TUNIS: Migration activists are sounding the alarm this week about mass expulsions and arbitrary arrests in Tunisia, where authorities are seeing more migrants arrive for attempted Mediterranean crossings from the North African nation to Europe.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights on Monday accused the government of waging a campaign of repression against migrants at the expense of humanitarian concerns, “to satisfy European blackmail and ensure a steady stream of financial and logistical support.”
It said in a statement that witness accounts indicated the situation had become particularly dire around Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria as well as around the country’s second most populous city, Sfax, a common stopover point for migrants aiming to cross the Mediterranean.
The nongovernmental organization said that migrants in Sfax, which is 117 miles (188 kilometers) from the Italian Island of Lampedusa, regularly experience arbitrary arrests and violence. Many have their property destroyed.
Such treatment hasn’t been limited to migrants who enter Tunisia without authorization and has extended to refugees, students, and workers, the group said.
It said it had received frequent reports of mass expulsions across the Algerian and Libyan borders. In Algeria, that has included migrants being deported into the desert regardless of weather conditions. In war-torn Libya, deportations often lead to migrants ending up in detention centers run by armed groups.
Tunisian officials have said small groups of migrants have been pushed back across the country’s desert borders but disputed reports of systemic abuse and expulsions.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights implored the government to end the deportations, provide migrants safe haven and update laws to allow those without papers to obtain some sort of legal status.
“Sovereignty is not achieved by intimidating vulnerable groups and resorting to outdated laws and discriminatory circulars, but rather by initiating national policies that guarantee dignity, rights and freedoms for all humans,” it said.
Tunisia faces increased scrutiny over how it deals with migrants. More than 97,000 people crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy in 2023, according to UNHCR. Tunisian migration groups estimate there are between 20,000 and 50,000 sub-Saharan migrants in the country.
Tunisian authorities receive financial assistance from Europe to help police borders. The country brokered a $1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) aid agreement in July that included a pledge of 105 million euros ($110 million) earmarked for migration.
Despite the aid, President Kais Saied has insisted that Tunisia will not become Europe’s “border guard” or accept migrants that European politicians, including ascendant right-wing leaders, don’t want.
Saied last year faced allegations of racism after calling the presence of sub-Saharan African migrants part of a “criminal plan to change the demographic makeup of the country.”
Tunisian group accuses authorities of mass expulsions of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa
Tunisian group accuses authorities of mass expulsions of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa
Explosions caused 2 bridges in western Russia to collapse, officials say. 7 people were killed
Explosions caused two bridges to collapse and derailed two trains in western Russia overnight, officials said Sunday, without saying what had caused the blasts. In one of the incidents, seven people were killed and dozens were injured.
The first bridge, in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, collapsed on top of a passenger train on Saturday, causing the casualties. The train’s driver was among those killed, state-run Russian Railways said.
Hours later, officials said a second train derailed when the bridge beneath it collapsed in the nearby Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine.
In that collapse, a freight train was thrown off its rails onto the road below as the explosion collapsed the bridge, local acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said Sunday. The crash sparked a fire, but there were no casualties, he said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, said in a statement that explosions had caused the two bridges to collapse, but did not give further details. Several hours later, it edited the statement, which was posted on social media, to remove the words “explosions” but did not provide an explanation.
The committee said that it would be investigating the incidents as potential acts of terrorism.
Rescue workers cleared debris from both sites, while some of those injured were transported to Moscow for treatment. Photos posted by government agencies in Bryansk appeared to show train carriages ripped apart and lying amid fallen concrete from the collapsed bridge. Other footage on social media was apparently taken from inside vehicles on the road that had managed to avoid driving onto the bridge before it collapsed.
Bryansk regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz announced three days of mourning for the victims, starting Monday.
Damage to railway tracks was also found Sunday by inspectors working on the line elsewhere in the Bryansk region, Moscow Railway said in a statement. It did not say whether the damage was linked to the collapsed bridges.
In the past, some officials have accused pro-Ukrainian saboteurs of attacking Russia’s railway infrastructure. The details surrounding such incidents, however, are limited and cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine’s military intelligence, known by the Ukrainian abbreviation GUR, said Sunday that a Russian military freight train carrying food and fuel had been blown up on its way to Crimea. It did not claim the attack was carried out by GUR or mention the bridge collapses.
