International
The unstoppable crisis in Haiti breaks the traditions of Holy Week
The unstoppable crisis in Haiti, exacerbated just a month ago, prevented this Good Friday that Haitians from complying with many of the Easter traditions, mainly in the capital, Port-au-au-Prince, where 90% of the territory is under the control of armed gangs.
This year, the crowded and colorful processions or Way of the Cross that, traditionally on the occasion of Holy Week, are carried out by parishioners of the Catholic Church of the impoverished Caribbean country were left behind.
Thus, in a context marked by a crisis in all orders, the religious lived this day in recollection, although many defied the current climate of insecurity and went to mass.
In churches such as Saint Pierre, in Petion-ville, and Our Lady of Altagrace, in Delmas, both in the capital, EFE observed dozens of people praying for peace in the country.
Young people, adults and the elderly, but mostly children, many of them with images of Jesus, crowded these churches, to remember the ordeal of Christ and the suffering of the Haitian people.
Priests and parishioners cried out for the end of the crisis, aggravated since February 29 when armed gangs united and sowed terror to ask for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, currently in the United States and who has agreed to resign as soon as a transitional presidential council is formalized.
Many of them dared to take to the streets thanks to a police increase on some of the public roads, where EFE was able to see several patrols this Friday.
And it is that, the head of the National Police himself, Frantz Elbé, promised this week that the entity “will not stop fighting” for the safety of the population, to which he promised “better results.”
In a message addressed to the agents and the citizens, the official congratulated his subordinates for their daily dedication “to the fight against banditry” and for their presence on the ground “to continue protecting the life and well-being of the population.”
However, in the face of the cataclysm that Haiti is experiencing, as described on Thursday by the UN, organizations such as Human Rights Watch, cry out for urgent actions to help mitigate the situation.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch recommended measures to enable democratic governance, the protection of human rights and access to essential goods and services.
“It is essential that Haitian, regional and international leaders act to prevent the situation from getting even more out of control and truly support Haitians on the path to democratic governance, basic security, the rule of law and access to basic needs,” said Nathalye Cotrino, the organization’s crisis and conflict researcher.
Likewise, Human Rights Watch considered urgent the installation of a transitional government composed of “high-line Haitians who are not tarnished by credible accusations of corruption, support for criminal groups, human rights violations or other serious crimes.”
The Presidential Council in charge of carrying out the transition is finalizing its official inauguration, which will be followed by the appointment of a prime minister, with whom it will form a Government of National Unity.
Once this institution is implemented, the current Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, will leave power, as he himself announced in a message to the nation from Puerto Rico, where he was stared earlier this month after a trip to Kenya to discuss the sending of the multinational security support mission that Haiti expects.
International
Three Killed, Four Injured in Shooting Near Seattle’s Space Needle
Three people were killed and at least four others, including a young child, were injured in a shooting near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle on Sunday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred during the annual Bite of Seattle food festival, held in one of the city’s busiest tourist areas. Police have arrested one suspect and are searching for a second individual believed to be involved.
Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said officers responded to reports of gunfire at about 6:00 p.m. local time (0100 GMT Monday).
“Two individuals were shooting at each other,” Davis said, adding that investigators recovered two firearms at the scene.
Authorities confirmed that three people died as a result of the shooting. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said members of the State Patrol’s SWAT team had been deployed to assist Seattle police with the investigation.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson described the incident as a “horrific act of violence.”
“Our focus is on those who lost their lives, those fighting to recover, and the families standing beside them,” Wilson said in a statement.
Susan Gregg, a spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center, said the hospital admitted four victims: a young child, a 23-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and another woman whose age was not immediately known and who required emergency surgery.
According to police, the hospitalized victims are in stable condition.
Witnesses told local television station KIRO that they heard multiple gunshots before crowds fled the festival area.
“At first I thought it was fireworks, and then everyone started running,” witness Nick Bate told the station.
Another witness told AFP that panic spread immediately after the shooting.
“We just started running. I didn’t even look to see where the shooter was. I just kept hearing the gunfire,” the witness said.
International
China Accuses U.S. AI Firms of Using Chinese Models to Train Artificial Intelligence
China on Monday accused U.S. artificial intelligence companies of using Chinese AI models to train their own systems, escalating tensions in the technological rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it has evidence that “many U.S. artificial intelligence companies have distilled Chinese models during their research, development and training processes.”
Model distillation is a machine learning technique that transfers knowledge from a larger, more advanced model to a smaller and faster one, allowing it to perform efficiently while requiring fewer computing resources. The approach is widely used across the AI industry.
U.S. officials have previously argued that Chinese firms employ distillation on a large scale to unlawfully replicate proprietary American AI systems. Beijing dismissed those allegations, calling them unfounded.
According to the Chinese ministry, Washington’s accusations “lack both factual and legal basis, apply double standards in practice, and represent a typical act of AI hegemony.”
“China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry added.
The statement comes days after a senior White House official accused Chinese startup Moonshot AI of secretly copying Anthropic’s most advanced AI model to develop its Kimi K3 system.
Moonshot’s latest model drew significant attention across the U.S. technology sector following its release, reigniting debate over China’s growing competitiveness in artificial intelligence.
Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Washington could impose sanctions on China as the administration considers restricting or banning foreign-developed open-source AI models, many of which are built using model distillation techniques.
International
Costa Rica Seeks to Expand Extradition Law to Target Organized Crime
Costa Rican President Laura Fernández announced that her administration will submit a constitutional reform bill to Congress on August 3 aimed at expanding the legal grounds for extraditing Costa Rican nationals accused of serious crimes.
Under current legislation, Costa Rican citizens can only be extradited to face prosecution abroad for international drug trafficking and terrorism. The proposed reform would broaden that list to include a wider range of organized crime offenses.
Speaking before the Legislative Assembly while presenting a broader package of public security initiatives, Fernández said the proposal seeks to strengthen the country’s fight against transnational criminal organizations.
“We are going to expand the grounds for extradition to include serious crimes,” the president said.
The initiative would allow the extradition of Costa Rican nationals accused of financing drug trafficking or terrorism, money laundering, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, arms and organ trafficking, contract killings, organized crime-related homicides, cybercrime and cyberterrorism.
“We will not stop in our national crusade against organized crime or in our relentless war against drug trafficking,” Fernández said.
A political ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, Fernández took office in May after campaigning on a promise to adopt a tougher stance against organized crime, which she has linked to the recent rise in violence in Costa Rica, a country long regarded as one of the safest in Latin America.
Costa Rica currently permits the extradition of its own citizens only for international drug trafficking and terrorism, following a 2025 constitutional amendment promoted by former President Rodrigo Chaves, who now serves as the country’s Minister of the Presidency and Finance.
Three Killed, Four Injured in Shooting Near Seattle’s Space Needle
China Accuses U.S. AI Firms of Using Chinese Models to Train Artificial Intelligence
Costa Rica Seeks to Expand Extradition Law to Target Organized Crime
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