The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, is experiencing his worst political setback after the revelations of his eldest son, Nicolás Petro Burgos, accused of illicit enrichment. The 37-year-old politician, too, has revealed to the Prosecutor's Office that part of the allegedly illegal money he received entered his father's 2022 electoral campaign.

The prosecutor in the case, Mario Burgos, has said in a public hearing that, as part of a collaboration agreement with the Justice, Petro Burgos “provided relevant information that the Prosecutor's Office was unaware of” about “facts that he knows and are of concern to the country “.

“In reality, some of said money entered their coffers and others went to the 2022 presidential campaign in which our current president, Dr. Gustavo Petro Urrego, was elected,” the prosecutor said.

According to the prosecutor, Petro Burgos “corroborates and ratifies the Prosecutor's theory of the case” about money laundering and illicit enrichment, crimes “that were backed by sufficient legally obtained evidence.”

Likewise, the president's son admitted “that he did receive large sums of money from Samuel Santander Lopesierra,” a drug trafficker known as “the Marlboro man,” as revealed to the press last March by his ex-wife, Daysuris Vásquez, also arrested and prosecuted for money laundering and violation of personal data, always according to the prosecutor.

Petro Burgos also told the Prosecutor's Office that he had received money from Gabriel Hilsaca Acosta, son of the controversial businessman Alfonso “Turco” Hilsaca, as well as from “Óscar Camacho, a powerful businessman from the city of Cúcuta.”

“A part of this money was used by Nicolás Petro Burgos himself and his wife (at that time) for their personal benefit and to increase their assets unjustifiably and to be able to launder the money. Another part of that money was invested in the 2022 presidential campaign,” added prosecutor Burgos.

The prosecutor has also said that Nicolás Petro gave information “about the financing of the last presidential campaign of the current president, Gustavo Petro Urrego, and the money that entered said campaign, which apparently would have exceeded the limits allowed by law and a part of this money would not have been reported to the electoral authorities”.

Political earthquake in Colombia

Politicians of different stripes have questioned the legitimacy of the government of the president, Gustavo Petro, after the revelations of his son Nicolás Petro Burgos. One of the first to react to the confession made public by the Prosecutor's Office was the former right-wing presidential candidate Federico Gutiérrez, who has said that “justice must go to the depth of this fact” and added that “it is inevitable to start a process that restore the confidence of Colombians in democracy.

Meanwhile, Senator Jonathan Pulido Hernández, better known as “Jota Pe Hernández” went further and said that he will accuse the Head of State before the Commission of Investigation and Accusation because he believes that he did know about the entry of illegal money into his campaign.

“I will denounce Gustavo Petro before the Accusations Commission. Nicolás (Petro) has confirmed to the Prosecutor's Office that his father did know about the income of irregular money to the presidential campaign. I hope that for the first time, this commission will act on the evidence and not just acquit.”

Former President Andrés Pastrana, a staunch critic of Petro, has assured that “criminal responsibility for the money received by Nicolás Petro falls on the beneficiary of the crime, the candidate and current president Gustavo Petro, who must immediately face what calls into question the legitimacy of his mandate.

In the same sense, former presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt expressed herself, who wondered if, given what Petro Burgos said, who was a candidate for Governor of Atlántico and is a deputy to the Assembly of that department, Colombia Humana, the movement that supported Petro to reach the Presidency, will “file a complaint for slander” against the firstborn.

More than 50 people were injured, including three policemen, and a hundred arrests were made in clashes this Thursday in a suburb of Stockholm between supporters of the Eritrean government, who had organized a festival, and an opposition group.

The incidents turned into a pitched battle, with several vehicles set on fire, while the opposing groups attacked each other with sticks and stones and a strong police force tried to separate them, reports the Aftonbladet newspaper. The riots began when a group of protesters broke through the police cordon and attacked the party participants, according to that outlet.

The police later reported that they have detained a hundred people, while at least seven of the injured were admitted with serious injuries. Traffic on a nearby highway was cut off by law enforcement when several people invaded the road.

