El anuncio de Teherán de que el Estrecho de Ormuz queda abierto de inmediato a la navegación de buques comerciales de cualquier nacionalidad provocó un suspiro de alivio en las capitales europeas y en los cuarteles generales de las compañías aéreas, porque la situación es tensa y hasta el jueves empezaba a pensarse que los aviones iban a quedarse pronto en tierra.

Fatih Birol, director de la Agencia Internacional de la Energía, dijo el jueves en una entrevista a la agencia Associated Press lo que los dirigentes nacionales europeos y de las instituciones de la Unión Europea no se habían atrevido a decir en público: Europa tiene combustible para aviones para seis semanas y la temporada de viajes turísticos del verano boreal, muy importante económicamente para muchas regiones europeas, no está asegurada.

El anuncio iraní tranquiliza un poco a los europeos, pero la Comisión Europea sigue adelante con sus planes para presentar la próxima semana un plan que debe asegurar capacidad de refino suficiente con la infraestructura que hay en Europa. Se trata de hacer un inventario de refinerías europeas que podrían producir más combustible para aviones, incluso de tomar medidas coercitivas si fuera necesario.

Algunas aerolíneas ya empezaron a tomar medidas, sobre todo porque el precio del carburante se ha duplicado y equivale aproximadamente a un tercio del costo operativo de las aerolíneas. La holandesa KLM, del mismo grupo empresarial que la francesa Air France, suspendió ya más de 80 vuelos.

La alemana Lufthansa suspendió toda la actividad de su filial CityLine. El 15% del combustible para aviones que se sirve en los aeropuertos europeos tiene que pasar por el Estrecho de Ormuz, según los datos que maneja la Comisión Europea.

Birol cuenta en la entrevista que la guerra de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán y la respuesta del régimen iraní atacando a sus vecinos del Golfo Pérsico que acogen bases estadounidenses provocó “la mayor crisis energética que hemos enfrentado jamás”.

Birol advierte que el impacto de la crisis será “precios más altos de la gasolina, precios más altos del gas, precios más altos de la electricidad”. Aunque los precios mayoristas del gas en el mercado europeo son, de hecho, incluso más bajos porque el bloque aprendió a diversificar suministradores cuando tuvo que dejar de comprar gas ruso.

Birol lleva semanas advirtiendo a la Comisión Europea y su agencia publicó hace más de un mes una lista de medidas a tomar por los gobiernos para reducir el consumo energético. La Comisión Europa ya copió algunas de esas ideas en recomendaciones enviadas a los gobiernos.

Se trata de tomar medidas como el fomento, e incluso la obligatoriedad, del teletrabajo al menos un día a la semana, abaratar los precios del transporte público o limitar la velocidad en autopistas porque un auto a 100 kilómetros por hora gasta hasta un 15% menos que un auto a 120 kilómetros por hora.

La expectativa de una reducción de suministros de hidrocarburos está haciendo crecer la inflación. En marzo el aumento del índice de precios al consumidor de la Eurozona alcanzó el 2,6% en la Eurozona, cuando en febrero fue del 1,9%, tasa ideal porque entre las tareas del Banco Central Europeo está la de mantener la inflación justo por debajo del 2,0%.

Con 2,6% el Central europeo tendrá que tomar medidas en las próximas semanas o meses para contenerla, forzando una subida de tasas que hará daño a muchos países del bloque, que apenas crecen más allá del 1% anual. En el conjunto de la Unión Europea esa inflación es ya del 2,8% cuando en febrero, antes de la guerra, era del 2,1%.

La inmediata apertura del Estrecho de Ormuz a la navegación comercial internacional debe hacer que los temores de la falta de combustible y la subida de la inflación puedan contenerse en las próximas semanas o meses, pero los europeos aprenden con esta crisis que no pueden fiarse de suministradores que pueden dejarlos sin combustible. O que la guerra puede reanudarse en cualquier momento si el Gobierno de Benjamin Netanyahu decide que le interesa que la guerra siga, aunque no sea del interés de Estados Unidos.

A wolf who escaped a South Korean zoo nine days ago, captivating international attention, has been found and safely returned.

Neukgu burrowed his way out of the O-World zoo and theme park in Daejeon, south of Seoul, on April 8.

His search kept the country on edge as many worried for the 2-year-old wolf eight years after a puma named Bbo-rong was shot and killed hours after it escaped from the same zoo.

Neukgu was seen several times before he was captured, including on surveillance video.

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He was also seen near a highway nearly three miles from the zoo, a zoo official said.

The animal was captured just after midnight on Friday after he was shot by a veterinarian using a tranquilizer gun.

His vital signs were normal following a health check, but a fish hook was removed from his stomach, zoo officials said.

((Daejeon City Corporation/Reuters))

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Neukgu, born in captivity in 2024, is part of a breeding program to bring up the numbers of the Korean wolf, which is considered extinct in the wild.