The statement said Moscow’s key artery with the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region and Crimea has been destroyed.
Russia forces have been pushing into the region of Zaporizhzhia in eastern Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia took Crimea and annexed it in 2014.
6 injured in Colorado attack the FBI is investigating as terrorism
- The suspect, identified by the FBI as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was taken into custody
- Suspect yelled 'Free Palestine' as he attacked protesters with a makeshift flamethrower, say police
BOULDER, Colorado: Six people were injured Sunday in a molotov cocktail attack in Boulder, Colorado, and US federal law enforcement said they were investigating it as an act of terrorism.
Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Denver, said a 45-year-old suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was taken into custody.
The suspect yelled “Free Palestine” as he attacked a crowd with a makeshift flamethrower, the FBI said. No charges were immediately announced but officials said they expect to hold him “fully accountable.”
The attack took place at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder where demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives had gathered to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza as a war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States.
Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, “He’s right there. He’s throwing Molotov cocktails,” as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand.
Injuries ranged from serious to minor. Soliman was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities didn’t elaborate on the nature of his injuries.
The attack occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza” as he was being led away by police.
FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department — which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations — decried the attack as a “needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.”
“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X.
Israel’s war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90 percent of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.
Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it “would be irresponsible for me to speculate” while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims — ranging from serious to minor — were consistent with them having been set on fire.
The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that he was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that “hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.”
Alcaraz, Swiatek pass tough French Open tests
- Swiatek is aiming to become the first woman to win four straight Roland Garros crowns since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago
- Lorenzo Musetti continued his rich vein of form with an impressive 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 success against Danish 10th seed Holger Rune in the night session
PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz fought past American Ben Shelton in a tight four-set match to reach the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday, while Iga Swiatek staged a comeback to defeat Elena Rybakina and keep her bid for a fourth straight title alive.
Reigning champion Alcaraz clinched a 7-6 (10/8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory after three hours and 19 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier to book a last-eight berth for a fourth straight year.
Alcaraz will take on Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, after the 12th seed saw off Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
“Today I fought against myself in the mind,” he said.
“In some moments I was mad, I was thinking not very good things. But I’m really happy that I didn’t let the bad thoughts play against me... I tried to calm myself down and keep going.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion saved three set points in a dramatic opening-set tie-break before clinching it himself on his second.
He crucially then saved six break points in a marathon first game of the second set, before going on to win it courtesy of a break in the eighth game.
American 13th seed Shelton deservedly got a set on the board to extend the match, but Alcaraz quickly bounced back with an early break in the fourth.
The second seed saw a match point come and go in the ninth game of the set, but he quickly brought up another one on his own serve and took the opportunity with a trademark forehand winner.
Lorenzo Musetti continued his rich vein of form with an impressive 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 success against Danish 10th seed Holger Rune in the night session.
The Italian eighth seed, who reached at least the semifinals in clay-court Masters events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, will face Frances Tiafoe in the last eight.
American 15th seed Tiafoe booked a place in his first-ever French Open quarter-final with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over unseeded German Daniel Altmaier.
Four-time Roland Garros champion Swiatek, who has been struggling for her best form and has not reached a final since winning the title last year, was in serious trouble when trailing 2-0 to Rybakina in the second set.
But the 24-year-old dug deep to clinch a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Swiatek is aiming to become the first woman to win four straight Roland Garros crowns since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
The Pole will next face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who knocked out 2024 losing finalist Jasmine Paolini, in the last eight on Tuesday.
Swiatek is now on a 25-match winning streak at the French Open and boasts a remarkable 39-2 win-loss record in the tournament.
Rybakina had won both of her previous career meetings with Swiatek on clay and the Kazakh dominated the opening set, hammering 12 winners past her bewildered opponent.
“Well it was tough you know, first set I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner,” said Swiatek.
“I needed to do something to get back in the game, but with her playing like that I didn’t feel like I had much hope.”
Rybakina broke in the first game of the second set as she threatened to run away with the match.
But Swiatek impressively turned the set around with a run of five straight games.
The fifth seed was one game from defeat when trailing 5-4 in the deciding set, but she managed to end Rybakina’s resistance and held her nerve to serve out the match.