“It is a complicated and extensive operation. There are many people on the move and the total damage is not yet clear,” Stockholm region chief physician Patrik Söderberg said in a statement.

The Eritrea Scandinavia festival has been organized for three decades in the Swedish capital and has previously been criticized for supporting the Eritrean regime. Similar incidents recently took place in Germany at a party also organized by the pro-regime group, sparking protests from opposition protesters.

What begins with the dream of changing your life can become a real nightmare. Four Nigerian stowaways literally traveled at the helm of a freighter for 5,600 kilometers and 14 days. it was not his intention. The migrants intended to reach Europe and ended their journey in the port of Vitoria, Brazil.

A death-defying trip in which on the tenth day they ran out of food and drink. “I was shaking, scared, but I'm here,” Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, 38, told Reuters.. It was then that they began to drink the seawater that jumped at them in order to survive.

Finally, he and his companions were rescued by the Brazilian Federal Police.. “It was a terrible experience for me,” added the stowaway in his statements to the press.

The thing does not stay there. Convinced that they had reached Europe, the surprise was great when they were rescued and found that they were in Brazil and that they had crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, two of them are already in their country after requesting repatriation, while Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, a 35-year-old man from the state of Bayelsa, have requested asylum in Brazil.

Four activists from the environmental organization Greenpeace have been arrested after climbing on Thursday on the roof of the house of the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, in the north of England in protest for his support for the expansion of oil and gas extraction in the sea. from North.

A North Yorkshire County Police spokeswoman has confirmed the arrest of the protesters on the grounds of the Prime Minister's property in the town of Kirby Sigston, within the constituency he represents.

Greenpeace has indicated for its part in a statement that its members have been apprehended after “five hours” of peaceful protest when the house was empty, since Sunak, his wife and their two daughters left on vacation for California (United States) on Wednesday. .

The activists used ladders and harnesses to climb in the morning to the roof of the house, valued at about 2 million pounds (2.3 million euros), and -once on the roof- they unfolded a 200-square-meter cloth ” black as oil”.

The protesters “have decided to go down early in the afternoon, after holding talks with the Police”, which was alerted at 07:00 GMT, the note stated.

A Greenpeace spokesman, Philip Evans, has ensured that the strategy was calculated for when the house was empty and argues that all activists “are rigorously trained” not to endanger people or property.

“Our activists have come downstairs, having delivered their message to the prime minister, who is on vacation 5,000 miles (about 8,000 km) away.. It is time for Sunak to decide which side he is on: big oil profits or our future on a habitable planet.”

This was precisely the legend contained in a banner that the protesters displayed in the garden, alluding to the recent announcement by the Conservative government to grant more than a hundred new licenses to companies for the exploration and possible extraction of fossil fuel from the North Sea.

Like other organizations and environmental experts, Greenpeace has criticized that this measure goes against the objectives against climate change of the Government itself and the warnings of its advisers, the International Energy Agency and the UN.

Donald Trump will appear this Thursday in Washington DC, where a judge will read the charges against the former president of the United States between 2016 and 2020. It is the third time that Trump has appeared in court, but in this third accusation it becomes especially relevant: the former president is accused of trying to reverse the electoral results of the 2020 elections, which ended his presidency and gave power to Joe Biden and the Democratic party.

As in the other two criminal proceedings he has already faced, Trump is expected to plead not guilty and not be arrested.. At a time when Trump is once again the favorite to run in the 2024 Republican elections and with options to return to the White House four years later, what are the accusations he is facing? Could they hinder his return to power?

What is Donald Trump accused of?

Trump will face this Thursday the accusation of four criminal charges presented by special counsel Jack Smith, and that can be read in the indictment of the District of Columbia court, in which the case appears with the title “United States of America vs Donald J. Trump”. The criminal charges with which he is accused are the following:

At the center of the accusation are his alleged attempts to retain power and reverse the result of the 2020 presidential election.. The indictment talks about Trump's post-election actions, in which the former president fed lies about alleged voter fraud. The charges speak of a “criminal conspiracy” to harm and obstruct the certification of election results.

