International
Miguel Ángel Oliver: The EFE Agency is an antidote against racism
The president of the EFE Agency, Miguel Ángel Oliver, said on Tuesday that the EFE Agency is “an antidote against racism” during the presentation of the New Urgent Style Manual at the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute of Rabat.
“EFE, through the new book, is an antidote against racism. When immigrants are rejected for ethnic or social reasons, it is simply racism,” Oliver stressed when closing a round table entitled “The debate on immigration in the media: when the story kills the data.”
Oliver recalled that journalists have the duty to tell the stories of emigrants and to fight that hate speech against these people: “Put names to the drama, faces and voices,” he insisted.
He stressed that there are media that work against this hate speech. In this sense, he pointed out that media such as EFE and RTVE “are an example of responsible treatment of migration information.”
It is important to humanize the stories of migrants
On this issue, the Moroccan and Spanish journalists who participated in the round table agreed on the need to humanize the stories of migrants, give them a voice without entering into controversy, and avoid degrading language.
During the debate, the speakers stressed the need not to neglect the personal stories of each migrant, and not to limit themselves to providing figures of people who tried to cross into Europe.
“Journalists must be on the side of the marginalized who will never make it to the news. The journalist has to be critical of governments. Behind thousands of people crossing, you have to spend time telling the story of Pepe, Fátima…”, said Ana Jiménez, TVE correspondent in Morocco.
The Spanish journalist stressed that the data is forgotten but the personal stories or shocking images, such as that of Luna hugging the migrant Abdou, who went viral during the massive entry of emigrants into the Spanish city of Ceuta in May 2021, reach the consciousness of the viewers.
The EFE Agency’s manual to cover migration issues
One of the points on which the speakers insisted is that of the words used to cover migration issues or to refer to migrants.
Jiménez acknowledged that he learned, thanks to style books – such as EFE – or the work of NGOs to differentiate between “jump” and “assault”: the latter term is usually used in the media to refer to the attempt of migrants to jump the border fence of Ceuta or Melilla but it is a word that is associated with weapons, which migrants do not carry.
In the same sense, Mohamed Ezzouak, director of the Moroccan electronic newspaper ‘Yabiladi’ – which gives special importance to the issues of the Moroccan diaspora abroad – recognized that because of the words we sometimes “animalize” the migrant using degrading words.
Ezzouak recalled some episodes in the past in the Moroccan press where sub-Saharan migrants were labeled “black plague” or even “cockroaches.”
“But the Moroccan media criticized this coverage,” said the journalist, who stressed that these are isolated situations in which it does not reflect the temperament of a country, where there is no polemical debate about emigration, unlike countries like Spain or France.
The correct terms must be used
In the same sense, Ghita Ismaili, journalist of the Moroccan weekly in French ‘Telquel’, stressed the difference between Spain and France, where “emigration is a daily issue” and where there is a political debate animated by the right and extreme right, a point in which he has cited Vox.
“When we refer to emigration in the Moroccan media it is done differently, emigration is very factual, there are not many comments, and the news is more about rescues made by the country’s authorities and the Royal Navy,” he said.
Ismaili recalled that the last time there was debate and the news of migrants monopolized the front pages of the media was after the call for the mass crossing to Ceuta on September 15, which went viral on social networks and led about 3,000 people, mostly Moroccans, to try.
The new EFE Style Book, whose first edition was published in 2011, has a different structure, reviews and rewrites much of its material and incorporates a multitude of aspects that have appeared or gained importance in recent years in the newsrooms of EFE and all media, such as social networks or artificial intelligence.
The coordinator of the guide, Javier Lascuráin, explained during the round table that the work includes the ethical, professional and linguistic principles of the public agency and broke down some of the considerations that are included in the treatment of migration: avoid pejorative terms such as “avalanche” or “mena”, give voice to migrants, among others.
International
Marco Rubio launches U.S. campaign to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday (July 13, 2026) the launch of a diplomatic campaign aimed at “dismantling” the International Criminal Court (ICC), a key institution in the global justice system, while pressuring Washington’s allies to withdraw from the organization, which he accused of interfering in U.S. affairs.
“The ICC represents an intolerable threat to American sovereignty: it claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison military personnel and officials acting in defense of the national interests of the United States,” Rubio said.
He also accused the court of waging “a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, agreements and the power of what they call international law.”
