International

Battered by climate change, Latin America must brace for worse: report

Kids bath outdoors after their house was destroyed after Hurricane Iota in the Haulover Community in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region, on November 28, 2020. Storm Iota has killed at least nine people as it smashed homes, uprooted trees and swamped roads during its destructive advance across Central America, authorities said Tuesday, just two weeks after Hurricane Eta devastated parts of the region.

AFP

Floods, heat waves and the longest drought in 1,000 years: Latin America is grappling with devastating climate change impacts that will only get worse, a World Meteorological Organization report warned Friday.

In its State of the Climate report for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for 2021, the WMO said ecosystems, food and water, human health and welfare were all taking a battering.

Glaciers in the tropical Andes have lost more than 30 percent of their area in less than 50 years, increasing the risk of water scarcity in many regions, it said.

Sea levels continued to rise at a faster rate than globally, and the so-called Central Chile Mega Drought — 13 years and running — is the longest in at least 1,000 years.

Meanwhile, deforestation rates “were the highest since 2009, a blow for both the environment and climate change mitigation,” said the report.

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Brazilian Amazon deforestation doubled from the 2009-2018 average, with 22 percent more forest area lost in 2021 than the previous year.

The Amazon provides oxygen-producing and carbon-trapping functions that are crucial not only for the region but for the world.

– ‘Decades of progress’ stalled –

The report also documented the third-highest number — 21 — of named storms on record for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, and extreme rainfall that caused hundreds of fatalities and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes.

“Increasing sea-level rise and ocean warming are expected to continue to affect coastal livelihoods, tourism, health, food, energy, and water security, particularly in small islands and Central American countries,” said WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas.

“For many Andean cities, melting glaciers represent the loss of a significant source of freshwater… for domestic use, irrigation and hydroelectric power.”

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Worsening climate change, compounded by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, have “stalled decades of progress against poverty, food insecurity and the reduction of inequality in the region,” added Mario Cimoli of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, 7.7 million people experienced high levels of food insecurity in 2021.

The LAC region had registered an average rate of temperature increase of about 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade between 1991 and 2021, said the report — double the 1961-1990 rate.

“Unfortunately, greater impact is in store for the region as both the atmosphere and ocean continue to rapidly change,” said a WMO press release.

“Food and water supplies will be disrupted. Towns and cities and the infrastructure required to sustain them will be increasingly at risk.”

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The region was in urgent need of early warning systems to help it adapt to climate extremes, said the WMO.

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.