International

Trump’s attacker used a drone to obtain aerial images of the rally enclosure

The man who tried to kill the former president and Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States, Donald Trump, used a drone to obtain images of areas of the rally site before the event began last Saturday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal, which cites security officials informed of the matter, says that Trump’s attacker, Thomas Crooks, used the drone with a “scheduled flight route” over the area where the event was going to be held in Butler (Pennsylvania) hours earlier and that the route suggests that he blew up the aircraft more than once.

The information, which reflects the important security flaws in the organization of the political meeting, is added to other details of the attack that have been leaked with a eyer ear, while the FBI leads the main investigation into the two great unknowns of the attack: what motivated Crooks to shoot Trump and how he managed to do it.

After a meeting between members of the FBI and the Secret Service with congressmen last Wednesday, details have been known about the history of searches on the attacker’s devices, which included Trump and the president, Joe Biden, and the upcoming public interventions of the two, among other things.

According to CNN, investigators also found a photo on his phone of Ethan Crumbley, the minor perpetrator of a shooting at a school in Michigan in 2021, which left four students dead and seven injured, and data about his parents, convicted of involuntary homicide.

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On the day of the attack, according to ABC, the Secret Service snipers saw Crooks on the roof of the building from which he fired 20 minutes before he did it, and the security forces had identified him as a person of interest an hour earlier and even observed that he used a rangefinder.

Crooks, 20, was killed by the snipers seconds after he shot Trump while he was talking on stage; the former president came out unharmed with barely one wound in his right ear, while one person from the public died and two others were seriously injured.

Next Monday, the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, is scheduled to testify before a committee of the United States Congress.

International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

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International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.