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
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
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