Florida executes man who spent nearly 50 years on death row

An angry crowd clashed with Australian police outside a hospital treating the suspected killer of a five-year-old Indigenous girl in the outback town of Alice Springs.

Images on local media Friday showed teargas in the air, a police van in flames and crowds yelling at armed officers keeping people at bay during the overnight confrontation.

The violence followed the discovery Thursday of a body south of Alice Springs believed to be that of the little girl, referred to at her family's request as Kumanjayi Little Baby.

She had disappeared from an Indigenous community camp called Old Timers late on Saturday night, sparking a vast, days-long search on foot, horseback, and by helicopter that gripped much of the country.

Police said a formal autopsy would be held on the child's body, which was found about five kilometres (three miles) from the camp.

Hours after her body was found, police announced they had arrested the suspect, Jefferson Lewis.

- 'He was unconscious' -

Lewis was beaten until he was unconscious after turning himself in to Indigenous community members on Thursday evening at a camp by Alice Springs, in central Australia.

When police and emergency services intervened, they too came under attack, said Northern Territory Police Force Commissioner Martin Dole.

"At the time of his apprehension by us, he was unconscious and he was in the process of being treated by St John's Ambulance when they were set upon, as were the police," he told a news conference.

Lewis was then taken to hospital.

"A large crowd gathered and tried to gain access to that hospital," the police commissioner said.

"We called out all the resources we had available to quell that violent disturbance. And just let me say that the behaviour that we saw last night cannot be explained away, excused or accepted."

Dole said "a number" of police were injured at the hospital, and one officer was treated for a head wound inflicted during the suspect's arrest.

Ambulance and fire crew members were also attacked, he said, with one fire and rescue officer receiving a "significant facial injury".

- 'Sorry business' -

One woman was being investigated for allegedly trying to set a police car alight.

Many people outside the hospital shouted that Lewis must face "payback", public broadcaster ABC reported, referring to a traditional punishment in central Australian Indigenous communities.

"I just call for calm across the community," Dole said.

Police said they removed Lewis for his safety from hospital to the Northern Territory capital of Darwin, where he was being held in custody.

He is expected to face charges in the coming days.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the girl's death was the realisation of "our worst nightmares".

But it was no excuse for violence, she said, recalling how the community had united to search for the missing child.

"This week, we've seen this town come together like never before -- hundreds of people walking shoulder to shoulder through the long buffel grass, through the bush, to make sure we left no stone unturned," Finocchiaro said.

"I don't want last night to take away from that extraordinary effort."

Robin Granites, a spokesman for the family and an elder of the Warlpiri Indigenous group, called for calm in the community.

"It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering," he said in a statement.

"We need to be strong for each other, we must respect family and cultural practice."

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz as well as tensions in the Red Sea are reshaping trade routes, with Africa becoming a hub of global container ship traffic, according to logistics and maritime sources.

Over the past two months, the blockade has also pushed shipowners to find alternative land corridors to deliver foodstuffs and manufactured goods by truck, as they can no longer reach the Gulf's coastal countries by sea.

- What are the alternative routes for delivering to Gulf countries? -

The Saudi port of Jeddah on the Red Sea is becoming a new regional "hub", where ships from maritime giants MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk and Cosco arrive via the Suez Canal.

Cargo then leaves by truck along a desert highway to deliver to places such as Sharjah, Bahrain and Kuwait, which have not been served by sea for the past two months.

"The port of Jeddah is not at all sized to handle such import volumes and a port congestion situation is emerging," Arthur Barillas de The, cofounder of freight forwarder Ovrsea, told AFP.

According to data from Kpler Marine Traffic, 11 container ships were docked in Jeddah on Thursday, with nine waiting, and an average wait of 36 hours before unloading compared to 17 hours the previous week.

Shipowners have said they will use three ports outside the Strait of Hormuz -- Oman's Sohar, and the UAE ports of Khorfakkan and Fujairah, which are connected by land from the United Arab Emirates.

The port of Aqaba in Jordan serves as a base for sending goods to Baghdad and Basra in Iraq, while a Turkish corridor is also allowing goods into northern Iraq.

- On international routes, why are Asia-Europe container ships avoiding the Suez Canal? -

The situation started well before the war in Iran but is very much connected to the conflict.

