Bulgarian authorities, in coordination with Europol, have arrested eight individuals suspected of involvement in a major migrant smuggling ring. The operation, which took place on Monday, targeted 15 locations around Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city.

Europol reported that half of the suspects arrested were identified as “high-value targets” due to their significant roles in the smuggling network. During the raids, law enforcement seized a variety of items, including ammunition, weapons, and mobile phones.

The investigation, a collaborative effort among Bulgarian, Romanian, and Moldovan authorities, uncovered that the criminal gang allegedly charged between €4,000 and €6,000 to smuggle migrants from Turkey into Bulgaria and other European destinations via the Western Balkan route. This route is a major corridor for illegal migration into Europe, with nearly 100,000 reported incidents of illegal crossings into the EU in 2023 alone.

Migrants would reportedly cross the Turkey-Bulgaria border on foot with the assistance of “guides” provided by members of the smuggling ring based in Turkey. Once at the border, the migrants were picked up at night and transported to the Bulgaria-Serbia or Bulgaria-Romania borders.

Europol’s investigation revealed that the leadership of the smuggling ring comprised nationals from Syria and Jordan. Bulgarian members of the gang were primarily responsible for logistics, including acquiring and using vehicles for transportation. These vehicles were often registered under different names in exchange for a small payment. Moldovan nationals, recruited online, served as drivers, receiving €100 per person transported.

Communication within the gang was reportedly conducted through disappearing messages on various phone apps, making it difficult for authorities to track their activities.

The crackdown highlights the ongoing challenges faced by European nations in combating organized migrant smuggling networks and underscores the importance of international cooperation in addressing these complex criminal operations.

As Hurricane Ernesto, a Category One storm, wreaks havoc on Puerto Rico, leaving 40% of the island without power and causing flash flooding, experts are urging a reassessment of how hurricane severity is understood. Despite being classified as a lower-category hurricane, Ernesto’s impact underscores the potential for significant damage even at lower storm rankings.

The Saffir-Simpson scale, developed in the 1970s by wind engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson, ranks hurricanes from Category One to Five based on sustained wind speeds. However, this scale does not account for other crucial factors such as storm surge and rainfall, which can be equally, if not more, destructive.

Craig Fugate, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and current crisis response consultant, emphasizes that focusing solely on hurricane categories can be misleading. “While a Category Five hurricane’s winds are undoubtedly destructive, the real danger often lies in other characteristics of the storm,” Fugate explains. “A Category One hurricane, like Ernesto, can still bring deadly storm surges, catastrophic flooding, and tornadoes, leading to severe infrastructure damage and long-lasting impacts.”

Storm surges, caused by the hurricane’s wind pushing ocean water towards the shore, pose the greatest threat to life. Water levels can surge by up to 30 feet (9.1 meters). Studies have shown that nearly 49% of hurricane-related deaths in the U.S. are due to storm surge, while flooding accounts for 27% and wind for only 8%.

Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, adds that the Saffir-Simpson scale only measures wind speed and does not reflect the storm’s full impact. “Most damages are from water, not wind,” Wehner notes. “The scale is limited to measuring the highest wind speeds, which doesn’t capture the full extent of the storm’s potential destruction.”

Xilei Zhao, a data analyst at the University of Florida, warns that Category One hurricanes can still cause significant damage, particularly in flood-prone areas and among those living in mobile homes. “Residents should heed evacuation orders even for Category One hurricanes,” Zhao advises.

Recent research by Jeane Camelo and Talea Mayo highlights the need for improved communication about storm surge risks. With climate change expected to increase the severity of storm surges and more people moving to coastal areas, effective messaging becomes even more critical.

While Category Five hurricanes often result in high fatalities, such as the devastating Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, which killed over 6,000 people, Category One storms can still cause considerable destruction. As the Saffir-Simpson scale remains a widely recognized measure of hurricane strength, experts urge the public to recognize its limitations and understand that the full impact of hurricanes extends beyond wind speed alone.

French authorities are treating an explosion outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte, near Montpellier, as a potential terror attack. The incident, which occurred early Saturday morning, involved two vehicles set ablaze outside the synagogue, one of which contained a hidden gas canister. The suspect, who was reportedly carrying a Palestinian flag and possibly a handgun, remains at large.

The explosion, which happened between 08:00 and 08:30 local time, injured one police officer. Fortunately, the officer’s injuries are not life-threatening. Five individuals, including the synagogue’s rabbi, were inside the building at the time, but there were no other reported injuries. The attacker also set fire to several entrance doors of the synagogue.

Yonathan Arfi, a leader within the Jewish community, condemned the attack as “an attempt to kill Jews” and suggested it was timed to target Saturday morning worshippers. French President Emmanuel Macron labeled the incident as “a terrorist act.”

Eyewitnesses described the explosion as a dramatic “fireball” that erupted into the air. An anonymous observer told the BBC, “It was surreal, like a film. We didn’t go any further.”

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Interior Minister Gérald Moussa Darmanin visited the scene later in the day. Attal denounced the attack as “an antisemitic act” and expressed his shock and outrage, emphasizing that French Jews were once again targeted because of their beliefs. He noted that a “narrowly avoided” tragedy could have occurred if the synagogue had been filled with worshippers.

Attal and Darmanin both pledged to enhance security around synagogues and other Jewish institutions. Darmanin assured the Jewish community and local residents of his full support, highlighting ongoing security measures. Synagogues and Jewish schools in France already operate under stringent security due to past threats.

This attack underscores growing concerns about antisemitism in Europe. A recent report by the Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) revealed a nearly threefold increase in antisemitic acts from 2022 to 2023. In May, a man was shot dead by police after setting fire to a synagogue in Rouen. The attack also follows the 2015 kosher supermarket hostage situation and comes amid heightened worries about antisemitism in Europe.

The explosion has drawn widespread condemnation across France’s political spectrum. Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon labeled it an “intolerable crime,” while far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella described it as a “criminal and antisemitic act.”

The EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) survey published last month found that Jewish people across the bloc continue to face significant levels of antisemitism, with 96% of those surveyed reporting encounters with antisemitic incidents in their daily lives.