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  • Suspected Irish crime boss lands in Dublin after extradition from Dubai to face allegations

    Suspected Irish crime boss lands in Dublin after extradition from Dubai to face allegations

    After months of legal battles and international cooperation between Irish and UAE judicial processes, one of the world’s most high-profile alleged organized crime leaders has finally arrived in Ireland to answer to a litany of serious criminal charges. Daniel Kinahan, the 49-year-old purported head of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, was extradited from his long-time base in Dubai and landed at a Dublin suburban airport on an Irish Air Corps aircraft Sunday evening, following a ruling by Dubai courts that rejected efforts to block his handover to Irish authorities.

    Following his arrival, Kinahan was immediately transported to Dublin’s Special Criminal Court, the specialized Irish judicial body tasked with hearing organized crime and terrorism cases. The court, which uses a three-judge panel instead of a jury in cases where regular courts are deemed unable to guarantee fair and effective justice, charged Kinahan with directing the activities of a transnational criminal network. He was remanded into custody at high-security Portlaoise Prison, located roughly 145 kilometers southwest of Dublin, and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on October 5.

    Irish public broadcaster RTE confirmed that an extensive multi-agency security operation was mounted to oversee Kinahan’s transfer and detention, involving armed police, military personnel and Irish prison service officials. As part of heightened security protocols, authorities used a recently acquired bombproof escort van designed specifically for transporting high-risk prisoners and organized crime suspects.

    The unprecedented security measures come in the wake of a years-long deadly gang feud between the Kinahan network and a rival Irish criminal organization. In 2022, U.S. authorities documented that the feud had already claimed 18 lives when they announced a $5 million reward for information that would lead to the dismantling of the Kinahan group or the arrest and conviction of Daniel Kinahan himself. That same year, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on six Kinahan gang members and three front businesses tied to the organization, noting the feud had also killed two innocent bystanders who were not involved in criminal activity.

    Law enforcement agencies across Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain and the United States have targeted the Kinahan network since 2016, when a shocking public shooting broke out during a boxing match weigh-in at a Dublin hotel – an incident that ignited the ongoing deadly feud. At the time of the shooting, Kinahan was working as a professional boxing promoter.

    Global law enforcement alleges the Kinahan network runs a sprawling transnational empire centered on large-scale drug and weapons smuggling, paired with sophisticated money laundering operations. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Kinahan oversaw daily gang operations from Dubai, coordinating bulk cocaine purchases from South America, organizing distribution across Ireland, and directing smuggling efforts to move illegal drugs into the United Kingdom. Authorities also claim the gang smuggles tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine and cannabis into Europe alongside illegal firearms, then funnels illicit profits through a web of seemingly legitimate businesses to clean the proceeds. The U.S. Treasury has additionally documented that Kinahan has ordered payments to incarcerated gang members, including one individual convicted of plotting murder on the network’s behalf.

    Kinahan was first taken into custody by Dubai law enforcement in April this year, acting on an outstanding Irish arrest warrant. Just last week, during a phone interview with Scottish podcaster James English that was later posted to TikTok, Kinahan issued a public denial of all allegations, claiming he is the victim of a coordinated conspiracy to destroy his reputation. He acknowledged extradition proceedings were sped up under a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, but said he is confident an Irish trial will clear his name. “I believe, in a way, I am a scapegoat,” Kinahan said in the interview. “And anyone that looks into this so-called feud that they say they have created, then you will see, you will see things yourself if someone has the time to look into it.”

    This extradition marks the latest major milestone in the global crackdown on the Kinahan network. Back in March 2022, Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, the network’s top leader in the United Kingdom, was sentenced to 21 years in prison after being convicted of running a major drug smuggling operation into the UK. Two additional co-conspirators received 20-year and 19.5-year sentences for their roles in the conspiracy. The UK’s National Crime Agency confirmed that during investigation, authorities seized 15 kilograms of cocaine and 220 kilograms of cannabis hidden inside a tracked asphalt removal device at the Port of Dover on the English Channel. Kavanagh, who resided in a fortified mansion with bulletproof glass and reinforced doors in Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham, had multiple weapons and £35,000 in mixed currency – including British pounds, euros, and Emirati dirhams – seized during a 2019 raid on his property.

