The northern English town of Oldham is used to outsiders exploiting it to “drive an agenda,” local councilor Abdul Wahid said.

But people here never expected to be the focus of Elon Musk, who spent much of early January posting about a historic child abuse scandal that plagued this community and many others across the United Kingdom more than a decade ago.

Oldham, home to a large British Pakistani community, has previously been a flashpoint for race riots, riven by divisions that extremists have sought to take advantage of. Now, it’s in the crosshairs of the far-right again over allegations of a cover-up of child abuse, amplified by the world’s richest man.

While Musk’s attention has seemingly shifted elsewhere – he’s since taken up his position in US President Donald Trump’s administration – in Oldham, those personally impacted by the abuse scandal say they are left with old wounds reopened and fading hopes for change.

Many worry Musk’s words have given new momentum to far-right figures bent on using the historic abuse, which was primarily carried out by groups of men of mainly Pakistani heritage, to stir racial hatred.

Musk’s flurry of messages, posted to his social media platform X, falsely accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of covering up the abuse, called on King Charles III to dissolve parliament and order new elections, and attacked the country’s female safeguarding minister.

Far-right figures capitalized on the firestorm kicked up by the billionaire, with Musk also posting support for the imprisoned, anti-Islam far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson, who is currently serving an 18-months sentence for repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee and who argues multiculturalism in the UK has failed.

While Musk’s comments have been condemned by many British politicians for spreading misinformation, some abuse survivors say they are grateful that Musk has renewed the focus on their plight.

Walker-Roberts, who has waived her right to anonymity, said that Musk’s interest in the scandal has helped to drive the issue of child sexual abuse to the top of the British political agenda.

If she could meet Musk, Walker-Roberts said, she would ask him to “please continue fighting for us and giving us a voice from your platform.”

Despite a burst of new measures and funding announced by the current UK government to tackle child sexual abuse and the institutional failings of the past, Walker-Roberts and others’ calls for a statutory government-led inquiry in Oldham – like previous inquiries that examined historical cases and compelled witnesses to appear – has not been met. Instead, a locally led review has been promised in Oldham and four other locations.

A national inquiry into historic child sexual abuse, including by gangs, concluded in 2022 that there had been “extensive failures by local authorities and police forces to keep pace with the pernicious and changing problem of the sexual exploitation of children by networks.”

Another government-commissioned inquiry in nearby Rotherham found that at least 1,400 children had been abused over a 16-year period by groups of men in the area.

“It’s really hard to justify why anybody would block a public inquiry of this nature (in Oldham),” local councilor Wahid said. “What we want to achieve is to get this dealt with and learn from it and see the back of it.”

Walker-Roberts still lives in the neighborhood where she was abused and believes that children from vulnerable backgrounds are still being groomed. While one of her abusers was jailed, others were never caught. She said that there are still too few safeguards in place to protect them and regularly speaks to community leaders and politicians about her story to raise awareness.

While she’s grateful that Musk’s intervention has thrust the issue of child sexual exploitation back into the spotlight, she worries that her suffering, her story, and her advocacy have now been overshadowed by those seeking to make the conversation about race.

Musk “needs to say that this is about survivors, not about everyone else. Too many people are jumping on this bandwagon,” Walker-Roberts said, noting that the far-right had hijacked the conversation.

“It’s the victims that need the help, not Tommy Robinson or any other political party,” she added.

Others wish Musk had stayed out of the debate altogether.

Nazir Afzal, who was the chief prosecutor in Northwest England from 2011 to 2015, when much of the abuse first came to light, describes Musk’s involvement as “misinformed and dangerous.”

“Unless Mr. Musk starts talking about the real issues, he’s just stirring up a racist pot,” he said.

Afzal, who successfully prosecuted numerous child abuse cases during his tenure, said that the vast majority of recorded child sexual abuse cases in the UK are carried out by White men.

“When you just focus on the brown guy, you’re telling girls: ‘Beware of the brown guy.’ You’re not telling them that they’re 40 times more likely in this country to be abused by a British White guy,” he said, citing the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre)’s most recent data on child sexual abuse in England and Wales that indicates 2% of perpetrators are of Pakistani backgrounds, whereas 88% are White. The dataset represents the three-quarters of cases where ethnicity was recorded.

But those facts are often drowned out by the “grooming gang” scandal, particularly in towns like Oldham, with larger than national average non-White populations and high rates of poverty.

While high-profile convictions in many historic child sex abuse cases have involved gangs of men from Pakistani or other Muslim immigrant backgrounds, recent police figures on group-based child sexual abuse cases indicate that around 7% of suspects self-reported their ethnicity as “Asian” in 2023, which is broadly in line with the national population ethnic breakdown for England and Wales. Still, data is incomplete and not routinely gathered – with only a third of suspects recording their ethnicity for the 2023 data.

