summit

EU hails 'leap forward' in ties with Russia's ally Armenia

BY UMBERTO BACCHI

  • Under Pashinyan, Armenia has formally pursued a strategy of what he calls "diversification", in which the landlocked country pursues ties with both Russia and the West.
  • The EU and Armenia laid the groundwork for closer ties at a summit in Yerevan Tuesday, marking another step in the former Soviet nation's cautious pivot away from Russia and towards Brussels.
  • Under Pashinyan, Armenia has formally pursued a strategy of what he calls "diversification", in which the landlocked country pursues ties with both Russia and the West.
The EU and Armenia laid the groundwork for closer ties at a summit in Yerevan Tuesday, marking another step in the former Soviet nation's cautious pivot away from Russia and towards Brussels.
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa held talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the capital, resulting in several deals and pledges.
"With this summit, we take a leap forward in a new level of cooperation," von der Leyen said at the gathering -- the first of its kind.
Relations between Yerevan and its traditional ally Moscow have become strained in recent years, in part because Russian peacekeepers failed to intervene during military conflicts with neighbouring Azerbaijan.
Under Pashinyan, Armenia has formally pursued a strategy of what he calls "diversification", in which the landlocked country pursues ties with both Russia and the West.
But analysts argue that really amounts to a tilt towards Brussels, given the country is currently a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and the Moscow-led CSTO security alliance, although it froze its membership of the latter in 2024.
"If we are accepted into the EU, we will be happy and satisfied," Pashinyan said Tuesday, adding that Yerevan was working towards meeting the bloc's strict membership standards. 
In another sign of its westward turn, the Armenian capital on Monday hosted more than 40 European leaders, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO chief Mark Rutte, for a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC).
The EU summit coincided with a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is home to Europe's largest Armenian community and who received a hearty welcome in Yerevan.
"I believe deeply that Armenia's calling lies in Europe," Macron told a forum in Yerevan Tuesday.
"Europe is the most natural partner for Armenia and the South Caucasus at this period in time," he said.

'Regional hub'

The nation of three million people between Europe and Asia signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with the European Union in 2017, deepening its cooperation in trade and other areas.
Last year, it adopted a law formally declaring its intention to apply for EU membership and is seeking to secure better visa access to the 27-nation bloc for its people.
On Tuesday it signed a "connectivity partnership" to strengthen transport, energy, and digital links with Brussels. 
The EU also urged European firms to invest in the country, underscoring the fresh opportunities created by a peace process with neighbouring Azerbaijan. 
"We have never before heard such a call, such a message," Pashinyan said, noting Armenia was previously seen as "a high-risk destination for investment".
The arch-foes have fought two wars over the Karabakh region in recent years. Azerbaijan finally seized the mountainous territory in a lightning offensive in 2023, ending three decades of rule by Armenian separatists.
A reset in ties was fostered last year by a deal brokered by the United States, which has been playing a larger role in the region, with Vice President JD Vance visiting Armenia earlier this year.
"Armenia sits on the shortest route between Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and Europe and in the past, because of war and geopolitics, this route was closed, but now you are changing this," von der Leyen told Pashinyan.
"Armenia can become a regional hub for new global trade routes, particularly in the crucial area of critical raw materials. And Europe is ready to support you."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared himself "completely calm" about Armenia's overtures to Europe, but also warned that belonging to both the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union was "simply impossible".
In April, the EU established a mission to help Yerevan tackle foreign interference, with Russia suspected of a disinformation push ahead of elections in June.
Opinion polls show most Armenians are in favour of European integration, while support for Russia has plummeted. But many are sceptical about whether joining the EU is realistic and worried about further provoking Moscow.
ub-fpo/ec/sbk

US

Iran warns 'not even started' in Hormuz

BY AFP TEAMS IN TEHRAN, DUBAI, WASHINGTON AND MIAMI

  • Ghalibaf said the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk, but said their "malign presence will diminish", with Tehran vowing not to surrender control of the Hormuz strait.
  • Iran's powerful chief negotiator warned the United States against any further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a spate of attacks risked reigniting the Middle East war.
  • Ghalibaf said the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk, but said their "malign presence will diminish", with Tehran vowing not to surrender control of the Hormuz strait.
Iran's powerful chief negotiator warned the United States against any further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a spate of attacks risked reigniting the Middle East war.
The US military said its Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit six Iranian boats threatening commercial shipping and its forces repelled missile and drones on Monday, while the UAE reported fresh Iranian attacks on its territory. 
Iran's latest warning followed US President Donald Trump announcing a plan to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, before the rivals traded fire as they vie for control of the waterway with duelling maritime blockades.
"We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also the speaker in Iran's parliament, wrote in a post on X.
The war, which erupted more than two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide despite a weeks-long ceasefire.
Ghalibaf said the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk, but said their "malign presence will diminish", with Tehran vowing not to surrender control of the Hormuz strait.
It denied any of its combat ships had been hit in US attacks but accused Washington of killing five civilian passengers on boats.
But despite the clashes under Trump's effort dubbed "Project Freedom", Denmark's freight giant Maersk said on Tuesday that one of its ships had successfully sailed through the Hormuz under US escort.
Iran's military had threatened to attack any US forces that approached or entered the trade route. 

'Direct consequences'

The UAE called Iranian missile and drone attacks including one on an energy facility in Fujairah "a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression", while key US ally Saudi Arabia called Tuesday for efforts "to reach a political solution".
But negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far.
The sharpest escalation since the ceasefire delivered another shock to the global economy, with stocks sinking on Tuesday after crude prices surged a day earlier as the tensions raised fears over the truce, with no sign of a deal to reopen the strait.
Soaring energy costs for consumers due to the war have caused economic pain around the world and created a headache for Trump months before midterm elections.
Washington's European allies are also concerned that the longer the strait remains closed the more their economies will suffer.
"These attacks are unacceptable," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X, adding that "security in the (Gulf) region has direct consequences for Europe". 
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also implored Tehran to "return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage", echoing calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
UAE authorities said four cruise missiles were launched, with three successfully shot down and another falling into the sea.
Iran also fired drones at a tanker affiliated with the UAE's state-owned oil giant ADNOC, they said.
Tehran said it had "no pre-planned programme" to target oil facilities in the UAE, but it blamed Washington's attempt to break Tehran's blockade of the Hormuz strait for its attacks.
"What happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through the forbidden passages of the Strait of Hormuz, and the US military must be held accountable for it," an Iranian military official told state TV.

High alert

An Israeli military official said Monday that the army remained on high alert and was monitoring the situation after the US said it downed the Iranian missiles and drones.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were needed before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is being sought by Washington.
Israeli and Lebanese representatives last month met twice in Washington -- the first such meetings in decades, which came after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, sparking heavy Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.
burs-jfx/ser

fireworks

China fireworks factory explosion kills 26, injures 61

  • Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023, three people were killed after blasts struck residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin.
  • The death toll from a giant explosion at a fireworks factory in central China rose to 26, with 61 more injured, officials said Tuesday.
  • Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023, three people were killed after blasts struck residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin.
The death toll from a giant explosion at a fireworks factory in central China rose to 26, with 61 more injured, officials said Tuesday.
The explosion occurred at around 4:43 pm on Monday at the Liuyang Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Following the blast, all fireworks makers in Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, which administers Liuyang, had been ordered to stop production ahead of safety inspections, CCTV said.
Videos on social media from Monday showed continuous explosions accompanied by a vast cloud of smoke rising high into the air in a rural area surrounded by mountains.
Drone footage from CCTV taken a day later showed a swathe of smouldering debris where buildings had stood, with rescue workers and excavators scouring the rubble.
Smoke continued to rise from some buildings left standing, many of them with their roofs blown off.
Changsha mayor Chen Bozhang told a news conference on Tuesday afternoon that another five people had died since earlier reports that 21 were killed.
"We feel deeply grieved and filled with remorse," Chen said, adding that search and rescue work was "basically complete".
The central government had sent experts to guide rescue efforts, while more than 480 rescuers had been urgently dispatched to the site, according to CCTV.
They had established a 3-kilometre (1.9-mile) control zone around the site and evacuated people nearby.
Police had apprehended the company's management while investigations into the cause of the accident continue, CCTV said.
President Xi Jinping had called for "all-out efforts" to treat the injured, search for missing persons, and for those responsible to be held accountable, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Liuyang is a major fireworks hub, producing around 60 percent of the fireworks sold in China and 70 percent of those exported.
Industrial accidents, including in the fireworks industry, are common in China due to lax safety standards.
Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023, three people were killed after blasts struck residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin.
In February, separate explosions at fireworks shops in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces killed 12 and eight people.
sam/dhw/mtp

