International

Mexico celebrates 200 years of independence

AFP

Mexico celebrated the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain on Monday with a commemoration featuring fireworks, theatre, and pyrotechnics in the capital’s central plaza.

The event in Mexico City’s Zocalo square, once the heart of the Aztec empire, was headed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

“What we experienced that day, 200 years ago, marked forever our political separation with Spain,” said AMLO, the acronym by which the president is known.

Multiple countries sent congratulatory messages, including US President Joe Biden, who assured that his country “has no closer friend than Mexico.”

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“I look forward to all that our two nations will accomplish together in the years to come,” Biden said in recorded video.

Pope Francis’ congratulations included an acknowledgment of the Catholic Church’s “sins” in Mexico.

AMLO has asked the Spanish government and the Vatican several times to apologize for the “massacres and oppression” committed in the name of colonizing and evangelizing the indigenous peoples of Mexico.

“Both my predecessors and I have asked for forgiveness for personal and social sins,” Pope Francis wrote.

In a ceremony that limited visitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers used theatre, multimedia displays, and pyrotechnics to illustrate the country’s pre-Hispanic history, including the war for independence.

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The staging is part of a series of events organized by the Mexican government to mark the 700th anniversary of the founding of the Aztec capital and the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest.

Most Mexicans have mixed European and indigenous ancestry and have contrasting feelings about the violence of the conquest, which imposed culture, language, and religion on the country.

As part of Monday’s celebration, Italian general Roberto Riccardi was awarded the Aztec Eagle, the highest distinction granted to a foreigner in Mexico, for his work in the recovery of archaeological pieces.

Since 2018, 5,746 historical artifacts have been repatriated to the country, most of which are archaeological, AMLO said.

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International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.