Spain

Three evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship

Spain

Three evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship

BY SANDRO FONSECA WITH LUCIE PEYTERMANN IN DAKAR AND NINA LARSON IN GENEVA

  • The vessel has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when the UN's health agency was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus.
  • Emergency crews on Wednesday evacuated three people from a cruise ship stricken with a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, the UN's health agency said, as experts confirmed a rare strain that can be transmitted between humans.
  • The vessel has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when the UN's health agency was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus.
Emergency crews on Wednesday evacuated three people from a cruise ship stricken with a deadly outbreak of hantavirus, the UN's health agency said, as experts confirmed a rare strain that can be transmitted between humans.
Two crew members and one other person thought to be infected were being taken off the MV Hondius, anchored off Cape Verde, the World Health Organization said. They would be flown to the Netherlands for treatment, it added.
Police officers wearing white hazmat suits waited at the port in the West African country's capital city Praia, as a small red ambulance boat sailed back and forth to the cruise ship.
The vessel has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when the UN's health agency was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus. The rare disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.
Passengers began falling ill a month ago. A Dutch woman died in South Africa on April 26 after having left the cruise following the death of her husband. Two other people are still being treated -- one in Johannesburg and one in the Swiss city of Zurich.
Spain's health minister has said the ship will sail to the Canary Islands once the evacuations have been completed, while the Netherlands said two infectious disease experts were flying out to Cape Verde and to board the vessel for the journey.
The ship, operated by Dutch firm Oceanwide Expeditions, set sail from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 and has been anchored off Cape Verde since Sunday while emergency teams try to deal with a situation.

'Very rare'

Health experts raised concern that a wider outbreak could be on the cards after it emerged that the Dutch woman who died had flown on a commercial plane from the island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg while she was showing symptoms.
Officials are trying to trace people on that flight, which South African-based carrier Airlink said was carrying 82 passengers and six crew.
South Africa's Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that tests had found the Andes strain, the only one that can be passed between humans.
"Such transmission is very rare and only happens due to very close contact between people," the minister said, without specifying which patient the sample had come from.
The Swiss health ministry also confirmed that a passenger from the ship was being treated in hospital in Zurich and had tested positive for the Andes strain.
The ministry stressed that further cases were "unlikely" because transmission only occurs through very close contact.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that three people with suspected hantavirus had now been taken off the ship. He too stressed that "the overall public health risk remains low".

Canaries-bound

Some passengers and crew have been in isolation after Cape Verde authorities barred the ship from docking. The ship is anchored just off the island nation's capital Praia.
WHO representative in Cape Verde Ann Lindstrand told AFP on Wednesday the three people taken from the ship were "stable", adding: "One of the three is asymptomatic."
Spain's health ministry said on Tuesday the ship was due to arrive in the Canaries in "three to four days", adding that the island chain was the closest place with the necessary facilities.
The cruise ship counted 88 passengers and 59 crew members, with 23 nationalities on board, the WHO said.
The Zurich patient brings the number of confirmed hantavirus cases to three, with the WHO already announcing one of the fatalities, and a British passenger currently in intensive care in Johannesburg tested and confirmed.
There are five further suspected cases, the WHO said earlier.
The WHO was trying to work out how hantavirus had appeared on the ship, the first person who died having developed symptoms on April 6.
burs-jxb/jj

US

US pauses guiding ships through Hormuz, cites Iran deal hopes

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN AND DUBAI

  • But progress in talks has largely stalled since a first round of negotiations in Pakistan last month ended without a deal as Tehran maintains its grip on the Hormuz strait, giving it key leverage.
  • President Donald Trump said he was pausing the US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz shortly after it began, citing a chance to seal a deal that would end two months of war with Iran.
  • But progress in talks has largely stalled since a first round of negotiations in Pakistan last month ended without a deal as Tehran maintains its grip on the Hormuz strait, giving it key leverage.
President Donald Trump said he was pausing the US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz shortly after it began, citing a chance to seal a deal that would end two months of war with Iran.
The US leader said Washington's blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place as Tehran kept up its own closure of the vital trade route in response to the US-Israeli war on the country, which has rocked markets and spiked fuel prices.
Trump wrote on social media that the decision to halt his so-called "Project Freedom" a day after it began came after requests from "mediator Pakistan and other countries", saying "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.
"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote late Tuesday.
The decision means more than 22,000 seafarers and 1,500 commercial ships are still waiting to transit the strait, according to US officials.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif -- a key mediator in the Middle East war -- wrote on X that he was "hopeful" the current momentum would bring help bring an end to the conflict with a "lasting agreement."
Trump made the abrupt U-turn as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing for talks on Wednesday, his first trip to Tehran's close ally since the beginning of the war.
According to Iranian state TV, Araghchi told Wang that Tehran would "only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement."
After the talks, Wang called for an end to hostilities and for both countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as possible," his ministry said.
Before the visit, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a vocal China critic, called on Beijing to put pressure on Araghchi to end the blockade of the crucial waterway.
"I hope the Chinese tell him (Araghchi) what he needs to be told, and that is that what you were doing in the straits is causing you to be globally isolated," Rubio said.

Oil tumbles

Trump's tone came hours after Rubio said the US had completed its offensive operations against Iran.
Investors welcomed the decision to pause the ship-guiding plan, with Brent oil price tumbling more than five percent and West Texas Intermediate back below $100 a barrel.
Araghchi was visiting China days before Trump is also scheduled to visit on May 14 and 15 to meet President Xi Jinping -- a trip he had delayed due to the war.
The Iranian minister later held a phone call about the war with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Iranian media said, as back-channel diplomacy to find a solution continues.
But progress in talks has largely stalled since a first round of negotiations in Pakistan last month ended without a deal as Tehran maintains its grip on the Hormuz strait, giving it key leverage.
Despite Rubio's announcement of the end to "Operation Epic Fury", the standoff in the vital waterway has led to claims of attacks by both sides.
Iran fired missiles and drones at US forces on Monday, while Washington said it struck six Iranian boats it accused of threatening commercial shipping.
The United Arab Emirates said it had engaged a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran for the second consecutive day on Tuesday -- an accusation denied by Tehran.
It was the sharpest escalation since a truce took effect on April 8.
A container ship owned by French shipping company CMA CGM was also the "target of an attack" in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the major shipping firm said.

'High alert'

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Washington was "not looking for a fight" over the waterway and downplayed the latest Iranian attacks while warning that any more would be met with a "devastating response".
Washington and Gulf have meanwhile drafted a UN Security Council resolution demanding Tehran halt attacks, disclose the location of mines and end efforts to charge tolls, Rubio said.
The proposed measure would also require Iran to support a humanitarian corridor, with a vote expected in the coming days.
Despite that resolution, Iran's powerful chief negotiator said on Tuesday that Tehran "had not even started yet" in the Hormuz strait.
On another front, Israel's military on Wednesday issued a new evacuation warning for a dozen villages in southern Lebanon.
Israeli bombardment later hit at least two villages including one near a 12-century Crusader-era castle, according to AFP images. 
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in Lebanon.
On Iran, Israel's new air force chief said Tuesday the country was prepared to deploy its entire fleet of fighter jets against Iran if necessary.
Israel's military chief of staff Eyal Zamir also said the country remained "on high alert across all fronts". 
burs-jfx/ser

Guyana

Venezuela to ICJ: Rights to oil-rich region 'inalienable'