A veterinarian examines the condition of a male wolf named Neukgu at Daejeon O-World theme park in Daejeon, South Korea, on April 17, 2026. (Daejeon Municipality/AP)

He is of the third generation of wolves brought to South Korea from Russia to reintroduce an animal similar to the Korean wolf, which went extinct in the 1960s.

Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo expressed his gratitude for those involved in the search for bring Neukgu back safely, and pledged on Facebook to «prepare measures for animal ​welfare and civil safety in the process of reorganising (the zoo).»

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The extensive search included drones with thermal image cameras.

Neukgu escaped an earlier attempt at capture when he evaded a perimeter set for him on a mountain near the zoo.

South Koreans were enthralled by Neukgu’s escape, with some calling him an «honorary ambassador for the zoo.» He even sparked an eponymous cryptocurrency meme.

Veterinarians and staff examine the male wolf Neukgu at Daejeon O-World theme park in Daejeon, South Korea, on April 17, 2026. (Daejeon Municipality/AP)

Fans of the wolf lit up social media after his rescue, writing, «welcome back» and «Neukgu, it’s dangerous outside the house.»

After Neukgu’s escape last week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wrote on X: «Currently, the police, fire services, and military are mobilizing their full resources to ensure a safe capture and return. I sincerely hope that no casualties occur, and I pray that Neukgu, too, returns safely and unharmed.»

O-World remains closed following Neukgu’s return, as it faces scrutiny following as series of animal escapes. A nearby elementary school also briefly closed after his escape for safety reasons.

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Lee Kwan Jong, director of O-World, said that Neukgu will be kept separate from the other animals until he has recovered.

Zoo officials said they aren’t sure when O-World will reopen as they review security measures, with the director adding that Neukgu’s health will take precedence.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A congressional hearing featuring the victims of crimes tied to illegal immigration erupted into a tense confrontation Thursday.

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., drew fierce backlash from grieving mothers and Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, for appearing to dismiss their tragedies while pivoting to attacks on «MAGA Republicans.»

The fiery exchange happened during a hearing focused on «The Human Toll of Sanctuary Policies,» during which Johnson claimed the victims’ families’ comments were a «Steve Miller-approved» stunt with the sole purpose of «stir[ring] up passion and prejudice against immigrants who are people of color.»

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After offering brief condolences to the families of victims allegedly killed and critically injured by illegal immigrants, Johnson immediately pivoted to a partisan attack, arguing the committee should instead be holding hearings on the «human toll» of the «Trump MAGA tax cuts,» Trump’s foreign policy with Iran or the «cover up of the Epstein files.»

He went on to list a string of violent crimes committed by White men and noted the death of Renee Good, who was killed by federal authorities in January while protesting immigration enforcement.

«I’m not minimizing the tragedy that is before us today with you three women, but the other tragedies at the hands of non-immigrants are just as important,» Johnson said.

He also accused the Republican majority of strategically «sandwich[ing]» a Democrat witness between the victims’ families for «dramatic effect.»

Gill fired back, calling Johnson’s tirade «one of the most disgusting testimonies I have ever heard» and blaming Democrat lawmakers for the tragedies during four years of open borders under the Biden administration.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, called Johnson’s tirade «one of the most disgusting testimonies I have ever heard.» (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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However, the most stinging reply to Johnson’s comments came from Jen Heiling, the mother of victim Brady Heiling, 18, who was killed along with his girlfriend, Hallie Helgeson, 18, in 2025, when an illegal immigrant from Honduras was allegedly driving the wrong way on I-90 while intoxicated, crashing into the teens’ car.

«You can put me in whatever order, in whatever seat. My tragedy is never going to be OK,» Heiling told Johnson. «Today’s our day. Hear us. Leave your butts in your seat. I don’t want to hear your butts.»

A woman holds up a sign that says «Sanctuary policy set my daughter’s perpetrator free, explain that» during a House Judiciary Committee hearing March 4 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

She described how her 11-year-old and 16-year-old children are still waiting for the teens to come home, noting that her garage stall remains empty because her son’s car is still being held as police evidence.

«We can’t pick a headstone because that makes it too real. But you can sit here and tell us about what kind of hearing this should be,» Heiling said. «Renee Good is not the same as angel families. She made a choice. … Brady and Hallie didn’t get a choice. … They were living [by] American laws … and they were stolen by somebody who doesn’t care.»

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Patricia Fox, mother of Carissa Aspnes, who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant, followed Heiling’s remarks by shooting back at Johnson’s comments about race, noting, «I don’t know if anybody has noticed, but I am not White. I wake up Brown every day.»

«I’m not sure what race has to do with any of this,» Fox said. «There’s four kids that we talked about today, and y’all can’t seem to stay on topic for what — an hour of your time. 

«Today, we’re talking about sanctuary policies and how they have wrecked our families. Y’all come and y’all feed Carissa. You get her up from her bed using a crane, and then you tell me and lecture me what this hearing should be about.»