International

Putin urges dialogue between Lukashenko and opposition

AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for dialogue between his Belarus ally Alexander Lukashenko and the country’s opposition, exiled since Minsk suppressed mass anti-government protests last year.

Putin has continued to back Lukashenko, increasingly isolated since crushing unprecedented demonstrations against his rule after he claimed to win an election last summer that the West says was rigged.

Lukashenko’s regime imprisoned hundreds, forcing most of the opposition — which believes it won the election — to flee.

In an address to Russia’s foreign ministry, Putin said Belarus’s internal situation has “calmed down”.

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“Nonetheless, there are problems. We are all well aware of this and of course call for a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition,” said the Russian leader, who regularly hosts Lukashenko.

The Kremlin chief is known for not tolerating street protests and raising suspicions they are instigated by the West, while the Belarusian opposition has been actively courting Western leaders.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who the opposition believe was the real winner of last summer’s presidential election and has since fled to neighbouring Lithuania, said she had no contact with Moscow but welcomed the call.

“Personally, I did not have contact with the Kremlin. But I welcome calls for dialogue,” she told the Belarusian-run news outlet Zerkalo.io.

She added, however, that he her conditions for talking to the regime remain the release of political prisoners.

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“No dialogue can start in prison. All political prisoners should be freed and violence stopped. Our conditions are the same,” she said.

There are 873 political prisoners in Belarus, according to rights group Viasna.

Putin, Lukashenko’s main political and financial backer, has been calling for dialogue between Minsk and Brussels in a migrant crisis on the Polish border.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of luring thousands of migrants — mostly from the Middle-East — to the Polish border as revenge for Western sanctions on his regime.

The Kremlin this week welcomed “direct contact” between Minsk and Brussels, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Lukashenko.

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It was the Belarus strongman’s first phone call with a Western leader since he dispersed the protests.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994.

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.