Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • New Ebola outbreak in DR Congo: What we know

    New Ebola outbreak in DR Congo: What we know

    The World Health Organization has officially designated the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), amid rising death tolls and growing warnings of cross-border spread across East Africa. As of the latest official update from Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba, the outbreak has been linked to 91 suspected deaths and approximately 350 suspected infections, with most cases affecting adults aged 20 to 39 and over 60% of cases recorded among women. To date, only a small number of suspected cases have received confirmatory laboratory testing, meaning most official counts remain preliminary.

    The epicenter of the outbreak is located in Mongbwalu health zone, northeastern Ituri province, a mineral-rich region bordering Uganda and South Sudan marked by constant population movement tied to artisanal gold mining. Large swathes of the province are also destabilized by ongoing violence from multiple armed factions, creating significant security barriers that slow the deployment of response teams and limit access to affected communities. The outbreak’s first officially recorded case was a nurse who sought care in Ituri’s capital Bunia on April 24, but local authorities were not alerted to the unusual cluster of high-mortality illness until May 5, when four healthcare workers died within four days in Mongbwalu. Delays in reporting were compounded by local community beliefs that the disease was a “mystical illness” or curse caused by witchcraft, leading many sick residents to seek treatment at religious prayer centers rather than formal medical facilities, allowing the virus to spread undetected. Initial symptoms of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain also mirror common illnesses like influenza and malaria, further delaying timely identification and isolation of cases.

    Alarmingly, the virus has already spread beyond Ituri’s borders. One suspected case has been recorded in Goma, a major eastern DRC urban hub in North Kivu province that has been controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group since early 2023. Additionally, one confirmed Ebola case and one death have been recorded in Uganda, involving two Congolese travelers who crossed into the country from the DRC. No secondary local transmission clusters have been reported in Uganda to date, but the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that neighboring East African nations face a high risk of further spread.

    A key complicating factor in the response is that the outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccines or targeted antiviral treatments currently exist. All licensed Ebola vaccines are only effective against the Zaire strain, which has caused the largest recorded Ebola outbreaks in history. The Bundibugyo strain was first identified in 2007, when it caused a small outbreak in Uganda, and a second outbreak occurred in the DRC in 2012, with historical mortality rates ranging between 30% and 50%. Without pre-existing medical countermeasures, all current containment efforts rely on rapid case detection, isolation of infected people, rigorous contact tracing, and widespread adherence to protective hygiene measures to cut chains of transmission.

    The DRC has a long history of managing Ebola outbreaks, with this event marking the 17th recorded outbreak in the country since the virus was first co-discovered by Congolese virologist Jean-Jacques Muyembe in 1976. Even so, experts warn the current outbreak carries unique and severe risks. “It’s an outbreak that will spread very rapidly, all the more so because it has broken out in a densely populated province,” Muyembe, now head of the DRC’s national infectious disease research institute, told Agence France-Presse. If all currently suspected cases are confirmed, the outbreak will rank as the seventh-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded across all strains, and the second-largest ever recorded involving a non-Zaire strain. Over the past 50 years, Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa. The DRC’s deadliest outbreak on record occurred between 2018 and 2020, when Zaire strain Ebola killed nearly 2,300 people across 3,500 confirmed cases. The most recent outbreak before the current event killed 45 people between September and December 2023, according to WHO data.

  • Iran’s World Cup football team leaves for Turkey: media

    Iran’s World Cup football team leaves for Turkey: media

    As the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada draws near, Iran’s national men’s football team has embarked on the first leg of its journey to the tournament, departing for the Turkish coastal city of Antalya on Monday, according to local Iranian media reports. The trip is designed to serve two key purposes: finalize pre-tournament preparation through warm-up friendly matches, and complete long-delayed visa applications required to enter the U.S. for the global competition.

    The 22-player squad, all currently based at domestic Iranian clubs, traveled alongside full coaching staff, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency confirmed. While in Antalya, the team is scheduled to hold at least two friendly matches, with a fixture against The Gambia already locked in for May 29, per Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian sports executive who arranges exhibition matches for the Iranian national side.