China

Taiwan leader says island has 'right to engage with the world'

BY JOY CHIANG

  • "Taiwanese people are people of the world; Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world," Lai told reporters at Taipei's international airport after his flight home on the Eswatini king's plane.
  • Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday the democratic island has the "right to engage with the world", after he returned from a trip to Africa that Taipei has accused Beijing of trying to derail.
  • "Taiwanese people are people of the world; Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world," Lai told reporters at Taipei's international airport after his flight home on the Eswatini king's plane.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday the democratic island has the "right to engage with the world", after he returned from a trip to Africa that Taipei has accused Beijing of trying to derail.
Taiwan said China applied "intense pressure" to Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar to revoke overflight permits for Lai's original trip to Eswatini -- Taipei's only ally in Africa -- which had been scheduled for April 22-26.
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island's participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries.
"Taiwanese people are people of the world; Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world," Lai told reporters at Taipei's international airport after his flight home on the Eswatini king's plane.
Lai flew on the king's aircraft to Eswatini on Saturday.
"We will not shrink back because of suppression," Lai said, flanked by Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla who had flown to Taiwan with him and his delegation.
"Mutual visits between heads of state should be the most ordinary thing, just like when we go out to visit friends, and are a basic right of every country."
The United States slammed China's "intimidation campaign" after Lai's trip was delayed. The remarks were rejected by China's foreign minister as "baseless accusations".
On Saturday, China's foreign ministry accused Lai of making a "stowaway-style escape farce" that made him "an international laughing stock".

'Sanctions'

Eswatini, a small enclave kingdom formerly known as Swaziland, is one of 12 countries that still recognise Taiwan. China has persuaded other nations to break diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island.
Lai had planned to visit Eswatini from April 22 to 26 for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession and his 58th birthday.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung went instead after Lai's trip was postponed.
A Taiwanese security official, who requested anonymity in order to speak to the media, said previously that China had threatened "to revoke substantial debt relief granted to (Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar), halt financing and impose further economic sanctions".
On May 1, China extended a zero-tariff policy to all African countries except Eswatini under a policy announced last year.
Lai's last official overseas trip was in November 2024, when he visited Taiwan's Pacific allies and transited through the US territory of Guam.
Trump's administration reportedly denied Lai permission to transit through New York last year as part of an official trip to Latin America. Taiwan's foreign ministry denied that he was blocked.
joy/amj/ami

culture

Stars shine at Met Gala, fashion's biggest night

BY RAPHAëLLE PELTIER

  • And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.
  • The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style -- led by Beyonce, Madonna and Nicole Kidman -- hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the Manhattan charity ball that doubles as fashion's biggest night.
  • And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.
The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style -- led by Beyonce, Madonna and Nicole Kidman -- hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the Manhattan charity ball that doubles as fashion's biggest night.
The A-listers were asked to dress for the theme "Fashion is Art," which dovetails with the exhibit "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.
And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.
Beyonce, one of the event's co-chairs who was making her first appearance in a decade, was one of the last to arrive, but she did not disappoint, stunning the crowd in a bejeweled skeleton gown topped with a dramatic feather coat and a headpiece.
Her rap mogul husband Jay-Z -- in a tuxedo with tails -- and daughter Blue Ivy Carter, in a white strapless gown and sparkling heels -- joined her.
Earlier, the singer's fellow co-chairs, tennis legend Venus Williams and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, kicked off the proceedings.
Kidman stunned in a shimmering red long-sleeved Chanel column dress with wide feather cuffs, while Williams glistened in a black crystal Swarovski gown with an elaborate neck plate.
From there, the stars kept on coming. Rock royalty Madonna, Cher and Stevie Nicks joined music's new generation of stars in Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat and Tyla.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were hours late, as per usual, making a grand entrance. 
Bad Bunny, who is having a blockbuster 2026 with major Grammy wins and the Super Bowl halftime show under his belt, wore prosthetics and a white wig to explore how he would look as an old man, according to Vogue.
Rapper Doja Cat, one of several members of a gala "host committee," wore a draped latex Saint Laurent gown with a demure neckline -- but slit up to her waist.
Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Anthony Vaccarello and Haider Ackermann were among the many fashion designers on hand for the evening.
Olympic gold medalists Alysa Liu and Eileen Gu -- whose dress had a built-in bubble maker -- led a strong contingent of athletes to the red carpet, along with NFL superstar Russell Wilson and several men's and women's basketball stars.
And actress Blake Lively made a surprise appearance at the gala, just hours after she settled a major court case over her film "It Ends with Us" with her co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
Of course, the entire evening is overseen by Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour -- the ultimate tastemaker in US fashion who has helmed the event for 30 years.
The gala is a fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, and this year has raised a record $42 million (after $31 million in 2025), the museum's CEO Max Hollein told reporters early Monday. 
This year's exhibit juxtaposes elegant fashion looks with paintings and sculpture: think a Saint Laurent design next to Van Gogh's "Irises", or a John Galliano gown for Maison Margiela paired with an antique statue.
"When I think about the show, if there's one word to describe it, I suppose it would be equitability or equivalency, equivalency between artworks," the Costume Institute's curator Andrew Bolton told AFP.
"So there's no hierarchy between sculpture, painting, fashion, photography and no hierarchy between bodies, between the classical body or the disabled body."

'Genuinely care'

This year's function has drawn some controversy after Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos were announced as the lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs of the gala.
In the run-up to Monday, a campaign opposing the billionaire couple's involvement cropped up in New York's streets and subways, with some calling for a boycott of the event some see as a gross display of immense wealth.
At the gala, one person attempted to enter the secure area but was quickly handled by police and event security. Bezos did not walk the carpet. 
Wintour said Monday that the couple had "shown with this event that they genuinely, genuinely care about giving back."
The Met Gala was first organized in 1948 and for decades was reserved for New York high society -- until Wintour transformed the party into a high-profile catwalk for the rich and famous in the 1990s.
The "Costume Art" exhibit, which opens on May 10 at the venerable museum in Manhattan, will seek to explore the "dressed body" in artworks across the centuries.
bur-sst/ksb/lkd/lga

Global Edition

G7 trade ministers set to meet but not discuss latest US tariff threat

BY MARTINE PAUWELS

  • Meanwhile President Donald Trump's threat last Friday that he will hike US tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union will likely addressed separately.
  • G7 trade ministers are set to meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss issues such as critical minerals and small packages but will not directly address the latest US threat to impose additional tariffs on European vehicles.
  • Meanwhile President Donald Trump's threat last Friday that he will hike US tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union will likely addressed separately.
G7 trade ministers are set to meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss issues such as critical minerals and small packages but will not directly address the latest US threat to impose additional tariffs on European vehicles.
The second meeting of trade ministers under the French G7 presidency is taking place as the global economy has been upended by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil normally flows.
Discussion of the repercussions of the Middle East war is expected to dominate an informal session on Tuesday, according to the office of France's junior trade minister Nicolas Forissier. 
Meanwhile President Donald Trump's threat last Friday that he will hike US tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union will likely addressed separately.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is expected to meet with EU Trade Commission Maros Sefcovic in the French capital.
They also have a meeting scheduled with Forissier and French Economy Minister Roland Lescure.
The US and EU struck a deal last summer to cap US tariffs on EU autos and parts at 15 percent, which is lower than the 25-percent duty that Trump imposed on many other trading partners.
In late March, EU lawmakers gave their green light to the bloc's tariff deal with Trump, but with conditions. It must still be approved by member countries.
"Our position for the moment is not to overreact," said Forissier's office.
"We will discuss it among Europeans when the time comes, but in any case not within the framework of the G7," it added.
"This agreement is useful and we must continue to implement it."

