Global Pulse

标签： Asia

亚洲

  • Soaring prices during the Iran war jeopardize travel to tourism-dependent countries in Asia

    Soaring prices during the Iran war jeopardize travel to tourism-dependent countries in Asia

    As the Northern Hemisphere’s summer travel season approaches, Southeast Asia’s tourism-reliant economies are grappling with cascading economic shocks stemming from the ongoing conflict with Iran, compounding the slow, incomplete recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that has stretched across the last five years. The combination of skyrocketing energy prices, persistent ceasefire uncertainties and disrupted global supply chains has put the region’s most critical revenue-generating season in serious jeopardy.

    The conflict has sent global jet fuel prices surging to multi-year highs, while persistent instability in the Persian Gulf has forced major regional and international carriers to slash flight capacity, revise flight routes and raise ticket prices sharply. Early in the conflict, widespread airspace closures across the Persian Gulf and intermittent shutdowns of key Gulf airports eliminated vital layover points for long-haul flights heading to Asia, forcing carriers to divert to longer, far more fuel-intensive routes that drive up operational costs exponentially.

    Major airlines across the Asia-Pacific have already implemented deep cuts to their flight schedules. Vietnam Airlines, Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia Group, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific and multiple European airlines have all been squeezed by rising fuel costs and reduced demand, resulting in widespread cancellations and schedule adjustments. To offset inflated fuel expenses, carriers have implemented dramatic hikes to fuel surcharges: Cathay Pacific raised its medium-haul fuel surcharge from HK$264 ($34) before the conflict to HK$33 ($80), while long-haul surcharges jumped from HK$569 ($73) to HK$1,362 ($174). Lavinia Lau, Cathay Pacific’s chief customer and commercial officer, confirmed that jet fuel prices remain at extremely elevated levels that have intensified cost pressures, adding that more travelers are booking trips far closer to departure dates – a clear indicator of growing consumer unease about travel costs and stability.

    For many international travelers, the steep rise in airfares has derailed long-planned summer trips to the region. Sandra Awodele, a Washington D.C.-based freelance travel writer who had been planning to cross a Southeast Asian trip off her bucket list this summer, scrapped her plans for a two-week Thailand vacation after seeing current airfare prices. “I looked at flight options and that’s where it ended,” she said.

    The pain of the current crisis is not limited to airlines and travelers – it ripples all the way through local tourism-focused economies, hitting frontline workers and small business owners hardest. For 58-year-old Siv Pech, a tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, Cambodia – home to the iconic centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex that draws millions of visitors annually – daily earnings that once reached up to $20 have plummeted to roughly $5 a day, with half of that sum eaten up by rising gasoline costs. “Some days, I don’t earn even a cent,” Pech said. “With gasoline prices rising and tourism declining, how can we make money?”

    Sokha Sambo, owner of the popular Sambo Khmer & Thai Restaurant in Siem Reap, faces similar strains: the price of liquefied petroleum gas for cooking has surged, squeezing margins so tightly that she struggles to cover payroll for her 14 employees. “I’m worried about gas and goods inflation. It makes the business less profitable and difficult to cover employees’ salaries,” Sambo said. Official data from Siem Reap’s tourism department shows that recorded international and domestic visitor numbers dropped 37.5% year-on-year in the first four months of 2026, a decline that has impacted every sector of the local economy. “This has greatly affected all of us,” Sambo added.

    In Thailand, one of Southeast Asia’s most visited destinations, official data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports confirms that overall visitor numbers fell 7% year-on-year in April, with arrivals from Europe dropping nearly 16% and arrivals from the Middle East plummeting 57%. Le Tuyet Lan, who operates bed-and-breakfast properties in Vietnam’s Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, noted that travel is always the first discretionary expense households cut when economic conditions worsen. In times of crisis, she explained, luxury travelers shift to mid-tier accommodations, mid-range travelers opt for budget options, leaving the lowest tier of the market – made up largely of small local operators – the most exposed. “This will disrupt the whole industry,” she said.