  • Ancient Roman shipwreck discovered off Sicily coast

    Ancient Roman shipwreck discovered off Sicily coast

    A remarkable archaeological find has emerged from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, where Italian divers have uncovered a well-preserved ancient Roman shipwreck dating back more than 2,000 years off the coast of Sicily. The sunken vessel, found at a depth of around 46 meters (150 feet), holds hundreds of intact ancient ceramic containers known as amphorae, storage jars that once carried trade goods including wine, olive oil and grain across the Roman Empire.

    The discovery traces back to a tip from local fishermen, after recreational fisherman and free-diver Giacomo De Mola first spotted an unusual large formation on his sonar scanner while mapping the seabed near the coastal town of Mazara del Vallo. Drawn to investigate the unexpected anomaly, De Mola descended and found what he described as the find of a lifetime: not a rocky outcrop, but hundreds of tightly packed amphorae covering the wreck of the ancient cargo ship.

    “I get closer. And my heart stops. It wasn’t a rock,” De Mola recounted in a social media post documenting the moment. “This is, without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be among the first humans, in nearly 20 centuries, to see that place again.” De Mola’s footage of the wreck shows a thriving marine ecosystem, with eels, snappers and countless other sea species making their home among the ancient jars, leading him to note, “The sea never ceases to amaze us. This time we didn’t just find a wreck, we found a piece of our history.”

    Following the initial discovery, specialist divers from the Carabinieri Art Squad — Italy’s police unit tasked with protecting cultural and archaeological heritage — were dispatched to the site to conduct a formal assessment. Early measurements from local media reports put the wreckage at 21 meters (69 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) wide, with Italy’s Culture Ministry confirming the vessel dates to between the second and first centuries BC.

    Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has hailed the find as “one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years.” Officials announced that targeted safety protections will be put in place around the wreck as archaeological experts carry out a full investigation to map the vessel, confirm its origin and trading route, and analyze the full contents of its cargo.

    The discovery of this Roman wreck adds to a growing body of underwater archaeological finds across the Mediterranean, a sea with thousands of years of maritime trade history that experts believe hides thousands of undiscovered ancient shipwrecks along its seabed. In 2023, another first or second century BC cargo ship laden with hundreds of amphorae was discovered off the northwest coast of Rome, and in 2018, archaeologists uncovered a 2,400-year-old intact Greek merchant ship off the Bulgarian coast, a find that was recognized at the time as the oldest intact shipwreck ever documented.

  • Pakistan says new defense pact with Saudi and Turkey is ‘purely defensive’ and open to others

    Pakistan says new defense pact with Saudi and Turkey is ‘purely defensive’ and open to others

    In a significant step toward deepening trilateral security collaboration amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have formalized a landmark mutual defense pact, with senior leaders from all three countries repeatedly emphasizing that the agreement is not targeted at any regional or global power and remains open to new participating nations.

    The historic Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed on Friday during a high-level meeting, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif putting their signatures to the document. Just one day after Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan publicly clarified that the pact was not aimed at Iran or any other state, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar echoed that stance in an official post on the social platform X on Sunday.

    Dar underscored that the newly signed agreement is purely defensive in its core purpose. He noted that any other country across the region is welcome to join the pact provided it upholds the accord’s core principles and commits to resolving disputes through peaceful diplomatic channels. The agreement’s key collective defense clause states that any armed aggression against one of the three signatories will be treated as an attack on all three members. Dar explained that this stipulation aligns fully with the right to individual and collective self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, and added that the deal formalizes the three nations’ shared commitment to strengthening strategic security cooperation.

    Importantly, Dar also clarified that the new Mecca Accord does not override or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral defense agreements that the three countries have already signed with other nations or international blocs. Reaffirming Pakistan’s regional stance, he added that Islamabad will continue pursuing diplomatic and security engagement with all regional countries to advance the goal of long-lasting peace and stability across the Middle East and South Asia.

    The announcement of the agreement was met with public celebration across the three signatory states overnight after the signing. Major landmarks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, as well as multiple cities across Saudi Arabia, were lit up with projections matching the colors of the three countries’ national flags to mark the occasion.

    Each of the three member states brings unique and complementary capabilities to the new defense arrangement. As the only nuclear-armed state in the Muslim world, Pakistan boasts decades of extensive military operational experience. Saudi Arabia contributes massive economic resources and far-reaching regional political influence, while Turkey — a longstanding NATO member — brings a large standing military and a fast-growing, advanced domestic defense manufacturing sector.