Four priorities

On Wednesday the trade ministers of the G7 nations (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States) are expected to discuss the four priorities set by the group's French presidency.
The first is find a collective and effective response to industrial overcapacity that undermines free trade.
Even if the discussion doesn't formally target China, the country's subsidising of certain sectors has created trade tensions for years.
A second priority is economic security, in particular securing and diversifying supplies of critical minerals that are indispensable in producing strategic products such as computer chips, electric vehicle batteries and super magnets. 
France favours creating a system of groups of producing, processing and consuming nations that share a commitment to implementing good practices.

Small parcels, big problem 

The ministers will also touch on the failure in March of the latest round of World Trade Organization negotiations, with the body's role as a trade referee having been paralyzed by the United States for years.
"The goal is for this organization to be better suited to current challenges," Forissier's office said.
The ministers will also discuss cross-border sales via e-commerce sites which have generated huge volumes of small parcels that escaped customs duties and posed unfair competition to local retailers.
The US last year suspended the tariff exemption on small parcels valued at less than $800 and the EU will this summer put in place a flat-rate customs duty on packages valued at under 150 euros.
The summit of G7 heads of state and government is scheduled for June 15 to 17 in the eastern town Evian along the shore of Lake Geneva.
mpa-od/rl/ach/cms

conflict

Trouble in paradise: Colombia tourist jewel plagued by violence

BY DAVID SALAZAR

  • "We are afraid and anxious about the future," Atanasio Moscote, governor of the Kogui Indigenous people, told AFP high up in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park, which the Kogui consider "the heart of the world."
  • With snow-capped mountains sweeping down to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park is one of the jewels in Colombia's tourism crown.
  • "We are afraid and anxious about the future," Atanasio Moscote, governor of the Kogui Indigenous people, told AFP high up in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park, which the Kogui consider "the heart of the world."
With snow-capped mountains sweeping down to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park is one of the jewels in Colombia's tourism crown.
But the picture-postcard views mask a more sinister reality.
Armed groups call the shots in this corner of paradise, holding local businesses to ransom and terrorizing Indigenous communities.
The signing of a peace deal ending a half-century of war between the Colombian state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group in 2016 thrust a country long stalked by drug lords and guerrillas onto the global tourism stage.
Each day thousands of visitors pile into the area to hike through pristine jungle to white-sand beaches or to Colombia's mountaintop Lost City, which predates Peru's Machu Picchu.
Few of them notice the men in camouflage watching from a distance.
These are the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN), a group of former paramilitaries who control cocaine trafficking routes in the region and also illegally mine for gold.
Extortion is also a big revenue spinner for the "Conquistadores," as ACSN members are often dubbed, who demand a percentage of the earnings of hotels, tour bus companies and local Indigenous groups, whose hand-woven hammocks and bags are snapped up by visitors.
"We are afraid and anxious about the future," Atanasio Moscote, governor of the Kogui Indigenous people, told AFP high up in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park, which the Kogui consider "the heart of the world."

Endangered forests, corals

In February, the government closed Tayrona National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site overlooking the Caribbean, for more than two weeks following threats against park rangers, allegedly by the ACSN.
The authorities accused the ACSN of pressuring the Indigenous Wayuu people living in the park to rebel against a clampdown on illegal activities such as logging.
AFP accompanied one of the park rangers on a tour of the reserve, home to the best-preserved dry forest in Colombia and some of its most biodiverse coral reefs.
"Our presence in every corner, in every area, is vital to conserve, maintain and monitor the resources we have," 31-year-old Yeiner Hernandez explained.
Tayrona Park and Sierra Nevada National Park together received more than 873,000 visitors last year.
The influx marks a dramatic change from the 1980s and 1990s, when the region was the scene of brutal fighting between the paramilitaries and the Marxist former FARC rebels.
Ten years after FARC agreed to disarm, the ACSN, founded by a paramilitary leader who was extradited to the United States, holds sway here.
Colombia's biggest drug cartel, the Gulf Clan, has attempted to grab a slice of the action in recent months, triggering clashes with the ACSN.
Indigenous people "who don't speak Spanish, and who live off their crops and their traditional knowledge," are being caught in the middle, Luis Salcedo, governor of the Arhuaco people, who live in the Sierra Nevada, told AFP.

Image problem

Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president in modern times, included the ACSN in his failed policy of trying to negotiate the disarmament of all the country's armed groups.
Four years after he launched his "Paz Total" (total peace) campaign, the ACSN still rules supreme in the Santa Marta area, researcher Norma Vera told AFP.
Extortion has emerged as a key theme in the current campaign to elect a successor to Petro in elections starting May 31.
The Ministry of Defense reports having received more than 46,000 complaints of extortion since 2022.
Omar Garcia, president of the hotel association of the city of Santa Marta, a gateway to the Sierra Nevada, said he was worried about the impact on Colombia's nascent tourism trade.
"Any news affecting the image (of a destination) and visitor safety makes tourists think twice," he said.
das/lv/nn/pnb

Global Edition

'Spreading like wildfire': Fiji grapples with soaring HIV cases

  • That number was as low as 500 in 2014, according to estimates by UNAIDS, which classifies Fiji as having among the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
  • As evening falls in Fiji's capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defence against one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
  • That number was as low as 500 in 2014, according to estimates by UNAIDS, which classifies Fiji as having among the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
As evening falls in Fiji's capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defence against one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
In the South Pacific nation -- a popular tourist destination of just under a million people -- there were over 2,000 new HIV cases recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024.
The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis.
"It's spreading like wildfire," Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested, told AFP.
The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is part of a push to bring testing into neighbourhoods.
Volunteers from the Survival Advocacy Network -- a group supporting sex workers -- and Rainbow Pride Fiji, which works with LGBTQ+ communities, are on hand to speak to those who may be reluctant.
Ana Fofole and her team at Medical Services Pacific, which runs the clinic, hand out condoms as part of their awareness drive and test for syphilis and hepatitis B.
"We don't just turn up anywhere -- we have to do it the right way," says Fofole.
Irinieta Foi, 45, is among those Medical Services Pacific hopes to reach by bringing testing into neighbourhoods.
Foi, who is able to get a result in 15 minutes, says she stumbled upon the clinic.
"I decided, OK, why not?"
Many stay away for fear of returning a positive result, said 28-year-old Ecelina Lalabaluva, who also got tested.

Transit hub for drugs

Clinics like this raise awareness about the blood-borne disease and can help pin down just how many people are living with HIV in Fiji and refer them to treatment.
The number of known cases is around 5,000, according to Renata Ram, country director for Fiji and the Pacific at UNAIDS, who says the crisis has been building for years.
That number was as low as 500 in 2014, according to estimates by UNAIDS, which classifies Fiji as having among the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
Transmission rates began to increase around 2019, when a group of "very high-risk" injecting drug users emerged, primarily in the sex worker community, Ram explained.
"Fiji, like other Pacific islands, for a long time have been transit hubs for drugs from Latin America and Asia destined for Australia and New Zealand," said Virginia Comolli, Pacific programme head at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
The flow of highly addictive drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine to those lucrative markets rose sharply after a lull during the Covid pandemic, she explained.
Those drugs are increasingly seeping into the Pacific's domestic markets -- in part due to foreign criminal syndicates opting to pay their local facilitators in kind, she said.
For those living with the virus, the social stigma can weigh heavy in a country where conservative values largely prevail.

