Escapism or exaltation? ‘Narco-culture’ games raise concern in #Mexico,

In violence-riddled Mexico, children as young as 13 are hooked on bloody video games that vividly recreate the horrors of the country’s narco war.

Some experts say it’s a way of coping. Critics, including President Claudia Sheinbaum, see it as monetized glorification of a genre known as “narco culture.”

With thousands of daily users, the games allow players to choose whether they want to be a cartel hitman, a police officer or a soldier.

There are wild chases and brutal shootouts, gold-plated pistols, personalized bulletproof helmets, and souped-up cars.

“It really draws me in, seeing things I’d like to have in real life -- for example, who wouldn’t want to have a Lamborghini, or a big truck, a big house?” gaming fanatic Alan Crespo, a 24-year-old farmer from San Blas on Mexico’s Pacific coast, told AFP.

Crespo is on the older side of the player age spectrum, with most between 13 and 18 and hailing primarily from northern Mexican states like Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Baja California -- synonymous with cartel violence.

This age group was born amid the wave of violence unleashed in 2006, when the Mexican government militarized the fight against drug trafficking -- a strategy that has claimed nearly half a million lives.
Hell’s Troop

Dozens of war-like games can be found on online platform Roblox, which allows programming enthusiasts to design their own video games for others to play.

The most popular ones attract up to 1,000 users a day. The games are free, though players can purchase better weapons or uniforms with real money.

The more realistic and gruesome a game is, the more popular, developers say.

“Players aren’t interested in seeing made-up names of criminal groups,” said Angel Villaverde, a 19-year-old who designs games on his computer in Monterrey in Mexico’s northeast.

Users of the game “Tamaulipas Belico,” for example, can choose to play as a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) or of the Northeast Cartel (CDN).

Both have been designated “foreign terrorist organizations” by U.S. President Donald Trump and are responsible for innumerable deaths, including of civilians.

Matches entail killing off one’s enemies to take control of buildings, usually gas stations or shops.

Opponents patrol in camouflaged army pickups or in vehicles decorated with a demon drawing and the number 666 -- the insignia of the CDN’s Tropa del Infierno (Hell’s Troop) armed wing, known for its extreme brutality.
‘Apology for violence’

Mexico’s so-called “narco-culture” can also be found in music, films and fashion items glorifying the criminal life.

Sheinbaum rejects what she considers an “apology for violence” and has launched a campaign against the sub-culture, including an eight per cent tax on video games with violent content.

Behavioral scientists say that through gaming, young people may feel they have a sense of control over a violent reality that makes them anxious.

Student Alejandro Solorzano, 18, a game developer from Tijuana, notes that players are “fascinated by going around doing criminal activities.”

“It’s something warlike, it’s something grotesque, but it’s fictional at the same time” he told AFP.

Ainhoa Vasquez of Chile’s Federico Santa Maria Technical University, says gaming may also be a way of “making sense” of a violent society, of “transferring real anguish” to a fictional realm.

These experiences can be “a catharsis,” said Vasquez, who studies cultural representations of the drug trade.

The platform Roblox, which reported some 112 million daily users worldwide in the second quarter of this year, recently tightened its controls to protect minors.

Among other measures, it implemented a system to verify users’ ages to prevent harassment by adults on the platform.

2 killed in #Russia while #Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is targeted as peace talks press on,

At least two people were killed in a drone attack in Russia’s southwestern Saratov region and parts of Ukraine went without power following targeted assaults on energy infrastructure, local authorities said Saturday, as U.S.-led peace talks on ending the war press on.

The drone attack damaged a residential building and several windows were also blown out at a kindergarten and clinic, said Saratov regional Gov. Roman Busargin.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.

In Ukraine, Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes on five Ukrainian regions, targeting energy and port infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had sent over 450 drones and 30 missiles into Ukraine overnight.

“Thousands of families are now left without electricity after strikes last night in Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions,” he wrote on Telegram.

An attack on the Black Sea city of Odesa caused grain silos to catch fire at the port, Ukrainian deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Two people were wounded in attacks on the wider Odesa region, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.

The latest round of attacks came after Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Friday that Russian police and National Guard will stay on in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas and oversee the industry-rich region, even if a peace settlement ends Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine. This underscores Moscow’s ambition to maintain its presence in Donbas post-war. Ukraine is likely to reject such a stance as U.S.-led negotiations drag on.