    Uncertainty has loomed over Iran’s participation for months, even after the team secured its place in the 48-nation tournament back in March 2025. The tension stems from a sharp escalation in hostilities between the U.S.-Israeli alliance and Iran dating back to February 28, when Washington launched a large-scale wave of offensive attacks against Tehran in what amounted to an open state of conflict. A ceasefire has paused active fighting for several weeks, but recent events have reignited fears of a return to violence: fresh drone strikes targeting Gulf nations over the weekend, paired with new inflammatory rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, have further destabilized the already fragile security environment.

    Despite the geopolitical rift, top U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that Iranian players are welcome to compete in the tournament. FIFA has also reaffirmed that Iran’s participation will proceed as planned, rejecting a request from Iranian football authorities to relocate the team’s group stage matches to co-hosts Mexico or Canada. President Trump even publicly voiced support in late April, saying “I think let ‘em play.”

    Still, significant bureaucratic hurdles remain. As of this week, no U.S. visas have been issued to the Iranian delegation, Iranian Football Federation chief Mehdi Taj confirmed to local media Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already signaled that complications could arise for non-playing members of the delegation, noting that potential issues center on figures the U.S. suspects of ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Washington has formally designated a terrorist organization. Taj himself is a former IRGC member, a designation that has already created friction: last month, the entire Iranian federation delegation abandoned a planned trip to the FIFA Congress in Canada after what they described as degrading treatment from Canadian immigration officials, who flagged Taj’s ties to the IRGC, which Canada also lists as a terrorist group.

    Over the weekend, FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom held a high-stakes meeting with Iranian federation representatives in Turkey to work through outstanding logistics. Both sides characterized the discussion as constructive, offering a small glimmer of progress amid the ongoing uncertainty. If the delegation secures the required visas in time, Iran will set up its official pre-tournament base camp in Tucson, Arizona. The team is drawn into Group G, with its opening group stage match scheduled for June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, followed by a second fixture against Belgium also in Los Angeles, and a final group game against Egypt in Seattle.

    The team held an official send-off ceremony in Tehran last week, but even as players depart for preparation, questions about whether they will ultimately be allowed to step onto the pitch at the World Cup continue to hang over the campaign.

  • Mark Latham’s ex denies insider trading, punching former Labor leader in extraordinary reply

    Mark Latham’s ex denies insider trading, punching former Labor leader in extraordinary reply

    A high-profile political drama has unfolded in New South Wales parliament, where Nathalie Matthews, the former partner of ex-Labor and One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham, has issued a scathing full-throated denial of a series of explosive claims made against her by her ex-partner, including allegations of insider trading, a drunken drug-fueled assault, and unethical financial arrangements.

    Matthews, a one-time Liberal Party local council candidate who is currently fighting separate, unrelated revenge porn criminal charges (to which she has already pleaded not guilty), laid out her rebuttal in a formally tabled citizens’ reply last week, pushing back against what she describes as false, damaging defamation that has gutted her professional standing.

    According to Matthews’ submission, Latham invoked her name a staggering 44 separate times during a November 12 debate in the NSW Legislative Council, where he leveled multiple incendiary accusations. Among these claims were assertions that she had accepted a $145,000 payment and confidential insider trading tips from Richard White, the billionaire tech co-founder of logistics software firm WiseTech, that she had carried out a “zombie-like drunken and drugged attack” that ended with her punching Latham in the head following their breakup, that she had engaged in a sexual relationship with businessman Paul Byrne, and that Byrne had covered the cost of her London flight.

    Matthews has rejected every single one of these claims point-by-point. “I never punched Mr Latham and I was not under the influence of any prescribed drug or illicit narcotic,” she stated in her reply. She further denied any romantic or financial connection to Byrne, refuting the claims of a paid flight entirely. On the insider trading allegations, she made clear she has never received the $145,000 payment from White, never been given confidential market information by him, and has never received any correspondence or regulatory notice from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) related to insider trading claims.

    The former Liberal candidate emphasized that Latham’s false remarks have triggered widespread negative media coverage that has eroded public trust in her character and left her professional reputation irreparably harmed, to date.