Avoiding the Red Sea from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Suez Canal dates back to November 19, 2023 and the first attack on a container ship by Iran-backed Houthi militias from the coast of Yemen, said CyclOpe, a specialist commodities publication.

The rerouting of ships has now become systematic, said Ronan Boudet, head of container intelligence at Kpler.

They skirt around Africa by following its eastern coast as far as the Cape of Good Hope in southern South Africa before heading back north towards Europe and the Mediterranean.

"With the current situation in the Gulf, we have put several more coins in the machine, it's not going to get better anytime soon," Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, chairman of French shipping giant Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, told AFP.

"Today, 70 percent of the freight traffic that went through the Red Sea in 2023 is being rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope," added Yves Guillo, a supply chain expert at Efeso, a management consultancy in Paris.

According to data from the International Monetary Fund's PortWatch platform based on ships' GPS signals, commercial vessel traffic via the Cape of Good Hope has more than tripled in three years, while traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has fallen by more than half.

Between March 1 and April 24 this year, an average of 20 commercial vessels went round the Cape of Good Hope every day compared with six in the same period in 2023.

By comparison, traffic in the Red Sea has plummeted: from 18 transits per day through Bab al-Mandeb between March and April 2023, the average fell to five three years later.

- What are the consequences? -

Transport times have lengthened between Asia and Europe by an average of two weeks and costs have risen because 30 to 50 percent more fuel is needed and 10 to 20 percent more ships to ensure the same frequency of service, said Guillo.

The average price to transport a standard 40-foot container on the main shipping routes increased by 14 percent in April compared to the same period last year, he added, citing changes in the Drewry freight index.

Large differences exist between routes: some African ports are seeing their activity increase. The Tanger Med Port Authority said it handled 11 million standard containers in 2025 -- up 8.4 percent.

But Egypt lost toll revenues from the Suez Canal, which make up a large part of its income. According to CyclOpe, in 2024 it lost $7 billion -- a drop of more than 60 percent compared with 2023.

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Across much of India, an energy crunch caused by the Iran war has prompted long queues for cooking gas cyclinders. That's not a problem for Gauri Devi.

On a stove with blue flames, she flips a chapati flatbread, burning biogas produced from cow dung -- an alternative fuel helping ease pressure on supplies.

"It cooks everything," the 25-year-old said in her courtyard kitchen in Nekpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from New Delhi. "If the pressure goes down, we let it rest for half an hour and it works again."

India consumes more than 30 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) annually, importing over half its needs.

The government insists there is no shortage of cooking gas, but supply delays, panic buying and black marketeers have created long queues for cylinders.

However, since the 1980s India has also promoted biogas as a low-cost rural energy source, subsidising more than five million "digester" units that convert farm waste into methane for cooking, and nitrogen-rich slurry for fertiliser.

For Gauri, it requires mixing a couple of buckets of dung with water, then pouring the mixture into a car-sized underground tank topped with a storage balloon.

It provides a piped methane supply so regular that she only uses an LPG cylinder for emergencies or large gatherings.

The biogas works for everything -- "vegetables, tea, lentils", she said.

- 'Black gold' -

The residual slurry is later spread on fields as fertiliser. It has better nitrogen availability for plants compared with raw dung, farmers say.

"The manure is so good," said farmer Pramod Singh, who installed a larger unit in 2025, enough for six people, fuelled by 30–45 kilogrammes of dung daily from four cows.

And he said the slurry fertiliser is particularly valuable at a time when global supplies of artificial fertilisers have been hit by trade disruptions due to the war.

"The real benefit is not just the gas -- that is like a bonus," local farmer leader Pritam Singh said. "The slurry is 'black gold'."

More than 45 percent of India's 1.4 billion people rely on farming, and the country has one of the largest cattle populations.

India -- the world's most populous nation and third-largest fossil fuel polluter -- has pushed large-scale biogas production to achieve a goal of carbon neutrality by 2070.

The government last year required that biogas account for at least one percent of liquid gas fuelling both vehicles and for domestic use  -- rising to five percent by 2028.

Dozens of multi-million dollar production plants are now in the pipeline.

But small-scale rural producers are also being rolled out -- units cost around 25,000–30,000 rupees ($265-$318), often heavily subsidised by the government.

In a Hindu-majority nation where cows are revered and dung and urine are used in everything from floor plastering and fuel to ritual practices, it is easy to win supporters, said Pritam Singh.

