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European leaders: there is an “imperive need” to improve military and civilian preparedness in the face of “threats”

The leaders of the European Union have stressed at their Brussels summit the “imperive need” to improve and coordinate military and civilian preparation and strategic crisis management in the face of “a panorama of threats.”

In this sense, the heads of state and government of the Twenty-seven invited the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to propose actions to strengthen the preparation and response to crises at the EU level.

These proposals must have “an approach that includes the whole of society and all the dangers, taking into account the responsibilities and competences of the Member States, with a view to a future preparation strategy,” according to the text of the conclusions of the two-day summit held in the Community capital.

Just on the eve of the summit, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, commissioned former President of Finland Sauli Niinisto to prepare a report to strengthen citizen preparation for defense, in which she wants him to replicate her country’s model to the entire bloc.

“We have a lot to learn from Finland,” the German said at a press conference on Wednesday, in which she praised the “specific mentality” of her country in terms of citizen preparation for defense and called for it to be adopted in Europe.

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The head of the Community Executive stressed that Finland “has learned to live with a neighbor as unpredictable and aggressive” as Russia, with whom it shares more than 1,300 kilometers of border.

It is a fact that “has shaped its society” through a citizen defense strategy that “concerns everyone” to be prepared for all kinds of threats, including cyberattacks.

Von der Leyen stressed that in the Finnish model “every part of society is able to help safeguard vital functions in times of crisis,” as well as “guarantee a basic supply for the population and help the defense forces in their tasks.”

“The Finnish model is a set of experiences through history for centuries as a neighbor of Russia,” he explained before pointing out that “in Finnish society, each of the citizens defends the country.”

For his part, former President Niinisto stressed that preparation for security and defense is a “very broad” area and, therefore, it should also be the report he prepares for the next European Commission that comes out of the June elections, with aspects that go beyond “conventional” military defense and involve aspects such as cyber resilience or the use of drones.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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