Global Pulse

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  • Los Angeles World Cup workers vow strike over ICE guarantees

    Los Angeles World Cup workers vow strike over ICE guarantees

    Less than a month before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across North America, hospitality staff at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium — one of the tournament’s key U.S. host venues — have drawn a hard line, vowing to walk off the job if federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are granted access to the facility during matches.

    Represented by UNITE HERE Local 11, the roughly 2,000 food and beverage, cleaning, and concession workers behind the threat are pushing for two binding guarantees: first, that ICE will not conduct any operations or deploy personnel at the stadium during the eight World Cup matches scheduled there, and second, that FIFA will not share workers’ personal data collected for tournament accreditation with ICE, foreign governments, or intelligence agencies.

    For the largely immigrant workforce that keeps the $5 billion arena running, an ICE presence inside the stadium is not just a logistical disruption—it is a direct threat to their safety and peace of mind. Speaking at a Monday protest outside SoFi Stadium, cook Isaac Martinez, speaking on behalf of the bargaining unit, laid out the workers’ core concern. “ICE should have no role in these games,” Martinez said. “We do not want to live in fear coming to work, or fear being detained going home.” Without a satisfactory agreement from event organizers and local officials, Martinez added, the workforce is fully prepared to launch strike action that would disrupt tournament operations.

    Workers’ concerns are rooted in a long pattern of controversial and violent enforcement actions by ICE. The agency became the face of aggressive immigration crackdowns during the Donald Trump administration, and human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned its conduct during widespread raids across U.S. cities, including a major operation in Los Angeles last year. Most recently, early in 2026, ICE agents fatally shot two civilian protesters during an operation in Minneapolis, intensifying widespread criticism of the agency’s aggressive tactics.

    Beyond ICE deployment, workers have also raised alarms about FIFA’s mandatory accreditation process, which requires all venue staff to submit extensive personal information ahead of the month-long tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19 across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Worker Yolanda Fierro emphasized that staff have no guarantee their sensitive data will not be misused, calling on FIFA to commit explicitly to not sharing information with immigration enforcement bodies.

    The workers’ protest has already drawn high-profile political backing from Tom Steyer, a leading Democratic candidate in California’s upcoming gubernatorial race, who joined demonstrators outside the stadium Monday. Carrying signs reading “Kick ICE Out of the World Cup” and plastic soccer balls, protesters got a firm show of support from the candidate, who questioned the agency’s presence at a global sporting event. “ICE’s mandate is border control,” Steyer said. “Can anyone explain what that has to do with the World Cup? Nothing. How is it possible that this is the agency that is going to be here when we know in fact they’re an absolute threat, a lawless threat, to workers in California?”

    As of Monday, neither FIFA nor event organizers had issued a formal response to the workers’ demands, leaving the threat of a strike hanging over one of the World Cup’s highest-profile U.S. venues.

  • Star of Rome’s ‘sexy priest’ calendar admits: ‘I was never a priest’

    Star of Rome’s ‘sexy priest’ calendar admits: ‘I was never a priest’

    For years, a grinning face has stared out from magazine kiosks across Rome, gracing the cover of one of the capital’s most tourist-popular souvenirs: the infamous “sexy priest” calendar. Countless visitors to the Vatican, the global seat of Catholicism, have snapped up the annual publication for upwards of 10 euros ($11.65) as a quirky memento of their trip, charmed by the idea of a unusually handsome man of the cloth fronting the project. Now, four decades after the iconic cover shot was taken, the man behind the face has spilled a long-held secret: he was never a priest at all.

    In a recent interview with Italy’s leading daily newspaper *Repubblica*, 39-year-old Giovanni Galizia, now a flight attendant instructor, opened up about the accidental decades-long hoax. The story dates back to when Galizia was just 17 years old, when a chance encounter with a photographer led to the fateful photoshoot. The photographer was working on a project highlighting iconic local figures across major Italian cities: gondoliers for Venice, priests for Rome. With a full priest’s outfit already prepared, he asked the teen Galizia if he would step in for a quick shot as a casual favor.