    Tourism has long served as the economic lifeline for most developing Southeast Asian nations, accounting for nearly 11% of total gross domestic product across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in pre-pandemic 2019, according to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council. Today, it contributes almost 13% of GDP in Thailand, 9% in Vietnam, and supports millions of jobs across Cambodia, while bringing critical foreign currency to import-dependent economies across the region. That revenue is more vital than ever, as the war-driven spike in global oil prices has pushed up fuel import costs for nations that depend on the Strait of Hormuz, off Iran’s coast, for the vast majority of their oil and gas imports.

    Economic analysts warn that the cumulative shock of two major crises – the COVID-19 pandemic just five years ago, followed by the current conflict-driven energy crunch – could push hundreds of vulnerable tourism businesses to collapse before demand eventually rebounds. “This, happening within five years of each other, first the pandemic and now the war, is horrible for the tourism industry,” said Jitsai Santaputra, a Bangkok-based analyst with energy consulting firm The Lantau Group. “The war will determine which tourism businesses can survive long enough to benefit from the eventual return of travelers.”

    Forecasts from major financial institutions paint a grim picture for regional growth: Moody’s Analytics estimates that conflict-related spillovers will reduce overall economic growth across the Asia-Pacific by 0.1 to 0.4 percentage points in 2026. “The conflict will weigh on growth mainly through higher production costs and consumer prices, along with weaker external demand from trade and tourism,” said Albert Park, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank. A recent report from the United Nations Development Program echoed that warning, noting that higher airfares and falling travel confidence can rapidly spill over to erode household livelihoods and cut public revenues in economies where tourism is the primary source of jobs, income and foreign exchange.

  • Euphrates flooding displaces thousands in Syria’s Deir Ezzor

    Euphrates flooding displaces thousands in Syria’s Deir Ezzor

    A devastating flood event triggered by sharply rising water levels along the Euphrates River has left more than 2,400 families across Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province grappling with widespread disruption, submerging entire rural villages, destroying critical farmland, and cutting off access to basic life-sustaining services across the hard-hit region.

    The flood crisis, which has been most severe in Deir Ezzor and neighboring Raqqa governorate since the unexpected water surge began on May 26, has been officially attributed by Syria’s Ministry of Energy to two key factors: unusually heavy rainfall across the river basin this season, and the opening of floodgates on upstream dams located in Turkish territory along the Euphrates.

    Labeling the sudden increase in cross-border water flows as “unprecedented”, the Ministry of Energy confirmed that it took the emergency step of opening three spillway gates at Syria’s own Euphrates Dam — a measure not required for more than three decades — to reduce dangerous structural pressure on the key infrastructure.

    By the end of the first week of the crisis, Syrian authorities announced that diplomatic and technical coordination between the Syrian government and their Turkish counterparts had yielded progress, with Turkey beginning to reduce the volume of water released into Syrian territory via the river.

    In a public video statement posted to the social platform X, Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir confirmed that water levels along the entire stretch of the Euphrates running through Syria are gradually stabilizing after the emergency structural measures implemented at the country’s main Euphrates Dam. He added that government monitoring teams will remain deployed around the clock to track water conditions until levels return to their normal, safe range.

    Tragedy struck in the early hours of the flood emergency, when three children lost their lives after entering the swollen Euphrates to swim, despite repeated public warnings issued by Syria’s Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh to avoid all contact with the dangerous rising waters.

    Beyond the fatal incident, the swelling floodwaters forced dozens of households to flee their inundated residences, and left multiple small villages partially cut off from the outside world after key access roads and river crossing structures were damaged or swept away by the current.

    In response to the crisis, Syrian emergency response teams have been deployed across the affected region to carry out urgent work: reinforcing vulnerable riverbanks to prevent further breach, coordinating the evacuation of residents from high-risk low-lying areas, and conducting systematic assessments of damage to public and private infrastructure.

    On Friday, al-Saleh issued an official update confirming that water levels across the affected stretch of the Euphrates have returned to normal baseline, and no new instances of uncontrolled flooding have been recorded across the region.

    To wrap up the first week of the emergency response, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa traveled to Deir Ezzor province on Friday alongside a full senior ministerial delegation, to conduct an on-site assessment of the flood damage and meet with affected communities to review their immediate humanitarian needs.

    This reporting was originally published by Middle East Eye, an outlet that provides independent, in-depth coverage of events across the Middle East, North Africa, and surrounding regions.

