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Bogotá (AFP) – The United States and Colombia sign a cooperation agreement aimed at curbing illegal immigration and combating organized crime, during an official visit by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. “Today, we have signed a statement of intent for biometric cooperation, and it will reaffirm our strong and our resilient and enduring partnership that we have between the United States and Colombian,” says Noem during a joint press conference. SOUNDBITE

Images of Walmart in Mexico City after the US retail giant anounced that it will invest more than $6 billion in the country in 2025, despite President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars with Washington’s partners and competitors alike. IMAGES

Valparaíso (Chile) (AFP) – Chilean artisanal fishermen block cargo ships’ access to the port of Valparaiso as part of protests against delays in a fishing bill that aims to redistribute quotas between artisanal and industrial fishermen. IMAGES

Susya (Territoires palestiniens) (AFP) – “I felt like these were the last moments of my life.” Palestinian filmmaker and Oscar winner for the documentary “No Other Land”, Hamdan Ballal, recalls the events of 24 March in which he was arrested by Israeli police after being “brutally” attacked by settlers in his village of Susya, south of the occupied West Bank.

Paris (AFP) – A Franco-British mission will travel to Ukraine “in the coming days” to “prepare the structure of what the Ukrainian army of tomorrow will look like,” announces French President Emmanuel Macron during a press briefing following the Ukraine Security summit in Paris. European leaders agreed that sanctions against Russia should not be lifted, and instead ramped up, until Moscow halts its war against Ukraine.

Abou Dhabi (AFP) – Muslim worshippers gather at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to pray on Laylat al-Qadr, or the “Night of Destiny”, one of the holiest nights during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Tijuana (Mexico) (AFP) – Images of a Toyota automobile manufacturing facility in Tijuana, on Mexico’s border with the United States. US President Donald Trump has announced steep tariffs on auto imports, in a move set to fuel tensions with trading partners ahead of further promised levies next week. IMAGES

Tecoluca (Salvador) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s homeland security chief visits El Salvador’s Terrorist Confinement Center [CECOT], a mega-prison housing Venezuelans expelled by his administration. El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro shows Noem the facility. IMAGES

Sorocaba (AFP) – Yoko, the chimpanzee, arrives at a sanctuary in Sorocaba, Brazil, to socialize with other chimpanzees. Yoko travelled to Brazil on March 23 from Colombia in the company of his veterinarian, Javier Guerrero. Kidnapped from his family as an infant, then raised by a drug lord before ending up in a Colombian zoo, Yoko the chimpanzee has lived the last two years of his life alone.

Bucha (AFP) – Orthodox priest Andriy Galavin hopes justice will be served three years after hundreds of people were shot during Russia’s occupation of Bucha, where his church served as a temporary burial ground. But his faith in justice is being tested by US President Donald Trump’s courting of the Kremlin in the hopes of a quick end to the war, leaving some Ukrainians fearful their concerns and demands — like seeing Russian officials stand trial — will be sidelined.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Israel would intensify its pressure on Hamas if the Palestinian militant group refused to release hostages still held in Gaza. “The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the stronger the pressure we will exert,” says Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

(AFP) – Agence France-Presse calls for the “rapid release” of its photojournalist Yasin Akgul, who was arrested at his home before dawn on March 24 and remanded in custody on March 25 after covering protests against the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19. Vast crowds have since hit the streets daily, defying protest bans in Istanbul and other big cities.