    “It was just a game,” Galizia recalled of the 2001 shoot, which took place in Palermo, far from Rome where the calendar would later become a staple. He never took a single euro for the photo, he said, and had no idea the image would become a permanent tourist fixture decades later. Of the cover shot that’s drawn thousands of admiring glances from tourists, Galizia downplayed the hype that earned the calendar its “sexy priest” nickname. “I don’t see anything sexy in that photo… there’s nothing sensual about it,” he told the outlet. He also added that his current 39-year-old face shows the passage of time far more clearly than the decades-old teen shot.

    Galizia went on to confirm that his non-priest status is not a one-off, hinting that many of the other “priests” featured across the calendar’s monthly pages may also be fake models, not actual clergy. Today, Galizia lives an ordinary life out of the spotlight: while his face is instantly recognizable to anyone who has wandered Rome’s tourist streets, he is able to move completely incognito outside the capital. The only reminder of his unexpected fame comes when friends travel to Rome, who almost always send him a photo of his face staring back from a kiosk calendar.

  • ‘Best player in the comp’: Tom Trbojevic’s glowing endorsement of Blues star as Manly fullback provides injury timeline

    ‘Best player in the comp’: Tom Trbojevic’s glowing endorsement of Blues star as Manly fullback provides injury timeline

    As the 2026 State of Origin series opener in Sydney draws closer, a key injured NSW Blues star has thrown his full support behind two controversial selection calls that have rocked the rugby league community. Injured Manly Sea Eagles captain Tom Trbojevic, who ruled himself out of the squad with a hamstring injury sustained in a match against the Cowboys last month, says rookie winger Tolu Koula will thrive despite his lack of top-flight NRL experience in the position.

    Trbojevic, who is on track to return to club action no earlier than round 16 of the NRL season, opened up about the selection in an interview with SEN, where he heaped praise on the 22-year-old Manly speedster. Koula, who has been named on the left wing for the Origin opener, has never featured in the position at the NRL level, though he has played wing previously in the NSW Cup and for his home nation of Tonga in international competition. Despite the inexperience at the sport’s highest domestic level, Trbojevic says Koula’s natural aggression and athleticism make him the perfect fit for the role. “He’s a very confident kid. When he gets on a footy field, he absolutely goes after it. It’s going to be no different come next Wednesday night,” Trbojevic said. “The way that he moves is incredible. He’s going to be a real strike for them out wide.”

    The selection of Koula over veteran Blues winger Josh Addo-Carr has been one of the most talked-about calls from new NSW coach Laurie Daley, but Trbojevic also threw his weight behind another high-profile selection: the recall of former Blues captain James Tedesco, who will start at fullback after edging out in-form Penrith Panthers star Dylan Edwards for the spot. Tedesco will make his first Origin appearance since 2024, after continuing the red-hot form that earned him the 2025 Dally M Medal into the opening rounds of the 2026 NRL season. Trbojevic noted that choosing between the two elite fullbacks was an unenviable task for Daley, but said Tedesco is more than ready to deliver for his state.

    “He’s been unbelievable this season and last year, and he’s picked up this year where he left off,” Trbojevic said. “He’s always been very damaging around the ruck and gets the ball late in sets to attack tiring forwards, but he’s also done a lot of good work out wide, and that’s where he’s grown a lot. I wouldn’t like to be Laurie Daley in that situation because they’re two incredible players, but whichever way you go, you’re going to get someone to do a job.”

    Trbojevic also praised the selection of his Manly teammate Haumole Olakau’atu, who will earn his first starting Origin spot on the right edge after several appearances off the bench over previous series. Olakau’atu has been in dominant form for the Sea Eagles to open the 2026 season, with Trbojevic arguing the forward has been one of the best players in the entire competition over the past two months. “I thought he was almost the first one picked the way he’s played the last seven or eight weeks,” Trbojevic said. “He’s been our best player and has almost been the best player in the comp the way he’s gone after it. He’s obviously played Origin before coming off the bench, but if you give him that opportunity to start on the right edge, it really suits him because he can get into the game and hopefully can cause some havoc.”

