International

Argentina court dismisses ex-president’s obstruction case

AFP

A court in Argentina has dismissed a case alleging Vice President Cristina Kirchner obstructed an investigation while president into an attack on a Jewish center that killed 85 people.

Kirchner, 68, was accused of a cover-up over an investigation into the 1994 attack in connection with a deal her administration brokered with Tehran.

No one has ever claimed responsibility for the assault — which killed 85 people, wounded 200 and remains the deadliest in the country’s history — but Israel has accused Tehran of sponsoring it.

“The agreement with Iran, whether considered a political success or failure, does not constitute a crime,” the court ruled Thursday. The decision can be appealed.

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Kirchner, who served as president from 2007 to 2015, told the court the accusation made “no sense” and was “being used as an instrument of persecution against political opponents.”

In 2006 prosecutor Alberto Nisman alleged Iran’s involvement, but his efforts to prosecute officials were stymied after Kirchner’s administration signed a deal with Iran and established a Tehran-based joint commission to investigate the attacks.

The agreement was approved in 2013 by parliament, but ultimately Iran did not respect the terms of the deal.

Nisman accused Kirchner of trying to arrange the deal in exchange for oil and trade benefits, basing his accusations on hundreds of hours of wiretaps.

But just before he was due to present his findings to Congress in January 2015, Nisman was found dead at his home in Buenos Aires.

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The attack on July 18, 1994 was the largest against the Jewish community in Argentina — the biggest in South America — followed by the 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy which left 29 dead and 200 wounded.

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.