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(LONDON) — American XL Bully dogs could be banned in the U.K. by the end of the year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday.

There have been a string of attacks involving the canine breed, including a fatal one in Staffordshire, England.

In a statement, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said a male victim had “sustained multiple life-threatening injuries” and was in “critical condition” after an attack by a suspected XL Bully dog.

“The American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children. I share the nation’s horror at recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday, we saw another suspected XL Bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality,” Sunak said in a video statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Although recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club, the American Bulldog is not officially recognized as a breed by the U.K.’s Royal Kennel Club.

Sunak said he has tasked ministers with assembling a team of experts to define the breed.

“It is not currently a breed defined in law. So, this vital first step must happen fast. We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year,” he said.

He went on, “It’s a pattern of behavior and it cannot go on. While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public.”

The pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo argentino and fila brasileiro are currently banned in the U.K.

American XL Bully dogs have been at the center of a national debate following viral footage depicting a suspected American XL Bully violently attacking several people, including an 11-year-old girl, in Birmingham, U.K.

“This is appalling,” said U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman following the attack. “We can’t go on like this … I have commissioned urgent advice on banning them.”

Originating in the United States in the 1980s, the American XL Bully is a cross between the American Pit Bull Terrier (Pitbull) and the American Staffordshire Terrier. They have been described as being “friendly” pets by the American Kennel Club. Arriving in the U.K. around 2014, the breed is commonly known for its fighting ability.

The breed has different variations: pocket, standard, classic and XL.

According to Bully Watch UK, the scale of fatal attacks involving the breed is “growing.”

“The genetic makeup of these dogs is often unknown due to constant breeding, making their temperament unpredictable. Peer-reviewed medical studies from around the world clearly show that pit bull type dogs, which include the American Bully breeds, inflict the most damage when they bite,” said Bully Watch. “It is the style of biting, tearing at flesh and bone.”

According to Britain’s Dangerous Dogs Act, it is illegal to own a dog that is “dangerously out of control” and dog owners could face up to 14 years in prison “if a person dies as a result of being injured” from an attack.

 

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(MEXICO CITY and LONDON) — Hundreds of migrants from Central and South America were found “crowded and dehydrated” in the back of a tractor-trailer in southeastern Mexico on Thursday, authorities said.

The discovery was made at dawn after authorities stopped the driver of the trailer at a toll booth in between the cities of Córdoba and Coatzacoalcos in the eastern state of Veracruz, according to a press release from Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM).

A gamma-ray device detected the presence of people inside the container and authorities heard screams and knocking at the back of the unit. When they opened it, authorities found 350 migrants, including men, women and children, the INM said.

A vast majority of the migrants — 340 of them — were from Guatemala while six were from Ecuador, three from Honduras and one from El Salvador, according to the INM.

Those who were minors or traveling as a family were placed under the guardianship of the state’s System for the Integral Development of the Family. The other adults were taken to the INM’s headquarters in Veracruz to begin the process of defining their immigration status in Mexico, INM said.

Meanwhile, the trailer and the driver were taken into custody by the state attorney general’s office, according to the INM.

 

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(LONDON) — The death toll from devastating floods in eastern Libya has surpassed 11,000, according to the Libyan Red Crescent.

The Libyan Red Crescent said Friday that at least 11,300 people had died and another 10,100 were reported missing.

Mediterranean storm Daniel is behind the widespread flooding in the North African nation, as it washed away entire neighborhoods over the weekend and swept bodies out to sea.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

 

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(LONDON) — Most of the casualties in the devastating Libya floods could have been avoided if the divided country had a functioning meteorological service, the head of the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization said Thursday.

At least 6,000 people have died after widespread flooding washed away entire neighborhoods in eastern Libya over the weekend during Mediterranean storm Daniel. At least 9,000 people are missing, according to the Libyan Interior Ministry.

