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  • Bangladesh says it was not informed of its citizens’ execution by Saudi Arabia

    Bangladesh says it was not informed of its citizens’ execution by Saudi Arabia

    In a case that has stirred public anxiety in Bangladesh and sparked a diplomatic inquiry between Dhaka and Riyadh, two Bangladeshi citizens — a man and a woman — have been put to death in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca following a conviction for an “indecent act” committed inside a local mosque, Saudi interior officials have confirmed.

    The execution was carried out last Wednesday, but Bangladeshi authorities only received word of the punishment after it was completed, local Bangladeshi media outlets have reported. Notably, Saudi officials have not released any specific details about what the “indecent act” entailed, leaving critical gaps in the public record of the case.

    Bangladesh’s junior foreign minister, Shama Obaed Islam, confirmed that the South Asian nation has formally contacted the Saudi government to request full clarity on the circumstances of the offense and the legal process that led to the death sentences. Dhaka will outline its next steps — including arrangements to repatriate the remains of the two executed citizens — once it receives the requested information, Islam added, emphasizing that the Bangladeshi government remains dedicated to protecting the rights and well-being of all its citizens living and working overseas.

    According to reporting from Bangladesh’s *Daily Star*, the two nationals were included on a list of detainees shared by Saudi authorities with Bangladesh, which was compiled following a request from Bangladesh’s Jeddah-based Consulate General. However, the list made no mention that the pair had already been sentenced to death.

    Under Saudi law, the death penalty was handed down under the principle of tazir, a provision in Islamic jurisprudence that grants judges discretionary power to issue punishments for offenses. Saudi officials justified the extreme sentence by pointing to what they called the severe nature of the violation and the harm it caused to the sanctity of the mosque, a site of profound spiritual significance for Muslims around the globe.

    The two countries have long maintained close bilateral ties, bound by shared religious identity and deep economic connections. More than 3 million Bangladeshi migrants currently reside and work in Saudi Arabia, most employed in low-wage sectors, so news of the secretive execution has triggered widespread public concern across Bangladesh over the legal protections afforded to Bangladeshi workers in the kingdom.

    This case is far from an isolated incident: Saudi Arabia has a well-documented track record of carrying out capital punishment against foreign citizens. Data from global human rights organization Amnesty International shows that the kingdom has executed roughly 100 people since the start of 2024, with a large share of those put to death being foreign nationals convicted primarily of drug-related offenses. In 2011, eight Bangladeshi men were publicly executed in Riyadh after being convicted of murdering an Egyptian national. Just earlier this month, Riyadh reversed a death sentence handed to a Sri Lankan man convicted of blasphemy over a Facebook comment — a reversal that came only after widespread public outcry in Sri Lanka and intensive diplomatic efforts to secure clemency.

  • France’s government under pressure after weekend of widespread violence

    France’s government under pressure after weekend of widespread violence

    France is grappling with its worst wave of public disorder in modern history, after a peaceful mass protest over soaring living costs and collapsing public service quality devolved into widespread looting, arson and violent clashes over the weekend. What began as a coordinated demonstration drawing more than 500,000 participants, who marched to highlight grievances including underfunded public education, quickly spiraled into chaos when factions of black-clad, masked radical activists and vandals joined the demonstration. By the end of Saturday, an estimated 1,500 shops and businesses across the country had been looted or destroyed, iconic public monuments including central Paris’ Statue de la Republique were defaced, and multiple public buildings including a historic town hall were set ablaze.

    Riot police responded to the unrest with tear gas, water cannons and baton charges, leaving roughly 1,000 officers injured across the country, seven with serious wounds, according to France’s interior ministry. In the days leading up to President Emmanuel Macron’s Sunday national address, widespread speculation circulated that the executive would implement temporary regional curfews or even declare a state of emergency to defuse the volatile situation. Instead, Macron used his televised speech to call for national unity, promising that all perpetrators of the violence would face full legal accountability.

