict, it remains unclear whether the Iran-Oman diplomatic talks will continue.

  • Nigeria’s president orders manhunt after kidnappers upload victim video

    Nigeria’s president orders manhunt after kidnappers upload victim video

    A wave of coordinated, deadly violence targeting remote communities in Nigeria’s northwestern Niger state has sparked a national manhunt, after armed attackers killed dozens and abducted hundreds of residents last Friday. In a formal statement released by his spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu has issued a direct order for security forces to track down the perpetrators, condemning the assault on unarmed civilians as an act of barbarism against peace and humanity.

    According to local accounts, the attackers simultaneously struck four villages – Dekara, Gidan Zana, Sabon Gida, and Masaka – while congregations gathered for prayers at multiple mosques across the communities. Witnesses report the gunmen were clad in military-style uniforms when they launched their assault. A local youth leader, who chose to remain anonymous out of safety concerns, has claimed the abduction total could be as high as 500 people, though this figure has yet to be independently verified by official authorities.

    Days after the attack, the kidnappers published a video to social media showing dozens of people they claim to be holding captive, gathered in a dense forest location. Reviewing the footage, the anonymous youth leader confirmed he was able to recognize multiple residents from his own community, including an elderly man from Gidan Zana who is a well-known community elder. For many families who spotted their missing loved ones on the video, the confirmation that their relatives are still alive has brought a small measure of relief amid widespread uncertainty. “At least they know where their loved ones are and hope they may be rescued, unlike those who still have no information about missing relatives,” the leader added.

    Official casualty figures remain preliminary, but police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun confirmed that more than 40 people were killed in the attacks, though the exact death toll has not been finalized. Local officials add that the attackers left improvised explosive devices planted across affected communities as they forced abductees into the forest. One teenage boy attempting to escape was killed when one of these hidden explosives detonated, according to the local official account.

    No formal ransom demands have been issued by the attackers as of yet, and Nigerian authorities have previously categorized such groups operating in the region as criminal bandit gangs that carry out kidnapping and looting operations to extract ransom payments. That said, local officials have grown increasingly concerned in recent months over overlapping expansion of jihadist extremist groups into northwestern Nigeria and the border region with Benin, with reports that fighters have entered local communities to impose strict religious restrictions on residents.

    In the wake of the violence, thousands of local residents have fled their homes, seeking safety in neighboring Nigerian states or across the international border in Benin. Injured survivors are currently receiving medical care at local hospitals, with multiple people being treated for life-threatening wounds.

    President Tinubu’s statement reiterated that all those responsible for the attack will be held accountable and will not escape justice, adding that the presidency extends its deepest condolences to the families of all those killed. The assault marks the latest escalation of a growing security crisis in the Borgu local government area, which shares borders with Kebbi state, Kwara state, and Benin. Earlier this month, Nigerian security forces announced the rescue of 145 people who had been abducted from four separate villages in the same region.

  • Rohingya refugees rally in Bangladesh camps to demand safe return to Myanmar

    Rohingya refugees rally in Bangladesh camps to demand safe return to Myanmar

    On Tuesday, marking nine years since they fled widespread violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees gathered across dozens of sprawling camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar to demand their safe, voluntary return to their homeland. The rally marked what Rohingya communities have named the “Ninth Anniversary of Rohingya Genocide Day”, with demonstrators calling on global powers to guarantee stable, secure conditions in Rakhine that would allow them to go home with dignity.

    Today, more than 1 million Rohingya, an ethnic and religious minority from Myanmar, reside in the overcrowded refugee settlements that dot southeastern Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district. The vast majority of this population fled across the border in a mass 2017 exodus, after Myanmar’s Buddhist-majority government launched a large-scale military crackdown in Rakhine. The operation was framed as a counterterrorism response to an attack by a Rohingya Muslim insurgent group, but it quickly escalated to mass violence that pushed hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

    Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, opened its borders to the fleeing populations, absorbing more than 700,000 new refugees in 2017. This influx added to a community of more than 300,000 Rohingya who had already been living in Bangladesh for decades after fleeing earlier rounds of violence perpetrated by Myanmar’s military. Two prior attempts by the Bangladeshi government to launch organized repatriation failed, as no refugees agreed to return, citing ongoing safety risks in Rakhine. Bangladesh has repeatedly reaffirmed it will not force any refugee to go back against their will.