  • Dressing visitors in ancient China’s imperial splendor is booming in Beijing

    Dressing visitors in ancient China’s imperial splendor is booming in Beijing

    Nestled in the blocks surrounding Beijing’s Forbidden City — the centuries-old imperial residence that housed China’s final two imperial dynasties, the Ming and Qing — a fast-growing niche creative industry is thriving, driven by young Chinese people’s surging enthusiasm for reviving and experiencing traditional Chinese culture. At the heart of this trend are makeup artists like Chen Jiao, whose daily work involves turning ordinary visitors into elegant imperial figures straight out of ancient Chinese history.

    Every day, streams of tourists flood into these nearby costume studios, eager to step into the ornate robes embroidered with intricate phoenix patterns, adorn themselves with jade pendants, pearl accessories and gilded fingernail guards that once were exclusive to noblewomen in imperial courts. After artists carefully apply traditional-style makeup and sculpt elaborate hairstyles decorated with flowing tassels and delicate hairpins, visitors head out to the historic walls and moat encircling the Forbidden City to capture photos and short videos for their social media feeds. Blending the charm of imperial-era aesthetics with modern lifestyle touches, many even pair their historic costumes with casual sneakers and trendy sunglasses while sipping popular bubble tea, creating a unique fusion of old and new.

    The immersive experience comes at an average price of 300 yuan, equivalent to roughly $45, though high-end customized packages can cost more than 1,000 yuan, or over $150. For makeup artists like Chen, business rarely slows down. She notes that peak seasons — public holidays and weekends — bring nonstop crowds, and on a recent busy working day, she started her shift as early as 6 a.m. and completed styling for more than 20 young women in a single day. “There is no real off-season for us, only a short break when the Forbidden City itself is closed,” Chen explained.

    This booming trend of immersive traditional costume experience has taken hold among young Chinese people over recent years, with Beijing’s scene centered heavily on Ming and Qing dynasty aesthetics, drawn directly from the adjacent Forbidden City that anchors the experience. To understand the historical context: the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China for more than 270 years until 1644, oversaw the construction of the Forbidden City and the reinforcement of the Great Wall. The Qing Dynasty, established by China’s Manchu ethnic group, collapsed in 1912, bringing an end to more than 2,000 years of imperial rule across the country.

    For young travelers, the experience is more than just a photoshoot — it is a personal way to connect with Chinese history and cultural heritage. Chen Xiao, a college student from China’s eastern Shandong Province, traveled through the night to Beijing during this year’s Qingming Festival holiday to participate, wearing a soft pink costume matching that of a *Gege*, or Qing dynasty princess. “If you are standing on the grounds where history actually happened, you should wear clothing that fits the setting,” she said, adding that her interest in the trend grew out of her love for popular Chinese historical costume dramas that have dominated streaming platforms in recent years. “I’ve watched so many of these shows, they’ve definitely shaped my interest. Lately, I’ve been really fascinated by Qing dynasty history,” she added.

    Another visitor, Liu Ruitong, a college student from neighboring Hebei Province, chose a solemn black Ming-style imperial outfit for her experience. “This whole styling feels so elegant and dignified, especially the color palette,” she explained. “I picked black because it complements the architecture of the Forbidden City and all the traditional Chinese scenery here so well.”

    The explosive growth of the industry is visible in the neighborhood where Chen Jiao’s studio is located. Local media reports show that back around 2020, only a handful of these costume styling studios operated in the area. Today, that number has surged to more than 100.

    Industry observers and cultural enthusiasts say the trend reflects a broader shift among young Chinese people. Cai Zehong, founder of Hanfu Beijing — one of China’s earliest non-profit groups established by enthusiasts to promote traditional culture and clothing of the majority Han ethnicity — notes that young generations have increasingly recognized the unique aesthetic value of traditional clothing while deepening their understanding of China’s extensive cultural heritage. Beyond that, the sustained popularity of historical television dramas and online series across Chinese streaming platforms has also served as a major catalyst, bringing imperial-era aesthetics to mainstream young audiences and sparking their desire to experience the culture firsthand.

  • How stamps and postcards helped India count its people

    How stamps and postcards helped India count its people

    As India readies for its 16th national census – the eighth since achieving independence in 1947 – a new curated exhibition has pulled back the curtain on a little-known chapter of the country’s demographic history: how its sprawling postal network served as an unexpected foundation for nation-building and public trust in the world’s largest statistical exercise, long before smartphones and digital government apps transformed data collection.

