Category World News

Trump calls Colombia’s Petro ‘a drug leader’, says US to cut aid to country

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By News Agencies

United States President Donald Trump has called his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader”, announcing that the US will slash funding to the South American nation.

President Petro is “strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs” across Colombia, Trump claimed in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, in which he repeatedly spelled it as “Columbia”.

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He called Petro a “low rated and very unpopular” leader, warning that he “better close up” drug operations or the US “will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely”.

“The purpose of this drug production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc”, Trump added, saying US payments and subsidies to Colombia were a rip-off.

“AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE”, he wrote in capital letters. It was not clear what payments Trump was referring to.

Earlier on Sunday, Petro accused Trump’s government of assassination and demanded answers after the latest US strike in Caribbean waters.

The US said on Saturday it was repatriating to Colombia and Ecuador two survivors from that attack, the sixth since early September. At least 29 people have been killed in strikes that the US has said are targeting alleged drug traffickers.

Last month, the Trump administration accused Colombia of failing to cooperate in the drug war, although at the time Washington issued a waiver of sanctions that would have triggered aid cuts.

Colombia is the world’s largest exporter of cocaine, and the cultivation of the critical ingredient of coca leaves reached an all-time high last year, according to the United Nations. Last year, Petro pledged to tame coca-growing regions in Colombia with huge social and military intervention, but the strategy has brought little success.

‘ We await explanations ‘

Relations between Bogota and Washington have frayed since Trump returned to office.

Last month, the US also revoked Petro’s visa after he joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York and urged US soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders.

Petro urged all American army soldiers to “disobey the orders of Trump” and “don’t point your rifles against humanity.”

Alejandro Carranza, a fisherman from Santa Marta, was killed in a September 16 strike, according to Petro, who claimed responsibility early on Sunday. Carranza claimed Carranza was unaware of any links to drug trafficking and that his boat was acting strangely when it hit.

On X, Petro wrote that “US government officials have murdered people and violated our territorial sovereignty.”

“The Colombian boat had one engine turned on while it was adrift.” The US government’s explanations are still in process.

Petro claimed he had immediately called the attorney general’s office and requested that it start legal proceedings both domestically and internationally. He continued to post numerous messages about the murder.

Gaza’s traumatised children urgently need the hope education offers

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I had a variety of conflicting emotions when the Gaza ceasefire was declared. I was relieved that the bombs had finally stopped, but I also feared that they could go back on at any time. I was worried that this might return to normal life, but I also worried that it might be a temporary one.

As a teacher of English, I want to see education as quickly as possible. The only way to revive hope and assist children in overcoming the trauma of two years of genocide is through education. It can give the impression of purpose and normalcy. That is why Gaza should have the highest priority.

I taught English to elementary and middle school students in Gaza City before the genocide started. In the first weeks of the war, the school was completely destroyed, and the educational facility suffered severe damage.

We had to leave our home, along with my family. I began teaching in a tent a few months later as part of a volunteer-run initiative at the local school. My students, who ranged in age from six to twelve, were seated on the floor in the tent without desks. Although the teaching environment was challenging, I made a commitment to supporting children in their education.

By the late December of that year, all pens, books, and notebooks had completely vanished from stores and markets. If there was any money available, a single notebook would cost anywhere between 20 and 30 shekels ($6 to $9). The majority of families were unable to afford this.

Some of my pupils started arriving at class without anything to write on, others would pick up scraps of paper from the rubble of homes and proceed with it, and others would continue to write in pennies on the backs of their families’ preserved old sheets of paper. Many children would frequently have to share a single pen because pens were so scarce.

We educators had to find alternative teaching methods because writing and reading, the foundation of education, became so challenging. We performed songs, heard stories, and group recitations.

Children had an incredible desire to continue learning despite the lack of resources. I was moved by their determination to learn despite everything, and I was moved by their perseverance as I saw them struggle with old scraps of paper.

Years ago, my grandmother gave me a special notebook that I used as a diary. My dreams and secrets were included in it. After the war, I began to read accounts of bombings, homeless people sleeping in the streets, starvation never before, and suffering without even the most basic necessities.

I was aware of what I had to do on a particular August school day when the majority of my students showed up without a single paper. I gave my students the pages of my notebook as I began tearing them out one by one.

My notebook’s pages ran out in a single day due to the number of children in it. Then, my students had to return the paper or cardboard scraps.

My students are still without paper and pens despite the truce putting an end to the bombs. Humanitarian aid has once more begun entering Gaza. Shelter supplies, food, and supplies are arriving. All of these are crucial. However, we also urgently require funding for the 600,000 schoolchildren in Gaza to get back on track.

Not just textbooks, pens, and paper are available. They provide a lifeline to Gaza’s children who have overcome war, destruction, and great loss. They are essential tools for their willpower and perseverance to live, learn, and envision a bright future.

With the aid of education, children can recover from war trauma and regain sense of security. For both community healing and psychological rehabilitation, learning provides them with the structure, self-assurance, and hope for a brighter future.

We must re-advocate for those who lost two years of education with the ability to write, study, and dream.

