Global Pulse

标签： Asia

亚洲

  • Watch: At the scene where Bangkok’s deadly bar fire unfolded

    Watch: At the scene where Bangkok’s deadly bar fire unfolded

    A devastating fire that broke out at a popular nightlife venue in central Bangkok has left at least 27 people dead, marking one of the deadliest commercial fire incidents in Thailand in recent years. The BBC’s South East Asia correspondent has traveled to the charred site of the blaze to document the immediate aftermath and speak to first responders, local residents, and witnesses who survived the fast-spreading inferno.

    Smoke still clung to the twisted metal and blackened structural beams days after the fire broke out, with rescue crews continuing to comb through the ruins to confirm the final death toll and identify all victims. Local emergency officials told the correspondent that the fire spread rapidly through the two-story venue, trapping dozens of patrons inside before fire trucks could arrive at the scene. Many of the victims were found near the main exit, which had become blocked by falling debris as the blaze accelerated.

    The correspondent’s on-site reporting captures the scale of the tragedy, from the shattered glass that litters the surrounding street to the tributes left by loved ones outside the cordoned-off area. Authorities have launched an official investigation into the cause of the fire, with initial reports focusing on potential electrical faults and inadequate fire safety measures at the venue. This disaster has already reignited public debate in Thailand over the enforcement of safety regulations for commercial entertainment venues, as communities mourn the lives lost in the unexpected tragedy.

  • One in four Israelis using hard drugs amid Gaza genocide and regional wars

    One in four Israelis using hard drugs amid Gaza genocide and regional wars

    A sharp, unprecedented rise in harmful substance use across Israel has been documented by leading mental health researchers, linking the growing public health crisis to the cumulative psychological toll of ongoing military conflict in Gaza and escalating instability across the Middle East. Data published in Israeli outlet Haaretz, drawn from analysis by the Israeli Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, reveals that one in four Israelis now engage in harmful substance misuse — a figure that has more than doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Pre-pandemic, the national rate of problematic substance use sat at just 10% (one in 10 Israelis). That figure climbed to 14% (one in seven) during the height of global pandemic-related lockdowns and uncertainty, before spiking dramatically to 25% in the months following October 2023, when Israel launched its large-scale military campaign in Gaza in response to attacks led by Hamas.

    The research breaks down the specific shifts in substance consumption: use of prescription sedatives has increased 250% compared to pre-conflict levels, while consumption of opiates and stimulants has nearly doubled. Rates of harmful alcohol and cannabis use have also ticked upward across all demographic groups. For Israelis living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to ongoing conflict, the rate of problematic substance misuse now reaches 54.2%, highlighting the deep intersection of trauma and addiction in the current crisis.

    Prof. Shauli Lev-Ran, founder of the Israeli Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, explained that repeated waves of national crisis have cemented harmful coping habits that formed during periods of extreme stress. “The more stress there is, the more people use,” Lev-Ran told Haaretz, adding a critical warning that these addictive patterns often persist long after periods of immediate crisis abate.

    Firsthand accounts from people who use substances across the country paint a stark picture of how conflict has normalized drug use as a coping mechanism for daily uncertainty. Many report relying on ketamine, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis, and prescription sedatives to navigate repeated missile alerts, attend funerals of conflict victims, cope with military mobilization of loved ones, and process a constant stream of violent death reporting.

    One Israeli man described his drug use escalating in lockstep with the expansion of Israel’s regional military campaigns, explaining that substances helped him create emotional distance from “all the blood and death” dominating news cycles. Another account noted that mourners have used amphetamines to get through funerals held for conflict victims since October 2023. Other residents report using ketamine before entering bomb shelters to manage extreme anxiety, while working adults turn to stimulants to maintain productivity despite chronic sleeplessness and stress.

    This rise in misuse is not limited to informal nightlife settings: interviewees described open substance use taking place in private homes, office workplaces, neighborhood bars, and public bomb shelters. Widespread access to encrypted messaging apps and anonymous digital payment platforms has also made it easier than ever for Israelis to obtain controlled substances, removing barriers that previously limited access.