The port city of Derna was especially hard-hit; the collapse of two dams wiped out a quarter of the area. The deaths in the city could reach upwards of 20,000 people, based on the extent of the damage, according to Derna Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi.

World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the tragedy in the North African nation demonstrates the “devastating and cascading consequences of extreme weather on fragile states.”

“If there would have been a normally operating meteorological service, they could have issued warnings,” Taalas said during a briefing Thursday in Geneva. “The emergency management authorities would have been able to carry out evacuation of the people. And we could have avoided most of the human casualties.”

In a statement Thursday, Taalas said that Libya’s National Meteorological Center did issue early warnings for heavy precipitation and floods, but they didn’t address the “risk posed by the aging dams.”

“The fragmentation of the country’s disaster management and disaster response mechanisms, as well as deteriorating infrastructure, exacerbated the enormity of the challenges,” Taalas said. “The political situation is a driver of risk, as we are seeing in many countries currently.”

The country’s National Meteorological Center is also challenged by “chronic” staffing shortages and poorly functioning IT systems, he said.

“The National Meteorological Center is trying to function, but its ability to do so is limited,” Taalas said. “The entire chain of disaster management and governance is disrupted.”

Libya has been politically fractured since a 2011 uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, with two administrations in the east and west.

Gen. Khalifa Haftar, head of the powerful Libyan military faction that controls the eastern part of the divided country, said in a televised address on Tuesday that they have directed the government to form a specialized committee “to assess the damage, instantly begin the reconstruction of roads to facilitate transportation, restore the electricity and to take all immediate and needed measures in that regard.”

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(LONDON) — Ukraine is training thousands of drone pilots and ramping up its production of unmanned aircraft to bring an “army of drones” to the front lines of its counteroffensive against Russia, Ukrainian military officials and manufacturers told ABC News in rare interviews on the secretive program.

From November through May, Ukraine has trained 10,000 drone pilots, and another 10,000 pilots are being trained right now, according to Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov.

“I want to use all means available to destroy the enemy and achieve victory. The Ukrainian Armed Forces get a lot of support from our Western partners, but we also have to develop our own technologies and use them on a scale never seen before in any conflicts,” a drone pilot said. The name of the pilot and location of the facility are being withheld for safety and security reasons.

For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, drone warfare is already proving to be indispensable on the battlefield.

Some drones spy on Russian positions, identifying targets that are then hit by artillery and mortar fire. Others are attack drones, dropping ordnance or exploding on impact, killing Russian soldiers hiding in trenches, blowing up tanks on the front lines, striking artillery pieces hidden in tree lines and hitting stockpiles of munitions and key supply lines.

One year ago, there were only seven manufacturers making drones in Ukraine. Today, there are at least 80 of them, according to Dmytro Kovalchuk, CEO of drone manufacturer Warbird.

Kovalchuk embodies the entrepreneurial spirit driving this quiet revolution. In one year, he says he’s gone from making just three drones a month to making 150.

“In Ukraine, not a single state enterprise is producing drones. It’s all private enterprises, sometimes partnerships,” Kovalchuk told ABC News.

“It costs $1,000 and can destroy a tank that costs $500,000. We are talking about the development of an army of drones,” Kovalchuk said.

Skyeton is one of the most advanced manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Its Raybird reconnaissance drone costs over $1 million and can fly for more than 30 hours at an altitude of over 16,000 feet, relaying real-time high-quality images of enemy positions deep into Russian territory.

Oleksandr Stepura, Skyeton’s founder and chairman, says UAVs need to be able to prioritize and identify targets.

“For us, tanks are not objects for recognition and for impaction. For us, it’s warfare systems, it’s artillery systems, air defense systems from [the] other side. So this is the object we’d like to recognize and destroy,” Stepura said.

The Raybird already has basic artificial intelligence built in, but developers are looking at a new generation that could totally transform warfare, Stepura said.

“[The] era of manned aircraft, in terms of Air Force, completely ended with this war,” Stepura said. “This war showed that to have the person inside of the flying bird, no reason to do that, no sense. The pilot doesn’t have time to think, never. Just milliseconds. And any machine will do that better than people…and faster and more accurately.”