Moscow will give its blessing to a ceasefire only after Ukraine’s forces have withdrawn from the front line, Ushakov said in comments published in Russian business daily Kommersant.

Meanwhile, Germany is set to host Zelenskyy on Monday for talks as peace efforts gain momentum and European leaders seek to steer negotiations.

For months, American negotiators have tried to navigate the demands of each side as U.S. President Donald Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war while growing increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into a major obstacle over who keeps #Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russian forces.

U.S. accuses #Rwanda of violating peace deal as #M23 rebels seize key city in eastern #Congo.


The remarks by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz came as more than 400 civilians have been killed since the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels escalated their offensive in eastern Congo’s South Kivu province, according to regional officials who also say that Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.

Waltz told the UN Security Council that the U.S. is “profoundly concerned and incredibly disappointed with the renewed outbreak of violence” by M23.

“Rwanda is leading the region towards increased instability and war,” Waltz warned. “We will use the tools at our disposal to hold to account spoilers to peace.”

He called on Rwanda to respect Congo’s right to defend its territory and invite friendly forces from neighbouring Burundi to fight alongside Congolese forces. He also said the U.S. is engaging with all sides “to urge restraint and to avoid further escalation.”
M23’s latest push

The rebels’ latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington.

The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups like M23 and work to end hostilities.

The rebels’ advance pushed the conflict to the doorstep of neighboring Burundi, which has maintained troops in eastern Congo for years, heightening fears of a broader regional spillover.

Congo’s ministry of communication confirmed in a statement Friday that M23 has seized the strategic port city of Uvira in eastern Congo, on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and directly across from Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.

Uvira was Congo’s government’s last major foothold in South Kivu after the provincial capital of Bukavu fell to the rebels in February. Its capture allows the rebels to consolidate a broad corridor of influence across the east.

M23 said it had taken control of Uvira on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month. Along with the more than 400 killed, about 200,000 have been displaced, regional officials say.
Concerns over an escalation

Civilians fleeing eastern Congo have also crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than seven million people displaced, according to the UN agency for refugees.

Congo, the U.S. and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the UN.

Waltz said Rwandan forces have provided “logistics and training support to M23” and are fighting alongside the rebels in eastern Congo, with “roughly 5,000 to 7,000 troops as of early December.”
Congo calls for more pressure on Rwanda

Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner accused Rwanda of trampling on the peace agreement, which she described as bringing “hope of a historic turning point.”

She warned, however, that the “entire process … is at stake,” and urged the Security Council to impose sanctions against military and political leaders responsible for the attacks, ban mineral exports from Rwanda and prohibit it from contributing troops to UN peacekeeping missions.

“Rwanda continues to benefit, especially financially but also in terms of reputation, from its status as a troop-contributing country to peacekeeping missions,” Wagner told The Associated Press.

Rwanda currently is one of the largest contributors of UN peacekeepers, with nearly 6,000 Rwandan troops.

Wagner also said economic agreements signed with the Trump administration as part of the peace deal will hinge on stability. “We have told our American partners that we cannot envision any path toward shared economic prosperity without peace,” she told the AP.

Eastern Congo, rich in critical minerals, has been of interest to Trump as Washington looks for ways to circumvent China to acquire rare earths, essential to manufacturing fighter jets, cell phones and more.

Wagner said the economic partnership is still at an early stage.

“Everything will start to take shape and become much more tangible once the joint governance mechanisms are put in place,” she said. “What we want is a win-win partnership ... far beyond the single issue of minerals and their transfer,” she added.
Rwanda accuses Congo of ceasefire violations

Rwanda’s Ambassador to the UN Karoli Martin Ngoga accused Congo of repeatedly breaking the ceasefire. He also accused the Congolese government of supporting the mostly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which “threatens the very existence of Rwanda and its people.”

Nearly two million Hutus from Rwanda fled to Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 Tutsi, moderate Hutus and others. Rwandan authorities have accused Hutus who fled of participating in the genocide, alleging that the Congolese army protected them.

“Rwanda reiterates its full commitment to implement its part of the agreement,” Ngoga told the Security Council.

While Rwanda denies the claim that it backs M23, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

___

Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo contributed to this report.

Edith M. Lederer And Mark Banchereau, The Associated Press

#Putin reaffirms support for #Venezuela’s Maduro over U.S. tensions.


The call comes after the United States seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, the latest escalation in the long-standing friction between the two countries.