    Curated by Vikas Kumar, an economics professor at Bengaluru’s Azim Premji University, the exhibition draws on rare archival materials including commemorative stamps, promotional postmarks, letters, and pre-census postcards to trace how the postal service turned routine mail into a tool for mass public mobilization. For the newly independent Indian republic, a reliable national census was far more than a bureaucratic task: it was an urgent foundational requirement. Reliable demographic data was needed to run fair elections based on universal adult franchise and to lay the groundwork for a centrally planned economy. So critical was this project to the new nation that the Constituent Assembly passed the Census Act in 1948, more than a year before the country’s final constitution was formally adopted.

    From the very first post-independence census in 1951, the Indian government turned to the post office to solve two critical, immediate challenges: reaching a dispersed population across a vast, mostly rural and low-income nation, and convincing ordinary people to participate – a hurdle shaped by the legacy of distrust left by colonial-era censuses. Parts of India had boycotted the 1931 and 1941 colonial headcounts, and the 1941 count in Punjab and Bengal was tainted by widespread allegations of communal manipulation, making public trust a non-negotiable priority for the new republic.

    At the time, India’s postal network was the most expansive unified communication system the state operated, growing faster than nearly all other public services including banking in the decades after independence. By 1968, more than 100,000 post offices delivered mail daily to 300,000 villages, with weekly service reaching an additional 300,000 rural communities. Postmasters and postmen also served as informal community intermediaries, often acting as readers and scribes for low-literacy villages – making the network perfectly suited for spreading census messaging.

    The exhibition showcases how this outreach evolved alongside the nation across decades. In 1951, one of the earliest known bilingual postmarks, stamped on an envelope mailed from Nandikotkur to Madras (now Chennai), featured a portrait of a three-person family alongside ‘Census of India, February 1951’ printed in both Hindi and English. For the 1961 census, inland letter cards posted across Assam carried clear, approachable postmarks urging recipients to ‘Get yourself & family counted’ and encourage friends to join in. A 1971 commemorative issue marked the centenary of modern Indian censuses, printing 3 million stamps that wove diverse Indian faces into the shape of the number 100, framing the census as a source of national pride and noting that data processing had transitioned to electronic computers for the first time.

    By the 2001 census, messaging framed the headcount as a ‘Mirror of the Nation’ and a ‘Group Photograph of the Nation’, with multilingual promotional postcards printed in 13 languages distributed across the country to emphasize the exercise’s role in national development. The 2001 commemorative stamp featured a four-person family under the slogan ‘People Oriented’, with a first day cover illustrating India’s diversity through a vibrant crowd scene, and a postmark depicting men, women and children holding hands in a semi-circle to symbolize the nation counting itself. Later messaging also began to tie population counting to public policy priorities like population control, reflecting the social anxieties of the era. The 2011 census marked a transition toward the digital age, with a commemorative stamp showing families linking hands with an enumerator alongside the census emblem, paired with a first day cover that paired a pixelated map of India with the official census symbol.

    For Kumar, these fragile, fading postal artifacts are more than a collection of bureaucratic memorabilia: they capture how the Indian state worked to build legitimacy and public trust through everyday, routine communication, weaving the census into core national narratives of development, diversity, and collective identity.

    That core challenge of building public trust remains just as relevant today, as India prepares to launch its first fully digital census. The upcoming headcount, which will cover 36 states and union territories, more than 7,000 sub-districts, over 9,700 towns, and nearly 640,000 villages, remains a staggering undertaking. Millions of households will be surveyed by enumerators drawn from local government staff, teachers, and community officials. For the first time, enumerators will use mobile apps to collect and upload data in real time, replacing pen and paper methods of the past. The new census will also deliver critical data for policy planning, welfare distribution, and political representation in the world’s most populous nation, and will mark the first time in decades that the exercise will collect detailed caste data – a politically sensitive project in a country where caste continues to shape social and economic opportunity.

    While digital tools promise faster data processing, Kumar warns that technology alone cannot replace the work of building public confidence. As the reach of the traditional postal network has faded, he argues, the government must develop new strategies to raise awareness and earn the trust of ordinary Indians. From family illustrations on postmarks to instant digital data uploads, India’s census has changed dramatically in 75 years. Yet the core challenge that the postal network solved decades ago – convincing more than a billion people to trust the state enough to add themselves to the collective story of the nation – remains unchanged.

  • Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action

    Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action

    A Manchester-based cafe owner and prominent pro-Palestine activist has brought serious allegations against British law enforcement, claiming officers offered him financial incentives and informal leniency for minor offenses in exchange for spying on the banned advocacy group Palestine Action. Shams Sadiq, 51, who owns two local cafes, shared his account with The Guardian, detailing that the improper offer was made when he attended a police station in Ashton-under-Lyne on May 15 to recover electronic equipment police had seized following his 2023 arrest over alleged ties to the group.

    During the private meeting described as a “man to man” discussion, two officers told Sadiq they had examined his confiscated devices and concluded he had deep connections to Palestine Action. Instead of moving forward with charges related to his 2023 arrest, however, they presented him with an under-the-table deal. According to Sadiq, the officers explicitly stated there would be tangible benefits for cooperating with their investigations. When Sadiq pressed to confirm the incentives included financial support, the officers confirmed they could assist with expenses such as his tax obligations, and added that they would be willing to overlook certain low-level offenses. When Sadiq asked if the deal could cover his existing speeding tickets, the officers replied that minor infractions like speeding were of no concern to them in this arrangement.

    Sadiq says he understood the request to be a demand for him to provide intelligence on Palestine Action members and activities. He added that officers specifically noted his standing in the local Muslim community, leading him to believe they also wanted him to report on community members at his local mosque who they labeled as holding extreme views. This is not the first recent interaction law enforcement has had with Sadiq: just four days before the May 15 police station meeting, he was detained and questioned for three hours under Schedule 7 of the UK’s Terrorism Act at Manchester Airport. Though he was not arrested during that stop, officers again seized his electronic devices, which were only returned days later. During the airport questioning, Sadiq says he was interrogated about his connections to Palestine Action, his personal finances, and his views on Iran, as well as asked how he would respond to someone with extreme views at his mosque. Sadiq remains under active investigation for a separate alleged offense linked to Palestine Action that dates to 2024.

    Sadiq has long been a visible local figure for pro-Palestine advocacy, and has already been targeted for his activism: last year, vandals placed Israeli flags on the door of one of his cafes. After rejecting the officers’ offer, Sadiq chose to go public with his account as a safety measure. He told The Guardian that officers attempted to reassure him by offering protection for his family and did not pressure him for an immediate answer, instead leaving a private phone number for him to text if he changed his mind.

    Sadiq’s lawyer, Simon Pook, is preparing to file a formal complaint against Greater Manchester Police over the incident. Pook drew a parallel between the alleged conduct and the controversial informancy practices the British state employed during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, noting that “We’re unhappy that he was put in that position and offered inducements to work for the state.” Pook also raised questions about the legality of the airport detention under Schedule 7, arguing that if the stop was only a pretext to set up the later inducement offer, the use of the anti-terrorism powers was unlawful. Schedule 7 is legally only permitted to be used when authorities have reasonable suspicion that a person is involved in terrorism or terrorist planning.

    To date, Greater Manchester Police has declined to issue any comment on the allegations. The case comes amid growing controversy over the UK government’s 2023 decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, a move that came after group members carried out a break-in at a British military air base. The ban makes membership in or public support for Palestine Action a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years of imprisonment. Since the proscription went into effect, hundreds of people have been arrested and charged on grounds of supporting the group, including high-profile Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was detained in December for holding a sign stating her support for Palestine Action prisoners and opposition to what she calls genocide in Gaza.

    The ban has also drawn sharp international criticism from human rights officials. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk publicly condemned the proscription last July, arguing that UK authorities were misusing counter-terrorism legislation to suppress activities that amount to the legitimate exercise of fundamental civil and political rights. Turk called the decision “disproportionate and unnecessary.”

  • Israel issues new expulsion orders as forces press deeper into Lebanon

    Israel issues new expulsion orders as forces press deeper into Lebanon

    On Saturday, Israel’s military carried out a provocative new step in its expanding campaign in southern Lebanon, issuing formal expulsion orders forcing residents from 13 villages in the border region. This action came just one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli troops had pushed deeper into Lebanese territory than ever before in the current conflict.

