MAE SAI, Thailand: Elite divers on Sunday began the extremely dangerous operation to extract 12 boys and their football coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, as looming monsoon rains threatened the rescue effort.
The “Wild Boars” team has been stuck in a cramped chamber several kilometers (miles) inside the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23, when they went in after football practice and were hemmed in by rising waters.
Their plight has transfixed Thailand and the rest of the world, as authorities have struggled to devise a plan to get the boys and their coach out through twisting, narrow and jagged passageways that in some places are completely flooded.
“Today is the D-day. The boys are ready to face any challenges,” rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters near the cave site as weather forecasters warned of more monsoon rains late on Sunday that would cause more flooding in the cave.
Narongsak said the first boy was expected to be brought out of the cave by around 9:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), meaning the trip would take around 11 hours.
The boys, aged from 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were found disheveled and hungry by British cave diving specialists nine days after they ventured in.
But initial euphoria over finding the boys alive quickly turned into deep anxiety as rescuers raced to find a way to get them out, with Narongsak at one point dubbing the effort “Mission Impossible.”
The death of a former Thai Navy Seal diver who ran out of oxygen in the cave on Friday underscored the danger of the journey even for adept professionals.
Saman Kunan had been trying to establish an air line in a flooded area with oxygen tanks when he passed out and perished.
After a short deluge of rain on Saturday night and with more bad weather forecast, Narongsak on Sunday said authorities had to act immediately.
“There is no other day that we are more ready than today,” he said. “Otherwise we will lose the opportunity.”
Between the operating base manned by Thai Navy Seals inside the cave and the trapped boys are twisting, turning cave passageways with torrents of water gushing through.
The water in the cave is muddy and unclear, with one diver comparing it to a cafe latte. Ropes have been installed to help guide the boys through the darkness.
Narongsak said Sunday two divers would accompany each of the boys out of the cave.
Rescuers had fed a kilometers-long air pipe into the cave to restore oxygen levels in the chamber where the team was sheltering with medics and divers.
More than 100 exploratory holes had also been bored — some shallow, but the longest 400 meters deep — into the mountainside in an attempt to open a second evacuation route and avoid forcing the boys into the dangerous dive.
On Saturday, Thai Navy SEALS published touching notes scrawled by the trapped footballers to their families, who had been waiting for them agonizingly close by outside the cave entrance.
The boys urged relatives “not to worry” and asked for their favorite food once they were safely evacuated, in notes handed to divers.
In one, Pheerapat, nicknamed “Night,” whose 16th birthday the group were celebrating in the cave when they became stuck on June 23, said: “I love you, Dad, Mum and my sister. You don’t need to be worried about me.”
The coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, who many Thais have criticized for leading the boys into the cave, also apologized.
“To all the parents, all the kids are still fine. I promise to take the very best care of the kids,” he said in a note given to divers on Friday.
“Thank you for all the moral support and I apologize to the parents.”
Rescue efforts for boys trapped in Thai cave begin
Rescue efforts for boys trapped in Thai cave begin
- The ‘Wild Boars’ team has been stuck in a cramped chamber several kilometers inside the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23
- The coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, who many Thais have criticized for leading the boys into the cave, has apologized
France to decide response to Algeria ‘hostility’ as tensions mount — minister
- French officials say Algiers is adopting a policy that aims to wipe France’s economic presence from the country
- “The relationship between France and Algeria is not a bilateral relationship like any other, it is a relationship of deep intimacy,” Jean-Noel Barrot told lawmakers
PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron and key members of the government will meet in the coming days to decide how to respond to what Paris deems as growing hostility from Algeria, France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Ties between Paris and Algiers have been complicated for decades, but have taken a turn for the worse since last July when Macron angered Algeria by recognizing a plan for autonomy for the Western Sahara region under Moroccan sovereignty.
Although diplomatic ties have not been ruptured, French officials say Algiers is adopting a policy that aims to wipe France’s economic presence from the country, with trade falling by as much as 30 percent since the summer.
A poor relationship has major security, economic and social repercussions: trade is extensive and some 10 percent of France’s 68 million population has links to Algeria, according to French officials.
“The relationship between France and Algeria is not a bilateral relationship like any other, it is a relationship of deep intimacy,” Jean-Noel Barrot told lawmakers, accusing Algeria of taking a “hostile posture.”
Barrot has offered to go to Algeria to discuss the standoff.
In November, Algeria’s banking association tested the waters verbally to suggest a directive to end banking transactions to and from France, although did not go through with it given the extensive nature of trade ties between the two countries, three diplomats said.
Diplomats and traders say French firms are no longer being considered in tenders for wheat imports to Algeria, to which France had been a key exporter.
Beyond business, Macron accused Algiers of “dishonoring itself” by detaining arbitrarily Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal, whose health has worsened in recent weeks.
Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has called Sansal an “imposter” sent by France.
With Macron’s government under pressure to toughen immigration policies, a diplomatic spat also broke out last week after several Algerian social media influencers were arrested in France and accused of inciting violence.
One was deported to Algiers, where authorities sent him back to Paris, citing legal procedures. That sparked anger among France’s right-wing parties and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau accused Algiers of trying to humiliate the former colonial power.
“This is a violation of the texts that govern our relationship and it is a precedent that we consider serious,” Barrot said, adding that this and the arrest of Sansal had forced Paris’ hands to decide how to respond.
Algeria’s foreign ministry denied on Saturday it was seeking escalation with France and said the far-right in France was carrying out a disinformation campaign against Algeria.