    Dr. Roy Zucker, a clinician working in drug harm reduction, notes that the changing nature of substance use has created new risks for public health: more than 80% of drug-related emergency department cases now involve polysubstance use, a dangerous mix of multiple different drugs that increases the risk of fatal overdose and severe medical complications compared to single-substance use.

    The crisis also extends to Palestinian citizens of Israel, who face the compounded trauma of witnessing the destruction of Gaza while coping with growing systemic repression within Israel’s borders. Many Palestinian residents report turning to substances to cope after the trauma of seeing massacres of Palestinians in Gaza, with limited access to affordable or accessible mental health treatment leaving few alternative coping options. One Palestinian citizen described whole communities “falling apart” in the wake of the Gaza campaign, with substance use becoming a default for many struggling with unaddressed trauma.

    Lev-Ran warned that without targeted intervention, the public health crisis will only deepen as long as conflict and permanent national alert continue. Prolonged cycles of violence, he explained, make it impossible for people to reset and return to normal daily life, as just one crisis begins to ease another attack, military mobilization, or regional escalation begins.

    This reporting is from independent outlet Middle East Eye, which provides dedicated, unrivaled coverage of the Middle East and North Africa region.

  • Thailand PM visits aftermath of deadly Bangkok bar fire

    Thailand PM visits aftermath of deadly Bangkok bar fire

    A devastating fire that tore through a popular pub in central Thailand’s capital Bangkok in the early hours of Monday has left the nation in shock, prompting the country’s top leader to travel directly to the scene to assess the destruction and meet with first responders. Local time just after midnight, witnesses and emergency crews reported the sudden blaze breaking out at the venue, which was crowded with late-night patrons when the fire ignited.

    Captured camera footage from the area in the hours after the fire was contained paints a grim picture of the aftermath: blackened exterior walls, shattered windows, and a gutted interior that stands as a reminder of the rapid spread of the blaze that emergency workers battled to bring under control. As rescue teams continue to comb through the wreckage to confirm casualty numbers and investigate the cause of the fire, Thailand’s Prime Minister did not delay in visiting the site, where he received briefings from local officials about the response effort and the next steps for the investigation.

    The incident has already drawn widespread attention across the country, raising new questions about fire safety protocols for entertainment venues in densely populated urban areas of Thailand. Local law enforcement and fire safety agencies have launched a formal probe to determine what sparked the fire, whether it originated from an electrical fault, a cooking accident, or another source, and whether the venue failed to meet mandatory safety standards that could have prevented the high death toll.

  • China’s ‘Green Great Wall’ tames desert growth, but scientists warn the fight is not over

    China’s ‘Green Great Wall’ tames desert growth, but scientists warn the fight is not over

    In the arid sandscapes of northern China’s Kubuqi Desert, a quiet, decades-long revolution against one of the world’s most persistent ecological threats has unfolded. For half a century, millions of workers have carved order into shifting dunes one grid at a time: driving forearm-length straw sticks into loose sand in intersecting lines to create a widespread checkerboard pattern, then planting native saplings at the center of each small square. This low-tech but highly effective technique, called straw checkerboarding, stabilizes dunes against strong desert winds, traps moisture, and gives young seedlings the stable environment they need to put down roots.

    This vast greening effort is the backbone of the Three-North Protective Forest Program, more widely known globally as China’s Green Great Wall. Launched in 1978, the ambitious initiative is designed to roll back the steady expansion of desertification, a process driven by centuries of drought, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming that stripped northern China of vegetation, degraded soil, and left communities vulnerable to devastating wind and sandstorms.

    Generations of steady work have delivered striking, measurable results. Official state data shows that desertified land across northern China peaked in 2000, and has shrunk by more than 1,000 square kilometers every year since that turning point. As of 2024, the cumulative forest area established through the program covers more than 500,000 square kilometers — an area roughly the size of Spain. Long-term monitoring from a team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Applied Ecology found that overall desertified land in China has fallen by roughly 10% since 2000, while areas of severe and extreme desertification have dropped by more than 40%. Forest coverage across the program’s working area has jumped from just 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022.