    The NSW Parliament Privileges Committee ultimately voted to release Matthews’ full rebuttal, though the move was not without opposition. Independent Member of the Legislative Council Rod Roberts issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that the submission was “frivolous and vexatious and it contains inaccuracies.”

    This public back-and-forth is only the latest chapter in a long-running bitter public dispute between the two figures. Last year, Matthews applied for and received an apprehended violence order against Latham, alleging he had committed serious domestic abuse including defecating on her – all claims Latham has repeatedly and categorically denied.

  • Anglo American sells central Queensland coal mines to UK company

    Anglo American sells central Queensland coal mines to UK company

    Global mining giant Anglo American has announced a landmark divestment deal, agreeing to sell its entire portfolio of five steelmaking coal mines in Queensland, Australia, to United Kingdom-based mining firm Dhilmar for a total consideration of up to $5.43 billion.

    The transaction covers a broad range of assets beyond just the mining operations, including the major producing mines of Moranbah North and Grosvenor, the Capcoal project, Roper Creek, and the Dawson South and Theodore South joint venture holdings. It also transfers ownership of the townsite of Middlemount, where Anglo American has long provided core community infrastructure: employee housing, a local shopping center, childcare facilities, and a public medical center.

    In a statement released Monday, Anglo American Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad highlighted Dhilmar’s deep industry credentials to oversee the assets going forward. “Dhilmar’s leadership brings considerable experience of operating major mining assets, including in steelmaking coal, in Southeast Asia and Canada,” Wanblad said. “We will work together with the Dhilmar team and with our workforce, local communities, government, customers, and partners to ensure a successful transition.”

    The deal is not yet final, however. It remains subject to standard pre-closing conditions, including mandatory competition and regulatory approvals, as well as pre-emption rights held by existing joint venture partners.

    This transaction marks a second attempt to sell the Queensland coal portfolio after a previous deal with U.S. mining firm Peabody Energy collapsed in 2024. Peabody walked away from the original acquisition agreement citing a “material adverse change” to the assets following a fire incident at the Moranbah North mine. Anglo American has disputed Peabody’s cancellation, arguing the withdrawal was wrongful.

    The company confirmed Monday that it is continuing to pursue arbitration proceedings against Peabody related to the terminated 2024 purchase agreement. In a regulatory filing with the London Stock Exchange, where Anglo American is publicly listed, the firm reaffirmed its position: “Anglo American remains confident that the incident at Moranbah North relied upon by Peabody in support of its purported termination of its agreement did not constitute a material adverse change.”

    Anglo American noted that proceeds from the sale to Dhilmar will be allocated to reducing the company’s net debt, supporting its broader balance sheet restructuring strategy.

  • Japan arrests Americans over stunt at baby monkey Punch’s zoo

    Japan arrests Americans over stunt at baby monkey Punch’s zoo

    Japanese law enforcement officials confirmed Monday that two American citizens have been taken into custody following a reckless public stunt that saw one man breach the enclosure of Japan’s most famous infant primate at Ichikawa City Zoo, located just outside Tokyo. The viral baby macaque Punch has drawn massive crowds of visitors to the facility since his rise to global internet fame earlier this year.

    According to local police accounts, the incident unfolded Sunday, when a 24-year-old American man identifying himself as a college student scaled a safety fence and dropped into the dry moat that surrounds the zoo’s monkey exhibit. His accomplice, a 27-year-old American man who says he works as a professional singer, remained outside the enclosure to record the stunt for sharing online.

    Social media footage circulating after the incident shows the trespasser dressed in a full costume featuring a large smiley-face headpiece fitted with dark sunglasses. As the man climbed over the barrier, the entire troop of macaques in the exhibit scattered in panic. A senior Ichikawa Police official, who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the pair never made direct contact with any of the animals, including Punch, and were quickly detained by on-duty zoo staff before they could escalate the incident.

    Police confirmed that the two Americans are currently facing misdemeanor charges of forcible obstruction of business, a charge both men have formally denied. Investigators also noted that the pair carried no official government identification at the time of their arrest, and initially provided false names to responding officers.