  • Bolivia protest sees violent clashes, looting in La Paz

    Bolivia protest sees violent clashes, looting in La Paz

    Weeks of growing civil unrest in Bolivia boiled over into violent confrontation in the capital La Paz on Monday, as thousands of demonstrators demanding the resignation of center-right President Rodrigo Paz stormed key government sites, triggering tear gas barrages from security forces and widespread disruption across the Andean nation. The unrest comes as Bolivia grapples with its most severe economic crisis in 40 years, deepening public anger over soaring prices, failed policy reforms, and growing inequality after a shift away from two decades of socialist governance.

    The diverse coalition of protesters is led by workers, Indigenous communities, farmers, miners, and teachers, who have united around three core demands: immediate wage hikes to offset runaway inflation, concrete measures to restore long-term economic stability, and a reversal of moves to privatize Bolivia’s state-owned enterprises. Inflation in the country hit 14% year-on-year in April, the highest level in a generation, eroding household purchasing power and leaving many struggling to afford basic necessities.

    Paz, a conservative leader who took office less than six months ago after 20 years of socialist rule, has drawn sharp criticism for his early policy moves. Most notably, he eliminated long-standing fuel subsidies that had drained the national treasury’s international dollar reserves, a reform intended to shore up public finances that has instead left the country facing persistent fuel supply shortages.

    Monday’s clashes erupted early in the day, when riot police deployed tear gas to block a group of protesting miners from entering La Paz’s main central square, where the seat of national government is located. In response, demonstrators hurled stones and homemade explosives back at security forces. Official government imagery released after the confrontation confirmed that protesters had looted a government office, stealing furniture, computers, monitors and other office equipment. While authorities have not officially reported any casualties from the day’s violence, reporters from Agence France-Presse (AFP) on the ground observed at least two injured protesters. Deputy Interior Minister Hernan Paredes also confirmed that one protester died in clashes over the weekend, after falling into a ditch during skirmishes that broke out when security forces temporarily cleared protest blockades.

    On Monday afternoon, calm began to gradually return to La Paz’s streets, but the aftermath of the unrest was visible everywhere: thick clouds of tear gas still hung over major thoroughfares, most local businesses remained shuttered, and basic supplies were running critically low after weeks of road blockades that have cut off supply routes into the capital. As of Monday, the Bolivian Highway Administration counted at least 28 active blockades on major highways across the country. Prosters retook their blockade positions over the weekend after security forces briefly opened access routes Saturday, and resumed cutting off traffic to the capital on Monday. The government has been airlifting emergency food supplies into La Paz since May 10 to address widespread shortages of food, medicine, and fuel.

    In a significant escalation of the government’s response to the unrest, Attorney General Roger Mariaca announced Monday that authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Mario Argollo, secretary-general of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), Bolivia’s largest trade union federation, which has joined the calls for Paz’s resignation. Argollo faces charges of terrorism and inciting criminal activity, and the warrant is already in the hands of national police command. The government’s crackdown on the union leader has done little to dampen protester resolve, however.

    “We want him to resign because he’s incompetent. Bolivia is going through a moment of chaos,” 60-year-old farmer Ivan Alarcon, who traveled 60 miles from his home in Caquiaviri in western Bolivia to join the protests, told AFP.

    Supporters of former socialist President Evo Morales, who held power from 2006 to 2019, added further momentum to the protests on Monday, arriving in La Paz after a seven-day march from Oruro, a city roughly 180 kilometers south of the capital. While the government has already reached deals to end protests with some smaller groups, including urban teachers and certain mining factions, hardline factions of the movement have vowed to escalate their actions until Paz steps down.

  • US to screen for Ebola at airports, one American in DR Congo infected

    US to screen for Ebola at airports, one American in DR Congo infected

    The United States has rolled out new public health measures to block Ebola importation and spread, including mandatory airport screening for travelers from affected Central African regions, after a United States citizen working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) tested positive for the deadly virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Monday.

    The updated precautions come just after the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the global body’s highest alert level for cross-border disease threats. During a press briefing, CDC Ebola response incident manager Satish Pillai confirmed that the infected American developed symptoms over the weekend and returned a positive diagnosis late Sunday. Medical teams are currently arranging to transfer the patient to Germany for specialized care, and six additional people who may have been exposed are being evacuated out of the region for mandatory health monitoring.