BY RICHARD CARTER

  • "Venezuela's historical rights are inalienable and Venezuela is determined to defend them peacefully," Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta told the court.
  • Venezuela's rights to the oil-rich territory of Essequibo are "inalienable", its representative told the top UN court on Wednesday at hearings aimed at resolving a centuries-old border dispute with Guyana.
  • "Venezuela's historical rights are inalienable and Venezuela is determined to defend them peacefully," Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta told the court.
Venezuela's rights to the oil-rich territory of Essequibo are "inalienable", its representative told the top UN court on Wednesday at hearings aimed at resolving a centuries-old border dispute with Guyana.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague is holding a week of hearings between the two countries over the row that has at times threatened to spill over into military action.
"Venezuela's historical rights are inalienable and Venezuela is determined to defend them peacefully," Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta told the court.
The pair have been wrangling over the region since the 1800s, with the dispute intensifying after ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil deposits a decade ago, giving Guyana the largest crude oil reserves per capita in the world.
The Essequibo region comprises more than two thirds of Guyana, which currently administers it.
Neighbouring Venezuela, however, claims the territory, which runs roughly along the western side of an eponymous river over an area of 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 square miles).
ICJ judges have been asked to rule on the validity of the border established between the two countries in 1899 under British colonial rule.
Venezuela argues that the border should be drawn in accordance with a later document from 1966 signed before Guyana gained its independence.
It says that the Essequibo River, located much farther east than the current border, is the natural frontier, as it was in 1777 under Spanish colonial rule.

'Existential' case

In testimony on Monday, Guyana's Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd told judges the case had "an existential quality for Guyana" with more than 70 percent of its territory at stake.
"For the Guyanese people, it is tragic even to think about having our country dismembered by stripping from us a vast majority of our land, together with its people, its history, its traditions and customs, its resources and precious ecology," he said.
Venezuela's Acosta dismissed this argument.
"The characterisation by Guyana of an alleged threat to its territorial integrity or to its sovereign territory constitutes a flagrant misinterpretation. a deliberately misleading presentation of both facts and law," he told judges.
The ICJ, which seeks to resolve disputes between states, will hold hearings until Monday but a ruling is likely to take months if not years.
The court's decisions are binding but it has no power to ensure that they are upheld.
Acosta reiterated Venezuela's stance that the ICJ had no power to rule on the case.
"Our historical experience has taught us that delegating vital matters... to international judicial bodies has been detrimental to our sovereignty and our territorial integrity," he said.
"As a result, Venezuela has never agreed to submit this controversy to the court's jurisdiction."
ric/cw

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Rubio, Lavrov talk Iran, Ukraine - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the Middle East war and the Ukraine conflict, according to the State Department.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - China calls for 'complete' end to war - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for an end to hostilities in the Middle East and for the United States and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as possible", during talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
  • - Rubio, Lavrov talk Iran, Ukraine - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the Middle East war and the Ukraine conflict, according to the State Department.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

China calls for 'complete' end to war

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for an end to hostilities in the Middle East and for the United States and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as possible", during talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
"China considers that a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay, that it is even more unacceptable to restart hostilities, and that continuing to negotiate remains essential," he said, according to a statement from his ministry after the talks.

Oil prices slide

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate briefly dipping below $100 a barrel, extending losses from Tuesday.
The cheaper oil prices provided support to equities, with investors taking their cue from another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, fuelled again by tech firms.

French ship targeted  

French shipping company CMA CGM said one of its vessels, the CMA CGM San Antonio was targeted by an attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. It said some crew were injured and had been evacuated.

Israel warning

Israel's military issued an evacuation warning for a dozen villages in south Lebanon ahead of expected strikes, despite a truce with Lebanon intended to halt fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

US demands action from new Iraq PM

The United States is looking for "concrete actions" by Iraq's next prime minister to distance the state from pro-Iran armed groups before resuming financial and security aid, a senior official said Tuesday after talks between US President Donald Trump and new Iraqi leader Ali al-Zaidi.

Lufthansa warns of risks

Germany's Lufthansa joined airlines warning of the risks from the Middle East war to warned Wednesday of rising risks to the firm's financial performance and potential shortages of jet fuel.
Lufthansa said that it has already locked in the price for about 80 percent of its 2026 fuel supplies, but extra kerosene costs would amount to 1.7 billion euros ($2.0 billion) this year.

US pauses Hormuz escorts

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.
Trump's so-called "Project Freedom" to help vessels leave the strait began on Monday.
But the US leader said on Truth Social that he was now pausing it after a request by mediator Pakistan and other countries, saying that "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.

Rubio, Lavrov talk Iran, Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the Middle East war and the Ukraine conflict, according to the State Department.
Rubio later said that the United States has completed its offensive operations against Iran. "The operation is over -- Epic Fury -- as the president notified Congress. We're done with that stage of it," Rubio told reporters at the White House.
burs-tw/yad

US

US pauses Hormuz escorts, Trump says progress on Iran deal

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN AND DUBAI

  • Despite military clashes in the strait in recent days, Trump said "great progress has been made" towards a deal and that the ship-guiding operation "will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed."
  • The United States will pause escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz barely a day after it began doing so, President Donald Trump said, citing a desire to reach a peace deal with Iran.
  • Despite military clashes in the strait in recent days, Trump said "great progress has been made" towards a deal and that the ship-guiding operation "will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed."
The United States will pause escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz barely a day after it began doing so, President Donald Trump said, citing a desire to reach a peace deal with Iran.
Despite military clashes in the strait in recent days, Trump said "great progress has been made" towards a deal and that the ship-guiding operation "will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed."
The announcement came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had completed its offensive operations against Iran, although he vowed to unleash a "devastating" response to any new attacks by the Iranians on shipping in the narrow waterway.
Despite pausing the ship escorts, Trump said a US blockade of Iranian ports "will remain in full force."
The dispute over shipping through Hormuz as well as Iran's nuclear programme are at the heart of deadlocked talks between Washington and Tehran following two months of war, which began with US-Israeli attacks in late February.
On Monday Iran had fired missiles and drones at US forces, while Washington said it struck six Iranian boats it accused of threatening commercial shipping, in the sharpest escalation since a month-long truce took effect on April 8.

Araghchi in China

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to China on Wednesday where he met his counterpart Wang Yi, Chinese state media reported.
China is a key customer for Iranian oil, defying sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States as Washington seeks to choke off its revenue.
Araghchi's trip comes days before Trump is also scheduled to visit China on May 14 and 15 to meet President Xi Jinping -- a trip he delayed due to the war.
China's Xinhua news agency only said Wang "held talks" with Araghchi, without offering details.
The US military escorts over the last day and a half -- dubbed "Project Freedom" by Trump -- drew Iranian attacks, threatening the fragile ceasefire.
Iran has refused to surrender control of the strait, using it as leverage in the conflict.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday warned of a "firm response" if ships deviated from its approved route through the waterway.
Rubio accused Iran of "holding the world's economy hostage" through threats to shipping and the laying of sea mines, and said Washington and Gulf allies had drafted a UN Security Council resolution demanding Tehran halt attacks and disclose the location of mines.
The proposed measure would also require Iran to end efforts to charge tolls in the strait and support a humanitarian corridor, with a vote expected in the coming days, Rubio said.