Kenya’s revered opposition leader Raila Odinga being laid to rest

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Published On 19 Oct 2025

Days after several people were killed when mourners gathered in Nairobi to pay their respects, Kenyans are saying a final farewell to revered opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Odinga, a pro-democracy champion who also served as Kenya’s prime minister from 2008 to 2013, will be interred on Sunday at his family’s Bondo homestead.

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According to Kenya’s The Star newspaper, he will receive full military honors at the private burial following a funeral mass earlier that day at a nearby university.

A man who was referred to as a “selfless pan-Africanist” was interred at the final interment of thousands of Kenyans and dignitaries from across Africa.

Olusegun Obasanjo, Kenya’s president, and former president Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s president, were among those present who praised Odinga as a “unifier.”

On the day of Raila Odinga’s funeral mass, Oburu Odinga’s brother, is observed by Kenyan President William Ruto at the Bondo-based Jaramogi Oginga University of Science and Technology.

Raila was a Kenyan dignitary who was also very respected throughout the continent and even beyond, according to Al Jazeera’s correspondent Catherine Soi during the ceremony in Bondo.

People in this country want to pay him the sacrifices he made.

Spectacular memorials

On Wednesday, Odinga, 80, died from a suspected heart attack at a southern Indian health clinic. On Thursday, thousands of mourners in Nairobi saw his body.

In the past three days, thousands of mourners have attended four public viewing events that have resulted in the deaths of five people and hundreds of injuries as a result of stampedes.

According to Al Jazeera’s Soi, there was also “a bit of a fracas” leading up to Sunday’s burial as “people tried to surge” toward the site, but security personnel “quickly contained” the crowd.

Security personnel control the crowd as mourners gather to attend a funeral Mass for Kenya's former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who died while receiving medical treatment in India, at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology in Bondo, Siaya County, Kenya, October 19, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
At Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, mourners are gathered in a mass.

Odinga was arguably the most significant political figure of his generation in Kenya, affectionately known as “Baba” (“father” in Swahili).

In a career of shifting alliances, he became prime minister in 2008, and he also signed a political pact with former president Kenyatta in 2018 and with President Ruto last year.

He is credited as the main force behind the widely praised constitution passed in 2010 and his failure to win the presidency despite five attempts.

Following months of anti-government protests that saw young Kenyans storm and burn some Parliament of Kenya buildings, Odinga reportedly said on Friday that Odinga had supported him in “steady the country” under a political pact signed in March of this year.

Erastus Mwencha, the former vice president of the African Union, claimed that Odinga had a continental influence.

He continued, noting that some African nations are still trying to achieve democracy, that he “viewed him as one of those who fought for the second liberation.”

Kohli, Rohit struggle as India lose to Australia in ODI Perth opener

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by news organizations

In the first one-day international (ODI) at Perth Stadium that was impacted by the weather, Australia’s stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh put in a fine run of form on Sunday, scoring 46 not out and leading his nation to a seven-wicket victory over India.

India’s scorched 136-9 from 26 overs, which was interrupted four times by rain, gave the hosts a revised target of 131, which they had previously reached in 21.11 overs.

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After India were introduced, the 42-person crowd in which watched Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli quickly awaited.

The former captains made their first appearance on national duty since winning the Champions Trophy in March after retiring from the game’s other formats with an eye on the 2027 World Cup.

Both of Australia’s pace bowlers struggled to find a footing, with Rohit edging Josh Hazlewood to second-guess on eight and Kohli diving Cooper Connolly for a duck in front of the backward-pointer.

“All of their batters are world-class and legendary players,” said spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who recorded a 2-26 victory. To get wickets up front in one-day cricket, especially, makes a huge difference.

In his long-awaited return to the ODI format, India star Virat Kohli was let go without scoring. [Paul Kane/Getty Images]

Gill, India’s captain, was cheaply fired.

When Shubman Gill tickled Nathan Ellis to wicketkeeper Josh Philippe, India was left reeling at 37-3 after two hours of light rain halted play.

When Shreyas Iyer (11) slashed Hazlewood to the fence, the crowd applauded sarcastically when the covers were removed. However, Philippe made a second leg-side catch in his subsequent over to get his revenge.

Kuhnemann and Mitch Owen maintained the pressure and stopped any momentum that Axar Patel (31) and KL Rahul (38), with the exception of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s rapid 19 from 11 balls.

Man-of-the-match Marsh spearheaded Australia’s response by hitting three sixes, continuing impressive form against South Africa and New Zealand, serving as Pat Cummins’ replacement whose Ashes hopes are uncertain due to a back injury.

Due to Josh Inglis and Alex Carey’s absence, Philippe started his first international series against India by bowling out to Arshdeep Singh in the deep. He supported his skipper with an aggressive 37.

Matt Renshaw scored 21 not out for his team, while Arshdeep, Axar, and Washington Sundar each took one wicket each.

“We knew we didn’t have that many runs,” Arshdeep said.

On Thursday, the series moves to Adelaide before moving to Sydney on Saturday.

Mitchell Marsh in action.
In his match-winning innings, Marsh [Janelle St Pierre/Cricket Australia via Getty Images] hit 3 sixes and 2 boundaries.