    The address has drawn fierce backlash from both political opponents and social media users, who uniformly criticize it for lacking concrete policy answers to the core grievances that sparked the protest, and failing to outline clear plans for key outstanding questions: how rioters will be brought to justice, how urban centers will be protected ahead of already announced new mass protests in two weeks, how affected small businesses will receive compensation for damages, and when negotiations will open with education sector representatives over long-simmering demands.

    Sophie Binet, Secretary General of the influential CGT union, echoed widespread criticism on Sunday, saying Macron had completely failed to address student concerns, the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the steady decline of France’s public services. Many French citizens and political observers have also slammed the government, led by newly installed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, for being severely underprepared for the scheduled protests, with insufficient police deployments to stop large-scale vandalism and looting. Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of France’s National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, has formally called for a public inquiry to investigate exactly what unfolded over the weekend and what systemic failures allowed the unrest to escalate to such a scale.

    The chaos comes at a uniquely fragile moment for French politics, with a presidential election just six months away and Macron widely viewed as a lame-duck incumbent whose term is winding down. The already tense pre-election atmosphere has been amplified by two leading opposition candidates—far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and far-left anti-capitalist Jean-Luc Melenchon—who have both seized on the unrest to attack the Macron administration, further polarizing the country. France’s parliament is already paralyzed by deep divisions between three competing political blocs, leaving little room for coordinated legislative action to address growing public anger.

    Compounding political instability is France’s mounting financial pressure: international investors are pushing the government to rein in spiraling public debt, but any cuts to public services or welfare programs are almost certain to spark even larger street protests. Walking through central Paris the night after the unrest, one striking piece of graffiti summed up the national mood: “Things are dark in the city of light.” Polls and on-the-ground interviews show many French citizens are deeply shaken by the weekend’s violence, with images of burning buildings, unimpeded looting and tear gas-filled city squares spreading widespread anxiety. Many ordinary residents express frustration that political leaders are more focused on blaming each other than solving the underlying crises, framing the unrest as a political football ahead of the presidential vote.

    Following the violence, Macron has delegated day-to-day crisis management to Lecornu, who convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday to assess the damage and plan a response. For the next two weeks, authorities are hoping for a temporary reprieve, as French students enter their half-term break that will likely reduce protest activity. But labor unions, the remnants of the 2018 yellow jacket movement that disrupted Macron’s first term, and other activist groups have already scheduled a new wave of mass protests for November 5. As France waits for the next round of demonstrations, the entire country is holding its breath, uncertain what comes next for a nation facing growing political, economic and social pressure.

  • Judgement day for Kenya pastor accused of ordering parents to starve their children to death

    Judgement day for Kenya pastor accused of ordering parents to starve their children to death

    After years of investigation and legal proceedings, a Kenyan court is on the cusp of delivering a landmark verdict in one of the most disturbing cult-related mass murder cases in the country’s modern history. At the center of the case is Paul Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed doomsday preacher who led the now-infamous Good News International Ministries, and 29 of his closest followers, who stand accused of murdering 191 children.

    Prosecutors allege that Mackenzie’s extreme doomsday ideology pushed his followers to force young children to starve to death, claiming the deaths would allow them to “meet Jesus”. His radical doctrine rejected all secular institutions: education was labeled forbidden, modern healthcare was branded evil, and digital identity cards were dismissed as the “mark of the devil”. Mackenzie and all 29 co-accused have repeatedly pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, maintaining that no one was coerced into dying as part of the cult’s practices. One key development that strengthened the prosecution’s case came when Enos Amanya Ngala, Mackenzie’s former head of security, accepted a plea deal after initially being charged, agreeing to testify against the cult leader and his associates.

    While Mackenzie and other senior cult figures face a wide range of additional charges, including terrorism, radicalization, and violating children’s right to education, this upcoming verdict marks the first time the pastor will face a formal ruling on the most severe charge of mass murder.