    Despite the agreement’s collective defense clause that echoes NATO’s Article 5, defense analysts based in Islamabad have urged against framing the new pact as a direct equivalent to the transatlantic security alliance. Abdullah Khan, a prominent independent defense analyst based in Islamabad, noted that while the agreement was finalized during a period of elevated regional tensions, it should not be interpreted as a hostile move targeted at Iran or any other nation.

    The trilateral pact builds on preexisting close defense ties between the signatory countries. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained robust military partnerships for decades, and signed a separate bilateral mutual defense agreement as recently as September 2025. Pakistan and Turkey have also rapidly expanded their bilateral military cooperation and joint defense industrial development projects over the past several years.

  • Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes that leave 7 dead, many injured

    Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes that leave 7 dead, many injured

    In a fresh cycle of escalated cross-border hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, overnight mutual strikes have left multiple civilians dead and dozens injured across populated areas on both sides, regional officials confirmed this week.

    The deadliest assault on Russian territory unfolded in Belgorod, a border region that has faced repeated attacks in recent months. The regional administration announced that Ukrainian drone strikes resulted in five civilian fatalities and wounded 24 people, among them a four-year-old child. The attacks also caused widespread structural damage: 29 apartment buildings, five private residences, government administrative facilities, and multiple commercial sites were left damaged or destroyed by the blasts.

    On the Ukrainian side, Russian missile and drone attacks targeted three major population centers, leaving civilian infrastructure in ruins and causing further casualties. In Kharkiv’s Saltivskyi district, a Russian missile strike directly hit a multi-story residential apartment block, killing two people and wounding 13 others, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Separately, in the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa, an assault involving “dozens of missiles and drones” left eight additional people injured, according to local regional head Oleh Kiper.

    Russia’s defense ministry pushed back on the Ukrainian civilian casualty accounts Sunday, claiming its overnight operations exclusively targeted military assets: it said strikes successfully hit Ukrainian drone storage facilities in the Kharkiv region, and destroyed fuel depots and military equipment stockpiles at the Odesa port. The ministry added that Russian air defense systems intercepted and downed 153 Ukrainian drones overnight, with engagements taking place over Russian-occupied Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov.

    This latest round of large-scale Russian missile attacks on major Ukrainian cities follows a now near-daily pattern that has emerged over recent weeks. Moscow has actively exploited a critical gap in Ukraine’s air defense capabilities: Kyiv currently faces a severe shortage of interceptor missiles for its U.S.-manufactured Patriot air defense systems, the only weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of shooting down incoming Russian ballistic missiles.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spent months lobbying Western allies, particularly the United States, to supply additional Patriot systems and ammunition. Global stockpiles of these critical defense components have already been depleted by high demand tied to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed groups, making additional deliveries far harder to secure.

    Failing to secure sufficient foreign supplies of Patriot interceptors, Zelenskyy has outlined two alternative contingency plans: establishing domestic production of Patriot ammunition within Ukraine, or securing approval from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to leverage his Starlink satellite communications network to guide Ukrainian strikes against Russian missile launch sites deep inside Russian territory.

    Meanwhile, Kyiv has continued its own campaign of long-range drone strikes against targets deep within Russian borders. Recent strikes have targeted Russian energy infrastructure, as well as high-profile domestic assets including Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce retailer. These sustained attacks on energy facilities have already sparked widespread fuel shortages across parts of Russia.

  • Nagasaki marks 81st atomic bomb anniversary as mayor says nuclear deterrence only increases risk

    Nagasaki marks 81st atomic bomb anniversary as mayor says nuclear deterrence only increases risk

    Eighty-one years after a U.S. atomic bomb turned the southwestern Japanese city of Nagasaki into a landscape of unspeakable destruction, city leaders, global delegates, and aging atomic bomb survivors gathered Sunday at Nagasaki’s Peace Park to honor the tens of thousands killed and reaffirm a urgent call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The solemn commemoration unfolded against a charged political backdrop: the newly formed Japanese government under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has implemented sweeping revisions to national defense policy that expand the military’s offensive capabilities, stoking widespread anxiety that the government may abandon the decades-old non-nuclear framework that has defined Japan’s post-WWII identity.

  • Wildfire in Indonesian national park grows

    Wildfire in Indonesian national park grows

    JAKARTA, Indonesia – As an unusually severe dry season amplified by the El Niño weather pattern pushes wildfire risk to multi-year highs across Indonesia, authorities have mobilized hundreds of emergency personnel and aerial assets to tackle a large out-of-control blaze at one of the country’s most famous tourist natural landmarks.

