International

A Russian general dies in the explosion of a car bomb near Moscow

Russian Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, senior command of the General Staff, died this Friday due to the explosion of a car bomb in the Moscow region, according to the Russian Instruction Committee (CIR).

“According to preliminary data, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik died as a result of the explosion,” Svetlana Petrenko, a CIR spokeswoman, told local media.

Moskalik, deputy chead of the operations command of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces since 2021, died when approaching a car, a Volkswagen Golf, in which an explosive device was remotely detonated, according to Mash and Shot, two Telegram channels.

“The reason for the explosion was an explosive device. Fragments of the device were found at the scene of the accident,” a police source told the TASS agency.

The newspaper Kommersant suggests that a second person could have died in the attack, although other media do not report that possibility.

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The sources cited by another channel, BAZA, speak of a gas cylinder as the reason for the explosion equivalent to 300 grams of trilite.

Other media believe that the cylinder that was in the car amplified the power of the explosive, which caused damage to the cars parked in the vicinity and the windows of adjacent buildings.

According to the Mash channel, the last owner of the car, which was parked in front of the portal of the building where the general lived, was an individual from the Ukrainian city of Sumi.

The Instruction Committee opened a criminal case for murder and illegal possession of explosives, while the spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs, María Zajárova, called the incident a “terrorist attack”.

The explosion took place in the courtyard of an urbanization built east of the Russian capital especially for retired military personnel, where a team of investigators, criminals and other agents has already been sent to supervise the site of the attack.

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The Russian media offered images of the powerful explosion of tourism at the pass of the 59-year-old general, who had been included in the Ukrainian Mirotvorets list in which “the enemies of Ukraine” appear.

In December of last year, Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defense, also died in a bomb attack while leaving his home.

According to the Gazeta.ru portal, in both cases its authors studied in detail the routine, from the schedule to the route, which the victims followed daily.

Then, Russian President Vladimir Putin described this attack as a “serious failure” by the security services, who held the agents of the Ukrainian secret services responsible.

“This (the murder of Kirilov), of course, means that our law enforcement officers and special services let these attacks pass. We need to improve the work and avoid such serious failures,” he said.

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In turn, shortly after, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed to have thwarted a series of attacks against senior military leaders in the country and reported the arrest of four Russian citizens as part of the investigation.

“The Russian Federal Security Service thwarted a series of attacks against high-ranking military personnel of the Ministry of Defense who participate in the special military operation (in Ukraine), as well as against members of their families,” the agency said.

International

IEA warns Middle East conflict could spark worst energy crisis in decades

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could trigger the worst energy crisis in decades, warned Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), who described the situation as “very serious.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Birol compared the current scenario to the oil crises of the 1970s, noting that during those events the world lost around five million barrels of oil per day in each crisis.

“Today, we have lost 11 million barrels per day—more than the two major oil shocks combined,” he said.

The Turkish economist referred to the conflict that began on February 28, following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, which have significantly disrupted global energy markets and driven oil prices higher.

Birol warned that the global economy is facing a “very, very serious threat” and expressed hope that the crisis will be resolved soon.

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“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues in this direction. Global efforts are urgently needed,” he emphasized.

International

Colombian Air Force Hercules plane crashes during takeoff with troops onboard

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Colombian Air Force was involved in a “tragic accident” while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia, as it was transporting troops, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reported on Monday.

The minister stated on social media that the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined. He also extended his condolences to the families affected and urged the public to avoid speculation until official information is confirmed.

“This is a deeply painful event for the country. Our prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sánchez said, adding that emergency protocols have been activated and an investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, President Gustavo Petro expressed hope that there would be no fatalities in what he described as a “horrific accident that should not have happened.”

Petro also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize the country’s air fleet and reiterated the need to acquire new helicopters and transport aircraft to strengthen military mobility, particularly in remote regions.

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According to local media reports, approximately 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft. So far, at least 20 injured military personnel have been rescued.

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.