    For frontline workers like 60-year-old Yin Yuzhen, who has spent four decades fighting sand near the Mu Us Desert adjacent to Kubuqi, that transformation is personal. Yin recalled her early years on the sand line as a time of profound isolation: when even a single bird passing overhead was enough to lift her spirits, and blowing sand often blocked visibility just a few feet ahead. Today, she says the horizon is clear, greenery stretches for miles, and permanent roads cut through landscapes that were once unnavigable shifting dunes. Even after 40 years, she still works from dawn to midday every day tending saplings and repairing worn checkerboards, a task now joined by her children and occasional local volunteers. Researchers estimate more than 300 million rural laborers have contributed to the program over its history, mostly as paid part-time participants.

    Scientists and environmental experts across the globe have hailed the program as a landmark model for landscape restoration. Barron Joseph Orr, chief scientist for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, noted that the Three-North Program’s greatest contribution goes beyond the sheer scale of land restored. What sets it apart, he says, is the sustained political and financial commitment that has kept the initiative running for five decades. “Reversing desertification is possible when it becomes part of long-term development strategies,” Orr explained in comments to the Associated Press. The Green Great Wall has inspired similar large-scale efforts worldwide, including the Great Green Wall initiative launched across 11 African nations in 2007 to hold back the expanding Sahara Desert.

    Yet despite the remarkable progress, experts stress that the work is far from finished. Preserving the hard-won gains of the past 50 years will require decades more consistent investment and management, researchers say. Restored dryland ecosystems can become increasingly self-sustaining over time, but they remain dependent on long-term monitoring, careful management, and favorable conditions including adequate water access and healthy soil.

    Many Chinese environmental advocates and researchers also point to a key ongoing challenge: aligning ecological restoration with local community livelihoods, to avoid framing conservation and economic development as opposing goals. Zhao Zhong, founder of Gansu-based environmental advocacy group Green Camel Bell, which works with local farmers and herders to plant native vegetation and educate communities on desertification risks, notes that projects that deliver tangible economic benefits to local populations have far higher long-term success rates. Orr echoed this assessment, noting that community buy-in through shared economic benefit is a critical predictor of restoration success.

    For Dr. Zhu Jiaojun, the Chinese Academy of Sciences ecologist who has spent decades studying the program, the biggest open question remains how to sustain conservation gains if future levels of state investment and human intervention decrease. “This is what we are very concerned with and this is also the biggest challenge,” he said. For frontline workers like Yin, the solution lies in passing the work on to coming generations, and cultivating a shared sense of stewardship for the land. “We need to teach young people to love this Earth,” Yin said. “If we love it with all our hearts, nature will love us in return.”

  • How Indian scientists are mapping the brain’s last frontier

    How Indian scientists are mapping the brain’s last frontier

    For over 100 years, neuroscience has progressed like early geographic exploration: researchers have pieced together fragments of the human brain’s complex structure from scattered, isolated observations, leaving vast uncharted territory still waiting to be explored. Even today, when clinicians diagnose neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, they typically only examine a tiny handful of tissue samples from an organ that contains roughly 86 billion neurons – meaning most of the brain’s landscape remains unseen.

    Now, a team of scientists at the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC) based at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) have announced a breakthrough that addresses one of the largest gaps in modern neuroscience. The team has created what they call the world’s most detailed three-dimensional cellular-resolution atlas of the human brainstem, a fully digital mapping tool that allows researchers to navigate seamlessly from full-brain MRI scans all the way down to the level of individual nerve cells.

    Named Anchor, short for *Atlas of Neurochemical Characterisation of the Human Brainstem with 3D Reconstruction*, the new resource integrates data from more than 500 tissue samples harvested from foetal, childhood, and adult human brains. Unlike high-resolution brain mapping projects that rely on expensive molecular sequencing techniques, Anchor is constructed from high-magnification microscope images of thin tissue slices, enabling it to generate a comprehensive 3D map of the brainstem that identifies more than 200 distinct cell clusters and neural pathways. Eight targeted chemical markers are used to differentiate between cell types, producing one of the clearest portraits ever compiled of this critical but vastly understudied brain region.

