Sejong, South Korea – By the standards of Seoul’s teeming metropolises, Sejong is not very much of a city.
Sejong, a planned city located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Seoul, does not even make the top 20 urban centers, with a population of 400 000 people.
Sejong could soon become the nation’s “de facto” capital, if South Korea’s most likely next leader has his way.
In response to a renewed push to find a new administrative capital, Lee Jae-myung, the clear favorite in Tuesday’s presidential election, has pledged to relocate Sejong’s presidential office, legislature, and numerous public institutions.
In the run-up to the election, Lee vowed to make Sejong the de facto administrative capital and Daejeon the world center of science.
Through social consensus, I’ll also advocate for the complete relocation of the presidential office and the National Assembly to Sejong.
Late President Roh Moo-hyun, who argued that moving the capital would help promote development in South Korea’s central region and ease congestion, came up with the idea for Sejong in 2003.
The following year, the Constitutional Court decided that Seoul should remain Sejong, which set back Roh’s plans for Sejong.
Seoul has remained Seoul’s official capital as well as the center of political, economic, and cultural life despite the relocation of the prime minister’s office and about a dozen ministries over the years as a result of decentralization efforts by successive governments.
About 26 million people live in Greater Seoul, making up the majority of South Korea’s population, and the majority of the region’s top businesses, universities, hospitals, and cultural institutions are clustered there.
[David D. Lee/Al Jazeera] Sejong’s streets are uncrowded.
Sejong’s broad streets, which were mostly quiet on a recent Friday afternoon, were a world away from Seoul’s bustling alleyways.
A number of government employees were waiting for a bus to the capital at the city’s express bus station.
At least twice a month, Kevin Kim, a 30-year-old civil servant, spends the weekend in Seoul.
Kim, who has resided in Sejong for almost two years, told Al Jazeera, “My family, friends, and girlfriend are in Seoul.”
“I have to go to Seoul because there are so many big hospitals there.”
Lee Ho-baek, a start-up employee in Sejong, also makes monthly trips to Seoul.
He claimed that despite moving to Sejong a year ago, there simply isn’t enough amenities or activities for us in the city.
Candidate Lee’s pledge has sparked tentative signs of city growth after years of stumbling blocks to Sejong’s development, including concerns about costs and constitutional legitimacy.
Real estate transactions increased by threefold in April from the same time last year.
Sejong’s future is uncertain because of its ties to changing political whims, but its long-term viability is a concern.
Apartment prices increased by 45 percent during discussions about the Democratic Party’s potential 2020 re-election of the presidential office and legislature, but they also dropped by 45 percent in the following years.
As Friday afternoon turned into evening, the streets of Sejong’s Nasung-dong, a popular neighborhood dotted with parks, shopping centers, and flashy apartments, were quiet.
The highly anticipated multifunctional mall M-Bridge, which had been designed by the firm of global architect Thom Mayne, was largely deserted.
The highest rate in the country is 25 percent vacancy rate for medium- to large-sized shopping centers, according to the Korea Real Estate Board.
Young people are fewer attractive in comparison.
According to Jace Kim, a restaurant owner who visited Sejong in 2015, “weekdays are busier than weekends in our city.”
The majority of city employees “spend their time and money elsewhere.” Given that our city is relatively undeveloped and newly constructed, it makes for a great place for mothers and children. However, there are no major universities or businesses that will draw young people here.
Washington, DC, according to Moon Yoon-sang, a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
It’s hoped that Sejong will host conventions and significant meetings instead of Seoul, Moon said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Although there are only two major hotels in the city right now, the National Assembly’s relocation is anticipated to have a significant impact.
Sejong’s mayor, Park Jin, a professor at KDI’s School of Public Policy and Management, said he supports the designation.
Relocating the capital would require a constitutional amendment that would need to be approved by the majority of the voters in a referendum and two-thirds of the National Assembly.
In a survey conducted by Hankook Research in 2022, 54.9 percent of respondents said they were against moving the capital to Sejong, but 51.7 percent opposed removing Seoul’s National Assembly and the president’s office.
[David D. Lee/Al Jazeera] The central park of Sejong, South Korea, is pictured on May 2, 2025.
Seoul’s talent pool and essential infrastructure are all retained by the country, according to Park, who told Al Jazeera. “The country needs to invest in developing our other major cities.”
“For Sejong, combining with Daejeon to become the nation’s center for administrative and research,” says Daejeon.
To maintain healthy urbanization, Park believes that the country’s five major cities outside of the greater Seoul area should have at least 4 million residents.
The second-largest city in South Korea, Busan, has 3.26 million residents. Due to record-low birth rates and a declining young workforce, the Korea Employment Information Service officially declared Busan a potential extinction site last year.
Internal migration to Seoul has exacerbated the country’s regional population declines even more. Last year, more than 418, 000 people re-located to the capital.