'Wait to die?'

One of the few public faces of the crisis is Mark Lal, who was diagnosed with HIV two years ago.
"In Fiji, whenever the topic of sex comes up, everyone just disperses," says Lal, 24, a gay man who said he is not a drug user.
He originally knew little about HIV and the available treatment.
"When I was diagnosed, the first thing I asked the doctors was: 'What now? Do I just wait to die?'"
On his "Living Positive Fiji" page on Facebook, Lal has fielded questions from more than a hundred people.
Most are aged 17 to 20 and are unsure whether to disclose their HIV status out of fear of discrimination.
"If you come out publicly as someone living with HIV, there's a chance where you might actually not get a good reaction," Lal said.
His own hospital visit for his initial diagnosis left its mark.
"I saw some walking out with fear in their eyes, and I was like: 'I want to change this. I want to help people'."
Fiji has a tough task to rein in case numbers, according to Ram of UNAIDS, who said the country is "15 to 20 years behind" in its HIV efforts.
"A needle-syringe programme is what is very much needed right now."
The government has said it will adopt a plan to prevent the spread of disease through drug injections, but implementation of its programme to provide safe injecting equipment has been delayed.
For Foi, one of the women attending the outreach clinic, the task is simple.
"It's really important for everybody to get tested."
str/oho/aks/djw/fox

US

US-Iran ceasefire on brink as UAE reports attacks

BY AFP TEAMS IN TEHRAN, DUBAI, WASHINGTON AND MIAMI

  • Iran appeared undaunted as it vowed to keep exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil flowed before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
  • A ceasefire between Iran and the United States was teetering Monday as the two countries traded fire over the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the United Arab Emirates reported attacks for the first time since the truce was declared nearly a month ago.
  • Iran appeared undaunted as it vowed to keep exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil flowed before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
A ceasefire between Iran and the United States was teetering Monday as the two countries traded fire over the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the United Arab Emirates reported attacks for the first time since the truce was declared nearly a month ago.
A day after President Donald Trump announced an operation to escort trapped vessels through the strait, Fox News quoted him as threatening that Iran would be "blown off the face of the earth" if it attacks US ships.
Iran appeared undaunted as it vowed to keep exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil flowed before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
A US admiral said US forces sank six small Iranian ships. The Islamic republic on Tuesday denied any combat vessels had been hit, but accused the US of killing civilians on boats.
US forces "attacked two small boats carrying people... they martyred five civilian passengers and must be held accountable for their crime," Iranian state TV posted on Telegram.
The UAE, a close US ally and key Arab partner of Israel, said it came under a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran.
"These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression, posing a direct threat to the state's security, stability, and the safety of its territories," the UAE's foreign ministry said in a statement. 
A strike targeting an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah injured three Indian nationals, UAE authorities said.
Two people were also injured when a residential building was hit in Oman's Bukha along the coastline of the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.

Return to war footing

Oil prices climbed further after the UAE attack, with the benchmark international contract Brent crude for July delivery jumping more than five percent.
The soaring energy costs for consumers since the war have caused economic pain around the world and created a political headache for Trump months before congressional elections.
In Israel, a military official said forces were on high alert.
The UAE ordered all schools to return to remote learning for the rest of the week.
According to the UAE defence ministry, four cruise missiles were launched from Iran, with three successfully shot down and another falling into the water.
Iran also fired drones at a tanker affiliated with its state-owned oil giant ADNOC, UAE authorities said.
A senior Iranian military official did not deny the strikes but said that the Islamic republic had "no pre-planned programme to attack the oil facilities in question".
"What happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through" the Strait of Hormuz, the official said, according to state television.
"The US military must be held accountable for it," the official added.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi -- seen as a moderate in the cleric-run state in which top leaders have been killed by Israel -- said that the clashes in the strait showed there was "no military solution to a political crisis" and pointed to Pakistan's efforts to keep mediating.
"The US should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE. Project Freedom is Project Deadlock," he wrote on X.

US flexes muscle in strait

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- which was open before the war and which Tehran considers a main point of leverage.
On Sunday, Trump announced what he called "Project Freedom" to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, saying it was a humanitarian effort to help their stranded crews.
Much remained unclear about how the plan would operate and how the United States would assist.
US Central Command said Monday that guided-missile destroyers had transited Hormuz and that, as a first step in "Project Freedom", two US-flagged merchant vessels had travelled out of the Gulf.
But Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied the US statement, saying: "No commercial vessels or oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past few hours."
Seoul said on Monday that an "explosion and fire" had struck a South Korean ship in the strait.

Trump plays down impact

Trump had appeared to play down the Iranian strikes, writing on social media that Iran had "taken some shots" but that it caused little damage.
As of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine.
Diplomacy between Washington and Tehran has been deadlocked since the ceasefire, with the United States twice aborting plans for senior officials to attend new talks in Pakistan and Trump voicing doubt about an Iranian proposal.
Another ceasefire has also come under strain, in Lebanon, which Israel has heavily bombed and invaded with ground troops in response to fire into Israel by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
The Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,700 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Hezbollah and Israeli troops clashed in southern Lebanon on Monday, with Israeli troops reporting moderate injuries to two of its soldiers.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a potentially historic encounter which Trump has proposed to take place this month at the White House.
burs/sct/ksb/sjc/cms

energy

'Super El Nino' raises fears for Asia reeling from Middle East conflict

BY SARA HUSSEIN

  • "For countries that are highly dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for oil and gas deliveries and other trade, strained supply will lead to further fuel rationing, demand-side management and a reduction in economic activities... impacting overall GDP growth," she told AFP. The droughts that El Nino can bring to parts of the region also pose a threat to countries that are highly dependent on hydropower, said Dinita Setyawati, senior energy analyst for Asia at the Ember thinktank.
  • Already reeling from the effects of conflict in the Middle East, Asia is now facing the prospect of strong El Nino conditions that could spike energy demand, sap hydropower, and damage crops.
  • "For countries that are highly dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for oil and gas deliveries and other trade, strained supply will lead to further fuel rationing, demand-side management and a reduction in economic activities... impacting overall GDP growth," she told AFP. The droughts that El Nino can bring to parts of the region also pose a threat to countries that are highly dependent on hydropower, said Dinita Setyawati, senior energy analyst for Asia at the Ember thinktank.
Already reeling from the effects of conflict in the Middle East, Asia is now facing the prospect of strong El Nino conditions that could spike energy demand, sap hydropower, and damage crops.
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure, and rainfall patterns.
Last week, the United Nations' weather and climate agency said El Nino conditions could develop as soon as May to July.
The World Meteorological Organization, meanwhile, said early signs indicated the event could be particularly strong, with some dubbing the impending event a "super El Nino", although the term is not used by scientists.
That is not good news for Asia, parts of which are traditionally heavily affected by the heatwaves, drought and heavy rains that El Nino can bring.
The phenomenon essentially shifts traditional weather patterns around, for example moving rain that normally falls over Indonesia out to sea, leaving the country vulnerable to drought and wildfires.
El Nino occurs around every two to seven years and is forecast based on sea temperatures.
"The subsurface anomaly that we're seeing so far is pretty strong," said Peter van Rensch, a climate scientist at Australia's Monash University.
"It does look a little bit like what we saw in the 1997/98 event, and that was probably the strongest El Nino," he told AFP.
There are still plenty of uncertainties, and van Rensch cautioned it was possible an El Nino might not develop at all.