    The largest active fire burning this week has scorched roughly 176 hectares, or 435 acres, of vegetation on Mount Bromo, a volcanic peak that forms the centerpiece of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in Indonesia’s East Java province. Drawing millions of domestic and international visitors annually for its dramatic volcanic landscapes, the park was closed to all visitors on Saturday, and park officials confirmed the shutdown will remain in place until fire crews fully contain the blaze, with no timeline for reopening provided.

    More than 500 responders including professional firefighters, disaster management staff, local police, military personnel, park rangers and community volunteers have been assigned to bring the Bromo fire under control. To support ground operations, authorities have deployed helicopters equipped with water-dropping systems and surveillance drones to map hotspots and track fire spread. Crews have also constructed controlled firebreaks along the blaze’s perimeter to stop it from expanding into untouched forest and adjacent tourist areas.

    Park chief Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha noted that challenging geographic conditions have significantly slowed containment efforts. Many of the largest remaining hotspots are located on the steep, uneven slopes of the active volcano, which cannot be safely or quickly accessed by ground crews traveling on foot or with heavy equipment.

    The Bromo fire is not an isolated incident: Indonesia is currently facing a wave of concurrent wildfires across multiple islands driven by the record-dry conditions. On Friday, a new blaze broke out in Banyumas Regency, Central Java, that authorities say was sparked by unauthorized land-clearing activities. Dry vegetation and hot temperatures allowed the fire to spread quickly beyond its starting point to neighboring forest and grassland areas. In West Java, a fire that ignited earlier this week at Suryakencana Meadow in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park, a popular hiking destination, forced officials to temporarily close all hiking trails leading to the peaks of Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango.

    Indonesia’s national Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency warned that ongoing strong winds and severely parched vegetation are creating ideal conditions for fires to ignite and spread rapidly across large areas. The agency attributes the extreme dry conditions to a combination of the El Niño weather pattern, which brings reduced rainfall to much of Southeast Asia, and seasonal dry winds blowing north from Australia.

    Historically, severe dry-season wildfires are most common on Indonesia’s Sumatra and Borneo islands, where many blazes are deliberately started illegally by commercial plantation operators and small-scale traditional farmers to clear vegetation for new crop planting. When large fires break out in these regions, they often produce toxic haze that spreads across national borders, threatening public health across much of Southeast Asia.

  • Myanmar rebuffs ASEAN’s call to free Aung San Suu Kyi and questions the need for an envoy

    Myanmar rebuffs ASEAN’s call to free Aung San Suu Kyi and questions the need for an envoy

    BANGKOK – In a public statement released over the weekend, Myanmar’s military-installed government has pushed back against renewed demands from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to free detained former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi unconditionally, and has ruled out retaining the bloc’s special envoy role for Myanmar after Singapore assumes the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027. The rebuke marks the latest strain in already frayed ties between the junta-led administration and the regional bloc, more than three years after the military seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021.

    Min Aung Hlaing, the former army commander who led the 2021 coup and was recently sworn in as president after elections held by the junta late last year, has spent years seeking to cement international legitimacy for his rule and normalize Myanmar’s position within ASEAN. In response to the 2021 coup and the widespread armed conflict that erupted across Myanmar in its wake, ASEAN drafted a five-point peace plan just months after the takeover, which called for an immediate end to hostilities, inclusive dialogue between all competing factions, and the deployment of a special envoy to mediate the talks. For failing to make tangible progress on implementing the agreement, Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from participating in ASEAN’s top-level leadership summits since 2021.

    Last week, the junta administration took a small, symbolic step to defuse international criticism: it allowed an official from the International Committee of the Red Cross to meet with the 81-year-old Suu Kyi. The visit marked the first time the detained leader has had any confirmed contact with an independent international humanitarian organization since her detention immediately after the 2021 coup. Suu Kyi, who was convicted on a series of corruption and public order charges widely described as politically motivated by her supporters and global human rights groups, is currently serving a multi-year sentence under closed house arrest at an unconfirmed location in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw. The junta has previously commuted portions of her sentence on humanitarian grounds, but has repeatedly rejected calls for her full release from foreign governments and regional blocs.

    In its official statement Saturday, the Myanmar foreign ministry made clear it would not bow to external pressure on the issue. “Although the government has commuted her sentences based on humanitarian considerations, the matter of a full and unconditional release shall only be carried out in accordance with the law,” the statement read.