By 2040, Sejong hopes to have 800,000 residents, roughly twice as many as it currently does.
“Today, there are many people who won’t consider immigrating to Sejong. It’s very challenging for both members of married couples to find jobs outside of Seoul in a time when both are expected to be employed, Moon said.
“We might see differences in how people view Sejong in the next ten years.”
According to Park, building a city from scratch is not a quick project.
Washington, DC – When the Heritage Foundation, a well-known right-wing think tank in the US, released a playbook last year to combat the Palestinian solidarity movement, it received little media coverage.
However, more than eight months later, activists and media outlets are now more critical of the policy document, in part because President Donald Trump appears to be sticking to its instructions.
The authors of Project Esther have released a report as a set of counterterrorism tips, but critics claim the document’s main goal is to “poison” anti-Israeli groups by portraying them as Hamas sympathizers.
In response to growing outcry against US support of Israel’s Gaza war, which UN experts and human rights organizations have characterized as a genocide, Project Esther was founded.
What is Project Esther, and how does it work against activists? The document’s current implications for the US are discussed in detail here.
The Heritage Foundation is what?
The Heritage Foundation is a well-known conservative think tank based in Washington, DC, whose stated goals are “formulating and promoting public policies that are based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”
However, in opposition to Israeli government policies, critics claim that Project Esther calls for government interference to restrict individual freedoms, including the right to free speech and association.
Victoria Coates, a vice president at the Heritage Foundation who served as Trump’s deputy national security adviser, is in charge of the project, according to a report from the New York Times that was released earlier this month.
Project 2025, which critics call an authoritarian playbook for the second Trump presidency, is also funded by The Heritage Foundation.
Democrats repeatedly criticized Trump in Project 2025 ahead of the elections last year, but the then-candidate vehemently disapproved of the document.
What is the objective of Project Esther?
Within 24 months, the initiative claims to “dismantle the infrastructure that sustains” the “Hamas Support Network.”
What does Project Esther define as the “Hamas Support Network”?
The Hamas Support Network (HSN), according to the authors, is a group that supports Palestinian rights.
They define the alleged network as “people and organizations that are directly and indirectly engaged in Hamas’ cause in defiance of American values and American national security interests.”
In essence, the document claims that the “pro-Palestinian movement” is “in effect a terrorist support network.”
Exists there a “Hamas Support Network”?
No.
Hamas is one of the few US-based networks that has strict laws prohibiting the distribution of material support to “terrorist organizations,” including there.
The Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which the Heritage Foundation refers to as a network member, described Project Esther’s accusations as “outlandish.”
According to Miller, “It exposes the length of lies and absurdity that they are going through in an effort to destroy the Palestinian rights movement.”
Al Jazeera requested comment, but The Heritage Foundation did not.
How is Project Esther hoping to end the Palestinian rights movement?
The document calls for a broad-ranging legal, political, and financial campaign against Palestinians who support their rights.
19 of the initiative’s objectives are described as “desired effects.”
They include denying access to universities for Palestinian rights advocates who are not US citizens, making sure that “anti-Semitic content” on social media platforms is not tolerated, and providing evidence of “criminal activity” by Palestine advocates to the executive branch.
Additionally, it calls for the refusal to grant permits for demonstrations aimed at advancing Palestinian rights.
Project Esther urges Israel’s supporters to conduct “legal, private research” into pro-Palestine organizations to “uncover criminal wrongdoing” and undermine their standing.
The tactic of using litigation to pressure opponents is referred to as “we must wage lawfare.”
Does the Trump administration have any policy recommendations?
It appears to be the case.
According to Coates, “the phase we’re in is starting to execute some of the lines of effort in terms of legislative, legal, and financial penalties for what we believe to be significant amounts of terrorism.”
Trump’s crackdown on college protests seems to be in line with Project Esther’s objectives.
For instance, the US government has temporarily revoked visas for Israeli-trained foreign students. This is in line with a suggestion in Project Esther that students should be identified as “in violation of student visa requirements.”
Canary Mission, a website that targets and demonizes pro-Palestine students, is also frequently mentioned by The Heritage Foundation in its Project Esther footnotes. Additionally, it is suspected that the Trump administration relies on the website to identify students who might be deported along with other pro-Israel organizations.
Additionally, Project Esther mentions professors who are “hostile to Israel” in programs like “Middle East/North Africa” or “Islamic studies.”
The Trump administration has been putting pressure on top universities to reform their academic departments, including their Middle East studies programs, because they think they are biased in favor of Palestinians. At Trump’s request, Columbia University, for example, appointed a provost to review its programs “starting with the Middle East” department.
Al Jazeera contacted The White House for comment, but the agency did not respond.
What organizations are Project Esther’s target groups?
The initiative specifically mentions a number of student organizations that are affiliated with the so-called Hamas Support Network, as well as several Arab, Muslim, and progressive Jewish organizations.
