Venezuela’s Maduro resumes talks with the opposition on Friday
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government will resume talks with the opposition on Friday after more than a year to resolve a political crisis that has gripped the country since a contentious 2018 election. Negotiations between the two sides were last held in Mexico in October 2021, and international efforts have intensified in recent months to […]
Two US surrogate babies ‘rescued’ from Russian orphanage, group says
Two American babies born to a surrogate in eastern Ukraine and evacuated to Russia after the war began have been returned to their US parents, the private group behind the operation, Project Dynamo, said Wednesday. The twins, a boy and a girl, were “rescued” Tuesday after the organization’s first mission to Russian territory, Project Dynamo […]
Serbian women in Kosovo protest ‘ghettoization’
Hundreds of Serb women demonstrated in northern Kosovo on Wednesday in protest at ethnic Albanian authorities who have accused them of wanting to “ghettoize” the Serb minority. The protest in northern Mitrovica – long a focal point between Serbs and ethnic Albanians – came as Serb and Kosovar officials tried to find a solution to […]
Walmart exec kills six in recent mass shooting in US
A 31-year-old lodging manager at Walmart shot dead six people in a store full of Thanksgiving shoppers before pointing the gun at himself, authorities said Wednesday in America’s second mass shooting in four days. Four other people remained hospitalized in unknown conditions following Tuesday night’s shooting in Chesapeake, Virginia, Police Chief Mark Solesky said. The […]
Record Number of Children Missing Measles Vaccine: Global Report
A record high of nearly 40 million children around the world missed a measles vaccine dose in 2021, according to a new report Wednesday, which found vaccination levels had not recovered from the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study, published jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for […]
a new nerve center for the global drug trade
Ecuador has become an unlikely hub for the global drug trade, flooding the world with Colombian cocaine while bloodshed rages between a complex web of local gangs backed by the Mexican and European mafia. “The cocaine that leaves Ecuador’s ports goes all over the world, mostly to the United States and Europe, but also to […]
After bitter elections, Brazil seek unity in World Cup glory
A sea of ??streamers and mini Brazilian flags flutters over Freedom Alley, one of the myriad narrow streets that criss-cross Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, Rocinha, which decks itself out in World Cup glory every four years. But residents vetoed a graffiti portrait of superstar Neymar – a supporter of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro – […]
Activists save London’s historic gas lanterns
Fascinated tourists watch as Paul Doy climbs a ladder in front of London’s Westminster Abbey and lifts the globe of a gas lantern. He winds up the timer and then ignites a small mesh of fabric, creating a distinctive, soft, warm light that illuminates the darkness. “I like the historical aspect,” says Doy, even though […]
Kremlin critic Yashin is on trial in Russia
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who faces a 10-year prison sentence for denouncing President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, was tried in Moscow on Wednesday. The 39-year-old Moscow City Councilman is in the dock in an unprecedented crackdown on dissidents in Russia, with most opposition activists either in prison or in exile. Yashin refused to […]
The trial of Kremlin critic Yashin begins in Russia
A Russian court on Wednesday opened the trial of opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who faces up to ten years in prison for denouncing President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine. The trial of Yashin, a 39-year-old Moscow councilman, comes amid an unprecedented crackdown on dissenting voices in Russia, with most opposition activists either in prison or […]
At least six dead in US Walmart shooting
A gunman killed at least six people at a Walmart store on Tuesday, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, in the second mass shooting in the United States in four days. Police said the gunman was also dead after the overnight attack in Chesapeake, Virginia, which followed a weekend shooting attack on an LGBTQ club in […]
Ukraine says it has confiscated “pro-Russian literature” from monasteries
Ukraine’s security service said on Wednesday it had seized “pro-Russian literature” and cash and interrogated dozens in raids on several Orthodox monasteries that sparked a backlash from the Kremlin. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said Tuesday it had raided sites including the 11th-century Pechersk Lavra Monastery in the capital Kyiv, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, over […]