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.

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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.”

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“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.

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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

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione admitted Friday to fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance group in the United States, during an appearance before a federal judge.

The case shocked the U.S. business community and dates back to December 2024, when Mangione opened fire on Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street. Prosecutors have described the attack as being motivated by Mangione’s opposition to the U.S. health insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said as he pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge related to his pursuit of the executive.

Mangione, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, and prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a life sentence.

In addition to the federal charges related to stalking Thompson, Mangione also faces a murder case brought by the state of New York.

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Following his guilty plea in federal court, Mangione’s defense asked a state court to dismiss the state charges, arguing that prosecuting him again for the same conduct would violate protections against double jeopardy.

“We have just filed our motion in state court to explain why the charges should be dismissed under New York’s protections against double jeopardy,” Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Friday.

Both the federal and state cases could result in a life sentence. Two other federal charges that initially carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

International

ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns

Plans to equip U.S. immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks are raising concerns over potential abuses by a law enforcement agency that critics accuse of using excessive force and providing inadequate training to its personnel.

The plan involves the potential purchase of electric-shock gloves for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized the proposal on X, arguing that the agency has already faced accusations of excessive force during immigration enforcement operations.

“As if assaulting and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough,” Frost wrote. He also criticized the reported $20 million potential expenditure on the devices and called for greater restrictions on ICE.

The agency has faced growing scrutiny following a series of deadly shootings during immigration enforcement operations. Among the incidents were the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January who were participating in protests against the agency.

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Critics have focused on the tactics used by ICE agents when detaining immigrants, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited personnel have been lowered.

According to a procurement plan first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, could spend between $10 million and $20 million on the devices.

The gloves are described by the agency as tools intended for “distraction and de-escalation,” rather than lethal weapons. The system, known as GLOVE, stands for “Generated Low-Output Voltage Emitter.”

The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company that describes its products as advanced non-lethal tools designed to protect and assist law enforcement and other personnel.

The proposal comes amid an intensifying national debate over ICE’s enforcement methods and the use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

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International

Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.

The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.

In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.

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Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.

Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.

Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.

The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.