Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said she endured physical abuse, humiliation, and threats of being “gassed in a cage” while detained by Israeli forces after the interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla last month.

She was among 450 activists aboard the flotilla, a humanitarian mission comprising more than 40 vessels seeking to break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and deliver essential supplies — including food, water, and medicine.

Her interview was published by Aftonbladet, a Swedish daily tabloid newspaper, where Thunberg said that she doesn’t want headlines about herself and the torture she says she was subjected to.

Thunberg and other activists from the flotilla shared details about their five-day captivity in Israel and how they were left without help by the Swedish foreign ministry.

“This is not about me or the others from the flotilla. There are thousands of Palestinians, hundreds of whom are children, who are being held without trial right now, and many of them are most likely being tortured,” Aftonbladet quoted Thunberg.

She emphasised that the story is about international solidarity, about people coming together to do the work that governments are not doing.

“And above all, it’s about the people who live in Gaza. This shows that if Israel, with the whole world watching, can treat a well-known, white person with a Swedish passport this way, just imagine what they do to Palestinians behind closed doors.”

After the Israeli military seized her boat, they were taken to the lower deck where they were made to sit in a circle without moving while the boat was taken ashore. Several witnesses interviewed by Aftonbladet describe how the weapons were pointed at their faces.

“It was extremely hot down there. We just sat there. Those who weren’t guarding us walked around the boat, tearing things apart and throwing everything around.”

Thunberg said that she was unaware of what happened to the food, medicine, diapers, and infant formula — the aid for Gaza.

After about 20 hours, they arrived in Ashdod, Israel’s largest industrial port, 40 kilometres south of Tel Aviv. A soldier pointed at Thunberg and said: “You first, come on!” she recounts.

She was not allowed to wear her T-shirt with “Free Palestine” on it and was ordered to change, she explains. She put on an orange one with the text “Decolonize” instead.

Thunberg recounted being dragged to a paved area enclosed by iron fencing — an ordeal that, according to her and several flotilla participants interviewed by Aftonbladet, continued for more than six hours.

She was separated from others and repeatedly assaulted while wrapped in a flag. She said officers tore off her frog-shaped hat, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it in apparent anger.

According to Thunberg, she was then dragged to a corner, facing the wall, where one officer mockingly said: “A special place for a special lady.”

She and other Swedish participants told Aftonbladet that anyone who lifted their head was forced down again.

In the corner where Thunberg sat, officers placed a flag so close that it brushed against her — and each time it did, they shouted at her and kicked her. Eventually, her hands were bound tightly with cable ties as several guards posed for selfies beside her.

Thunberg recounted undergoing repeated interrogations, during which officials pressured her to sign documents admitting she had entered Israel illegally — a claim she refused to acknowledge. After declining, she said her hands were once again bound with cable ties, her eyes blindfolded, and she was placed in a cramped vehicle cell for the night.

“It was freezing cold,” she recalled. “We were only wearing T-shirts.”

According to Thunberg, upon arrival at the detention facility, she was ordered to undress while being filmed and subjected to mocking remarks.

“They handled us roughly; it was all very humiliating,” she said, adding that detainees’ essential medicines — including heart and cancer treatments as well as insulin — were discarded in front of them.

Inside the prison, she described a mural covering an entire wall depicting a bombed Gaza scene with fleeing civilians and the words “The new Gaza” written beside a large Israeli flag.

At one point, around 60 people were put in a small cage outdoors, in the middle of the sun, according to several participants of the flotilla. Most of them did not have enough room to sit down.

“When people fainted, we banged on the cages and asked for a doctor. Then the guards came and said, ‘We’re going to gas you.’ It was standard for them to say that. They held up a gas cylinder and threatened to press it against us.”

At the port, the Swedish detainees were granted only a brief five-minute consultation with a lawyer before being denied further legal access. It was not until Friday that three representatives from the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv were permitted to meet them — in an outdoor holding cage under strict supervision.

According to her, the response was that their job was to listen to them. Then it took two days before the embassy staff showed up again.

Finally, the Swedish group decided, in the presence of the embassy staff, to refuse to return to their cells until they were given water, according to several witnesses that Aftonbladet has spoken to. But then the embassy staff wanted to leave the prison, they claim.

Several participants reported that a female activist became enraged and kicked the trash can where the guards had thrown their water bottles. Bottles spilled onto the floor, and Greta and the others threw themselves on the floor and hurried to open the bottles and drink the water left behind by the guards.

“The embassy staff see this but continue walking anyway.”

On the same day the flotilla participants were freed after five days in detention, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told local media it was “very foolish” to travel to Gaza despite prior warnings.