This new army of drones is now taking the war to the heart of Russia in Moscow, showing Putin and Russians that the homeland is no longer immune from the war and that Ukraine has new longer-range drone capabilities.

ABC News obtained an image of the drone used in the latest Moscow attacks – a Bober long-range UAV.

A drone developer with intimate knowledge of this top-secret program agreed to talk to ABC News anonymously.

When asked about the psychological impact of the ability to strike inside Moscow or in Russian territorial waters, the developer said, “It’s very important for us. We showed them that two can play this game. It’s very important to make Russians know that we also have weapons. We also can attack them.”

“The more drones that are produced, the more attacks will be provided,” the developer said.

“My understanding of what the goals are is to have capability to strike all strategic aviation airfields, to push back strategic aviation capable of launching missiles,” the developer said.

It’s not just airfields and aviation, but also warships at sea. A new generation of maritime drones burst onto the scene with two recent attacks.

A Russian warship was struck inside its own territorial waters in July with a drone carrying almost 1,000 pounds of explosives. The following day, there was a strike on an oil tanker supplying Russian troops.

Ukraine did not admit to carrying out these particular strikes, but intelligence officials now tell ABC News that drones are being used to target Russia in the Black Sea.

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(LONDON) — United Nations special envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, has warned the conflict risks “morphing into a full-blown civil war” as fighting intensifies.

Announcing his resignation in a final speech to the UN Security Council, Perthes warned that violence in the North-east African nation has “worsened dramatically,” leaving a “tragic legacy” of human rights abuses.

“Each side is still waiting for the other side to be weakened into surrender. This is futile,” Perthes said on Wednesday.

Perthes – who has headed the UN’s Sudan mission since 2021 – has been declared “persona non grata” since June by authorities in Sudan, the UN saying the move is “not applicable” and contrary to Sudan’s obligations under international law.

“While the situation is relatively calm in the east, tensions have risen amidst ongoing tribal mobilization. And the mobilization by former regime elements advocating for a continuation of the war is of particular concern,” said Perthes. “What started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.”

At least 5,0000 civilians have been killed and 12,000 injured as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group nears five months, numbers of which analysts say are just the tip of the iceberg.

“These are conservative figures, and the actual number is likely much higher,” Perthes said. “Parties have demonstrated blatant disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law.”

Sudan just experienced its “deadliest weekend” since the start of the conflict on April 15 as fighting between warring generals intensifies; two deadly airstrikes rocking the nation’s capital Khartoum, killing at least 49 people.

“The horror of the day was overwhelming. For hours, dozens of bodies lay under sheets in the hospital’s courtyard until their families came to identify their lost loved ones,” said Marie Burton, MSF emergency coordinator in Khartoum. “Even though this war has been going on for nearly five months, the Sudanese volunteers on whom the hospital relies on are still shocked by what they witnessed.”

Sudan’s RSF accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of committing the attacks in a statement, but the Sudanese Armed Forces has denied responsibility.

“There is little doubt who is responsible for what: often indiscriminate aerial bombing is conducted by those who have an air force, which is the SAF. Most of the sexual violence, lootings and killings happen in areas controlled by the RSF,” Perthes said. “Both sides are arbitrarily arresting, detaining and even torturing civilians and there are reports of extrajudicial killings and detentions.”

The United States has said it is “alarmed” by the increase of indiscriminate air and artillery strikes.

“Both parties have instigated unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Sudan,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. “The United States continues to support accountability for perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan.”

According to the International Office of Migration (IOM), over 7.1 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan since the onset of the conflict: the highest of any internally displaced population in the world, including Syria, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least 24.7 million people – roughly half of the nation’s population – are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN. That is hampered by bureaucracy, violence and looting, the UN said.

