International

Death toll from storms in southern Brazil rise to 137

The number of deaths from the storms that hit southern Brazil causing floods never before seen in the region already has 137 victims, according to the latest report released by the Civil Defense.

At least 141 people are still missing, while more than 400,000 displaced, of which about 340,000 have had to take refuge in the homes of friends and family and about 71,000 in shelters improvised by the authorities.

In total, 444 cities affected and 1,950,000 people affected by the storms in the region.

The most dramatic situation is in Rio Grande do Sul, a state bordering Argentina and Uruguay, where at least 136 deaths and 756 injuries have been reported.

The other deceased was reported in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, also affected by the catastrophe, but to a lesser extent.

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The rains that had given a slight truce since Thursday resumed their intensity this Saturday, especially in the Taquarí Valley, one of the most affected regions in the last week, and in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul.

The storms that have been punishing the region since the end of April have left a trail of chaos and destruction in which dozens of cities have been totally or partially under the waters, as is the case of Porto Alegre.

Hundreds of roads destroyed or hindered and the victims suffer from the lack of public services; hospitals are collapsed and without adequate conditions to care for patients.

The event has also hindered the work of the nearly 28,000 personnel – including firefighters, security forces and volunteers – who help in the rescues and distribute humanitarian aid.

In the last few hours, new cities were taken over by the waters after the overflow of the Lagoa dos patos, where the waters are already one and a half meters above normal.

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The situation may get worse in the next few hours, where in addition to the heavy rains, strong winds and a drastic drop in temperature are expected.

Rio Grande do Sul, an important agricultural center and a fundamental sector for the growth of the country, will need at least 18,839 million reais (3.7 billion dollars or 3.4 billion euros) to recover from the floods, according to the calculations of the regional government.

At the moment, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, announced an aid package of 50 billion reais ($9.8 billion) for that state, which includes direct assistance measures, subsidized credits for companies and aid for rural producers, among others.

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.