标签： Asia

Newly released satellite imagery has put to rest lingering questions over the fate of two historic Armenian churches in Khankendi, the city known to ethnic Armenians as Stepanakert, located in Azerbaijan’s disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The visual evidence, published by Radio Free Europe, confirms early reports that both the Holy Mother of God Cathedral — a modern spiritual center consecrated only in 2019 — and the smaller Church of St. Jacob have been completely destroyed.

Initial claims of the cathedral’s demolition first circulated across Armenian media outlets back in April, sparking outrage among Armenian religious and political communities before the satellite confirmation. As the primary site of Christian worship for Khankendi’s longstanding Armenian population, the cathedral held deep cultural and spiritual significance for the local community.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the administrative and spiritual heart of the global Armenian Apostolic Church, was quick to condemn the destruction when reports first emerged. The institution accused Azerbaijan of a deliberate campaign targeting Armenian Christian sacred sites, framing the damage as part of a broader effort to erase traces of Armenian cultural and historical presence in the disputed region.

To understand the context of this development, Nagorno-Karabakh held a decades-long status as a majority ethnic Armenian enclave that was self-governed by the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh following the conclusion of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in the 1990s. But in September 2023, a rapid military offensive by Azerbaijani government forces retook full control of the entire territory, bringing it back under Baku’s official rule consistent with international legal recognition of the area as Azerbaijani sovereign territory. The 2023 offensive triggered a mass exodus, with more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians — the vast majority of the region’s remaining Armenian population — fleeing across the border into the Republic of Armenia to escape the new governance.

Tensions remain high between the two neighboring states in the aftermath of the 2023 offensive, with the continued detention of Armenian separatist figures by Azerbaijani authorities serving as a persistent flashpoint that fuels widespread anger in Armenia. In line with standard journalistic practice, Middle East Eye reached out to both the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request official comment on the confirmed church destructions, but neither side had issued a response by the time of this report’s publication.

One of Israel’s most senior former intelligence leaders has delivered a scathing rebuke of unaddressed settler violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, drawing a deeply personal, provocative comparison to the Holocaust that has reignited debate over the Israeli government’s failure to curb escalating attacks.

Tamir Pardo, who led Israel’s iconic Mossad intelligence agency from 2011 to 2016, shared his searing observations during a recent on-the-ground interview with Israel’s Channel 13. The interview took place during a tour of violence-ravaged Palestinian villages, which Pardo joined alongside a group of retired senior Israeli military officials.

Pardo, whose mother survived the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million European Jews, opened up about the visceral reaction he had to what he witnessed during the tour. “My mother was a Holocaust survivor, and what I saw reminded me of the events that happened against Jews in the last century,” he stated. The former intelligence director went further, adding, “What I saw today made me feel ashamed to be Jewish.”

Beyond the emotional condemnation, Pardo issued a stark warning about the long-term consequences of unchecked settler aggression. He argued that ongoing settler crimes, which have been largely unpunished by Israeli authorities and in some cases actively enabled by state actors, are laying the groundwork for another devastating escalation of conflict similar to the October 7, 2023 attacks that killed roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel.

“It will be in a different format, much more painful, because the region is much more complicated. The state has chosen to sow the seeds for the next October 7,” Pardo warned. He added that while Israeli law enforcement agencies are fully aware of the scale and severity of settler violence, political leadership has deliberately chosen to look the other way. “What I saw today is the existential threat to the State of Israel,” he emphasized.

Pardo specifically called out the outsized political influence held by hardline settler groups, which enjoy open backing from top figures in Israel’s current far-right governing coalition, including controversial ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. While Pardo acknowledged that it is still possible to reverse course and address the crisis, he warned that doing so would come at a profound cost, even raising the prospect of internal civil conflict within Israel. “If we want, we can correct this, but the price will be very high,” he said. “It is very much in our interest not to reach that point.”

The former Mossad chief also reflected on a decades-old warning from prominent Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, who publicly condemned Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories shortly after the 1967 Six-Day War. In his 1968 essay *The Territories*, Leibowitz argued that permanent military rule over millions of Palestinians would inevitably corrupt Israeli society as a whole, writing that “the corruption characteristic of every colonial regime would also prevail in the state of Israel” and calling for an immediate full withdrawal from occupied lands. Pardo noted that he once rejected Leibowitz’s assessment as wrong, but his recent tour of affected West Bank villages has convinced him the philosopher’s prediction held significant truth.

