International

Belgium prevents Ukraine from using the F-16s to attack Russian territory

The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, warned today that the F-16 fighter jets he will deliver to Ukraine, according to the agreement he signed on Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, can only be used in Ukrainian territory and not to directly attack Russia.

“Everything that this agreement covers is very clear: it is for use by the Ukrainian Forces in Ukrainian territory,” De Croo said in an appearance with Zelenski.

The Ukrainian president, on the other hand, insisted on the need to obtain permission from his allies to use the military equipment they deliver against Russian territory.

“They are shooting at you and you can’t respond, because we don’t have the right to use weapons. (…) You receive the satellite images of your intelligence service but you can’t do anything to respond, I think it’s unfair,” Zelenski said.

“But we cannot risk the support of our allies, so we are not using the weapons of our allies to attack Russian territory. That’s why we are asking, please, give us permission to do so,” stressed the Ukrainian leader.

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De Croo and Zelenski signed an agreement today with which Belgium undertakes to support Ukraine militarily for the next ten years, with the commitment to deliver 30 F-16 fighter-bombers until 2028 and with the intention that the first ones will arrive before the end of this year.

Belgium is already part of the coalition to train Ukrainian pilots in the handling of the F-16, along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.

The agreement between Belgium and Ukraine also includes a financial package of 977 million euros of military aid, as well as industrial cooperation in defense, support for the Peace Formula of Ukraine, the strengthening of sanctions against Russia, compensation for damages, justice for the aggressor, the use of frozen Russian assets and economic recovery, Zelenski said.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenbnerg, is in favor of Ukraine being able to use the weapons donated to it by the West to attack targets within Russia, such as missile launchers, artillery or airfields, in the exercise of its legitimate defense.

“It will be very hard and difficult for Ukrainians to defend themselves if they can’t attack military targets right across the border. It may be missile launchers, artillery or airfields used to attack Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told the press upon his arrival at a meeting of Defense ministers of the European Union.

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The Norwegian politician has been defending for days the possibility of the allies allowing Ukraine to use the weapons they have given to him to hit specific targets within Russia, something that countries like Germany have fully rejected.

“Ukraine has, in accordance with international law, the right to defend itself. The right to self-defence includes attacking legitimate military targets within Russia. And this is particularly relevant now, because the strongest fighting is taking place in the Kharkov region, near the border,” he said.

In any case, he made it clear that these are decisions that fall to the countries individually and not to NATO.

So far, the coordination of international military aid for Ukraine is centralized by the United States with a group of fifty countries, known as the “Rammstein group”.

However, at the meeting that the Allied Foreign Ministers held last April, they agreed to work for NATO to play a greater role in coordinating assistance and training for Ukraine’s security.

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International

Winter Storm Fern Leaves 30 Dead and Over One Million Without Power Across the U.S.

The massive winter storm Fern, bringing polar temperatures, battered large portions of the United States for a third consecutive day on Monday, leaving at least 30 people dead, more than one million households without electricity, and thousands of flights grounded.

In the Great Lakes region, residents awoke to extreme cold, with temperatures dropping below -20°C. Forecasts indicate that conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days as an Arctic air mass moves south, particularly across the northern Great Plains and other central regions, where wind chills could plunge to -45°C, temperatures capable of causing frostbite within minutes.

Across the country, heavy snowfall exceeding 30 centimeters in roughly 20 states triggered widespread power outages. According to PowerOutage.com, nearly 800,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday morning, most of them in the southern United States.

In Tennessee, where ice brought down power lines, approximately 250,000 customers were still without power. Outages also affected more than 150,000 customers in Mississippi and over 100,000 in Louisiana, as utility crews struggled to restore service amid dangerous conditions.

International

Spain approves plan to regularize up to 500,000 migrants in Historic Shift

In November 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reform of the country’s immigration regulations aimed at regularizing 300,000 migrants per year over a three-year period, in an effort to counter population aging in a country where births have fallen by 25.6% since 2014, according to official data.

Going against the trend in much of Europe, Spain’s left-wing government has now approved an exceptional migrant regularization plan that could benefit up to 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.

The measure will allow the regularization of around “half a million people” who have been living in Spain for at least five months, arrived before December 31, 2025, and have no criminal record, Migration Minister Elma Saiz explained on public television.

The plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, establishes that applications will be processed between April and June 30, enabling beneficiaries to work in any sector and anywhere in the country, Saiz said.

“Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, and one that is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” the minister later stated at a press conference.

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The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez stands out within the European Union for its migration policy, contrasting with the tightening of immigration measures across much of the bloc amid pressure from far-right movements.

Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.