Colombia’s outsider candidate defied the polls
NewsFeed Colombia’s presidential election is headed to a runoff on June 21. Far-right outsider, Abelardo de la Espriella, will face leftist senator, Ivan Cepeda. Professor Jorge Restrepo describes de la Espriella’s rise in the polls as a punishment vote against Colombia’s long-established political class. Published On 1 Jun 20261 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
‘Before, the land sustained us’: Who benefits from Guinea’s bauxite wealth?
Bembou Silaty, Guinea – Mamadou Aliou walks through the small village of Bembou Silaty in northwestern Guinea carrying an irresolvable contradiction. The 38-year-old works in the environmental health and safety department for a bauxite mining company, yet he is also an activist striving to improve life in his community, which often means criticising the actions of another mining company in the area. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “Before these companies arrived, we cultivated our land, and it sustained us,” Aliou told Al Jazeera. “We could cover our daily needs, especially food. But now, when a piece of land is registered and belongs to a mining company, you have nothing there any more.” The foreign-linked mining companies are part of the global scramble for Guinea’s bauxite. The West African nation holds the world’s biggest reserves of the ore, which is the source material for alumina and ultimately aluminium, a metal essential for car and aircraft frames, windows, wind turbines, and solar panels. Over the past three decades, Guinea has multiplied its bauxite production tenfold. More than a dozen projects of bauxite production are currently ongoing in the country, according to the online cadastre. As the global energy transition demands ever more aluminium, it has placed Guinea in a strategically crucial position. Approximately 75 percent of the bauxite exported by the country over the past decade has ended up in China, which produces 60 percent of the world’s aluminium. Companies from Russia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates have also established themselves in the country to secure the ore. In Bembou Silaty, an Indian company that began operations in 2019 now holds an exploitation concession until 2034. Advertisement Located in the prefecture of Telimele (Kindia region), Bembou Silaty has undergone a transformation since bauxite was discovered on its land about five years ago. Yet, on the ground, many lament the cost: Contaminated water, loss of farmland, and a steep decline in agricultural productivity. Mamadou Aliou, left, speaks to another resident in Bembou Silaty [Nuria Vila Coma/Al Jazeera] ‘No land, no money’ In the traditional bauxite heartlands of Kindia and Boke, the main roads are in notably good condition, a cut above the rest of the country. Steady jobs in technical roles or transport logistics have created economic opportunities for some Guineans. Yet Bembou Silaty remains a quiet, peaceful village without electricity, and farming methods that are untouched by mechanisation. Less than 2km (1.2 miles) away, however, the lush green landscape and mild climate of the rainy season give way to the electric-powered site of the Indian mining company. There, excavators and trucks laden with bauxite constantly traverse the wide, unpaved roads, built to accommodate the heavy traffic, in a noisy, busy zone where the mining economy bulldozes its way forward. People working in technical roles at the mine can earn up to about $300 a month. For other locals who make a living from farming, most don’t have a regular wage and rely on the yield from their crops. Across Guinea, an estimated half of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Locals in Bembou Silaty say every hectare claimed by mining is a hectare lost to farming, in a country that spent more than $500m importing rice in 2024. “They give you compensation for your land, but it’s not enough, and in the end, it’s mismanaged,” Aliou said. “Within a month or two, someone who received 50 or 100 million Guinean francs ($5,700-11,400) has nothing left. No land, no money. They have to start over, from below zero.” Locals who still own land continue to grow rice, cassava, peanuts and cashews in the village, but they have ever less space and agricultural productivity is falling. The village women have set up an association, “Allawalli” (which means “God help us” in Fula), to work cooperatively. Resident Fatoumata Binta Bah and her family lament having lost their land [Nuria Vila Coma/Al Jazeera] ‘Not enough’ Walking through the alleys of Bembou Silaty, a few houses stand out. They are made of cement, which withstands the rains better than the more common mud-brick homes, though many remain unfinished. Locals say they were built with compensation money. Advertisement Fatoumata Binta Bah, a neighbour of Aliou’s, comes from a family of farmers. They once cultivated cashews, their livelihood. Then the Indian mining company started up operations and offered them less than 50 million Guinean francs (about $5,700) for their land. That compensation, paid as a lump sum, seemed like a decent amount of money, she says. But now, the money is gone, and their new house is still incomplete. “The land they took from us was productive. That’s what we lived on,” said Bah, 20, as she prepared tea over a fire in the family courtyard. “In the end, it wasn’t enough,” she lamented. The Indian company did not respond to Al Jazeera’s questions on the purchase of land. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the village, surgical holes drilled into the ground mark where mining companies have tested for bauxite – a reminder to the farmers that the impact on the land is felt even before extraction begins. In a recent report, Djami Diallo, the Guinean minister of the environment and sustainable development, stated that each year, certain companies had their impact studies and evaluation reports rejected for failing to comply with environmental standards. Three or four companies in Boke, Kindia’s neighbouring region that is considered the bauxite capital in the country, were said to be affected. But the minister acknowledged that “just because companies do not meet the conditions to obtain the compliance certificate does not mean that everything stops.” Locals carry water from a communal tap in Bembou Silaty [Nuria Vila Coma/Al Jazeera] Clean water, the greatest challenge Not all homes in Bembou Silaty, a community of about 5,000, have indoor toilets and plumbing. In the centre of the village, there are communal latrines for those who do not have facilities available in their homes. Showers can be
US says ban on AI chip shipments applies to Chinese firms outside China
Department of Commerce issues guidance on chip restrictions amid concerns about loopholes in export control regime. Published On 1 Jun 20261 Jun 2026 The United States has issued a notice affirming its restrictions on shipments of semiconductors to subsidiaries of Chinese companies located outside China amid concerns about loopholes in Washington’s export control regime. The Department of Commerce said in the guidance issued on Sunday that its licensing requirements for the export of advanced AI chips applied to all businesses with headquarters or a parent company in China. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which falls under the Commerce Department, said it issued the clarification in response to questions about whether it was enforcing preexisting licence requirements after it overturned former President Joe Biden’s Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion. “The answer is yes,” the BIS said in the notice. Unveiled in the final days of the Biden administration, the framework proposed the implementation of a globe-spanning licensing regime to control access to AI chips, including export caps for all but the closest US allies. The framework drew backlash from tech firms, including Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chip company, which cast the proposal as a threat to innovation and cross-border collaboration. President Donald Trump’s administration scrapped the framework last May, ahead of its implementation, citing the “burdensome new regulatory requirements” and the harm it would do to Washington’s diplomatic relations with other countries. Chip giant Nvidia, whose top-of-the-line Blackwell GPUs are banned for export to China, said it had already been operating in keeping with the clarified rules. Advertisement “The guidance reaffirms that NVIDIA’s sales and vetting process is correct – consistent with our existing approach, licences are required to ship controlled products to PRC headquartered companies,” a Nvidia spokesperson told Al Jazeera, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China. AMD and Intel, Nvidia’s main competitors in the GPU space, and TSMC, which manufactures the most advanced chips on behalf of clients including Nvidia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The BIS also did not respond to inquiries. Chris McGuire, a former State Department official who worked on technology policy in the Biden administration, accused the Trump administration of providing Chinese companies a loophole to buy export-controlled chips. “Chinese companies have been buying these chips, very likely at scale. And because BIS has not updated export control regulations to clearly state what it IS enforcing, all of this was legal,” McGuire said in a post on X. “This clarification does make clear that Blackwell shipments to China-headquartered companies outside of China are now illegal again – which is good, although obviously we have to see how many shipments have already gone to assess how much damage was done,” McGuire said. “BIS’ statement acknowledges these shipments have been happening when it says companies who bought chips under this loophole don’t have to stop using them.” The US has rolled out numerous restrictions on the supply of high-end technology to China, as Washington and Beijing battle for dominance in AI. In December, Trump announced that he would allow Nvidia to sell its H200 chip to China, in a major loosening of Washington’s export controls. While not Nvidia’s most advanced chip, the H200 is about six times as powerful as the H20, the most advanced chip previously allowed for export to China. Adblock test (Why?)