    On the topic of ASEAN’s special envoy mechanism, the administration said it would continue to cooperate with current special envoy Maria Theresa Lazaro, a Philippine foreign affairs official appointed by the current 2025 ASEAN chair the Philippines. But the statement added that the government sees no need to extend the arrangement when Singapore takes over the rotating ASEAN chair on January 1, 2027. “At present, the government, which emerged from the multiparty democratic elections reflecting the genuine will of the people, has assumed state responsibility,” the statement added.

    The Philippines, current chair of ASEAN, responded Friday by welcoming last week’s Red Cross visit as a small but positive step toward broader dialogue and national reconciliation in Myanmar. But it also reiterated the bloc’s core demand, repeating its call for Suu Kyi’s “complete and unconditional release” and pushing for expanded access for independent groups to all political detainees held across the country.

    In a recent public address delivered more than three months after his inauguration as president, Min Aung Hlaing openly criticized ASEAN’s long-standing peace plan, accusing some member states of unfair discrimination against Myanmar and stating that his administration would handle engagements with ASEAN members on a case-by-case basis going forward. The December 2024-January 2025 elections that brought Min Aung Hlaing to the presidency have been widely dismissed by international observers and opponents of the junta as a fraudulent vote designed to cement permanent military control over Myanmar under the veneer of a restored civilian government.

  • Gold Coast Suns snap 10-game losing streak to dent Giants’ finals hopes

    Gold Coast Suns snap 10-game losing streak to dent Giants’ finals hopes

    On a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon in Canberra, the Gold Coast Suns pulled off one of the most cathartic wins of the 2026 AFL season, snapping a demoralizing 10-match losing skid with a nail-biting 79-77 victory over the Greater Western Sydney Giants that leaves GWS’ finals prospects hanging by a thread.

    The result caps a turbulent three-month stretch for the Suns, who entered the 2026 campaign with high expectations after opening the season with a promising 7-3 record that landed them inside the top four. But a dramatic slump saw Gold Coast drop 10 straight contests — four by fewer than 10 points — tumbling all the way to 14th on the ladder and eliminating them from mathematical finals contention heading into the round 22 clash. Retired Melbourne Demons legend Gerard Healy described the brutal stretch as “three months of hell” for the club.

    No player stepped up larger to end the drought than reigning Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell, who turned in what is widely being called the best performance of his young career. The Suns midfielder dominated all over the ground, notching a career-best 40 disposals, a season-high 17 clearances, 10 inside-50 entries, and an staggering 16 tackles to anchor his side through the scrappy, wet-weather affair. Healy praised Rowell’s standout showing, telling Fox Footy the young star was “in a class of his own” throughout the match.

    The Suns’ defensive unit also overcame significant adversity to lock in the win. Key defender Sam Collins was ruled out as a late starter, seemingly stripping Gold Coast of its primary aerial presence at the back. But 22-year-old halfback Mac Andrew stepped into the void to deliver a career-defining performance, finishing with eight marks, 11 intercept possessions, 13 disposals and three score involvements. Most impressively, Andrew held GWS young gun Aaron Cadman — one of the league’s most promising young key forwards — goalless and to zero total marks for the first time all season. Former Brisbane premiership defender Alastair Lynch noted during Fox Footy’s coverage that Andrew was “putting on a clinic”, while GWS head coach Adam Kingsley later applauded his intercept work and ability to repel Giants attacking drives.

    The match stayed tightly contested through the final quarter, with GWS keeping the margin within striking distance the entire time. But the Suns held firm, clinching their first victory since May and delivering a much-needed boost to the club as it looks ahead to the 2027 season.

    Suns head coach Damien Hardwick opened up pre-match about his own accountability for the team’s poor form this year, admitting he had strayed from his core coaching philosophy and accepted full blame for the disappointing campaign. Post-match, he doubled down on the club’s acceptance of criticism, saying the team “welcome as much scrutiny as possible” because it proves the club is relevant. “We have been disappointing this year and we accept that, we accept responsibility,” Hardwick told reporters. “(2026) is going to have been a very very important year for us both on and off the field about the learnings we’ve come away with.”

    Hardwick added that the club remains on the cusp of a breakthrough, pointing to Sydney’s quick turnaround from a disappointing 2025 campaign to a strong 2026 season as a blueprint for Gold Coast’s future. “Come and watch our trainings, you wouldn’t know we’ve had 10 losses in a row the way the guys show up every week,” he said.