    The full scale of the tragedy began to unfold in 2023, when local herders stumbled upon the first human remains in Shakahola Forest, a remote, sprawling expanse of land near Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast where Mackenzie relocated his following in 2019. To date, authorities have recovered more than 400 bodies from shallow, hastily dug graves scattered across the woodland. Seventeen local men were hired to excavate the site, a gruesome task that paid as little as $8 (roughly £6) per day. One gravedigger, James, shared haunting details of his work with the BBC: “Every grave we found had at least three bodies. Some of the remains were of children as young as a few weeks old. We once found 12 bodies of children in a line inside a grave. It was massive, the bodies were arranged like clothes. One on top of another.” Multiple gravediggers reported that many child victims were found with their hands and legs bound, their bodies wrapped in discarded bedsheets before burial.

    Salim Karisa, another gravedigger who grew up near the forest, recalled that local residents had regular, casual interactions with cult members before the tragedy was exposed. “We would sometimes carry people on our motorbikes into the forest,” he said. “But it was so planned and secretive that nobody could tell what was happening inside.”

    For many local families, the harm caused by Mackenzie’s cult has been irreversible. Stephen Mwiti, a 48-year-old father from the region, lost all six of his children to the cult’s ideology. Mwiti recounted confronting Mackenzie at his forest compound, where he saw “many bald women and tens of children” surrounding the preacher. Mackenzie mandated that women shave their heads or leave their hair unkempt, banning cosmetics and styled hairstyles as against his doctrine. Mwiti’s ex-wife is now among those standing trial alongside the cult leader. “If I met Pastor Mackenzie today, one of us will have to die,” Mwiti told the BBC, his voice breaking as he held a faded photo of his family. “All six of my children died in Shakahola forest. I only found and buried the remains of my son Samuel.” Pointing to a dusty old television and cable box in his Malindi home, 43 miles from the forest, Mwiti added: “This little thing here was the start of all my misery.”

    Mackenzie first founded Good News International Ministries back in 2003. Over 16 years of operation, the movement grew exponentially, attracting thousands of followers across Kenya through branch churches and a dedicated television station, Times TV, which broadcast his apocalyptic sermons from his Malindi studio. His own son, Dan Paul Mackenzie, who worked as a cameraman for the church, described the routine: “The children would sit at the back, adults in the middle, and everyone would sing worship songs all morning. The pastor would start his fiery sermons at noon, some of which included casting out demons.”

    In 2019, Mackenzie closed his main Malindi church and urged all his followers to join him in the remote Shakahola Forest, where he planned to prepare for the end of the world. Peter Shukrani, who first joined Mackenzie’s congregation at age 8, relocated to the forest with his mother when he was 23. He still describes Mackenzie as his “spiritual father” and says he will never speak ill of him. Shukrani fell ill shortly after arriving in the forest, but his mother discarded all his prescribed medication, convinced by Mackenzie’s teaching that modern medicine was evil and only faith could heal sickness. “We lived a quiet normal life, fasting for a few days then having a small meal,” Shukrani recalled. He was eventually rescued from the forest in March 2023, after weeks of being bedridden and too frail to recover without treatment. “I would have died if I wasn’t rescued from Shakahola forest,” he said. Even after his experience, he remains loyal to Mackenzie: “Mackenzie didn’t force anyone to fast. People made those choices by themselves because of their beliefs. I still love him and he is still my pastor.”

    In stark contrast, Dan Mackenzie has called for his father to be convicted of the murder charges. “He was the leader, he was someone who they were looking up to. So he is a murderer of mass killing,” he stated.

    Of the 191 children named as victims in the current murder case, many remain unidentifiable. The bodies were buried in shallow graves in the warm, humid forest climate, leaving remains in an advanced state of decomposition. In court documents, dozens of victims are simply labeled “unknown male child”, identified only by the location of their grave and the date their remains were discovered.

  • Threat forces Israel to Austria flight into emergency landing

    Threat forces Israel to Austria flight into emergency landing

    On Sunday evening, an Austrian Airlines commercial flight traveling from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport to Vienna was forced to make an emergency diversion to Bulgaria’s capital Sofia after a verified bomb threat was received against the aircraft, multiple authorities and aviation sources have confirmed.