Svitolina made the quarterfinals for the fifth time with a comeback 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 win over Paolini, saving three match points in a dramatic opening clash on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The former world number three, who has never made a Grand Slam final, will be bidding to reach a first Roland Garros semifinal when she faces Swiatek.
“I still cannot believe that this match finished my way,” said Svitolina.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka needed eight match points to wrap up a 7-5, 6-3 win over American Amanda Anisimova.
The three-time Grand Slam champion reached her 10th successive major quarter-final, where she will face Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
“I want to get this win after Rome, so I’m happy to face her (Zheng) in the quarters,” said Sabalenka, who lost to Zheng in the Italian Open last eight last month.
Zheng secured a quarterfinal place with a hard-fought three-set victory over 19th-seeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova.
The Chinese eighth seed extended her winning streak at Roland Garros to 10 matches, winning 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 6-3 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Sweden’s Maja Stark wins US Women’s Open for her first major championship
- Stark became the sixth Swede to win a women’s major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist in the 2021 Women’s British Open
- Stark maintained her poise well enough to earn a $2.4 million prize in the most lucrative event of the year
ERIN, Wisconsin: Maja Stark has lost her confidence heading into the US Women’s Open.
Her decision to stop worrying about that sparked her to the biggest title in women’s golf.
The 25-year-old Swede shot an even-par 72 on Sunday and stayed ahead all day. Her four-day total of 7-under 281 at Erin Hills left her two strokes ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan’s Rio Takeda.
“I think that I just stopped trying to control everything, and I just kind of let everything happen the way it happened,” Stark said. “During the practice days, I realized that, if I just kind of hovered the club above the ground a little bit before I hit, I released some tension in my body. I think that just doing my processes well and knowing, giving myself little things like that was the key this week because I don’t really want to rely on my confidence for stuff.”
Stark became the sixth Swede to win a women’s major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist in the 2021 Women’s British Open. Stark also won her second career LPGA Tour title.
The former Oklahoma State player is the first Swede to win a US Women’s Open since Annika Sorenstam earned her third title in 2006. The only other Swede to win this event was Liselotte Neumann in 1988.
“They texted me yesterday and just kind of said, ‘Bring it home,’ ” Stark said.
Stark’s steadiness made the difference as she held off Korda and a host of other challengers.
Korda closed with a 71, and Takeda had a 72 to tie for second. Hye-Jin Choi (68), Ruoning Yin (70) and Mao Saigo (73) tied for fourth at 4 under. Hailee Cooper (70) and Hinako Shibuno (74) were 3 under.
Stark’s playing partner, Julia Lopez Ramirez, fell out of contention early on her way to 79 that left her tied for 19th. Lopez Ramirez, who entered the day just one shot off the lead, had a triple bogey on 18.
This was as close as Korda has come to winning a US Women’s Open.
Korda discussed her “complicated relationship” with the US Women’s Open this week, as her best previous finish was a tie for eighth place in 2022 at Pine Needles. She missed the cut at this tournament last year after posting a 80 in the opening round.
“I played this event when I was 14 years old, so maybe a little bit more emotional about it,” Korda said. “I mean, definitely it’s gotten my heart broken a couple times. ... To have that showing last year definitely put a dagger into my heart, but that’s just golf. You’re going to lose more than you win a majority of the time.
“I feel like I actually learn a lot about myself and my game and where I need to improve playing the US Women’s Open because it does test every part of your game.”
Korda birdied Nos. 7 and 8, but missed a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 9 that would have tied her for the lead. Korda’s birdie attempt on No. 9 came minutes after Stark’s bogey-free streak ended at 21 on No. 7.
Stark then extended her lead to three by making a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 11 immediately after Korda missed a par putt of just under 5 feet at No. 13.
Korda, Shibuno and Takeda got within two strokes of Stark with birdies on the par-5 14th, though Korda missed a 14-foot eagle putt and Shibuno missed an eagle attempt from 9 1/2 feet.
Stark then made a birdie of her own on No. 14 to regain her three-stroke advantage at 9 under. She maintained that lead despite bogeying the last two holes.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboards until I was on like 17,” Stark said. “I caught a glimpse of it. It was nice. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought that I would be because it felt like I have somewhat control of my game and I kind of know what’s going on.”