    The 2017 crackdown has drawn widespread international condemnation, with the United Nations and multiple global bodies labeling the campaign as ethnic cleansing and genocide. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held three weeks of public hearings on a case accusing Myanmar of committing acts of genocide against the Rohingya people in 2017. During the proceedings, the court reviewed thousands of pages of documentary evidence, sworn expert testimony, and confidential statements from witnesses that documented mass killings, systematic sexual violence, and the deliberate destruction of hundreds of Rohingya villages. Myanmar’s legal team argued before the court that its military campaign was a legitimate counterterrorism operation and did not meet the legal definition of genocide.

    In the years since 2017, security conditions in Rakhine State have only grown more unstable. The territory is currently the site of active conflict between Myanmar’s military government and the Arakan Army, an insurgent group that has seized control of large swathes of the state.

    “Whether it is the Arakan Army or the Myanmar military, as long as they continue playing this double game, the situation in Arakan (the historical name for Rakhine) will not become safe. Does that mean we are expected to remain here for another 50 years?” said Sayed Ullah, a prominent Rohingya refugee leader, during Tuesday’s rally. “We cannot stay here for 50 years. Given the current situation in Arakan, we need to determine how an environment conducive to peace can be created,” he added.

    Earlier this month, Myanmar’s military-backed government made a new overture, stating that more than 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’s camps are former Rakhine State residents and that it would accept their return once security improves. But Bangladesh has pushed back against the claim, disputing Myanmar’s population statistics and criticizing the government’s persistent refusal to recognize the group by the name “Rohingya” — referring to them instead as “Bengali”, a move Bangladeshi officials frame as a deliberate attempt to deny Rohingya’s distinct ethnic identity.

  • Trump envoy calls for Sudan-wide arms embargo as drone attacks escalate

    Trump envoy calls for Sudan-wide arms embargo as drone attacks escalate

    After nearly four years of devastating civil conflict between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a urgent diplomatic debate has unfolded at the United Nations Security Council over expanding a long-standing regional arms embargo to cover the entire country. Washington’s top senior envoy for African affairs, Massad Boulos, has called on the global body to approve the expansion, arguing that unregulated arms flows – particularly of drones and drone-related technologies – are fueling the intensifying war and threaten to destabilize the entire broader region.

    Boulos stressed that the Security Council cannot afford inaction, urging members to move quickly to cut off all external financial and military backing to both warring parties. For months, observers have documented a sharp escalation in drone strikes across Sudan, with both the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, repeatedly accused of deploying the unmanned aerial vehicles against civilian and military targets.

    The ongoing conflict, which erupted in April 2023 after a fallout between the two former coup allies over a transition to civilian rule, has already left tens of thousands of people confirmed dead and forced more than 14 million Sudanese to flee their homes, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. The 20-year-old arms embargo that currently only applies to the restive western region of Darfur is set to expire next month if the Security Council does not vote to extend and expand it.

    However, the US-backed proposal faces immediate and staunch opposition from two permanent Security Council members, Russia and China. Both countries argue that a full nationwide arms embargo would undermine the operational effectiveness of Sudan’s sitting army, a position echoed by Sudan’s own UN envoy, who added that the measure would ultimately weaken rather than strengthen protection for vulnerable civilian populations. Currently, the army holds control over most of Sudan’s central and eastern territories, while the RSF maintains its headquarters in Darfur and holds large swathes of the country’s southern regions.

    As the Security Council debate got underway, local sources confirmed that the Sudanese army launched a fresh drone attack on RSF positions in Nyala, the largest city in Darfur. Nyala’s airport has emerged as one of the RSF’s key logistics hubs, and the strike came just hours after a large cargo aircraft landed at the facility, according to on-the-ground reports.