He installed his first plant in 2007, and has helped put in 15 more in his village in the past year alone.

He said interest had shot up after the LPG shortages.

"People who earlier were not interested now ask how to get it," he said.

"Once they see food being cooked and crops benefiting, they are convinced."

- 'Mini factories' -

But biogas is still a small fraction of household cooking fuel -- with LPG considered more convenient because companies manage the supply chain.

"Biogas plants are not just equipment; they are mini factories," said A.R. Shukla, president of the Indian Biogas Association.

"They need organised installation, regular operation and maintenance," he added. 

"So, unless installation and upkeep are handled through community-based or cooperative enterprises, households will continue to treat biogas as secondary fuel."

And even with government support, there are barriers to uptake, including cost and space.

"We work on other people's farms the whole day. We don't have land for it," said labourer Ramesh Kumar Singh, standing in a line of around 100 queueing for LPG cylinders in the nearby village of Madalpur.

"I am standing in scorching heat, hungry and thirsty," said Mahendri, 77, who had failed to secure a cylinder for three days in a row.

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In the middle of a field filled with bright red poppies, Afghans frolic among the spring flowers in a tradition deeply rooted in the country's north.

Families flocked to the valleys of Shirin Tagab district, near the border with Turkmenistan, to be among thousands of flowers that appeared after abundant rain. 

"There has been a drought for almost 10 years. No flowers or greenery grew," said Ghawsudin, who only uses one name.

"This year has been very good, and God is merciful," said the 79-year-old, who drove for three hours just to see the flowers.

Mohammad Ashraf, a 35-year-old visitor, said he hadn't seen so many poppies for more than a decade.

"Now there are so many red flowers, and you see people come here for picnics," he told AFP.

The landscape in Shirin Tagab is brightened by the common poppy, not the opium poppy that authorities have banned.

- 'Vitality and freshness' - 

Many Afghans living in the north used to travel to see the poppies after celebrating Persian New Year, Nowruz, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Taliban government, which applies a strict interpretation of Islamic law, has stopped such celebrations each spring.

But the tradition of visiting the poppies, which are widely revered in poems and songs, has endured.

Oriane Zerah, a photographer who published a book about Afghans and flowers, said they are an integral part of daily life.

"As soon as an Afghan has a little space in their garden, they plant a flower. Even in displacement camps, there'll be a flower somewhere. They put them on their pakol, one of their traditional hats, and there are desserts made with flowers," she told AFP.

The poppy has also been associated with wartime in the country, with the flower often placed on the coffins of fighters, according to Afghan writer Taqi Wahidi.

"Dying in the path of the homeland, or in the path of religion and faith, was considered a kind of new resurrection and entry into a new life," he told AFP.

The same flower is widely used in countries, such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand, where people wear artificial poppies to remember those killed in past conflicts.

Nowadays in Afghanistan, however, the poppy "symbolises vitality and freshness", according to Wahidi.

"At the same time that nature is renewed, human beings also want to bring new colours into their lives," he said.

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It's been the crucible of music icons from ABBA to Celine Dion, a flashy symbol of European integration, the charged focal point for geopolitics and a stage for social change. 

For seven decades, the Eurovision Song Contest -- which gathers performers from across Europe and further afield, selected by each country's public broadcasting service -- has delighted and, at times, baffled spectators. 

Now the annual competition is gearing up for its 70th anniversary in Vienna later this month amid fears boycotts over Israel's participation might derail the expected outpourings of national pride and abundance of glitter.

So what makes Eurovision so unique?

- Geopolitical hotspot -

The contest has been rocked this year by the withdrawal of several European countries in protest over Israel's participation following its war in Gaza, with the global backlash hitting last year's competition also.

But it was far from the first time the competition had been hit by geopolitical tensions.

During the Cold War, the absence of Eastern Bloc countries reflected Europe's division. Protests also erupted in the 1960s over the participation of Spain under dictator General Francisco Franco, and Portugal under the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.

The 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus prompted Greece to pull out, while tensions between Georgia and Moscow and the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan have also left their mark. 

In 2022, Russia was excluded over its invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian contestant went on to win.

- Reuniting Europe -

On the other hand, since the contest expanded to the eastern part of the continent in the 2000s, Eurovision has served as a catalyst for European integration, said University of Glasgow expert Paul Jordan.

