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Worldnews

Gunboats Target Cargo Vessel In Red Sea; Crew Abandons Ship

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reports the vessel is taking on water after being targeted with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. A commercial vessel in the Red Sea has come under attack after small boats fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons towards the ship. According to the organisation United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the incident took place 94km (51 nautical miles) southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. “The vessel has been engaged by multiple small vessels who have opened fire with small arms and self-propelled grenades. [The] armed security team have returned fire and situation is ongoing,” said UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy. The UKMTO said the attack resulted in a fire onboard and the vessel began taking on water Sunday night as its crew prepared to abandon ship. “Authorities are investigating,” it said, adding later the ship was ablaze after being “struck by unknown projectiles”. “UKMTO has had confirmation from the Company Security Officer that the vessel is taking on water and crew are preparing to abandon ship,” a statement said. Maritime security sources added that the vessel was identified as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas. British maritime security firm Ambrey said in an advisory that the ship was attacked by four unmanned surface vehicles [USVs]. “Two of the USVs impacted the port side of the vessel, damaging the vessel’s cargo,” Ambrey added. While no one has claimed responsibility, Ambrey said the attack matched the “established Houthi target profile”. The Yemen-based armed group the Houthis began targeting vessels in the Red Sea shortly after Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, which the Houthis say is in defence of the Palestinians living in the besieged enclave. Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched more than 100 attacks targeting commercial vessels, disrupting global shipping and forcing firms to reroute. Their campaign has expanded to include vessels linked to the United States and the United Kingdom since the two countries initiated military strikes in January 2024. In May, the Houthis and the US agreed on a ceasefire that would see the end of attacks on US ships. But the Houthis vowed to continue to target Israeli-linked vessels. A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in US and Western forces to the area. This comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East as a possible ceasefire in the war on Gaza hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear programme following US air strikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Worldnews