    There are currently 25 U.S. personnel based at the CDC’s DRC field office, and the agency is deploying an additional senior technical coordinator to support local response efforts at the request of global health partners. As of Monday, CDC officials assess the immediate risk of widespread Ebola transmission to the general U.S. public remains low. “We will continue to evaluate the evolving situation and may adjust public health measures as additional information becomes available,” the agency said in an official statement.

    Alongside expanded entry screening at all U.S. airports, the CDC has implemented new entry restrictions for non-U.S. citizens: any traveler who has visited the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan in the 21-day incubation window for Ebola will be barred from entering the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, has also temporarily suspended all routine visa services, with notifications already sent to all applicants impacted by the pause.

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump noted Monday that he was concerned by the outbreak’s scale but added, “I think that it’s been confined right now to Africa.”

    As of Sunday’s official update from DRC Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba, the outbreak has been linked to 91 suspected deaths and roughly 350 suspected cases, with most infections recorded among people aged 20 to 39, and over 60% of cases affecting women. There is currently no licensed specific treatment or widely available vaccine for the Ebola strain driving the current transmission surge.

    The U.S. response has drawn criticism from global health experts, particularly in the wake of the Trump administration’s formal withdrawal from the WHO earlier this year. For weeks, current U.S. officials have declined to answer questions about how deep cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – an organization that led coordinated response efforts during past Ebola outbreaks – have undermined current monitoring and containment work.

    CDC officials have pushed back on some criticism, emphasizing that the agency remains in close collaboration with international partners and local health authorities in affected countries. The new measures announced Monday include sustained deployment of CDC personnel to support outbreak containment, contact tracing of exposed individuals, and laboratory testing in affected regions. The U.S. State Department also announced Monday that it has mobilized $13 million in emergency funding to support immediate response operations.

    Still, Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, called the U.S. response to date “disappointing,” arguing that the new travel restrictions and entry screenings are “more theater than effective public health measures.” He noted that the Trump administration has long claimed it could replace WHO’s global outbreak response capacity with bilateral deals and domestic U.S. efforts, saying “This outbreak clearly shows that is a failed strategy.”

    During previous large Ebola outbreaks in Central Africa, coordinated action between USAID, CDC, and U.S.-funded non-profit organizations enabled rapid deployment of resources and swift containment of spread, Kavanagh explained. In contrast, “we’re weeks into an outbreak and only finding out about it after hundreds of cases and major spread including to the capital city of Uganda,” he said, adding that the current administration is “playing catch-up” to a rapidly evolving crisis.

  • Three killed in San Diego mosque shooting, two attackers dead

    Three killed in San Diego mosque shooting, two attackers dead

    A horrific act of violence has shaken the Muslim community in Southern California, after a mass shooting at the region’s largest mosque left three people dead on Monday, with the two teenage attackers dying from self-inflicted gunshot wounds shortly after the assault, local law enforcement confirmed.

    According to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, emergency dispatch received an active shooter call targeting the Islamic Center of San Diego — a sprawling worship complex that also hosts an adjacent school — and first responders arrived at the scene in just four minutes. When officers pulled up to the property, they immediately found three deceased victims lying outside the center’s main building. One of those killed has been confirmed as a security guard employed by the mosque, though the identities of the other two victims have not been released to the public as of Monday evening.

    Authorities also received follow-up reports of additional gunfire near the campus, where a local landscaper working in the area came under fire but escaped without injury. Law enforcement teams launched an immediate active shooter sweep of the mosque and the connected school, confirming that all staff, teachers and children inside the facility were unharmed. Following a short lockdown order that urged local residents to shelter in place, police announced the threat had been fully neutralized.

    Aerial television footage from the scene showed dozens of law enforcement patrol cars surrounding the mosque complex, with heavily armed response units congregating outside the main building and one person visible lying on the ground in a large pool of blood. A short distance from the worship center, officers found the suspects’ vehicle parked in the middle of a street, with the two attackers — a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old — dead inside from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Chief Wahl confirmed that no officers fired their weapons during the response to the attack.

    Mosque imam Taha Hassane expressed shock and grief over the unprecedented attack on the community’s place of worship. “We have never experienced tragedy like this before. And at this moment all that I can say is, sending our prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here,” Hassane said. “It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship.”

