International
The president of Peru asks to open the debate to apply the death penalty to child rapists
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, asked on Tuesday to open the debate on the application of the death penalty for juvenile rapists, after the recent murder of a minor in Lima that has moved public opinion.
During an official event at the Lima Air Base of Las Palmas, Boluarte said that “it is time to open the debate on the death penalty for juvenile rapists,” considering that “types like these to walk free in the streets” cannot be allowed.
The head of state called for the actions of the National Police to be strengthened to protect children for being the most vulnerable to this type of attack.
The case that opens in Peru the debate on the death penalty for child rapists
The death penalty is not applicable in Peru since the 1979 Constitution came into force, which only allows it for treason, and after the country ratified in 1978 the American Convention on Human Rights that restricts that punishment.
The president also asked for a minute of silence for the murder of a teenager on Sunday in Lima, whose body was found by her family in the house of an alleged security guard of an informal settlement in the district of Pachacámac, in the south of the capital.
The minor had disappeared from her home on Sunday, but the parents received a call from a person who had supposedly found her and said he would take her to the police station in the district of Villa María del Triunfo, according to the report of the América Noticias channel.
However, with the passing of the hours, the teenager did not appear at the police headquarters and the family accelerated their search with the geolocation of their mobile phone.
In this way, the family and the National Police arrived at a clearing of the Lúcumo settlement of Pachacámac, where they located the remains of the minor, apparently strangled, in a house.
Lack of clarity about the crime
The suspect identified as Yerson Juárez Tapia, 26, said he was a security guard of the place and, after being interrogated, apparently confessed to having been the author of the murder of the minor.
However, a local neighbor told the police that she had recorded the arrival of a motorcycle taxi with two men at that house in the early hours of Sunday.
A mob of neighbors attacked Juárez, after allegedly admitting the crime, so they had to admit him to a hospital, according to the newspaper El Comercio.
The Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Violence against Women and Members of the Family Group of the district of Lurín has begun the preliminary investigation after finding the 12-year-old minor dead.
The Ombudsman’s Office reported that, from January to October 2024, 5,518 alert notes were recorded for missing women, most of them minors, and that in that same period 133 femicides were committed.
International
Climate-driven rains trigger one of Indonesia’s deadliest flood emergencies in years
A torrential monsoon season, compounded by two unusual tropical cyclones, has triggered intense rainfall in several regions since last week, including southern Thailand, northern Malaysia, and large parts of Indonesia.
Climate change has recently intensified rainfall patterns, as a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture. In Indonesia, desperation is growing among those affected by the disaster due to the slow pace of rescue operations and the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Relief agencies warned that the scale of the emergency is nearly unprecedented, even for a country accustomed to frequent natural disasters.
Across the island of Sumatra, the death toll was revised downward to 770 fatalities and at least 463 people still missing as of Wednesday night. Earlier, the national disaster management agency had reported 804 deaths.
Gathering accurate information on the ground remains difficult, as many regions are still cut off due to flood damage, widespread power outages, communication failures, or a combination of all three.
International
Russian authorities ban Roblox citing child safety and moral concerns
Russia has blocked access to the U.S.-owned game creation platform Roblox, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and what authorities described as “LGBT propaganda,” state media reported on Wednesday.
The country has repeatedly threatened to ban certain foreign digital platforms, a move that human rights organizations view as part of broader efforts by authorities to tighten control over internet use.
In a statement released through Russian news agencies, the federal communications watchdog Roskomnadzor accused Roblox of hosting “inappropriate content that can negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”
“The game exposes minors to sexual harassment, tricks them into sharing intimate photos, and encourages them to commit acts of depravity and violence,” the regulator claimed.
Last week, the same agency also threatened to ban WhatsApp, the country’s second most widely used messaging app, accusing it of failing to prevent criminal activity.
Roblox, which is owned by the U.S.-based Roblox Corporation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to company data for 2024, the platform has around 100 million daily users worldwide, nearly 40% of whom are under the age of 13.
Other countries, including Qatar, Iraq and Turkey, have also restricted or banned Roblox, mainly over concerns about the safety of underage users. In the United States, the states of Texas and Louisiana have filed lawsuits against the platform on similar grounds.
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
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Russian authorities ban Roblox citing child safety and moral concerns
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