According to the initiative, “the network revolves around” the educational and civic advocacy organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Osama Abuirshaid, the executive director of AMP, criticized Project Esther for using the term “Muslim” in its name, which serves as an outlet for Islamophobic bigotry.
“Palestine is a facile target for American Muslims.” It’s simple to assume responsibility for the actions of American Muslims and Palestinians given the tendencies of Islamophobia. That is a name that sticks, Abuirshaid told Al Jazeera.
Because of its effectiveness and “solid constituency,” he added, the group is also a target.
“If they can cripple and subdue AMP, the movement will experience a chilling effect.” They therefore believe that other organizations will stop working on Palestine solidarity if they can bring us down, Abuirshaid said.
Why should we emphasize universities?
Because Israel is stifling the support of young people in the US, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a US policy fellow at the Palestinian think tank Al-Shabaka, claimed Project Esther is targeted at universities.
He claimed on Al Jazeera’s The Take podcast, “That’s why there’s such a vehement focus on universities and college campuses.”
According to Kenney-Shawa, US demographics have been indicating a downward trend toward support for Israel’s war on Gaza. The change is more pronounced on college campuses, though.
While this change is evidently much more acute in the left and among young Americans, Kenney-Shawa said.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 53% of Americans with disabilities have negative views of Israel. This percentage rises to 71% among Democrats under the age of 50.
Project Esther is it effective?
Advocates claim that the Palestinian solidarity movement’s immediate crackdown threatens activists’ safety and well-being, particularly those who study abroad. However, there has also been a backlash as a result.
According to JVP’s Miller, “the extreme nature of these attacks has also encouraged people to defiantly continue to speak out in the face of these attacks.”
“And it has actually, in many cases, awakened people who weren’t paying attention to the hypocrisy that has been present for a long time in the refusal to silence and censor Palestinian rights activists.”
In response to free speech concerns, a bill that expanded restrictions on boycotts of Israel was introduced by a number of right-wing lawmakers and Trump allies earlier in May.
Miller’s comments were echoed by Abuirshaid. He made it clear that the focus on Palestine has been “distracted” by the media’s attacks, arrests, and lawsuits against activists and student protesters.
Three days after NPR  did the same for its radio network, PBS filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump and other administration officials to challenge his executive order removing federal funding from the 330-station public television system.
In its lawsuit filed on Friday, PBS cited similar arguments in its lawsuit, alleging that Trump violated his legal authority by using “viewpoint discrimination” in his claim that conservative news coverage is biased against them.
In the lawsuit filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, lawyer Z W. Julius Chen wrote, “PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms.” Our Constitution and laws forbid the President from arbitrating the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS, despite any policy disagreements regarding the role of public television.
The administration’s actions came in the most recent legal action, with several of them being brought by media outlets that were impacted by Trump’s orders.
One of its stations, Lakeland PBS, which serves rural areas in northern and central Minnesota, filed a lawsuit against PBS. According to the lawsuit, Trump’s order poses an “existential threat” to the station.
According to a PBS spokesman, “after careful deliberation, PBS came to the conclusion that legal action was necessary to safeguard public television’s editorial independence and the autonomy of PBS member stations.”
“Lawful authority”
Trump instructed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to stop funding the two systems in an executive order earlier this month. PBS will receive $ 325 million this year, the majority of which going straight to individual stations, through the corporation alone.
Harrison Fields, a deputy press secretary for the White House, claimed that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is funding a particular political party on the taxpayer’s dime.
Fields claimed that the President is using his legal authority to impose a cap on funding for NPR and PBS. The President was chosen with the intention to make sure that the taxpayer’s money is spent wisely, and he will continue to do so under the guidance of his legal standing.
PBS, which accounts for the majority of the programming for the stations, said it receives 22% of its funding from the government. The stations’ majority of the budget’s funding comes from the government, and 61 percent of it comes from individual station dues.
Interrupting “a rich tapestry of programming”
According to Chen, Trump’s order “would have significant effects on the ability of PBS and PBS member stations to provide a rich tapestry of programming to all Americans.”
A $78 million grant to the system for educational programming, which was used to create children’s programs like Sesame Street, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Reading Rainbow, has been cancelled, according to PBS.
The order threatens Lakeland Learns, the only local news, weather, and sports television program in the area, as it is alleged in the lawsuit.
Other names are provided in the lawsuit, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. PBS claims its technology is a backup for the country’s wireless emergency alert system.
Bokeo province, Laos – Khobby was living in Dubai last year when he received an intriguing message about a well-paying job working online in a far-flung corner of Southeast Asia.
The salary was good, he was told. He would be working on computers in an office.
The company would even foot the bill for his relocation to join the firm in Laos – a country of 7.6 million people nestled between China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
With the company paying for his flights, Khobby decided to take the plunge.
But his landing in Laos was anything but smooth.