Catastrophic impacts

But the 1997 El Nino brought catastrophic impacts, including extreme drought and devastating wildfires in Indonesia that burned through millions of hectares and created regional air pollution.
Authorities there have already identified peatlands at risk, and warned the country could see its lowest rainfall in 30 years. 
The warnings come with Asia buckling under the strain of an energy supply crunch and fears over shortages of fertiliser and other industrial and agricultural components which pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has effectively closed the strategic waterway since the United States and Israel launched attacks on the country on February 28, disrupting global fuel supplies.
Hotter weather will strain energy grids already experiencing fuel shortages, as populations seek to cool homes and workplaces, warned Haneea Isaad, energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
"For countries that are highly dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for oil and gas deliveries and other trade, strained supply will lead to further fuel rationing, demand-side management and a reduction in economic activities... impacting overall GDP growth," she told AFP.
The droughts that El Nino can bring to parts of the region also pose a threat to countries that are highly dependent on hydropower, said Dinita Setyawati, senior energy analyst for Asia at the Ember thinktank.
"Most ASEAN countries use a lot of hydropower," she warned, highlighting Mekong countries, Nepal, and parts of Malaysia as particularly vulnerable because of their dependence on the sector.
The risks were laid bare in 2022, when a heatwave in China saw hydropower generation in Sichuan fall over 50 percent, creating shortages that impacted households and industry alike.

Agriculture risks

Hotter, drier conditions will also create fresh risks for agriculture, already under pressure as the ongoing conflict raises the costs of fertiliser and fuel needed for farming equipment.
"If crop prices do not rise enough to offset these higher input and shipping costs, producer margins will be squeezed, raising the likelihood of lower fertiliser application and weaker yields," warned BMI, a unit of the Fitch Solutions research company. 
"This would intensify food price inflation and worsen food insecurity, especially in import-dependent and climate-vulnerable markets."
For some parts of Asia, an El Nino can bring bouts of intense rain and provoke flooding, which could impact sectors like southern China's late-season rice harvest, added Isaad.
How climate change affects the emergence and strength of El Ninos is still not well understood.
But research shows climate change itself will bring more frequent intense heatwaves, as well as sudden heavy rainfall that can cause flooding.
So experts said countries across the region should further insulate energy systems against more frequent disruptive weather events by diversifying and greening their grids.
"Solar and wind, coupled with batteries, provide a more resilient infrastructure than a centralised fossil infrastructure," said Setyawati.
sah/sjc/fox

accident

Death toll in Brazil small plane crash rises to three

  • Despite the direct impact, no one inside the building was injured and the structure shows no "apparent risk" of collapse, firefighters said.
  • Three people died and two others were injured Monday after a small plane crashed into a residential building in the major Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
  • Despite the direct impact, no one inside the building was injured and the structure shows no "apparent risk" of collapse, firefighters said.
Three people died and two others were injured Monday after a small plane crashed into a residential building in the major Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
The pilot and copilot died on impact, while three other occupants were rushed to the hospital, the Minas Gerais state fire department said.
One of the injured succumbed to his injuries, while the other two remained hospitalized in stable condition, according to the local hospital foundation.
Despite the direct impact, no one inside the building was injured and the structure shows no "apparent risk" of collapse, firefighters said.
Broadcaster TV Globo's helicopter was in the area captured footage of the aircraft's final moments as it lost altitude, banked left to avoid taller buildings, and then slammed into the three-story building and fell to a parking lot.
Firefighters said it hit the building's stairwell, potentially avoiding more casualties.
"If it had hit the sides of the building, it could have struck an occupied apartment," a fire department officer told the G1 news website.
Images released by firefighters show rescuers helping residents evacuate the building.
According to data from the Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center, Brazil recorded 153 air accidents in 2025, with a death toll of 62.
lg-ll/pnb/sla

health

Passengers stranded on cruise off Cape Verde following suspected virus deaths

  • Cape Verde authorities were on Monday waiting for a green light from the Netherlands and Britain for an air ambulance requested by some people on board the ship, the health ministry said.
  • Passengers and crew desperately hunkered down in isolation on a ship stuck off Cape Verde on Monday, after local authorities barred it from docking following the death of three people in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. 
  • Cape Verde authorities were on Monday waiting for a green light from the Netherlands and Britain for an air ambulance requested by some people on board the ship, the health ministry said.
Passengers and crew desperately hunkered down in isolation on a ship stuck off Cape Verde on Monday, after local authorities barred it from docking following the death of three people in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. 
The island nation's refusal to allow them to disembark came even as WHO Europe said the risk to the wider public remained low.
Passengers from Britain, Spain and the United States, as well as crew from the Philippines, were among the 23 nationalities aboard the MV Hondius, which was carrying 149 people.
Those on board are under "strict precautionary measures", the ship's operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement, including isolation, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
The company has confirmed three deaths among those on the cruise, which was travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde off the coast of west Africa. 
A British passenger was in intensive care in Johannesburg and two crew members -- one British and the other Dutch -- required "urgent medical care", the company said.
"At the present time, there are no other symptomatic people on the ship but this is being carefully monitored," added the WHO's epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, Maria Van Kerkhove.
"Passengers are being asked to stay in their cabins and limit their risk while disinfection and other measures are being taken," she said in a video.
Visibly shaken in what appears to be his cabin, Jake Rosmarin, a passenger who posted regularly about the trip before the health crisis, said that those on board desperately wanted to leave.
"What is happening right now is very real for all of us here", he said on Instagram.
"There is a lot of uncertainty and that's the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home."
Hantavirus, a disease usually transmitted to humans from rodents, has been confirmed in the passenger currently in intensive care in Johannesburg, the operator said.
However, it has not yet been established whether the virus caused the three deaths, it added.

'No contact'

Earlier in the day, Cape Verde's health ministry said "national health authorities decided not to authorise the ship's docking at the Port of Praia".
The decision was meant "to protect the Cape Verdean population", Maria da Luz Lima, head of the National Institute of Public Health, said in a TV interview on Sunday night.
She added that "there would be no contact between the passengers and the country".
Spain's Canary Islands are now under consideration for disembarkation, "where further medical screening and handling could take place", the operator said.
Cape Verde authorities were on Monday waiting for a green light from the Netherlands and Britain for an air ambulance requested by some people on board the ship, the health ministry said.
The first deaths among the passengers were a Dutch couple -- a husband who died on board on April 11 and his wife who died on April 27 after she disembarked the boat in St Helena to accompany his body, the operator said.
On Saturday, a German on board the cruise ship died.

'Acting with urgency'

While Cape Verdean doctors have visited to assess the medical condition of two sick crew members, no permission was given to evacuate them to shore.
Despite the concern, "risk to the wider public remains low", the WHO's director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said in a statement.
"There is no need for panic or travel restrictions," he said.
He added that hantavirus infections were "uncommon and usually linked to exposure to infected rodents".
The WHO said it was "acting with urgency to support the response to the hantavirus event on board a cruise vessel in the Atlantic, following the tragic loss of life".
"WHO Europe is working with the countries involved to support medical care, evacuation, investigations and public health risk assessment."
There has been no confirmation of hantavirus in the two symptomatic people still requiring attention on the ship.
"The exact cause and any possible connection are under investigation," said the ship's operator.
On Sunday, the WHO said one case of hantavirus had been confirmed and that there were "five additional suspected cases".
"While rare, hantavirus may spread between people and can lead to severe respiratory illness," the United Nations health agency said.
"It requires careful patient monitoring, support and response."
burs-cbw-bfm/gil/phz/ach 