'Maximum pressure'

Trump urged Iran to "do the smart thing" and make a deal, saying he did not want to kill more Iranians.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran remained open to dialogue, but rejected US "maximum pressure" demands as "impossible."
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the United States was "not looking for a fight" but warned that any more Iranian attacks would face "overwhelming and devastating" force.
Israel's air force chief Omer Tischler also said the military was ready to "deploy the entire air force eastward if required." 
For a second day in a row, the United Arab Emirates, a key US ally in the Gulf, said it was intercepting missiles and drones from Iran on Tuesday, but the claim was "categorically" denied by Iran.
"The armed forces... did not launch any missile or drone operation," Iran's military command said.
The war has battered the global economy despite the ceasefire reached last month.
Oil prices extended losses on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate briefly dipping below $100 a barrel.
pnb/hol/axn/ser

US

Fresh UAE attacks blamed on Iran draw new reality in the Gulf

BY SAHAR AL-ATTAR AND AYA ISKANDARANI

  • "This might become a new reality where every now and then we have a few alerts," the executive told AFP, warning the economy depended on stability and the perception of safety.
  • Hours after the UAE's top oil executive said the country had "emerged stronger" from war and as thousands attended an Abu Dhabi summit to boost the local economy, phones across the country were alerting that missiles were incoming.
  • "This might become a new reality where every now and then we have a few alerts," the executive told AFP, warning the economy depended on stability and the perception of safety.
Hours after the UAE's top oil executive said the country had "emerged stronger" from war and as thousands attended an Abu Dhabi summit to boost the local economy, phones across the country were alerting that missiles were incoming.
The first attacks since a truce came into effect last month were a stark reminder of its fragility, dampening hopes of a quick return to normality, even as Iran categorically denied on Tuesday that it was behind the new offensive.
The attacks have imposed a new reality in the Gulf: should fighting resume between the United States and Iran, the UAE would be the one to pay, analysts told AFP.

'Not again'

The new attacks on Monday, which the UAE blamed on Iran, pushed schools to revert to remote learning, having resumed in-person classes roughly two weeks earlier.
In the weeks preceding the attacks, residents had trickled back to the UAE, where 90 percent of the population are foreigners, with beachgoers returning to the iconic man-made Palm while Dubai restaurants returned to life.
One executive at a food and beverage company told AFP they were in a meeting to discuss raising salaries following war-driven cuts, when phones began ringing.
"We literally just slammed our faces into our hands and sat in silence for a solid minute," they told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
"There was an overall feeling of... exhaustion, of disbelief that this might start again," they said.
Iran targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, hitting US assets but also energy and civilian infrastructure and even landmarks.
Despite the UAE's very high interception rate, the attacks broke the aura of stability that the Gulf had long enjoyed and sent tourists fleeing during peak season.

New reality

The threat of renewed strikes now looms over the region's wider economy, not just oil and gas, threatening diversification ambitions in the Gulf.
"The UAE non-oil private sector signalled a further loss of momentum in April, with operating conditions showing their weakest performance for more than five years," warned David Owen, a senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
For weeks, Gulf states have been stuck between war and peace as talks stall and the vital Strait of Hormuz remains all but closed.
"This might become a new reality where every now and then we have a few alerts," the executive told AFP, warning the economy depended on stability and the perception of safety.
Speaking about Iran, Emirati political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla said: "Whenever they are angry against America or Israel or anything, they could, they will shoot at us and probably we are their prime target."

Why the UAE?

The UAE is a top US ally and an Arab country with ties to Israel, making it a prime target for Iran, said HA Hellyer, Middle East expert at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
Its diversified economy means Iranian attacks have additional repercussions, while proximity to Iran makes it an easier drone target than Israel, he said.
Iran may also single out the UAE to attempt "to further drive a wedge between Gulf countries", compounding an Emirati-Saudi rift that broke out publicly in December over Yemen.
The Gulf's two biggest economies are divided over the war and on Iran. The UAE has had a more hawkish stance and expressed maximalist demands for any deal, while Saudi Arabia has supported mediator Pakistan's efforts.
The attacks attributed to Iran raise "the risk of Emirati retaliation; Abu Dhabi has signalled it will consolidate further US and Israel ties", Hellyer said.
In contrast, Riyadh has increasingly grown to see Israel as a major threat since normalisation talks fell through following the outbreak of the Gaza war.
Riyadh, which has sustained fewer Iranian attacks than its neighbour, "regards the risks of action as being greater than the risks of inaction and the Emiratis view it in the opposite direction", Hellyer said.
aya-saa/dcp/amj/phz/ser

religion

Hegseth's church brings its Christian nationalism to Washington

BY VICTORIA LAVELLE

  • "Pete Hegseth is kind of the poster boy for this militant Christianity and militant patriarchy," said Calvin University history professor Kristin du Mez.
  • Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth invited Christian nationalist pastor Doug Wilson, who opposes a woman's right to vote, to preach at the Defense Department earlier this year.
  • "Pete Hegseth is kind of the poster boy for this militant Christianity and militant patriarchy," said Calvin University history professor Kristin du Mez.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth invited Christian nationalist pastor Doug Wilson, who opposes a woman's right to vote, to preach at the Defense Department earlier this year.
Six months before, Hegseth attended the first service of a new church set up in Washington by Wilson's small Idaho-based denomination, called the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).
The network of about 160 congregations around the world, of which Hegseth is a member, holds deeply conservative, patriarchal views about family, society and the role of religion in politics.
Among them: Women should submit to their husbands and America was founded as a Christian nation -- a concept most scholars reject.
The new congregation, Christ Church Washington, located close to Congress, started a few months after President Donald Trump's second inauguration.
"We knew that there would be people who would be interested in the kind of theological vision and cultural vision that we are putting forward," Joe Rigney, a CREC pastor who has preached there several times, told AFP.
"While our nation was founded as a Christian nation, one that acknowledged that God was over everything, we drifted from that.
"Our effort is to go to DC and to remind anybody who will listen from top to bottom -- from cabinet secretaries and senators down to baristas and housewives -- that Jesus is Lord," he said.

'Poster boy'

Hegseth, a former Fox News host who sports a tattoo of the Crusader rallying cry "Deus Vult" -- "God wills it" -- on his bicep, has given Wilson's network and the Christian nationalism it embraces greater visibility.
This ideology, which seeks to fuse American and Christian identities, has been around for decades, but it has gained ground during Trump's administrations.
Hegseth, who has shared videos featuring Wilson and wrote a book titled "American Crusade," has incorporated overtly religious language into his public statements.
"Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation," he prayed in a March service at the Pentagon soon after the war with Iran began.
"Pete Hegseth is kind of the poster boy for this militant Christianity and militant patriarchy," said Calvin University history professor Kristin du Mez.
Planting a church in Washington is key to Wilson's goal of converting the American capital from a "Babylon" -- a city often used in the Bible to symbolize pride and idolatry -- into a "New Jerusalem," according to his blogpost.
Long considered a fringe figure even among evangelical Christians -- among Trump's staunchest backers -- Wilson has gradually been moving "into the mainstream," said du Mez.

 A Christian nation?