Participating in Eurovision has helped former Soviet republics such as Estonia and Ukraine cultivate their images as part of Europe, he added.

"Certainly for Ukraine, it was all about showing themselves as an independent Western, European country" while asserting opposition to Moscow, Jordan told AFP.

Galina Miazhevich from Cardiff University said that as much as countries have used "some ethnic elements and language elements to kind of declare: this is who we are", there has also been a melding of influences, with plenty of bilingual songs and homogenisation.

- Social platform -

In 1961, Jean‑Claude Pascal won with "Nous les amoureux" ("We the Lovers"), a song about a forbidden love that was later interpreted as an allusion to homosexuality.

The contest then became an ever more progressive stage, notably with the victory of transgender singer Dana International for Israel in 1998.

In 2015, Finland nominated Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat, a punk band of musicians with disabilities.

In 2021, Suriname-born artist Jeangu Macrooy addressed slavery, racism, and the colonial legacy in his performance.

That same year, Russia's Manizha performed a song about the pressures faced by women and women's emancipation, which stirred controversy in her home country.

- Hit factory -

Ever since the Swedish band ABBA rose to global fame after their victory in 1974, Eurovision has helped numerous stars, including Celine Dion and Italy's Maneskin, achieve stardom.

Following the rise of social media, singers and bands do not even have to win to make an international splash.

Armenia's Rosa Linn, who finished 20th in 2022, saw her song "Snap" go viral on Instagram and TikTok before scoring on international charts.

- Cultural touchstone -

Eurovision's vast archives rack up millions of views on YouTube, with performances that have become entrenched in popular culture.

Its fame has also expanded well beyond the world of music -- even breaching the United States, with the Will Ferrell-led 2020 comedy "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga".

It was not always so.

The show was "not cool" in the 1980s and 1990s and was dismissed as unappreciated kitsch in the West when eastern European countries joined, Jordan said.

The turn came in 2014, with the highly publicised victory of Austrian bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst, Jordan added.

Even though some performances still leave audiences baffled as too vulgar, or with humour that is too niche, the show caters to a wide variety of tastes -- from pop to opera, rock to rap, folk to chanson.

And even those who do not like Eurovision have an opinion on it, said Jordan.

"It's a kind of cultural reference point that everyone has," he said.

"We're growing up with this television show. And I think there's maybe this nostalgia in a way that there isn't for other things."

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Oil prices edged up Friday after the previous day's wild swings, with investors awaiting the next move in the Middle East crisis, while stocks rose in holiday-thinned trade following a tech-led record day on Wall Street.

With peace talks between the United States and Iran stalled for the past week, there appears to be little sign that they will agree a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz any time soon, choking off a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies.

After tumbling early in April on news of a ceasefire between the rivals, crude has spiked in recent weeks amid stuttering negotiations, and they soared Thursday after Axio said Donald Trump would be briefed on potential fresh military strikes. 

The report compounded fears after the US president warned the blockade of Iranian ports could last months.

Brent for June delivery hit a peak above $126 before easing back to end at $114, which was down for the day. Its July contract, which had been cheaper, started Friday by rising more than one percent.

West Texas Intermediate's June contract, which was still being traded, was also slightly up.

Investors are now keeping an eye on Washington and Tehran, hoping for fresh moves towards ending the crisis -- which is hammering the global economy -- with the British and European central banks warning of a spike in inflation.

Meanwhile, the United States is seeking to assemble an international coalition of allied states and shipping firms to coordinate safe passage through Hormuz -- while maintaining its blockade of ships serving Iran, a State Department official told AFP.

That came as International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned the world faced a "major energy and economic challenge" as oil prices soar, and warned of "the biggest energy crisis in history".

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the closure of Hormuz was "strangling the global economy" and that even if restrictions were lifted today, "supply chains will take months to recover, prolonging lower economic output and higher prices".

Still, stocks rose on a day when the majority of markets in Asia Pacific were shut for a holiday. Tokyo, Sydney and Wellington were all up.

The gains were helped by tech firms, tracking Wall Street's sharp gains that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq once again end at record highs thanks to strong earnings and economic data.

Google parent Alphabet soared 10 percent after it posted on Wednesday forecast-topping profits and solid revenue across its major divisions.

And after the market close on Thursday, Apple said earnings beat expectations thanks to strong iPhone demand. 