    Though the brainstem makes up only a tiny fraction of the brain’s total volume, it is indispensable to human survival. Serving as the physical and functional link between the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord, the brainstem regulates core involuntary processes that sustain life: breathing, heart rate, sleep-wake cycles, and basic movement control. Even small lesions to tiny cell clusters within the brainstem can cause catastrophic, fatal damage, but the region’s tightly packed, intricate architecture has long stymied efforts to map it in fine detail.

    The true significance of Anchor extends far beyond adding another anatomical reference to neuroscience. For decades, two core branches of brain research have operated largely in isolation: whole-brain medical imaging, which provides a broad overview of brain structure but lacks fine cellular detail, and cellular pathology, which examines individual cells one slice at a time but cannot contextualize those observations within the brain’s overall 3D architecture. Anchor bridges this long-standing divide.

    Shubha Tole, a leading neuroscientist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, described the project as a visionary achievement that places India at the forefront of global neuroscience, calling it an unprecedented integration of engineering, neuroscience, and clinical medicine.

    Rebecca Folkerth, a neuropathologist affiliated with Harvard Medical School and New York University who collaborated on the project, explained the long-standing limitations of traditional brain research practices. “As a neuropathologist, I begin by examining an entire brain with the naked eye before looking at small pieces under the microscope,” she said. “For Alzheimer’s disease, we may examine only 15 to 20 sections – just a fraction of a percent of the whole organ.” This fragmented approach has been the standard since the pioneering work of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the father of modern neuroscience, more than a century ago. Modern MRI can capture the full structure of a living brain, but cannot resolve individual cells; microscopes can show individual neurons, but only in disconnected, thin tissue slices.

    “What the Indian centre has created is essentially what I dreamed of early in my career – to have brain scans match the brain’s microscopic anatomy,” said Folkerth, who has examined thousands of human brains over a 30-year career in research.

    Anchor’s interactive design allows users to zoom continuously from a full-resolution MRI view of the entire brainstem down to individual neurons, while preserving the precise spatial relationships between all structures. To advance global research, the SGBC team has made the full atlas freely accessible online, with the goal of it becoming a standard reference tool for neuroscientists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons around the world.

    The potential applications of the atlas reach far beyond basic anatomical research. By comparing healthy mapped brainstem tissue to samples from patients with neurological conditions, researchers can gain new insights into a wide range of disorders including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A more accurate 3D map of the brainstem will also allow neurosurgeons to navigate this delicate, high-stakes region with greater precision and lower risk during procedures.

    Importantly, Anchor is not designed to be a direct clinical diagnostic tool. Instead, its greatest value lies in enabling researchers to ask and answer new questions that were previously impossible to address. Partha Mitra, a leading brain scientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York who has collaborated with SGBC, notes that detailed cell-level atlases like Anchor could have a transformative impact on neurological disease research. By comparing cell-by-cell structure between healthy brains and those affected by conditions such as Alzheimer’s or autism, researchers can identify previously unrecognized pathological changes. Mitra also added that the atlas could help unpack how viral infections such as Covid-19 trigger long-term neurological damage in patients suffering from long Covid.

    Using stroke as an example, Folkerth explained that the new atlas has already revealed previously unrecognized anatomical features that could help clinicians preserve brain tissue that is injured but not yet permanently damaged, ultimately improving patient outcomes. The resource’s accessible design also makes large-scale brain mapping far more affordable for research institutions around the world, as it relies on standard high-resolution microscopy rather than costly molecular techniques. This affordability allowed the SGBC team to map the human brainstem at an unprecedented scale that would have been out of reach for many projects using alternative approaches.

    The project reflects a broader shift in modern neuroscience, where progress now depends as much on advances in engineering and computational science as it does on biological research. Around 20 SGBC scientists spent 18 months manually analyzing more than 200 brain sections, integrating MRI data, microscopic anatomy, and 3D reconstruction into a single unified digital resource. Today, the SGBC brings together more than 200 researchers, engineers, and technicians working with international collaborators across the globe to advance human brain mapping.

    Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, head of SGBC, noted that while the brains of several common animal model species have been mapped in extraordinary detail, the human brain remains vastly under-charted due to the limited availability of well-preserved human tissue for detailed research. While many brain atlases already exist, each fills a unique niche: MRI-based atlases capture broad structure but not cellular detail, histological atlases offer cellular resolution but lack 3D context, and newer molecular atlases identify cell types but do not yet map large-scale 3D architecture at scale. Anchor fills a critical gap that no existing resource has addressed.

    Even with this breakthrough, much remains unknown about the human brain: researchers still have very little understanding of how the brain’s roughly 20,000 proteins are distributed across different regions and cell types, a frontier that will define the next generation of brain mapping research. As Folkerth puts it, “Every brain is a treasure chest of new knowledge.”

    Looking ahead, SGBC plans to continue its work by imaging more than 100 whole human brains spanning different life stages and neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, to build a comprehensive reference library that will reveal how disease reshapes the human brain one cell at a time. While the new Anchor atlas will not solve all the mysteries of the human brain overnight, it gives researchers a far more detailed map to guide their work, helping them ask better questions – and ultimately find the answers that could transform neurological care.

  • China strongly deplores Japanese FM’s statement on South China Sea: spokesperson

    China strongly deplores Japanese FM’s statement on South China Sea: spokesperson

    BEIJING – On Sunday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson issued a firm rebuke of recent remarks by Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi regarding the 2016 so-called South China Sea Arbitral Award, marking the tenth anniversary of that widely disputed ruling. The spokesperson confirmed that China strongly deplores and categorically opposes the Japanese foreign minister’s statement, which openly backs the illegal “award”, misrepresents China’s long-standing legal claims in the region, and frames Japan as a so-called “legitimate stakeholder” with rights to weigh in on South China Sea affairs.

    The spokesperson emphasized that Japan holds no standing to intervene in disputes over the South China Sea, as it is not a coastal or involved party to the region’s territorial and maritime issues. Japan has no legitimate right to pass judgment on China’s inherent territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the area.

    Drawing on historical context, the spokesperson recalled that during World War II, Japanese forces occupied numerous islands and reefs in the South China Sea through illegal force, leaving a legacy of profound suffering for China and the Chinese people. Decades later, the spokesperson noted, Japan is once again seeking to insert itself into South China Sea matters under the guise of being a stakeholder – a move that evokes memories of Japan’s history of imperial aggression and expansion, and raises justified global vigilance about the growth of Japanese neo-militarism.

    China’s sovereignty over the Nanhai Zhudai (South China Sea Islands) and its accompanying rights and interests in the region were built over centuries of historical activity, and have a firm, unassailable foundation under international law, the spokesperson confirmed. All of China’s activities in the South China Sea are fully consistent with international law and legitimate sovereignty, and cannot be invalidated by the ad hoc, improperly constituted “arbitral tribunal” that issued the 2016 ruling.

    The spokesperson further explained that the 2016 tribunal overstepped its authorized jurisdiction and abused procedural power in producing the “award”, making the ruling inherently illegal, null and void, and completely without binding legal force. The flawed ruling also severely undermined the integrity and authority of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), delivering a major blow to the foundations of the international rule of law. China has never accepted and will never recognize the “award”, and rejects any claims or actions based on it.

    By openly endorsing the illegal award while ignoring its clear procedural and substantive flaws, Japan has exposed its own hypocrisy and deliberate double standards on South China Sea issues, the spokesperson argued. The ruling infamously classified Taiping Island, the largest island in the Nansha Islands which spans 500,000 square meters, supports permanent human habitation with natural fresh water and local agricultural production, as not a full island, disqualifying it from generating an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or continental shelf rights. Japan’s own claim to an EEZ and continental shelf surrounding Okinotori, a pair of tiny rocky outcrops totaling less than 10 square meters in the Pacific Ocean, would fail under the same flawed standard applied to Taiping Island. If the 2016 arbitral standard is accepted, Japan has no legitimate basis for its own expansive maritime claims linked to Okinotori, the spokesperson noted. Given Japan’s open endorsement of the award, China is fully justified in concluding that Japan accepts the arbitral standard and has voluntarily surrendered its corresponding maritime claims to Okinotori.