    Netanyahu’s announcement made explicit what military officials had signaled earlier in the week: Israeli ground forces had advanced beyond the Litani River, a key geographic marker that sits roughly 30 kilometers north of the official Lebanon-Israel border. “Our forces have crossed the Litani and advanced to controlling positions,” the prime minister stated publicly.

    This escalating military push unfolds against a backdrop of planned diplomatic negotiations set to kick off early next week, mediated by the United States. The talks, which will be the fourth round of negotiations since April 14, were preceded by a security meeting between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations held at the Pentagon in Washington DC this past Friday.

    According to Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, which cited an anonymous senior Lebanese official, Israeli negotiators rejected a core Lebanese demand for a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory during Friday’s talks. The outlet also reported that Israel is insisting on the full dissolution of Hezbollah as a condition for any deal, a non-starter for Lebanese negotiating teams.

    Despite a nominal ceasefire that has been formally in place since April 17, Israel has maintained relentless heavy airstrikes and artillery bombardment across southern and eastern Lebanon. Just this week, the Israeli military confirmed it had expanded ground operations beyond an already established occupied security zone that already included dozens of southern Lebanese villages.

    The human cost of Israel’s military campaign, which launched on March 2, continues to mount. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reports that at least 3,355 people have been killed in Israeli attacks to date, with 31 additional fatalities recorded between Thursday and Saturday. Thursday marked a significant escalation of its own, when Israel carried out its first airstrike near the Lebanese capital Beirut in several weeks.

    More than 1 million Lebanese people have been displaced by the campaign, which has leveled entire residential towns and cities, shattered critical public infrastructure, and pushed Lebanon’s already fragile humanitarian system into catastrophic collapse.

    On the Lebanese side, the armed group Hezbollah has continued to mount coordinated retaliatory operations against Israeli targets. On Saturday alone, the group announced three separate attacks: it launched rocket barrages targeting the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, fired a precision missile at the air traffic control unit at Israel’s Meron Air Base – a key Israeli Air Force surveillance and command outpost located just 8 kilometers from the Lebanese border – and ambushed Israeli infantry troops near the southern Lebanese village of Ghandouriyeh, forcing the attacking unit to retreat. The group also stated it carried out a targeted strike on advancing Israeli troops near the historic Beaufort Castle (known locally as Qalaat al-Shaqif), a site that served as an Israeli military base during Israel’s 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

  • Minhas’ five-wicket haul on ODI debut earns Pakistan five-wicket win over Australia

    Minhas’ five-wicket haul on ODI debut earns Pakistan five-wicket win over Australia

    Cricket history was made in Rawalpindi on Saturday, where 21-year-old left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas delivered a fairy-tale debut performance to power Pakistan to a five-wicket victory over an under-strength Australia in the opening match of their three-match ODI series. Minhas’ historic five-wicket haul made him the first Pakistani bowler ever to claim five wickets on ODI debut, finishing with sensational figures of 5 for 32 that dismantled Australia’s batting lineup on a spin-friendly dry pitch.

    Australia entered the match already depleted by the absence of three of its top fast bowlers — Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc — who all skipped the series to compete in the Indian Premier League and manage pre-existing workloads. Their bowling unit was further weakened hours before the first ball when frontline spinner Adam Zampa was ruled out with sudden neck spasms. Despite the setbacks, Australia won no sympathy from Pakistan’s spin attack, bundled out for just 200 all out in 44.1 overs.

    Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi read the pitch and sweltering match conditions perfectly after winning the toss, handing Minhas the opportunity to exploit the turning surface. The young spinner did not waste his chance, ripping through Australia’s top order by claiming three wickets in just six overs. He trapped both captain Cameron Inglis and star all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne leg before wicket, before producing a magical delivery that spun away from right-hander Cameron Green to clip the top of his off stump. By the 16th over, Australia was reeling at 68 for 4. Opener Matthew Renshaw top-scored for the side with 61 runs, while Matthew Short added 55, but no other batter could build a substantial innings to lift the team to a competitive total. Abrar Ahmed chipped in with two wickets, and Salman Ali Agha took one to support Minhas’ match-winning spell.

