International

Al-Shabaab fighters ‘destroyed’ in Ethiopian incursion

AFP

Authorities in the Ethiopian region of Somali on Saturday said they had “destroyed” fighters from the Al-Shabaab Islamist group, in a rare militant incursion from neighbouring Somalia.

Somali’s state communication bureau in a statement said an armed Al-Shabaab group that crossed into the southeastern region on Tuesday “was surrounded in a sub-locality called Hulhul and completely destroyed”.

A three-day operation left more than 100 members of the militant group dead and destroyed 13 vehicles, it added.

The authorities said the armed group was seeking to pass through El-Kere district in the Somali region, more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Somalia-Ethiopian border.

On Thursday, officials and residents of Bakool region, on the border with neighbouring Somalia, reported Al-Shabaab attacks the previous day against bases hosting a special Ethiopian police unit which helps protect the frontier.

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Mohamed Malim, a local official in Somalia’s Hudur district, told AFP on Thursday that “this was the heaviest fighting ever” around the towns of Ato and Yeed in the country’s west.

“It continued about six hours before the militants had been repelled, there are dead and wounded combatants from both sides, but we don’t have the details so far,” he said.

An Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab has led an insurrection against Somalia’s federal government for 15 years.

An African Union force with soldiers from five countries including neighbours Ethiopia and Kenya has supported the government in its fight against the insurgents.

The movement has been ousted from Somalia’s main urban areas, including the capital Mogadishu in 2011, but remains entrenched in vast swathes of the countryside.

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Attacks beyond Somalia’s borders are rare and have mostly targeted Kenya, notably a bloody assault on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre in 2013 which left 67 people dead.

An attack on Garissa University in 2015 killed 148 people and another incident at a Nairobi hotel complex in 2019 left 21 dead.

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.