Cops In The Form Of Alligators: Trump Visits Floridas Alligator Alcatraz

The migrant detention facility, located in the Florida wetlands, was built in eight days and will include 3,000 beds. United States President Donald Trump has travelled to the southern tip of Florida to inaugurate a new immigration detention facility, nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. On Tuesday, Trump joined Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the remote facility, located in a vast wetland region known as the Everglades. “This is what you need,” Trump said. “A lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops in the form of alligators.” The president then quipped about the dangers: “I wouldn’t want to run through the Everglades for long.” The facility, built on the site of the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, is designed to help address the need for more beds and more space to carry out Trump’s campaign for mass deportation. State Attorney General James Uthmeier first announced Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” two weeks ago, sharing a video on social media that featured bellowing alligators and pulsing rock music to underscore the forbidding nature of the facility. “This 30-square-mile [78sq-km] area is completely surrounded by the Everglades. It presents an efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter,” Uthmeier said. “If people get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.” Its nickname draws from the lore surrounding the Alcatraz federal prison, an isolated, maximum-security detention centre built on a rocky island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay in California. That facility, closed since 1963, gained a reputation for being unescapable — though there were, indeed, five escapees whose fates remain unknown. “It might be as good as the real Alcatraz site,” Trump said of the Florida site on Tuesday. “That’s a spooky one too, isn’t it? That’s a tough site.” Alcatraz has long been a source of fascination for Trump, who mused earlier this year about reopening the San Francisco facility, despite cost and feasibility concerns. Similarly, the Alligator Alcatraz facility has spurred criticism for its human rights implications, its location in an environmentally sensitive landscape and its proximity to communities of Miccosukee and Seminole Indigenous peoples. But the Trump administration has embraced its location as a selling point, as it seeks to take a hard-knuckled stance on immigration. “There is only one road leading in, and the only way out is a one-way flight. It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife in unforgiving terrain,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday. “ This is an efficient and low-cost way to help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history.” Dressed in a baseball cap that read, “Gulf of America: Yet another Trump development”, Trump flew to Ochopee to inspect the Alligator Alcatraz facility on its opening day. Florida officials have celebrated the fact that it took only eight days to set up the detention centre, which appears to use temporary structures on the pavement of the former airport. Governor DeSantis, who ran against Trump in 2024 for the Republican presidential nomination, said that Alligator Alcatraz would take advantage of the adjacent airstrip to facilitate expedited deportations for migrants. “Say they already are been ordered to be deported,” DeSantis told reporters on Tuesday. “You drive them 2,000 feet [667 metres] to the runway. And then they’re gone. It’s a one-stop shop, and this airport that’s been here for a long time is the perfectly secure location.” The head of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, added that the facility will be equipped to hold up to 3,000 migrants — up from an initial estimate of 1,000 — with the potential for expanding the premises. A further 2,000 people will be held at Camp Blanding, a National Guard base on the other side of the state, in northern Florida. A poster on display at Trump’s news conference in Ochopee also advertised 1,000 staff members on site, more than 200 security cameras and 28,000 feet — or 8,500 metres — of barbed wire. Guthrie sought to dispel concerns that the facility might be vulnerable to natural disasters like hurricanes. The Everglades, after all, collects overflow from nearby Lake Okeechobee and drains that water into the Florida Bay, making it a region prone to natural flooding. “As with all state correctional facilities, we have a hurricane plan,” Guthrie said, pointing to the detention centre’s “fully aluminium-frame structure”. He said it was capable of withstanding winds up to 110 miles per hour (177 kilometres per hour), equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane. “All in all, sir,” Guthrie told Trump, “this has been a perfect state logistics exercise for this hurricane season.” Still, human rights advocates and environmental groups gathered on the highway leading to Alligator Alcatraz on Tuesday to show their opposition to Trump and his deportation plans. Protesters chanted through megaphones, “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Some picket signs read, “Communities not cages” and “We say no to Alligator Alcatraz!” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida released a statement prior to the facility’s opening, denouncing the Trump administration for conflating immigration with criminality. The creation of Alligator Alcatraz, it said, was an extension of that mentality. “The name ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ reflects an intent to treat people fleeing hardship and trying to build a better life for themselves and their families as dangerous criminals, which is both unnecessary and abusive,” the ACLU branch said. Meanwhile, the Friends of the Everglades, an environmental group, called upon its supporters to contact Governor DeSantis to oppose the “massive detention center”. It noted that the construction of the airport itself had raised similar environmental concerns nearly 50 years earlier. “Surrounded by Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, this land is part of one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country,” the group said in a statement. “The message is clear: No airports. No rock mines. No prisons. Only Everglades. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. This land deserves lasting protection.” Trump, however, argued in Tuesday’s news conference that the construction mostly built upon the existing airport. “ I don’t think you’ve done anything to the Everglades,” he said, turning to Governor DeSantis. “I think you’re just enhancing it.” DeSantis himself brushed aside the environmental criticisms as attempts to derail the president’s deportation initiative. “ I don’t think those are valid and even good faith criticisms because it’s not going to impact the Everglades at all,” the governor said, promising no seepage into the surrounding ecosystem. Trump hinted that the Alligator Alcatraz site could be the first of many similar, state-led immigration detention facilities. “ I think we’d like to see them in many states — really, many states,” he said. “At some point, they might morph into a system where you’re gonna keep it for a long time.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Diddy Found Guilty Of Pr+stittion-Related Charge, Cleared Of S+x Tr+fficking

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Beauty Queens Eye International Glory

Four beauty queens on the Miss Corporate Nigeria platform have said they have what it takes to do Nigeria proud at international pageants. Speaking to Saturday Beats in Benin, Edo State, Miss Eco Nigeria International, Martha Ajih, who is also a lawyer, said that she is passionate about environmental sustainability, while also eyeing top spots at international events. She said, “I represent a brand that is passionate about environmental sustainability and reducing waste in Nigeria. My vision as Miss Eco Nigeria is what I like to term the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. For Miss Teen Planet Nigeria 2025/2026, Barbara Erhimu, pageants go beyond physical appearance but it showcase talent, dedication to work and many other values. She added, “My expectation is to travel out and represent Nigeria at the global stage where I will be showcasing our rich cultural diversity, my intelligence and who we are as Nigerians. Miss Teen Universe 2025, Jacinta Asadu, who described herself as an advocate for cancer patients and body positivity, said her ambition has been to represent Nigeria at international pageants. She noted, “I am a strong advocate for body positivity and  cancer patients most especially for young girls and children. Growing up, I have always had this ambition of representing my country, my state and family at the international stage.” “My expectation at the event I am attending in October is to bring back the crown, make my country proud and continue with my advocacy.” Miss Teen Planet international Nigeria 2025, Comfort Onaiwu, said she would like to be a voice for young girls in the country while also setting her sight on bringing glory to the country. “I want the young girls to know that impossible is nothing. They can achieve their aim if they set your sight on it, work hard, put in passion, put in dedication and it will pay off.”