    UN officials used the council meeting to sound the alarm over the growing human cost of the conflict’s expanding drone campaign. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told council members that civilians are already enduring the unrelenting consequences of what is one of the gravest humanitarian crises of the current era. She confirmed that drones operated by both warring sides have repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure, including public markets, schools, fuel depots, and critical water supply networks. Between January and June of this year alone, the UN has verified that at least 1,100 civilians have been killed in drone strikes across the country. While the full death toll from the entire conflict remains unconfirmed, DiCarlo noted that independent estimates suggest the total is likely in the hundreds of thousands.

    She added that the persistent use of advanced, sophisticated weaponry by both sides is clear evidence that both factions continue to receive large-scale external military support, a claim backed by independent arms researchers and human rights groups.

    Tom Fletcher, the UN’s top humanitarian chief, also reinforced the warning, telling the council that fighting in recent weeks has been defined by the heavy, widespread use of drones. The situation in Darfur in particular remains catastrophic, where ethnic violence that first erupted 20 years ago has reignited with brutal force. UN independent experts have documented that atrocities committed by RSF fighters during and after their capture of the key Darfuri city of el-Fasher last October bear the clear “hallmarks of genocide.”

    Noting that the existing Darfur-only embargo has done little to stem the flow of weapons into the region, which has seen some of the conflict’s bloodiest fighting, Boulos laid out the full US proposal, which includes increasing the number of independent UN experts tasked with monitoring compliance with the arms ban. He also called on the council to take decisive action to rein in external actors that are fueling the conflict, warning that continued unregulated support risks dragging neighboring regional powers deeper into the fighting, turning a national civil conflict into a wider regional war.

    Sudan’s military leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has dismissed the proposal out of hand. Speaking at a police graduation ceremony in the capital Khartoum on Monday, Burhan said that ongoing discussions of new sanctions and a nationwide embargo would neither impact the army’s operations nor weaken its commitment to victory.

    Independent investigations by human rights groups have confirmed that weapons from a wide range of international sources are flowing to both sides of the conflict. Amnesty International previously published research documenting that weapons manufactured in Serbia, Russia, China, Turkey, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have all been recovered from battlefields across Sudan. The UAE has repeatedly been accused of being the primary supplier of arms and military support to the RSF, which is also alleged to sell illicit gold extracted from Sudanese mines through UAE markets to fund its war effort. Both the UAE and the RSF have repeatedly denied all of these allegations.

    On the other side, Sudan’s military has made extensive use of Turkish and Iranian-built drones, and receives political and other backing from regional powers including Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The current conflict began after the two former allies, who had together seized power in a 2021 military coup that ousted Sudan’s transitional civilian government, fell out over the terms of an internationally backed plan to transition the country back to civilian democratic rule.

  • Rescuers find no trace of 22 missing crew days after cargo ship sinks in Bay of Bengal

    Rescuers find no trace of 22 missing crew days after cargo ship sinks in Bay of Bengal

    Nearly a week after the Panama-flagged bulk cargo vessel MV Ocean Winner went down in the Bay of Bengal, Indian rescue forces have yet to locate any sign of the 22 missing crew members still unaccounted for, the Indian Coast Guard confirmed in an official update released Tuesday.

    The ill-fated ship, which was carrying a full cargo of iron ore bound for Chinese ports, sent a distress signal to regional authorities last Saturday before sinking roughly 276 miles, or 444 kilometers, off the coast of Paradip in India’s eastern Odisha state. In the immediate hours after the distress call, rescue teams pulled two Chinese crew members from the water, but the remaining 22 people on board have had no contact with authorities since the vessel sank.

    According to official crew rosters shared by the Indian Coast Guard, the MV Ocean Winner carried a total of 24 people when it departed: 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals, and one Bangladeshi national. Since the sinking, a joint search and recovery operation has been mounted by the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy, combining aerial surveillance missions and on-water search sweeps across the vast area where the ship was last tracked.