    In response, Pakistan’s chase was anchored by a game-changing 127-run partnership between former captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori. Babar, recalled to the side after missing Pakistan’s March series against Bangladesh, scored a solid 69 off 94 deliveries, while Ghori notched his maiden ODI half-century with an unbeaten 65. The pair played with patience and discipline against Australia’s spin pairing of Matthew Kuhnemann and Tanveer Sangha, refusing to go for risky extravagant shots that would have derailed their chase. After Kuhnemann dropped Babar shortly after he brought up his half-century, Nathan Ellis eventually clean-bowled the experienced batter, and trapped Ghori leg before wicket soon after — but by that point, Pakistan was on the brink of victory.

    It fell to debutant Minhas to seal the win, and he did so in style: hitting a straight six off Labuschagne to reach the target, finishing the match unbeaten on 18 off 17 balls. Pakistan crossed the line at 202 for 5 in 42.3 overs, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The match also marked a milestone for Pakistani cricket, as it saw Pakistan become only the third nation in international cricket history to play 1,000 ODI matches, following India (1,075) and Australia (1,020).

    Speaking after the match, Minhas acknowledged the weight of expectation on his debut but said he thrives under pressure. “There was indeed pressure, but I like to enjoy that pressure environment and my focus was on enjoying this opportunity,” he said.

    Captain Afridi praised his young team members, highlighting their performance as a sign of a promising future for Pakistani cricket. “We knew there would be a lot of assistance for the spinners and the spinners delivered. I am very happy for Arafat Minhas. … Ghori is a great player against both spin and pace, so the future of Pakistan looks bright,” Afridi said.

    The series will now move to Lahore for the remaining two matches, scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.

  • How did tattoo artists become legal in South Korea?

    How did tattoo artists become legal in South Korea?

    For generations, tattooing in South Korea existed in a legal gray area, forcing skilled tattoo artists to ply their trade in hidden underground studios, cut off from mainstream recognition and legal protections. That long chapter of secrecy has finally come to a close, and now hundreds of tattoo creators from every corner of the nation have converged on the capital city of Seoul to mark a historic turning point for their craft. BBC correspondents on the ground captured the jubilant atmosphere of the gathering, where artists shared their stories of decades working off the grid, displayed their intricate, culturally rooted work, and celebrated the hard-won legal status that opens a new era for South Korea’s tattoo community. The shift to legalization caps years of advocacy from tattoo artists who argued their work is a legitimate form of creative expression, not a regulated medical service as previously classified under South Korean law. For many attendees, the gathering in Seoul is more than a celebration—it is a public declaration that tattoo art has earned its place in the country’s cultural mainstream.

  • Four more men freed from flooded Laos cave

    Four more men freed from flooded Laos cave

    In a remote mountainous region of central Laos, a dramatic 10-day rescue operation has resulted in the safe extraction of four men who were trapped underground after flash floods flooded a narrow cave system, Thai rescue officials confirmed Thursday. The four survivors emerged from the dangerous cave network a full 24 hours after rescuers pulled a fifth man to safety last week.

    The group of seven, all Lao nationals, had ventured deep into the interconnected tunnels of the cave in Xaysomboun province in search of gold deposits on May 20. Within hours of entering, sudden flash floods surged through the cave, collapsing access routes and cutting the group off from the outside world, leaving them stranded in total darkness hundreds of meters from the entrance.

    Rescue teams, including highly trained specialist divers, were deployed immediately to the remote site, but their efforts were hampered by extremely challenging conditions. The cave system is not only extremely deep but also remarkably narrow, with some passageways measuring just 50 centimeters, or 20 inches, wide. Tight spaces and ongoing water hazards slowed progress as search teams worked systematically through the winding tunnels.

    By Wednesday, rescuers had located five alive members of the original group. Following the successful rescue of the first man on Wednesday, the remaining four were brought out to safety on Thursday. Even as rescue teams celebrate the successful recovery of the five survivors, the operation continues: two members of the original group remain unaccounted for, with search teams continuing to comb the cave system for any sign of the missing men.

  • Rescuers work to free 4 men who remain trapped in flooded Laos cave and search for 2 still missing

    Rescuers work to free 4 men who remain trapped in flooded Laos cave and search for 2 still missing

    In a remote, rugged stretch of central Laos, an international team of rescue specialists is racing against harsh conditions to pull four surviving trapped villagers out of a flooded cave system, 10 days after flash floods cut off their exit. One of the five men found alive earlier this week was successfully evacuated to safety on Friday, capping days of dangerous preparation, as crews continue searching for two other missing villagers who remain unaccounted for.

