International

Workers in Peru race to reopen Machu Picchu after floods

AFP

Teams of workers raced Wednesday to clear mud and debris from the only transport access to the jewel of Peru’s tourism sector, Machu Picchu, following torrential rain in the Andes.

Heavy downfalls on Friday caused the Alcamayo river that runs through the small tourist town of Machu Picchu Pueblo — at the foot of the mountain that boasts the world famous Inca citadel — to burst its banks.

Almost 900 tourists were evacuated from the town after flooding destroyed many homes and left one person missing, the tourism ministry said.

Damage to the train tracks that serve as the main transport access to the town has made it very difficult for tourists to reach the site.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“This will last a few more days because after the clean-up we have to prepare a bridge so that tourists can enter Machu Picchu, and the local population too,” said the town’s mayor Darwin Baca.

“We are asking the regional and central governments to help us with this project because we feel it when Machu Picchu closes. Because it’s not just one region that lives off tourism, many regions do,” said Baca.

The vast majority of visitors to Machu Picchu usually arrive at the town by train, either from Ollantaytambo, 32 kilometers away, or the former Inca capital of Cusco city, 72 kilometers away.

The site of the citadel is not closed but with the train tracks damaged, the only way to access the town is to take a bus to a place called Hidroelectrica — more than six hours from Cusco city — and then walk eight kilometers through the jungle along the Ruta Amazonica.

Just 300 to 400 people a day have managed to access Machu Picchu that way, compared to the 1,200 daily visitors when the train service is working.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Hotels and restaurants throughout the Cusco region have been affected.

Even as far away as in the capital Lima, tourism has been hit.

When access to Machu Picchu is affected “there are unfortunate repercussions on the economy and tourism sector” in the whole country, said Baca.

Peru Rail, one of the two railway companies serving the town of 5,000 people, said services would remain suspended until Thursday.

Some 447,800 people visited the citadel in 2021, a fraction of the 1.5 million yearly visitors before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The citadel was closed for almost eight months in 2020 due to the pandemic, costing the Cusco region $1.4 billion due to the loss of tourism revenue.

International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.