Khobby discovered that the promised dream job was rapidly becoming a nightmare when his Ghanaian passport was taken on arrival by his new employers.
With his passport confiscated and threats of physical harm ever present, he endured months working inside a compound which he could not leave.
The 21-year-old had become the latest victim of booming online cyber-scam operations in Southeast Asia – an industry that is believed to have enslaved tens of thousands of workers lured with the promise of decently paid jobs in online sales and the information technology industry.
“When I got there, I saw a lot of Africans in the office, with a lot of phones,” Khobby told Al Jazeera, recounting his arrival in Laos.
“Each person had 10 phones, 15 phones. That was when I realised this was a scamming job,” he said.
The operation Khobby found himself working for was in a remote area in northwest Laos, where a casino city has been carved out of a patch of jungle in the infamous “Golden Triangle” region – the lawless border zone between Myanmar, Laos and Thailand that has long been a centre for global drug production and trafficking.
He said he was forced to work long days and sleep in a dormitory with five other African workers at night during the months he spent at the scam centre in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone.
Khobby recounted the original message he received from an acquaintance encouraging him to take the job in Laos.
“My company is hiring new staff”, he said, adding that he was told the salary was $1,200 per month.
“He told me it was data entry.”
People rescued from cyber-scam centres in Myanmar travel inside a Thai military truck after arriving in Thailand, at the Myanmar-Thai border in Phop Phra district, near Mae Sot, Tak province, northern Thailand, in February 2025 [Somrerk Kosolwitthayanant/EPA]
Casino city
The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) where Khobby was lured to for work operates as an autonomous territory within Laos.
Leased from Laotian authorities by Chinese national Zhao Wei, whom the US government has designated the leader of a transnational criminal organisation, life in the GTSEZ is monitored by a myriad of security cameras and protected by its own private security force.
Clocks are set to Beijing time. Signage is predominantly in Chinese, and China’s yuan is the dominant and preferred currency.
Central to the GTSEZ city-state is Zhao Wei’s Kings Romans casino, which the United States Treasury also described as a hub for criminal activity such as money laundering, narcotics and wildlife trafficking.
During a recent visit to the zone by Al Jazeera, Rolls Royce limousines ferried gamblers to some of the city’s casinos while workers toiled on the construction of an elaborate and expansive Venice-style waterway just a stone’s throw from the Mekong river.
Vehicles stop at the the entrance to the Kings Romans casino, part of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, in Laos along the Mekong river in the Golden Triangle region bordering Thailand, Laos and Myanmar [File: Sukree Sukplang/Reuters]
While luxury construction projects – including the recently completed Bokeo International Airport – speak to the vast amounts of money flowing through this mini casino city, it is inside the grey, nondescript tower blocks dotted around the economic zone where the lucrative online scam trade occurs.
Within these tower blocks, thousands of trafficked workers from all over the world – just like Khobby – are reported to spend up to 17 hours a day working online to dupe unsuspecting “clients” into parting with their money.
The online swindles are as varied as investing money in fake business portfolios to paying false tax bills that appear very real and from trading phoney cryptocurrency to being caught in online romance traps.
Anti-trafficking experts say most of the workers are deceived into leaving their home countries – such are nearby China, Thailand and Indonesia or as far away as Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Ethiopia – with the promise of decent salaries.
New high-rise buildings are being constructed rapidly in the GTSEZ in Laos [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]
Online ‘butchering’
Khobby told how his “data entry” job was, in fact, a scam known in the cybercrime underworld as “pig butchering”.
This is where victims are identified, cold-called or messaged directly by phone in a bid to establish a relationship. Trust is built up over time to the point where an initial investment is made by the intended victim. This can be, at first, a small amount of the victim’s money or emotions in the case of fake online relationships.
There are small rewards on the investments, Khobby explained, telling how those in the industry refer to their victims as pigs who are being “fattened” by trust built up with the scammers.
That fattening continues until a substantial monetary investment is made in whatever scam the victim has become part of. Then they are swiftly “butchered”, which is when the scammers get away with the ill-gotten gains taken from their victims.
Once the butchering is done, all communications are cut with the victims and the scammers disappear without leaving a digital trace.
Myanmar police hand over five telecom and internet fraud suspects to Chinese police at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, in August 2023 [Chinese embassy in Myanmar/Xinhua via AP]
According to experts, cyber-scamming inside the GTSEZ boomed during the 2019 and 2020 COVID lockdowns when restrictions on travel meant international visitors could not access the Kings Romans casino.
In the years since, the cyber-scam industry has burgeoned, physically transcended borders to become one of the dominant profit-making illicit activities in the region, not only in the GTSEZ in Laos but also in neighbouring Cambodia and in conflict-ridden Myanmar.
