International

Former Brazil gymnastics coach gets 109 years for multiple rapes

Photo: Revista News

AFP

A former coach of Brazil’s national gymnastics team has been handed more than a century behind bars for raping four athletes including at least one minor, local media reported Tuesday.

Fernando de Carvalho Lopes was sentenced to 109 years and eight months in prison on Monday by a court in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, according to the Globo Esporte site, which had access to proceedings that were protected by judicial secrecy.

He was found guilty of assaulting four athletes, including a minor aged 13 at the time, according to Globo Esporte, which did not specify the age of other gymnasts.

Carvalho Lopes can still appeal the decision, and has maintained his innocence. He will not have to go to prison until the end of any appeals process.

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The former coach took care of young gymnasts for 20 years, before being removed from the staff of the national team in 2016, a month before the Rio Olympics, after a complaint from the parents of a young athlete.

In April 2019, he was banned for life from any gymnastics-related activity.

He faces further accusations: four years ago, about 40 athletes claimed to the Globo TV channel that they had been victims of psychological, physical or sexual abuse.

Some of them took part in legal proceedings as witnesses to the events that allegedly took place between 1999 and 2016.

The case carries echoes of the case of Larry Nassar, an American former sports doctor sentenced in early 2018 to several heavy prison sentences for assaulting at least 265 victims, most of them minors, under the guise of medical treatment.

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In Britain, Greece, Australia and New Zealand, athletes have also reported abuse by coaches.

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.