    The flight, identified as Austrian Airlines Flight 82 carrying a total of 57 people — 51 passengers and six crew members — was transiting through Romanian airspace when the threat was communicated, prompting the flight crew to immediately divert toward the nearest suitable major airport, Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. According to an official statement released by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport, local authorities activated full emergency response protocols immediately after receiving the diversion alert, including scrambling a MiG-29 fighter jet from the Bulgarian Air Force to escort the passenger airliner through the final approach and landing.

    The jet, an Airbus A320, touched down safely at Vasil Levski Airport roughly three hours after departing Tel Aviv, and all passengers and crew were quickly evacuated from the aircraft as planned. No injuries or harm have been reported among anyone on board, and a full security sweep of the plane and all passenger luggage was completed within 30 minutes of the emergency landing. Investigations into the origin and credibility of the threat are already underway, led by Bulgarian law enforcement and aviation security authorities.

    Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of German aviation giant Lufthansa, confirmed the bomb threat in a brief statement to AFP, but declined to release additional details about the nature of the threat or the investigation as of press time. The BBC has reached out to Lufthansa for further comment on the incident, and no additional statement has been issued to date.

    This latest aviation security incident comes amid a string of recent safety scares across European and Middle Eastern airspace. Just one month prior, a Flydubai flight en route to Tel Aviv was the target of a hijacking attempt, when a passenger claiming to be a pilot attacked the aircraft’s captain mid-flight. The attempt was foiled when other crew members and passengers restrained the attacker, and the flight diverted to Saudi Arabia for a safe landing with no casualties. Last week, another false alarm triggered military responses in two European countries: Croatia and Germany both scrambled fighter jets after a commercial flight traveling from the Greek holiday island of Corfu to Nuremberg, Germany accidentally transmitted an erroneous hijacking alert, with no actual threat present on board.

  • Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff survives shooting in Mumbai

    Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff survives shooting in Mumbai

    A brazen shooting targeting prominent Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in the Mumbai suburb of Juhu has left the entertainment industry and Indian public on edge, with law enforcement confirming the 36-year-old star escaped the attack without any gunshot injuries. The violent incident unfolded Sunday evening, as Shroff sat inside a vehicle departing a local football club, where he regularly engages in the sport as an avid enthusiast and player for Mumbai FC.

    Multiple independent news outlets have circulated verified footage capturing the brazen nature of the attack. The video shows at least two armed assailants opening fire at close range, directing multiple shots toward the front passenger seat of Shroff’s slowly moving car as it passed a gathered crowd. Though Shroff escaped unharmed, local law enforcement confirmed two people suffered injuries in the attack, including the actor’s driver.

    The attack has reignited long-simmering concerns over the safety of high-profile public figures across India, a country that has seen a string of targeted violent attacks on prominent individuals in recent years. Just this year, Indian law enforcement arrested two members of an organized criminal gang in connection with a gun assault targeting the residence of another A-list Bollywood star, Salman Khan. Months later, well-known politician Baba Siddique was fatally shot in a public attack in the same city of Mumbai.

    Top regional officials have condemned the attack in stark terms, promising a swift crackdown on the perpetrators. Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra – the Indian state where Mumbai is located – visited the actor shortly after the incident to assess his condition. He confirmed that both Shroff and his mother, Ayesha Shroff, the daughter of a prolific Bollywood producer, were left deeply shaken by the attempted attack. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Shinde vowed zero tolerance for intimidation tactics linked to organized crime. “These attempts to intimidate people will not be tolerated, and we will put an end to this hooliganism,” he stated.

    Born into a family with deep roots in the Indian film industry, Tiger Shroff launched his acting career in 2014 with the hit romantic action film *Heropanti*. He has since become one of Bollywood’s most bankable leading stars, known for his athleticism and action roles, and has maintained a high public profile both on and off screen. As of Monday morning, investigations into the identity and motive of the attackers are ongoing, with law enforcement yet to announce any arrests in connection with the case.

