International

Colombian court thwarts plans to spray drug crops

AFP

A Colombian court has ruled that the government cannot conduct anti-drug fumigation without the consent of rural communities, in a blow to plans to resume an aerial assault on coca cultivation.

The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of rural, black and indigenous communities who sought judicial relief against government plans to renew spraying with the controversial glyphosate herbicide.

They claim the chemical causes disease, destroys traditional crops and pollutes the water.

The court, in an order obtained Wednesday, ordered authorities to consult residents of areas to be sprayed and find agreement before doing so.

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It set a deadline of one year for agreement to be reached, effectively stopping the practice from resuming on the watch of President Ivan Duque, who completes a four-year term in August with no option of re-election.

Colombia, the world’s largest producer of coca, the raw material used to make cocaine, stopped its anti-drug spraying in 2015 after the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen.

A court then made the program’s resumption conditional on minimizing the impact of the herbicide, but even that has now been stalled.

Duque’s government links drug trafficking with a resurgence of violence following a 2016 peace accord with leftist rebels that officially ended decades of conflict. So it has been keen to resume spraying.

In 2020, Colombia had 143,000 hectares of coca, according to a UN report.

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Human Rights Watch welcomed the judges’ decision.

“Spraying coca with glyphosate is an inefficient policy and a threat to basic human rights. It should never be carried out, much less without proper consultation with the affected communities,” HRW spokesman Juan Pappier said on Twitter.

International

IEA warns Middle East conflict could spark worst energy crisis in decades

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could trigger the worst energy crisis in decades, warned Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), who described the situation as “very serious.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Birol compared the current scenario to the oil crises of the 1970s, noting that during those events the world lost around five million barrels of oil per day in each crisis.

“Today, we have lost 11 million barrels per day—more than the two major oil shocks combined,” he said.

The Turkish economist referred to the conflict that began on February 28, following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, which have significantly disrupted global energy markets and driven oil prices higher.

Birol warned that the global economy is facing a “very, very serious threat” and expressed hope that the crisis will be resolved soon.

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“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues in this direction. Global efforts are urgently needed,” he emphasized.

International

Colombian Air Force Hercules plane crashes during takeoff with troops onboard

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Colombian Air Force was involved in a “tragic accident” while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia, as it was transporting troops, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reported on Monday.

The minister stated on social media that the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined. He also extended his condolences to the families affected and urged the public to avoid speculation until official information is confirmed.

“This is a deeply painful event for the country. Our prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sánchez said, adding that emergency protocols have been activated and an investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, President Gustavo Petro expressed hope that there would be no fatalities in what he described as a “horrific accident that should not have happened.”

Petro also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize the country’s air fleet and reiterated the need to acquire new helicopters and transport aircraft to strengthen military mobility, particularly in remote regions.

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According to local media reports, approximately 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft. So far, at least 20 injured military personnel have been rescued.

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.