    Officials have noted that the operation has faced significant logistical challenges, starting with the exceptionally deep water that covers the ship’s last known position. To date, search teams have only recovered two empty life rafts and spotted a large oil slick drifting near the area – no wreckage from the vessel has been located. The absence of confirmed wreckage has not only slowed efforts to narrow the search focus but also complicated ongoing investigations into what caused the ship to sink suddenly last week.

    On Tuesday, search operations continued, with dedicated aircraft and surface vessels scouring the surrounding waters in the hopes of locating the missing crew and uncovering clues about the sinking.

  • A women’s shelter for refugees in Poland fights for survival as anti-Ukrainian sentiment rises

    A women’s shelter for refugees in Poland fights for survival as anti-Ukrainian sentiment rises

    In the chaotic early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, millions of Ukrainian refugees flooded across the border into neighboring Poland. Among them was Nastya Podorozhnya, a 29-year-old Ukrainian who already resided in Poland but had risked her life to return to Ukraine to evacuate her sister and nieces to safety. As she crossed back into Poland, she witnessed the unprecedented outpouring of grassroots solidarity from Polish civilians that captured global attention — but she also noticed a hidden danger: vulnerable Ukrainian women, reliant on the kindness of strangers, were at severe risk of exploitation and gender-based violence at the hands of human traffickers.

    Drawing from her own traumatic experience of surviving an attempted sexual assault on a Polish street in 2016, Podorozhnya made the decision to launch Martynka, a unique helpline and safe shelter dedicated to supporting Ukrainian female refugees fleeing abuse. For years, the small organization, housed in an unassuming two-bedroom apartment in central Krakow, has served more than 100 women and children. It provides life-changing support: helping survivors escape abusive situations, connecting them to critical medical and mental health care, and supporting them to secure stable employment and long-term housing. But today, nearly three years after the full-scale invasion began, Podorozhnya and her small team are fighting a losing battle to keep Martynka afloat, amid a growing wave of war fatigue, eroding funding, and rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment that is reshaping life for refugees across Poland.

    When the war first began, fundraising for refugee support was remarkably easy. International donors and local communities poured resources into efforts to help those fleeing the conflict. But today, the international community’s attention has shifted to other unfolding global crises, and funding for Ukrainian refugee support has dried up almost entirely. Compounding this crisis is a sharp shift in domestic Polish politics, where anti-refugee rhetoric has moved from the far-right fringe to the center of mainstream political discourse, especially ahead of the 2025 Polish presidential election.

    Research published this year by Olena Babakova, a migration researcher at Warsaw’s Vistula University, confirms that anti-Ukrainian hostility intensified dramatically during the presidential campaign, with nearly all political parties weaponizing anti-refugee sentiment to win votes. Karol Nawrocki, the national-conservative candidate who ultimately won the presidency, campaigned on a promise to introduce legislation prioritizing Polish citizens over Ukrainian refugees for access to public services. His liberal rival Rafał Trzaskowski went so far as to propose cutting child welfare benefits for Ukrainian refugees. Tensions were further inflamed by a diplomatic row over historical memory in June 2025, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honored a WWII-era Ukrainian paramilitary group accused of massacring Polish civilians, prompting Nawrocki to withdraw a state honor previously awarded to Zelenskyy.

    This rise in rhetoric has translated directly to violence and hostility on the ground. Official data from Polish police shows that hate crimes targeting Ukrainian citizens have surged sharply: by mid-2026, 180 Ukrainians had already fallen victim to prejudice-motivated attacks, a rate on track to outpace the full-year totals of 275 in 2025 and 267 in 2024. After a string of high-profile assaults on Ukrainian civilians across Polish cities over the summer of 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to “wage war on violence and hatred,” but the trend has yet to reverse.

    Podorozhnya says she and her organization have been targeted directly. When she issues public calls for donations to keep the shelter open, she is frequently met with a flood of online abuse, which she attributes solely to her Ukrainian identity. “It’s because I’m Ukrainian,” she told the Associated Press during an interview at the Krakow shelter, where she often shares tea and solidarity with survivors, telling them “girl, same” when they recount their experiences of trauma.