newspaper

Pulitzers honor damning coverage of Trump and his policies

  • "We stand for civil discourse and against censorship," said Pulitzer Administrator Marjorie Miller ahead of the announcements, which honored coverage of Trump's immigration crackdown and his enrichment of his allies. 
  • Coverage of the Trump administration dominated the Pulitzer Prizes announced Monday as the prize committee unleashed a searing attack on US President Donald Trump's attempts to limit freedom of reporting.
  • "We stand for civil discourse and against censorship," said Pulitzer Administrator Marjorie Miller ahead of the announcements, which honored coverage of Trump's immigration crackdown and his enrichment of his allies. 
Coverage of the Trump administration dominated the Pulitzer Prizes announced Monday as the prize committee unleashed a searing attack on US President Donald Trump's attempts to limit freedom of reporting.
"We stand for civil discourse and against censorship," said Pulitzer Administrator Marjorie Miller ahead of the announcements, which honored coverage of Trump's immigration crackdown and his enrichment of his allies. 
"Unfortunately, this bears repeating now, as media access to the White House and Pentagon is restricted, free speech is challenged in the streets, and the President of the United States has filed lawsuits for billions of dollars for defamation and malice against multiple print and broadcast media."
The prestigious Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism was awarded to the Washington Post for its in-depth coverage of Trump's "chaotic" efforts to reconstruct the US federal bureaucracy.
"In rich detail" the coverage explored "the human impacts of the cuts and the consequences for the country," Miller said.  
The investigative reporting prize went to The New York Times for its series exposing how Trump "exploited the money-making opportunities that come with power, enriching his family and allies."
Its reporting highlighted how Trump's allies and families benefited from ties with wealthy Gulf monarchies and involvement in cryptocurrency.
In the local reporting category, The Chicago Tribune was honored for its "vivid, muscular prose" reporting how federal immigration agents subjected the midwestern city to a "siege-like incursion" as part of Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants. 
A second prize in that category went to the Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica for an investigation into unscrupulous vehicle towing practices.
Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown received a special citation for her "groundbreaking reporting" in 2017 and 2018 of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"Her 'Perversion of Justice' series, published nearly a decade ago, revealed how prosecutors shielded Epstein from federal sex trafficking charges when he was first accused of abusing young women," Miller said.

'Inventive and revelatory'

The New York Times won the breaking news photography category for Saher Alghorra's  "haunting, sensitive" images showing the "devastation and starvation in Gaza resulting from the war with Israel." 
The Reuters news agency received the nod in the national reporting category for its coverage of Trump's use of executive power and his supporters' influence to "exact vengeance on his foes."
The Associated Press news agency was honored in the international reporting category for its reports on how the US government allowed its country's businesses to sell surveillance technology to China.
The Pulitzer for explanatory reporting went to the San Francisco Chronicle for its series on the aftermath of the LA fires, showing how insurers undervalued properties lost to fires, denied homeowner claims and hampered their efforts to rebuild.
The Reuters news agency scooped the Pulitzer for beat reporting, honoring what the committee called "inventive and revelatory" coverage  of how Meta knowingly exposed users to scams and AI manipulation.   
The Pulitzer for breaking news reporting was awarded to the Minnesota Star Tribune for its coverage of a shooting in a back-to-school mass at a Catholic school that left two children dead and 17 wounded.
The coverage highlighted the prevalence of gun violence in the United States and the limitations of efforts to combat it.
The Pulitzer for feature writing went to Aaron Parsley of Texas Monthly for his account of the Central Texas floods that destroyed his home and killed his nephew.
'Liberation,' by Bess Wohl won in the drama category, while the history Pulitzer went to 'We the People' by Jill Lepore, and the biography prize was awarded to 'Pride and Pleasure,' by Amanda Vaill.
The Pulitzer Prizes are overseen by Columbia University.
gw/sla

accident

Birthday girl, 10, among dead in Colombia monster truck crash

  • Hellen Velarde was attending Sunday's exhibition in the southwestern city of Popayan as a birthday gift when she was crushed by the truck in an incident that caused widespread anger.
  • A Colombian girl celebrating her 10th birthday was among three people crushed to death at a monster truck display when a vehicle veered out of control and plowed into spectators, authorities said Monday.
  • Hellen Velarde was attending Sunday's exhibition in the southwestern city of Popayan as a birthday gift when she was crushed by the truck in an incident that caused widespread anger.
A Colombian girl celebrating her 10th birthday was among three people crushed to death at a monster truck display when a vehicle veered out of control and plowed into spectators, authorities said Monday.
Hellen Velarde was attending Sunday's exhibition in the southwestern city of Popayan as a birthday gift when she was crushed by the truck in an incident that caused widespread anger.
A second girl and a young woman were also killed, local media reported.
Images circulating on social media showed the truck performing a wheelie before swerving off the track and crashing into the barriers separating the public from the track. 
Chaos erupted as spectators attempted to get out of harm's way.
Over 40 people were injured, some seriously, according to the local fire department.
Local media said several children were among the injured.
Hellen's grandfather Miller Velarde said the event had "practically no safety measures," which he called a "crime."
Another of his grandchildren is in intensive care after undergoing surgery for a head injury.
Popayan Mayor Juan Carlos Munoz ordered an investigation into the disaster, saying it "should never have happened."
vd/cb/pnb

car

Two dead as car ploughs into crowd in Germany's Leipzig

BY PIERRICK YVON

  • In 2024, a Christmas market in Magdeburg was targeted by a Saudi man, who drove a car into the crowd, killing six people and injuring more than 300. 
  • A car ploughed into a crowd in the historic centre of the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday, killing two people and injuring several others, authorities said.
  • In 2024, a Christmas market in Magdeburg was targeted by a Saudi man, who drove a car into the crowd, killing six people and injuring more than 300. 
A car ploughed into a crowd in the historic centre of the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday, killing two people and injuring several others, authorities said.
The driver, a 33-year-old German man, was arrested at the scene and officials said his motivation was unclear. 
Germany has been shaken by a series of car-ramming attacks in recent years, including one targeting a Christmas market in 2024 in Magdeburg, and also in Berlin and Munich.
In the latest incident in Leipzig, a Volkswagen Taigo car careered from a major square in the old town down a busy pedestrian zone, travelling hundreds of metres.
Hosam Algaer, a Leipzig resident originally from Libya, told AFP he narrowly avoided being hit by the vehicle before running after it to try and help the injured until the car came to a stop.
"The car braked, it stopped," he said. "There was a woman on top and she ended up under the car, dead. She fell from the roof." 
"Luckily, things were not worse than they were thanks to the screaming," he added. "People understood very quickly that an idiot was driving and they fled."
Michael Kretschmer -- the leader of Saxony state, where Leipzig is located -- said two people were killed, adding that the incident "shakes me to the core". 
"We will do everything in our power to investigate it quickly and fully," he said. "The rule of law will act with all due rigour."
While officials did not draw firm conclusions on his motive, several described the incident as an "Amokfahrt" -- a German term suggesting a rampage driven by some kind of madness.
This kind of act was "often associated with psychological instability," said Armin Schuster, the interior minister in the Saxony state government.
Police said late Monday said there was "no basis on current knowledge" to assume a political or religious motive on the part of the perpetrator.
A 63-year old woman and a 77-year old man, both German citizens, died in the incident, they added.
At least two people were seriously injured and about 20 others were more lightly hurt, according to the fire service.
Police said the car ploughed into people on Grimmaische street, a major pedestrian zone in the old town lined with shops and historic buildings.
The driver stopped of his own accord, they added. 

