International

Peruvian women ask Michelle Bachelet for help in face of violence

AFP

Some 30 Peruvian women, including transgender women, gathered Monday to denounce the daily violence they suffer and demand action from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, at a protest in Lima.

“Help! Peruvian laws humiliate women because they don’t defend us. What they do is defend the aggressor,” Magaly Aguilar, wearing a photo of her daughter who was the victim of femicide, told AFP.

The group staged a performance based on the dystopian book “The Handmaid’s Tale,” wearing red dresses and white headscarves, while Bachelet, a former president of Chile, met with Indigenous groups at the regional headquarters of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

“We want to warn Michelle Bachelet about what is happening to women and people of gender and sexual diversity in Peru,” said 29-year-old activist Gahela Cari, who is transgender.

Peru recorded a marked increase in violence against women in 2021, with 146 femicides versus 138 registered the year before.

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Bachelet is on an official visit until Wednesday and was received at the beginning of the day by Foreign Minister Cesar Landa and Justice Minister Felix Chero.

“We continue to deepen the human rights agenda here in Peru,” Bachelet said at the Foreign Ministry, stressing she would continue to engage with the different challenges that the South American country faces.

At the ILO, Bachelet received leaders of the main Indigenous groups of the Peruvian Amazon, who described the climate of harassment and violence caused by drug gangs and illegal loggers.

The Amazonian communities also drew attention to the environmental pollution that affects rivers in the Peruvian jungle caused by oil spills and mining.

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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.