International

Lula urges EU-South America regional trade deal before China talks

Photo: Dante Fernandez / AFP

January 26 | By AFP |

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday called for the South American trade bloc Mercosur to urgently seal a free trade agreement with the European Union before negotiating with China.

Lula made the comments in Uruguay, which has been pursuing its own commercial deal with Beijing, despite opposition from Mercosur — made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

The EU reached a trade agreement in 2019 with Mercosur following 20 years of negotiations, but the deal has not yet been ratified.

“It is urgent and extremely important for Mercosur to reach an agreement with the EU,” Lula said in Montevideo, where he met with President Luis Lacalle Pou.

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“We will step up our discussions with the EU and sign this agreement so that we can then discuss a deal between China and Mercosur,” he added.

The EU-Mercosur deal has generated a wave of criticism in Europe, particularly among the agriculture and ecological sectors.

Negotiated by the European Commission, it needs to be ratified individually by all 27 EU members states before it comes into effect.

Uruguay had for years pushed for greater flexibility within Mercosur but its independent negotiations with China sparked opposition from fellow members and even rumors that the bloc could break up.

Despite negotiating with China directly, Uruguay “is part of Mercosur, and that has not changed,” insisted Lacalle Pou.

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“There are no obstacles to informing Brazil (and) Argentina about what is being negotiated,” said Lacalle Pou.

Uruguay has also applied to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — a trade agreement involving countries across eastern Asia, the Pacific, and North and South America — without the agreement of its Mercosur partners.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.