The national child abuse inquiry report, published in 2022, made 20 recommendations for combatting child abuse, the first being the need to record better data on both victims and abusers, including their ethnicity.

As the current government, in power since last July, has yet to implement all of the recommendations, some far-right figures have taken advantage of what’s been perceived as ministers dragging their feet on the issue.

In his blizzard of posts on X, Musk wrongly accused Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain.” Starmer, who was Director of Public Prosecutions at the time of the scandal, staunchly defended his record, saying that he had changed “the entire approach” that had stopped victims from being heard, and had “the highest number of child sexual abuse cases being prosecuted on record.”

“Those that are spreading lies and misinformation, as far and as wide as possible – they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves,” Starmer said last month.

That political backdrop is not lost on Oldham’s local councilors.

Like survivor Walker-Roberts, Councilor Brian Hobin welcomed the renewed attention prompted by Musk, but said that “the rhetoric of division, and the rhetoric of trying to pitch us against one another, needs to be taken out of it.”

“I think the excuse of community cohesion in the past has actually exacerbated the matter and made the communities feel as though they’re against each other,” he said. At times, he added, it has felt like everyone is “treading on eggshells” because abuse “could be a very divisive topic, and I think not knowing each other’s cultures is not helping that.”

Wahid, who is of Pakistani descent and represents a majority White ward, also supports Musk’s calls for a statutory Oldham inquiry. But the councilor said discourse around the scandal, amplified by the far-right on social media, had wrongly presented the ethnicities of the grooming gang as the central issue and made local “Muslim and Pakistani communities go on the defensive.”

Wahid said more open discussion was needed, but that South Asian-heritage and White communities realize a united front is key. “It’s not the race, it’s not the religion, and it’s not the culture, but there’s a problem, so we need to get to the (root of the) problem,” he said.

Meanwhile, survivors like Walker-Roberts say they are still waiting for justice and for effective action to be taken against child sex abuse.

“We can’t keep going on year after year… decades on and still get nowhere,” she said.

Scientists in Australia have successfully produced the world’s first kangaroo embryo through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a feat they hailed as a “ground-breaking achievement” that could one day help save endangered species.

The research could be pivotal for Australia’s conservation efforts, given the country’s urgent need to protect its endemic species after having one of the world’s worst extinction records.

Australia has lost at least 33 mammal species since European settlement of the already inhabited continent, according to Australian non-profit Invasive Species Council, a higher rate of extinction than other continent on Earth in recent history.

Scientists at the University of Queensland first assessed how kangaroo eggs and sperm developed in a laboratory, before injecting a single sperm directly into a mature egg, using a technique known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, the university said Thursday.

Andres Gambini, who led the research into the kangaroo embryo, said the technique could be applied to other animals under the threat of extinction.

“Our ultimate goal is to support the preservation of endangered marsupial species like koalas, Tasmanian devils, northern hairy-nosed wombats and Leadbeater’s possums,” he said, referring to mammals that carry their young in pouches and are an iconic feature of Australia’s unusual fauna.

“Access to marsupial tissues is challenging as they are less studied than domestic animals despite being iconic and integral to Australian biodiversity,” he added.

In 2022, the Australian government announced a 10-year plan to eliminate further extinctions, which included efforts to conserve more than 30% of land mass and protect 110 priority species across the country.

More than 2,200 species and ecosystems in Australia are classified as threatened with extinction, according to a 2023 report by non-profit Australian Conservation Foundation.

Panama denied a claim made by the State Department on Wednesday that the Central American nation had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships to transit the country’s famous canal.

“In response to a publication released by the United States Department of State, the Panama Canal Authority, which is authorized to set tolls and other fees for transiting the Canal, reports that it has not made any adjustments to them,” the authority said in a statement, adding that it stood ready to establish a dialogue with the US.

Panama’s statement directly contradicted the State Department’s claim earlier in the evening.

“US government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the US government millions of dollars a year,” the State Department said in a statement posted on X alongside an image of a naval vessel entering the canal’s locks.

Over the past 26 years the US has paid a total of $25.4 million dollars for the transit of warships and submarines, equivalent to less than one million dollars per year, according to a statement from Panama’s embassy in Cuba.

The latest controversy came just days after President Donald Trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal, warning of “powerful” US action in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the Central American country over China’s presence around the vital waterway.

“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

Hours earlier, the diplomatic stir caused by Trump’s repeated and publicly stated desire for the US to retake control of the canal had appeared to ease after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat, met with Panama’s President Raúl Mulino.

Though Mulino told Rubio that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal was not up for debate, he also said he had addressed Washington’s concerns over Beijing’s purported influence.

Panama would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s overseas development initiative, known as the Belt and Road initiative, Mulino said, also suggesting that the deal with Beijing could end early.

