International

Rescuers retrieve more bodies days after Brazil storm

AFP

Rescue workers pulled more bodies Saturday from the muddy wreckage left by devastating floods and landslides in the scenic Brazilian city of Petropolis, where the death toll stands at 136, including 26 children.

In a dense fog, rescue workers dug with spades and shovels through the rubble and muck as the search entered its fifth day.

An AFP photographer saw rescue workers carrying out two recovered corpses in body bags in the hard-hit neighborhood of Alto da Serra, as relatives sobbed in the street.

In the heart of the disaster zone, rescue workers occasionally blew loud whistles to call for silence and listen for signs of life.

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But authorities say there is little hope at this point of finding survivors from Tuesday’s torrential rains, which turned streets to gushing rivers in the picturesque city in the southeastern mountains and triggered landslides in poor hillside neighborhoods that wiped out virtually all in their path.

Officials say 24 people have been rescued alive, but that was mostly in the early hours after the tragedy.

Rio de Janeiro state police said 218 people remained missing as of late Friday.

Meanwhile, 91 of the 136 bodies recovered so far have been identified.

Many of the missing may be among the unidentified bodies. But the numbers have been hazy, and it is difficult to know how high the death toll could go.

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The dead include 26 minors so far, said the police.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who flew over the disaster zone Friday by helicopter, said the city was suffering from “enormous destruction, like scenes of war.”

Tuesday’s was the latest in a series of deadly storms — which experts say are made worse by climate change — to hit Brazil in the past three months.

At least 188 people have died in severe rains, mainly in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo and the northeastern state of Bahia, as well as Petropolis.

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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.

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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.

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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.