Series of rammings

TV pictures showed a white vehicle with a badly damaged windshield and hood, and the street cordoned off and surrounded by emergency vehicles.
Police deployed in large numbers in the city, which has a population of around 600,000, along with firefighters, emergency medical personnel and two helicopters. 
Authorities said the driver was being investigated on suspicion of offences including murder and attempted murder. 
He was believed to have acted alone, police said, and there was no ongoing danger in the city.
Leipzig appeared to be coming back to life quickly, with people sitting at outside tables a short distance from where the incident happened, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
Germany has been on high alert for vehicle ramming attacks since December 2016, when an Islamic State group sympathiser ploughed a truck through a Berlin Christmas market.
In 2024, a Christmas market in Magdeburg was targeted by a Saudi man, who drove a car into the crowd, killing six people and injuring more than 300. 
The Saudi man, now on trial, was a psychiatrist who adhered to conspiracy theories, held strongly anti-Islam views and repeatedly expressed his fury at German authorities.
In February 2025, a mother and her daughter were killed and around 30 people injured by the Afghan driver of a vehicle that rammed into a march in Munich. 
The attacks come as sensitivities around migrants have grown in parts of Germany following a large influx of asylum seekers and refugees in 2015. 
Immigration and security have risen up the political agenda in German political debate, helping fuel the rise of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
bur-sr-vbw/

Global Edition

Oil prices jump on Hormuz tensions as US indices retreat from records

  • Oil prices climbed, with the benchmark international contract Brent crude for July delivery jumping more than five percent, after the drone strike in the emirate of Fujairah.
  • Oil prices jumped on Monday after a drone strike sparked a fire at an Emirati energy installation, threatening a fragile US-Iran ceasefire, while US warships entered the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
  • Oil prices climbed, with the benchmark international contract Brent crude for July delivery jumping more than five percent, after the drone strike in the emirate of Fujairah.
Oil prices jumped on Monday after a drone strike sparked a fire at an Emirati energy installation, threatening a fragile US-Iran ceasefire, while US warships entered the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Seoul and Taipei hit record highs as Asian traders joined the rally in tech shares, but US equity indices retreated from record finishes last week.
Oil prices climbed, with the benchmark international contract Brent crude for July delivery jumping more than five percent, after the drone strike in the emirate of Fujairah.
The UAE defense ministry later said Iranian drone and missile attacks were targeting the country.
Earlier, the US Navy said destroyers passed through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a new shipping protection mission announced by US President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Tehran's forces effectively closed the strait, a key route for oil and gas shipments, in response to the US-Israeli military campaign that began on February 28, while Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.
Major US stock indices have forged higher in recent weeks, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending at records Friday, in a surge that has surprised some market watchers given the increase in oil prices.
But Monday proved an occasion for investors to pull back.
Rising tensions in the Middle East "became a very good excuse to take some money off the table," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, characterizing Monday's market movement as profit taking.
While the situation in the Middle East remains concerning "at this point, the market isn't worried about a worst-case scenario unfolding in the Iran war," O'Hare said.
Forecast-beating reports last week from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung reawakened interest in the artificial intelligence sector after the market tumult caused by the US-Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February.
There's "optimism that AI continues to mask the pain elsewhere", said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
This week's earnings calendar includes reports from Disney, Pfizer and McDonald's.
Elsewhere, Seoul surged more than five percent and Taipei jumped more than four percent to hit fresh records.
South Korean chip giant SK hynix was the standout, piling on 12.5 percent, while rival Samsung was up more than five percent. Taiwanese counterpart TSMC was 6.6 percent up.
Paris and Frankfurt ended the day down more than one percent.
Tokyo, Shanghai and London were closed for holidays.

Key figures at around 2015 GMT

West Texas Intermediate (June): UP 4.4 percent at $106.42 a barrel
Brent North Sea Crude (July): UP 5.8 percent to $114.44 a barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 48,941.90 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,200.75 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 25,067.80 (close)
London - FTSE 100: Closed for a holiday
Frankfurt - DAX 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 23,991.27 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.7 percent at 7.976.12 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 26,095.88 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.08 yen from 157.01 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1701 from $1.1721
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3538 from $1.3583
Euro/pound: UP at 86.41 pence from 86.33 pence
bur-jmb/des

Global Edition

India's Modi celebrates 'record' win in opposition-held West Bengal

BY SAILENDRA SIL

  • Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections in April and May where results were also being announced on Monday.
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party swept to victory Monday in key elections in opposition-held West Bengal state, conquering a bastion long held by its adversary.
  • Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections in April and May where results were also being announced on Monday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party swept to victory Monday in key elections in opposition-held West Bengal state, conquering a bastion long held by its adversary.
Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections in April and May where results were also being announced on Monday.
But latest results by the Election Commission of India showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won a landmark 206 out of 294 seats in the legislative assembly, marking its first-ever electoral victory in West Bengal.
The BJP returned to power in the northeastern state of Assam for a third time in a row, and in the small coastal territory of Puducherry, where it was a part of the ruling coalition.
The results should put Modi on a stronger footing while he battles a series of economic and foreign policy challenges, including high unemployment rates and a pending US trade deal, ahead of a general election in 2029.
"The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever," Modi, 75, said on social media. "People's power has prevailed and BJP's politics of good governance has triumphed."
"BJP's record win in West Bengal would not be possible without the efforts and struggles of countless Karyakartas (workers) over generations," Modi said.
Senior party leaders and thousands of supporters celebrated on the streets of the state capital Kolkata, joyously swaying to victory tunes.
The BJP, the ruling party in the national parliament, waged an aggressive campaign to dislodge the powerful regional party of firebrand leader Mamata Banerjee, in power in West Bengal since 2011.
The campaign was marked by protests over the purge of millions of names from voter rolls, billed as removing ineligible voters but which critics said was skewed against marginalised and minority communities.
A visibly agitated Banerjee, 71, alleged that the BJP was in cahoots with the election commission.
"BJP looted more than 100 seats. The Election Commission is the BJP's commission," she told reporters in Kolkata, promising to "bounce back".
Banerjee also lost her own seat of Bhabanipur to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes.

'New face'

Political analyst Sushila Ramaswamy said BJP's victory in West Bengal would consolidate the party's hold in eastern India. 
"It's a tremendous victory," she told AFP.
"It also shows the electoral machinery of the BJP, how effective and how much detailing goes into their election campaign. And it establishes the BJP as the dominant party in the country."
Modi, in his address to BJP members and supporters in Delhi, urged peace and calm across the election zone.
"Today, when the BJP has won, the talk should not be of 'revenge', but of 'change'. Not of fear, but of the future", he said.
In another major electoral shock, veteran politician MK Stalin, chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, lost his seat to an unheralded rival. 
Stalin's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came a distant second behind a debutant party floated by the actor-turned politician C. Joseph Vijay.
Vijay, 51, one of India's most bankable actors, launched his TVK party in 2024 on the plank of youth employment and good governance in Tamil Nadu, a key industrial hub with more than 80 million people.
Results showed that Stalin, 73, had lost in his Kolathur stronghold to TVK's V.S. Babu. 
"This result (in Tamil Nadu) shows that the youth want a new face. It is not just anti-incumbency," political scientist Ramu Manivanan told AFP.
"Vijay as an actor has a large female fan base as a cinema star. All that has influenced the outcome," Manivanan said.
In neighbouring Kerala, an alliance led by the Congress party defeated the Left Democratic Front after two consecutive terms, ending the last remaining Communist-led state government in India.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the people of Kerala for a "truly decisive mandate". 
str-ash-sai/abh/mlm/des

