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Scouts’ jamboree attended by Bear Grylls and 4,500 Britons compared to Squid Game | World | News
An event meant to raise spirits, create memories and hone skills has been likened to “Squid Game”, a popular programme depicting a fictional survival game.
Young Scouts taking part in the 25th World Scout Jamboree in SaeManGeum, South Korea, are battling a scorching heatwave and a reported unpreparedness from the organisers, claims of which have plunged many parents into fears for their children’s safety and wellbeing.
The hot weather warning, which was issued in South Korea just as the 12-day event was beginning, also led some online to liken the Scouts meeting to Netflix‘s popular Squid Game, a fictional series in which characters taking part in a series of challenges are physically eliminated when they fail.
Among those mentioning the game on Twitter was social media user and journalist @samkimasia, who said: “What was supposed to be a festival for kids from all over the world turned into an unforgettable squid game of some sort in Korea.”
Another, @yoonyc, wrote: “The 25th World Scout Jamboree should not turn into a squid game.”
A third also quipped on Twitter, while sharing an image of pink Squid Game-style costumes: “Greetings to Scouts from all around the globe, as you arrive at the K-Survival Game.”
The jamboree is being attended by 43,000 people aged between 14 to 17 coming from 158 countries and began just as the local government raised its hot weather warning to its highest level in four years.
With temperatures above 38C (100F) and high humidity, some 700 attendees have suffered heat exhaustion, with 138 people visiting clinics and hospital with heat-related illnesses on Thursday alone.
A Jeonbuk Fire Service official said: “Most of them were experiencing mild symptoms such as headache, dizziness and nausea, and all returned to their campsites.”
Organisers of this year’s event have been accused of not providing enough shelter or water to help people cope with the heat.
Parents of some of the 4,500 British attendees led by adventurer and UK chief Scouts Bear Grylls have also claimed their children were brought outside in the early hours of the morning in a “mosquito-infested field” with no tents, limited food and dirty toilets – despite an emergency alert on the jamboree app urging people to avoid outdoor activities.
One mother claimed to the Telegraph: “Flooding, ambulances everywhere, rubbish, poor sanitation, not enough food, the list is endless. They are trying their hardest to make it work but it’s a disaster waiting to happen. He says the heat is stifling and people are simply not coping as there are not enough areas of shade and they are regularly told to leave the air-conditioned areas.”
On Thursday, South Korea announced it was sending military doctors and nurses to help the youngsters on the site.
Moreover, UK Scouts said in a statement it was moving young people and adult volunteers to hotel accommodation to “alleviate the pressure on the site overall”.
The UK Scouts’ head of media, Simon Carter, who is attending the jamboree, stressed safety was a primary concern and had been adequately addressed, he said: “A bit hot? Yes. Is it a different type of approach to the way you would live at camp in the summer in the UK? Yes. But that is part of the cultural experience.
“Our perspective is you just adapt to the conditions and make sure you do everything you can to keep young people safe.
“If you give young people lots of water to drink, if you encourage them to use the shade provided and you keep out of the sun in the middle three to four hours of the day, and concentrate on stuff in the morning and the evening, it’s perfectly do-able.”
When people think of massive man-made projects, artificial lakes aren’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. Skyscrapers, bridges, and tunnels tend to dominate discussions about amazing engineering. But while these structures often steal the spotlight, there is something fascinating about the world’s largest man-made lake based on surface area.
Created by flooding entire villages and forests, this enormous reservoir completely reshaped the landscape, forcing thousands of people to relocate while generating power and transforming transportation in the region. Lake Volta, located in Ghana, spans a staggering 8,502 square kilometres – about 3.6% of the country’s total land area.
Stretching approximately 250 miles (400km) from north to south, it was formed in the 1960s when the Akosombo Dam was built to harness the power of the Volta River.
The dam generates 912 megawatts of electricity, supplying most of Ghana’s power and even exporting energy to neighbouring countries such as Togo and Benin.
But the creation of the lake came at a significant cost. Entire forests were submerged, and 78,000 people were forced to relocate when 15,000 homes and 740 villages were flooded.
The project aimed to modernise the region and boost fishing, but it also disrupted traditional farming and livelihoods.
Despite these challenges, Lake Volta has become a crucial waterway, providing a cheap transport link between Ghana’s northern savanna and the coast.
One of the lake’s most striking features is its islands. Dodi, Dwarf, and Kporve islands sit within its huge expanse, with Dodi Island attracting tourists for boat cruises.
The lake’s western shore is also home to Digya National Park, a protected area with rich biodiversity.
In addition to tourism and transportation, Lake Volta has become the site of an unusual industry – harvesting submerged timber.
Logging companies extract tropical hardwood from the trees that were swallowed when the lake was created, producing a supply of environmentally sustainable wood without cutting down existing forests.
The Kremlin is jubilant after US President Donald Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin over a ceasefire in Ukraine. A Russian source with knowledge of the call said it went “very well,” CNN reports.
Vladimir Putin‘s envoy Kirill Dmitriev also issued an update on the discussion, hailing it as “historic”. Writing on X, he said: “Under the leadership of President Putin and President Trump, the world has become a much safer place today!”
The conversation between the two leaders began at 2pm. It was earlier reported to be “going well”, according to White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Europe to be “at the negotiating table” for matters relating to the continent’s security during an official visit to Finland today.
Writing on X, he said: “Europe must be at the negotiating table, and everything related to Europe’s security should be decided together with Europe.”
Trump said before the call that he expected to discuss the division of assets and “power plants”, seemingly referencing the Zaporizhzhia plant, seized by Russia in 2022.
Writing on his platform Truth Social yesterday, he said: “Tomorrow morning I will be speaking to President Putin concerning the War in Ukraine. Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.
“Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths from both sides, and it must end NOW. I look very much forward to the call with President Putin.”
He also told reporters on Monday: “It’s a bad situation in Russia, and it’s a bad situation in Ukraine. What’s happening in Ukraine is not good, but we’re going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace. And I think we’ll be able to do it.”
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Ukraine launched a surprise attack in the Belgorod region of Russia, according to reports. The surprise move—with “heavy battles” underway—comes hours before Vladimir Putin is due to speak to Donald Trump on the phone about a war ceasefire. Reports were contradictory about whether Ukrainians had penetrated nearby villages Grafovka, Prilesye and Demidovka, with some reports insisting they had done so. The authorities were urgently evacuating residents from Grafovka village.
“At the moment, there has been no breakthrough of the border; border guards are fighting together with units of the Russian Ministry of Defence,” said war channel Two Majors. But it showed a video of a Ukrainian military vehicle ablaze on the border after a drone strike. Another Telegram report said: “Since the night they began to pull equipment and people to the junction of the Belgorod and Kursk regions. By the morning the enemy’s IMR [combat engineering vehicles] had cleared the passages in Prilesye, Grafovka and Demidovka. And then they went – tanks, quad bikes, infantry. Serious battles are underway.”
The news comes ahead of Trump’s call with Putin, which will occur between 1pm and 3pm UK time. Last night, Trump claimed “many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains” to be discussed. He added that he “very much looked forward to” speaking with Putin.
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