Right-wing outsider wins Colombian election first round

In a seismic political shift, Colombia's first-round presidential election has been won by Abelardo de la Espriella, a flamboyant right-wing outsider who idolizes Donald Trump and brands himself 'The Tiger.' His victory marks a dramatic rejection of Colombia's decades-long peace process with leftist guerrillas, as voters increasingly demand a hardline crackdown on violent drug gangs and dissident militias. De la Espriella's opponent, Ivan Cepeda, represents the outgoing president Gustavo Petro's historic pact and advocates for continued dialogue with armed groups—a strategy that has failed to curb violence. The outcome sets up a stark second-round showdown between reformist idealism and militarized order. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Israel's capture of the medieval Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon—its deepest incursion in 25 years—has sparked international condemnation and raised fears of a broader regional escalation. In science, researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking pill that nearly doubles survival time for advanced pancreatic cancer patients by targeting the KRAS gene, a long-elusive drug target. On a lighter note, a mouse plague is devastating Australian farmland, while a 'Highway to Hell' bus route in Poland has returned with a 13-hour journey from Kraków to the coastal town of Hell—spelled with one L.