The news helped offset concerns about its huge AI spending by Meta.

Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department estimated the world's biggest economy grew by an annual rate of 2.0 percent in the first three months of this year. A key factor was a surge in artificial intelligence investments, although consumer spending cooled.

On currency markets, the yen weakened slightly, a day after surging on speculation Japanese authorities had stepped in to provide support.

The unit finished Thursday just above 157 per dollar, compared with 160.72 earlier in the day.

Officials had recently warned about moves in the market that had seen the yen drop, suggesting they were ready to intervene.

But the country's top currency official, Atsushi Mimura refused to comment on suggestions Japan had stepped in, but said authorities were in close communication with US counterparts. 

- Key figures at 0200 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent to $111.67 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $105.60 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 59,646.91 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.14 yen from 156.60 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1732 from $1.1731

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3606 from $1.3602

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.22 pence from 86.25 pence

New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 49,652.14 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.6 percent at 10,378.82 (close)

dan/fox

A vibrating violin behind a fiery curtain, a Greek cruise ship singer and a song about star-crossed planets are among the favourites to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The bookmakers put Finland's string-laden "Flamethrower" well ahead of the entries from Greece, Denmark, France and Australia, for now.

Here are the top five favourites to win the world's biggest talent show, held in Vienna on May 16.

- Finland: a blazing violin -

Linda Lampenius, a 56-year-old violinist, and 36-year-old pop singer Pete Parkkonen will try to strike a chord with the public with their passionate song "Liekinheitin" ("Flamethrower"), performed in Finnish.

The handsome dark-haired singer laments his unreturned love, while his counterpart in a sparkling dress answers him by violently vibrating the strings of her instrument behind a curtain of fire, with her long blonde hair fluttering in the air.

Compelling listeners to dance, the song is "a duet of very high musical quality" and "a three-minute burst of drama", Finnish Eurovision expert Anna Muurinen told AFP.

"Flamethrower" has raised hopes across Finland -- whose only win so far dates from 2006 -- that the song will appeal to a broad audience without having to resort to English lyrics.

- Greece: Mediterranean techno -

Akylas Mytilineos will sing "Ferto", meaning "Bring It". The energetic song with a pronounced Greek accent recounts a son's thirst for glory and fortune so that he can give his mother everything they lacked during his childhood.

Sporting black sunglasses and a trademark beanie, the 27-year-old singer identifies as a queer artist, highlighting the need for expression and acceptance throughout his music.

He started his career on cruise ships before his style charmed internet users. In 2022, he took part in the Greek version of The Voice.

Greece won its only Eurovision title in 2005.

- Denmark: after-party electro -

Soren Torpegaard Lund, a 27-year-old singer, will compete with "For vi gar hjem" ("Before We Go Home"), a pop song in Danish with a touch of electro music evoking the atmosphere of a hot late-night club.

Denmark "for once actually is sending a good song", said Lisanne Wilken, a Eurovision specialist and associate professor at Aarhus University in Denmark.

She added that the Danish contestant will also benefit from an unexpected geopolitical boost as US President Donald Trump has made claims on Greenland, which is an autonomous Danish territory.

"The situation with Greenland and Trump has put Denmark even more on the map, and that put the spotlight on it, on the country in a way that never happened before," Wilken said.

She added that Denmark was rarely a Eurovision favourite despite having won three times, the last time in 2013.

- France: operatic pop -

Monroe, a 17-year-old French-American singer, is the youngest performer ever to represent France at Eurovision.

She will sing "Regarde!" ("Look!"), a love song blending pop, opera and references to musicals.

The wider public discovered this singer, sporting long braided hair, in a TV talent show dedicated to young classical music virtuosos.

Monroe, who released her first album last November, was born in the United States and grew up surrounded by both US and French culture.

She names opera star Cecilia Bartoli, but also Whitney Houston, Johnny Hallyday and Celine Dion as her sources of inspiration.

"It makes me want to work on my voice so I can present good things, carry the colours of France and of our lovely culture," Monroe told AFP shortly after she was chosen to represent France, which has so far scored five Eurovision victories.

- Australia: a power ballad -

Australia's ballad "Eclipse" evokes a love affair between planets. The singer is 41-year-old Delta Goodrem, who has sold more than nine million albums.

