International

Netanyahu reiterates to Blinken his intention to invade Rafah to defeat Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted at his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his intention to expand his military offensive to Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, as the “only way to defeat Hamas.”

“Today I met with the US Secretary of State. I told him that I greatly appreciate that for more than five months we have been together in the war against Hamas and that we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population from the war zones and, of course, attend to humanitarian needs. We are working on it,” Netanyahu said in a video message.

Blinken arrived this morning in Tel Aviv on his sixth tour of the Middle East since the war began in the Strip to promote a truce agreement and exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, in addition to allowing the entry of more humanitarian aid to the enclave, where half of the population is at risk of imminent famine.

I also told him that we have no way to defeat Hamas without going to Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions that are there. I told him that I hope to have the support of the United States, but if necessary we will do it alone,” said Netanyahu, who does not seem willing to give in in his objective of invading Rafah even if the United States considers it a “red line.”

More than 1.4 million people displaced by violence currently live in Rafah, more than half of the population of the enclave, although Israel claims to have an unrevealed plan to evacuate the civilian population.

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CEL

After visiting Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Blinken landed in Israel, where as soon as he landed he met with Netanyahu; then with the Minister of the Cabinet of War – and member of the opposition – Benny Gantz; and he plans to meet later with the entire War Cabinet and with representatives of the families of the kidnapped.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, the Israeli Army claimed to have “eliminated” about 150 alleged fighters in its military operation in the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the Strip, whose siege began on Monday with the argument that hundreds of militiamen were hiding in it.

“So far, the forces have eliminated more than 150 terrorists in the hospital area, arrested hundreds of suspects and located weapons and terrorist infrastructure,” a military statement reported.

“This is an operation with the largest number of terrorists arrested since the beginning of the war,” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said last night.

Among the detainees – more than 500 according to the Army – are three senior officials of Hamas in the occupied West Bank and several members of the “chain of command” of Islamic Jihad.

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About its military activities in the rest of the Strip, the Army confirmed the attack on a tunnel and a military complex in the center of the Strip, from where on Thursday projectiles were launched towards the Beeri kibutz, in southern Israel.

The Nahal Brigade, which operates in central Gaza, also killed “dozens of terrorists” in recent days, with fire from snipers, tanks and airplanes, according to the military.

In addition, Israeli troops have continued their operations in Jan Yunis, the main city in the south of the enclave, for three and a half months.

International

Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.

However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.

International

Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.

“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.

The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.

His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”

International

Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?

This week, you may have noticed that everything—from historical photos and classic movie scenes to internet memes and recent political moments—has been reimagined on social media as Studio Ghibli-style portraits. The trend quickly went viral thanks to ChatGPT and the latest update of OpenAI’s chatbot, released on Tuesday, March 25.

The newest addition to GPT-4o has allowed users to replicate the distinctive artistic style of the legendary Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). “Today is a great day on the internet,” one user declared while sharing popular memes in Ghibli format.

While the trend has captivated users worldwide, it has also highlighted ethical concerns about AI tools trained on copyrighted creative works—and what this means for the livelihoods of human artists.

Not that this concerns OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which has actively encouraged the “Ghiblification”experiments. Its CEO, Sam Altman, even changed his profile picture on the social media platform X to a Ghibli-style portrait.

Miyazaki, now 84 years old, is known for his hand-drawn animation approach and whimsical storytelling. He has long expressed skepticism about AI’s role in animation. His past remarks on AI-generated animation have resurfaced and gone viral again, particularly when he once said he was “utterly disgusted” by an AI demonstration.