Russia has fostered warm ties with Venezuela, and Maduro visited Moscow earlier this year, attending an annual military parade and signing a broad partnership agreement with Putin.

In a phone call on Thursday, “Vladimir Putin expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people”, the Kremlin said in a read-out.

The Russian leader had also “confirmed his support for the Maduro government’s policy aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure”, the statement added.

Caracas, for its part, said the leaders “reaffirmed the strategic, solid, and growing nature of their bilateral relations”.

It added that Putin had “reiterated that the channels of direct communication between the two nations remain permanently open and assured that Russia will continue to support Venezuela in its struggle to uphold its sovereignty, international law, and peace throughout Latin America”.

On Wednesday, the U.S. military seized a Venezuelan oil tanker -- troops rappelled onto the tanker’s deck from a helicopter and entered the ship with rifles raised.

Washington has accused Venezuela’s leftist leader of heading a drug cartel, which he denies. Maduro has said the United States is seeking regime change and to seize Venezuela’s vast stores of oil.

U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed warships within striking distance of Venezuela, and at least 87 people have been killed in at least 22 strikes on boats in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea.

#Israel approves hundreds more houses in 3 settlements in the occupied West Bank.


Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Wednesday that the Higher Planning Council, the body in charge of settlement construction plans in the West Bank, approved 478, 230, and 56 housing units in the Hashmonaim, Beitar Illit and Givat Ze’ev settlements, respectively.

Smotrich, who formulates settlement policy and is a settler himself, called the council’s decision part of a “clear strategic move to strengthen settlement and ensure continuity of life, security and growth.” Wednesday’s decision puts the total of housing units approved in the West Bank since Smotrich assumed his post at 51,370, he said in the statement.

The settlements are thought by most of the international community to be illegal under international law and the UN Security Council has passed numerous resolutions against their expansion.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemed the move, saying the approval was part of a settlement policy that “aims to ignite the region” and “drag it into a cycle of violence and war.”

He demanded that the Trump administration pressure Israel to stop settlement expansion “in order to ensure the success of President Trump’s efforts and endeavours to stop the war and achieve stability in the region.”

Anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now on Wednesday accused the Israeli government of “racing toward de facto annexation” of the West Bank, adding that 764 additional housing units “is not unusual,” in reference to the increasing number of approvals.

“This is a double injustice: it entrenches an illegitimate apartheid regime and will come at a heavy cost the day Israel is forced to evacuate the settlements,” the group said in a statement.

The decision comes less than a month after an Israeli government document showed that Israel plans to seize parts of a major West Bank historic site. In August, Israeli authorities approved construction on a controversial settlement project in the territory that would effectively cut it in two.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under heavy criticism from Palestinians and rights groups for accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank, which they say is aimed at preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state there.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza — areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state — in the 1967 war. It has settled over 500,000 Jews in the West Bank in addition to over 200,000 more in contested east Jerusalem.

Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement, including Smotrich and cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force.

Settler expansion has been compounded by a surge of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months.

During October’s olive harvest, settlers across the territory launched an average of eight attacks daily, according to the United Nations humanitarian office, the most since it began collecting data in 2006. The attacks continued in November, with the UN recording at least 136 more by Nov. 24.

Settlers burned cars, desecrated mosques, ransacked industrial plants and destroyed cropland. Israeli authorities have done little beyond issuing occasional condemnations of the violence.

Julia Frankel, The Associated Press

New report shows rise in violence against women journalists and activists linked to digital abuse.


GENEVA — More than two-thirds of women journalists, rights defenders and activists have reported violence online, with over 40 per cent saying they have faced real-world attacks linked to digital abuse, according to a study published Tuesday by UN Women and partners.

The report focuses on an escalation in violence targeting such women alongside the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, and draws on input from more than 6,900 human rights defenders, journalists and activists in 119 countries.

The study by UN Women, the United Nations agency that promotes women’s rights, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and partners follows a similar report by the UN cultural and educational agency UNESCO in 2021.

“Online violence against women has become a growing global crisis,” UN Women said. “What begins on a screen can quickly fuel harassment, intimidation and even real-world harm.”

Some 41 per cent of respondents said they experienced offline attacks, abuse or harassment that they linked with online violence in the forms of physical or sexual assault, stalking, verbal harassment and “swatting,” a tactic to get authorities to respond to an address by making bogus claims of violence happening inside.