However, Aftonbladet’s review of emails sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relatives — compared with testimonies given by detainees to embassy officials — suggests the gravity of the situation was downplayed.

The ministry’s description of events at the port, where Greta Thunberg says she was beaten for hours, merely stated: “She reported harsh treatment and said she had been sitting on a hard surface for a long time.”

Three other flotilla members who spoke to Aftonbladet largely corroborated Thunberg’s account, each describing experiences of physical abuse and humiliation. Relatives of the detainees also expressed strong criticism of the Swedish embassy’s response.

DUBAI: Golden Visa holders in the United Arab Emirates will now be able to access consular services that were previously reserved exclusively for Emirati citizens, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Under the newly announced initiative, the UAE government has extended a range of overseas support services to long-term residents holding the 10-year Golden Visa.

Golden Visa holders will now have access to emergency assistance during crises overseas. A dedicated hotline will soon be launched, allowing them to directly contact the ministry for urgent guidance and support.

In cases where a passport is lost, stolen, or damaged abroad, the ministry will issue special travel documents to ensure safe return to the UAE. Officials said the initiative also includes support in evacuation operations and assistance with repatriation or funeral arrangements in case of death abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the expansion reflects the UAE’s commitment to enhancing the welfare of its long-term residents.

U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at China for suspending American soybean imports, calling the move an “economically hostile act” and warning that Washington could retaliate by halting purchases of cooking oil from the world’s second-largest economy.

“We are considering terminating business with China related to cooking oil and other areas of trade as retribution,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.

His online remarks came shortly after a more measured statement to reporters at the White House, where he suggested that ties between Washington and Beijing remained manageable.

“We have a fair relationship with China, and I think it’ll be fine. And if it’s not, that’s okay too,” Trump said.

Trade frictions between the two economic giants have flared once again during Trump’s second presidency, with both sides imposing heavy tariffs at various points.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Beijing of undermining the global economy through sweeping new export restrictions on rare earth materials  a key sector in global technology manufacturing.

Trump, meanwhile, said the U.S. must “be careful with China.”

“I have a great relationship with President Xi (Jinping), but sometimes it gets testy because China likes to take advantage of people,” he said. “When the punches are thrown, you have to put up the blocks.”

On Truth Social, Trump added that China’s halt of soybean imports was already hurting American farmers.

According to U.S. government data, imports of animal fats, greases, and processed oils including used cooking oil  have surged in recent years, largely driven by the nation’s growing production of biomass-based diesel.

China tariff threat

While tensions between Washington and Beijing have de-escalated from their peak, the truce remains shaky.

After Beijing imposed fresh controls on the export of rare earth technologies and items, Trump said he would roll out an additional 100-percent tariff on the country’s goods from November 1.

And US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC separately that this timeline could be accelerated.

“A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer said in the interview, adding that Beijing had “chosen to make this major escalation.”

China is the world’s leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronic and defense industries.

Bessent told the Financial Times: “This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them.”

Last week, Trump also threatened to scrap a planned meeting with Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit starting later this month.

China over the weekend accused the United States of “double standards” after Trump’s threat of further tariffs.

On Tuesday, China said it was ready to “fight to the end” in a trade war with the United States.

China says ‘no winners’ in trade war

China said on Wednesday that trade wars had “no winners”, after US President Donald Trump warned that the United States could stop buying cooking oil from the country.

Trump issued the threat Tuesday after slamming Beijing’s halt of US soybean purchases as an “economically hostile act”.

“We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

While tensions between Washington and Beijing have eased from their peak earlier in the year, a truce struck by the leaders remains shaky.

Beijing imposed fresh controls on the export of rare earth technologies and other items last week, leading Trump to warn Friday that he would roll out an additional 100 percent tariff on the country’s goods from November 1.

China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said trade disputes were “not in the interests of any party” when asked about Trump’s threat on cooking oil, which is used for biofuels including biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.

“The two sides should resolve relevant issues through consultation on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a regular briefing.

“China’s position on China-US economic and trade issues is consistent and clear,” he added.

The United States was the biggest purchaser of Chinese used cooking oil last year, buying 1.27 million tonnes, a rise of more than 50 percent from 2023.

That accounted for more than 40 percent of Chinese exports of the product, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Beijing on Wednesday also defended its latest export controls on rare earths as protecting global security, after the European Union’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the restrictions were unjustified and called for a response.

China is the world’s leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defence industries.

Chinese leaders had “made clear their position” on its latest policies, spokesman Lin said.

Controls were implemented “to better safeguard world peace and regional stability and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation”, he added.