    The spokesperson made clear that Japan’s true goal in the South China Sea is not upholding the international rule of law, but inserting itself into the region to undermine stability and advance its own strategic interests. In recent years, Japan has deepened military collaboration with the Philippines, expanded exports of offensive weapons and military equipment to the country, increased overseas military deployments, and pursued development of long-range offensive strike missiles. These actions far exceed the bounds of legitimate self-defense, break free of constraints imposed by Japan’s post-war constitution and core international law norms, and directly challenge the post-WWII international order that has maintained regional peace for decades. This pattern of activity leaves the international community with a pressing question: what are Japan’s actual strategic intentions in the South China Sea and broader East Asia?

    China has formally called on Japan to immediately end its campaign of false accusations against China, cease spreading disinformation about South China Sea issues, and stop acting to undermine regional peace and stability. The spokesperson reaffirmed that China will continue to take all necessary measures to firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and lawful maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and any attempt to challenge China’s legitimate interests or destabilize the region is destined to end in failure.

  • At least 27 killed in Bangkok bar fire, Thai media report

    At least 27 killed in Bangkok bar fire, Thai media report

    A devastating overnight fire tore through a popular bar in central Bangkok early Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead and multiple others hospitalized, according to local Thai media reports.

    Emergency responders were dispatched to the entertainment venue shortly after midnight, when witnesses first reported flames spreading rapidly through the building. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they encountered dozens of panicked patrons scrambling to escape through the establishment’s smoke-choked, flame-covered main entrance, with many suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns during their exit.

    Unverified user-shared footage circulating on social media captures the intensity of the blaze, with thick orange flames billowing out of the bar’s front entrance. The video shows one woman stumble and fall to the pavement just outside the venue before she manages to regain her footing and flee to safety.

    Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul traveled to the fire site to coordinate response efforts and speak with reporters. During his on-site press briefing, Anutin confirmed the current death toll of 27 and noted that injured survivors had been transported to nearby hospitals for urgent treatment. The prime minister emphasized that authorities have launched a full investigation into the origin and cause of the fire, and no official conclusions have been reached at this early stage.

    This is an ongoing developing news story, and additional details and updates will be released as more information becomes available to the public.

  • Fire breaks out at a pub in Bangkok, killing at least 27 people, officials say

    Fire breaks out at a pub in Bangkok, killing at least 27 people, officials say

    In the early hours of Monday, a massive out-of-control fire tore through a popular pub in northern Bangkok, leaving at least 27 people dead and multiple others injured, Thai officials confirmed. Emergency responders were alerted to the blaze at the Na Ladprao pub shortly after midnight, according to rescue authorities.

    Graphic footage shared publicly by first responders captures the full scale of the disaster: towering orange flames roar from the venue’s front entrance, sending thick, toxic plumes of black smoke billowing into the night sky, while panicked patrons scramble to escape the rapidly spreading inferno.

    It took firefighting crews approximately 30 minutes to fully contain the blaze and secure the site. Post-fire images from the scene reveal a gutted interior, with charred furniture, blackened walls, and extensive structural damage throughout the venue.

    Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul traveled to the disaster site shortly after the fire was contained to speak with reporters and coordinate response efforts. He confirmed the death toll of 27, noting that multiple injured victims have been transported to nearby hospitals for urgent medical care. As of Monday, the exact cause of the fire remains under official investigation.

    The Prime Minister shared preliminary details from an on-site witness: a musician who was performing on stage during the fire told investigators he first noticed smoke emanating from a circuit breaker positioned near the stage moments before the venue lost all power. Seconds later, an explosion rang out, and dense smoke rapidly filled every section of the pub, trapping dozens of people inside.

    Anutin added that most of the fatalities were recovered from the pub’s rear restrooms, where many people had fled in a desperate attempt to escape the smoke and flames.

