Colombia’s Minister of Education, José Daniel Rojas, failed his master’s thesis due to a lack of theoretical rigor, according to the National University, a decision that sparked widespread criticism and mockery on Wednesday.

Local media quickly picked up the news, while social media users flooded platforms with jokes, asking, “What’s the ultimate irony for an Education Minister?”

Rojas’ thesis on “Guaranteed Employment in Colombia” for his Master’s in Economic Sciences was graded as failed due to “theoretical weaknesses and lack of conceptual rigor,” the National University (UNAL), the country’s most prestigious public institution, stated in a press release.

“Additionally, the student’s responses to the questions posed during the defense were not considered satisfactory,” the statement added.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that tariffs on European Union (EU) products will be set at 25% across the board.

“We will announce them very soon, and they will be 25% in general terms, applying to cars and all kinds of things,” he stated during his first cabinet meeting at the White House.

Trump reiterated his grievances against the EU, claiming that the bloc “does not accept [U.S.] cars or [U.S.] agricultural products.”

“They take advantage of us in a different way than Canada or Mexico,” he added. The Republican president once again cited the U.S. trade deficit with Europe at “$300 billion,” a figure the European Commission disputes, estimating it at €150 billion ($157 billion) in goods, and only $50 billion when factoring in the U.S. trade surplus in services.

“The EU was designed to screw the United States. That was the goal, and they succeeded. But now I’m the president,” Trump said, adding that European countries might consider retaliating, but “they won’t.”

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A child has become the first fatality in a measles outbreak in Texas, in the southern United States, where more than 130 people have been infected, health authorities reported on Wednesday.

“The school-aged child, who was not vaccinated, was hospitalized in Lubbock (northwest Texas) last week and tested positive for measles,” the state’s Department of Health said in a press release.

Since the beginning of the year, 124 measles cases have been reported in western Texas and nine in the neighboring state of New Mexico, raising concerns about the resurgence of this highly contagious disease amid declining vaccination rates. Most cases have been detected in children, with 18 of them requiring hospitalization in Texas.

“Although the multiple measles outbreaks in the United States had not caused any fatalities, it was only a matter of time before one occurred,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, in an interview with AFP.

“Measles still kills over 100,000 people worldwide each year. This death should serve as a reminder of why the vaccine was developed and how valuable it is. These deaths are almost entirely preventable,” he added.

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The epicenter of the outbreak is Gaines County, home to a significant Mennonite population, a Christian sect with a history of vaccine hesitancy. Texas law allows vaccine exemptions for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.

The outbreak coincides with the beginning of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as Secretary of Health under the administration of Donald Trump, a position that plays a key role in shaping the country’s immunization policies.