International

Ukraine begins excavation of Bucha mass grave

AFP

Ukrainian investigators began to exhume a mass grave in Bucha, opening the early stages of what police say will be a war crimes case targeting Russian troops who occupied the Kyiv commuter town.

The grave — a long deep trench in the mud behind a gold-domed church — was used by Ukrainians to bury neighbours they claim were killed at the hands of Russian armed forces which arrived on February 26.

On Friday, crews wearing white forensic overalls were using a flatbed lorry fixed with a mechanical crane to remove corpses from the ditch.

The bodies were laid out on the ground and inspected by teams, including police officers poring over paperwork.

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Most of the remains outside the grave, cordoned off by tape, were zipped inside black plastic body bags.

One man at work was wearing a gilet marked with the words “war crimes prosecutor”.

Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Niebitov said there were 40 bodies in the grave, including two members of Ukraine’s military forces.

He said bodies bore gunshot wounds, buttressing claims they were explicitly targeted by soldiers rather than collateral damage from air strikes and artillery fire.

“I can define these events as a war crime,” he said. “International law defines killing of civilians during any kind of military conflict as a war crime.”

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“These bodies will be extracted for the court investigation, they will be delivered to undergo forensic medical examination and an autopsy.”

The town of Bucha has become the growing focus of allegations of war criminality against troops ordered to invade Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin on 24 February.

On Saturday an AFP team discovered 20 dead bodies on a single street in the town, home to around 37,000 before the war.

Ukraine says Russian troops executed civilians.

The Kremlin has denied any hand in the killings and denounced photographs depicting the scene as fakery.

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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.