Rescuers race to save two people still trapped in cave in Laos
Rescuers face heavy rains, equipment failures in search for two people trapped in central Laos cave by flash floods. By AFP and AP Published On 31 May 202631 May 2026 Heavy rains have threatened to delay the search for two people who remain missing in a flooded cave in Laos, after five others were rescued after being trapped underground for more than a week. Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, one of the first international rescuers to arrive at the site, told The Associated Press news agency that rains on Sunday had filled the cave up to the second chamber, preventing divers from entering until pumps can lower the water level. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list A drainage pump also broke, making the situation even more difficult, said fellow diver Yoshitaka Isaji of Japan. Rescue teams from Laos and neighbouring Thailand have been working together over the past week to rescue the trapped villagers, alongside divers from countries including Finland, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, France and Australia. Seven people entered the cave in a remote mountainous area of central Xaysomboun province last week to look for valuable minerals such as gold, before being trapped by a flash flood that blocked their way out, according to local media reports. One other person escaped and alerted the authorities. A Laotian rescue group said on Sunday it had received “substantial” information on the cave system from the five men who were rescued earlier this week. “The hope is that today’s mission will locate both remaining victims,” the group wrote on social media. The rescued men were being treated at a local hospital and were doing well, Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie, who is taking part in the operation, told AP. Advertisement “We interviewed them about how the deeper part of the cave looks like. We will continue to search based on the information we have, and perhaps we will be able to get to the other two,” he said. Rescuers said they navigated more than 200m (650 feet) into the cave and discovered five chambers in the system. The five people rescued so far were found in the fifth chamber. Paasi, the Finnish diver, told AP that the survivors reported a narrow crack in the fifth chamber that could be a passage leading to a deeper part of the cave system. “This was the only place that we haven’t checked in the mine, where the two lost miners could still be,” he said in a video interview. The five men who were rescued – identified by their first names as Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing and Laen – were first found last Wednesday. The first man was safely extracted on Friday, guided through a narrow flooded passage by an expert diver. The remaining four left the cave on Saturday, after the water receded enough for them to walk out on their own, rescuers said. Videos posted online on Saturday showed emotional moments as the men emerged one by one from the cave. Some collapsed on the ground at the cave’s entrance, and were hugged by a group of workers who cried with joy. Later moments showed them lying on stretchers, wrapped in foil blankets and fitted with oxygen masks before being transported out. Adblock test (Why?)
Germany World Cup 2026 team preview: Players to watch, group and squad list
Previous World Cup appearances: 20Best performance: Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)First appearance: 1934 (Italy)Top goal scorer: Miroslav Klose (16)Most appearances: Lothar Matthaus (25)Player to watch: Florian WirtzFIFA world ranking: 8 Germany are desperate for a successful World Cup after two spectacular failures – they were knocked out in the group stages in 2018 and 2022. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list They certainly look improved under coach Julian Nagelsmann. Germany eased through their World Cup qualification group with five wins from six matches. The squad blends the youthful brilliance of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz with the experience of Joshua Kimmich, Antonio Rudiger and veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who surprised many by coming out of international retirement for the tournament. However, whether the team as a whole is talented enough to pose a serious threat to the favourites and whether all the pieces really fit together under the pressure of a tournament remain to be seen. Group stage hoodoo Gary Lineker famously said: “Football is a simple game: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end, the Germans always win.” So the failures of the last two tournaments were almost unthinkable for the four-time winners. In 2018, they crashed out after losing to South Korea. In 2022, they were defeated by Japan en route to being eliminated on goal difference. Nagelsmann took over in September 2023 and has restored some national pride. Germany looked decent as the host nation at Euro 2024 and were perhaps unlucky to lose to Spain in the quarterfinals. The mood around the squad seems optimistic, and they will expect to go deep in the tournament. Gifted young attackers At the heart of Germany’s ambitions are gifted young attackers in Musiala, Wirtz and Lennart Karl. Advertisement Musiala, 23, was the standout performer at Euro 2024 and gives the team an individual spark of genius. However, he suffered a horrific injury in Bayern Munich’s FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in July, breaking his leg and dislocating an ankle in a collision with then-PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. He has suffered injury setbacks during his recovery and has not