conflict

Colombian guerrillas offer peace talks with Petro successor

  • In an X post on Friday, Petro voiced his willingness to resume negotiations: "If the ELN decides to work with us to dismantle illicit economies, new paths to peace will open up again." 
  • Colombia's largest active guerrilla group said Monday it was open to resuming peace talks with whoever succeeds left-wing President Gustavo Petro in upcoming elections.
  • In an X post on Friday, Petro voiced his willingness to resume negotiations: "If the ELN decides to work with us to dismantle illicit economies, new paths to peace will open up again." 
Colombia's largest active guerrilla group said Monday it was open to resuming peace talks with whoever succeeds left-wing President Gustavo Petro in upcoming elections.
Petro, who will leave office in August following elections starting May 31, has failed to achieve his aim of "total peace," which entails negotiating the disarmament of all armed groups in a country that has endured over six decades of bloodshed.
His government's talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) came to a halt in January 2025 after the group launched an offensive against rival guerrillas in the northeast, killing over 100 people.
In an X post on Friday, Petro voiced his willingness to resume negotiations: "If the ELN decides to work with us to dismantle illicit economies, new paths to peace will open up again." 
But ELN said in a statement Monday it would not deal with Petro again because he had used "treachery to gain military advantages" and forged agreements with his US counterpart Donald Trump to attack Colombian drug-trafficking groups.
ELN did say it was willing to talk with the next government about its "proposal to build a National Agreement" as a path to peace.
Left-leaning Senator Ivan Cepeda, a key architect of Petro's peace strategy, is currently the poll favorite to become the next president.
Cepeda has vowed to continue negotiating with various drug-trafficking factions that rejected a landmark 2016 peace deal between the state and the now-defunct rebel army FARC.
Cepeda is trailed by right-wing candidates Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia, both of whom oppose dialogue with armed groups and have promised a security crackdown instead.
The ELN, the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, funds its activities through drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
das/lv/nn/cc/cb/mjf

sea

Health emergency on the MV Hondius: what we know

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • - The journey - The cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Cape Verde followed an initial March 10-31 return trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula.
  • Three passengers who were cruising the Atlantic Ocean on the MV Hondius have died, with one other person on the trip now in hospital with hantavirus, and two crew ill.
  • - The journey - The cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Cape Verde followed an initial March 10-31 return trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Three passengers who were cruising the Atlantic Ocean on the MV Hondius have died, with one other person on the trip now in hospital with hantavirus, and two crew ill.
Here is look at what we know so far about the ship, its journey, the passengers, the fatalities, the casualties and the likely next steps:

Who is on board?

Including a deceased German passenger, there are 149 people on board, among them 23 different nationalities.
There are 88 passengers, from 15 countries, including 19 from Britain, 17 from the United States 13 from Spain and eight from the Netherlands.
There are 61 crew members, from 12 countries, including 38 from the Philippines, five from Ukraine, five from the Netherlands and four from Britain.

Three fatalities

A Dutch male passenger died on the ship on April 11. The cause of death could not be determined on board. The body was taken off the ship on April 24 in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena.
The wife of the deceased man, also Dutch, accompanied the "repatriation" of the body, said Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's operator.
It said that on April 27, it learned that she had become unwell during the return journey and had later died.
South African health ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale said the woman fell ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital. Mohale said she was 69 and her husband was 70.
"It has not been confirmed that these two deaths are connected to the current medical situation on board," Oceanwide Expeditions said.
On May 2, a German passenger died on the ship. The cause of death has not been established. The body remains on the vessel.

One passenger, two crew ill

On April 27, a British passenger became seriously ill and was medically evacuated to South Africa. Mohale said the passenger was 69.
"This person is currently being treated in the intensive care unit in Johannesburg and is in a critical but stable condition," said Oceanwide Expeditions.
A hantavirus variant has been identified in the patient -- the only confirmed case at this stage.
Two crew members, one British and one Dutch, have acute respiratory symptoms: one mild and one severe.
They require urgent medical attention but remain on board.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that currently there are no other symptomatic people on board.

Hantavirus

Hantaviruses circulate in rodents and can be deadly when transmitted to humans. In the Americas, the disease can cause severe respiratory illness.
Limited human‑to‑human transmission has been documented for only one hantavirus, which is found in South America.
There are no vaccines or specific medications for hantaviruses.

The ship

The Dutch-flagged MV (motor vessel) Hondius was built in 2019 for polar expedition cruising.
Its schedule shows it switches between southern and northern hemisphere summers.
The ship is operated by Dutch cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions.
It was built for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, and can take 57 crew, 13 guides and one doctor.
The ship is 107.6 metres (353 feet) long and 17.6 metres wide, with a top speed of 15 knots.

The journey

The cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Cape Verde followed an initial March 10-31 return trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula.
The ship left Ushuaia on April 1, according to tracking site MarineTraffic.
After visiting islands including South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha, the vessel called at Saint Helena, where the first fatality was taken off the ship on April 24.
It left Britain's Ascension Island on April 27.
The ship is now anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.

What is happening on board?

Strict precautionary measures are in place, including isolation, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
The WHO says passengers are being asked to stay in their cabins while disinfection and other measures are being taken.

Where might the ship go next?

The Cape Verde authorities have said the passengers will not be allowed to disembark in the island country.
The option of sailing on to Las Palmas or Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands is under consideration for disembarkation and further medical screening.
rjm/apo/jhb

health

What is hantavirus, and can it spread between humans?

BY RéBECCA FRASQUET

  • For the cruise ship, there are two possible scenarios: human-to-human transmission or isolated infections before people boarded, for example if they took a trip together.
  • Three people have died after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on board a cruise ship sailing between Argentina and Cape Verde. 
  • For the cruise ship, there are two possible scenarios: human-to-human transmission or isolated infections before people boarded, for example if they took a trip together.
Three people have died after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on board a cruise ship sailing between Argentina and Cape Verde. 
So far, one case of the potentially deadly virus has been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization, which stressed that the risk to the public remains low.
However, the suspected outbreak has raised questions over whether the virus, which is normally spread by contact with rodents, is being transmitted between humans.
Virginie Sauvage, the head of France's National Reference Centre for Hantaviruses, told AFP in an interview that identifying the specific strain will provide crucial insight into what happened on the ship.

How common are hantaviruses?

These viruses are found all over the world, with infections occurring year-round. For example, China, Russia and South Korea report several thousand cases a year.
In the Americas, Finland and France, there are several hundred cases annually.
Only certain strains of hantaviruses found exclusively in rodents -- rats, mice, and voles -- are transmitted to humans.

How dangerous are they?

Hantaviruses are split into two groups: viruses from the old world (Europe, Asia, Africa) and those from the new world (North, Central and South America).
For old world viruses, the mortality rate can be as high as 14 percent. However, in developed nations such as France, fatal cases are extremely rare and mainly affect people with pre-existing health conditions.
Some cases are asymptomatic or limited to body aches, an upset stomach and a mild cough. But rare cases can include kidney problems that can develop into acute but reversible renal failure.
In contrast, the lethality of new world viruses can exceed 40 percent. These cases can rapidly spread to lungs, leading to breathing issues or sometimes heart problems.

What is the treatment?

The faster people receive treatment, the better their prognosis.
Because there is no specific treatment for hantavirus, instead doctors aim to manage the symptoms. 
If the virus severely affects the lungs, oxygen therapy in an intensive care unit may be necessary.
People who work in particular industries, such as forestry or farming, are particularly at risk.
Like any infection, the most at risk are the elderly, those with weaker immune systems, and people with pre-existing health problems.

Is it contagious?

It is still unknown whether this was an outbreak of the Andes virus. This is the only strain for which there are confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, but this required close and prolonged contact -- for example, within a family. 
Humans are mainly infected by inhaling aerosols contaminated by the saliva, droppings or urine of animals or through direct contact with faeces, or via bites or scratches.
For the cruise ship, there are two possible scenarios: human-to-human transmission or isolated infections before people boarded, for example if they took a trip together.

What could sequencing reveal?

Sequencing the virus from an infected passenger on the ship will identify what strain of hantavirus is involved.
Because the ship left from Ushuaia in southern Argentina, the Andes virus is suspected because it circulates there.
However, if it is a different new world strain, for example one called Sin Nombre, which only circulates in North America, contamination in South America can be ruled out. 
If a new world hantavirus is being transmitted between humans on this ship, that would be unprecedented, to my knowledge.
ref/dl/phz