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Donald Trump, president of the United States, has announced that his administration will increase steel import tariffs from 25% to 50%.

Trump defended his most recent tariff increase as a benefit to the nation’s manufacturing sector when speaking to steelworkers and supporters at a rally outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Trump told the audience that “we’re going to increase the steel tariffs in the United States of America from 25% to 50%, which will even more secure the steel industry there.” Nobody will maneuver around that, they say.

It is still unclear how the tariff increase will impact the United Kingdom’s earlier trade agreement with Canada and Mexico or the free-trade agreement there.

The nature of the agreement between US Steel, Japan’s largest steel producer, and Nippon Steel, left ambiguous. Trump continued to promote the two companies’ partnership as a “blockbuster agreement.”

Trump cited the agreement as saying, “There has never been a $14 billion investment in the history of the steel industry in the United States of America.”

Steel tariff increases

Trump and his team’s campaign events on Friday marked their return to the same location where they had previously held numerous election-season campaign events.

Trump’s campaign for reelection in 2024 based on a rally to working-class voters, including those in the Rust Belt, a manufacturing hub that has declined in response to changing industry trends and increased overseas competition.

The region’s key swing states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, were there on election day, helping to win Trump’s second term.

Trump’s “America First” campaign is seen as a policy platform intended to support the nation’s manufacturing sector. Tariffs and other protectionist measures have been a key component of that agenda.

For instance, Trump announced a preliminary slate of 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum in March, prompting significant trading partners like Canada to take retaliatory measures.

He also imposed a blanket 10-percent tariff on nearly all of his trade partners the following month, as well as higher country-specific import taxes. The 10-percent tariff remained in place while those were quickly halted in the midst of widespread criticism and economic shockwaves.

Trump has argued that the tariffs are a crucial negotiation tool to sway more foreign investment into the US economy.

However, economists have warned that price increases will likely increase as a result of US consumers’ pressure being “hard reset” of the global economy, as well as significant tax increases like tariffs.

Given the sudden shifts in his policies, Rachel Ziemba, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said the most recent tariff increase on steel also indicates that negotiating trade deals with Trump may lead to “limited benefits.”

Additionally, she said, Friday’s announcement suggests that Trump is likely to continue to impose tariffs.

The issue is that, among other things, raising steel tariffs is bad for manufacturing and the energy sector. Overall, Ziemba explains that it is unfavorable to the US economy and adds uncertainty to the macro outlook.

Businesses, interest groups, and states have all filed lawsuits to stop the import tax increases, which Trump has also faced in the US.

For instance, on Thursday, a federal court briefly upheld Trump’s request to impose his extensive list of international tariffs before a short-lived appeals court abruptly paused that decision.

A partnership with Nippon Steel

The anticipated focus of Friday’s rally in Pittsburgh was on Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of US Steel, the second-largest steel producer in the nation, prior to the tariff increase’s announcement.

At the start of his speech, Trump stated, “We’re here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company.”

However, labor unions were largely against the merger between Nippon Steel and US Steel because it had been contentious.

Trump initially stated he would not support the acquisition when he returned to the White House in January, a similar position held by his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden.

He has since changed his mind and backed the agreement, though. He made an announcement last week that Nippon would only have “partial ownership” of US Steel.

Trump stated on Friday that the new agreement would give Nippon a “14 billion commitment to the future” of US Steel, but he would not provide specifics about how the ownership agreement would turn out.

Trump addressed the crowd of steelworkers, “Oh, you’re gonna be happy.” There is a lot of money in your path, the statement reads.

The Republican leader also poetically described the US’s history of steel, describing it as the engine that drives the nation’s economy.

He continued, “If you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country,” adding that the city of Pittsburgh used to produce more steel than most entire nations could.

For its part, US Steel hasn’t given investors any information about the revised deal. Meanwhile, Nippon hasn’t disclosed the terms of the agreement, despite a statement that supports the proposed “partnership.”

Despite being one of its principal opponents, the national United Steelworkers Union has been among the unionized workers affected by the acquisition.

The union questioned whether the new arrangement “makes any significant changes” from the initial proposal in a statement released prior to the rally.

In a statement citing firmer details that had not yet been made, the union said that “Nippon has consistently maintained that it would only invest in US Steel’s facilities if it owned the company outright.