Stark credited caddie Jeff Brighton, a former standup comedian who helped keep her loose by telling jokes and making sure she didn’t dwell on what was at stake.
“We just kind of tried to talk about some stuff and not be too into my own putt,” she said.
Said Brighton: “I would say Maja’s quite an intense player. She tries really hard and is really competitive, so when (a player’s) intense, you’re trying between shots to just get their head away from golf.”
He spoke wearing a cheesehead similar to the ones seen at Green Bay Packers games
Stark maintained her poise well enough to earn a $2.4 million prize in the most lucrative event of the year. Now she just needs to figure out how to spend her winnings.
“Maybe move out of my studio apartment can be one thing,” Stark quipped.
Scottie Scheffler rolls to victory at Memorial for 3rd win of year
- At 10-under 278 for the tournament, Scheffler secured a four-shot victory over Ben Griffin — the only other golfer to win a PGA Tour event that Scheffler started in the past month
- Scheffler and Tiger Woods are the only back-to-back winners of the Memorial Tournament
DUBLIN, Ohio: Scottie Scheffler showed once again that he’s ready to conquer whatever challenge he’s faced with on the PGA Tour.
The world’s No. 1 golfer had another smooth round and won for the third time in his last four tournaments, successfully defending his title at the Memorial Tournament with Sunday’s 2-under-par 70 in the final round at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
“This is a golf course that is definitely going to expose your weaknesses,” Scheffler said. “Did some really good battling today. ... Put up another really good round on this very difficult golf course.”
At 10-under 278 for the tournament, Scheffler secured a four-shot victory over Ben Griffin — the only other golfer to win a PGA Tour event that Scheffler started in the past month.
Scheffler hadn’t won in 2025 until capturing the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which is considered his hometown event in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and followed that with claiming the PGA Championship. He won seven times in 2024.
Scheffler and Tiger Woods are the only back-to-back winners of the Memorial Tournament. It’s a tournament hosted by legendary Jack Nicklaus, who greeted the current champion as he walked off the green.
“It’s pretty cool,” Scheffler said. “It’s always a hard week. It’s so challenging to play this tournament.”
Much like on Saturday, Scheffler was content with pars as he played the front nine in 1 under with eight pars.
Griffin (73 on Sunday) led for large chunks of the first three days, but lost a share of the top spot with a bogey on Saturday’s final hole. He began Sunday with another bogey, and he was 2 over for the day through 13 holes.
“I’ll learn from some of my swings down the stretch,” Griffin said. “I’ll remember some of the good stuff, and I’ll bounce back and get right back to it.”
An eagle on the par-5 15th with a 12-foot putt followed by a birdie on No. 16 allowed Griffin to extend the suspense. Then the margin went from two strokes to four when Griffin was stuck with a double bogey at No. 17.
“We battled really hard on the weekend,” Scheffler said. “Ben made things interesting down the stretch. Overall, it was a great week.”
A week ago, Scheffler tied for fourth place as Griffin won the Charles Schwab Challenge. Scheffler has secured seven consecutive top-10 finishes.
“The guy’s relentless,” said Sepp Straka, the tournament’s third-place finisher from Austria. “He loves competition, and he doesn’t like giving up shots.”
Griffin said his putting was costly during the weekend. The runner-up spot didn’t seem as rewarding as it would have in previous years.
“I’d take this finish, like, a year ago, two years ago, three years ago,” he said. “I’m definitely a little disappointed to not have made it a little bit closer or gotten it done.”
Straka (70) was third at 5 under and second-round co-leader Nick Taylor of Canada (73) finished fourth at 4 under. Russell Henley (71) and Maverick McNealy (70) shared fifth place at 2 under.
Brandt Snedeker’s 65 was the best score of the final round, moving him to 1 under and into a five-way tie for seventh place.
“I think I probably made 200 feet of putts today,” Snedeker said. “I had the putter working. When you have days like that, it’s just get it on the green, give yourself a chance.”
Also in that cluster at 7 under was Rickie Fowler (73), who qualified for next month’s British Open as a result of his finishing spot.
“We’re heading the right way,” Fowler said. “This week still could have been a lot better, but definitely positive is going over to Portrush. That’s one I’ve wanted on the schedule.”