    The chain of events that led to the crisis began last week, when a group of seven local villagers entered the remote cave in Xaisomboun Province, roughly 120 kilometers north of the capital Vientiane, in search of valuable minerals. Unexpected flash floods rushed through the cave system, sealing off the only exit and trapping the entire group. Only one man managed to escape the rising waters quickly enough to alert local authorities to the emergency, setting the large-scale rescue effort in motion.

    Three days ago, rescuers made a hopeful breakthrough: they located five of the six remaining trapped men alive, identified only by their first names: Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing and Laen. Crews immediately delivered life-sustaining supplies to the stranded men, including clean drinking water, soft food and thermal foil blankets to ward off hypothermia in the cool, damp cave environment. Despite the aid, on-site footage shows the men’s health and physical conditions have continued to decline after more than a week trapped underground.

    Friday brought the first major success of the operation. After months of preparation and hours of careful navigation through the cave’s flooded passages, crews extracted the first survivor in an operation that took roughly 30 minutes. On-site videos captured the tense moment of his emergence: the man exited the cave’s dark water alongside an expert cave diver, gasping for air before slowly pulling himself through a narrow, partially flooded passageway. When he finally reached stable ground, he struggled to stand steadily on unsteady legs. Rescuers noted he had suffered injuries to his hands, quickly wrapped him in a thermal blanket to stabilize his body temperature, and assisted him to a waiting medical team. A second video showed the man being helped out of the cave’s main entrance, a headlamp strapped to his forehead, supported by two rescue workers as he moved into the care of waiting medics amid a crowd of on-site responders. It has not been publicly confirmed which of the five identified survivors was the first to be evacuated.

    Crews decided to hold off on evacuating the four remaining surviving men on Friday, as they determined the men were not yet physically ready to make the dangerous journey out. Instead, rescue teams worked overnight and through Saturday to drain more flood water from the cave system, with the goal of completing the extractions of the remaining four survivors later the same day. One participating Thai cave diver, Norrased Palasing, reaffirmed the team’s commitment in a Facebook post Saturday, writing “One person has made it out safely, and we will not stop until the remaining four make it home too.”

    The rescue effort has drawn international support and expertise. Local Laotian rescue teams have been joined by specialist responders from neighboring Thailand, as well as crews from Japan and Malaysia, with additional specialists from Indonesia, France and Australia also arriving at the remote site. Notably, many of the participating Thai divers and rescue leaders took part in the dramatic 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, which successfully extracted 12 trapped schoolboys and their soccer coach from a flooded northern Thai cave, giving the team extensive experience in complex underground cave rescues.

    Even with this expertise, the operation remains extraordinarily high-risk. In a video recorded just an hour before the first evacuation began on Friday, Thai rescuer Kengkaj Bongkawong of the Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin detailed the extreme challenges crews face inside the cave. The rescue’s forward operating base is set up in a large chamber deep inside the cave, which can only be reached by navigating more than 200 meters of twisting, narrow passages with sharp jagged rock walls, most of which are fully submerged. From that staging area, divers must complete an additional 30-meter dive through a fully flooded tunnel to reach the chamber where the survivors are trapped.

    “To dive in a cave, there are issues with the temperature, narrow areas, control of movement, and managing the panic of the survivor, which will be difficult, but we have to do it,” Kengkaj explained. The greatest danger comes when guiding untrained survivors through zero-visibility flood waters, a task that carries significant risk of disorientation and panic for both the survivors and the rescue team. To prepare, divers have spent days training the trapped men in basic diving safety: on-site footage shows Norrased Palasing and Finnish diver Mikko Paasi walking the men through how to use diving breathing equipment, emphasizing the critical rule of breathing only through the mouth while underwater.

    Alongside the effort to extract the four remaining survivors, crews are also preparing to search deeper into the cave system for the two missing villagers. Kengkaj said teams plan to explore a section of the cave 20 to 25 meters beyond the chamber where the five survivors were found, a region that is even more deeply flooded than the area where the men were trapped. “That area has a lot of water. The water goes there because it’s even deeper than this place,” he noted.