The canal was returned to Panama under a 1977 treaty, which allows the US to intervene militarily if the waterway’s operations are disrupted by internal conflict or a foreign power. Today, more cargo than ever runs through the canal than it did during the years of US control.

Since 2000 the canal has been operated by the Panama Canal Authority, whose administrator, deputy administrator and 11-member board are selected by Panama’s government but operate independently.

Panama Ports – part of a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings – operates terminals on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal. So do several other companies.

Hutchinson was first granted the concession over the two ports in 1997 when Panama and the US jointly administered the canal.

The company is publicly traded, not known to be on any US blacklists and their subsidiary Hutchinson Ports is one of the world’s largest port operators, overseeing 53 ports in 24 countries, including for other US allies such as the UK, Australia and Canada. Hutchison also does not control access to the Panama Canal.

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations, after it was captured by rebels following days of fierce fighting with the Congolese army.

Vivian van de Perre, deputy head of the UN mission in DR Congo, said Wednesday that “so far 2,000 bodies have been collected from the Goma streets in recent days, and 900 bodies remain in the morgues of the Goma hospitals.”

“We expect this number to go up,” she told reporters in a video call from the city, which is home to about 2 million people. “There are still many decomposing bodies in certain areas.”

The retrieval of the bodies comes after the rebel coalition, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) – which includes the M23 armed group – announced a ceasefire from Tuesday “in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Kinshasa regime,” referring to DR Congo’s government.

The government on Tuesday described the ceasefire as “false communication,” and heavy fighting has continued to be reported in South Kivu province, the UN said Wednesday.

DR Congo – a country of more than 100 million people – has experienced decades of violence driven by ethnic tensions and fights over access to land and mineral resources, causing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse neighboring Rwanda of backing M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.

Since 2022, M23 – which claims to defend the interests of minority communities including the Tutsi – has waged a renewed rebellion against the Congolese government, occupying a large expanse in North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda.

The province, of which Goma is the capital, is home to rare minerals – including vast deposits of coltan – which is crucial to the production of phones and computers.

Heavy fighting reported

Van de Perre said Wednesday that while the UN hoped the ceasefire would hold, “it appears that is not the case,” with ongoing fighting reported along a main road toward the South Kivu capital of Bukavu.

“In Bukavu, tensions are rising as the M23 moves closer, just 50km north of the city,” Van de Perre told reporters, calling the situation in South Kivu province “particularly concerning.”

Rebel groups appear to continue gaining ground in the mineral-rich eastern region, capturing a town 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Bukavu, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, citing civil society officials and residents.

Van de Perre said the UN is “gravely concerned” at losing Bukavu’s Kavumu airport, which she said is “critical for ongoing civilian and humanitarian use around South Kivu.”

The rebel alliance has emphasized previously it has “no intention of capturing Bukavu or other areas,” where many displaced people from Goma have fled. “However, we reiterate our commitment to protecting and defending the civilian population and our positions,” it said.

Rebels have made a string of territorial acquisitions in recent weeks in the nation’s east and the group’s leader has expressed the intention of capturing more cities, including the national capital Kinshasa.

Kinshasa lies around 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) away from Goma, on the vast country’s western edge.

“We are going to fight until we get to Kinshasa. We have come to Goma to stay; we are not going to withdraw. We are going to move forward from Goma to Bukavu … up to Kinshasa,” he said.

In Goma, Van de Perre said the rebel group is consolidating control over the city and territories of North Kivu that it has already seized.

The Congolese government has not confirmed the rebels’ takeover but acknowledged their presence in Goma. Last week, a new military governor was appointed for North Kivu, which was described by the Congolese military as being “under a state of siege.”

“We remain under occupation (in Goma). The situation is still highly volatile with a persistent risk of escalation,” Van de Perre said Wednesday. “All exit routes from Goma are under their control and the airport, also under M23 control, is closed until further notice.”

“The escalating violence has led to immense human suffering, displacement and a growing humanitarian crisis,” Van de Perre said.

Nearly 2,000 civilians are sheltering at UN peacekeeping bases in Goma, she said.

Australia has introduced strict laws to combat hate crimes, introducing mandatory minimum sentences for a range of terrorism offenses and displaying hate symbols, following a spate of antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

The new laws passed Thursday toughen punishment for hate crimes, including minimum six-year prison sentences for terrorism offenses, and at least 12-month sentences for less serious hate crimes – such as giving a Nazi salute in public.

The legislation also creates new offenses for threatening force or violence against targeted groups and people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion or ethnicity.

The changes were first proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government last year amid an uptick in antisemitic attacks and calls for tougher penalties for offenders.

At the time, the proposed legislation didn’t include mandatory sentencing, which Albanese has previously vehemently opposed.

However, this week the government finally relented following criticism from Albanese’s political opponents that he wasn’t doing enough to combat antisemitism.