Most scholars and historians reject the notion that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, pointing to a lack of references to Jesus or Christianity in the Constitution or other founding documents.
That belief is "very much a projection of their own interpretation of Christianity," said Sam Perry, a professor at Baylor University who has followed CREC closely.
Perry and other experts also say that the Constitution's First Amendment, which bars Congress from establishing any state religion and guarantees religious freedom, ensures the separation of church and state.
Wilson regularly shares his opinion about politics and current events in his blog posts, debating whether the war in Iran is a "just war" and expressing opposition to the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. 
Instead, he believes that heads of households -- typically men -- should vote for the family.
In the eyes of CREC, significant political victories include the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which enshrined the constitutional right to abortion, Rigney said.
Rigney also said they are praying for the reversal of the Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage.
Another priority would be immigration, which is one of the reasons why America has "drifted away from our Christian roots," he added.
Christian nationalists had some influence under former president Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, but they were not taken as seriously as they are today, said Julie Ingersoll, a religion professor at the University of North Florida.
Recently, "the rhetoric is getting more virulent in public," she said.
As for Christ Church Washington, Rigney said that his community wants a sustainable presence, independent of "election cycles." 
"If the administration changes, how does that impact the church?" he said. "We're not sure yet. We'll have to wait and see.
vla/ev/mjf/bgs

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • Iran's Fars news agency earlier said Araghchi would "discuss bilateral relations and regional and international developments with his Chinese counterpart".
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Iranian foreign minister in Beijing - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met China's top diplomat Wang Yi for talks in Beijing on Wednesday, China's Xinhua news agency reported, without giving details on the discussion.
  • Iran's Fars news agency earlier said Araghchi would "discuss bilateral relations and regional and international developments with his Chinese counterpart".
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Iranian foreign minister in Beijing

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met China's top diplomat Wang Yi for talks in Beijing on Wednesday, China's Xinhua news agency reported, without giving details on the discussion.
Iran's Fars news agency earlier said Araghchi would "discuss bilateral relations and regional and international developments with his Chinese counterpart".

Oil prices slide

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate briefly dipping below $100 a barrel, extending losses from Tuesday.
The cheaper oil prices provided support to equities, with investors taking their cue from another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, fuelled again by tech firms.

US pauses Hormuz escorts

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.
Trump's so-called "Project Freedom" to help vessels leave the strait began on Monday.
But the US leader said on Truth Social that he was now pausing it after a request by mediator Pakistan and other countries, saying that "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.

Cargo vessel struck in Hormuz

A cargo vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in a statement.
"A verified source reported a cargo vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile," in the strategic waterway, the agency said, adding that the incident was reported around 1830 GMT on Tuesday.
The environmental impact of the strike is unknown and an investigation is underway.

Rubio, Lavrov talk Iran, Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department, on a day of deadly Russian attacks in cities across Ukraine.
The diplomats discussed the war in Ukraine as well as Iran.

US says offensive stage of war is 'over'

The United States has completed its offensive operations against Iran, Rubio said Tuesday, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire.
"The operation is over -- Epic Fury -- as the president notified Congress. We're done with that stage of it," Rubio told reporters at the White House.

Iran denies attacking UAE

Iran's military denied launching any attacks on the United Arab Emirates in recent days, after the Gulf country accused Tehran of launching drone and missile barrages against it.

US vows tough response in Hormuz

US forces are ready to resume combat operations against Iran if ordered, Washington's top military officer said as the Pentagon threatened a "devastating" response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Hormuz Strait.
The warnings came after Iran's powerful chief negotiator said Tehran "had not even started yet", after a spate of attacks in the crucial trade route by both sides on Monday threatened to reignite the Middle East war.

Trump urges Iran to 'do the smart thing'

Trump urged Iran to "do the smart thing" and make a deal to end the war, saying -- even as a ceasefire teetered -- that he did not want to kill more Iranians.
"They should do the smart thing, because we don't want to go in and kill people. Really don't," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Iran. "I don't want to, it's too tough."

Zelensky offers Bahrain help

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been offering his country's know-how fighting Russian- and Iranian-made drones to Middle Eastern nations, offered to help Bahrain in his latest visit to the region.
"Ukraine is ready to share (its) security expertise with Bahrain and help strengthen the protection of life," Zelensky said in a statement online after meeting King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Calls for de-escalation

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would speak with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian later Tuesday, as world leaders pressure Iran to negotiate an end to the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz implored Iran to "return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage", echoing calls from Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Iran-FIFA meet

FIFA has invited the Iranian football federation (FFIRI) to its headquarters for talks over the country's participation at this year's World Cup, a source told AFP.
Iran's presence at the tournament, held in the United States, Canada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the war erupted.

Maersk sails through Hormuz

Denmark's freight giant Maersk said one of its ships had sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under US escort, adding the transit was completed "without incident".
burs-hol/mtp

media

100 years on Earth: Iconic naturalist Attenborough marks century

BY CAROLINE TAIX

  • In 2006, he added his voice to those raising the alarm on climate change and biodiversity loss.
  • David Attenborough, a leading voice on climate change and biodiversity loss whose landmark documentaries transformed popular understanding of the natural world for a global audience, marks his 100th birthday on Friday.
  • In 2006, he added his voice to those raising the alarm on climate change and biodiversity loss.
David Attenborough, a leading voice on climate change and biodiversity loss whose landmark documentaries transformed popular understanding of the natural world for a global audience, marks his 100th birthday on Friday.
Attenborough's natural history series, such as "Life on Earth", in which he had a famous encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, have brought the most remote corners of the planet into living rooms worldwide.
"He's taken us all to places that we would never otherwise go. That's a huge gift," botanist Sandra Knapp, director of research at London's Natural History Museum, told AFP.
The BBC is leading the celebration of the Briton's centenary with a full week of programming dedicated to his life.
Classic episodes of series including "Planet Earth II" and "Blue Planet II" are being reshown along with others such as "Life in the Freezer" and "Paradise Birds" available on the BBC's iPlayer service.
The centrepiece will be a 90-minute live show on his birthday from London's Royal Albert Hall.
Knapp said Attenborough's programmes had "expanded people's horizons" and been an inspiration to many.
Jean-Baptiste Gouyon, professor of science communication at University College London (UCL), said Attenborough had made natural history as popular as football.
Attenborough's programmes succeeded in instilling in the public an unparallelled passion and wonder for the natural world, said Gouyon.
Attenborough's lifelong passion for the natural world began as child, and he went on to study geology and zoology at university.
Prince William, heir to the UK throne, has described him as a "national treasure". Attenborough was also a firm favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who knighted him in 1985.
Showing Attenborough's cross-generational appeal, US singer-songwriter Billie Eilish has praised his "deep love and knowledge of our planet", adding: "The animal kingdom brings out the childlike curiosity within us all."

Mountain gorillas

Attenborough has often reflected on his "luck" in being able to "find and film rare creatures that few outsiders have seen in the wild".
And he has said he has been able "to gaze on some of the most marvellous spectacles that the wild places of the world have to offer".
In 2006, he added his voice to those raising the alarm on climate change and biodiversity loss.
He declared himself "no longer sceptical" about the issue, having waited for conclusive proof that humanity was changing the climate.
Attenborough's broadcasting career spanning nearly eight decades has been closely associated with the BBC, which he joined in the early 1950s.
"Life on Earth", released in 1979, has alone been watched by 500 million people worldwide, while dozens of documentaries and associated books have made him a household name.
Recalling the series' highlight, when he unexpectedly found himself up close with a group of mountain gorillas, Attenborough described the experience as "bliss" and "extraordinary".
"I was simply transported," he said ahead of his centenary, reliving how the adult female twisted his head and looked straight into his eyes and her two youngsters sat on him as the cameras rolled.