    This tragedy marks the latest in a series of deadly venue fires in Thailand that have raised ongoing questions about public safety and fire code enforcement in the country. In 2022, a fire at another music pub in eastern Thailand killed 14 people. The deadliest such incident in modern Thai history dates back to New Year’s Eve 2009, when an indoor fireworks display sparked a massive blaze at Bangkok’s Santika nightclub, killing 66 people and injuring more than 200 others.

  • Lindsey Graham, staunch backer of Israel and US wars, dies aged 71

    Lindsey Graham, staunch backer of Israel and US wars, dies aged 71

    Veteran South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the most consequential figures shaping modern U.S. foreign policy and a polarizing long-time political associate of former President Donald Trump, has passed away at 71 after a short illness. His Senate office confirmed the news in an official statement released Sunday, noting that Graham died Saturday evening and that his family has asked for privacy during this period.

    First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, Graham built a decades-long career defined by unapologetically interventionist foreign policy stances that drew both fierce support and widespread international condemnation. He chaired the Senate Budget Committee and emerged as a leading voice on nearly every major global conflict of the 21st century, from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to ongoing tensions in Ukraine and Iran, and most notably, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

    Just days before his death, Graham returned from a high-profile visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss new legislation to ramp up pressure on Russia. A leading congressional backer of continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Graham warned in a 2023 interview with the BBC that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions extended far beyond Ukraine, arguing that “To be weak in Ukraine means that you lose in Taiwan.”

    Graham’s political relationship with Donald Trump was marked by notable public tension before an eventual reconciliation that solidified his status as one of Trump’s most prominent allies. Though he publicly broke with Trump in the immediate aftermath of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, telling a Senate session “All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,” he reversed course within years. In a 2023 BBC interview, Graham acknowledged “there is a dark side to Donald Trump” but confirmed he would back Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, arguing “he was a very good president. But I am sticking with him because I saw what he did.” Trump paid tribute to Graham in a social media post following his death, calling the senator a “true American patriot.”

    Across more than two decades in Congress, Graham was one of the most unwavering pro-Israel voices in U.S. politics, consistently pushing for expanded military aid to Tel Aviv and open U.S. support for Israeli illegal settlements in occupied territories. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remembered Graham as a close friend of Israel, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog noted his support for the country had never wavered throughout his career.

    Throughout Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, Graham repeatedly defended Israeli military actions and opposed any congressional or international efforts to limit U.S. military support for Israel, stances that drew harsh condemnation from Palestinian rights groups, human rights organizations, and Muslim civil rights communities. In July 2024, a social media post from Graham describing the Palestinian population of Gaza as “the most radicalized population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth” sparked widespread international outcry. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the comments, accusing Graham of spreading dangerous racist stereotypes about Palestinians and labeling his remarks “hateful and absurd.”

    Graham also faced heavy criticism for comments suggesting Israel could consider measures analogous to the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan in World War II, with opponents dismissing the remarks as dangerously inflammatory. During a 2019 visit to the illegally occupied Golan Heights, Graham argued that Israeli security and prosperity were core to U.S. national interests and formally called for the U.S. to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory. Earlier this year, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed Graham was among U.S. officials who threatened him over the ICC’s pursuit of arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

    A vocal proponent of hardline policy toward Iran, Graham repeatedly urged successive White House administrations to deploy military force to secure the Strait of Hormuz during periods of heightened U.S.-Iran tension, even comparing the confrontation with Tehran to Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany during World War II. His uncompromising stances on Middle East policy drew pushback from Gulf nations; in March of this year, he publicly blamed Saudi Arabia for refusing to join a potential U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran and warned of unspecified “consequences” for any nation that declined to back military action against Tehran.

