International

Facebook employees hold an online shutdown

Several Facebook employees rebelled against Mark Zuckerberg’s decision not to act on a message posted by President Donald Trump on the social network, so they shut down the site.

The protest was an attempt to replicate the shutdowns that occur from time to time at Silicon Valley companies when employees disagree with a policy or management action.

Almost 100% of Facebook employees are working from home, so it was difficult to quantify the impact of the shutdown, the event was the culmination of a series of employee complaints over the reaction to the U.S. president’s content.

International

Spain approves plan to regularize up to 500,000 migrants in Historic Shift

In November 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reform of the country’s immigration regulations aimed at regularizing 300,000 migrants per year over a three-year period, in an effort to counter population aging in a country where births have fallen by 25.6% since 2014, according to official data.

Going against the trend in much of Europe, Spain’s left-wing government has now approved an exceptional migrant regularization plan that could benefit up to 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.

The measure will allow the regularization of around “half a million people” who have been living in Spain for at least five months, arrived before December 31, 2025, and have no criminal record, Migration Minister Elma Saiz explained on public television.

The plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, establishes that applications will be processed between April and June 30, enabling beneficiaries to work in any sector and anywhere in the country, Saiz said.

“Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, and one that is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” the minister later stated at a press conference.

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The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez stands out within the European Union for its migration policy, contrasting with the tightening of immigration measures across much of the bloc amid pressure from far-right movements.

Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.

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International

Doomsday clock moves to 85 seconds before midnight amid rising global risks

The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic measure of how close humanity is to global catastrophe, moved closer to midnight than ever before on Tuesday, amid growing concerns over nuclear weapons, climate change, and the spread of disinformation.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the clock at 85 seconds to midnight, four seconds closer than last year, marking the most perilous moment since the clock was created.

The announcement comes one year into the second term of U.S. President Donald Trump, a period that scientists say has disrupted the global order through unilateral military actions and withdrawals from several international organizations.

According to the Bulletin, Russia, China, the United States, and other major powers have become increasingly aggressive, hostile, and nationalist, a trend that heightens global risk. The decision to advance the clock followed consultations with a panel that includes eight Nobel Prize laureates.

“Hard-won global agreements are unraveling,” the scientists warned in a statement. “This is accelerating a large-scale, winner-take-all competition for power and undermining international cooperation that is essential to reducing the risks of nuclear war, climate change, misuse of biotechnology, the potential threats of artificial intelligence, and other existential dangers.”