Women writers, influencers and social media content providers who focus on human rights are most often affected by such online violence, through the use of new tools like deepfake images or manipulated content, according to the study complied with partners like the European Commission and TheNerve, a data research firm.

Lead researcher Julie Posetti, speaking to reporters in Geneva, said the tally of cases of real-world harm linked to online violence against women journalists has more than doubled over the past five years, with 42 per cent of respondents in 2025 identifying “this dangerous and potentially deadly trajectory.”

Posetti also expressed concerns about “digital misogyny” and the “manosphere ” promoted by some high-profile online influencers, and personal attacks against some women journalists by government leaders including by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“When a president or a prime minister or some senior official makes such egregious comments, it tends to stir up the mob online,” she said.

“It’s not even a dog whistle, which is a kind of subtle way of triggering a mob reaction. It’s an overt attack,” added Posetti, a journalism professor and director of the Information Integrity Initiative at TheNerve.

The authors call for stronger laws and better monitoring to pinpoint violence against women linked to technology, more accountability for tech companies and increased efforts to amplify voices of men and others speaking out against such practices.

“Women who speak up for our human rights, report the news or lead social movements are being targeted with abuse designed to shame, silence and push them out of public debate,” UN Women policy director Sarah Hendricks said. “Increasingly, those attacks do not stop at the screen — they end at women’s front doors."

Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press

🇷🇼🇨🇩 Rwanda–DRC Peace Deal: Kagame Full Interview — Key Points

President Paul Kagame sat down with Steve Clemons (Al Jazeera) to break down the Trump-brokered peace deal between Rwanda & the DRC.

2/ 🔴 “Trump created pressure that never existed before.”

Kagame calls the deal historic — the first time a US President intervenes personally at this level to push Kigali & Kinshasa toward peace.

3/ 🟡 Root Causes

Kagame says the crisis goes back to:
• The 1994 Genocide
• Refugee flows into DRC
• Security spillover Rwanda has “warned about for decades.”

4/ 🔵 On Trump’s diplomacy

Kagame praises practical results over speeches:

“I like what brings results. High-level talk usually creates more problems.”
5/ 🟢 On choosing US & Qatar over African mediation
Kagame rejects the claim:
“Tshisekedi himself went to Qatar and requested Doha talks. Rwanda never avoided African frameworks.”
6/ 🔴 Two parallel negotiation tracks

Kagame explains:
• Doha track → DRC vs AFC/M23
• Washington track → Rwanda vs DRC
And both converged into the final deal.

7/ 🟡 Can Tshisekedi control the East?

Kagame avoids a direct response but stresses:
“Implementation matters more than promises.”

8/ 🔵 On minerals & US–China rivalry

Kagame highlights Rwanda’s own resources — tungsten, tin, tantalum, lithium — and rejects mineral smuggling accusations:
“Not everything exported from Rwanda comes from Congo.”

9/ 🟢 Kagame says Rwanda is unfairly targeted

“Many neighbors trade far more with DRC than Rwanda — yet Rwanda is always the accused.”
10/ 🔴 Development vs destabilization

Kagame says Rwanda cannot be building itself while destabilizing others:
“It’s impossible.”

11/ 🟡 Why this deal is different

According to Kagame:
✔ Strong US pressure
✔ Qatar deeply engaged
✔ New accountability mechanisms
✔ Rwanda & DRC finally reached the first step together
12/ 🔵 No guarantees — but new hope
Kagame: “No one can guarantee 100%. But we now have a path, a framework, and people who will hold us accountable.”
13/ 🟢 What determines success

• Rwanda’s implementation
• DRC’s consistency
• US & Qatar follow-through
• Regional leaders supporting the process

14/ 🔴 Closing Moment

Steve Clemons: “History will judge this moment.”
Kagame: “We’ll use this opportunity well.”

UN calls on Taliban to lift ban on Afghan women in its offices. The United Nations called on the Taliban authorities on Sunday to lift its ban on Afghan women working in its offices, saying the restriction puts “life-saving services” at risk.

Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, Afghan women have been barred from doing most jobs, visiting parks and beauty salons, and attending school beyond the age of 12.

In September, the Taliban authorities began prohibiting women staff members from entering UN offices.

“We call for the ban on Afghan women staff and contractors from entering United Nations premises to be reversed, and for their safe access to offices and the field,” Susan Ferguson, the special representative of the UN’s women’s agency in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

“The longer these restrictions remain in place, the greater the risk to these life-saving services,” Ferguson said, adding that they violated the UN’s principles of human rights and equality.