But one of the most serious charges focuses on the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, described as “an unprecedented attack on the seat of American democracy” and in which the prosecution grants Trump a leading role as instigator. of the same in an attempt to prevent the certification of the electoral results. The prosecution considers that it was a conspiracy, since Trump knew he was lying, had collaborators in his conspiracy, tried to create controversy with false legitimate voters and that they motivated and exploited the “violence and chaos” of the attack on the Capitol.

Trump already faces two other criminal cases

Trump, who will declare at 4:00 p.m. in Washington DC (10:00 p.m. Spanish time), will face criminal charges for the third time this year. He already faced two accusations months ago in the states of New York and Florida

Trump will have to face these accusations in the coming months as he tries to be the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Trump may stand if convicted

However, it seems that these accusations will not prevent Donald Trump from running for election to try to return to the White House. In fact, there has been a history of presidential candidates and members of Congress being elected after being indicted or convicted.

The law allows any politician to run for election.. In fact, the US Constitution places the only limits to appear being a citizen of the United States by birth, being over 35 years of age and having lived in the country for at least 14 years. As reported by Antena 3, the former president could only see his right to vote limited (depending on the state, if he is finally sentenced) or to campaign.

What could pose an obstacle to Trump's return to the Oval Office is the political and economic wear and tear of the judicial siege to which he will be exposed in the coming months.

“He accepted the assignment and assumed power,” the spokesman said, adding that the leader of the terrorist organization died “in a direct confrontation” with “Turkish Intelligence agents” in a village on the outskirts of Idlib, in northwestern Syria.

Turkish intelligence tried to “capture” him, but Al Qurashi “facing them with his weapon until he died from his wounds,” according to the audio, which does not specify when the events occurred.

The fourth 'caliph' since 2019

No details, not even his face, have been disclosed of the late IS leader since his appointment in November 2022, while the true identity of his successor, who also uses a nickname, is also unknown.

This is the fourth leader of the Islamic State since the death in 2019 of the first 'caliph' of IS, Abu Bakr al Bagdadi, in a US operation.

On the other hand, the organization also indicated that its previous spokesman, Abu Omar al Muhager, was “captured” by Turkish intelligence.

On April 30, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced in an interview that the Turkish secret services (MIT) had killed Al Qurashi after following him “for a long time”, but did not offer details about the operation.

Since the death of Al Baghdadi, the leaders of the Islamic State have been nicknamed Al Qurashi, in reference to the tribe of Quraish (or Quraishites, in Spanish), to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged, and that the last two leaders have used to give legitimacy.

Strong security measures have been adopted around the Washington DC court where former President Donald Trump is summoned at 4:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT) to read the charges against him for his alleged attempt to reverse the election result of 2020.

A security perimeter has been installed around the E Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, seat of the federal court in the District of Columbia, which is handling the case of the former president.. From the building you can see the Capitol, which is about 500 meters away.

Law enforcement have placed metal barriers to prevent people from approaching the building, where only employees and authorized people can access after passing two security arches.

A crowd of journalists, some with mobile units to transmit by satellite, are in the vicinity of the court outside the protection perimeter. There is a strong presence of police patrols, agents with dogs and trucks have been placed to prevent the passage of general traffic to the area.

There are no protesters for or against Trump, but there are many onlookers, who are taking pictures of the courthouse with their mobile phones.

Trump is charged with four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official process, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official process, and conspiracy against rights.

Niger occupies a prominent role in the news around the world in recent days after a week ago the Presidential Guard, supported by the Armed Forces of the African country, announced live on national television the dismissal of President Mohamed Bazoun in a coup of State. A week later and just as it celebrates its independence day, uncertainty continues in the country, where Western nations, including Spain, are already evacuating their civilians.

Located in a region of special instability like the Sahel, what makes the coup in Niger news of special importance on the international scene?

Niger, an enclave of the Sahel between the desert and the savannah

Niger is a country in northwest Africa, located in the middle of the Sahel region (which in Arabic means “the coast”), made up of parts of Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Niger itself. A territory that crosses the African continent from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and that is a transition zone between the sand dunes of the Sahara and the extensive meadows of the Sudanese savannah.