  • Australian Greens senator denies claims of misconduct towards women

    Australian Greens senator denies claims of misconduct towards women

    A high-stakes controversy has erupted within Australia’s Greens political party, after sitting senator Jordon Steele-John publicly rejected multiple claims of inappropriate behaviour toward women and hit back at party leadership for what he calls a coordinated campaign of partisan manipulation. The 32-year-old Western Australian senator, who has served in federal parliament since 2017 and uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, has broken his silence on the allegations that have rocked the party in recent days. The allegations first came to light last Thursday, when Greens leader David Shoebridge announced that Steele-John had entered leave from the party’s parliamentary group, following receipt of a formal letter signed by seven current and former party members. That letter outlined multiple accusations of misconduct spanning from 2017 to 2025. In a public online statement released Sunday, Steele-John pushed back forcefully against both the claims and the party’s narrative around his leave, saying he has not stepped away from his duties at all. Addressing one of the most serious claims, an allegation of sexual assault, the senator confirmed that law enforcement authorities who launched an investigation into the matter had since closed the case without bringing any charges against him. In his detailed response, Steele-John also addressed the origin and twisted evolution of his well-known public nickname, “Feels on wheels.” Originally coined to describe his passionate, emotional advocacy for disability rights, the senator says the nickname has now been weaponized to take on a “more sinister meaning” tied directly to the false claims of mistreatment toward women. Beyond denying the misconduct, Steele-John has accused leader David Shoebridge of serious mismanagement of the allegations, and raised pointed questions about the timing of the whistleblower letter. He noted the document was delivered to Shoebridge the day after party officials agreed on a timeline for the upcoming preselection process ahead of Australia’s next federal election, calling the overlap “no coincidence.” The controversy deepened earlier this week when local Australian media outlets published reports revealing that party officials had compiled a 47-page internal dossier years ago that catalogued the existing allegations against Steele-John and laid out a plan for managing potential media coverage if the claims ever became public. In his response, Steele-John offered context for that document, saying it was created not to cover up wrongdoing, but to prevent the media from overwhelming the two women who had been named in connection to early claims. Crucially, he added, neither of those women have ever filed a formal complaint against him. Acknowledging that the airing of the allegations has already damaged public trust in his name, Steele-John said he remains committed to restoring that confidence through the highest levels of transparency and accountability. An independent internal investigation into the claims has already been launched by the Greens party, and Shoebridge’s office has confirmed that the allegations have also been formally referred to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission for external review.

  • Inside the shadowy world of anti-Putin sabotage from within Russia

    Inside the shadowy world of anti-Putin sabotage from within Russia

    In a revealing new BBC World Service documentary, two Russian men secretly affiliated with Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) have gone on record to share unprecedented details of their covert operations targeting military infrastructure and personnel within Russia’s borders. The rare firsthand account pulls back the curtain on the shadow network of opposition-aligned Russians supporting Ukraine’s war effort from inside enemy territory. Polish independent journalist Marcin Mamon, who produced the documentary *Shadowmen: Russians working with Ukraine*, profiles two operatives using the pseudonyms Ivan and Foma, each describing distinct roles in the GUR’s coordinated campaign inside Russia.

    Ivan, who operates from within Russia, claims to have directly supported Ukrainian drone strikes on key military assets including strategic bombers and munitions factories located on Russian territory. He told Mamon he conducts on-the-ground reconnaissance of military sites, hides drone components in pre-positioned locations across the country, and even smuggles explosives near high-value targets. Mamon verified that Ivan shared reconnaissance video of one such mission near a Russian military airfield. If captured, Ivan would face decades in prison on terrorism charges. He recalled one close call when Russian security officers stopped his car for inspection while he was carrying handmade explosives, yet he avoided detection.