Though not as elaborate as the GTSEZ, purpose-built cyber-scam “compounds” have proliferated in Myanmar’s border areas with Thailand.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that cyber-scamming in Southeast Asia generates tens of billions annually, while the United States Institute of Peace equates the threat to that of the destructive fentanyl trade.
“Cyber-scam operations have significantly benefitted from developments in the fintech industry, including cryptocurrencies, with apps being directly developed for use at [cyber-scam] compounds to launder money,” said Kristina Amerhauser, of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
“Victims and perpetrators are spread across different countries, money is laundered offshore, operations are global,” Amerhauser told Al Jazeera, explaining that the sophisticated technology used in cyber-scamming, along with its international reach, has made it extremely difficult to combat.
The US recently imposed sanctions on Myanmar rebel leader Saw Chit Thu (centre), his two sons and the armed group he leads, the Karen National Army. The US Treasury said Saw Chit Thu and the KNU, which is based in Shwe Kokko – a so-called “Special Economic Zone” along the Thai-Myanmar border – leased land and provided security for online scam compounds [Reuters]
Complicit victims?
About 260 trafficked scam-centre workers were recently rescued in a cross-border operation between Thailand and Myanmar. Yet, even in rare instances such as this when trafficked workers are freed, they still face complications due to their visa status and their own potential complicity in criminal activity.
Khobby – who is now back in Dubai – told Al Jazeera that while he was coerced into working in the GTSEZ, he did actually receive the promised $1,200 monthly salary, and he had even signed a six-month “contract” with the Chinese bosses who ran the operation.
Richard Horsey, International Crisis Group’s senior adviser on Myanmar, said Khobby’s experience reflected a changing trend in recruitment by the criminal organisations running the scam centres.
“Some of the more sophisticated gangs are getting out of the human trafficking game and starting to trick workers to come,” Horsey said.
“People don’t like to answer an advert for criminal scamming, and it’s hard to advertise that. But once they’re there, it’s like – actually, we will pay you. We may have taken your passport, but there is a route to quite a lucrative opportunity here and we will give you a small part of that,” he said.
In this photo provided by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Indian workers rescued after they were lured by fake job opportunities in the IT sector in Thailand arrive at the airport in Chennai, India, in October 2022 [Ministry of External Affairs via AP]
The issue of salaries paid to coerced and enslaved workers complicates efforts to repatriate trafficking victims, who may be considered complicit criminals due to their status as “paid” workers in the scam centres, said Eric Heintz, from the US-based anti-trafficking organisation International Justice Mission (IJM).
“We know of individuals being paid for the first few months they were inside, but then it tapers off to the point where they are making little – if any – money,” Heintz said, describing how victims become “trapped in this cycle of abuse unable to leave the compound”.
“This specific aspect was a challenge early on with the victim identity process – when an official would ask if an individual previously in the scam compound was paid, the victim would answer that initially he or she was. That was enough for some officials to not identify them as victims,” Heintz said.
Some workers have also been sold between criminal organisations and moved across borders to other scam centres, he said.
“We have heard of people being moved from a compound in one country to one in another – for example from Myawaddy to the GTSEZ or Cambodia and vice versa,” he said.
Khobby said many of the workers in his “office” had already had experience with scamming in other compounds and in other countries.
“Most of them had experience. They knew the job already,” he said.
“This job is going on in a lot of places – Thailand, Laos, Myanmar. They were OK because they got paid. They had experience and they knew what they were doing,” he added.
‘What are we here for? Money!’
High-school graduate Jojo said she was working as a maid in Kampala, Uganda, when she received a message on the Telegram messaging app about an opportunity in Asia that involved being sponsored to do computer studies as part of a job in IT.
“I was so excited,” Jojo recounted, “I told my mum about the offer.”
Jojo told how she was sent an airline ticket, and described how multiple people met her along the way as she journeyed from Kampala to Laos. Eventually Jojo arrived in the same scam operation as Khobby.
She described an atmosphere similar to a fast-paced sales centre, with Chinese bosses shouting encouragement when a victim had been ‘butchered’ and their money stolen, telling how she witnessed people scammed for as much as $200,000.
“They would shout a lot, in Chinese – ‘What are we here for? Money!’”
On top of adrenaline, the scam operation also ran on fear, Jojo said.
Workers were beaten if they did not meet targets for swindling money. Mostly locked inside the building where she worked and lived; Jojo said she was only able to leave the scam operation once in the four months she was in the GTSEZ, and that was to attend a local hospital after falling ill.
Fear of the Chinese bosses who ran the operation not only permeated their workstations but in the dormitory where they slept.
“They told us ‘Whatever happens in the room, we are listening’,” she said, also telling how her co-workers were beaten when they failed to meet targets.
“They stopped them from working. They stopped them from coming to get food. They were not getting results. They were not bringing in the money they wanted. So they saw them as useless,” she said.
“They were torturing them every day.”
Khobby and Jojo said they were moved to act in case it was their turn next.