The Sahel region is an area of particular instability: since 2020 there have been six coups in the area, the most recent being Mali and Burkina Faso, neighbors of Niger and currently governed by a military junta.. The violence and extremism of terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram or Al Qaeda, droughts and famines, the desertification of the area and overpopulation have contributed decisively to the instability of the Sahel region.. A circumstance from which Niger seemed to be the exception (at least politically) in recent years.

An exception among the instability of the Sahel

Since 1960, when Niger gained its independence from France, the country has lived in constant instability in line with the area. Several coups d'état, added to the economic situation (with two thirds of its population below the poverty line and being one of the most disadvantaged economies in Africa) place it, according to the United Nations Development Index, as the third country poorest in the world by 2022.

However, in 2021 presidential elections were held, in which Mohamed Bazoum, of the Niger Party for Democracy and Socialism, was victorious and replaced Mahamadou Issoufou, who has been the country's president since 2011.. It was the first democratic succession of a leader for the first time in the history of independent Niger. An event that marked the beginning of a (brief) period of stability and that invited optimism for Niger as an exception in the instability of the Sahel. Just a few months ago, on a visit to the country, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken praised the country as an “extraordinary example of resilience, democracy and cooperation.”

A coup “to fight terrorism”

Last Wednesday, members of the Presidential Guard announced during a national television broadcast the removal of the president, the suspension of the institutions and the closure of land and air borders.. The military took command under the self-proclaimed National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), headed by General Abdourahamane Tiani.

The new military junta headed by Tiani argues that a military government is the only way to fight the terrorism that violent Islamist groups exercise against the country, as well as against its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, badly hit by the terrorist threat.. Tiani, who in his speech described President Bazoun as an “incoherent and ineffective” leader, defends military action against the “continuous deterioration of the security situation” caused by terrorism.

An essential ally for the West

In recent years, Niger had become one of the West's main allies in the Sahel region for several reasons:

Russia's influence in Africa

Just a few days ago, a Russian-African summit was held in St. Petersburg. In it, Russia has signed military agreements with more than 40 African countries, according to Europa Press. In fact, Wagner's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, congratulated the leaders of Niger's military junta after their coup.

A country marked by poverty despite its resources

Despite its mineral resources, the standard of living for Nigeriens is one of the lowest in the world.. Profits from the sale of uranium flow to few, so Niger's economy is based on herding and agriculture. And that in a country marked by desertification, where barely 4% of the territory is suitable for cultivation, makes it a country very vulnerable to famine, according to the BBC.

For this reason, many Nigeriens have celebrated the coup and their support for the CNSP and have even cheered Russia and Putin in front of the French embassy in the capital, Niamey.. Many of them wave the Russian flag.

Evacuations before a possible war

The situation in Niger is uncertain after the coup. Europe and the United States have condemned the assault on power and have called for the restitution of Bazmoun, who continues to be detained, and in France, President Emmanuel Macron assured that “he will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests.”. This possible intervention could come from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which last Sunday gave the junta a period of one week to restore the Bazoum government, without ruling out military actions.

In any case, Western countries have begun to evacuate their citizens from the African country in the face of uncertainty and growing tension.. Spain, in fact, has begun to evacuate its residents in the country today. The first have arrived in our country today, as announced by the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares.

At least a dozen people were injured this Thursday, three seriously, in an indiscriminate attack with a knife in a city south of Seoul. The perpetrator of the events is a man who was arrested by the police while trying to flee the scene of the crime, where five pedestrians were run over by a vehicle believed to have been used by the same assailant.

The incident took place near a shopping center and next to the Seohyeon subway station, in the city of Seongnam, which is part of the capital's metropolitan area, shortly before 6:00 p.m. local time (9:00 GMT) on Thursday. The emergency services received a call alerting about a man who was attacking passers-by with a knife, according to the local Yonhap news agency.

The authorities reported that three of the injured have been taken to the hospital emergency room and the extent of the injuries to the other victims is unknown at this time.

The event took place after a similar incident occurred on July 21 in the southeast of the capital, when a man began stabbing pedestrians in the middle of the street, leaving one dead and three injured.