    To reduce the risk of the entire network being compromised, Ivan says there is no formal hierarchical structure to the operation, and he has never met any other operatives working for the GUR inside Russia. A former member of Russia’s political opposition, Ivan says he is motivated by ideology: he opposes both Vladimir Putin’s regime and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and he believes accelerating the war’s outcome could lead to the collapse of the Putin government. “If Putin loses the war, his regime might fall, and we are working to speed that up,” he told Mamon. He added that even small, covert actions can have outsized impact: properly assembled drone components smuggled by operatives like him can become formidable weapons capable of destroying military assets worth millions of dollars in a single strike. He also acknowledged constant danger, saying, “Fear follows me everywhere. This is Russia.” Even so, he remains optimistic that long-term change is coming, noting “Putin won’t live forever.”

    Foma, the second operative, is a former member of the Russian elite who now lives in exile in Poland. He says he runs a network of roughly 300 to 500 undercover volunteers inside Russia that conducts surveillance on high-level Russian military officers and other targets identified by the GUR. He stresses that his network only collects intelligence and never carries out attacks itself. Foma trains new volunteers remotely through online tutorials, teaching them surveillance tradecraft such as trailing targets without being detected, and prohibits recruits from carrying phones while on observation missions to avoid leaving a digital trace. He shares target dossiers with volunteers that include full biographical details, vehicle information, and residential locations, and his network maps everything from weapons storage facilities and military unit positions to the home addresses of senior officers and strategic bomber pilots. Foma says his network conducts independent vetting of all GUR-suggested targets to confirm they are involved in military actions against Ukraine, a step he says justifies the work: “People who commit terrible acts in Ukraine on behalf of Putin must know they will eventually pay for their actions. I want them to be afraid.”

    Foma did confirm that his network provided intelligence on Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, a senior Russian officer assassinated by a car bomb in Moscow in December 2024, noting that tracking the general took extensive effort as he frequently changed his schedule and hid his movements. Foma estimates his network has a few dozen operatives split between Russia, Ukraine, and other European countries, with cross-border members handling logistical support such as tracking targets’ digital footprints. Like Ivan, he emphasizes operational security through decentralized structure, warning that any large formal grouping or digital communication trail would quickly lead to the network being rolled up by Russian security services.

    While the GUR has publicly confirmed that both Ivan and Foma are working for the agency, even Ukraine’s intelligence service says it cannot independently verify every detail of their claims. When pressed on whether Ivan can be fully trusted, one of his GUR handlers admitted, “I’m not sure of anyone except myself.” Many of the specific activities described by the two men cannot be independently verified by the BBC. That said, Ukrainian officials have openly acknowledged their broader strategy: Kyiv has confirmed it carries out coordinated drone strikes on what it calls legitimate military targets inside Russia, and it admits using undercover agents to support these operations.

    For months, there have been media reports of Russian sabotage networks working for Ukraine, but this is one of the first times an operative on the ground inside Russia has spoken publicly about his activities. Since the full-scale invasion began, there have been multiple high-profile assassinations of senior Russian political and military figures. While Ukraine never officially claims responsibility for these targeted killings, a Ukrainian intelligence officer previously admitted to the BBC that the GUR was behind the December 2024 assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, another senior Russian military figure.

    It is impossible to confirm how many Russians are currently working for Ukrainian intelligence, though Foma estimates the total number is between 300 and 500. Ivan notes that most ideologically motivated Russians opposed to Putin have already either left the country or been arrested, leaving many operatives inside Russia either as unwitting participants (such as truck drivers who unknowingly transport compromised cargo) or paid contractors. Ivan himself is an unusual case: despite being a known former opposition member, he remains able to travel freely in and out of Russia, a fact that has raised questions even within the GUR about his reliability. Foma argues Ivan’s free movement does not automatically mean he is a double agent, pointing to widespread vulnerabilities in Russia’s governance that allow well-connected or lucky operatives to avoid detection. What lends credibility to Ivan’s account is his advance warning to Mamon of a major planned strike on Russian strategic bomber airfields, which came more than a year before a devastating large-scale drone attack on multiple Russian military airfields.

