International

Colombia’s Duque blasts ‘heinous’ pro-abortion ruling

AFP

Colombia’s president on Tuesday described as “heinous” a Constitutional Court ruling decriminalizing abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, a move he said bypassed Congress and a deeply Catholic population.

Colombia on Monday became the fifth Latin American country to decriminalize elective abortion after Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana and some states of Mexico.

President Ivan Duque said the decision of five judges against four was one that “concerns the entire Colombian society.”

“Five people (judges) cannot impose on the nation something as heinous as allowing life to be interrupted up to six months” of pregnancy, he told reporters.

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“We are not talking about a life in gestation, but a life that is already viable,” said the president.

Monday’s court ruling established the latest cutoff date for abortion in Latin America.

Previously, it was up to 14 weeks in Argentina.

Until now, abortion was only possible in Colombia in cases of rape, if the health or the woman was in danger, or the fetus had a life-threatening abnormality.

Outside of these limits, anyone who opted for an abortion or performed one risked 16 to 54 months in jail.

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Duque said the matter should be left to Congress to deliberate.

The legislature can theoretically overturn the court decision, though it will need a majority to do so, and has avoided debating the matter for years.

Hundreds of people celebrated Monday’s court ruling, while others gathered to protest in prayer.

According to information gathered by lobby group Causa Justa, about 5,500 investigations into illegal abortions since 1998 have resulted in about 250 women being arrested.

There are 24 women in prison in Colombia today for having had an abortion, according to the prison authority.

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The Catholic church and other religious groups have repeatedly pushed back against decriminalizing abortion.

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.