    Political leaders across levels of government have offered responses to the violence. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible situation” during a press briefing, noting that he had received initial updates and would be reviewing the incident closely. California Governor Gavin Newsom was also briefed on the attack immediately after it unfolded, with his press office releasing a statement on social media platform X thanking first responders for their rapid work to secure the area and protect local residents, while urging the public to follow instructions from local law enforcement.

    The attack has prompted renewed conversations about religious-based violence and gun safety in the United States, as the San Diego Police Department continues to process evidence at the scene and investigate the motive for the assault on the Muslim community.

  • Trump says holding off on new Iran attack

    Trump says holding off on new Iran attack

    In a sudden announcement that shook global geopolitical dynamics on Monday, former US President Donald Trump revealed he had paused a pre-planned large-scale military attack on Iran, caving to requests from key Gulf Arab allies who are pushing for negotiated de-escalation after nearly six weeks of open conflict.

    Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump confirmed that the strike, originally scheduled for Tuesday, had been put on hold at the urging of the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf bloc argued that serious diplomatic talks are now underway, and expressed confidence that a final deal could be reached that satisfies both Washington and regional powers, with a core goal of ensuring Iran never acquires nuclear weapons. “I stopped the attack plan at the request of our Gulf allies,” Trump stated, noting that Iran has threatened widespread reciprocal retaliation against Gulf states if the US and Israel resume full-scale offensive operations after the recent six-week ceasefire. Trump, who has previously framed the ongoing conflict as a growing political liability and extended the truce indefinitely, added that he has ordered the US military to remain on high alert, ready to launch a full-scale offensive at a moment’s notice if negotiations collapse.

    Iran, which has repeatedly rejected Trump’s initial deal frameworks and maintained tight control over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint that carries a third of global seaborne oil – has driven international energy markets into volatility with its closure of the waterway. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed that indirect talks are progressing through Pakistan, which has served as a neutral mediator between the two nations. Baqaei made clear that Tehran has laid out non-negotiable demands for any final agreement: the full release of billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen overseas, the permanent lifting of decades-old international sanctions, and war reparations for what Tehran calls the “illegal and baseless” US-led invasion that left Iran’s top leadership decapitated – Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed in the initial February 28 strikes, though the Iranian government has remained surprisingly resilient through months of conflict. Baqaei also emphasized that Iran is “fully prepared for any eventuality” if US forces renew attacks.

    Divisions have emerged within Iran’s ruling establishment over the path forward. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, widely labeled a moderate in a political system now dominated by hardline Revolutionary Guards commanders who have consolidated power since the war began, pushed back against hardline critics of diplomatic outreach. “Dialogue does not mean surrender,” Pezeshkian wrote on X. “The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into dialogue with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation’s rights, and will under no circumstances retreat from the legal rights of the people and the country.”

    Details of the competing negotiating proposals have begun to emerge in recent days. Over the weekend, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that Washington had tabled a five-point framework that includes a demand for Iran to shut down all but one of its nuclear facilities and transfer its entire stockpile of highly enriched uranium to US control. The report added that US negotiators have so far refused to release even 25 percent of Iran’s frozen assets or commit to any war reparations, a major sticking point for Tehran. Still, there was a small sign of progress on Monday: Iran’s Tasnim news agency, quoting an anonymous source close to the Iranian negotiating team, reported that Washington had made a key concession, agreeing to waive oil sanctions on Iran for the duration of the negotiation period.

    On Iran’s end, Tehran proposed a broader peace framework last week that calls for an end to all hostilities across the Middle East, including Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon, and a full lifting of the US naval blockade that has been in place on Iranian ports since April 13. A core tenet of Iran’s proposal is its claim to full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, which it has largely closed to commercial traffic since the war began.

    Last week, Iran formalized its control over the waterway with the launch of a new governing body, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority. On Monday, the agency announced via X that it would begin publishing real-time updates on navigation and operations in the strait, and clarified that all commercial ships passing through the Strait’s Iranian territorial waters must coordinate their passage directly with the new authority – any unauthorized transit will be classified as an illegal incursion. Earlier this month, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV revealed that the authority would send navigation instructions to passing vessels via email, and the Revolutionary Guards added Monday that all undersea fiber optic cables passing through the strait will now be subject to Iranian permitting requirements.

