Paraguay vows to step up search for missing German girls

AFP

Paraguayan authorities announced on Monday they are looking for two German children that arrived in the country in November, in each case without the consent of one parent.

Paraguayan Andreas Rainer Egler, 46, and his wife Anna Maria Egler, 35, traveled to Paraguay with his daughter Clara, 10, and her daughter Lara Valentina Blank, 11.

But neither Clara’s mother, Anne Maja Reiniger-Egler, nor Lara’s father Filip Blank had given their consent to the journey and now the whereabouts of the two children is unknown.

“From now we will intensify the search for the two girls,” said Mario Vallejos, head of the anti-kidnapping police unit in a press conference alongside Reiniger-Egler.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The two girls arrived in Paraguay in late November 2021 and were last seen in mid-January, Paraguayan authorities said.

“Andreas, please put an end to this nightmare, this is not a normal life. Contact us. Girls cannot run away their whole lives,” said a sobbing Reiniger-Egler.

“Have a heart for our girls,” she said, offering to drop her accusations if she could just be reunited with her daughter.

“For me the important thing is that they come back.”

The runaway family is believed to have hidden among anti-vaccine German colonies in Paraguay, said Reiniger-Egler’s lawyer Stephan Schultheiss.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“It is a case of parental authority violation or kidnapping. Both (parents) are wanted by German justice.”

Vallejos said five months of investigation had been fruitless and said the girls’ pictures would be published.

Paraguay’s authorities denounced the “secrecy and lack of collaboration in the German communities in the areas where the girls were seen.”

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.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

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.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

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.