Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times,
U.S. forces, on Aug. 28, sank a vessel in the eastern Pacific that the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said was serving as an at-sea refueling point for drug-trafficking boats.
A vessel suspected of providing at-sea refueling for drug traffickers burns after being targeted by U.S. forces on Aug. 28, 2026. U.S. Southern CommandSOUTHCOM, which oversees military operations in and around Central and South America, said U.S. forces worked in coordination with the government of Ecuador to track down the vessel.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel, previously identified and targeted under Department of the Treasury sanctions, was operating in support of the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," SOUTHCOM said in a press statement.
Los Choneros is one of more than a dozen Latin American transnational criminal enterprises that the U.S. government has designated as a foreign terrorist organization since the start of President Donald Trump's second term.
According to SOUTHCOM, U.S. Marines and sailors launched from the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio to board and search the vessel, and did so without incident.
"Individuals removed from the vessel were safely escorted to Ecuador. Once cleared, U.S. forces sank the vessel," SOUTHCOM said.
SOUTHCOM has since published footage purporting to show U.S. forces boarding the suspect vessel, as well as footage of the boat being destroyed in a fiery blast.
"Today's operation is a stark example of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition's power to dismantle the sophisticated, clandestine narco-terrorist tactics and capabilities that have enabled the trafficking of dangerous drugs destined for American communities," SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan said of the operation.
The Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, formed in March of this year, is a military partnership between the United States and other Western Hemisphere nations to disrupt cartel operations.
The U.S. military had been taking a more forceful approach to disrupt cartel operations even before recruiting regional partners through the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.
On Sept. 2, 2025, U.S. forces bombed a boat in the Caribbean Sea, which officials said was transporting narcotics, killing 11. It was the first in an ongoing series of strikes on drug boats.
U.S. forces have struck dozens more vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in the past year. Most recently, SOUTHCOM claimed responsibility for a strike in the Caribbean on Aug. 25 that killed four people it identified as members of a drug-trafficking network.
The campaign of lethal strikes on boats has met with scrutiny and criticism.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), in an Aug. 3 letter to the president, said: "A careful review of the available evidence suggests that the United States has killed individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking."
A December report by Human Rights Watch described the campaign of boat strikes as a series of "extrajudicial killings."
The family members of two Trinidadian nationals who have been missing since October filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States in January. The plaintiffs claimed that the two missing men had been working as migrant laborers in neighboring Venezuela, and had arranged a boat ride home to Trinidad and Tobago, but were likely killed in an Oct. 14 strike by U.S. forces.
The U.S. government has not publicly identified any of the individuals they believe to have killed in these boat strikes.
Tyler Durden Sun, 08/30/2026 - 21:00Doha ranks as the safest major city in the world in 2026, while Caracas sits at the opposite end of the ranking.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, compares the world’s safest and least safe major cities using Numbeo’s 2026 Safety Index. Scores are based on five years of user submissions covering perceptions of crime, personal safety, property crime, and violent crime. They do not measure official crime rates or exposure to geopolitical conflict.
The Cities With the Highest Perceived SafetyHere are the 10 highest-scoring major cities with populations of two million or more.
Rank Most Safe Cities Country Overall Score (0-100) 1 🇶🇦 Doha Qatar 84.6 2 🇦🇪 Dubai UAE 83.8 3 🇹🇼 Taipei Taiwan 83.4 4 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China 78.2 5 🇸🇬 Singapore Singapore 77.7 6 🇯🇵 Tokyo Japan 75.9 7 🇨🇳 Shenzhen China 75.5 8 🇸🇦 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 75.4 9 🇸🇦 Jeddah Saudi Arabia 75.1 10 🇰🇷 Seoul South Korea 74.6Four of the top 10 cities are in the Middle East, including two in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh and Jeddah.
Gallup’s latest Global Safety Report reinforces the pattern. Singapore had the world’s highest share of adults who said they felt safe walking alone at night, at 98%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 93% and the UAE at 90%.
Asia dominates the rest of the top 10. Outside the Middle East, every city represented is in East or Southeast Asia, while European cities are notably absent despite routinely leading global livability rankings.