    The unauthorized intrusion comes in the wake of an unprecedented surge in visitors to Ichikawa City Zoo, a boom driven entirely by the global viral fame of Punch. The baby macaque captured global attention earlier this year after zookeepers shared photos of the tiny infant clinging to a plush IKEA orangutan toy for comfort, after he was rejected and abandoned by his biological mother shortly after his birth last July.

    After being hand-raised by keepers in a controlled human care environment, Punch recently began gradual training to reintegrate into his troop. His story of resilience resonated with animal lovers across social media, where a dedicated global fanbase has formed around the hashtag #HangInTherePunch, drawing tens of thousands of domestic and international tourists to the previously little-known suburban zoo.

    The incident is the latest in a growing string of high-profile cases of unruly tourist behavior in Japan, a trend that has sparked growing frustration among local residents as the country sees a record post-pandemic boom in international visitor numbers. Last year, a Ukrainian YouTube creator with more than 6.5 million subscribers was arrested after livestreaming himself trespassing inside an abandoned residential home in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear exclusion zone. In 2023, an American livestreamer known online as Johnny Somali was taken into custody on trespassing charges after he entered an active construction site without permission.

  • Registrations to teach international students in Australia to be paused for 12 months

    Registrations to teach international students in Australia to be paused for 12 months

    In a sweeping move to repair systemic flaws exposed in Australia’s visa framework, the Albanese administration has instituted a 12-month moratorium on new registrations for providers seeking to teach English and vocational training to international students. The policy shift comes in direct response to the damning findings of the Nixon Review, formally titled the Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System, which uncovered widespread exploitation of student visa pathways and deep vulnerabilities within the national immigration system.

    The suspension applies to all new applications to two key national regulatory bodies: the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), which oversees official registration of education providers and programs for international enrollees, and the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), the national regulator for the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Critically, the pause does not extend to public education providers, including state-run government schools, public TAFE institutions, and Australia’s Table A public universities.

    Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill framed the decision as a necessary step to protect Australia’s standing as a world-leading destination for international education. He emphasized that long-term success in the international education sector depends on unwavering focus on quality, systemic integrity, and positive student experiences. “Australia welcomes genuine international students seeking a premium Australian education, and the Government is committed to further strengthening integrity and sustainability in the international education sector,” Hill stated in a press briefing Monday.

    The minister added that the 12-month pause was not made hastily, noting that it would give regulators time to root out integrity risks posed by unvetted new entrants and address widespread oversaturation in the VET and ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students) sub-sectors. “Frankly, it raises suspicions when at the same time student numbers in these parts of the sector are moderating the regulator continues to see a rush of new market entrants,” Hill said.

    The 12-month suspension will grant ASQA additional time to clear existing backlogs and address long-running integrity concerns raised by both the Nixon Review and the 2023 federal Migration Review. During the pause, the regulator will conduct a full sector-wide assessment to evaluate risks associated with potential new providers and analyze the scope of oversaturation in the two affected segments. Currently registered providers will not be impacted by the change: they will still be permitted to apply to add new instructional locations for existing courses and register updated courses that replace existing offerings.

    The policy forms part of the government’s broader push to shore up public confidence in Australia’s immigration system, as political pressure around migration levels and their impact on national housing supply has grown. The issue has become a key electoral battleground, dominating campaigns for recent state elections in South Australia and the federal by-election for the New South Wales seat of Farrer. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor recently made migration policy a centerpiece of his budget reply speech, where he pledged to tie future national migration caps to annual housing construction completion rates. The government already secured legislative authority for the suspension last year, when it passed the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025.

  • G7 finance chiefs meet to seek common stance on unstable ground

    G7 finance chiefs meet to seek common stance on unstable ground

    Against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical tension, global economic volatility, and ongoing conflict in the Middle East, top finance officials from the Group of Seven major industrialized nations kicked off two days of closed-door negotiations in Paris on Monday. The core goal of the summit, hosted by France in its term as rotating G7 president, is to build a coordinated collective stance amid a landscape of overlapping economic and political risks that have put global growth projections on shaky ground.

    Even before the first session convened, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure publicly acknowledged the significant challenges facing negotiators, admitting candidly that reaching full consensus across all topics would not be a simple task. The gathering comes at a moment of unprecedented friction, with trade disputes triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies amplifying existing geopolitical divides, alongside the economic shockwaves rippling out from the Middle East conflict.

    One of the highest-priority items on the meeting agenda is a coordinated push to reduce the G7’s collective reliance on China’s dominant position in global rare earth supplies, a critical input for the artificial intelligence boom that has driven much of advanced economy growth in recent years. Lescure outlined his view that the current trajectory of the global economy, shaped over the past decade, is no longer structurally sustainable. He highlighted a series of interconnected threats: the rapidly expanding U.S. federal budget deficit, stagnant technological progress across European economies, and China’s efforts to counter falling domestic consumer demand and persistent industrial overcapacity by pushing its domestic firms to increase their market share in international export markets.

    “Multilateralism can work,” Lescure told reporters ahead of the summit, “but these discussions are not easy — I’m not going to tell you that we agree on everything, including obviously with our American friends.” Trump’s combative, transactional approach to international relations with both allies and adversaries has left many G7 leaders uneasy, as they simultaneously grapple with dual threats of stagnant growth and persistent elevated inflation fueled by the Middle East war.

    German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil emphasized that the G7 serves as the ideal forum for discussions with the U.S. focused on bringing the conflict to an end, noting that the war has inflicted severe damage on global economic development. “This war is massively damaging economic development. That is why everything must be done to bring the war to a permanent end, to stabilise the region again, and to ensure free shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz,” Klingbeil said in a pre-summit statement. The G7 finance chiefs are scheduled to wrap up their talks with a closing press conference at midday on Tuesday.

    For the French presidency, even a collective shared recognition of the core challenges on the table would be counted as a major success. Officials aim to release two joint statements following the conclusion of negotiations. To set the stage for the full G7 heads of state summit scheduled for June 15-17 in Evian, France, finance ministers from four major emerging and advanced economies — Kenya, Brazil, India, and South Korea — have been invited to join Tuesday’s discussions.

    The meeting comes just days after Trump’s high-profile trip to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping failed to deliver a clear breakthrough on two critical issues: rolling back U.S.-China tariffs and advancing progress on ending the Middle East conflict. In recent years, China has expanded its economic influence across regions traditionally aligned with G7 powers, and as a key global supplier of both critical raw materials and low-cost finished goods, it has become increasingly willing to take hardline stances in trade negotiations.

    Pierre Jaillet, a senior researcher at France’s Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), explained that the G7’s approach to global economic imbalances has shifted dramatically in recent years. “Up to now, the problem of macroeconomic imbalances was addressed… with regards to global financial stability,” Jaillet told AFP. “But now officials are looking through the optic of economic security: trade surpluses or deficits can reflect vulnerabilities or dependencies, in particular with critical minerals or energy, and the risk of supply chain disruptions.”

    While Lescure avoided publicly naming China, he made the G7’s goal clear: “The G7 goal is to ‘ensure that we don’t depend on any one country… for our rare earth supplies.” Beyond critical minerals, energy security has moved to the top of the agenda as well, driven by the ongoing conflict in the oil-rich Middle East. Lescure framed the current challenge as parallel to the global energy crisis of the 1970s, saying “We must do for critical materials what we did with energy in the 1970s,” and build a shared framework to respond to future crises.

    To address these risks, the French presidency is pushing for the creation of a “common toolbox” that member states can use to counter market disruptions affecting key raw material supplies. Proposed measures include targeted strategic trade agreements, and interventionist policy tools such as price floors, import quotas, and targeted tariffs. France is also seeking to promote multilateral collaborative projects to build out domestic rare earth extraction and refining capacity across G7 nations. A key example currently underway is a joint French-Japanese factory under construction in southwest France that will produce and recycle rare earths, magnets, and other critical minerals. The French state has already committed 106 million euros ($124 million) to the project, which is on track to meet 100 percent of France’s domestic rare earth demand by 2030. Leveraging public development finance to secure agreements in developing countries that encourage private sector investment in critical mineral supply chains is another core policy path on the table, Lescure added.

  • AFL 2026: Collingwood legend Scott Pendlebury ahead of his record-breaking 433rd game

    AFL 2026: Collingwood legend Scott Pendlebury ahead of his record-breaking 433rd game

    As Collingwood Football Club icon Scott Pendlebury stands on the cusp of breaking the Australian Football League’s all-time games record this Saturday, the veteran midfielder says he is focused on sticking to his usual routine rather than getting swept up in the hype surrounding the unprecedented milestone.

    Pendlebury, who will notch his 433rd AFL appearance this weekend when Collingwood faces West Coast at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground, acknowledged that the weeks-long lead-up to the record-breaking match has disrupted his consistent preparation rhythm. Still, the champion player confirmed he will pause to soak in the moment when he runs onto the ground, a habit he has cultivated throughout his decades-long career and shares as advice with young rising stars.

    “I think one thing I have always done, I appreciate the game for what it is,” Pendlebury told reporters on Monday. “Every week regardless if it’s this week or not, I always take a moment to look around at the stands, find my family, try and say g’day. I always say to the young guys that ever play their first game, one bit of advice from me has got nothing to do with the game because you’re good enough. But when you get out here for the first time, look around, take a moment, just to take it all in because it’s pretty cool you’re achieving your dream. I still like that myself, I still feel like I’m achieving my dream every time I get to come out here.”

    The 400-game club, which includes AFL legends Michael Tuck, Shaun Burgoyne, Brent Harvey, Dustin Fletcher and Kevin Bartlett, will welcome Pendlebury into its elite ranks with an unprecedented new mark when he takes the field Saturday. When asked about the milestone, Pendlebury added that he expects to wander the ground taking in the atmosphere before the match, saying “There will be a part where I come out here and probably look lost or whatever, but I’ll just be wandering and taking it all in.”

    Collingwood has faced public criticism in recent weeks over how it has managed Pendlebury’s milestone schedule. The club rested the star midfielder in two consecutive matches leading up to Saturday’s game, which resulted in a draw against Hawthorn and a one-kick loss to an opponent, leaving fans and analysts questioning the decision to bench their leader for those contests. But Pendlebury has thrown his full support behind the club’s planned timeline, noting he was never likely to play against the Hawks even without the milestone context.

    “It’s an interesting one, we planned out at the start of the year a schedule to manage me for the whole season,” Pendlebury explained. “I’ve spoken about this before, but we’ve taken the long view of getting through the whole season. I certainly didn’t plan to have an achilles injury round 3 or 4. There was no chance, it was funny, I think I seen somewhere that I was moving well before the Hawthorn game. If you had of seen my GPS and top speed, you would probably run faster than me that day. I am comfortable with where it sits and I am really looking forward to Saturday.”

    The milestone match will see Pendlebury wear a special gold number on his Collingwood guernsey to mark the historic occasion, with thousands of fans expected to pack the MCG to witness the record-breaking moment.

  • India’s strategic $9 bn megaport plan for pristine island

    India’s strategic $9 bn megaport plan for pristine island

    Deep in the Andaman Sea, bulldozers have begun clearing old-growth rainforest on Great Nicobar Island, clearing ground for one of India’s most ambitious and controversial infrastructure initiatives ever conceived: a $9 billion megaport, new airport networks, dual-use military installations, and an entirely new planned city. Positioned just off the Strait of Malacca, the global shipping lane that carries roughly 30% of annual world trade, the project is the cornerstone of New Delhi’s efforts to counter China’s growing influence across the Indian Ocean, while transforming the remote archipelago into a major Indo-Pacific connectivity hub. From a geostrategic perspective, the location is unmatched: Great Nicobar sits less than 175 kilometers from Indonesia, far closer to Southeast Asia than any site on India’s mainland. Prime Minister Narendra Modi framed the initiative in September as a project of national, defense, and strategic importance that will reposition the region as a linchpin for maritime and air connectivity across the Indian Ocean.