    The growing hostility comes despite widespread data showing that Ukrainian refugees have been a major boon to Poland’s economy. In the first weeks of the war, the United Nations estimates that roughly 3.5 million Ukrainians fled to Poland, and by the end of 2022, that figure stabilized at around 1 million remaining in the country. More than 70% of these refugees have found employment in Poland, and a 2024 study by international consulting firm Deloitte estimated that they contribute 2.7% of Poland’s total annual gross domestic product. Including pre-war economic migrants, more than 2 million Ukrainians now live in Poland, a key NATO ally that remains one of Ukraine’s most steadfast military and political supporters in the war against Russia.

    Beyond the rise in civilian hostility, the Polish government has systematically scaled back state support for Ukrainian refugees, arguing that most have stabilized their living situations. But Poland’s national ombudsman has warned that these cuts disproportionately harm the most vulnerable refugee groups: single mothers (who are overrepresented among refugees, since Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are barred from leaving the country to fight in the war), elderly people, and those with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Yuliia Repenko, a coordinator at the Polish NGO Ukrainian House, says her organization is “increasingly supporting people who are particularly vulnerable to exclusion” as state support pulls back.

    The Polish government defends its policy changes. Katarzyna Nowakowska, deputy minister for family, labor and social policy, told the AP that the most vulnerable applicants still receive state support, and other refugees should access help through local social work systems. But with international aid also declining sharply, the safety net for vulnerable refugees is crumbling. UNHCR data shows that international donor funding for Ukrainian refugee response has dropped steadily since 2022, when 94% of identified needs were funded. This year, only half of those needs are covered.

    “Financial supporters have moved on from helping Ukrainian refugees, but the war is still ongoing,” said Sonia Novytska, a helpline worker at Martynka. “If anything, it has become deadlier since the start.” Last year, Martynka received roughly 1,800 requests for help, and staff expect that number to rise in 2026. It is not just survivors of gender-based violence reaching out anymore: increasing numbers of callers are single mothers who cannot afford food or rent for their children.

    Podorozhnya says her organization is stepping in to fill the gap left by the Polish state, and that cutting support for vulnerable refugees will ultimately harm Polish communities too. “What Poles need to understand is that we are helping the people that could otherwise become homeless in their neighborhoods, the people who might start abusing substances out of despair they can’t make ends meet,” she said. “Martynka does the job of the Polish state.”

  • NZ religious sect leader jailed over death of elderly follower

    NZ religious sect leader jailed over death of elderly follower

    In a high-profile criminal case that has drawn cross-border attention, a self-proclaimed spiritual leader has been handed a more than 10-year prison sentence by a New Zealand court after being convicted of the manslaughter and kidnapping of a 70-year-old Chinese follower whose body was discovered dumped near Auckland.

    Kaixiao Liu, a former Chinese talent show contestant who relocated to New Zealand in 2017 and gained permanent residency, was found guilty of the charges stemming from the March 2024 death of Shulai Wang, a retired woman who traveled from China’s Hainan Island to join Liu’s inner circle of followers in August 2023. Wang’s remains were found wrapped in rice bags by a local fisherman near Gulf Harbour’s marina, triggering a months-long homicide investigation that ultimately implicated Liu and his entire immediate family.

    Throughout the legal proceedings, Liu maintained his innocence, rejecting allegations that he leads a secretive religious cult. He has repeatedly claimed he only amassed followers through his musical work, which includes a self-created project called the Universal Choir that produces cosmic-themed orchestral pieces. Online, Liu built his following on Chinese social platforms by sharing religious discussions, personal video diaries, and clips of his singing performances. Before moving to New Zealand, Liu also previously studied at a Chinese military-focused university, and competed on the national televised talent program *China’s Got Talent* in 2011, where viral footage showed him performing a song while blindfolded on stage.