PAST TRAUMA
The relationship between the two countries is scarred by the trauma of the 1954-1962 independence war in which the North African country broke with France.
About 400,000 Algerian civilians and fighters were killed, as well as about 35,000 French and as many as 30,000 Muslim “harkis” who fought in the French army against Algerian insurgents.
Macron has over the years pushed for more transparency regarding France’s past with Algeria while also saying that Algeria’s “politico-military system” had rewritten the history of its colonization by France based on “a hatred of France.”
Jalel Harchaoui, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the countries were locked in an escalating standoff.
“Many politicians in Paris say they want to force Algeria to soften its position, but Algiers has every intention to stand firm. Algeria feels all the more emboldened by the fact that France is far less important to its economy than a few years ago,” he said.
Benn and Eubank Jr boxing bout set to finally take place in London in April
- Bout has been promoted as a ‘second generation’ contest that saw the rivals’ fathers, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr, battle it out in two ferocious contests in the early 1990s
- Benn will reportedly have to move up from welterweight to fight Eubank Jr, who has a professional record of 34 wins and three defeats
LONDON: The long-awaited grudge match between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr is set to finally take place in London in April after a delay of several years, it was announced Wednesday.
What should have been an initial bout between the two British boxers in October 2022 was called off when Benn failed a voluntary drug test in fight week.
Benn’s two-year battle to clear his name saw his suspension lifted in November.
The 28-year-old took to Instagram on Wednesday to share photos of himself signing a contract with promoter Eddie Hearn and Saudi official Turki Alalshikh, along with the words: “Your Fate has been sealed! @chriseubankjr.”
Eubank Jr, 35, responded by posting the picture on his Instagram feed, with the message: “@conorbennofficial just signed his own death sentence.”
Benn will reportedly have to move up from welterweight to fight Eubank Jr, who has a professional record of 34 wins and three defeats, in what was previously billed as a “catchweight” fight.
Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment authority, posted on X: “Eubank Jr vs Benn done in April, London, by the name of (Fatal Fury City of the Wolves). Soon I will announce the day and the location.”
The bout has been promoted as a ‘second generation’ contest that saw the rivals’ fathers, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr, battle it out in two ferocious contests in the early 1990s.
Pakistan polio program says 72 cases reported in 2024
- Seventy-second polio case reported in female child from northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district
- Pakistan polio program is scheduled to hold first nationwide vaccination drive of 2025 from Feb. 3
KARACHI: Pakistan’s polio program on Wednesday confirmed another poliovirus infection from last year, taking the tally of total cases reported in 2024 to 72 amid Islamabad’s attempts to stem the spread of the disease.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health confirmed the 72nd case in a female child from the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
“The onset of this case was on December 31, 2024,” the program said in a statement. “D.I. Khan has now reported 11 polio cases in 2024.”
Giving a breakdown of the cases reported in 2024, the program said 27 cases were reported from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts have met several challenges in recent years, including attacks by militants and misinformation by religious hard-liners.
The Pakistan polio program is scheduled to hold the country’s first nationwide vaccination drive of this year from Feb. 3 till Feb. 9.
“It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected,” it said.
First Israel strike on new Syria security forces kills 3: medical source, monitor
- “An Israeli drone launched an attack targeting a military convoy... killing two members of the Military Operations Department” and one civilian, monitor said
DAMASCUS: An Israeli air strike hit a military target belonging to Syria’s new authorities for the first time on Wednesday, killing three people, a war monitor and a medical source said.
“An Israeli drone launched an attack targeting a military convoy... killing two members of the Military Operations Department” and one civilian, in southern Syria’s Quneitra region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
A medical source told AFP a local official from the Ghadir Al-Bustan area was among the three killed in the strike.
“This is the first Israeli strike targeting the security forces of the new authorities,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the British-based Observatory with a network of sources inside Syria.
Security forces had been conducting a sweep in the area to search for weapons in civilian homes, the Observatory said.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on targets belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army since militant-led forces ousted President Bashar Assad on December 8, destroying most of the military’s arsenal, the Observatory has said.
The same day Assad was toppled, Israel also announced that its troops were crossing the armistice line and occupying a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974.
Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the territory in a move largely unrecognized by the international community.
OPEC forecasts 2026 oil demand growth of 1.43m barrels a day
LONDON: OPEC on Wednesday predicted that global oil demand in 2026 will increase at a rate similar to this year’s growth.
However, the organization lowered its 2024 demand projection for the sixth time, citing ongoing economic weakness in China, the world’s largest oil importer.
The 2026 forecast aligns with OPEC’s long-term view that global oil consumption will continue to rise over the next two decades. This contrasts with the International Energy Agency, which expects oil demand to peak within this decade as the world transitions to cleaner energy sources.
In its latest monthly report, OPEC projected that oil demand will increase by 1.43 million barrels per day in 2026, a growth rate nearly identical to the 1.45 million bpd expected for this year. The 2026 forecast marks the first time OPEC has provided a projection for that year in its monthly update.
OPEC noted that transportation fuels will be the primary driver of oil demand growth in 2026, with air travel expected to continue expanding. Both international and domestic flights are expected to see steady increases, according to the report.
The report also revised its 2024 demand growth forecast down to 1.5 million bpd, compared to the 1.61 million bpd forecast in the previous month. This marks the sixth consecutive reduction for 2024, following an initial forecast of 2.25 million bpd in July 2024.
OPEC’s demand outlook remains at the higher end of industry expectations.
Earlier on Wednesday, the IEA forecasted a slower pace of global oil demand growth in 2025, predicting an increase of 1.05 million bpd.