    Beyond diplomatic maneuvering, military tensions continue to escalate across the region. On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards announced it had carried out a cross-border strike against militant groups linked to the US and Israel in Iran’s Kurdistan province, near the Iraqi border. In a statement carried by Iran’s ISNA news agency, the Guards claimed the groups were based in northern Iraq and acting on behalf of Washington and what Iran calls the “Zionist regime,” and were attempting to smuggle a large shipment of US-made weapons and ammunition into Iranian territory.

    Tensions rose further over the weekend after a drone strike sparked a large fire near a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi emirate. The UAE defense ministry confirmed the drone entered the country from the west but declined to publicly name the party responsible. Still, senior UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash made clear in off-the-cuff remarks that the blame lies with Iran and its network of regional proxy militias, stoking fears that the conflict could spread beyond Iran’s borders and draw in other major regional powers.

    Separately, in a show of regional solidarity with Iran’s allies, thousands of supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement gathered for a rally in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Monday to express unity with Lebanon amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign there.

  • Cuba warns of ‘bloodbath’ if US attacks; Washington adds sanctions

    Cuba warns of ‘bloodbath’ if US attacks; Washington adds sanctions

    Tensions between long-standing adversaries the United States and Cuba have surged to new heights in recent days, bringing with them fears of direct military confrontation and a deepening humanitarian crisis on the Caribbean island. On Monday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel issued a stark warning that any U.S. military attack on the country would trigger a catastrophic bloodbath with unforeseeable, far-reaching consequences, even as the U.S. Department of the Treasury unveiled a new round of punitive sanctions targeting Havana’s top intelligence apparatus and senior leadership.

    Diaz-Canel’s public statement came one day after U.S. news outlet Axios published an exclusive report citing unnamed American intelligence officials, which claimed Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran, and was weighing potential drone strikes against U.S. targets. The alleged targets named in the report included the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay located on Cuban territory, American military vessels operating in the region, and even targets within the U.S. state of Florida. This unconfirmed report quickly fueled widespread global speculation that the Trump administration was actively considering full-scale military action to overthrow Cuba’s long-standing communist government.

    In a post shared on the social platform X, the Cuban leader reiterated that his country poses no military threat to the United States or any other sovereign nation. While he did not directly refute or confirm the allegations surrounding the reported drone stockpile, Diaz-Canel made clear that Cuba retains the absolute, legitimate right to arm itself in self-defense against any outside military aggression.

    Cuba’s top diplomatic representative to the United Nations echoed this defiant tone in an interview with AFP in New York. “If someone tried to invade Cuba, Cuba will fight back, no doubt about it,” Ernesto Soberon Guzman told reporters. He referenced the 1960s Bay of Pigs invasion, when a U.S.-backed assault on Cuba was soundly defeated by Cuban forces. “In the 60s, they (the US) tried to invade Cuba, and they were defeated. Of course, everybody can say this is a different situation. Yes, it is. But the will of the people of Cuba has not changed,” he added.

    Alongside the rising rhetorical conflict, the U.S. moved to ramp up economic pressure on Havana on Monday. The new sanctions target Cuba’s primary intelligence agency, plus nine senior Cuban nationals, including the nation’s cabinet ministers for communications, energy, and justice. A statement from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control confirmed that several top leaders of the Cuban Communist Party and at least three senior military generals were also added to the U.S. sanctions list.

    This latest action is part of a broader campaign of intensified pressure the U.S. has waged against Cuba since January. The strategy mirrors the U.S. military intervention that ousted the Venezuelan government earlier that year, with former President Donald Trump openly musing about removing Cuba’s sitting leadership. Most impactful, Washington cut off one of Cuba’s last remaining economic lifelines by halting all oil shipments from Venezuela, Havana’s primary fuel supplier, and threatened to impose tariffs on any third country that moved to cover the resulting fuel gap.

    The U.S. oil blockade has dramatically worsened a already severe humanitarian and energy crisis across Cuba. The island now suffers from increasingly frequent and extended national blackouts, as its aging, dilapidated power plants struggle to operate without sufficient fuel to run backup generators. The Cuban government has repeatedly accused Washington of intentionally crippling the island’s economy through the fuel blockade to create a pretext for a full military intervention to overthrow its government, after decades of economic pressure failed to force regime change.

