International

New Supreme Court justice Jackson hails US progress on racial equality

AFP

Ketanji Brown Jackson celebrated her rise “from segregation to the Supreme Court” at a White House event Friday marking her confirmation as the first Black woman appointed to the nation’s highest judicial bench.

In her first public remarks since the Senate endorsed her on Thursday, the 51-year-old judge shared the credit for a milestone that was 232 years in the making, telling her supporters: “We have made it — all of us.”

“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States,” she told around 150 guests invited to the South Lawn by President Joe Biden.

“And it is an honor, the honor of a lifetime, for me to have this chance to join the court.”

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Jackson came out of the White House with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to cheers from the new justice’s family, current and former Supreme Court justices, administration officials and senators who voted for her.

“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to appointed to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, but we have made it — all of us,” she said.

“And our children are telling me that they see now more than ever that, here in America, anything is possible.”

Jackson was green-lit by the Senate in a 53-47 vote that capped a bruising confirmation battle, with just three Republicans joining Democrats in advancing Biden’s vision for a more diverse high court.

She was also with the president at the White House to watch the vote on Thursday, with the pair embracing as she was confirmed.

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– ‘Moment of real change’ –

Introducing his first pick to the court, in front of a sun-drenched South Portico decked in US flags, Biden vowed future generations would be “proud of what we did” in choosing Jackson.

“This is going to let so much sunshine on so many young women, so many young Black men, so many minorities — it’s real,” the Democratic president said.

“We’re going to look back and see this is a moment of real change in American history.”

Harris, who presided over the confirmation hearing, has broken down barriers of her own as the first woman and first Black and Asian American to be vice president.

“President George Washington once referred to America as a great experiment, a nation founded on the previously untested belief that the people — we, the people — could form a more perfect union,” Harris said.

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“And that belief has pushed our nation forward for generations and it is that belief that we reaffirmed yesterday through the confirmation of the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.”

One Democrat-backed justice replacing another — the retiring Stephen Breyer — will not change the ideological balance of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative edge.

But it will be the first time the bench has included four women, with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan nominated by Barack Obama and Amy Coney Barrett picked by Donald Trump.

Jackson will be the sixth woman in total to be elevated to the Supreme Court. Her confirmation comes 55 years after Thurgood Marshall became the first Black justice.

Clarence Thomas, who assumed office in 1991, is the only other African American to have served on the bench.

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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.