When they organised a strike to demand better treatment, their bosses brought in Laotian police and several of the strikers – including Jojo and Khobby – were taken to a police station where they were told they were sacked.
They were also told they would not be paid what was owed in wages and their overseers refused to give their passports back.
Khobby said he was left stranded without a passport and the police refused to help.
“This is not about only the Chinese people,” Khobby said. “Even in Vientiane, they have immigration offices who are involved. They are the ones giving the visas. When I got to Laos, it was the immigration officer who was waiting for me. I didn’t even fill out any form,” he said.
The international immigration checkpoint in the GTSEZ [Al Jazeera/Ali MC]
With help from the Ghanaian embassy, Khobby and Jojo were eventually able to retrieve their passports, and with assistance from family and friends, they returned home.
The IJM’s Heintz, said that target countries for scammer recruitment – such as those in Africa – need better awareness of the dangers of trafficking.
“There needs to be better awareness at the source country level of the dangers associated with these jobs,” he said.
Reflecting on what led him to work up the courage to lead a strike in the scam centre, Khobby considered his childhood back in Ghana.
“I was a boy who was raised in a police station. My grandpa was a police commander. So in that aspect, I’m very bold, I have that courage. I like giving things a try and I like taking risks,” he said.
Jojo told Al Jazeera how she continues to chat online with friends who are still trapped in scam centres in Laos, and who have told her that new recruits arrive each day in the GTSEZ.
Her friends want to get out of the scam business and the economic zone in Laos. But it is not so easy to leave, Jojo said.
Wembley Stadium is home to the BBC Sport women’s football news reporter.
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After a difficult week for the England squad, everyone was hoping for goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, but just half an hour later, someone else was in the spotlight at Wembley.
Aggie Beever-Jones scored her first hat-trick for England against Portugal in the Women’s Nations League against a 6-0 win over Chelsea.
The 21-year-old broke records in 33 minutes.
Just five weeks until Euro 2025, when Beever-Jones and the Lionesses will attempt to defend their European title, gave a stunning performance.
Following Mary Earps’ shock international retirement, the noise had begun to build before the game. Without one of their talismanic leaders, how would they cope? The pressure was too great for Hampton in Chelsea.
They surprisingly handled things very well, and Hampton, who had just been confirmed as number one, hardly needed to flex.
Former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley questioned on BBC Radio 5 Live, “Are you not entertained?”
Because I constantly have to change [goalscoring] tally marks, I’m running out of rubber on my eraser.
With such fluidity and great enjoyment, this England team has been playing with, they say it’s been a lot of fun to watch.
Lindsay Johnson, an ex-England defender, described it as a “Friday night funfest,” and Sarina Wiegman, a dugout manager, celebrated more than usual.
This performance eminently cut out the noise and upped the mood because there had been so much discussion outside the pitch recently.
It’s lovely to see the girls posing in joy.
On Thursday, she responded to questions about Earps’ retirement and acknowledged it had been a “hard” week-beginning.
Wiegman was clearly emotional as he reflected on the enjoyable times they had together, but he was unwilling to discuss how grating it might be that the 32-year-old abruptly left.
Fears about their lack of experience were raised after Hampton won just 13 caps before kick-off and the other two goalkeepers in the squad did not.
However, when the dominant team performs so well, things quickly stop being so important.
Hampton managed one more goal thanks to Chloe Kelly while the rest of the second half sat still as her team-mates attempted to add another five to their five first-half goals.
Before the Group A3 tie, Hat-trick hero Beever-Jones said, “… Before the game, she said, “We have a new squad, it’s a new kit,” adding, “It’s a new England.”
However, Bardsley, who was waxing lyrical by the time the fifth goal, which came in only the 33rd minute, sealed a treble for Beever-Jones, claimed that it wasn’t a “new England,” rather a “vintage” “England.”
In the 62nd minute, Kelly added the finishing touch to the England’s second while Beth Mead took to the field and substitute Lucy Bronze added the second.
Bardsley, who made 81 appearances for the Lionesses, said, “This reminds me of vintage England, casting myself back to 2022.” Although Portugal has been a poor country, it is wonderful to see the girls who are so happy there.
As supporters danced and celebrated full-time, clearly encouraged by what they had witnessed, they were not the only ones with smiles on their faces as they did.
Over the past 18 months, England’s form has decreased. After winning a match against world champions Spain at Wembley two months later, they were defeated in Leuven by Belgium, who are currently bottom of the Women’s Nations League group, just seven weeks prior.
The Lionesses, who were under increasing pressure, were boosted by the injury-recovery of key players Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp, and Alex Greenwood, who were all back.
The players wanted to end this week’s lot of noise, Johnson continued.
The press conference had a lot of questions, and they will continue to do so. They simply want to talk about football because they created the entire football-related topic.
Beever-Jones is a baller, according to Jones.
