International

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit the first free town in America, in the Colombian Caribbean

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, visited this Saturday San Basilio de Palenque, which located in the Colombian Caribbean is the first free people in America, where they talked with leaders about cultural identity, structural racism and advances towards historical reparations for slavery.

Accompanied by the Colombian vice president, Francia Márquez, the dukes first visited the Tambores de Cabildo de La Boquilla School in Cartagena de Indias, where they talked with children and young people and were able to play the ancestral drums, as a first step in a day of investment to the most African roots that Colombia has.

“When we look at that sea, we remember our African heritage. (…) In this piece of land we receive the boys and girls to protect them, with the drums we seek to change their lives (…) we invite them to help us take care of them and take care of our territory, which is threatened,” the director of this school, Rafael Ramos, told them upon arrival.

The vice president made them a teacher on this tour, assuring that they were in an “ancestral territory” that was there “since we were kidnapped in Africa,” and claimed a “sustainable, ecological tourism that does not commodify women,” from one of the most touristic points in the country.

From Cartagena, the dukes and the deputy minister moved to San Basilio de Palenque, declared Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, to preserve the musical, cultural and oral traditions of their people, with African roots, as well as their language, the palenquero.

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In a short visit, of just an hour, the cultural exhibitions allowed Prince Harry and Meghan to interact with the Afro communities and they also visited the cultural house and the Benkos Biohó square, which is named after the leader who commanded the Maroon slave rebellion in the 17th century, after which he became king of St. Basil, which is why he was hanged and dismembered in 1621.

“I wanted our guests to know the essence of what we are as a black people, of our spirituality, of our culture. The strength of the women and men of Palenque. That ancestral legacy that Benkhos, Wiwa, our ancestors, left us, which is what has allowed us to say that we can, that we continue to fight for the restoration of our people and our country,” the vice president claimed in the square.

Meanwhile, Meghan assured that they understand the importance of the people and what they represent for Colombia and was grateful to have been able to know it.

And Prince Harry alleged: “what we are seeing here is all that is a community, do not forget the message of the vice president, they are stronger together, they are stronger united as one.”

During their first visit to Colombia, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex toured several schools in Bogotá since Thursday, focused on children and technologies to promote education and the fight against cyberbullying, and tomorrow they will finish their tour in the city of Cali.

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International

Trump orders U.S. control of Strait of Hormuz after failed Iran talks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz“effective immediately,” following the collapse of negotiations with Iran held in Islamabad.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to block vessels attempting to enter or exit the strategic waterway, a key route for global energy trade.

“The meeting went well, agreement was reached on most points, but the only really important one — nuclear weapons — was not approved,” Trump said, referring to the talks with Iranian representatives.

The president also stated that he had instructed authorities to intercept ships in international waters that had paid tolls to Iran to transit the strait, calling such payments “illegal.” He further accused Tehran of hindering an agreement by deploying mines in the area, describing the move as “international extortion.”

Trump added that the United States will undertake efforts to clear mines from the strait and expressed confidence that a future agreement ensuring free navigation could eventually be reached.

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The announcement came after Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed the president on the outcome of the negotiations, considered the highest-level contacts between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

While Trump acknowledged that enough progress had been made to maintain a temporary truce, he criticized Iran for remaining unwilling to abandon its nuclear ambitions, calling its position “very inflexible” on the central issue.

International

Child Found Malnourished in Van in France; Father Admits Confinement

French gendarmes discovered a child in a van in Hagenbach, in northeastern France, after a neighbor reported hearing what she described as “childlike noises” coming from the parked vehicle.

After unlocking the van, officers found the boy lying in a fetal position, unclothed and covered with a blanket, surrounded by garbage and near human waste, according to a statement from the Mulhouse prosecutor, Nicolas Heitz.

Authorities said the child appeared pale and severely malnourished. Due to prolonged confinement in a seated position, he was no longer able to walk. He was immediately taken to a hospital in Mulhouse for medical care.

The boy’s father, who lived with his partner and two daughters aged 10 and 12, admitted to keeping the child confined and depriving him of proper care.

According to the prosecutor, the man said he placed the child in the van in November 2024, claiming he wanted to “protect him” because his partner intended to have the boy admitted to a psychiatric facility.

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The suspect also stated that he allowed the child out of the vehicle in May 2025 and permitted him to enter the family apartment around mid-year, when the rest of the family was on vacation.

The man’s partner—who is not the child’s mother—also faces charges, including failure to report abuse. However, she has denied all accusations.

International

Europe Faces Jet Fuel Shortage Risk Amid Hormuz Disruption

The Airports Council International Europe has warned of a potential “systemic shortage” of jet fuel if maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored within the next three weeks, according to a letter reviewed by AFP on Friday.

In the document, addressed to the European Commission and first reported by the Financial Times, the European airport lobby stated that a “systemic jet fuel shortage will become a reality” in the European Union unless stable and significant transit through the strait resumes soon.

The association, which represents around 600 airports across 50 countries, called on Brussels to implement “urgent monitoring of fuel availability and supply” over the next six months.

Jet fuel prices have surged amid the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy transport.

The conflict escalated on February 28 following joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran.

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In response, Tehran imposed several countermeasures, including blocking maritime traffic through the strait, a route through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil, jet fuel, and gas supply passes.