'Modern colonialism'

Still making documentaries well into his nineties, he used his 2025 film "Ocean" to condemn the industrial fishing methods of wealthy nations, which he called "modern colonialism at sea".
Despite his fame, the broadcaster -- whose brother was the late actor and film director Richard Attenborough -- has always refused to be seen as a celebrity.
Gouyon said Attenborough always made sure to direct the viewer's gaze back to the subject matter.
On the threat to the natural world, Attenborough has said he hopes humanity will be able to change course.
"Perhaps the fact that the people most affected by climate change are no longer some imagined future generation, but young people alive today... will give us the impetus we need to rewrite our story, to turn this tragedy into a triumph," he said at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow in 2021.
"We are, after all, the greatest problem-solvers to have ever existed on Earth," he said.
At 100, Attenborough no longer wanders the world's jungles and deserts.
But he has continued to tell the story of the planet closer to home.
In "Wild London", broadcast in early 2026, he marvels at the wildlife of the British capital, his birthplace, from foxes and beavers to hedgehogs and harvest mice.
After all his travels, he has confided that his favourite place remains Richmond, an affluent and leafy suburb in southwest London.
He has lived in the riverside town for many years, and still resides in the family home he shared with his late wife Jane and their two children.
ctx-har/jkb/jhb

Bondi

Bondi Beach mass shooting accused faces 19 extra charges

  • Court records showed he is now facing 19 additional charges, including multiple counts of shooting with intent to murder, wounding with intent to murder, and discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.
  • A man accused of murdering 15 people in an antisemitic mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach is facing a raft of fresh charges, court records released Wednesday showed. 
  • Court records showed he is now facing 19 additional charges, including multiple counts of shooting with intent to murder, wounding with intent to murder, and discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.
A man accused of murdering 15 people in an antisemitic mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach is facing a raft of fresh charges, court records released Wednesday showed. 
Naveed Akram is accused of opening fire as families thronged Bondi Beach for a Hanukkah celebration in December. 
The 24-year-old has already been charged with dozens of serious crimes, including 15 murders and committing an act of terrorism.
Court records showed he is now facing 19 additional charges, including multiple counts of shooting with intent to murder, wounding with intent to murder, and discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.
Akram, who is being held in a high-security prison, is yet to indicate how he will plead.  
His father and alleged co-conspirator Sajid, 50, was shot and killed by police during the assault. 
The charges were released after a sweeping inquiry opened public hearings into Australia's deadliest mass shooting for 30 years.
"The sharp spike of antisemitism that we have witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other Western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East," inquiry chief Virginia Bell said in opening remarks earlier this week.
"It's important that people understand how quickly those events can prompt ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they are Jews."
The mass shooting has sparked national soul-searching about antisemitism and widespread anger over the failure to shield Jewish Australians from harm.
Australia announced a suite of gun law reforms following the shootings, including a nationwide gun buyback scheme.

'Meticulously planned'

The buyback scheme has since stalled as the federal government struggles to convince Australia's states and territories to sign on.
Naveed Akram was flagged by Australia's intelligence agency in 2019, but he slipped off the radar after it decided that he posed no imminent threat.
Police documents released following the attack said he and his father had carried out "firearms training" in what was believed to be the New South Wales countryside prior to the shooting.
They said the suspects "meticulously planned" the attack for months, releasing pictures showing them firing shotguns and moving in what they described as a "tactical manner".
The pair also recorded a video in October railing against "Zionists" while sitting in front of a flag of the Islamic State jihadist group and detailing their motivations for the attack, police said.
sft/djw/tc

conflict

Ukraine reports strike as Kyiv's ceasefire due to begin

BY STANISLAV DOSHCHITSYN

  • Moscow and Kyiv each announced unilateral ceasefires over different dates this week, with Russia demanding a pause to coincide with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9.
  • The unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv was due to take effect on Wednesday, but Ukraine accused Russia of new strikes just hours after attacks killed at least 28 people in cities across the war-battered nation.
  • Moscow and Kyiv each announced unilateral ceasefires over different dates this week, with Russia demanding a pause to coincide with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9.
The unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv was due to take effect on Wednesday, but Ukraine accused Russia of new strikes just hours after attacks killed at least 28 people in cities across the war-battered nation.
Russian authorities did not immediately report any Ukrainian strikes several hours into the proposed truce, while officials in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region said early Wednesday that Moscow fired on their infrastructure.
Moscow and Kyiv each announced unilateral ceasefires over different dates this week, with Russia demanding a pause to coincide with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "utter cynicism" for launching deadly strikes while seeking a halt to hostilities.
Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said late Tuesday -- before Kyiv's halt was due to take effect -- that authorities were dealing with the aftermath of Russian strikes in regions including Poltava, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Odesa, Chernigiv and Sumy.
"As of now, 27 people have been killed and at least 120 injured as a result of today's Russian strikes across the country," Klymenko said.
A subsequent update from the eastern city of Kramatorsk added one more fatality.
Ukrainian drone strikes also killed five civilians, according to an early Wednesday update from the head of the Crimea region, which Russia annexed in 2014 from Ukraine.
Russia attacked the city of Dnipro late on Tuesday, nearing Kyiv's deadline.
"With mere hours until Ukraine's ceasefire proposal comes into force, Russia shows no signs of preparing to end hostilities. On the contrary, Moscow intensifies terror," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga said on X. 
Zelensky earlier described an attack that killed 12 people in Zaporizhzhia -- Ukraine's southern city close to the front line -- as having "absolutely no military justification".
Russian strikes also hit the centre of Kramatorsk, the last hub under Kyiv's control in the embattled Donetsk region.
Six people were killed, according to an update by Kramatorsk city's military administration Oleksandr Goncharenko late Tuesday, revising initial reports of five dead.
Zelensky said that the attack on Kramatorsk "hit right in the city centre, targeting civilians".
Four civilians were killed in Dnipro, he said.
The attacks were the deadliest in weeks and peace efforts have gone quiet. 
Yet, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department.
The two, who spoke at Lavrov's request, "discussed the US-Russia relationship, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, without giving details.
Russia confirmed the call and noted they discussed the "schedule of bilateral contacts", but did not elaborate.

Intensifying strikes

  
Russia's May 9 parade is typically a bombastic display of military strength, which since 2022 has sought to link Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with the invasion of Ukraine.
But the Kremlin ordered a scaled-back version this year -- with no military hardware to be on display -- over the fear it could be targeted by Ukraine.
Moscow also cut mobile internet throughout the Russian capital Tuesday morning ahead of the parade, with operators reporting restrictions would last until Saturday.
Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory long-range strikes in recent weeks, hitting a spate of Russian oil facilities and a luxury high-rise building in Moscow.
It calls the strikes fair retaliation for Russia's nightly bombing of its cities with drones and missiles.
Short-term ceasefires are not infrequent, with the two sides having suspended long-range attacks over Orthodox Easter last month.
There is no sign that the four-year war is close to being resolved at the negotiating table.
Moscow has demanded that Kyiv fully withdraws troops from the eastern Donbas area and renounces Western military support -- ultimatums seen as tantamount to capitulation in Kyiv, which has rejected them.
burs-ach/hol/jm

attacks

Australia says 13 citizens linked to alleged IS members returning from Syria

  • She did not indicate when they would be arrested, and said others in the group will remain under investigation.
  • A group of 13 Australians related to alleged Islamic State jihadists is returning home from Syria, Australian authorities said Wednesday, warning some will face arrest.
  • She did not indicate when they would be arrested, and said others in the group will remain under investigation.
A group of 13 Australians related to alleged Islamic State jihadists is returning home from Syria, Australian authorities said Wednesday, warning some will face arrest.
The four women and nine children, who had been living in Roj camp in Syria, are expected to land in Sydney and Melbourne airports on Thursday, according to local media.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he received an alert Wednesday morning when the group's travel booking was made.
"The government is not assisting and will not assist these individuals," he told a news conference.
"They made an appalling, disgraceful decision. If any of these individuals find their way back to Australia, if they have committed crimes, they can expect to face the full force of the law, without exception."
Police said they collected evidence in Syria as they investigated whether Australians had committed crimes under Australian law, including travelling to a prohibited area and engaging in slave trade.
"Some individuals will be arrested and charged," Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
She did not indicate when they would be arrested, and said others in the group will remain under investigation.
"Children who return in the cohort will be asked to undergo community integration programmes, therapeutic support, and countering violent extremism programmes," she added.