Images courtesy of Getty
Bardsley also praised the matchwinner with the statement that “Aggie Beever-Jones is a baller”.
Wiegman couldn’t help but laugh when asked if the Chelsea forward had improved her chances of being selected for Euro 2025.
The Dutchwoman grinned and said, “I think she did really well.”
She scores goals, according to. She easily and effectively scores goals. She moves so quickly. She played very relaxed and is also extremely ball-tight.
Beever-Jones “firing” in an England shirt, according to team-mate Kelly, and Bardsley described her as a “pesky” forward to play against.
However, it will be difficult to find a starting position.
Alessia Russo, who had a minor calf injury, was watching from the bench, while Lauren James, who had been injured at Chelsea, has already recovered from injury.
Hemp’s debut for England since having knee surgery in November was impressive, while Kelly’s performance off the bench earned her respect.
She “truly announced herself and presented Sarina Wiegman’s case to make sure she is ready to compete at the Euros this summer,” said Beever-Jones’ Bardsley.
Knowing that she’s in Sarina Wiegman’s tool kit, whether it’s on the bench or right away, is so lovely.
Beever-Jones revealed that the team had signed the match ball for her to take home after she celebrated with her family.
She is capable of making an impact regardless of her position at Euros.
“In football, there is never just a straight line.” Beever-Jones told BBC Radio 5 Live, “I had to be patient with this set-up, and it just shows how good the team is.”
“I had the chance, and I’m grateful to everyone who assisted me in getting here. A better day was beyond my wildest expectations.
I wouldn’t want anyone else participating in competition. I can’t stop learning a lot from Alessia Russo and the entire frontline. Hopefully, I can make a contribution where I can.
Who would have imagined that a dashcam video could be so troublesome? For the drama of the showbiz week got off to a racing start on Monday, thanks to Brooklyn Beckham, his wife Nicola Peltz and their ongoing feud with his ma and pa, Posh and Becks.
By the start of this week, anyone could talk about a loved-up motorbike ride through LA on a very ‘pointless’ video that the nepobabies posted online.
Many people understood the video’s loved-up soundtrack as a clear message from Brooklyn, a chef, photographer, filmmaker, influencer, and nepobrat to his long-suffering parents, Victoria and David Beckham. That message was clear: Thanks for the lavish lifestyle, probable £125million inheritance and hooking me up for jobs with all your high-profile friends…. but I’m Team Peltz.
Brooklyn Beckham says she’ll “always choose” Nicola Peltz in the caption of this uninspired Instagram video (instagram.com/brooklynpeltzbeckham).
They were riding through LA on a soppy soundtrack in the controversial motorcycle video (@brooklynpeltzbeckham/Instagram) and even had more heartfelt captions on their related Instagram post.
Brooklyn then went and ramped things up a gear by adding a super-soppy caption addressed to his wife, in which he cooed – **WARNING: SICK BAG REQUIRED** – “I always choose you, baby”.
On one side of the alleged feud between Posh and Becks V Peltz, insiders claimed it was a covert admission to love, while others claimed Brooklyn just happened to share it with his 16.3 million followers on a day when his family fallout just happened to be in the news. Ahem. Brooklyn’s dad might be Goldenballs, but Brooklyn has some serious steel balls.
Just Potty Tuesday
Talking of child stars…. Although not yet household names, Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout… But they will be soon. Because these three lucky, lucky British kids have just won the Hollywood lottery. Yes, they were chosen from a confidential casting call of 30, 000 children to play Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter.
L-R: Alastair Stout (Ron), Dominic McLaughlin (Harry), and Arabella Stanton (the new Hermione).
That’s right: one day, these three were going to school and doing the odd bit of acting at a weekend drama club and then – poof! The three 9-11-year-olds had already landed new roles in the upcoming big-budget HBO TV series and were on the Hogwarts Express, leading them on a path to fame, wealth, and A-List perks, just like magic.
Naturally, I thought about…. “Oh my gosh, am I seriously jealous of a bunch of nine-to-11-year-olds”? (Yes, I am) What does this actually mean for Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and the rest of us, in particular? They’ve been the faces of those iconic characters for 25 years and feature on untold billions of bits of merchandising. How will it affect them if a whole new generation of fans talks about Radcliffe and doesn’t even mind?
When the last Potter film debuted in 2011, their replacements weren’t even born. And when the spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them hit screens in 2016, they were only toddlers at best. That is more mind-bending than a pint of polyjuice.
All of that leads me to two disturbing realizations:
Sorting Hat at Hogwarts
LGBTQEIEI…O Wednesday
Without getting right into the Trans rights row, you can’t mention J.K. Rowling. However, Jeremy Clarkson, the pro-trans rights movement, found an unlikely ally this week.