The leaders of over 50 organizations have penned a letter, published by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, calling for increased aid and attention to the needs of Sudan’s civilians: “The costs of inaction are mounting”

“I have come to know Sudan as a country of tremendous potential, indomitable spirit, cultural richness and diversity,” Perthes said in his final address. “The Sudanese people inspired the whole world when they bravely upended three decades of dictatorial rule in 2019. They need our support more than ever.”

 

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(LONDON) — A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people has been pulled free days after it got stuck off the coast of Greenland, authorities said.

The Joint Arctic Command, which is part of Denmark’s defense forces, announced in a social media post on Thursday that the ship, named the Ocean Explorer, was finally pulled free at high tide in Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The 343-foot long and 60-foot-wide vessel, which is operated by Australia-based cruise company Aurora Expeditions, was traveling toward a remote corner of Greenland on Monday when it ran aground above the Arctic Circle near Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost national park in the world.

Previous attempts to free the stranded ship on Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful.

It was unclear why the vessel ran aground. There were no reports of damage to the ship.

ABC News’ Jon Haworth, Will Gretsky and Emma Ogao contributed to this report.

 

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(LONDON) — Tensions are rising quickly in Lampedusa — a small Italian island located off the coast of Sicily — after local officials said around 6,700 migrants arrived this week, with many asking to be relocated to other European Union countries.

The island, which has been a destination for migrants due to its proximity to Africa, is struggling to keep up with the flow of migrants coming in, with reception centers at full capacity and emergency workers overwhelmed.

At least 120 boats reached the southern Italian shore this week alone, said Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister of Italy and the minister of infrastructure and transport, bringing in a total number of migrants — including 257 minors — that outnumbers the entire population of Italy’s southernmost island.

“We are exhausted, help us. We need people and aid,” said Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Mannino.

Videos shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, show areas of the island overflowing with people, with some even trying to climb walls where they are waiting to be processed.

On Wednesday, a group of migrants that had occupied the Favaloro pier and demanded relocation ended up clashing with the Italian police forces, news outlet Euractive reported, before authorities pushed back and prevented escalation amid threats from the migrants to leave the pier.

After the mayor declared a state of emergency, much of the island mobilized to help the migrants. Churches opened their doors and residents even rescued people from the sea, newspaper Il Corriere reported.

The local government of Sicily, as well as officials in Rome, said they have been working to send aid to relieve the pressure on Lampedusa and transfer migrants to the mainland.

Lampedusa, only 70 miles from Africa, is familiar with similar emergency situations but such numbers are unprecedented and pose a real political threat to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government who promised tighter immigration controls.

Since Jan. 1, around 118,500 sea migrants have landed on Italian shores according to Reuters, a near-record figure that clashes with Meloni’s election campaign pledges.

“The issue of relocation (in other EU countries) is secondary. Very few people have been relocated in recent months. It’s a Linus blanket. The question is not how to unload the problem; it’s how to stop the arrivals in Italy, and I still don’t see any concrete answers,” Meloni said on Italian state TV channel Rai 1.

“Ten years after the Lampedusa tragedy, we still have not done enough,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola admitted during a press point in Brussels, referring to the 2013 migrant shipwreck which caused an estimated 360 deaths. “The solutions cannot be found at the national level, but only at the European level. I think there is no other option but to conclude the migration pact.”

 

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(MARAKECH, Morocco) — The death toll has continued to climb in the wake of the rare and powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco Friday night.

More than 2,900 people are confirmed dead.

The quake, Morocco’s strongest in more than a century, hit the country’s High Atlas mountain range near Marrakech.

Latest headlines:
-Rescuers reach epicenter
-USAID makes up to $1M available for Morocco
-Death toll reaches 2,946

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Sep 13, 4:50 PM EDT
Death toll reaches 2,946

The death toll in Morocco has reached at least 2,946.

Rescuers have been digging in remote areas on Wednesday looking for survivors.