Pardo’s comments come amid a well-documented surge in settler violence and territorial expansion in the West Bank that has accelerated dramatically since October 2023. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli settlers have killed at least 16 Palestinians in the West Bank so far in 2025. A United Nations report published in March 2025 added further context, documenting that more than 36,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes in the West Bank between November 2024 and October 2025, driven by a wave of coordinated military raids and settler attacks. Over that same 12-month period, the UN recorded 1,732 separate incidents of settler violence that resulted in casualties or property damage – a 25% increase compared to the previous year. Many of these attacks have taken the form of systematic forced displacement of Palestinian communities from their historical land, with settlers increasingly using live fire against unarmed civilian residents.

For two weeks, a massive fallen glacial serac had put all spring climbing plans on hold at Mount Everest, trapping teams below Base Camp and threatening to upend the annual prime climbing season. But following urgent days of work by elite high-altitude crews, a usable alternative path has been carved through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall, opening the way for climbing teams to resume their acclimatization rotations toward the summit.

Ram Krishna Lamichhane, director general of Nepal’s Department of Tourism, confirmed to the BBC that specialized icefall doctors have successfully installed fixed ropes all the way to Camp 2, which sits at an altitude of roughly 6,400 to 6,500 meters (21,000 to 21,325 feet) above sea level. “Still there are some risks, but icefall doctors have picked up the most convenient available route and identified the path forward,” Lamichhane said. He added that climbers are expected to begin moving toward Camp 1 and Camp 2 for acclimatization exercises starting tomorrow.

The disruption began in early April, when rope-fixing teams launching preparations for the 2026 spring season encountered the 100-foot (30-meter) tall serac that had calved off the glacier and blocked the standard route. Crews were forced to pause work for two weeks as they waited for the unstable ice block to begin melting naturally, putting all season preparations roughly two weeks behind the original schedule. This delay has sparked growing concerns that the backlog will lead to the dangerous summit queues that have plagued crowded Everest seasons in past years.

The route-clearing work was a collaborative effort carried out by experienced icefall doctors from Nepal’s Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) alongside veteran sherpas from expedition operator associations, who specialize in navigating the constantly shifting icefall terrain. Lakpa Sherpa, a veteran climber and expedition manager who oversaw part of the work, explained that modern technology played a key role in speeding up the operation. Airlift support was used to deliver critical supplies including fixed ropes, aluminum ladders, snow stabilizer bars and food to high-altitude crews during the most challenging phases of the work. Teams also leveraged cutting-edge survey tools: “3D photogrammetry and real-time drone surveys to map the Khumbu Icefall and assess hazards like seracs and crevasses,” he said.

While the route to lower camps is now open for traffic, officials and expedition leaders have stressed that major hazards remain in the area. Lakpa Sherpa warned that the original massive unstable serac is still at high risk of collapse within the next four to five days, and urged climbing teams to avoid carrying heavy payloads through the affected section of the icefall. “Safety is our highest priority; further rotations should proceed with extreme caution and at your own risk,” he said. Acknowledging the delays to the season timeline, he urged permit holders to remain calm: “The season is slightly delayed but the summit will come,” he added.

Nepal’s Department of Tourism echoed that safety message in a post to X, noting, “As climbers navigate the route, utmost caution is urged, particularly in the serac-affected section. Wishing all a safe ascent.”

This year, 425 climbers have received official permits to attempt a summit of Mount Everest from the Nepali side of the border. According to the Department of Tourism, these permits will generate roughly 924.2 million Nepalese Rupees, equivalent to approximately $6.1 million or £4.5 million, in government revenue, making the spring climbing season a key contributor to Nepal’s tourism-driven economy.

Decades after the death of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, a decades-long ecological crisis in Colombia has drawn an unexpected offer from one of Asia’s wealthiest families. The crisis traces back to Escobar, the infamous leader of the Medellín Cartel who was killed by police in 1993, who illegally smuggled a pair of African hippopotamuses into his luxurious Hacienda Nápoles estate, located 155 miles northwest of Bogotá. After Escobar’s death, the two hippos were left to roam freely, and the Magdalena River basin, with its fertile swamps, lack of natural predators, and ideal conditions in the Antioquia region, allowed the species to explode in population. Now numbering in a growing herd recognized as the largest population of hippos outside their native Africa, these animals, nicknamed the ‘cocaine hippos’, have been officially classified as an invasive species by the Colombian government.