'Horrific choice'

The Australian government has issued an exclusion order preventing another woman in the Syrian camp from entering Australia.
"These are people who have made what is a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an extraordinary situation," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.
Australia's Human Rights Commission president Hugh de Kretser in March urged the government to support the return of 34 Australian women and children living in the Roj camp, where they have been held for seven years, noting Australian citizens had previously returned from the camp in 2019, 2022 and last year.
Australia made it an offence to travel to the Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa province in Syria between 2014 and 2017, an attempt to stop its citizens joining the militant group.
A woman who returned from Syria in 2022 was later charged by Australian police with entering a terrorist controlled area.
Around 2,000 foreign national women and children remain living in Roj camp, displaced after the collapse of Islamic State in March 2019, Syrian officials said in March.
kln/djw/tc

education

Teen shooter kills two at Brazil school

BY LUCIA LACURCIA

  • The injured girl was shot in the leg.
  • A teenager shot dead two staff members and injured two other people, including an 11-year-old girl, on Tuesday in the latest school shooting to rock Brazil.
  • The injured girl was shot in the leg.
A teenager shot dead two staff members and injured two other people, including an 11-year-old girl, on Tuesday in the latest school shooting to rock Brazil.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested over the attack at Sao Jose Institute, a junior high school in Rio Branco, capital of northwestern Acre state, the local government said.
The injured girl was shot in the leg.
The teenager, who is a student at the school, entered the building and fired several shots in a hallway leading to the principal's office, Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Russo of the Acre military police department told reporters. 
He surrendered to police after the attack.
His stepfather, who owns the .380-caliber pistol used in the attack, was also arrested.
Police have identified other students who may have cooperated with the attacker, Russo added.
Eduardo Rodrigues Cavalcante, a receptionist at a hotel adjacent to the school, described scenes of terror, as some students tried to jump over a wall separating the school from the hotel.
"The wall is six meters high, and only one person managed to jump over and take refuge here in the hotel. The other people were left on the school roof trying to escape," the 19-year-old receptionist said, adding that he heard "gunshots and a lot of screaming."
Images released by a local media outlet showed a woman being evacuated on a stretcher and scenes of heartbreak outside the school, with people crying and hugging each other.
"In the face of this tragedy, the state expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, the school community of the Sao Jose Institute, and all education professionals affected by this event," the state government said.
It added that classes had been suspended for three days at all schools in the state and that psychological support teams had been mobilized to assist students and teachers.
Brazil has seen a sharp increase in attacks on educational institutions in recent years.
In September 2025, two teenagers were shot and killed, and three others were wounded at a school in the northeastern state of Ceara. 
In October 2023, a shooting at a school in Sao Paulo left a 17-year-old student dead and three others wounded. 
Shortly beforehand, a teenager was killed and three others were wounded in a knife attack as they left a school in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
In April of the same year, a 25-year-old man entered a daycare center in the southern state of Santa Catarina and killed four children between the ages of 3 and 7 with an axe.
ll/cb/pnb

car

Judge orders German car-ramming suspect to psychiatric hospital

BY PIERRICK YVON

  • The suspect in Leipzig was treated in a specialist psychiatric hospital from April 17 to 29, "due to his mental condition and with his consent", police and prosecutors revealed on Tuesday.
  • A man suspected of ploughing a car into a crowd in the German city of Leipzig, killing two people, was ordered into a psychiatric hospital by a judge on Tuesday.
  • The suspect in Leipzig was treated in a specialist psychiatric hospital from April 17 to 29, "due to his mental condition and with his consent", police and prosecutors revealed on Tuesday.
A man suspected of ploughing a car into a crowd in the German city of Leipzig, killing two people, was ordered into a psychiatric hospital by a judge on Tuesday.
The judge found "compelling reasons" to believe that the 33-year-old suspect carried out the attack "in a state of at least significantly diminished responsibility", prosecutors in Leipzig said in a statement.
The German national allegedly drove the vehicle Monday at high speed down a main street in the historic centre of the eastern city, leaving two people dead and several others wounded. 
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 others in Berlin and Munich.
The suspect in Leipzig was treated in a specialist psychiatric hospital from April 17 to 29, "due to his mental condition and with his consent", police and prosecutors revealed on Tuesday.
Authorities said they do not believe that the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, had any political or religious motive for the act -- but believe the car ramming was deliberate.
Prosecutors allege that the man "wanted to kill and seriously injure as many people as possible".
He had previously come to the police's attention this year for "making threats and for defamation-related offences," they said, without elaborating.
Regional health officials said in a separate statement to AFP that during his stay at the hospital he did not present a danger to himself or others. 
"There were therefore no medical grounds to prevent the patient, who was in the clinic of his own free will, from leaving the clinic or to detain him there against his will," they said.
Authorities declined to give further details about his condition, citing patient confidentiality.
A 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, both German citizens, were killed in Monday's incident.
Six other people aged between 21 and 87 were injured, two of them seriously, police said. 
More than 80 people also received care "due to the psychological impact of what they experienced," they said.

'Deeply affected'

The suspect is being investigated on suspicion of double murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, according to the police, who believe he acted alone.
He was expected to appear in court later Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the street where the deadly incident happened was still cordoned off as police searched the area.
At a church in the grounds of a nearby university, Heidi Rheinsdorf said she had travelled to Leipzig to show support to the local community.
Wiping back tears, the 32-year-old told AFP she was "shocked" when she heard about the car-ramming, adding: "I just don't understand why (the alleged perpetrator) did it.
"I just feel so sorry for the people."
University student Dalyan Unland, 20, said he was "deeply affected by the fact that people died... in a place where I walk every day". 
Lynn Sue Leiste said she had to muster all her courage to come and lay two white roses and a candle at a makeshift memorial at the church. 
The 25-year-old said she had been "extremely worried" as her sister was in the street at the time. 
The perpetrator "must be locked up forever", she said, adding that "security measures really could have been strengthened".
Many of the deadly car rampages Germany has seen in recent years were carried out by people who were found to have psychological problems.
The deadliest involved a Tunisian man with jihadist motives who ploughed a stolen truck through a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016, claiming 13 lives.
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. 
bur-sr/bst/ach 

SKorea

Mexican BTS fans go wild as concerts grow near

BY ARTURO ILIZALITURRI

  • Sheinbaum asked her foreign minister to write an unusual missive urging South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to see if the K-pop stars could do more concerts in Mexico. 
  • Dancers bounced to the sound of BTS on an avenue in Mexico City, clapping and screaming at a pep rally kicking off a string of concerts by the South Korean superstars. 
  • Sheinbaum asked her foreign minister to write an unusual missive urging South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to see if the K-pop stars could do more concerts in Mexico. 
Dancers bounced to the sound of BTS on an avenue in Mexico City, clapping and screaming at a pep rally kicking off a string of concerts by the South Korean superstars. 
And K-pop fervor in Mexico is not limited to fans like these young people. Many parents approve of all this passion for the group, which returned to the world spotlight in March following an almost four-year pause so its members could carry out their obligatory military service. 
BTS will perform shows in the Mexican capital on May 7, 9, and 10 -- and the more than 135,000 tickets on sale were snapped up in a matter of minutes. President Claudia Sheinbaum even tried in vain to arrange more concerts. 
Jude Pelaez was among the dancers who showed up Monday on Paseo de la Reforma, a major thoroughfare in Mexico's capital, for a BTS promotional event to get fans ready for the concerts.
Some kids danced while others put on temporary tattoos, as a poster with black-and-white photos of the seven group members rose up between two street posts. 
"Like everyone here, I'm so happy," Pelaez told AFP. "We do these types of events to emotionally and psychologically prepare ourselves, and to prepare the energy and vibe of the place."
"That makes Mexico different," he said. 

