The U.N. Security Council failed to agree Thursday on either a U.S. or Russian proposal to find a way forward on the Venezuelan crisis. The 15-nation council voted on two draft resolutions. The U.S. text had the support of the majority of the council members but was blocked by Russia and China, while a Russian draft garnered onlyRead more
Crisis-hit Venezuela awaits as opposition leader and self-declared president plans return despite security concerns Venezuela is waiting for Guaido. The man who would be paramount leader of a country in upheaval is on the move. He heads to Paraguay on Friday after lobbying in Brazil forRead more
The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria says in a new report that lawlessness remains widespread throughout Syria, despite a general winding down of the war as pro-government forces make military gains. In its report to be submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council on March 12, the commission said there had been a significant drop in fightingRead more
Canada will join NASA’s space mission to put an orbiter around the Moon in a few years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday. “Canada is going to the Moon,” Trudeau told a press conference that included a live video link from the International Space Station with Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. NASA plans to build aRead more
Canada’s opposition leader formally asked federal police on Thursday to investigate a claim of political meddling by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in the criminal prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. The House of Commons scheduled an emergency debate Thursday on the deepening controversy, the most serious faced by Trudeau since assuming office in 2015. ConservativeRead more
More than 550 members of Venezuela’s armed forces have turned their back on President Nicolas Maduro and crossed the border into Colombia since Saturday, Colombian immigration officials said. The immigration service said Thursday 567 security force members had so far made contact with the authorities in Colombia for assistance. Most had entered Colombia via NorteRead more
The adoption of a European Union money-laundering blacklist, which includes Saudi Arabia as well as Puerto Rico and three other U.S. territories, could be blocked by EU governments under a procedure launched on Thursday, two EU diplomats told Reuters. At a meeting on Thursday, some national envoys opposed adopting the list, triggering a process thatRead more
A U.N. human rights expert has published a draft list of questions to measure countries’ privacy safeguards, a first step towards ranking the governments that are potentially doing the most snooping on their own citizens. Joseph Cannataci, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to privacy, submitted the draft questionnaire – touching on everything fromRead more
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday he would discuss U.S. concerns about Chinese actions that threaten freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea with Philippine officials during an overnight visit to Manila. Pompeo arrived late Thursday and immediately met with President Rodrigo Duterte at an air base. He discussed with DuterteRead more
Ukrainian lawmaker and presidential hopeful Vitaliy Kupriy survived two violent attacks in the past — and he is taking no chances now. One attack involved an assailant coming at him with a hammer. As campaigning heats up in the country’s presidential race, he is shadowed by two mountainous bodyguards. It is hardly surprising that heRead more
Russian officials have brought charges against four companies in the Far East that have been keeping about 100 whales in small, crowded pools that environmentalists have dubbed a “whale prison.” The companies, which appear to be affiliated, have previously been fined for illegal capture and have a history of selling the animals to amusement parksRead more
The leader of Canada’s main opposition party Wednesday demanded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quit after a former justice minister said government officials inappropriately pressured her to help a major firm avoid a bribery trial. The allegations by Jody Wilson-Raybould dramatically deepened the biggest crisis of Trudeau’s tenure just months ahead of an October election inRead more
“Where are you all from?” my colleague asks a young boy named Chamil in Arabic. Minutes ago, he and several other boys arrived at this makeshift transit camp after escaping the battle for the Islamic State group’s last stronghold in Syria. Chamil looks about 11 years old and is surrounded by seven other boys, allRead more
The United States has requested a vote on Thursday at the UN Security Council on a draft resolution calling for presidential elections in Venezuela and unimpeded deliveries of humanitarian aid, diplomats said. Russia and China, who support President Nicolas Maduro, are likely to veto the measure that “expresses deep concern about the actions of aRead more
Hundreds of people boarded trucks leaving the last scrap of the Islamic State group’s “caliphate” in eastern Syria on Wednesday as U.S.-backed forces prepared to deliver the final blow to holdout jihadists. Several thousand people — fighters and their relatives — are believed to be cornered in the last pocket of IS-held territory, barely halfRead more
Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Wednesday the United States was trying to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro and suggested talks with U.S. President Donald Trump — an idea the Trump administration immediately rejected. Jorge Arreaza, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, suggested that Maduro and Trump meet to “try to find common ground and explainRead more
Britain’s opposition Labor Party will put forward or support an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Brexit, the party’s Brexit spokesman said on Wednesday. British lawmakers voted 323-240 against a Labor proposal for a permanent customs union with the EU. “Disappointed the government has rejected Labor’s alternative Brexit deal,” Labor Member of Parliament Keir Starmer said. “That’s why Labor will putRead more
White House senior advisor Jared Kushner met Tuesday with the Saudi crown prince, the first time they met since the October killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The White House said in a statement Wednesday the two discussed a variety of topics in Riyadh, including economic investment in the Middle East and efforts toRead more