Colombian authorities and environmental groups have long documented the damage caused by the non-native hippos: they have displaced local native wildlife, threatened fishing communities along the Magdalena River, and disrupted the regional ecosystem. Adult male hippos can weigh up to three tons, making aggressive encounters with humans a serious public safety risk. For years, Colombia attempted multiple population control measures, including surgical castration, but all efforts failed to slow the herd’s rapid growth. Facing an uncontrolled population projected to expand far beyond current limits, the government made the controversial decision to cull approximately 80 hippos to manage the crisis.

That plan is now facing a potential alternative following a public proposal from Anant Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani—Asia’s richest man. In a formal letter to Colombia’s Minister of Environment, the CEO of Vantara, Ambani’s private zoo in Gujarat’s Jamnagar district, stated that the facility is ‘willing to receive and care for’ the targeted hippos, offering to provide lifelong care for the entire herd on its grounds. The proposal, shared publicly on the zoo’s official Instagram account, emphasized that ‘at the heart of this proposal is Vantara’s belief that every life matters and that we have a shared responsibility to protect life wherever possible’. As of this reporting, Colombian officials have not issued any formal response to the offer.

Vantara, a 3,500-acre private zoo located near the world’s largest oil refinery owned by Mukesh Ambani, currently houses more than 2,000 animal species including elephants, tigers, and other large megafauna. The facility gained global attention in 2024 when it served as one of the venues for Anant Ambani’s high-profile, extravagant pre-wedding celebrations. However, the zoo has also faced repeated criticism from wildlife conservation activists, who have raised concerns over a range of issues including the incompatibility of Gujarat’s hot, dry climate for many of the species held in captivity there.

The ‘cocaine hippo’ dilemma remains one of Colombia’s most intractable environmental challenges, balancing ecological protection for native ecosystems and public safety against animal welfare advocacy. The unexpected offer from the Ambani family has opened a new chapter in a debate that has divided conservationists for years, with the Colombian government yet to indicate whether it will accept the proposed relocation plan.

Every dawn and dusk along the Mediterranean seafront of Sour, Lebanon’s largest southern coastal city, a quiet, anxious ritual plays out. Dozens of residents gather along Nabih Berri Street, their gazes fixed southward across the glittering water, all the way to the border town of Naqoura, where the line between their homeland and occupied territory now blurs.

On the horizon, eight kilometers from Sour, the white limestone cliffs of al-Bayada rise from the sea. Today, those cliffs are an advanced forward operating base for Israeli troops, part of the expanding ground invasion that has pushed deep into southern Lebanon. Even when the soldiers are hidden from view, their presence hangs heavy over the city, leaving locals with a constant, unsettling feeling of being watched.

Lina, a local resident whose apartment overlooks the newly seized territory, spoke with quiet despair. “Israel has long targeted Naqoura. The headland gives them unobstructed view of our entire coastline,” she explained. “We already lived under constant drone surveillance for years. Now they watch us directly from that cliff.”

Sour has become a hub for thousands of displaced Lebanese who fled their homes near the Blue Line – the UN-drawn boundary established in 2000 to mark Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Even Sour has suffered severe damage from repeated Israeli strikes, but for these displaced families, it remains the only available refuge. For most of them, their original homes are either uninhabitable after weeks of bombardment or now lie under Israeli occupation.

After Hezbollah granted limited press access to the frontline, journalists were able to travel a short distance south of Sour for a few hours to document the situation on the ground. The winding coastal highway that once bustled with local traffic and tourist traffic is now almost entirely empty. Only a handful of vehicles pick their way through a landscape of ruin, where posters of Hezbollah fighters killed after the Lebanese front opened on 8 October 2023 line every damaged guardrail.

A checkpoint manned by a small contingent of Lebanese army personnel blocks the road further south; no civilian or journalist can pass. Israeli troops hold positions less than a kilometer away, in al-Bayada, the first coastal town to fall within Israel’s self-imposed “Yellow Line” – a new demarcation drawn roughly 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory, established after a 10-day ceasefire took effect. This new occupation buffer zone follows the same model Israel employed in Gaza, barring tens of thousands of residents of border communities from returning to their land and homes.

A short drive inland from the coast lies al-Mansouri, a small village that mirrors the devastation seen across every community in southern Lebanon. Empty streets stretch between piles of collapsed concrete, and every structure bears the scars of Israeli bombardment. Even the village mosque was not spared: its minaret was sheared off by an airstrike, leaving a jagged stump against the sky.

After the ceasefire came into force on 17 April, a new tragedy unfolded when a small group of villagers tried to return to their homes to assess damage and retrieve belongings. Almost immediately, they came under direct fire from Israeli forces. One resident, speaking on condition of anonymity to Middle East Eye, described the chaotic aftermath. “We scattered across the village to hide when the firing started,” they said. “Neither our security forces nor the Red Cross were allowed to come in. This is land we’ve spilled blood to defend, and we were left completely alone.”