'Let's live life'

Mare Sousa, 16, said BTS mania is a phenomenon in which "everyone is free to be who they are." 
She takes classes in a school called K-pop Dance with around 30 colleagues, most of them women. 
The students rehearse their choreography before a mirror even before class starts, and many of them use rest breaks to ask friends for help to correct their steps. 
"Take it easy, breathe," 22-year-old teacher Ginna Montoya said. 
K-pop fever in Mexico goes beyond dance. Some groups meet in cafes with BTS posters to eat noodles. Other fans take language classes in the South Korean cultural center. 
Lucio Campos decided to learn it when his adolescent daughter asked to go to South Korea for her 15th birthday. 
"BTS was born with the idea of transmitting healthy questions for young people," Campos said. "Their war cry is 'let's live life, let's live it healthily, let's live well,' and obviously this fascinates me."
Campos said the music contrasts with what he called the sexuality of reggaeton or 'narcocorridos,' a popular subgenre in Mexico that celebrates drug trafficking. 
In a room with band photos, Lucio pointed his finger and names the group members. His daughter Ana corrected him. "This is Jin," she said. 
"BTS taught me to love myself," Ana said as she went through the pages of an album with photos of the band members and motivational phrases on the back. 

Sheinbaum's letter

Sheinbaum intervened to help thousands of frustrated fans who were stuck without tickets for the concerts, events that South Korea says have improved its global image.
The South Korean government has cited a study carried out in 26 countries that it says showed a favorable opinion of the Asian nation among 82% of those surveyed. 
Sheinbaum asked her foreign minister to write an unusual missive urging South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to see if the K-pop stars could do more concerts in Mexico. 
Sheinbaum said her counterpart was "very open" to the request and assured her he had passed the request to BTS's production company. But no new dates were announced.
On the scalping site StubHub, tickets for the BTS shows in Mexico are going for as much as $13,000. 
ai/jt/cr/nn/jpo/dw

transport

Europe's first commercial robotaxi service rolls out in Croatia

BY LAJLA VESELICA

  • - Gradual expansion - Although the service was first announced in early April, sightings of the vehicles on Zagreb streets have been rare.
  • For nearly a month, a Croatian company has been rolling out what it says is Europe's first robotaxi service on the streets of Zagreb, with AFP among the first journalists to try it on Tuesday.
  • - Gradual expansion - Although the service was first announced in early April, sightings of the vehicles on Zagreb streets have been rare.
For nearly a month, a Croatian company has been rolling out what it says is Europe's first robotaxi service on the streets of Zagreb, with AFP among the first journalists to try it on Tuesday.
Backed by Uber and powered by Chinese self-driving firm Pony.ai, Croatia's Verne has operated 10 automated vehicles for a select number of customers in the city since April 8.
Despite similar services being available in China and the United States for years, multiple companies are still competing to bring autonomous taxi services to European roads.
Verne's service is intended to be fully autonomous, with a human "operator" temporarily behind the wheel during the current phased rollout, in case intervention is needed.

Smooth operator

During AFP's ride with the service, which the company says is used by 300 people, the operator -- a Verne employee named Deni Link -- never had to step in.
The mostly smooth ride was only interrupted when an oncoming vehicle veered into the wrong lane, forcing the car to stop suddenly.
"Sorry, we had to brake," a calm woman's voice told AFP and the other passengers.
Despite the often chaotic Croatian traffic and complicated intersections, Verne's head of country operations, Filip Cindric, said most rides are completed "without any intervention".
According to Cindric, who accompanied AFP during the ride, 90 percent of riders gave the service four or five stars, with no reported collisions over tens of thousands of kilometres.

Gradual expansion

Although the service was first announced in early April, sightings of the vehicles on Zagreb streets have been rare.
For now, the vehicles operate in the city centre, parts of the south, and around the airport, Verne CEO Marko Pejkovic told AFP.
"Expansion is gradual, with each new zone introduced only after detailed validation and once the system is proven reliable in real-world conditions," Pejkovic said in a statement.
According to the company, interest in the automated service, which costs 1.99 euros ($2.32) per ride, has been strong, with around 4,000 people currently on the waiting list.
Pejkovic said the low price was aimed at enticing users and encouraging feedback, with prices expected to rise as the service grows.

More cities to come

Ordered through Verne's app like any rideshare service, the automated vehicles are equipped with multiple cameras, lidar lasers and radars to help navigate the streets.
Verne, founded in 2019, said discussions were under way in 11 cities across the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East.
In Zagreb, it aims to transition to fully driverless operations by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals.
With 30 additional cities now being considered, Cindric said he was proud that Zagreb was the first to make it happen.
"If it were that easy, it would already exist in London or some other major European city," he said.
ljv/al/phz

religion

Rubio plays down Trump attacks on pope before Vatican trip

  • The remark came after Leo called for peace in the Middle East war launched by Israel and the United States and said that Trump's genocidal call to destroy Iranian civilization forever was "unacceptable."
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the eve of a Vatican visit on Tuesday played down President Donald Trump's criticism of Pope Leo XIV, who stood firm in calling for the promotion of peace.
  • The remark came after Leo called for peace in the Middle East war launched by Israel and the United States and said that Trump's genocidal call to destroy Iranian civilization forever was "unacceptable."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the eve of a Vatican visit on Tuesday played down President Donald Trump's criticism of Pope Leo XIV, who stood firm in calling for the promotion of peace.
Rubio, a devout Catholic, will meet Thursday at the Vatican with the first American-born pope, who has angered Trump by calling for an end to war in the Middle East and speaking out on defending migrants.
"It's a trip we had planned from before, and obviously we had some stuff that happened," Rubio told reporters at the White House when asked about Trump's criticism.
"There's a lot to talk about with the Vatican."
Rubio listed as an example an issue that generally unites the Trump administration and the Vatican -- religious freedom.
Trump, in an extraordinary attack on the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, last month took to social media to call the pope "WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy."
The remark came after Leo called for peace in the Middle East war launched by Israel and the United States and said that Trump's genocidal call to destroy Iranian civilization forever was "unacceptable."
Trump again criticized the pope in an interview late Monday with conservative host Hugh Hewitt, alleging that Leo believes it is "OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
"I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people," Trump said.
"But I guess if it's up to the Pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Asked about Trump's latest comments, the pope told reporters Tuesday: "The Church's mission is to preach the Gospel and to preach peace."
"If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully," he said.
"The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt about that, and I simply hope to be heard for the sake of the value of God's word."
Even before the clash, polls conducted in March and April showed growing disapproval of Trump among American Catholics, a warning sign after he won a majority of Catholic voters in the 2024 election.
Cuba is another likely topic of discussion in Rubio's talks at the Vatican.
The Holy See has long played an active role in diplomacy on Cuba, where Rubio -- a Cuban-American -- has been leading the Trump administration's efforts to pressure the communist state.
burs-sct/