Sep 13, 10:49 AM EDT
USAID makes up to $1M available for Morocco

Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, said Wednesday the agency would make up to $1 million available in initial humanitarian aid for Morocco’s recovery efforts.

“This funding will help organizations on the ground provide emergency food assistance, health services, shelter, and mental health and psychosocial resources to assist the Moroccan-led response,” Power said in a statement. “The United States is also sharing specialized technical expertise directly with the Moroccan government to bolster its ongoing emergency response.”

“We stand ready to provide further support if requested by the Moroccan government,” Power added.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Sep 12, 9:02 AM EDT
Death toll rises to 2,901

The death toll from the devastating earthquake has increased to 2,901.

Another 5,530 people are injured.

Sep 11, 3:40 PM EDT
Moroccan government still not accepting US support

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed Monday that the Moroccan government has still not taken the United States up on its offer to provide support in its earthquake relief despite direct outreach from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken spoke with Morocco’s foreign minister this weekend and expressed his condolences, Miller said.

“They also discussed how the United States can best support the government of Morocco’s leadership of the humanitarian response to the tragedy, and the secretary and the foreign minister pledged to stay in close contact as the response efforts continue,” Miller said.

Asked whether the U.S. was providing any direct aid at the moment, Miller said, “We have made the offer for assistance and are in close consultations with the Moroccan government about how we can best provide that assistance.”

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Sep 11, 3:25 PM EDT
Death toll climbs to 2,862

The death toll from the devastating earthquake now stands at 2,862.

Another 2,562 people are injured.

 

 

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(LONDON) — American caver Mark Dickey said he could tell he was “pretty close to fading” after he fell ill while on an expedition to map a 4,186-foot-deep cave system in southern Turkey.

“There’s not that much that you tell yourself. You kind of just survive,” Dickey recalled during an interview Thursday with ABC News on “Good Morning America.”

The 40-year-old New Jersey native and New York resident was more than 3,400 feet below the surface inside the Morca Cave in the Taurus Mountains on Aug. 31 when he “suddenly became ill with intestinal problems that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a group of volunteers led by Dickey who specialize in cave and mine rescues.

Dickey’s fiancée and fellow caver, Jessica Van Ord, said she had a difficult decision to make — stay by his side to take care of him or go find help. But Van Ord, who is a paramedic, said she “knew immediately” that Dickey had internal bleeding based on his symptoms and recalled giving him “one last hug” before she left.

“I knew we had to get the ball rolling if there was going to be a rescue and to have treatment started,” Van Ord told ABC News in an earlier interview on Wednesday.

Van Ord made the harrowing, hours-long climb to the surface and alerted authorities about Dickey’s predicament on Sept. 2. The call to help him went out from the European Cave Rescue Association that same day and hundreds of aid works from various countries responded.

A rescue team that included medical staff began an evacuation late last week, after Dickey’s condition improved enough to move him. Volunteers had previously worked to clear a path to the surface.

Rescuers carried Dickey on a stretcher out of the cave, resting at planned stops along the way. He was extracted from the cave at around 12:37 a.m. local time on Sept. 12, according to the Turkish Caving Federation, which described the dramatic operation as “successful.”

Dickey said he knew some of the rescuers and that he didn’t doubt they would hoist him to safety.

“Once we started moving, it happened a lot faster than I expected,” he told ABC News. “Man, I was happy to get to the surface and see those stars and smell the fresh air.”

Dickey was subsequently hospitalized in intensive care in the southern port city of Mersin for further examination and observation. He was in stable condition at the time, according to Turkish authorities.

Dickey said he now feels “fantastic” but remains in the hospital in Mersin as doctors continue to conduct tests to determine what caused his illness.

“Every single day, I am getting a little bit stronger,” he told ABC News.

Dickey said he’s “alive because of the rescuers,” whom he called “heroes,” but also credited his fiancée with “initially” saving his life.

“She saved my life, period,” he added. “She is one hell of a woman, one hell of a caver, one hell of a rescuer, one hell of a paramedic.”

 

 

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