Survivors recounted that any attempt to escape by car was met with immediate gunfire from both ground troops and attack aircraft. What followed was a four-day siege, where trapped residents survived only by picking wild lemons from orchards to eat. Mohammad, a 30-something villager who was not present during the siege, described how he pieced together his own father’s final moments from surviving witnesses. “He was trapped in a ring of fire,” Mohammad said, his gaze vacant. “Then the building he was hiding in was hit by a strike.”

Official data from Lebanon’s health ministry confirms the escalating human cost: more than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon since 2 March alone, including 177 children, 277 women, and 100 medical personnel.

While al-Mansouri does not technically fall inside the Yellow Line, it sits directly on its edge, and Israeli positions on the overlooking hilltop give troops full visibility across the entire village. Moussa Zein, a 65-year-old resident who recently returned to al-Mansouri to try to rebuild, said locals are still struggling to process the new reality of occupation on their doorstep. “The ceasefire is violated dozens of times every single day, while our government drifts aimlessly into talks with the enemy,” Mohammad added, referencing the recent direct negotiations between Tel Aviv and Beirut hosted in Washington – the first such talks in 30 years.

Like many residents, Moussa is determined to stay in his home, despite the daily risk of Israeli strikes that have continued even after the ceasefire. What deters him more than the threat of violence is the scale of destruction: the village has no running water, no electricity, and basic services remain completely destroyed. “Our lives, our parents’ lives, have all been shaped by repeated wars and invasions,” Mohammad said. “For years, no one paid attention to what was happening here. But now the whole world can see: Hezbollah is just a pretext for Israel to seize our land.” As evidence, he points to comments Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made last summer on the I24 news network, where he described his goal as fulfilling a “historic and spiritual mission” deeply tied to the vision of Greater Israel and the Promised Land. “The occupation cannot last. We believe in the resistance – it is the only thing that can protect us,” Mohammad said.

A few kilometers southeast of al-Mansouri, Majdal Zoun, another small town on the Yellow Line’s edge, shares the same fears and uncertainty. Once home to roughly 5,000 residents, the hilltop town is now almost entirely deserted. Almost every house bears the scars of Israeli strikes, and it is nearly impossible to find a single intact structure. A group of young women displaced to Sour return to the town every day, refusing to abandon their ancestral home. “This is our village. We will not leave it to the enemy, so we come back and forth every day. We believe in the resistance,” they said in unison, standing at the village cemetery looking out toward Sour on the horizon. When a surveillance drone hums low overhead, they glance up anxiously, their faces tightening with fear. “Majdal Zoun’s geographic position makes it a prime target for Israel. We are scared they will try to seize it any day now,” one added.

From the southern edge of Majdal Zoun, the occupied village of Shama is visible just two kilometers away. Its historic fort, which houses the shrine of the prophet Shamoun al-Safa, has been heavily damaged in Israeli strikes. In mid-April, Lebanon’s Ministry of Culture announced it had filed an urgent complaint with UNESCO, calling for immediate international intervention to protect the archaeological and religious site. During the Middle East Eye visit, no troop movements were visible, but several Israeli flags flying over the fort can be seen clearly from Majdal Zoun.

Further inland to the east, the village of Tayr Harfa is also under Israeli occupation. Regular explosions echo across the hills, and plumes of smoke rise above the tree line. “They are blowing up every house that’s still standing. After bombing us, they want to raze everything to the ground, just like they did in Gaza,” said Ali, a 39-year-old resident from the area. Ali’s own village is now surrounded on its southern flank by the Israeli army, and he fears for its future. “Unfortunately, we expect nothing from the Lebanese army. We only have the resistance to rely on. Otherwise, Majdal Zoun will fall too,” he said. Ali praised what he called the heroic resistance of Hezbollah fighters, who inflicted significant losses on Israeli troops before the ceasefire and stopped them from advancing further into Lebanese territory. Confrontations continue even after the truce: on 23 April, Hezbollah announced it had shot down an Israeli surveillance drone operating over the area.

A few kilometers further north in the village of Qlaileh, the community is mourning the loss of several Hezbollah fighters killed in recent combat. One mother sits gently stroking a portrait of her dead son, her eyes filled with constant tears. Beside her, 30-year-old Rana said the fighters’ sacrifices will not be forgotten. “We cannot rely on anyone but ourselves. We will fight to keep our land, because this is all we have,” she said.