US

Trump says pausing Hormuz operation in push for Iran deal

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iran's ports in a bid to pressure Iran to make a deal to end the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28.
  • President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.
  • Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iran's ports in a bid to pressure Iran to make a deal to end the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.
Trump's so-called "Project Freedom" to help vessels leave the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint to the Gulf where Iran has seized control in response to being attacked, began on Monday.
But the US leader said on Truth Social that he was now pausing it after a request by mediator Pakistan and other countries, saying that "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.
"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iran's ports in a bid to pressure Iran to make a deal to end the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28.
Tensions had been soaring over the Hormuz operation, with the United States saying it had sunk seven Iranian boats, and several civilian vessels coming under attack, allegedly from Iran.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Tuesday that the United States has completed its offensive operations against Iran, which it dubbed "Operation Epic Fury".
Rubio's comments echoed statements to Congress nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire.
"The operation is over -- Epic Fury -- as the president notified Congress. We're done with that stage of it," Rubio told reporters at the White House.
The clashes in the Strait of Hormuz were not part of the original war, he said.
"This is not an offensive operation; this is a defensive operation," Rubio said. "And what that means is very simple -- there's no shooting unless we're shot at first."
Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, killing top leaders and destroying major military and economic sites but not forcing the collapse of the Islamic republic, which has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.
Trump on April 8 declared a ceasefire with Iran that he has since extended even though negotiations with Tehran have been at a standstill.
Rubio said the United States has "achieved the objectives" of the war.
"These guys are facing, they are facing real, catastrophic destruction to their economy," he said, while adding that Trump still preferred a negotiated deal with Iran.
dk/ksb

Taiwan

Rubio warns against 'destabilizing' acts on Taiwan before Trump China visit

  • - Call to pressure Iran - Rubio also called for China to put pressure on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was leaving Tuesday for Beijing.
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday against any "destabilizing" actions on Taiwan before a trip to China by President Donald Trump and called on Beijing also to raise pressure on Iran.
  • - Call to pressure Iran - Rubio also called for China to put pressure on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was leaving Tuesday for Beijing.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday against any "destabilizing" actions on Taiwan before a trip to China by President Donald Trump and called on Beijing also to raise pressure on Iran.
Trump is scheduled to pay the first visit of his second term to China next week, a trip he delayed after he led the United States in a joint attack alongside Israel against Iran.
Rubio, addressing reporters at the White House, said he was sure that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would discuss Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island claimed by Beijing.
"I think both countries understand that it is in neither one of our interests to see anything destabiliz(ing) happen in that part of the world," Rubio told reporters.
"We don't need any destabilizing events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific, and I think that's to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese," Rubio said.
China has ramped up its military presence around Taiwan in recent years and staged large-scale military drills. 
While the United States has an ambiguous policy on whether it would defend Taiwan, its military looks increasingly stretched as resources shift from Asia to the Iran war.
Rubio, who has never visited China, was an outspoken critic of Beijing's human rights record while a senator, championing legislation that brought sanctions over Beijing's alleged use of forced labor from the Uyghur minority.
The Trump administration has largely downplayed human rights, preferring to focus on promoting what it sees as core US interests such as trade.
Asked if Trump would raise human rights, Rubio said, "I think we've proven in some cases it's most effective to raise them in the appropriate setting. But we always raise those issues."

Call to pressure Iran

Rubio also called for China to put pressure on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was leaving Tuesday for Beijing.
Iran has exerted control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil once transited, in retaliation for being attacked by the United States and Israel.
China has been by far the largest buyer of Iranian oil, defying sanctions unilaterally imposed by Trump since his first term against any country that is Tehran's customer.
"I hope the Chinese tell him (Araghchi) what he needs to be told, and that is that what you were doing in the straits is causing you to be globally isolated," Rubio said.
"You're the bad guy in this," he said. "You guys should not be blowing up ships."
The United States has also been blowing up ships. The US military said Monday it had destroyed six small Iranian boats, accusing them of threatening shipping.
During the war, a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka, killing 104 sailors, with US forces leaving them to drown.
dk-aue-sct/mjf

health

Suspected hantavirus cases to be evacuated from cruise ship

BY SANDRO FONSCECA WITH LUCIE PEYTERMANN IN DAKAR AND NINA LARSON IN GENEVA

  • The Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions indicated Tuesday that a solution was in sight, with plans to evacuate two sick crew members to the Netherlands for "urgent medical care", along with a third person who had been in close contact with a German passenger who died on Saturday.
  • Two seriously ill crew members on a cruise ship stricken by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be evacuated via Cape Verde to the Netherlands, allowing the vessel to sail on to Spain's Canary Islands, the operator said Tuesday.
  • The Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions indicated Tuesday that a solution was in sight, with plans to evacuate two sick crew members to the Netherlands for "urgent medical care", along with a third person who had been in close contact with a German passenger who died on Saturday.
Two seriously ill crew members on a cruise ship stricken by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be evacuated via Cape Verde to the Netherlands, allowing the vessel to sail on to Spain's Canary Islands, the operator said Tuesday.
Spain's health ministry said the ship was due to arrive in the Canaries in "three to four days" but did not specify the port.
"Once there, the crew and passengers will be duly examined, cared for, and transferred to their respective countries," it said.
The health ministry said the World Health Organization had explained that the Canary Islands were "the closest place with the necessary capabilities" medically.
The MV Hondius has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when the WHO was informed that the rare disease -- usually spread from infected rodents typically through urine, droppings and saliva -- was suspected of being behind the deaths of three of its passengers.
As others fell ill, passengers and crew have been in isolation after Cape Verde authorities barred the ship from docking.
The ship is anchored just off the island nation's capital Praia.
The Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions indicated Tuesday that a solution was in sight, with plans to evacuate two sick crew members to the Netherlands for "urgent medical care", along with a third person who had been in close contact with a German passenger who died on Saturday.
The WHO also said medical evacuation plans were under way. 
Once the evacuation has taken place, MV Hondius "can continue its route", Ann Lindstrand, the WHO's representative in Cape Verde, told AFP.
Oceanwide Expeditions meanwhile said its plan was for the ship to sail north "to the Canary Islands, either Gran Canaria or Tenerife, which will take three days of sailing". 

'Complicated'

The cruise, which set sail from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 destined for Cape Verde, counted 88 passengers and 59 crew members, with 23 nationalities onboard, the WHO said.
One of the dead, a Dutch woman, had left the ship at the Atlantic island of Saint Helena and had flown to Johannesburg where she died on April 26. 
Two hantavirus cases have been confirmed -- including in one of the fatalities and a British passenger currently in intensive care in Johannesburg -- with five further suspected cases, the WHO said.
Three of those seven have died; the one in Johannesburg was critically ill, and three still on board had reported milder symptoms, including one who is now asymptomatic, it said.
The WHO was trying to deduce how hantavirus had appeared on the ship, with the first person who died having developed symptoms on April 6.
Human-to-human transmission has only been reported in previous outbreaks of one specific hantavirus called Andes virus, which circulates in South America.
WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters the virus species had yet to be confirmed, but highlighted that WHO had been told "there are no rats on board" the ship.
South African researchers were sequencing the data, said Van Kerkhove, who added that "our working assumption is that it is the Andes virus".
"We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that is happening among the really close contacts".

Contact-tracing

The first two fatalities were a Dutch couple -- a man who died on April 11 and his wife who died after she disembarked in Saint Helena to accompany his body.
The wife was suffering from "gastrointestinal symptoms" and "deteriorated" during a flight to Johannesburg on April 25, the WHO said. She died the following day.
Efforts are under way to trace people on that flight, which South African-based carrier Airlink said was carrying 82 passengers and six crew.
The South African authorities had asked the airline to notify the passengers that they must contact the health department, a representative, Karin Murray, told AFP.
Van Kerkhove said the typical incubation period for hantavirus was between one and six weeks, leading the WHO to believe that the Dutch couple, who had been travelling in South America, "were infected off the ship".
bur-nl/rjm/ach/phz