    For the Giants, the devastating narrow loss leaves their wildcard finals hopes all but extinguished. GWS entered the round with a chance to jump into a wildcard spot if results broke their way, but the defeat means they now need to win both of their remaining remaining matches and rely on losses from both Carlton and St Kilda in their final fixtures to qualify. If they fail to make the finals, 2026 will mark the first season Kingsley has missed the post-season since taking over as head coach in 2023. The Giants also suffered two major injury blows during Sunday’s match, with Jayden Laverde exiting with a rib injury and Toby Bedford leaving before half-time with a back complaint.

    Kingsley acknowledged after the match that finals qualification is now “unlikely”, though he insisted the club would continue pushing to the final siren of the season. “I don’t know if it’s impossible yet but it’s difficult now and that’s the reality of it. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ll continue to move on, we’ve got two more games, and we’ll do our best and try and win both and see if that is enough to qualify, but it looks unlikely,” he said. Kingsley also pointed to poor attacking 50 entries as the key difference in the match, noting “I don’t think we really stressed their defence as much with our entries. I felt like we could’ve attacked the goals a little bit more, but we didn’t.”

    Looking ahead to the final two rounds of the home-and-away season, GWS will host 16th-placed West Coast at home next weekend before traveling to Adelaide to face the Crows in their season finale. Gold Coast, meanwhile, will play the Brisbane Lions in the QClash at the Gabba next round before closing out their season against St Kilda in Melbourne. With nothing left to play for in 2026, the Suns will head into their final two matches with all pressure lifted, while the Giants face two straight must-win games to keep their season alive.

    Final scorecard: GWS Giants 11.11 (77), Gold Coast Suns 11.13 (79)

  • Cyprus natural gas to supply Europe by first half of 2028, minister says, as EU seeks new sources

    Cyprus natural gas to supply Europe by first half of 2028, minister says, as EU seeks new sources

    Against a backdrop of widespread European energy market volatility triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian war and escalating Middle East geopolitical unrest, Cyprus has positioned itself as a emerging alternative energy supplier for the continent, with its first undersea natural gas shipment from the Cronos field slated to reach European markets as early as March 2028, the island nation’s Energy Minister Michael Damianos confirmed in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press.

    Last month, development partners TotalEnergies (France) and Eni (Italy) formally signed off on a final investment decision to advance the Cronos project, located off Cyprus’ southern coast in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. This milestone marks the first time that natural gas extracted from East Mediterranean offshore deposits will be exported directly to European consumer markets, filling a critical gap as the continent works to diversify its supply chains away from traditional sources.

    Per the consortium’s official timeline, preliminary construction work on a 105-kilometer pipeline connecting the Cronos field to existing processing infrastructure at Egypt’s massive Zohr natural gas deposit will kick off before the end of 2025, with construction expected to take up to 18 months to complete. Once extracted, raw natural gas from Cronos will be routed through the new pipeline to Egypt’s Damietta liquefaction facility on the country’s northern coast, where it will be converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for seaborne transport to European terminals. This route was selected as the most economically viable option for the project, coming in with an estimated total cost of roughly $2 billion (1.73 billion euros) — half the projected cost of developing alternative export infrastructure within Cypriot territorial waters, thanks to access to Egypt’s already operational energy network.

    Under the project agreement, nearly all of Cronos’ estimated 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves is earmarked for European consumption, though a contractual clause allows up to 20% of output to be diverted to meet Egypt’s growing domestic energy demand if needed. Damianos noted that while Cronos is a relatively modest reserve that will not generate massive state revenue for Cyprus, the project carries far greater strategic significance for the small island nation. “Its importance is not the money, its importance is the commencement of being a producer and having first gas,” he explained.

    Cronos is just one of six proven natural gas deposits discovered to date in Cyprus’ offshore Exclusive Economic Zone, with more large-scale developments already in the pipeline. Energy giants ExxonMobil and QatariEnergy hold development licenses for the Glaucus and Pegasus fields, which together hold an estimated 6.9 tcf of natural gas, with first production targeted for 2033. Damianos added that ExxonMobil, which has a track record of delivering projects ahead of schedule, plans to expand its exploration activities off Cyprus and is in line to receive an additional exploration license for new hydrocarbon prospects. The Aphrodite field, Cyprus’ first offshore gas discovery made 15 years ago, holds an estimated 5.6 tcf of reserves. A final investment decision from the Chevron-led development consortium is expected by summer 2027, with a planned direct pipeline connection to Egyptian processing facilities to supply Egypt’s domestic market. A long-running border dispute over a portion of the Aphrodite field that extends into Israeli waters is expected to be resolved via arbitration by next month, Damianos confirmed.

