International
Russia prohibits internet access to 81 European media
Russia announced today that it prohibits the broadcasting and access from its territory by internet to 81 European media, four of them Spanish, including the EFE Agency.
The measure is the response to the restrictions adopted on May 17 by the Council of the European Union against three Russian media – the RIA Nóvosti Agency and the newspapers Izvestia and Rossískaya Gazeta – and which entered into force today, Tuesday.
The list published on its website by the Russian Foreign Ministry includes the websites of the EFE Agency (efe.com) and El País, El Mundo and Televisión Española.
Regarding the media of 25 countries of the European Union (EU), “response measures are introduced to limit the issuance and access to their resources on the Internet from the territory of the Russian Federation.”
The statement emphasizes that the restrictions are adopted against means that “systemately disseminate unreliable information about the progress of the special military operation,” as known in Russia for the military campaign deployed in Ukraine since February 2022.
Among the 81 affected media there are also headlines such as the German newspaper Die Zeit and the magazine Der Spiegel; the Italians La Stampa and La Repubblica; the Portuguese Publico; the French Le Monde and Liberation; or the Dutch magazine Algemeen Dagblad.
It also includes television channels such as the Italian RAI; the French LC1 and Arte; the Irish RTE; the Portuguese RTP Internacional; the Dutch Nos or the Austrian ORF; in addition to the radio station Radio France.
In addition to EFE, the agencies whose access in Russia will be restricted are the French Agence France-Press and Agence Europe.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that it had repeatedly warned at different levels that “politically motivated harassment” of Russian journalists and the “unfounded” prohibition of Russian media in the territory of the European Union “would not go unanswered.”
Moscow emphasizes that, as Brussels chose to choose the path of “escalation,” in this way it forced the Russian authorities to adopt “symmetrical and proportionate measures.”
“The responsibility for this development of events lies exclusively with the leaders of the EU and the countries that support this bloc,” he said.
In mid-May, the foreign spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, warned that her country would take retaliatory measures against Western correspondents in its territory if the EU restricted the work of the Russian media.
“Until now they felt our love, now they will also have to feel our reprisals,” he said at a press conference.
He recalled that Moscow “will respond suddenly and in an extremely painful way for Westerners.”
“If even if it is a single Russian medium is subject to unfounded restrictions, it will have an impact on your colleagues here, in Russia. I’m referring to Western journalists,” he said.
Since the beginning of the war, Russia has restricted the access of foreign journalists to the activities organized by the Russian State and in some cases did not extend the work visa for some Western correspondents.
International
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
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