The Cities With the Lowest Perceived SafetyAt the opposite end of the index, the 10 lowest-scoring cities are concentrated in just two regions.
Rank Least Safe Cities Country Overall Score (0-100) 1 🇻🇪 Caracas Venezuela 18.5 2 🇿🇦 Johannesburg South Africa 19.2 3 🇿🇦 Durban South Africa 19.5 4 🇧🇷 Salvador Brazil 23.5 5 🇧🇷 Fortaleza Brazil 24.1 6 🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 24.6 7 🇧🇷 Recife Brazil 25.0 8 🇪🇨 Guayaquil Ecuador 25.3 9 🇿🇦 Cape Town South Africa 26.4 10 🇨🇴 Cali Colombia 29.1The bottom of the ranking is heavily concentrated by country. Brazil accounts for four of the 10 cities, while South Africa accounts for three, including Johannesburg and Durban. South Africa also has one of the world’s highest homicide rates.
Gallup data show a similar geographic pattern. Of the 10 countries where people felt least safe walking alone at night, nine were in sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America. South Africa ranked lowest globally, with just 33% of adults saying they felt safe walking alone at night.
Guayaquil’s low ranking also comes amid a sharp rise in violence. Guayas province, where the city is located, recorded 4,106 homicides in 2025, the most of any province in Ecuador and up 26.5% from 2024.
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on America’s most dangerous cities.
Tyler Durden Sun, 08/30/2026 - 20:25Authored by Eurasianet via OilPrice,
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are tossing figurative darts at a US trial balloon connected to the intensifying race between the United States and China for leadership in AI development.
Reuters reported on August 14 that the US State Department had drafted a note stating that any nation interested in widening access to advanced American know-how and technology in the AI sector under a program known as Pax Silica must refrain from participating in a rival Chinese initiative known as the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).
Kazakhstan is a member of both Pax Silica and WAICO, while Uzbekistan is a signatory to the Chinese initiative while expressing keen interest in expanding cooperation with the United States in AI development. More broadly, the United States has taken steps over the past 18 months to expand economic ties with all five Central Asian states.
Actions and statements by Kazakh and Uzbek officials since news of the draft State Department note began circulating indicate that both states are disinclined to adhere to what amounts to an American demand.
Kazakh officials have not publicly commented on the issue of the country's participation in both Pax Silica and WAICO, but recent developments suggest Astana is intent on maintaining close contacts with China in the AI sphere.
On August 18, experts from the countries' respective academies of sciences agreed to jointly develop a science-focused AI platform to analyze "scientific literature and large data sets, identifying patterns, formulating and testing hypotheses, modeling complex processes, planning experiments, and predicting results," according to a Kazakh government statement. The Kazakhstan and China are also working on an AI initiative called DeepBas, which aims to develop "specialized models" enabling the more efficient management of water resources.
Exchange programs are likewise proceeding. Kazakh engineers from the national space company recently participated in a training program in China on using AI to analyze satellite data to improve natural disaster early warning capabilities. In addition, at a recent symposium in Almaty, Chinese and Kazakh researchers discussed AI applications in medicine and agriculture, as well as joint research and training for young AI specialists.
Uzbekistan has perhaps been more direct in addressing the brewing AI issue. Speaking at a technology forum in Tashkent on August 24, Bobur Khodjaev, an aide to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, issued what could be considered a veiled plea for the US to abandon an "us-or-them" stance on AI development. He also stated that Uzbek officials would continue to opt for the best available AI solutions, regardless of national origin. He acknowledged that American tech may be superior but also stressed that China offered more affordable options.
"As a developing country, we want to have access to all available technologies," Gazeta.uz quoted Khodjaev as saying. "Specifically referring to the US and China, obviously American tech companies offer cutting-edge AI chips and AI models. China, in turn, offers open-source models that are significantly cheaper than American ones. And we would like to have access to both."
"We are open to collaboration with all partners and interested parties and strive to implement artificial intelligence technologies not only in finance but in all areas of our economy," Khodjaev added.
Tyler Durden Sun, 08/30/2026 - 19:50