    Court documents and trial testimony revealed that Wang moved into Liu’s Auckland residence—dubbed “the Ark” by the leader—alongside multiple other female followers. Prosecutors told the court that the women lived in conditions of servitude, with every aspect of their daily lives tightly controlled by Liu, who required them to address him as “Lord” or “Master.” Wang’s daily routine consisted of caring for Liu’s young children, studying religious texts written by Liu, and growing vegetables on the property. Due to her advanced age, Wang struggled to adapt to the group’s strict rules and faced repeated disciplinary action for non-compliance.

    According to court accounts, Wang attempted to escape the compound in March 2024, but was quickly captured and restrained by Liu and his associates. She died later that same day. Following her death, Liu, his family members, and close followers transported Wang’s body to Gulf Harbour and dumped it near the marina, with Liu bringing his own children along on the trip to act as a cover for the activity. Investigators ultimately linked the crime to Liu after tracing the specific brand of rice used to wrap the body back to him: Liu had made an unusually large bulk purchase of the rice shortly before Wang’s death.

    Alongside Liu, his wife Lanyue Xiao received a nearly eight-year prison sentence after being convicted on overlapping charges of kidnapping and manslaughter. Liu’s parents, Xiuyun Li and Jingui Liu, have already been found guilty of kidnapping and improper handling of human remains, and are scheduled to receive their official sentences later this year.

    During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Liu’s legal team requested judicial leniency, telling the court that their client feels genuine remorse for his actions and repeated his claim that he is not a cult leader. However, Justice Mathew Downs, the presiding judge, rejected these appeals, issuing harsh criticism of Liu’s actions. In his remarks from the bench, Downs stated that Liu had demonstrated “callous indifference” to Wang’s well-being, adding: “Because of you, Ms Wang died a lonely, frightening death. You display no remorse whatsoever. You should feel shame.”

    New Zealand police have also released an official photo of Shulai Wang as part of the public records of the case, confirming her identity as the victim who left her home in China to join Liu’s group.

  • Moment tornado tears through southern France

    Moment tornado tears through southern France

    A sudden and powerful tornado cut a destructive path through multiple small villages in southern France on [date of event], leaving a trail of damaged property and casualties in its wake. Emergency services were rapidly dispatched to the affected regions after the extreme weather event struck, with local authorities activating immediate disaster response protocols to assist impacted residents.

    As of the latest official updates, over 40 people have been confirmed injured, with a number of those individuals requiring hospital treatment for weather-related injuries. Multiple residential properties have been completely destroyed, while dozens more have suffered severe structural damage that leaves them uninhabitable. Local infrastructure, including road networks and utility lines, was also heavily impacted, forcing temporary closures of key transport routes in the hardest-hit areas.

    Rescue teams are currently working through affected neighborhoods to clear debris, search for any additional people who may be trapped, and provide emergency shelter to residents who have been displaced from their homes. Meteorological agencies have noted that while tornadoes are not extremely common in this part of France, shifting climate patterns have led to an increase in extreme weather events across Southern Europe in recent years. Local officials are urging residents to remain alert to ongoing weather updates and follow safety guidance as recovery efforts continue.

  • Facebook, TikTok promoted Colombian armed groups’ content to recruit children: HRW

    Facebook, TikTok promoted Colombian armed groups’ content to recruit children: HRW

    On Monday, New York-based international human rights non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) held a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, to release a bombshell new report that levels serious allegations against two of the world’s largest social media platforms — Meta-owned Facebook and ByteDance-owned TikTok. The report claims the platforms failed to curb the spread of recruitment content created by illegal Colombian armed groups targeting minors, and in dozens of documented cases, the platforms’ algorithms actively amplified these harmful posts.

    According to HRW’s research, armed groups operating in post-peace accord Colombia leverage social media to normalize life within insurgent ranks and lure vulnerable children with deceptive false promises of well-paying employment. The organization’s data shows that since 2021 alone, roughly 1,500 children have been coerced or tricked into joining these armed groups. Once recruited, the report documents, children are put to work in a range of dangerous roles: frontline combat, weapons and explosive handling, drone operation, and intelligence gathering. Many children with no prior combat training are thrown directly into conflict to serve as expendable cannon fodder, the report adds.

