International
Kim Jong-un’s sister denies that North Korea is exporting weapons to Russia
The sister of the leader of North Korea, Kim Yo-jong, has denied in an opinion article published this Friday that the latest arms developments of the regime are aimed at boosting exports to Russia and insisted on describing the alleged shipment of weapons to Moscow as a “false rumor.”
In an editorial collected by the KCNA agency, Kim assures that the North Korean defense industry “continues to transform and reap rapid progress” in reference to the information published by state propaganda last week that shows his brother, Kim Jong-un, visiting mills of shuttles for missiles and multiple rocket launchers.
“I think it is necessary to point out the fact that hostile forces are deceiving public opinion with the false rumor that the weapons systems produced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are ‘to export to Russia,’” Kim writes.
“As we have already said several times, the ‘rumor about the arms trade between the DPRK and Russia’, woven with wrong visions and fiction, is the most absurd paradox and does not deserve any evaluation or interpretation,” he adds.
US and South Korean intelligence have published satellite images showing thousands of containers exported from northeastern North Korea to the Russian region of Primorie, from where they transport them to areas near the front in Ukraine.
Several experts have also pointed to the evidence that shows that Moscow has used North Korean short-range artillery rounds or ballistic missiles to attack Ukrainian assets.
Kim, who is deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of North Korea, assures that there is no “intention to export” “technical military capacities to another country or to make them public.”
The leader’s sister assures that the “recent activities” in the field of defense respond exclusively to the implementation of the ambitious five-year weapons modernization plan approved by the Workers’ Party in January 2021.
“The most pressing task for us is not the “publication” or the “export” of weapons, but to perfect the preparations for the war,” writes Kim, who assures that “tactical weapons, including multiple rocket launchers and missiles recently exhibited by us are manufactured with a single mission.”
“We do not hide the fact that these weapons have the function of preventing Seoul from carrying out crazy plans,” he concludes, alluding to the tensions with the South.
At the beginning of the year, Kim Jong-un himself declared South Korea as the main national enemy and eliminated the goal of reunification of the Constitution.
Since then, the regime has withdrawn a multitude of symbolic elements in the country that urged the need to seek peaceful reunification, emphasizing that it is a profound diplomatic turn that in turn is coupled with an intense rapprochement with Russia in the last year.
International
Thousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday (April 19, 2025) in major cities like New York and Washington, as well as in small communities across the United States, in a second wave of demonstrations against President Donald Trump. The crowds denounced what they view as growing threats to the country’s democratic ideals.
In New York City, demonstrators of all ages rallied in front of the Public Library near Trump Tower, holding signs accusing the president of undermining democratic institutions and judicial independence.
Many protesters also criticized Trump’s hardline immigration policies, including mass deportations and raids targeting undocumented migrants.
“Democracy is in grave danger,” said Kathy Valyi, 73, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She told AFP that the stories her parents shared about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1930s Germany “are happening here now.”
In Washington, demonstrators voiced concern over what they see as Trump’s disregard for long-standing constitutional norms, such as the right to due process.
International
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday asked two federal judges to block the U.S. government under President Donald Trump from deporting any Venezuelan nationals detained in North Texas under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law, arguing that immigration officials appear to be moving forward with deportations despite Supreme Court-imposed limitations.
The ACLU has already filed lawsuits to stop the deportation of two Venezuelan men held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center, challenging the application of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The organization is now seeking a broader court order that would prevent the deportation of any immigrant in the region under that law.
In an emergency filing early Friday, the ACLU warned that immigration authorities were accusing other Venezuelan detainees of being members of the Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang. These accusations, the ACLU argues, are being used to justify deportations under the wartime statute.
The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three times in U.S. history — most notably during World War II to detain Japanese-American civilians in internment camps. The Trump administration has claimed the law allows them to swiftly remove individuals identified as gang members, regardless of their immigration status.
The ACLU, together with Democracy Forward, filed legal actions aiming to suspend all deportations carried out under the law. Although the U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed deportations to resume, it unanimously ruled that they could only proceed if detainees are given a chance to present their cases in court and are granted “a reasonable amount of time” to challenge their pending removal.
International
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
A man identified as Rafael Rosario Mota falsely claimed to have rescued 12 people from the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo—a tragedy that left 231 people dead—but he was never at the scene.
Intelligence agents in the Dominican Republic arrested the 32-year-old man for pretending to be a hero who saved lives during the catastrophic incident, authorities announced.
Rosario Mota had been charging for media interviews in which he falsely claimed to have pulled survivors from the rubble after the nightclub’s roof collapsed in the early hours of April 8, during a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“He was never at the scene of the tragedy,” the police stated. The arrest took place just after he finished another interview on a digital platform, where he repeated his fabricated story in exchange for money as part of a “media tour” filled with manipulated information and invented testimonies.
“False hero!” read a message shared on the police force’s Instagram account alongside a short video of the suspect, in which he apologized: “I did it because I was paid. I ask forgiveness from the public and the authorities.”
Thousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
UN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America5 days agoPetro questions Ecuador’s vote, cites reports of military control and arrests
-
International4 days agoArsenal stun Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to reach Champions League semifinals
-
International3 days agoDominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
-
Central America3 days agoNicaraguan Exiles to Mark 7th Anniversary of 2018 Protests with Global Commemorations
-
International4 days agoBogotá residents line up for yellow fever vaccine amid national alert
-
International4 days agoDeSantis’ immigration crackdown sparks alarm in Venezuelan Communities in Doral
-
International2 days agoACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
-
Central America2 days agoUN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children
-
International4 days agoMexico refuses to restore ties with Ecuador while Noboa remains in office
-
International11 hours agoThousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
-
International5 days agoColombia: Search continues for missing limb of italian scientist found dismembered