The song blends delicate piano with impressive vocal crescendos, which Goodrem -- a songwriter, musician, film star and a coach on The Voice Australia -- has brought to perfection.

The worldwide fame of the Sydney-born artist, who signed her first contract aged 15, is fuelling hopes of a first-ever victory for contest-mad Australia.

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The New York Knicks put on one of the most dominant displays in NBA playoff history Thursday, destroying Atlanta 140-89 to advance to the second round.

The Knicks wrapped up a 4-2 series win in utterly emphatic style, leading the Hawks by as much as 61 points before benching their starters for the final quarter.

It was the most points scored and the biggest win by the Knicks in a playoff game. 

New York's 47-point half-time lead, at 83-36, was the widest in NBA post-season history.

OG Anunoby top-scored with 29 points, including 26 in the first half, before he was rested. None of New York's starters played more than 29 minutes.

"We can't just meet the moment, we've got to exceed it, and I thought we did a great job of doing that tonight," said Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Having finished third in the Eastern Conference, the heavily favored Knicks had been down 2-1 early in the playoff series, before roaring back. 

They are the first team to advance to the East's semi-finals -- their fourth straight year of reaching that stage. 

They will face either the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers.

The Hawks briefly led at the start of the game, going up 11-9 before the wheels dramatically came off. 

They trailed 40-15 at the end of the first quarter.

With the Atlanta crowd shellshocked, the Hawks players grew frustrated.

A scuffle broke out between Mitchell Robinson and Dyson Daniels, with other members of both teams getting involved.

But with the game clearly over, the second half was largely incident-free.

The 51-point margin of defeat was not quite the largest in playoff history, which stands at 58 points.

amz/pst

The European Union's mammoth trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur provisionally enters into force Friday, despite a pending court ruling on its legality.

The agreement to create one of the world's biggest free-trade zones was sealed in January after more than 25 years of intermittent negotiations.

The deal, which eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of trade between the two sides, has proven divisive in Europe, with France leading opposition over concerns some of its farmers will be left worse off.

But -- backed by a majority of EU countries -- Brussels ploughed ahead as it pushes to diversify trade in the face of challenges from the United States and China.

"A lot of work went into getting this landmark deal over the line; now it’s time to invest the same effort into making sure our citizens and businesses reap its benefits immediately," said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

"From day one, tariffs are reduced and new market opportunities are opened."

To mark the day, EU chiefs von der Leyen and Antonio Costa will hold online talks with leaders from the Mercosur nations, which include Argentina and Brazil.

Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 percent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers.

The agreement favours European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.

The application of the deal comes after the European Parliament referred it to the EU's top court in January, instead of giving it the green light.

France unsuccessfully attempted to block the deal over worries for its farmers, who fear being undercut by cheaper goods from agricultural powerhouse Brazil and its neighbours.

The staunch French opposition to the pact caused a public rift with Germany, pitting the EU's two biggest countries against one another.

At the same time as it has looked to wrap up the Mercosur deal, the EU has also ploughed on with other agreements to get closer to other important markets such as India, Australia and Indonesia.

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A Florida man who has spent nearly half a century on death row was executed by lethal injection on Thursday for the murder of a 13-year-old girl.

James Hitchcock, 70, was convicted of the 1976 murder of Cynthia Driggers, his step-niece, and sentenced to death in 1977.

Hitchcock, who maintains his innocence, was executed at 6:12 pm (2212 GMT) at the Florida state prison in Raiford, the state's Department of Corrections said on its website.

His nearly 50 years on death row made him among the inmates who had spent the most time in prison awaiting execution in the United States.

A second US execution took place on Thursday, in Texas.

James Broadnax, 37, was put to death at 6:47 pm (2347 GMT) by lethal injection for the 2008 robbery and murder of two music producers, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.

In his last statement, shared by the department, Broadnax said: "No matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I'm innocent."

Ten executions have been carried out in the United States this year -- six in Florida, three in Texas and one in Oklahoma.

There were 47 executions in the country last year, the most since 2009, when 52 people were put to death.

Florida carried out the most executions in 2025, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, where there were five each.

Thirty-nine of last year's executions were carried out by lethal injection.

Three were by firing squad and five by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.

The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others -- California, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- have moratoriums in place.

President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and has called for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes."

The Trump Justice Department said in April that it is seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas as methods of execution.

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