The Law Council of Australia said it was “extremely disappointed” that mandatory sentencing had been included.

“Mandatory sentencing laws are arbitrary and limit the individual’s right to a fair trial by preventing judges from imposing a just penalty based on the unique circumstances of each offense and offender,” council president Juliana Warner said in a statement.

Many among Australia’s 117,000-strong Jewish population are anxious after a series of antisemitic attacks in its two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne – including arson attacks on a childcare center and synagogues, as well as swastikas scrawled on buildings and cars.

In late January, authorities said they’d foiled a potential “mass casualty” attack with the discovery of a trailer packed with explosives in northwest Sydney, and “some indications” it was to be used against targets in the Jewish community.

While state and federal investigators have been assigned to special taskforces to make arrests, Jewish leaders have been demanding more action from government officials.

Authorities are investigating more than a dozen “serious allegations” among more than 166 reports of antisemitic attacks received since mid-December, when Special Operation Avalite was formed to address rising antisemitism.

Officers are looking beyond suspects accused of carrying out the crimes, to “overseas actors” who may have paid for their services, the police added.

Shakoofa Khalili was waiting for her husband to return home with bread from the market when she heard their eight-year-old daughter scream from the balcony.

The girl had seen police approach her father in the street outside their safe house in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and ran to confront them.

The family fled Afghanistan in 2022 to escape the Taliban – militant fighters who filled a leadership vacuum left by the withdrawal of the US and its allies after a 20-year war.

Now the family fears they’ll be deported to Afghanistan, following US President Donald Trump’s order to suspend the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), effectively locking out refugees worldwide who had been on a pathway to US resettlement.

Soon after the executive order was signed, Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office drafted a three-stage repatriation plan for “Afghan nationals bound for 3rd country resettlement.”

If they’re not removed by that date, they will be “repatriated to Afghanistan.”

The plan will impact Afghan nationals who fled to Pakistan fearing possible reprisals from the Taliban for their affiliations with the United States and NATO forces.

Khalili is one of them.

For some Afghans, deportation is ‘a death sentence’

While living in Afghanistan, Khalili worked on a child abuse protection program funded by the US Embassy. She hoped to gain a US visa but ended up trapped in Pakistan, with few options to leave.

This time, her daughter’s pleas to police worked, but although the father and child made it back to the safehouse they call home, Khalili’s daughter has not spoken a word since.

“For two days, because of this terrible incident … my daughter fell into a deep silence. She didn’t eat for two days. She talks and screams in her sleep at night,” said Khalili.

Many Afghans who worked for the US but were unable to escape Afghanistan now live in hiding, in fear of their lives. Those in Pakistan are terrified of being killed on their return.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and IOM, the International Organization for Migration, said in a statement Wednesday those forced to return face retribution from the Taliban – especially ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls, journalists, human rights activists, and members of artistic professions.

Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, a leading coalition of resettlement and veteran groups, says 10,000 to 15,000 Afghans are in Pakistan waiting for visas or resettlement in the US.

In a post on X, VanDiver said the pause in the USRAP disproportionately affects Afghan women in Pakistan, leaving them without work, legal protections and without hope.

“Since the fall of Kabul, Afghan women have been systematically erased from public life —banned from education, work, and even basic freedoms for many, USRAP was the only viable path to safety. With the pause, that door has slammed shut,” he said.

It urged countries sponsoring Afghan nationals for resettlement to complete the process quickly, or “the sponsored Afghans will be deported.”

The document also threatens to deport Afghans holding an Afghan Citizen Card, another form of registration for Afghan refugees in Pakistan issued almost a decade ago.

Pakistan wants Afghan refugees to leave

Pakistan is home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations – most of them from Afghanistan. But the country has not always welcomed Afghan refugees, subjecting them to hostile living conditions and threatening deportation over the years.

According to the UNHCR, more than 3 million Afghan refugees, including registered refugees and more than 800,000 undocumented people are living in Pakistan.

Many fled the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. A new generation went to Pakistan in the aftermath of September 11 attacks, ebbing and flowing during the near two decades of conflict that followed.

The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 following the United States’ chaotic withdrawal sparked another wave of some 600,000 refugees.

Pakistan began a fresh crackdown on Afghan refugees in November 2023 to pressure the Taliban to do more to curb militant attacks launched from Afghanistan.

According to the UNHCR, 800,000 Afghan nationals have since left Pakistan.

The crackdown on those who are neither registered with the UNHCR nor awaiting resettlement to a third country is continuing in phases, with thousands of Afghans sheltering in safehouses and slums hoping to resist repatriation to their home country.

According to Khalili “the Taliban views us as enemies, and we face the grim reality of arrest, torture, or death if we are forced back.”

“This suspension (of the visa program) denies us the shelter and protection we were promised, leaving us vulnerable to unimaginable consequences and at the mercy of the Taliban.”