Colombia's President Gustavo Petro criticised US President Donald Trump on Thursday for supporting hard-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, a lawyer – and fervent Trump supporter – who made a fortune representing drug-trafficking paramilitaries, fraudsters and football stars.

Washington is pledging emergency aid to Bolivia and warning against attempts to topple President Rodrigo Paz as his government faces mounting protests aND worsening shortages. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that "the United States is watching", vowing continued support to Paz in the fight against "narco-terrorists" who profit "from death and destruction in our hemisphere".

US secretary of state Marco Rubio says anyone providing services to listed entities ‘is at risk of sanctions themselves’

The United States has announced fresh economic sanctions on Cuba’s president and some of his immediate family, alongside members of the Castro family, in Washington’s latest ramping up of pressure on its communist-led neighbour.

Among those targeted were the son and a grandson of former president Raúl Castro, who no longer holds an official position but remains a key figure on decisions about the future of the island.

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© Photograph: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

The US on Thursday announced new economic sanctions against Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, members of his immediate family, and members of the Castro family connected to the country's past two presidents. President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on the island in recent months, even threatening to take the country over.

Beluga whales, which Marineland threatened to euthanize in 2025, will be moved to aquariums in Spain or across US

Canada and an embattled marine park have reached a tentative deal on the future of 30 beluga whales, ending a saga that has captivated the public and angered animal rights groups.

The federal fisheries ministry announced this week that all of Marineland’s belugas would be shipped to either Spain or one of four locations in the US, ending whale captivity in Canada.

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© Photograph: Chris Young/AP

© Photograph: Chris Young/AP

© Photograph: Chris Young/AP

US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit back at lawmakers who voted to halt military action in Iran, describing the move as "unpatriotic". A handful of Republicans joined with Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass the largely symbolic resolution seeking to end the three-month-long conflict in a rebuke of Trump.

NASA said on Wednesday it will end its mission studying Mars' atmosphere and evolution after losing contact with its MAVEN spacecraft for six months. MAVEN, which entered Martian orbit in 2014, was designed for a one- to two-year mission but operated for more than a decade before falling silent in December 2025.

Colombia's hard-right presidential frontrunner Abelardo de la Espriella pledged closer ties with the United States on Tuesday after receiving US President Donald Trump's endorsement, strengthening his position ahead of a June 21 run-off election against leftist senator Ivan Cepeda.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will attend and speak at a rescheduled White House correspondents' dinner on July 24, nearly three months after a shooting outside the original event prompted his evacuation. Organisers said the gathering will proceed with enhanced security, insisting that violence will not dictate public life.

Donald Trump appointed a loyalist with no national security experience as head of US intelligence on Tuesday, while allowing him to keep his housing and mortgage oversight roles.

ICC’s decision comes amid growing concerns the team is being influenced by members of a notorious gang in India

Cricket’s international governing body has suspended Canada over what it described as “serious breaches of its membership obligations”, dealing the latest blow to an organization that critics say has become a “laughing stock” within the sport.

The suspension also comes amid growing concerns that one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports is being influenced by members of a notorious gang that operates with impunity from an Indian prison cell.

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© Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to enable AI developers to voluntarily ​submit their new models for government cybersecurity tests before public release. The order was triggered by concerns over Anthropic's Mythos model, which the company refused to release due to its ability to expose vulnerabilities in computer systems.

Californians have their final chance to vote Tuesday in a fiercely contested gubernatorial primary ahead of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s mandate coming to an end at the end of the year. The state's open-primary system, which allows the two best-performing candidates to advance regardless of party, has raised fears among Democrats that a split vote will pave the way for a Republican victory.

US President Donald Trump was said to be reconsidering a controversial $1.8 billion compensation fund on Monday, created as part of a settlement with the IRS, amid legal challenges and growing opposition from Republicans. The Justice Department has paused implementation following a court order, raising doubts about the fund's future.

Far-right defence attorney and businessman Abelardo de la Espriella topped the first round of Colombia’s presidential election Sunday, followed closely by leftist senator Ivan Cepeda. A fervent supporter of US President Donald Trump as well as the authoritarian crime crackdown of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, De la Espriella has promised to wage an uncompromising war against the splintered armed groups that continue to hold out in the country’s hinterlands. 

Brazilian health authorities isolated two patients who recently arrived from African countries after they showed symptoms consistent with Ebola, officials said Friday, although one later tested negative. The move comes as the Democratic Republic of the Congo battles an outbreak that has surpassed 1,000 suspected cases and nearly 250 deaths since May.

Colombians voted Sunday in the first round of presidential elections, choosing between a reformist left seeking to retain power and a hard-line right promising security amid escalating violence by armed groups. With 99.99% of votes counted, far-right outsider Abelardo de la Espriella leads with more than 10 million votes (43.70%), followed by leftist Iván Cepeda with 9.6 million (40.93%). Amid mutual accusations, the two will face off in a runoff on June 21.

Ballots for the first round of Colombia's presidential election open Sunday, as candidates with radically diverging visions for the future face off. The vote, seen as a referendum on outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s policies, comes 10 years after Colombia signed an historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). 

Colombia's presidential election is headed to a run-off after voters delivered a sharply polarised first-round result on Sunday, setting up a contest between hard-right populist Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist senator Ivan Cepeda. The vote came at the end of Colombia's bloodiest campaign in more than a decade, with issues of security and rising violence dominating the race.

The Trump administration has announced that it has selected several nuclear start-ups to participate in a project that would allow them to use plutonium stockpiles inherited from the Cold War. This plan has alarmed nuclear non-proliferation specialists.