    Disproportionate harm falls on marginalized communities within Colombia, the research finds. While Indigenous people make up just 4% of Colombia’s total population, they account for nearly half of all recruited children. Girls make up 40% of underage recruits, and the report notes they face uniquely severe risks, including widespread sexual violence at the hands of group leaders.

    To attract recruits, armed groups craft curated social media content designed to sell a romanticized, glamorous version of insurgent life. Posts show group members flashing stacks of cash and expensive jewelry, gathering for training exercises, or sharing narcocorridos — a popular folk music genre that celebrates the exploits of notorious drug traffickers. Mathew Charles, founder of Mi Historia, a local NGO that supports former child conflict victims, explained that this lifestyle marketing preys on economic insecurity in marginalized rural communities. “They project a tough-guy masculinity and the idea of easy money, that you don’t have to work hard to get ahead,” Charles told reporters at the press conference, urging the Colombian state and civil society groups to develop targeted counter-narratives to push back against these harmful lies.

    The report identifies the main perpetrator of these recruitment campaigns: dissident factions that split from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after the group signed a landmark 2016 peace deal with the Colombian government that ended a 52-year civil conflict. These dissident groups are responsible for 74% of all documented child recruitment cases between 2021 and 2025, HRW found. Despite the peace agreement, fragmented armed groups still maintain control over large swathes of remote territory in Colombia’s southern and northeastern regions, where state presence is limited.

    Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director, emphasized the severity of the platforms’ inaction in her remarks to the press. “Digital platforms must recognize that they are being used for the recruitment of children, which means they are being used to commit serious crimes, including war crimes,” Goebertus said. HRW confirmed that it had shared its full findings and specific examples of harmful content with both Meta and ByteDance ahead of the report’s release. In responses to HRW, both companies confirmed they had removed the flagged content, and issued statements defending their existing policies.

    A Meta spokesperson said the company “constantly strives to refine its approach to combating” child recruitment efforts across all of its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram. A TikTok representative echoed that commitment, saying the platform “proactively prevents illegal armed groups and organized criminal groups from using TikTok, including to target, exploit or recruit minors.”

    The report comes as Colombia’s newly inaugurated president Abelardo de la Espriella has made cracking down on illegal armed groups a central policy priority. De la Espriella has already announced plans to negotiate a new military alliance with the United States and Israel to boost counter-insurgency operations across the country.

  • Moment tornado tears through southern France

    Moment tornado tears through southern France

    A sudden and powerful tornado has ripped through rural communities in southern France, leaving widespread devastation in its wake. The violent weather system moved rapidly through multiple small villages, flattening residential structures, uprooting decades-old trees, and tearing apart critical local infrastructure. Emergency services confirmed that more than 40 people have been injured in the disaster, with several reported to be in critical condition after being trapped in collapsed buildings or hit by flying debris.

    Local authorities immediately activated crisis response protocols, dispatching hundreds of firefighters, paramedics, and search-and-rescue teams to the affected regions. Roads were blocked by fallen debris and destroyed buildings, forcing first responders to use off-road vehicles and foot patrols to reach cut-off communities. Local hospitals have also activated their mass casualty response plans to handle the influx of injured residents.

    Residents described the tornado as coming without much warning, with the sky turning dark suddenly before strong winds began tearing roofs off homes. Many families have been left displaced, forced to seek emergency shelter in community centers set up by local authorities. Meteorological agencies have noted that while tornadoes are not extremely common in southern France, shifting climate patterns have led to an increase in extreme weather events across the Mediterranean region in recent years, putting more communities at risk of sudden natural disasters.

    As of the latest update, rescue operations are still ongoing, with teams working around the clock to pull survivors from the rubble and clear blocked transport routes. The French government has announced that it will provide financial support and resources to help affected communities rebuild and recover from the destruction.