The United States is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. The Trump administration has previously imposed sanctions on senior court officials over investigations into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and actions targeting Israeli officials, a key U.S. ally.
“Step by step, if necessary”
The new State Department initiative proposes banning ICC personnel from entering the United States and expanding sanctions against court members and affiliated organizations.
The plan also includes increasing pressure on Washington’s allies, particularly countries that “benefit from the U.S. security umbrella,” to publicly reject ICC actions and distance themselves from the institution.
The Trump administration will summon foreign ambassadors and senior officials to highlight what it describes as “ICC abuses” and encourage them to withdraw from the court.
Washington also plans to increase scrutiny of countries that refuse to reject what the administration calls the ICC’s “claimed authority” while continuing to rely on U.S. assistance.
Rubio said the ICC seeks to become “a global unaccountable arbiter.” In an opinion piece published Monday in The Wall Street Journal, the secretary of state said that with the support of its allies, the United States would dismantle the ICC “step by step, if necessary.”
International
ICE reverses course and moves forward with New Jersey migrant detention facility project
The administration of President Donald Trump has reversed course and resumed plans to convert a warehouse in New Jersey, purchased for $129.3 million, into a migrant detention facility with capacity for up to 1,500 people, according to a court filing in the state.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) submitted a document Friday to a federal court in New Jersey stating that it will continue moving forward with plans to establish the facility in the township of Roxbury.
According to the court filing, ICE had previously informed the court on June 29 that it had decided to abandon the plan to convert the property into a detention center.
However, on July 8, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials notified attorneys that, “after reconsideration,” the agency intended to continue evaluating the renovation of the warehouse for use as a migrant detention facility.
“DHS officials further informed counsel that, as of July 10, the agency’s deliberations remain ongoing,” the document stated.
The decision to revive the project comes two weeks after The New York Times reported that ICE had decided not to proceed with plans to establish new detention facilities as part of the Trump administration’s immigration detention and deportation strategy.
According to that report, the agency had planned to sell seven warehouses, including the Roxbury property, for more than $700 million or transfer them to other federal agencies.
The New Jersey facility proposal is part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to expand immigration enforcement infrastructure amid its push to increase detention capacity and accelerate deportations of undocumented immigrants.
International
Judge rules Trump’s IRS lawsuit was a “bad faith” attempt to manipulate the judicial process
A federal judge ruled Monday that a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was an attempt to “manipulate the judicial process” and determined that the case was brought in bad faith.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered sanctions against the attorneys involved in the lawsuit, which led to an effort to create the now-defunct $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund aimed at addressing alleged political targeting by government institutions in favor of Trump allies.
The lawsuit was also used to justify a government order that sought to provide Trump and his companies with immunity from any past tax-related matters.
In a 56-page opinion, Williams sharply criticized both the Department of Justice (DOJ) — saying the government’s response to the case disregarded agency policies and may have violated the law — and the private attorneys who filed the lawsuit on Trump’s behalf.
“The very nature of the lawsuit and the conduct of the parties and counsel since its filing make clear that this was an attempt to use the court to provide legitimacy to an agreement designed to grant immunity to individuals and entities connected to the president and to allocate billions of taxpayer dollars to remedy grievances that the law does not recognize,” Williams wrote.
The judge also ordered that her opinion be referred to attorney disciplinary authorities in New York and Washington, which are already reviewing previous ethics complaints involving Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Deputy Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
Williams criticized the Justice Department for abandoning its responsibility to defend the interests of the United States, arguing that the government entered into an agreement that departed from its position in similar legal cases, ignored DOJ policies and pursued objectives beyond what is permitted by law.
“By abandoning its responsibility to vigorously defend the interests of the United States, the government entered into an agreement that deviated from its litigation position in similar cases, ignored Department of Justice policies and achieved objectives that exceeded those authorized by law, as well as others expressly prohibited,” Williams wrote.
The judge also referred one of Trump’s private attorneys to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action and barred another lawyer representing the president from appearing before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for one year.
The ruling adds another legal setback for attorneys involved in cases connected to Trump’s administration and raises new questions about the conduct of government lawyers and private counsel involved in the IRS lawsuit.
Marco Rubio launches U.S. campaign to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court
ICE reverses course and moves forward with New Jersey migrant detention facility project
Judge rules Trump’s IRS lawsuit was a “bad faith” attempt to manipulate the judicial process
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
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