    Beyond natural gas development, Cyprus is also advancing a landmark interconnector project to integrate its power grid with the broader European network, and eventually link up with Israel as well. The Great Seas Interconnector, a subsea electricity cable project, has secured backing from French investment firm Meridiam, and forms a core infrastructure building block for the European Union’s IMEC initiative, a planned new energy and trade corridor connecting Europe to the Gulf region and India. The project would end decades of energy isolation for both Cyprus and Israel, but it has recently hit delays over cost overruns that push total spending above the original $2.2 billion estimate. The European Investment Bank is set to release a revised cost assessment in the coming months to clarify the project’s final budget.

    Under current agreements, Cypriot residential and commercial energy consumers could be on the hook for up to 63% of construction costs, which would trigger a substantial increase in domestic electricity prices. To mitigate this burden, project organizers are actively courting additional private sector investment and exploring options for increased European Union grant funding. The EU has already committed 760 million euros ($658 million) to the project. “It’s a very important project for Europe because it connects Cyprus which is isolated to the European grid. And the idea is to then proceed and connect to Israel,” Damianos said.

  • As the world rediscovers ‘The Odyssey,’ disabled actors in Greece explore the pain of war

    As the world rediscovers ‘The Odyssey,’ disabled actors in Greece explore the pain of war

    Against the backdrop of a global resurgence of interest in Homer’s ancient works sparked by Christopher Nolan’s recent adaptation of *The Odyssey*, a groundbreaking theatrical production in southern Greece is rewriting the rules of cultural accessibility, while centering a forgotten chapter of the Trojan War narrative.

    On August 2, 22 disabled and non-disabled performers took the stage at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, the iconic 2,300-year-old open-air stone amphitheater famed for its unparalleled acoustics and historic place in Greek dramatic tradition. Their staging of Euripides’ *The Trojan Women* marked the first fully accessible performance in the theater’s long history, breaking down centuries of barriers that excluded disabled audiences and creators from engaging with one of the world’s most celebrated cultural sites.

    Unlike Homer’s canonical epics, which follow victorious Greek warriors on their journeys home from the 10-year Trojan War, Euripides’ 5th-century BCE tragedy shifts focus away from heroic triumph to the devastating human cost of conflict. Written roughly three centuries after Homer’s works, the play centers on the widowed, exiled, and enslaved women of conquered Troy, giving voice to the suffering that war leaves in its wake.

    To fulfill the production’s commitment to full inclusion, organizers rolled out a comprehensive suite of accessibility accommodations across the entire site. Blind and low-vision attendees received Braille event programs, tactile 3D models of the ancient theater, and live in-person audio description to follow the performance. Deaf and hard-of-hearing spectators could track dialogue via overhead projected titles, while widespread physical modifications to the venue’s walkways and seating areas improved access for visitors with mobility impairments.

    For attendees and creators alike, the milestone event was far more than a theatrical performance—it was a public celebration of disability equality. Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who participated in the event, noted that the production set a critical precedent for cultural institutions worldwide. “It’s the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone,” Polychronidis said. “Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever.”

    The message of inclusion extended to the cast as well, where disabled performers held prominent roles that put overlooked communities center stage. For 58-year-old cast member Eirini Kourouvani, a wheelchair user who had never been able to enter the ancient theater before the production, standing on its historic stage was a transformative experience. “It is just grand,” Kourouvani said. “I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is.”

    Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist who attended the performance alongside her guide dog Babu, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that accessibility is a fundamental right, not an extraordinary favor. “We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing,” Gertsou said, noting her relief that her guide dog was able to remain with her throughout the show without disruption.

    The landmark production was created by Greece’s National Theater, with accessibility design led by the nonprofit organization Liminal and financial backing from Alpha Bank, one of Greece’s largest financial institutions. Argyro Chioti, the National Theater’s artistic director, emphasized that full accessibility should not be a one-off special event, but the new standard for all major cultural venues.

    Chioti acknowledged that building inclusive access required extensive advance work: “This was complex, not simple. It required months of planning. It cost money. And it required very specific organizational expertise. But that’s the standard and venues we need to reach — the major stages and the major theaters.”