    The Axios drone report was not an isolated development: it came just days after Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for closed-door negotiations with Cuban officials. It also aligned with ongoing U.S. media reports that the Trump administration was preparing to file criminal charges against 94-year-old Raul Castro, the brother of iconic Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, as another element of its pressure campaign.

    Amid the growing crisis, Cuba has received critical support from Mexico’s left-wing government. On Monday, the island took delivery of its fifth shipment of humanitarian aid from Mexico since February. Unlike previous aid shipments, which were transported by Mexican navy vessels, journalists from AFP observed that this consignment was carried by a commercial merchant ship sailing under a Panamanian flag. The vessel is carrying a total of 1,700 tons of relief supplies. According to Cuban Food Industry Minister Alberto Lopez, the shipment includes powdered milk and beans earmarked for distribution to children and elderly residents, the most vulnerable groups affected by the ongoing crisis.

  • Trump admin creates $1.7 bln fund to compensate allies prosecuted under Biden

    Trump admin creates $1.7 bln fund to compensate allies prosecuted under Biden

    In a controversial move that has ignited fierce partisan backlash, the U.S. Department of Justice, now led by former personal lawyer of President Donald Trump Todd Blanche, announced Monday the creation of a $1.7 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” designed to compensate political allies who were prosecuted during the prior Biden administration. The new fund is the centerpiece of a settlement agreement that ends a high-profile $10 billion damages lawsuit Trump and his two eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, brought against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) earlier this year over the unauthorized leak of the president’s personal tax returns.

    The legal dispute stemmed from a 2023 case in which a former IRS contractor pleaded guilty to leaking confidential tax records of Trump and dozens of other high-net-worth individuals to major media outlets, ultimately receiving a five-year federal prison sentence for the offense. Under the terms of the settlement, the DOJ confirmed that Trump will not receive any financial compensation or damages from the fund, though he will be issued a formal apology for the privacy breach. Blanche, who currently serves as acting attorney general, framed the initiative as a long-overdue correction of past government overreach. “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said in a formal statement. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” Blanche will personally appoint a five-person panel to oversee the fund’s allocation and claims process, according to department officials.

    Critics across the political aisle, however, have blasted the initiative as an unprecedented abuse of power and a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars to reward Trump’s loyalists. Democratic lawmakers and government watchdog groups were quick to label the initiative a brazenly corrupt “slush fund,” with top Democratic leaders leading the charge against the plan. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the scheme one of the most depraved acts of corruption in modern American political history. “Donald Trump sued his own government. Trump’s DOJ settled with Trump. And now Trump gets a nearly $2 billion slush fund to reward his own allies, loyalists, and insurrectionists,” Schumer said in a scathing statement. “Of all the corrupt things he has done, this is one of the most depraved.”

    Nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen echoed the criticism, describing the fund as a “monstrous theft of taxpayer resources” and calling on Congress to immediately block any disbursements from the account. Even former 2016 presidential opponent Hillary Clinton weighed in, condemning the move as an outrageous misuse of public funds. “Trump didn’t just pardon his followers who stormed the US Capitol. He’s now set them up for payments through a slush fund he created to reward his allies — out of your tax dollars. You could not make this up,” Clinton posted on social media.

    Among those eligible to file claims for compensation are hundreds of Trump supporters who faced prosecution for their role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, an insurrection aimed at blocking the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory. Shortly after winning re-election in 2024, Trump issued a sweeping mass pardon for all January 6 defendants on his first day back in office, and the new fund would allow those individuals to seek financial compensation for their prosecutions.

    The creation of the fund marks the latest in a series of retaliatory actions Trump has taken against perceived political opponents since returning to the White House for a second term. His administration has already moved forward with plans to pursue new criminal cases against political rivals, purged thousands of career government officials deemed insufficiently loyal to the president, targeted private law firms that previously worked on legal cases against him, and pulled federal research and education funding from universities across the country that Trump has criticized for being too liberal. Both of the high-profile criminal cases that special counsel Jack Smith brought against Trump prior to the 2024 election — one centered on efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and another related to improper handling of classified national security documents — were dropped immediately after Trump’s inauguration.

  • Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late

    Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late

    One of Silicon Valley’s most anticipated legal showdowns came to a swift and decisive close this Monday, when a federal jury ruled that Elon Musk had waited far too long to file his blockbuster lawsuit against OpenAI and its top leaders, handing a major victory to the ChatGPT developer.

    The verdict, reached quickly after three weeks of high-stakes testimony that featured appearances from a host of technology industry leaders, brings an end to Musk’s legal challenge that accused OpenAI of abandoning its founding non-profit mission to chase massive commercial profits. Sitting in Oakland federal court, the jury concluded that all of Musk’s claims against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman, the OpenAI Foundation, and lead investor Microsoft were time-barred by applicable statutes of limitations, rejecting the core argument of the world’s wealthiest person.

    District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who had asked the jury to deliver an advisory ruling on the threshold limitations issue, formally accepted and finalized the jury’s decision. The outcome removes what many analysts described as a potentially existential legal threat to OpenAI. Had Musk succeeded in his claims, he would have forced the AI leader to revert to a non-profit structure—a move that would have derailed OpenAI’s heavily anticipated initial public offering and dissolved its partnership with major investors that have poured tens of billions of dollars into the company amid the global artificial intelligence arms race. Those investors include Microsoft, Amazon, and SoftBank.

    Outside the courthouse following the ruling, OpenAI lead attorney William Savitt slammed Musk’s lawsuit as a disingenuous attack on a growing competitor. “The finding of the jury confirms that this lawsuit was a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor and to overcome a long history of very bad predictions about what OpenAI has been and will become,” Savitt said. “Musk can bring his claims, and he can tell his stories, but what the nine members of this jury found is that his stories were just that — stories, not facts,” he added.

    Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, launched the suit in 2024, alleging that Altman and Brockman had improperly hijacked his $38 million founding donation. Musk said he intended the funds to support OpenAI as an open-access non-profit research lab focused on developing AI for the broad public benefit, rather than the $850 billion profit-driven juggernaut it has become.

    The statute of limitations question was resolved as a threshold matter before the jury could consider the underlying substantive claims of the lawsuit. Musk filed his suit four years after he made his last financial contribution to OpenAI, and the jury ultimately agreed that the window to file such a claim had long closed. Judge Rogers had indicated ahead of deliberations that she would almost certainly follow the jury’s advisory recommendation on the issue, a promise she fulfilled in formalizing the ruling’s dismissal. If the case had moved forward, the court would have gone on to weigh whether OpenAI’s co-founders misused Musk’s donation and broke founding agreements to pursue commercial growth and personal financial gain.

    For weeks, industry observers speculated that the trial’s outcome would hinge on which combative tech leader the nine-person jury would find more credible. Much of the testimony and cross-examination focused on Altman’s leadership, including questions about his decision-making integrity and behind-the-scenes operational moves that alienated dozens of early OpenAI employees, many of whom have since left the company.

    OpenAI’s legal team countered Musk’s claims by highlighting inconsistencies in his accounts of OpenAI’s early days, and drew on testimony from Shivon Zilis, a close business associate of Musk’s (with whom he shares four children) who acted as an intermediary between Musk and OpenAI’s leadership after Musk left the company.

    Musk departed OpenAI’s board in 2018, and has since launched his own competing artificial intelligence efforts: first through his aerospace firm SpaceX, and more recently with dedicated AI startup xAI. To date, xAI has failed to gain significant market traction against dominant players like OpenAI and fellow Bay Area AI leader Anthropic.

    For Altman, the ruling does not fully resolve lingering questions about his leadership: the 2023 unexpected board ouster that saw Altman fired over allegations of lack of candor, before widespread employee pressure forced his reinstatement, left unaddressed claims of manipulative behavior and a toxic internal work culture that were raised during the trial.

    Beyond OpenAI itself, the ruling is also a major win for Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest financial backer that has committed $13 billion to the company to date. Industry analyst Dan Ives, of Wedbush Securities, told AFP the outcome clears a major barrier for OpenAI’s planned public listing. “This is an important victory for Altman and OpenAI and clears the path for an IPO by removing this black cloud trial,” Ives said. “Musk was creating noise around this lawsuit but ultimately it was more of a soap opera than a long-term negative for OpenAI,” he added.