    Graham’s confrontational diplomatic style also sparked controversy in Europe. As recently as 2025, Norwegian officials were forced to de-escalate diplomatic tensions after Graham threatened repercussions for Norway over a decision by the country’s sovereign wealth fund to divest from companies linked to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

  • Iran strikes American military assets in Gulf and Jordan, after US hits Iranian cities

    Iran strikes American military assets in Gulf and Jordan, after US hits Iranian cities

    A rapidly escalating cycle of retaliatory violence has plunged the Persian Gulf into chaos this week, after the United States launched a third consecutive night of airstrikes targeting Iranian assets across Iranian territory, prompting Tehran to launch sweeping missile and drone counterattacks across multiple Gulf states and announce the immediate closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

    The latest escalation traces back to an early Sunday strike by U.S. forces, launched after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on a Cyprus-flagged container vessel that the Iranian force claimed was traversing the Strait of Hormuz via an unapproved shipping route. The IRGC confirmed shortly after that it had targeted a second commercial vessel, accusing it of also violating regional maritime regulations.

    Local Iranian media reported multiple large explosions across key Iranian locations within hours of the U.S. Sunday strike, including the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the coastal towns of Sirik and Jask, Qeshm Island off Iran’s southern coast, and the southwestern Khuzestan province — regions that host critical Iranian military and energy infrastructure.

    The conflict quickly spilled across national borders as air raid sirens blared across Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) just hours after the initial strikes. Qatar reported that it had intercepted incoming Iranian missile fire, with three people including one child wounded in the attack. Kuwait confirmed it was also working to intercept incoming hostile projectiles, while Jordan announced that three Iranian missiles had impacted inside its territory.

    In official statements carried by Iranian state media, the IRGC claimed responsibility for all cross-border attacks, stating it had destroyed a command and control center and drone storage hangars in Jordan, targeted a U.S. radar installation in Kuwait, and taken out a fighter jet maintenance hub and command facility in Qatar. The force also claimed it had destroyed U.S. naval logistics support centers and aircraft carrier refueling infrastructure at Oman’s Port of Duqm. The UAE later clarified that all missile threats detected earlier in the day had fallen outside its national borders, causing no damage or casualties on its territory.

    Per Iran’s official state news agency IRNA, the IRGC issued a formal announcement of the Strait of Hormuz closure shortly after the initial vessel attacks, stating: “Following this incident … the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region.” The U.S. Central Command (Centcom) pushed back against this announcement immediately, confirming that commercial shipping traffic continues to move through the critical waterway, which handles roughly 20% of global oil trade.

    Details of the initial vessel attack have slowly emerged: Centcom confirmed the Cyprus-registered container ship GFS Galaxy was disabled by fire and structural damage to its engine room, with one crew member unaccounted for. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported the entire crew abandoned the damaged vessel and took shelter on a life raft, noting the incident occurred roughly 17 kilometers east of Omani territorial waters. India’s Ministry of External Affairs later confirmed that the missing crew member is an Indian national; of the 11 Indian citizens on board the vessel, 10 have been successfully rescued, and the Indian government has formally condemned the attack.

    U.S. defense officials laid out the scope of the three-night campaign this week, noting that U.S. forces struck 140 Iranian targets on Saturday alone, bringing the total number of targets hit to more than 300. Centcom says the strikes are intended to degrade Iran’s capacity to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels moving freely through the strait. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a blunt warning following the counterattacks, stating: “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.”

    The rapid escalation of violence has effectively ended a weeks-long ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, a development confirmed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The breakdown of the truce has thrown deep uncertainty over ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a long-term ceasefire and de-escalation agreement, which had been progressing slowly in recent weeks.

    Iran’s top parliamentary speaker and leading nuclear negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reinforced Tehran’s hardening stance in a post on the social platform X, writing: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

    Interestingly, the large-scale fighting broke out just one day after a round of diplomatic talks held in Oman on Saturday, which brought together Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei confirmed Sunday that the talks were focused on coordinating new shipping and transit rules for the Strait of Hormuz, with legal and technical delegations from both sides discussing maritime security and safety standards. A Qatari delegation also attended the talks, and Baqaei added that both sides agreed to continue political and technical talks to reach a shared understanding on the issues.

    The escalation also comes on the heels of a formal statement from Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who issued a written threat Saturday to avenge the death of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei.