TODAY

Justice Minister German Galushchenko allegedly took part in the scheme involving state nuclear power firm Energoatom.

Ukraine has suspended Justice Minister German Galushchenko for his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal involving the state-run nuclear power company, Energoatom, during his tenure as the country’s energy minister.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced on Wednesday that Galushchenko had been suspended from his duties, which will be carried out by Deputy Justice Minister for European Integration Lyudmyla Sugak.

Galushchenko, who served as energy minister for four years before taking over the justice portfolio in July, is accused of profiting from a scheme that laundered money from Energoatom.

Ukraine’s Pravda news outlet reported that anticorruption authorities raided Galushchenko’s offices on Monday.

‘I will defend myself in court’

In a statement, Galushchenko said he had spoken with the prime minister and agreed his suspension is appropriate while he defends his case.

“A political decision must be made, and only then can all the details be sorted out,” said Galushchenko. “I believe that suspension for the duration of the investigation is a civilised and correct scenario. I will defend myself in court and prove my position.”

According to Ukraine’s Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), the alleged $100m scheme was orchestrated by businessman Timur Mindich, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

SAPO’s investigators say Galushchenko helped Mindich manage illicit financial flows in the energy sector, while contractors working with Energoatom were forced to pay bribes of 10 to 15 percent to avoid losing contracts or facing payment delays.

Accusations of kickbacks in the energy sector are particularly sensitive in Ukraine, much of which is facing lengthy daily blackouts as it fends off massive Russian attacks on its infrastructure.

The scandal also highlights a potential challenge to Ukraine’s European Union membership bid, for which eradicating corruption remains a key condition.

Addressing the country on Monday, Zelenskyy urged full cooperation with the anticorruption inquiry and said anyone implicated should be held to account.

Zelenskyy’s comments come just months after he was forced to reverse plans to curb the independence of the country’s key anticorruption watchdogs – SAPO and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine – following widespread protests.

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Sexual exploitation charges

‘Huge shock’

The easiest way to reach Savannah-Ngurore is to tell the cab drivers at the park that you’re headed to Wurin pasa dutse, a Hausa phrase meaning ‘the place stones are broken’. It is a rural community in Yola North Local Government Area, Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria. 

With no signposts leading into the community, the only marker is a bus stop across the road, directly opposite a once-massive mountain. For decades, its slopes have been cut down, felled, and flattened into stones and gravel by labourers who toil from dawn to dusk. 

For many of these stone crushers, quarrying — the process of breaking rocks from the earth, either by hand or heavy machinery, for construction or industrial use — has been a means of survival for decades. Equipped with gloves, hammers, sunglasses, and sometimes heavy machinery, they leave home at dawn for the mountain they call ‘site’.

The only path he knew

Nehemiah Nuhu sits atop a pile of gravel he has broken. While his legs sprawl to the side, a hammer is clutched in his left hand, and his right hand is gloved. He continues to break the stones into tiny fragments. A small music box blasts Afrobeat rhythms beside him, its speaker carrying the beat across the dusty air. 

“The mountain has slowly given way over the years,” he said. As one of the stone crushers who has been carving into the earth for nearly a decade, he has mastered the art of quarrying. His hands move very quickly as his hammer splits the stones in seconds. 

The 28-year-old has been doing this since he reached adulthood. “I don’t have any job apart from this,” he told HumAngle. “It’s not a good job. It requires a lot of energy, and it’s very exhausting.” With high unemployment across the country, Nehemiah said his secondary school certificate is not enough to get him a white-collar job.

“Nobody taught me this business. This is something that has been going on in this community since I was a boy, so I grew up and joined them,” he said. 

He explained that the struggle to survive drove him into quarrying. The trade provides him with an income to support himself and his younger siblings. Nehemiah believes the mountain is a gift from God to the community. He noted that most youths in Savannah-Ngurore have little or no formal education, and with few job opportunities, the quarry has become their only means of survival.

“Most of the youths from this community work here. We are happy that God gave us this mountain to break and earn a living from it.”

Daily labour, hard choices

Nehemiah and other stone crushers start their day by climbing the mountain to carve out excavations. From the top, they roll heavy rocks down a sloping channel that they have shaped over the years by repeated use. Once the stones reach the ground, they are gathered at the foot of the mountain, where they are broken into smaller pieces. 

After the stones are reduced to gravel, they are measured in wheelbarrows and sold to individuals or dealers who come with trucks or open vans. Each wheelbarrow sells for about ₦400 or ₦500, and Nehemiah says he makes around ₦4,000 daily.

“I fill up like 10 wheelbarrows or more in a day. I come here every day and work from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Then I return home to rest. By 2 p.m., I come back and continue, then close around 5 p.m.,” he told HumAngle. 

Sometimes, dealers call them to request specific quantities. “The ones that trust us give us contracts with specific targets, then we deliver to them,” Nehemiah said. When buyers don’t show up, they keep adding to their piles, waiting for the next order.

When other jobs fail

For 45-year-old Ibrahim Hassan, quarrying became a last resort after trying several jobs that yielded little or no results. He started working at the site about five months ago, and despite the physically demanding nature of the job, he finds satisfaction in it. 

“Quarrying fetches quick cash,” he said. “I worked in a bread factory. I worked as a construction labourer, and I was a mechanic one time.” 

He travels 40 minutes from Jimeta to Savannah-Ngurore every weekday. “I’m enjoying the work so far. Apart from its complex nature, I don’t have any problem with it.”

There is also 26-year-old Faruk Muhammed, who has been working at the site for a decade. From his earnings, he established a local tea shop around the community, which he runs alongside his quarrying business. 

“I do both jobs hand in hand,” he said, face down as he split rocks. Faruk arrives at the site in the morning, leaves around noon to rest, and then prepares for his tea shop. 

What he appreciates most about quarrying is not having to search for customers, since the dealers come to the site. “It’s a very tough job. You have to be strong to handle it, but I’m glad I use it to fend for myself. I don’t have to beg anyone for a penny,” he said.

A toll on the environment 

Even though quarrying has become a source of livelihood for many in Savannah-Ngurore, the trade continues to burden the earth. Amid the heaps of broken rock lies a toll impossible to ignore.

Zaccheus Bent Adams, a geologist, said quarrying causes air pollution, biodiversity loss, flooding, and erosion, among other environmental and health hazards.  

“Dust settles on leaves and can physically cover the surface, reducing the amount of sunlight available, which can lead to water stress because the pores on the leaves are crucial for gas exchange,” he stated. Such disruption, he added, affects water circulation above and below the earth’s surface.

He also said the extraction affects both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, destroying habitats and diminishing biodiversity. Zaccheus stressed that conserving biodiversity is essential because all species are interconnected and depend on one another for survival.

He added that climate change exacerbates these effects, contributing to droughts, heatwaves, rising sea levels and wildfires. “Extreme weather conditions increase storm and flood levels, causing damage to communities,” he said.

Living with risks

Quarrying comes with other risks and hazards to the stone crushers.

“While excavating the stones, we sometimes slip and fall, and when we manage to roll the rocks down the slope, we must stand firm or fall down the mountain,” Nehemiah said. He noted that several accidents had occurred at the site, resulting in injuries to workers. He himself bears scars from those incidents. 

“The accidents are regular. Some died when the rocks crushed them during excavation. Others tripped and fell,” he told HumAngle. 

Despite the dangers, the stone crushers show up every day. Although Faruk has not suffered any major accident, he has sustained injuries — and admits he is often afraid. 

“If I get another job right now, I’ll quit quarrying. It’s strenuous. I don’t enjoy it. It’s just that the income helps me and my parents a lot,” he stated. 

Zaccheus added that both residents and stone crushers are at risk of developing respiratory illnesses and symptoms such as shortness of breath. “Exposure to quarry dust has been linked to headaches, eye itches, and skin irritation,” he said.

Nearby communities, he noted, are not immune to the hazards. Landscape degradation, noise pollution, air pollution, and water contamination can lead to social tension and the loss of agricultural land.

Paying the price

Far from the clatter and the dust, 55-year-old Jauro Tafida, the community leader of Savannah-Ngurore, believes that these operations are responsible for several environmental challenges affecting the community. As someone who was born and raised in the area, Tafida draws a comparison to the rapidly vanishing landscapes.

“Before they started quarrying, our lands absorbed water, but now it flows through the lands and farmlands very easily,” he said, explaining that erosion is worsening. 

During the rainy season, water cascades down the mountain along channels carved by the stone crushers, often causing floods that damage homes and farms.

“Where there were no holes before, you now see holes everywhere — even on our farmlands,” Tafida said.

He also noted that local water bodies are shrinking and vegetation is losing its richness.

“There are so many changes,” he told HumAngle. “Years ago, we didn’t bother about spraying herbicides or anything on our farms because the land is rich, but now, we must spray herbicides, and the harvest is no longer bountiful.”

Zaccheus confirmed that quarrying stirs up sand sediments, reduces water quality, and disrupts photosynthesis in plants, ultimately destabilising the food chain. “Coastal and riverine areas face increased erosion as sediment transport changes. Flooding also intensifies, with serious socio-economic impacts on farming communities,” he said.

The community leader said quarrying in Savannah-Ngurore began about fifteen years ago and has since intensified, attracting workers from neighbouring communities. “People from Rundamallu, Ngurore town, Jimeta, and other places all come here to work and then return home,” he said.

Some workers, he added, have died or suffered amputations after accidents. Yet he believes the practice will continue. “It will go on since the children have no other work. Quarrying keeps them occupied and prevents idleness,” he said.

Regulation gaps

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act, established in 2007, aims to prevent environmental degradation, air and noise pollution, and the obstruction of natural drainage channels. The Act restricts quarrying and blasting activities that cause public nuisance.

Similarly, Section 76 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act prohibits individual quarrying. “Every operation for extracting any quarriable mineral, including sand dredging for industrial use, shall be conducted under a lease or licence granted by the Minister,” the Act states.

Before any lease for quarrying is granted, the legislation requires an environmental survey to determine approval. Despite these legal frameworks, quarrying activities continue largely unchecked. In 2024, it was reported that Nigeria loses about $9 billion annually to illegal mining and unlicensed quarry operators.

According to Zacchaeus, unregulated quarrying amplifies social and environmental harm. “The local miners aim to extract the stones without backfilling, which is required after every extraction,” he said. Backfilling, he explained, restores land and vegetation, creating new habitats for plants and animals. It ensures the area can be used again after mining is complete.

He urged the government to engage in community outreach to ensure the implementation of stricter environmental regulations or laws governing quarrying operations. “Through this, the negative impact on the environment and local communities would be minimised,” he said.

Zaccheus also called on policymakers to conduct regular environmental impact assessments to evaluate the effects of quarrying on ecosystems and water quality. “Sustainable practice is the key,” he stressed, “because it promotes rehabilitation and the protection of biodiversity.”

Videos show a Turkish Air Force C-130E Hercules cargo plane falling in multiple pieces from the sky earlier today. The center fuselage with the wings still attached is notably seen spiraling straight down toward the ground. The aircraft, which tragically had 20 individuals onboard, came down in Georgia as it was flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey.

The C-130E went down sometime after 2:49 PM local time (10:49 PM UTC), according to data from Flightradar24. The aircraft, which had been using the callsign TUAF543, had taken off from Ganja International Airport in Azerbaijan some 30 minutes beforehand.

“After departure, it turned and positioned itself on a northeasterly track, passing the Mingechevir Reservoir beneath. While passing 15,000 feet, it again turned onto a northwesterly heading before turning west, passing the Georgian border around 10:37 UTC,” per Flightradar24. “It was in a continuous ascent until reaching its cruising altitude of 24,000 feet at 10:41 UTC.”

We’re following reports of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules, belonging to the Turkish Air Force, that is suspected to have crashed in Georgia, close to the border of Azerbaijan. Evidence points to the aircraft being #TUAF543, which departed Ganja Airport in Azerbaijan at 10:19 UTC.… pic.twitter.com/xqrEWbMiRk

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 11, 2025

As noted, videos are circulating online that show the C-130E having broken apart at some point in midair. In addition to the center fuselage and wings, other large sections of the aircraft are seen falling down toward the ground. A smoke-like effect is seen emanating from the wingtips as they fall, which could be fuel and/or vapor. It then hits the ground, causing a large plume of thick black smoke to erupt.

🇹🇷 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules medium transport plane operated by the Turkish Air Force has crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on Tuesday, the Turkish Defense Ministry informed.

The plane was returning from Azerbaijan to Turkey, according to the Turkish side. pic.twitter.com/Fpqsg63J38

— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) November 11, 2025

Very odd, breakup happened at FL240 in level flight. I’m surprised that wing stayed intact as a critical failure point for aircraft this age is the wing spar. We see the aft fuselage detached and not seed, 4 engines still on the wing and the forward section of the fuselage… pic.twitter.com/Bt7HvabxLY

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) November 11, 2025

Georgian officials say the C-130 came down approximately three miles (five kilometers) from the country’s eastern border with Azerbaijan, according to RFE/RL. Authorities have been working to get to the crash site, and the crash is under investigation. Pictures and videos said to show the wreckage are now beginning to emerge online.

Visuals of the wreckage of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules military cargo aircraft, that disintegrated and fell from an approximate altitude of 24000 feet in Georgia today, being published by local media in Georgia.

Initial information suggests there were 8 crew members on board,… https://t.co/p7cDrP7gQW pic.twitter.com/Nb27NzTQi3

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) November 11, 2025

🇹🇷🇬🇪 | First images are circulating in Georgian media reportedly showing the crash site and debris of the Turkish Air Force C-130 Hercules. pic.twitter.com/9MUbfCIOP5

— Visioner (@visionergeo) November 11, 2025

“Our aircraft that crashed had 20 personnel on board, including the flight crew,” the Turkish Defense Ministry had said earlier in a statement, according to RFE/RL. “Search and rescue operations are ongoing.”

“God willing, we will overcome this crash with minimum hardships,” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said during a speech in Ankara after receiving word about the crash, according to Reuters. “May God rest the soul of our martyrs, and let us be with them through our prayers.”

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, a major Turkish ally, has also offered his condolences.

As of the start of 2025, the Turkish Air Force had a mixed fleet of 18 C-130B and E variants, according to FlightGlobal. These are both models that would have first rolled off Lockheed’s production line decades ago. For some years now, Turkey has been in the process of bringing all of its Hercules aircraft up to a modernized standard through the ERCIYES modernization program. The designations C-130BM and EM are often used to describe planes that have received the upgrades, which include improved avionics and navigation systems, as well as new cockpit displays, and more. The Turkish Hercules that went down today in Georgia had received the upgrade package, according to Scramble. Turkey also acquired this particular example second-hand from Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this year, Turkish authorities also confirmed they had purchased 12 ex-British C-130J models. The Royal Air Force officially retired the last of its C-130Js in 2023.

While there is much to learn about the crash today, the imagery of the aircraft going down and from the crash site certainly shows a devastating total loss.

We will continue to update this story with any new information that may emerge in the next 24 hours about the mishap.

Contact the author: [email protected]

In a remote and silent region, thousands of innocent lives have been lost for the sake of a country’s interests. The silence of Sudan has become a global tragedy, with more than 60,000 people killed and more than 11 million displaced. Yet the world seems silent and mute, as if they are ‘invisible.’

Is empathy for a life that is not recognized by digital algorithms so low?

This question seems to haunt me every time I open social media. I see many people around me who do not even know what is happening in Sudan. Their social media timelines never show any news or posts about it, as if nothing is happening. In fact, thousands of lives are lost there every day. This shows that digital empathy is highly controlled by algorithms on social media, which determine what should be visible and what should be left to sink into silence.

During a class discussion a few days ago, I realized that to attract empathy from the digital community, conflicts and global issues are influenced by hashtags used by prominent figures on social media. When they raise the issue of Gaza, the whole world will talk about it, so that issues that are invisible to them, such as Sudan, will never be seen by algorithms and will have an impact on the digital empathy of the community.

In her study, Zeynep Tufekci (2017) states that social media algorithms create filter bubbles, where users are exposed to information that confirms their views, while alternative views are ignored. This further shows that digital empathy is highly controlled by algorithms on social media. Thus, when information does not align with the algorithms and their behavior on social media, it is ignored. In other words, the digital world creates inequality in the space of empathy, where certain issues, such as Sudan, which are not included in social media algorithms, will remain buried and forgotten because they do not meet the logic of virality.

This phenomenon not only reveals the weakness of digital empathy but also how it shapes the hierarchy of humanity in the digital space. Safiya Umoja Noble (2018), in The Algorithm of Oppression, argues that social media algorithms are not neutral but refer to the interests within them. Social media search engines prioritize certain issues and promote websites that lead to a set of biased algorithms, ignoring issues that should be of global concern. As a result, a hierarchy of global empathy towards certain issues is formed, whereby issues that do not align with economic or political interests, such as Sudan, will never gain traction in the global arena.

The impact of this algorithmic bias is very real. The conflict in Sudan is an extreme example of the existence of a ‘Digital Empathy Hierarchy’ where only issues that receive a lot of response are considered important, while issues that do not receive much response and global attention are easily ignored. Hashtags such as #AllEyesOnRafah managed to capture the world’s attention, while hashtags such as #Sudan and #Sudanese only received brief attention and then disappeared into silence. In fact, the suffering in Sudan is no less tragic than what is being widely discussed, but the public seems to turn a blind eye, creating injustice in the digital space and allowing empathy to be controlled by invisible algorithms.

The agenda-setting theory states that the media can shape public opinion by determining which issues receive the most attention. It has been widely studied and applied to various forms of media, which easily gain global attention and are considered important by the international community. However, when issues in Sudan are not reported, people consider them unimportant, and the media agenda for Sudan is low, resulting in a low public agenda for Sudanese issues.

Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (1993) states that moral distance causes people to lack a sense of responsibility to care about the suffering of others who are geographically and symbolically distant from them. This moral distance creates digital inequality because algorithms are increasingly widening, making it easy to dismiss information that does not attract mass attention. This imbalance in empathy and morality reflects the worsening humanitarian reality in Sudan. According to the OCHA report (2025), Sudan is facing the worst crisis in its history, with 30.4 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, in dire need of humanitarian aid. Of that number, 16 million are children who are Sudan’s future generation. However, despite the large number of victims, Sudan remains invisible and neglected by a world that seems to prefer to remain silent.

Data from DataReportal (2025) shows that Sudan had 3.68 million social media users in January 2025, equivalent to 7.2 percent of the total population. Digital access in Sudan is indeed open and increasing, but the volume of discussion about Sudan is very small and even inaudible. This further proves that there is a paradox in the digital world, where the more connected humans are, the more disconnected they become from real empathy. This humanitarian crisis requires a response and support from the global media, but as long as everything is determined by algorithmic biases that are considered uninteresting to gain global attention and international support, then hundreds of lives lost and the suffering of the Sudanese people will be lost in silence and invisibility.

If issues that are considered important are only viewed in terms of their magnitude and depend on digital hierarchy algorithms, then humanity’s morals are declining. International organizations controlled by countries with political interests are increasingly eager to create narratives that seem to say that an issue is considered unimportant because it does not benefit them. This pattern slows down the response of international organizations in addressing issues due to digital inequality that creates a hierarchy that will continue to exist, leaving those who are suffering further behind and forgotten.

Many Sudanese people are waiting for hope and support from the global community, but they seem indifferent and uncaring towards the suffering experienced by Sudan. Even in classroom learning, issues that are not widely discussed on social media are often not discussed, and this is very much at odds with the sense of humanity that should be fundamental to international relations students.

As an international relations student, I understand that in this world, everything is determined by interests, power, and algorithms that appear in digital media. Conflicts that are ‘uninteresting’ in the digital space become irrelevant to those with political interests. However, we have a responsibility to eliminate this inequality and moral decline. If social media cannot create algorithms to raise these issues, then we must be the ones to take the lead in continuing to voice these issues in public until the world realizes that there are important issues that must be raised.

Because in truth, Sudan is not invisible, but we are the ones who choose not to see it.

Australia’s High Court says government acted within its rights when it passed a law revoking 99-year lease for planned Russian embassy site.

Russia has lost a legal fight to build a new embassy near Australia’s Parliament, with the nation’s top court ruling that Canberra acted within its rights when it cancelled the lease for the site.

Australia passed legislation in 2023 to mothball the planned embassy building after officials deemed it to pose a security threat.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time that his government decided to revoke the lease over the “specific risk” posed by the site, located about 300 metres (328 yards) from Parliament House.

Russia, which blasted the move as “Russophobic hysteria”, challenged the legislation in court, arguing that it was not valid under the Australian Constitution.

In a unanimous ruling on Wednesday, the High Court found that the cancellation of the lease had been a “valid exercise of the legislative power” to enact laws related to the acquisition of property.

The court, however, ruled that Russia was entitled to compensation after paying about $2m for the 99-year lease in 2008.

The court previously rejected a bid by Moscow to stop its officials from being evicted from the site.

The government introduced new legislation on June 15 to end the Russian lease on the land after intelligence agencies warned the location was a risk to national security.

In a statement following the ruling, Attorney General Michelle Rowland said, “Australia will always stand up for our values and we will stand up for our national security.”

“The government welcomes the High Court’s decision that found the government acted lawfully in terminating the Russian Embassy’s lease,” Rowland said in a statement.

“The government will closely consider the next steps in light of the court’s decision,” Rowland added.

The Russian embassy said it was studying the judgement, according to Australian broadcaster ABC News.

“The Russian side will carefully study the text of the court ruling, which sets a precedent,” an embassy official said in a statement.

Relations between Australia and Russia have been strained for years.

Ties deteriorated sharply after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which multiple investigations blamed on pro-Russian separatists, and then plunged further after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

#BREAKING: The lease was granted to Russia in 2008, but was withdrawn when parliament passed a new law citing ASIO advice that the planned embassy could pose a threat to national security. https://t.co/6S6bf37h7m

— ABC News (@abcnews) November 11, 2025

Police seized 61,000 Bitcoin from Zhimin Qian, 47, as part of a years-long money laundering investigation.

The United Kingdom has sentenced a Chinese woman to 11 years and eight months in prison for a years-long scheme to launder investment scam proceeds into Bitcoin, luxury property, and other assets now worth about 4.8 billion British pounds ($6.3bn).

Zhimin Qian, 47, was sentenced by the Southwark Crown Court in London on Tuesday, in a case that saw UK police seize a record-breaking 61,000 Bitcoin as part of their investigation.

Qian, who is also known by the alias Yadi Zhang, was found guilty of money laundering and possessing illegally obtained cryptocurrency.

Will Lyne, the Metropolitan Police’s head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, described the case as “one of the largest and most complex economic crime investigations ever undertaken by the Met”.

“This is currently the largest cryptocurrency seizure by law enforcement in the UK and is the largest money laundering case in UK history by value,” he said in a statement.

UK authorities allege that Qian helped mastermind an investment scam in China between 2014 and 2017 that defrauded 128,000 people out of roughly £4.6bn, according to sentencing remarks from Judge Sally-Ann Hales.

Much of the funds were later recovered by police in China, but Hales said that a “sizeable amount was siphoned off and used by” Qian, and transferred into 70,000 Bitcoin stored on a laptop wallet.

Qian fled China in 2017, spending the next seven years on the run, and travelling between the UK and other countries without an extradition agreement with China.

Qian and an accomplice, who has since been sentenced, came to the attention of UK authorities in 2018, when Qian tried to buy three London properties worth 40.5 million pounds ($53.2m) but failed “know your customer” regulations, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Qian disappeared from the UK in 2020, but not before police seized items from a safe deposit box, including a laptop smuggled from China.

Hales said that documents found during the search “give an indication of the level of the defendant’s monthly expenditure, and the grandiose ambitions she held for her future using the proceeds of her criminal conduct”.

Qian returned to police attention last year, when she began to use a dormant wallet with the help of a second accomplice, Senghok Ling, 47, a Malaysian national based in the UK.

When police arrested Ling and Qian in April 2024, the pair was living a “lavish” lifestyle in the UK, according to Hales. At the time, Qian was found in possession of 62 million pounds ($81.4m) worth of cryptocurrency, a large quantity of cash, and two false passports.

Ling was separately sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison.

Richard Hermer, Attorney General for the UK and Wales, on Tuesday praised the sentencing of “two prolific fraudsters”, who together “caused misery upon thousands of victims to fund their lavish lifestyles”.

Hundreds of people have joined an Indigenous-led protest on the second day of the UN climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belem, highlighting tensions with the Brazilian government’s claim that the meeting is open to Indigenous voices.

Dozens of Indigenous protesters forced their way into the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) on Tuesday evening after hundreds of people participated in a march to the venue.

“We can’t eat money,” said Gilmar, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community near the lower reaches of the Tapajos River in Brazil, who uses only one name, referring to the emphasis on climate finance at many of the meetings during the ongoing summit.

“We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.”

A spokesperson from the UN, which is responsible for security inside the venue, said in a statement that “a group of protesters breached security barriers at the main entrance to the COP, causing minor injuries to two security staff, and minor damage to the venue”.

The protest came as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has highlighted Indigenous communities as key players in this year’s COP30 negotiations, even as several industries continue to further encroach on the Amazon rainforest during his presidency.

Lula told a leaders summit last week that participants at the COP30 would be “inspired by Indigenous peoples and traditional communities – for whom sustainability has always been synonymous with their way of life”.

However, Indigenous participants taking part in rolling protests in and around the climate change meeting say that more needs to be done, both by Lula’s left-leaning government at home and around the world.

A joint statement ahead of the summit from Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin and all Biomes of Brazil emphasised the importance of protecting Indigenous territories in the Amazon.

As “a carbon sink of approximately 340 million tons” of carbon dioxide, the world’s largest rainforest, “represents one of the most effective mitigation and adaptation strategies”, the statement said.

The statement also called for Indigenous territories to be excluded from mining and other activities, including “in particular, the Amazon, Congo, and Borneo-Mekong-Southeast Asia basins”.

Leo Cerda, one of the organisers of the Yaku Mama protest flotilla, which arrived at the summit after sailing 3,000km (1,864 miles) down the Amazon river, told Al Jazeera that Indigenous peoples are trying to secure nature not just for themselves but for humanity.

“Most states want our resources, but they don’t want to guarantee the rights of Indigenous peoples,” Cerda said.

As the flotilla sailed towards COP30, Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, received a licence to begin exploratory offshore oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River.

“You cannot make climate policies without indigenous people at the negotiation table.”

This Indigenous activist flotilla just sailed the entire length of the Amazon River to take their message to the #COP30 climate conference. pic.twitter.com/55YjlZgJct

— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 11, 2025

Cerda also said it was important for Indigenous people to be present at the conference, considering the fossil fuel industry has also participated in the meetings for several decades.

According to The Guardian newspaper, some 5,350 fossil fuel lobbyists participated in UN climate summits over the past four years.

Representatives from 195 countries are participating in this year’s summit, with the notable absence of the United States. Under President Donald Trump, the US has fought against action on climate change, further cementing its role as the world’s largest historical emitter of fossil fuels.

Most recently, Trump has torpedoed negotiations to address emissions from the shipping industry.

Notably, this year’s meeting is the first to take place since the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruled that countries must meet their climate obligations and that failing to do so could violate international law.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its air wing have officially joined the enhanced counter-narcotics mission under U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) purview, the command said in a statement on Tuesday. The carrier had been ordered to the Caribbean, but it stalled for a number of days off Africa before proceeding. You can catch up with our previous reporting on this operation, which is also designed to pressure Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, here.

The Ford, the first in the newest class of aircraft carriers, is now in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility (AOR), the command stated, without giving the ship’s precise location. It transited from the Mediterranean region through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic on Nov. 4.

The AOR extends as far northeast as near the Cape Verde islands, about 2,000 miles from Venezuela and just a few hundred miles from Africa. We asked SOUTHCOM for additional details about the carrier’s location and will update this story if it responds.

“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement on Tuesday. “These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations.”

On Oct. 24, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Ford, which had previously been stationed in the Middle East region, to the Caribbean.

The Ford brings a great deal of additional capability to the Joint Task Force assigned to the counter-narcotics operation. There are four squadrons of F/A-18 Super Hornets, a squadron of E/A-18 Growler electronic warfare jets, a squadron of E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne command and control aircraft, MH-60S and MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and a detachment of C-2A Greyhound Onboard Delivery planes.

In addition to those assets, several other elements of the Ford Carrier Strike Group will take part in this operation. 

“Destroyer Squadron Two’s Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) and USS Mahan (DDG 72), and the integrated air and missile defense command ship USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81)” will join the Ford. Two other Arleigh Burke class destroyers assigned to the strike group – the USS Forrest Sherman and USS Mitscher – were still operating in the Red Sea, a U.S. official told us last week.

While it is unclear where any of these vessels are, online ship watchers have located the Bainbridge at about 800 nautical miles northeast of Trinidad and Tobago.

In a world where 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt interest than on health and education combined, the global financial system isn’t just flawed, it’s fundamentally unjust. This alarming reality formed the core of our conversation with Bodo Ellmers, Managing Director of Global Policy Forum Europe, following the recent UNCTAD 16 conference in Geneva. Against the backdrop of widening inequality and escalating debt distress across the Global South, Ellmers—a veteran policy expert with over two decades in the field—offered a stark diagnosis of the systemic failures in our international financial architecture and charted a path toward meaningful reform.

The Double Squeeze: How Debt Worsens Inequality

For Ellmers, the debt crisis represents a double-edged sword cutting through global development. “It squeezes fiscal space,” he explains, “constraining governments’ ability to finance public services and development.” This creates a vicious cycle where indebted nations must choose between servicing external debts and investing in their people’s well-being.

The impact manifests in two dimensions: nationally, through reduced spending on social protection, education, and healthcare; and internationally, as debt service payments flow from poor countries to rich creditors, effectively widening the gap between Global North and South.

An Architecture of Imbalance

When asked about characterizations of the international financial architecture as “neo-colonial,” Ellmers focuses on the concrete imbalances. The IMF and World Bank operate on a “one dollar, one vote” system that gives wealthy nations disproportionate power, with the US holding veto rights. Meanwhile, crucial financial regulation bodies like the OECD and Financial Stability Board exclude smaller developing countries entirely, despite setting rules with global impact.

The reform path remains blocked, Ellmers notes, because any meaningful redistribution of voting power would reduce US influence below its veto threshold. This impasse has forced regions to develop alternatives, from China’s new development banks to Africa’s proposed stability mechanism. Yet these solutions come with their own challenges, potentially creating new dependencies even as they offer welcome alternatives to traditional donors.

The Missing Piece: A Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism

Perhaps the most glaring gap in the current system, according to Ellmers, is the absence of a fair sovereign debt restructuring process. Unlike corporate insolvency, where independent courts balance interests, indebted nations must negotiate from weakness with diverse creditors.

Ellmers advocates for a system that would prioritize human rights, ensuring that “a state needs to have the financial capacity to fulfill its human rights obligations towards citizens. This money cannot be touched by creditors.” This approach would fundamentally reorient debt negotiations from purely financial calculations to human-centered outcomes.

Climate Finance or Climate Debt?

The conversation turned to climate finance, where Ellmers describes a “scandal” in the making. Wealthy, high-polluting nations continue to provide climate finance primarily as loans rather than grants, pushing vulnerable countries deeper into debt while addressing climate challenges they did little to create.

While mechanisms like Special Drawing Rights offer temporary relief, Ellmers sees them as treating symptoms rather than root causes. The deeper issue remains the voluntary nature of climate finance commitments and the reluctance of wealthy nations to provide adequate grant-based funding.

A Path Forward: Protest and Policy

For activists and social movements seeking change, Ellmers emphasizes the need for dual strategies. The successful Jubilee campaign of the 1990s combined technical advocacy with mass mobilization, creating pressure that neither approach could achieve alone. This combination remains essential today, expert analysis must meet street-level mobilization to drive meaningful reform.

Conclusion: Reclaiming Sovereignty: The Unfinished Fight for Debt Justice

As Ellmers soberly concludes, “debt kills the SDGs.” With 3.4 billion people affected by this crisis, the need for structural reform transcends economic policy, it becomes a moral imperative for global justice and human dignity. The insights from our conversation paint an unambiguous picture: the current international financial architecture perpetuates inequality, undermines development, and fails to address interconnected crises from debt to climate change.

Yet within this challenging landscape, Ellmers’ analysis also reveals pathways for change. From institutional reforms that rebalance power toward Global South nations, to innovative mechanisms that protect human rights in debt restructuring, to the powerful synergy between grassroots mobilization and technical advocacy, the tools for transformation exist. What’s needed now is the political will to implement them.

Ellmers’ analysis leaves us with a crucial takeaway: the power to change this system lies in a combination of technical precision and unrelenting public pressure. The solutions—from a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism that protects human rights to shifting climate finance from loans to grants—are within reach. What has been missing is the political will to implement them. That will must be forged, and it must be forged now. The future of global justice, and the lives of billions, depend on it.

A Virginia transportation security officer has accused the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of sex discrimination over a policy that bars transgender officers from performing security screening pat-downs, according to a federal lawsuit.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which operates under the DHS, enacted the policy in February to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes: male and female.

The Associated Press (AP) news agency obtained internal documents explaining the policy change from four independent sources, including one current and two former TSA workers.

Those documents explain that “transgender officers will no longer engage in pat-down duties, which are conducted based on both the traveller’s and officer’s biological sex. In addition, transgender officers will no longer serve as a TSA-required witness when a traveller elects to have a pat-down conducted in a private screening area”.

Until February, the TSA assigned officers work consistent with their gender identity, based on a 2021 management directive. The agency told the AP that it rescinded this directive to comply with Trump’s January 20 executive order.

Although transgender officers “shall continue to be eligible to perform all other security screening functions consistent with their certifications” and must attend all required training, they will not be allowed to demonstrate how to conduct pat-downs as part of their training or while training others, according to the internal documents.

A transgender officer at Dulles international airport, Danielle Mittereder, alleged in her lawsuit filed on Friday that the new policy, which also bars her from using TSA facility restrooms that align with her gender identity, violates civil rights law.

“Solely because she is transgender, TSA now prohibits Plaintiff from conducting core functions of her job, impedes her advancement to higher-level positions and specialised certifications, excludes her from TSA-controlled facilities, and subjects her identity to unwanted and undue scrutiny each workday,” the complaint says.

Mittereder declined to speak with the AP, but her lawyer, Jonathan Puth, called the TSA policy “terribly demeaning and 100 percent illegal”.

TSA spokesperson Russell Read declined to comment, citing pending litigation. But he said the new policy directs that “male Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on male passengers, and female Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on female passengers, based on operational needs”.

The legal battle comes amid mounting reports of workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees during Trump’s second administration. It is also happening at a time when the TSA’s ranks are already stretched thin due to the ongoing government shutdown that has left thousands of agents working without pay.

Other transgender officers describe similar challenges to Mittereder.

Kai Regan worked for six years at Harry Reid international airport in Las Vegas before leaving in July, in large part because of the new policy.

Worried that he would be fired for his gender identity, he retired earlier than planned rather than “waiting for the bomb to drop”.

Regan, who is not involved in the Virginia case, transitioned from female to male in 2021. He said he had conducted pat-downs on men without issue until the policy change.

“It made me feel inadequate at my job, not because I can’t physically do it but because they put that on me,” said the 61-year-old.

Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a legal organisation that has repeatedly challenged the second Trump administration in court, called the TSA policy “arbitrary and discriminatory”.

“There’s no evidence or data we’re aware of to suggest that a person can’t perform their duties satisfactorily as a TSA agent based on their gender identity,” Perryman said.

The DHS pushed back on assertions by some legal experts that its policy is discriminatory.

“Does the AP want female travellers to be subjected to pat-downs by male TSA officers?” Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin asked in a written response to questions by the AP. “What a useless and fundamentally dangerous idea, to prioritise mental delusion over the comfort and safety of American travellers.”

Airport security expert and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Sheldon H Jacobson, whose research contributed to the design of TSA PreCheck, said that the practice of matching the officer’s sex to the passenger’s is aimed at minimising passenger discomfort during screening.

Travellers can generally request another officer if they prefer, he added.

Deciding where transgender officers fit into this practice “creates a little bit of uncertainty”, Jacobson said. But because transgender officers likely make up a small percent of the TSA’s workforce, he said the new policy is unlikely to cause major delays.

“It could be a bit of an inconvenience, but it would not inhibit the operation of the airport security checkpoint,” Jacobson said.

The TSA’s policy for passengers is that they be screened based on physical appearance as judged by an officer, according to internal documents. If a passenger corrects an officer’s assumption, “the traveller should be patted down based on his/her declared sex”.

For passengers who tell an officer “that they are neither a male nor female”, the policy says officers must advise “that pat-down screening must be conducted by an officer of the same sex” and contact a supervisor if concerns persist.

The documents also say that transgender officers “will not be adversely affected” in pay, promotions or awards, and that the TSA “is committed to providing a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and retaliation”.

But the lawsuit argues otherwise, saying the policy impedes Mittereder’s career prospects because “all paths toward advancement require that she be able to perform pat-downs and train others to do so”, Puth said.

According to the lawsuit, Mittereder started in her role in June 2024 and never received complaints related to her job performance, including pat-down responsibilities. Supervisors awarded her the highest-available performance rating, and “have praised her professionalism, skills, knowledge, and rapport with fellow officers and the public”, the lawsuit said.

“This is somebody who is really dedicated to her job and wants to make a career at TSA,” Puth said. “And while her gender identity was never an issue for her in the past, all of a sudden, it’s something that has to be confronted every single day.”

Being unable to perform her full job duties has caused Mittereder to suffer fear, anxiety and depression, as well as embarrassment and humiliation by forcing her to disclose her gender identity to co-workers, the complaint says.

It adds that the ban places an additional burden on already-outnumbered female officers who have to pick up Mittereder’s pat-down duties.

American Federation of Government Employees national president Everett Kelley urged the TSA leadership to reconsider the policy “for the good of its workforce and the flying public”.

“This policy does nothing to improve airport security,” Kelley said, “and in fact could lead to delays in the screening of airline passengers since it means there will be fewer officers available to perform pat-down searches”.

Arrival of US aircraft carrier off Latin America fuels speculation that US could try to overthrow Venezuelan government.

The Venezuelan government has said it is preparing its armed forces in the event of an invasion or military attack by the United States.

A statement shared by Minister of People’s Power for Defence Vladimir Padrino on Tuesday said that the preparations include the “massive deployment of ground, aerial, naval, riverine and missile forces”, as well as the participation of police, militias and citizens’ units.

The announcement comes as the arrival of a US aircraft carrier in the region fuels speculation of possible military action aimed at collapsing the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime US rival.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated since the return of US President Donald Trump for a second term in January.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that the Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group — which includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier — had arrived in the Caribbean Sea, bearing at least 4,000 sailors as well as “tactical aircraft”.

In recent weeks, the US government has also surged troops to areas near the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, for training exercises and other operations.

The Trump administration has framed such deployments as necessary “to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland”. Trump officials have also accused Maduro of masterminding the activities of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang with a relatively modest presence in the US.

But Maduro and his allies have accused the US of “imperialistic” aims.

Questions remain, however, about whether Venezuela is equipped to fend off any US military advances.

Experts say the Maduro government has sought to project an image of military preparedness in the face of a large buildup of US forces in the Caribbean, but it could face difficulties from a lack of personnel and up-to-date equipment.

While the government has used possible US intervention to rally support, Maduro is also struggling with widespread discontent at home and growing diplomatic isolation following a contested election in 2024, marred by allegations of widespread fraud and a crackdown on protesters.

The military buildup in the Caribbean region began after the start of a series of US military strikes on September 2.

The US has carried out at least 19 air strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing approximately 75 people.

Trump has suggested that land strikes “are going to be next”. But when asked in late October whether he was considering attacks within Venezuela, Trump replied, “No”.

Legal experts say that a military attack on Venezuela would likely violate international law, and recent polling from the research firm YouGov suggests that about 47 percent of people in the US would oppose land attacks on Venezuelan territory. About 19 percent, meanwhile, say they would support such attacks.

While Venezuela’s armed forces have expressed support for Maduro and said they would resist a US attack, the Reuters news agency has reported that the government has struggled to provide members of the armed forces with adequate food and supplies.

The use of additional paramilitary and police forces could represent an effort to plug the holes in Venezuela’s lacklustre military capacity. Reuters reported that a government memo includes plans for small units at about 280 locations, where they could use sabotage and guerrilla tactics for “prolonged resistance” against any potential US incursion.

Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to approve funding bill to re-open US federal government in coming days.

United States President Donald Trump has called the looming end of the government shutdown a “big victory” after the Senate passed a bill to fund federal agencies.

Trump congratulated Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday for the soon-to-be-approved funding bill.

“Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory,” Trump said, addressing Johnson at a Veterans Day event.

“We’re opening up our country — should have never been closed.”

The US president’s comments signal that he views the shutdown crisis as a political win for his Republican Party, which is set to end the budgeting impasse in Congress without meeting the Democrats’ key demand: extending healthcare subsidies.

The Senate passed the funding bill late on Monday in a 60-40 vote that saw eight members of the Democratic caucus backing the proposal.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to pass the budget in the coming days to end the shutdown, which has been the longest in US history. Assuming the House approves the bill, it will then go to Trump’s desk, and the president is expected to sign it into law.

In the US system, Congress is tasked with funding the government.

If lawmakers fail to pass a budget, the federal government goes into shutdown mode, where it stops paying most employees and sends non-essential workers home.

The current shutdown started on October 1.

Republicans control the House, Senate and White House, but their narrow majority in the Senate had previously prevented them from passing a continuing resolution to keep the government funded.

In the 100-seat Senate, major legislation must generally be passed with at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, a legislative procedure that allows the minority party to block bills it opposes.

The Democratic caucus holds 47 seats in the chamber, which allowed it to successfully wield the filibuster until this week’s divisive vote.

Until Monday, Democrats had largely been united in opposition to the Republicans’ funding bill. They had previously maintained they would only approve government funding if the bill included provisions to extend healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

Those subsidies, Democrats argued, help millions of Americans afford their medical insurance.

But Trump had threatened to ramp up the pressure against Democrats by cutting programmes he associated with their party.

During the shutdown, for example, Trump tried to withhold food benefits for low-income families – a policy that is being challenged in the courts.

The shutdown crisis has also led to flight delays and cancellations across the country due to a shortage of available air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay.

Monday’s Senate vote paved the way for a resolution to the crisis. But it has sparked infighting amongst Democrats, with segments of the party voicing disappointment with senators who backed the bill.

The issue has also intensified criticism against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who voted against the proposal but failed to keep his caucus united in opposition to it.

“Sen. Schumer has failed to meet this moment and is out of touch with the American people. The Democratic Party needs leaders who fight and deliver for working people,” Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said in a social media post on Monday.

“Schumer should step down.”

Senator John Fetterman, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, defended his vote on Tuesday.

“When you’re confronting mass, mass chaos, you know, I don’t think you should respond with more chaos, or fight with more chaos,” Fetterman told the ABC talk show The View. “It’s like, no, we need to be the party of order and logic.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s armed forces have accused the M23/AFC rebels of undermining recent peace efforts, warning that renewed clashes threaten to derail fragile negotiations underway in Doha, Qatar, claiming it has taken the necessary steps to respond to these provocations. 

The M23 movement, largely composed of Congolese Tutsis, re-emerged in 2021 after years of inactivity, arguing they defend their communities against ethnic persecution. Kinshasa, however, accuses them of being backed by Rwanda — an allegation Kigali denies.

The Doha process, led by Qatar, focuses on securing a lasting ceasefire and prisoner exchanges between the Congolese government and the M23/AFC.

Sylvain Ekenge, the spokesperson for the DRC army, condemned serious violations of commitments made during the ongoing peace processes.

“Several positions of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo were the targets of this coalition of terrorists in South Kivu. It is notably positioned in Bulambula and Kibanda Mangobo on the Walungu-Shabunda highway, the bridge over the Mudugwe River on the Walungu-Mwenga highway, as well as Tuwetuwe, which was attacked by the Twirwaneho militia on the Fizi-Minembwe highway,” Ekenge declared.

“In North Kivu, the attacks are concentrated in Kasopo and Kajinga within the Nyamaboko 1, Osso-Banyungu sector in Masisi territory, not forgetting the attempt to occupy Mount Irimwi towards Bunyatenge, in Lubero territory.”

Several media reports say that renewed clashes have displaced hundreds of civilians in Masisi and Walungu territories, with aid groups warning of worsening humanitarian conditions. More than seven million people have been displaced across eastern DRC due to persistent fighting, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 

The army spokesperson stated that both the international community and American and Qatari negotiators have witnessed these events. 

While expressing its commitment to the peace process, the armed forces emphasised that they are fully prepared to combat the rebels, who are clearly unwilling to adhere to the terms of the peace accords they voluntarily signed.

The Congolese army made these claims in a statement released during the fourth meeting of the mixed committee responsible for monitoring the Washington Accord. The committee acknowledged the slow pace of progress so far and urged the parties involved to intensify their efforts to effectively implement the peace accord.

The M23/AFC has not yet responded to the latest accusations. However, the group has previously denied violating ceasefire terms, blaming government forces for renewed clashes.

During the recent deal, the participants agreed on several short-term actions, particularly the neutralisation of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and its allies, the acceleration of the disengagement of forces, and the gradual lifting of defensive measures by Rwanda. They reviewed the preparations for joint operations in a specified area of interest and agreed on an implementation plan. 

They also acknowledged the efforts made by both parties to turn their commitments into concrete actions on the ground. The parties reiterated their commitment to refrain from any hostile actions or rhetoric, including in international forums, to maintain the peace dynamic established by the Washington Accord.

Qatar, acting as a mediator, provided an update on the status of negotiations currently underway in Doha between the DRC and the M23/AFC. The report showed significant progress in certain areas, particularly in the exchange of prisoners and the establishment of mechanisms to monitor the ceasefire, which was initially agreed upon on November 5, 2025.

The committee appreciated the progress made and reaffirmed its support for the Doha process, which is considered the essential pillar for implementing the Washington Accord and the progressive return of peace in the eastern DRC.

A month after the emergence of satellite imagery that showed GJ-11 stealthy flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) in at least a semi-operational state, China has released the first air-to-air video of the drone — and, as far as we know, the first official imagery of any kind showing the real aircraft. China also revealed that the official People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) name for the GJ-11 is Mysterious Dragon, alternatively translated as Fantasy Dragon. This appears to have superseded the Sharp Sword name that was previously applied, and which likely referred to prototype and pre-production aircraft.

The development comes a little over a year after TWZ reported in detail on growing evidence of the GJ-11 moving ever closer to operational status.

The GJ-11 entered development more than a decade ago and is widely assessed to be designed to perform both penetrating air-to-surface strike and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. It may well also be expected to take on other roles, including air-to-air combat and electronic warfare. UCAVs of this size have long endurance, much longer than crewed tactical jet counterparts, while still carrying a relevant payload.

The air-to-air footage and other clips of the GJ-11 appear toward the end of a nearly 30-minute video released by the PLAAF to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army. The video notably includes the GJ-11 flying in formation with a J-20 stealth fighter and a J-16D electronic attack aircraft. One sequence also shows, apparently for the first time, a J-20 launching a medium-range air-to-air missile, likely a PL-15, fired from its internal weapons bay.

Showing the drone aloft with these two crewed combat is notable and not just as they represent two of the most modern and capable designs in the PLAAF inventory. In particular, both the J-16 and (two-seat versions of) the J-20 have been considered as likely ‘airborne drone controllers’ for types like the GJ-11.

China certainly has a great interest in having drones work alongside crewed platforms, as well as to operate cooperatively, and potentially do so with a high degree of autonomy. As TWZ has highlighted for several years now, the two-seat variant of the J-20 would be an ideal candidate as an airborne drone controller.

Un passage dans un reportage de CCTV-7 montre la possible collaboration entre un J-20 biplace et des #drones GJ-11 à faible observabilité.

La représentativité est à confirmer. pic.twitter.com/9Xy8Q8KQOO

— East Pendulum (@HenriKenhmann) October 12, 2022

Some observers have taken the footage as confirmation that the GJ-11 is now in operational service with the PLAAF. While the video alone is not enough to determine that the drone is in operational use, especially not in any truly meaningful way, it’s another sign that this milestone is fast approaching, if it hasn’t already been attained.

Last month, we reported on satellite imagery showing three GJ-11s at Shigatse Air Base, in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, where they were present from August 6 through September 5. The appearance of the UCAVs at this very active dual-use military-civilian airport was a strong indicator that they were now in operational test, at least, if not operational service. In particular, the base is in a strategic position along China’s southwestern flank with India, close to some of the border areas that have seen sometimes violent skirmishes between the two nations.

A prototype of the GJ-11 was first flown in 2013, in a much less stealthy form. The design was then considerably refined, and a mockup of the new-look version appeared at a parade in Beijing in 2019. It now featured major improvements in terms of low observability, including a completely redesigned rear aspect with a stealthier exhaust.

Prior to being spotted at Shigatse, and now in the PLAAF video, the GJ-11 was primarily known through its appearances at various test facilities. Such locations have included the enormous and secretive base at Malan in Xinjiang province, where examples of the UCAV have been regularly seen flying for more than a year now. Mockups have also been included in parades and have been spotted at Chinese naval test and training facilities.

China clearly has aspirations to operate the drone, or a version of it, from aircraft carriers and big deck amphibious assault ships, and the continued work on a naval variant or derivative capable of doing this has led to a string of unofficial designations, including GJ-11H, GJ-11J, and GJ-21.

Via ACuriousPLAFan/SDF: 😮

Supposedly not a recent image, but still the carrier mock-up and test facility at Wuhan has gained some new aircraft: Visible now are clearly mock-ups of J-15, J-35, KJ-600 and a GJ-11H on the flight deck.

(Image via @伏尔戈星图 from Weibo) pic.twitter.com/UL6uk81zh4

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) December 19, 2023

More recently, a navalized version of the drone appeared in flight, with its arrester hook lowered, as seen in the imagery below.

As it seems, for the first time clear images of a GJ-21 in flight are posted and this one – based on the still installed pitots – has its tail hook down. pic.twitter.com/5h1nVZHzIe

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) November 1, 2025

Whatever way the PLA intends to employ it, the GJ-11 further underscores just how seriously China is taking the development of flying-wing uncrewed aircraft, an area that is currently the beneficiary of heavy investment. As we have repeatedly discussed in the past, this approach is very much at odds with the U.S. military’s eschewing of such designs, with very little evidence of parallel activities, at least publicly. The puzzling case of America’s ‘missing’ UCAVs is something you can read more about in this past TWZ feature.

In the meantime, other countries are putting more resources into flying-wing UCAV programs, among them Russia, India, Turkey, and France.

Another Chinese stealthy flying-wing drone, the CH-7, has meanwhile been seen for the first time in the air, in unofficial footage captured from the ground. Compared to the drone when it was seen previously on the ground, the videos showing the drone in flight reveal that it has been fitted with additional outward-canted vertical tail surfaces. Attachment points for these tailfins appear to be present in previous imagery of the drone; likely, they are intended for testing purposes, as part of envelope expansion.

Besides the official unveiling of the GJ-11 also another flying wing UAV/UCAV – namely the CH-7 – was seen for the first time flying; however quite surprisingly with additional tails attached. pic.twitter.com/YCG04PCBdr

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) November 11, 2025

While the CH-7 remains generally mysterious, it is notably large and is another pointer toward China’s accelerated efforts to develop low-observable, long-endurance drones. The CH-7 appears likely to be tailored for ISR, but there have been claims that it will also undertake strike missions as a UCAV. Similar in configuration to the CH-7, but significantly larger, are two other flying-wing drones, both of which were spotted at Malan. In both cases, TWZ was first to report on these larger drones. 

Combined, the new videos of the GJ-11 and the CH-7 reflect something that TWZ has long predicted, namely that China has invested very heavily in flying-wing drones, for both land-based and naval applications. In the case of the GJ-11, in particular, its path toward becoming a feature of regular PLAAF operations should come as no surprise, and it seems certain that other Chinese flying-wing drones and UCAVs will follow the same path.

Contact the author: [email protected]

The Israeli parliament has pushed forward an amendment proposing the death penalty for any Palestinian convicted of killing Jewish citizens. It must pass a second and third reading before becoming law.