    The full documentary *Shadowmen: Russians working with Ukraine* is available to watch on YouTube for audiences outside the UK and can be listened to via the BBC World Service Documentary Podcast.

  • Trump gives Netanyahu ‘complete and total endorsement’ ahead of Israeli election

    Trump gives Netanyahu ‘complete and total endorsement’ ahead of Israeli election

    With less than two weeks remaining until Israel’s hotly contested parliamentary election on October 27, former U.S. President Donald Trump has thrown his full, unreserved backing behind incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, injecting a high-profile international dimension into the close domestic race.

  • EU tariffs aimed at China hitting Ukraine, steel boss says

    EU tariffs aimed at China hitting Ukraine, steel boss says

    As Russia’s full-scale invasion continues to pummel Ukraine’s industrial backbone, the leader of one of the nation’s largest steel producers is sounding the alarm over new European Union trade rules, saying the bloc’s sweeping import curbs unfairly lump a war-ravaged Ukraine in with global steel giants exporting cheap goods.

    Yuriy Ryzhenkov, chief executive officer of Metinvest, made the case in an exclusive interview with the BBC, arguing that the EU’s recently enacted protective tariffs and import quotas fail to account for the extraordinary crisis Ukraine’s steel sector is currently navigating. He is calling for at least a targeted carve-out that would allow Ukrainian steel to enter the bloc’s market without the new restrictions, warning that continued access to the EU is a matter of survival for Ukraine’s vital steel industry.

    In a bid to shield domestic steel manufacturers from cut-price competition primarily from China and Turkey, the EU rolled out new trade protections that cap total annual duty-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes. That marks a sharp 47% reduction from the quota levels in place in 2024. While the policy includes country-specific quotas and a longstanding free trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine remains in effect, that deal does not override the bloc’s right to implement independent trade protection measures. As a result, Ukraine is bound by the new caps – a outcome Ryzhenkov calls fundamentally unfair.

    “Ukraine has been bundled together into those measures without any consideration for the situation Ukraine is in,” Ryzhenkov said, referencing the ongoing full-scale war with Russia. “Access to the European market is crucial for survival. The restrictive measures that have been put in place by the authorities in the European Union, they don’t help. I think it’s unfair that Ukraine has been treated in the same way as all of the other importers into the European Union.”

    Ukraine’s domestic steel industry projects that under the new rules, annual exports to the EU could plummet by between 50% and 60%. For a nation that has relied on steel exports as a core pillar of its economy for decades, that drop could be catastrophic. Before Russia launched its full invasion in 2022, metallurgy and mining made up roughly 10% of Ukraine’s total gross domestic product and accounted for a full third of the country’s total export revenue. The European Union has long been the largest single customer for Ukrainian steel, and Ryzhenkov emphasized that years of war have destroyed alternative logistics routes, leaving the EU as the only accessible major market for the country’s output.

    The war has already gutted Ukraine’s steel production capacity. Every one of the country’s operating steel mills has sustained damage from Russian bombardment, and Ryzhenkov noted that strikes on industrial infrastructure have “intensified significantly” in recent months. In September 2024, the country recorded its first month with zero domestic steel production – a first in more than 150 years of Ukrainian steel-making. Since the invasion began, nearly 800 Metinvest employees have been killed in attacks and ongoing conflict. The company has expanded bomb shelter coverage at mill sites and implemented strict safety protocols to protect workers during air raids, but Ryzhenkov acknowledged that large-scale industrial facilities cannot be fully protected from persistent attack.

    Looking ahead to the coming winter, Ryzhenkov predicted the season will be “one of the hardest in our history” for the sector. “We are in a dire situation when we don’t have logistics to access any other market apart from the EU and cutting our available market by 60%, that doesn’t help for the industry to survive,” he added.