    The full scope of the plan extends far beyond the $4 billion first phase, which will deliver a deep-water container port at Galathea Bay and an airport at Campbell Bay, scheduled for completion within three years. Once fully operational, the port will handle more than 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo, earning it a place among India’s three largest container terminals. Devendra Kumar Joshi, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands governor and a former Indian navy admiral, projects the facility could eventually compete with Singapore and Malaysia’s Port Klang to become the leading container handling hub for the entire Indo-Pacific. Across the 836-island archipelago, plans call for expanding existing naval and air infrastructure, including two new airports and upgraded 3-kilometer runways capable of handling heavy military cargo aircraft. All new and updated runways will be dual-use, serving both civilian and military operations, with one upgraded runway on Car Nicobar already inaugurated by India’s Chief of Defence Staff in January. Most details of the military component of the project remain classified, but security analysts frame Great Nicobar’s location as a game-changer for Indian defense posture. New Delhi-based security expert Nitin Gokhale describes the island as “India’s unsinkable aircraft carrier,” noting that its position creates a permanent strategic advantage by allowing India to monitor activity across the region, a capability that redefines India’s security paradigm in the Indo-Pacific. The project is explicitly aligned with India’s Act East policy, designed to counter China’s so-called “string of pearls” strategy of developing port and military infrastructure across the Indian Ocean to secure its own economic and strategic interests.

    Indian officials have repeatedly pushed back against criticism, emphasizing that the project meets all national environmental regulations and includes dedicated protected zones to safeguard Indigenous communities, unique wildlife, and fragile ecosystems. India’s top environmental court ruled in 2023 that it found no justifiable reason to block the project, specifically noting its strategic importance in countering Chinese influence. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has insisted the initiative “poses no threat to the island’s tribal groups, does not come in the way of any species, and does not jeopardise the eco-sensitivity of the region.”

    But the massive development has sparked fierce pushback from environmentalists, Indigenous leaders, and local residents, who warn that the costs far outweigh any potential economic or strategic benefits. Roughly 95% of Great Nicobar’s 910 square kilometers is undisturbed, biologically under-explored old-growth forest home to dozens of endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. The project will require clearing nearly 20% of the island’s total land area. Most alarming to rights groups is the threat to Great Nicobar’s Indigenous populations, which total around 1,200 people including the hunter-gatherer Shompen people—one of the most isolated communities on the planet, who almost entirely avoid contact with outsiders—and the Nicobarese. London-based rights organization Survival International has warned that the project threatens “genocide in the name of ‘mega-development’” for these communities.

    Critics also dismiss the government’s environmental mitigation plan, which proposes replanting deforestation offsets thousands of kilometers away in the northern Indian state of Haryana. Manish Chandi, a researcher who has worked extensively with Indigenous communities on Great Nicobar, called the offset plan “nonsense”, noting “We are removing crocodiles from their natural habitat, and saying we are going to conserve them.” Chandi also questioned the economic rationale of the massive investment, saying there is no clear roadmap for recovering the $9 billion price tag. Beyond the port and military infrastructure, the plan includes a 161-square-kilometer new planned city, a combined gas and solar power plant, and large-scale tourism development. Current projections show the island’s population jumping from just 9,000 today to more than 335,000 by 2055, with annual tourist arrivals reaching 1 million by the same date.

    Indigenous leaders warn that the project will erase millennia-old traditional cultures that are deeply tied to the island’s land. “If we lose control of these lands, our culture too will be lost,” said Barnabas Manju, the most senior Nicobarese leader. Even mainland Indian settlers who have lived on the island for generations oppose the plan, many facing displacement without fair compensation. Sharda Devi, a 55-year-old daughter of one of the first mainland settlers who moved to Great Nicobar in 1969, told AFP the government will seize 11 acres of land allocated to her father without offering replacement land or adequate payment. Her neighbor Kusum Mishra, 71, who arrived on the island 50 years ago, called the offered compensation “petty”, saying “they are uprooting us and destroying our lives.”

    Hundreds of kilometers north on Little Andaman, the ripple effects of the broader development push are already being felt, as the government prepares for the “next developmental thrust” after Great Nicobar, per Governor Joshi. The Onge community, one of the archipelago’s most vulnerable Indigenous groups, numbers just 143 surviving members today. Many still maintain their traditional way of life, fishing in intact coral reefs and hunting in protected forest lands, but a growing number of young community members are engaging with the outside world, drawn by new opportunities. Last year, local police began recruiting more than 500 young Indigenous people from across the archipelago to serve as police homeguards, framing the initiative as a way to create local opportunity while leveraging their intimate knowledge of the islands. Raja, one of the first Onge recruits, said his steady salary has inspired other young community members to join, drawn by the chance to travel beyond their isolated villages and see the wider world. His friend Jhaj, another Onge recruit, recently made a major methamphetamine seizure of seven kilograms, catching drug traffickers who operate along the Andaman Sea route from Myanmar. Ashish Biswas, who works for the government-backed Indigenous advocacy group Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti, said the development brings both risks and opportunities. “These developments point to better things on the horizon,” he said, pointing to growing interest in education among young Indigenous people following the example of Jhaj and Raja.

  • Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley accuses ex-girlfriend Jennifer Cruz Cole of blackmail in private prosecution

    Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley accuses ex-girlfriend Jennifer Cruz Cole of blackmail in private prosecution

    A high-profile Australian automotive industry leader has launched a rare private criminal prosecution against his former model girlfriend, alleging a series of targeted blackmail attempts that saw her demand as much as $16 million or an engagement to suppress damaging audio recordings.

    Sean Buckley, executive chairman of national car service and roadside assistance provider Ultra Tune, has brought five formal blackmail charges against Jennifer Cruz Cole, his ex-partner and the mother of one of his children, which were officially filed with Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this Monday. Martin Amad, Buckley’s own solicitor, is leading the prosecution in the case, a unique arrangement permitted under Australian private prosecution rules that allow private citizens to initiate criminal proceedings instead of state law enforcement agencies.

    Cole, who previously worked as one of Ultra Tune’s well-known “rubber girl” promotional models, appeared in court in person following the service of charges on April 12. She was not required to enter a plea at this early procedural hearing.

    Court documents outline that between October 2019 and December 2020, when the former couple’s relationship was coming to an acrimonious end, Cole made five separate “unwarranted demands with menaces” against Buckley. The court ordered Buckley’s name be redacted from public charge sheets. The first charge details an October 2019 demand for $10 million, with a threat to damage the unnamed victim’s reputation via the high-rating current affairs program *A Current Affair*. The most serious allegation dates to late 2020, when Cole is accused of demanding either $16 million or a formal engagement agreement in exchange for withholding “reputationally damaging” audio recordings of the victim.

    Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge confirmed during the preliminary hearing that the severity of the charges means the case will eventually be transferred to the higher County Court for trial, a process that requires the state Director of Public Prosecutions to formally approve and sign the indictment.

    Cole’s legal team, led by barrister David Hancock, requested an interim gag order to temporarily block media from reporting case details, but the magistrate rejected the application, ruling a media ban would not be appropriate in this matter.

    This prosecution is the latest in a string of overlapping legal disputes between the former couple, who dated from 2017 until their split in December 2020. Buckley and Ultra Tune currently have an ongoing civil claim before the Supreme Court against Cole, centered on her alleged publication of a secretly recorded conversation between the two that took place in a Crown hotel room in early 2020.

    In a separate prior criminal matter, allegations that Buckley stalked, secretly recorded, and assaulted Cole in 2020 were dismissed by Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last August, four years after the claims were first filed. Buckley’s legal team has long maintained the allegations were a deliberate set-up by Cole.

    Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Amad confirmed Buckley’s decision to pursue a private prosecution was a choice he was legally entitled to make, and that the case would proceed through the courts according to due process. Hancock has stated he will not make any public comments on the matter at this stage. The case is scheduled to return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for a further procedural hearing on August 10.