U.S. recalls top diplomat in Colombia amid tensions

The Trump administration on Thursday recalled its top diplomat in Colombia for “urgent consultations” after recent comments from Colombia’s president appearing to question the U.S. position on an alleged plan to remove him from office.

The U.S. State Department said Thursday that the charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Bogota, John McNamara, would be returning to Washington “following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the government of Colombia.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded in kind, recalling Colombia’s ambassador to Washington for consultation. He said he wants to talk to Ambassador Daniel García Peña about progress on Colombia’s priorities in the bilateral relationship.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the administration would also be “pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship.”

Supreme Court clears way for deportation to South Sudan

The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the deportation of several immigrants who were put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, a war-ravaged country where they have no ties.

The decision comes after the court’s conservative majority found that immigration officials can quickly deport people to third countries. The majority halted an order that had allowed immigrants to challenge any removals to countries outside their homeland where they could be in danger.

The court’s latest decision makes clear that the South Sudan flight can complete the trip, weeks after it was detoured to a naval base in Djibouti where the migrants who had previously been convicted of serious crimes were held in a converted shipping container.

Russia first country to formally recognize Taliban’s latest rule

Russia on Thursday became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021, after Moscow removed the group from its list of outlawed organizations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received credentials from Afghanistan’s newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will foster “productive bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called it a historic step, and quoted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as welcoming the decision as “a good example for other countries.”

Governor vetoes anti-DEI and transgender rights bills

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed on Thursday three anti-DEI bills and another measure that in part would target transgender rights. His actions set up more showdowns with Republican lawmakers who pitch the legislation as doing away with structured racial bias in government and public education, protecting women and empowering parents.

Stein criticized the Republican-controlled legislature for focusing on these measures while they’ve yet to enact a budget for the fiscal year that started this week.

The measures cutting or eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state and local governments, K-12 public schools and the university system have been a major priority for GOP lawmakers. They argue the programs targeted have overemphasized identity to the detriment of merit and societal unity.

Croatian court sentences gunman to 50 years for shooting

A court in Croatia on Thursday convicted a gunman in a mass shooting at a nursing home nearly a year ago, and sentenced him to 50 years in prison for killing six people, including his own mother, and wounding several others.

The Municipal Court in Bjelovar found 52-year-old Kresimir Pahoki guilty on 13 counts, including murder and attempted murder.

Pahoki, who is a former fighter from an ethnic war in the 1990s in Croatia, walked into the nursing home in Daruvar, in central Croatia, on July 22, initially to pay for his mother’s bills. He then opened fire, killing five people on the spot, while one more person died later in a hospital.

Thousands evacuated in Greece while 2 killed in Turkey

Firefighters battled blazes Thursday near Athens and on the island of Crete, where thousands were forced to flee holiday resorts, while blazes in neighboring Turkey claimed at least two lives.

More than 5,000 tourists, hotel workers and residents were evacuated from the Ierapetra area along Crete’s southern coast, authorities and hotel association officials said. A small number of people fled into the sea and were rescued by local fishermen and divers.

Several homes and businesses were damaged. Volunteers found dead farm animals, some burned alive while chained inside sheds.

In western Turkey, a local forestry worker was killed while trying to contain the fire near the town of Odemis, and an 81-year-old resident died from smoke inhalation, authorities said. It marked the first fatalities in a series of wildfires that have forced thousands to flee.

Elephant kills 2 tourists from the U.K. and New Zealand

Two older women tourists in Zambia were killed by an elephant Thursday while on a walking safari in a national park, police said.

Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba said the victims — 68-year-old Easton Janet Taylor from the U.K. and 67-year-old Alison Jean Taylor from New Zealand — were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf.

Safari guides who were with the group attempted to stop the elephant from charging at the women by firing shots at it, police said. The elephant was hit and wounded by the gunshots. The guides were unable to prevent the elephant’s attack and both women died at the scene, police said.

It happened at the South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia, around 370 miles from the capital, Lusaka.

— Denver Post wire services