played as much as expected in recent weeks, mostly from the bench. Germany will be hoping he can get back to full fitness and form before the monthlong tournament, which begins on June 11. Wirtz, meanwhile, has endured a difficult season after his big money move to Liverpool. After failing to register a goal or an assist in the first few months of the season, he seems to have found his feet in the rough and tumble of the Premier League and is looking increasingly like his old self. He offers Germany versatility across the front line, and wherever he plays, Wirtz is capable of unpicking any defence. Florian Wirtz in action for Germany against Ghana in March 2026 [File: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters] Karl is another exciting prospect. The 18-year-old Bayern attacker, who can play on the wings or centrally, burst onto the scene this year. He became Bayern’s youngest scorer in the UEFA Champions League and third youngest in the Bundesliga after scoring against Club Brugge and Borussia Monchengladbach. He has even earned himself comparisons to Lionel Messi for his dribbling and low centre of gravity. Neuer’s shock return The 40-year-old goalkeeper was a surprise inclusion in Nagelsmann’s 26-man World Cup squad. Neuer retired from international play after Euro 2024, but the Bayern keeper is now set to make his fifth World Cup appearance with Nagelsmann saying he is the first choice ahead of Oliver Baumann and Alexander Nubel. “Everyone knows the aura and quality Manu has, what he brings to a team,” Nagelsmann said as he announced the squad. “He has an impact on his own team, on the opposition and can create special moments.” Kimmich remains as captain despite the return of Neuer, who was Germany’s longtime skipper. Manuel Neuer, left, makes a save against Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg in April 2026 [File: AFP] Nagging questions for Nagelsmann Several players look nailed on to start – think Leon Goretzka alongside Aleksandar Pavlovic as a double pivot in midfield and Kimmich at right back. But other positions are less settled, not least up front, where Germany lack a world-class out-and-out striker. Advertisement Niclas Fullkrug is a traditional number nine but did not make the cut after a terrible season in front of goal for AC Milan, netting just once in Serie A. Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade did make the squad despite a mixed season for his club and has looked better playing as a deeper lying forward. Kai Havertz can be used as a false nine, but it is not his most natural position. However, the Arsenal star is likely to get the nod in the absence of better alternatives. Despite the squad’s limitations, Nagelsmann remains ambitious. “I have repeatedly said we want to become world champions,” Nagelsmann said when he unveiled the squad. How does their group look? No disrespect to the other teams, but Germany will likely have breathed a sigh of relief when the draw for Group E was made. On paper, they will expect to progress comfortably. They open their campaign on June 14 against Curacao, the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup. Their second game on June 20 against Ivory Coast should provide a stiffer test as the Ivorians, who are returning to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years, are a dangerous side and boast the likes of Amad Diallo. The final group game is on June 25 against Ecuador, who finished second in qualifying ahead of Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay. They are a disciplined, well drilled side who conceded just five goals in 18 qualifiers and could be hard for Germany to break down. Nevertheless, Germany will fully expect to be in the knockout stages in a World Cup for the first time since 2014 when they went on
Juan Manuel Santos on Colombia’s peace process, 10 years on
Ten years after Colombia’s landmark peace agreement, former president Juan Manuel Santos assesses its legacy. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate discusses renewed violence, political divisions and what Colombia’s experience can teach a world facing growing conflict. Published On 31 May 202631 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Iran war live: Lebanon slams Israel’s invasion; US-Tehran deal in limbo
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Lebanese prime minister describes Israel’s attacks as collective punishment as US warns Iran of strikes if no deal is reached. Published On 31 May 202631 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Rescues in eastern Syria after the Euphrates River bursts its banks
NewsFeed Rescue workers have pulled stranded farmers from flood waters in eastern Syria after the Euphrates burst its banks. Among the worst-affected areas was Deir Az Zor, where the flooding caused a bridge collapse and cut-off communities. Published On 31 May 202631 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Emotional scenes as more survivors pulled from flooded Laos cave
NewsFeed Divers in Laos have rescued four more villagers trapped in a flooded cave. The first survivor was pulled out on Friday. Two more men remain missing. They entered the cave to look for gold before flash floods blocked their escape 10 days ago. Published On 31 May 202631 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Iran war live: Trump due to make ‘final determination’ on deal with Tehran
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Israel pushes deeper into Lebanon just days after Israel’s prime minister ordered the occupation of Gaza to expand to 70 percent of the Palestinian territory. Published On 30 May 202630 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)