    In response to the criticism, a European Commission spokesperson pushed back on claims that the bloc ignored Ukraine’s crisis when drafting the new policy, saying officials “took into account the difficult situation” of Ukraine during policy negotiations. The EU maintains that its framework sets a specific quota for Ukrainian steel that guarantees the country can continue exporting to the bloc, even if that quota is set at “a level lower than in the past years.” The spokesperson added that the EU has “offered compensations” to its largest steel suppliers, which includes Ukraine, to offset the impact of the reduced quotas.

  • Major fire at Canada military base leaves four dead, dozens injured

    Major fire at Canada military base leaves four dead, dozens injured

    A devastating out-of-control fire at one of Canada’s busiest military training installations in rural Alberta has claimed the lives of four service members and left nearly 40 others injured, in what Prime Minister Mark Carney has called one of the deadliest peacetime military tragedies in Canadian history.

    The blaze ignited shortly before 4 p.m. local time Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, a sprawling live-fire training hub located roughly 210 kilometers east of Alberta’s capital Edmonton. By the time emergency crews brought the fire under control hours later, it had already left an irreversible mark on the country’s military community.

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the nation from Ottawa Sunday, opening his remarks by extending condolences to the fallen service members’ families and loved ones. “The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost,” Carney said, labeling the incident “one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.”

    As of Sunday afternoon, the identities of all four fallen troops had been confirmed by BBC sources: Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark. Of the 39 injured personnel transported to hospitals across Alberta, at least 19 remain in critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith confirmed during a Sunday evening press briefing.

    At the time the fire broke out, infantry troops were conducting scheduled high-intensity live-fire combat training on the base’s grenade and attack ranges, according to Major-General Wade Rutland. Multiple types of ordnance were in use across the training area, including grenade launchers, hand grenades, small arms and live ammunition. Investigators have confirmed that a grass fire sparked approximately one kilometer from the active training range, and unseasonably strong winds pushed the flames rapidly toward the range’s administrative zone, where personnel were gathered.

    Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh told the BBC that cannon fire, a routine sound from the base’s training activities, abruptly stopped Saturday afternoon, before local emergency services were called in for an “all hands on deck” response. Fire and rescue teams have remained on site through Sunday to monitor for potential flare-ups of residual hotspots.

    Officials have repeatedly ruled out early foul play concerns, confirming that as the investigation into the fire’s origin continues, there is no evidence linking the incident to terrorist activity. Major-General Rutland also added that the blaze was not caused by oil and gas infrastructure operating near the base, nor any form of outside interference.

    Canadian Forces Base Wainwright is one of the Canadian military’s primary live-fire training facilities, hosting regular exercises for Canadian troops and allied partner nation personnel. On a standard day, the base hosts roughly 690 active military personnel and 300 civilian employees.

    The sheer volume of casualties overwhelmed local medical capacity in Wainwright almost immediately, prompting a mass casualty response across central Alberta. All injured patients were transferred to larger care facilities, primarily Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, which initially activated a Code Orange disaster protocol to manage the influx of critical patients. The protocol has since been stood down as care has been stabilized.

    Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at Royal Alexandra Hospital, told Canadian broadcaster CBC that the incident completely strained the small local Wainwright healthcare system beyond its capacity. The Alberta provincial health agency deployed 30 emergency response units to Wainwright within hours, including 22 ground ambulances, six fixed-wing aircraft and two helicopter transport units. Regional air ambulance service STARS also sent crews and aircraft from three major centers: Edmonton, Saskatoon and Calgary to assist with patient transfers.

    Brandon Simmons, a long-term care resident at Wainwright Health Centre, described the chaotic scene to Reuters. When the Code Orange alert was issued, nursing staff dropped all non-urgent tasks to grab stretchers, gurneys and emergency medical supplies to respond, he said. Ambulances arrived continuously throughout the night, Simmons recalled, adding “I heard people screaming inside of those vehicles that will never end up being out of my mind. It was like a scene from a war movie.”

    As of Sunday evening, the investigation into the exact cause of the fire remains ongoing, with Canadian military officials and local law enforcement working to piece together the sequence of events that led to the tragedy.