The statement did not say how many staff were affected, but UN sources indicated that several hundred women were facing the ban.

Staff have been working remotely for the past three months, notably providing assistance to the victims of deadly earthquakes and to Afghan migrants deported from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, Ferguson said.

Describing their work as “indispensable”, she said: “Only through their presence can we reach women and girls safely and provide culturally appropriate assistance.”

The Taliban authorities did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

In September, the UN’s refugee agency suspended cash aid to returned Afghan migrants, citing the impossibility of interviewing and collecting information on the more than 50 per cent of returnees who were women.

#Chernobyl protective shield can no longer confine radiation after drone strike, #UN nuclear watchdog says.


The protective shield built around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site in Ukraine can no longer do its job to confine radioactive waste as a result of a drone strike earlier this year, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The New Safe Confinement (NSC) at Chernobyl, which was “severely damaged” by the drone strike in February, has “lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability,” the IAEA said in a Friday statement.

Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out the Feb. 14 strike at Chernobyl, which the Kremlin denied.

The strike hit the NSC, sparking a fire and damaging the protective cladding around it, the IAEA said.

The nuclear watchdog has recommended a major renovation of the huge steel structure, which was put into place several years ago to enable clean-up operations and ensure the site’s safety nearly four decades on from the worst nuclear power plant accident in history.

“Limited temporary repairs have been carried out on the roof, but timely and comprehensive restoration remains essential to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

Grossi added that there had been no permanent damage to the NSC’s load-bearing structures or monitoring systems.

The IAEA, which has a permanent presence at the site, will “continue to do everything it can to support efforts to fully restore nuclear safety and security,” Grossi said.

It’s not the first time that Chernobyl has been in the spotlight over the course of Russia’s near four-year war in Ukraine. Russian forces seized the nuclear plant and its surrounding area in the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, overrunning the plant in February 2022 and holding staff hostage. They left the plant and handed back control to Ukrainian personnel just over a month later.

The NSC is a massive, arch-shaped steel structure built at the Chernobyl site to cover the ruined No. 4 reactor and contain its radioactive material.

As the world’s largest movable land structure, the colossal hangar is a monumental feat of engineering. Built in 2010 and completed in 2019, it was designed to last 100 years and has played a crucial role in securing the site.

The project cost €2.1 billion (US$2.4 billion) and was funded by contributions from more than 45 donor countries and organizations through the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which in 2019 hailed the venture as “the largest international collaboration ever in the field of nuclear safety.”

In April 26, 1986 an explosion tore through the No. 4 reactor at Chernobyl, in what was then the Soviet Union, spreading radioactivity across swathes of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and beyond.

More than 30 people were killed in the nearby city of Pripyat, Ukraine, with many others suffering symptoms resulting from radiation exposure since, according to the IAEA and the World Health Organization. Birth defects and cancer rates among residents in the area exposed to radiation are still high.

By Kara Fox, CNN

‘Trying to have a family isn’t a criminal offence’: #Canadian surrogate denied entry into U.S.


A Canadian woman trying to board a flight south to visit a California fertility clinic was recently denied entry into the United States by American customs and border officers.

Still in disbelief, Melody - who asked that we only use her first name - says she was in shock as two armed officers escorted her out of Calgary International Airport.

Melody is a Canadian surrogate who’s been trying for months to carry a second child for an American family unable to have a child on their own.

On Oct. 12, Melody arrived at Calgary International Airport’s U.S. customs preclearance area, and says she shared all her paperwork as a surrogate to travel to a fertility clinic in California, where the embryo is being stored. She also had her return ticket to Canada booked for the day after the procedure, with plans to remain pregnant in Canada and deliver the child on Canadian soil.

That’s when a U.S. customs and border agent told her what she was doing was “illegal, which isn’t”, Melody said. Surrogacy isn’t illegal in Canada, nor is it prohibited in the state of California.

She says the U.S. border agent also alleged she “was going down to California for financial benefit.”

Surrogates visiting fertility clinics in America isn’t uncommon. In an email to CTV News, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson wrote that a Canadian “surrogate for an American family, particularly if compensation is involved, would likely be classified as employment under U.S. immigration law. Employment in the United States typically requires a work visa, such as an H-2B or another suitable visa category, depending on the specific situation.”