“Over the past few days, there hasn’t been anything in the reporting that suggests Nippon has retreated from this position.”

Following a turbulent start to his second term, Trump has attempted to reassure his base of voters with the Friday rally.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There have been a lot of dollars spent. Some of the best players in the world have left and gained. Paris Saint-Germain has remained agonizingly out of reach for the Champions League trophy.

That might soon change.

Inter Milan will have to play in the Munich final on Saturday, one game away from European club football’s most prestigious prize, the Qatari-owned team.

Coach Luis Enrique stated on Friday, “It’s my goal to win the Champions League title for PSG.” That is the gift I want to give the city, the club, and the people.

Inter Milan respect PSG the “utmost” and respect them.

PSG is the favorite with a thrilling young team that has outperformed Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City. It seems like the time has come for it to end.

Inter, however, defeated a ruthless Barcelona in an epic semifinal with a 7-6 aggregate win against a wily opponent in its second final in three years.

Our opponent, according to Inter captain Lautaro Martinez, “we have the utmost respect for them.” However, we want to hit them where it hurts with the weapons we have.

PSG has its own warning signs.

PSG’s successful run to the final has allowed them to shift away from the bling culture of star signings and concentrate on emerging French talent.

Without ever obtaining the trophy it so desperately craves, PSG, which has been owned by Qatar Sports Investments since 2011, signed some of the biggest names in the game, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Without Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe, PSG appears to be a more cohesive team now that Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe are all gone.

PSG captain Marquinhos remarked, “It’s about being a team, not a group of individuals.” I adore this team,” she said. Being a part of the squad is a pleasure.

PSG’s expensive Inter Milan rivals

The transformation of PSG has still cost.

In a squad that was assembled at unprecedented expense, players like Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were collectively signed for an estimated $ 240 million.

In the meantime, Inter has been wise in the market, buying older players and signing free agents to create a team that has reached two Champions League finals in three years (losing to Man City in 2023) and won an Italian title there.

PSG’s only previous final was against Bayern Munich in 2020, which ended with a 1-0 defeat.

It was a semifinalist in 2021 and 2024. President Nasser Al-Khelaifi made the decision to alter his transfer strategy after the round of 16s in 2022 and 2023.

Inter, the three-time champion, has advanced beyond the round of 16 for the second time since 2011 this year.

A champions league medal is missing for the winner of the World Cup.

Under Jose Mourinho, Inter last won the Champions League in 2010.

Dembele has scored 30 goals all season for PSG, including a run of 24 in 18 games from December to March, making him one of Europe’s top players this season.

Kvaratskhelia’s signing from Napoli in January caused a turnaround in PSG’s fortunes in the Champions League, where it was in danger of losing the division.

Before making the move, the Georgian forward was long regarded as one of Europe’s top talents, adding a new dimension to the already exciting PSG attack.

The engine is the midfielders Vitinha and Joao Neves, who hungrily hunt down the ball when they are out of the ball and springing attacks with the speed of their passing.

Lautaro Martinez, the club’s all-time top scorer in the Champions League this year, is Inter’s standout player and a World Cup winner.

“I’ve won numerous awards, but I’m missing the Champions League.” I’m thrilled to be a part of another final. The Argentinian forward stated, “We want to have the perfect game and bring the trophy back to Milan.”

Inter reach the second final of PSG’s three-year relationship with destiny.

Denzel Dumfries, the defender, scored twice in the opening match at the Nou Camp, and goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved the tie for Inter in the second leg.

Luis Enrique won 12 significant awards while playing for the Catalan club and PSG, including the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015.

He would become the seventh coach to have won the Champions League or European Cup with two different teams if his French champions triumph on Saturday. Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, and Mourinho are on the list.

Exactly ten years after his previous title, Victory would follow.

“I feel calm of mind.” Since the last time, Luis Enrique said, I have ten years more experience. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to compete in a final and create history.”

Simone Inzaghi of Inter hopes to win his second Champions League title after the team’s two-year defeat to City.

Inter was the underdog in the past, and Guardiola’s City was almost as close as she was now.

The players on the field are the subject, according to Inzaghi, “Matches don’t come down to wage bills or turnover.” We performed flawlessly two years ago when we were incredibly underdogs.

I had a dream about competing in the Champions League final. Although I didn’t play as a player, I did so because of this group of players, who helped me reach the top two finals.