International
Elon Musk calls Australia “fascist” for plan against disinformation on social networks
The owner of the X platform, Elon Musk, called Australia “fascist” for proposing a law to fine social networks and digital platforms with 5% of their global income for spreading misleading or false news that causes serious damage.
“Fascist” Musk wrote on Thursday night on his X account, when sharing the news about this bill presented by the Canberra Executive to combat the serious damage caused by the distribution of misinformation and misinformation in the safety, health and well-being of Australians, as well as to the democracy, society and economy of the oceanic country.
The answer from Australia
For the assistant of the Australian Ministry of the Treasury, Stephen Jones, Musk’s comments are “crapid,” as he told the Australian public broadcaster ABC when he stressed that the bill responds to the exercise of the “sovereignty” of his country, as of any other, to keep its citizens “safe from scammers, safe from criminals.”
“I don’t understand how Elon Musk or anyone else, in the name of freedom of expression, thinks it’s okay to have social media platforms that publish content about scams (…) ultra-fake news, child pornography or live broadcast murder scenes,” he said.
“Is this what he believes freedom of expression is?” Jones said, alluding to Musk’s reaction when the Electronic Security Commissioner in Australia, Inman Grant, ordered social networks last April to remove the videos related to a stabbing of a bishop in an Assyrian church in Sydney, which the authorities described as terrorist.
X, who considered that the order was an attack on freedom of expression, only geoblocked the images in Australia, which motivated the commissioner to go to court to have the material removed worldwide, although she withdrew the lawsuit two months later on the grounds of wanting to focus on other pending trials.
Musk’s criticisms
Last night’s criticism from Musk refers to the 2024 Draft Amendment to the Communications Legislation (Fight against Misinformation and Misinformation), which was presented on Thursday to the Parliament in Canberra.
With the law, the Canberra Executive plans to give more powers to supervise and regulate the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which may impose a code of conduct, although it may not be able to withdraw individual content, among other measures.
This proposal is part of a series of initiatives that have been announced or presented to Parliament against ‘doxing’ (reveying information about a person online without their consent), online fraud, and the imposition of age limits for accessing social networks.
International
Petro accuses top guerrilla leader of bribing officers to evade military strikes
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said Saturday that the country’s most wanted guerrilla leader is bribing members of the security forces to obtain advance information and evade military operations.
According to the government, Iván Mordisco, a dissident leader of the now-defunct FARC, is currently on the run in the जंगल following an الجيش bombardment last week that killed six of his closest collaborators in the department of Vaupés.
Authorities believe the guerrilla commander had been at the site shortly before the operation. “He buys off the commanders who are supposed to capture him; that’s how he escapes the bombings, but leaves his own people to die. He is warned before every strike,” Petro wrote on social media platform X.
The six individuals killed in the strike were part of Mordisco’s security ring, according to Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Local media reported that one of those killed was a woman known as “alias Lorena,” who was allegedly Mordisco’s partner and the mother of his child.
After failed attempts to negotiate peace, Petro’s administration has shifted to a more aggressive military strategy against the guerrilla leader. In recent months, three of Mordisco’s brothers have been captured and now face charges including homicide, kidnapping, and arms trafficking.
Central America
Costa Rica urges China to halt actions against Panama-flagged vessels
The government of Costa Rica on Saturday called on China to halt retaliatory actions against vessels flying the Panamaflag, amid escalating tensions over control of two strategic ports linked to the Panama Canal.
In a statement shared on social media, Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry warned that the situation “puts global trade at risk” and expressed its “deep concern and strongest condemnation” over what it described as “arbitrary and unjustified delays and inspections in Chinese ports.”
The Costa Rican government urged “full respect for international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” while reaffirming its “unconditional support and solidarity” with Panama.
San José’s position aligns with growing international criticism from countries including Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Israeland Ukraine.
Paraguayan authorities described the detentions as “unacceptable” and pointed to what they called “undue pressure” on the Panamanian government.
International
Mexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
Mexico accounts for the highest number of urgent actions related to enforced disappearances worldwide, according to the latest report by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
The report, released by I(dh)eas, indicates that Mexico has accumulated 819 cases between 2012 and February 2026, representing 38% of the global total.
In the past five months alone, 40 new urgent requests have been recorded — more than one-third of all such actions worldwide during that period.
The report warns that this trend reflects a structural problem, as the urgent action mechanism — originally intended as an exceptional measure — has become routine in Mexico.
Although the Mexican state formally complies with response deadlines, the Committee identified significant shortcomings in the implementation of these measures. These include the lack of comprehensive search plans, delays in key investigative procedures such as video surveillance and phone data analysis, and insufficient inquiries into possible links involving state agents.
The report also highlights inadequate protection for relatives and individuals involved in search efforts, including cases of reprisals.
Among the most serious incidents documented is the disappearance of a father who had denounced alleged involvement of authorities in his son’s case in the state of Guanajuato.
The accumulation of cases could lead to the application of Article 34 of the Convention, which would allow for the launch of an international investigation into systematic enforced disappearances.
Geographically, the state of Chiapas accounts for 30% of the new urgent actions, many of them linked to collective disappearances of migrants.
Petro accuses top guerrilla leader of bribing officers to evade military strikes
Costa Rica urges China to halt actions against Panama-flagged vessels
Mexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
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