For in the latest episode of Clarkson’s Farm, farmer Kaleb Cooper was seen explaining some interesting news to the former Top Gear host: Endgame, his prize bull, was gay and one of the piglets was possibly trans. The piglet was playing in mud, but Kaleb’s knowledge of this is about as clear as mud. However, how lovely that someone is so, um, “Clark-like,” given that Clarkson has such a welcoming farmland.
I mean, who would have thought? What’s all under one roof, including a gay bull, some transgender people, and a morbidly obese donkey?
Oh no, I’m making a mistake. Diddly Squat is home to a giant ass.
He doesn’t reside in the barn, though.
Thursday Loose Lips
Nadia Sawalha might have been a bit rash when she decided to livestream on Thursday. Because if there is one thing you should probably avoid doing when your show is about to end,… is to put gasoline on the fire (and blow yourself up in the process)).
But Loose Women star Nadia bravely/stupidly wasn’t pulling any punches when she let rip about the savage ITV daytime cuts in a new social media video she posted this week. The former Mirror columnist began by tearfully criticizing the “hundreds” of brutal “redundancies” as she spoke with producer husband Mark Adderley.
She said, “I can’t tell you how upsetting it was to see people walking around numb with fear and shock,” “I can’t tell you how upsetting it was.” It’s brutal. “
Don’t get me wrong, Nadia’s speaking out is admirable. One may wonder if it was the wisest thing to do when Loose Women is about to turn into a bigger bloodbath than your typical soap wedding.
And yet, Nadia continued. And amazingly, she even made the decision to check her employment terms and save HR the trouble of digging out her contract. She told her fans, “We are all freelancers.” I could be let go tomorrow, in five years, you don’t know because we’re not employees. “
Nadia Sawalha and Mark Adderley are living together. Inset, what she ought to be wearing given her loose-fitting appearance.
I don’t know what you’re thinking Nadia, but with the way you’re going, I figured I best send you this snazzy t-shirt (inset, above). You now have a front-facing target. to match the one you’ve just donned.
Gazza gets booked Friday
Someone is in top form, right? Yes, Gazza is returning after beginning a new exercise regimen and looking better than ever. The footie ace, 58, has a newfound enthusiasm for cycling, fishing, tennis, and – surprise, surprise – penning books.
(Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror) Gazza claims to be the happiest he’s been in a while.
…and now he’s getting ready to release the real him in what will be a powerful new tellall (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror) for October shelves.
For the star has just announced he’s going to be doing his first tell-all autobiography in 20 years, as he finally feels ready to show people the” real “him. Fans will enjoy the good news. However, Mamma Gazza, the former Lion, is a little frightened of being read by her. There’s laughs, tears, madness – and probably a few things I’ll regret saying once me mam reads it, “he admitted.
Nevermind, Mrs. Gascoigne, I’m confident that whatever Paul has to say, it won’t be the most embarrassing experience he’s ever had. That ship sailed 35 years ago, not a coincidence. Not with his famous tears on the pitch at Italia 90. But with his pitch on that 1990 single, with our infamous tears over it. He “sings,” is entirely my, entirely my. So my question is: if that was true, why didn’t he just do us all a favour and keep it to himself?
Picture of the Week
*Def. ]noun] A snap that makes you stop in your tracks on social media. Usually comes with a six pack, but only the abs variety. Rob Lowe, 61, and Johnny Lowe, 29, demonstrate superbly above. (rob lowe / instagram)
As far as family customs go, …. It’s not my thing. For Rob Lowe is no stranger to an Instagram ‘ thirst trap’* and it seems he’s now got his lookalike son Johnny, 29, involved. This photo of the pair showing off their abs in a post-workout snap this week was shared by the pair, who both star in Netflix’s comedy Unstable. And I must admit that I’m 61 despite… Rob’s still looking hotter than St Elmo’s Fire.
The image’s caption reads, “Self-indulgent shirtless gym photos, a lowe family tradition. “It seems not everyone is a fan of the tradition, though. Rob’s other son Matthew, 32, made a very cheeky quip, saying:” Why does it look like you photoshopped your head on]Johnny] “? That’s awful. That’s what I’d assume you called a Lowe blow, I suppose?
Jess a little one
Wow, look at that cheerful face! And those dog eyes, too! He’s such a good, good boy, isn’t he?… And yes, the dog is adorable as well. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Dr Janey Lowes of WCare with pup and Ben Fogle
After becoming a new WECare patron, the lovely Ben Fogle is proving to be a consistently good guy. Dr. Janey Lowes, a former Daily Mirror Animal Heroes winner, has assisted 25, 000 Sri Lankan street dogs through programs for neutering and vaccinations as well as injuries. Presumably Ben’s role as patron includes many official duties, but if cuddling the patients is one of them… these pups are some lucky sons of a you-know-wotsits.
Have you ever laughed, wonced, or cried during a showbiz event? Tell me in the comments or via @JessicaBoulton on X/Instagram if you want to.
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