Venezuela has plunged into a major political crisis amid a growing row over President Nicolas Maduro’s future as the country’s leader. Maduro started a second term on January 10, following a widely boycotted election last year that many foreign governments refused to recognise. On January 23, Juan Guaido, leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself interim president. Shortly after Guaido took… Read more »
It is not often that a country pulls out of an international organisation of which it is the host. Yet that is what Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, did on March 13th. Ecuador joined six other countries who have withdrawn from the South American Union (Unasur), a talking shop which once included all 12 of the continent’s nations, criticising it for the… Read more »
CARACAS (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc plans to sell several tons of gold placed as collateral by Venezuela’s central bank on a $1.6 billion loan after the deadline for repurchasing them expired this month, sources said, a setback for President Nicolas Maduro’s efforts to hold onto the country’s fast-shrinking reserves.Maduro’s government has since 2014 used financial operations known as gold swaps… Read more »
The opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela this week voted to suspend crude oil shipments to Cuba after its president, Juan Guaido, slammed these exports as “funding dark purposes” in a tweet from Sunday. The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that Guaido’s proposal was voted for unanimously and took immediate effect. However, it remains to be seen whether it will take actual effect as the Maduro… Read more »
Among the various diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Venezuela, there is one very notable absence – that of an autonomous regional effort to heal the political strife in the oil-rich nation. Just as South America faces its biggest diplomatic challenge in decades, its principle international organisation is undergoing its death rattle. When the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) was created… Read more »
The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request by state prosecutors to hold a new sentencing hearing for ex-Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke who was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for murdering black teenager Laquan McDonald.FILE PHOTO: Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke watches the prosecution’s closing statements during his trial for the shooting death of… Read more »
Schools in Charlottesville, Virginia, remained closed for a second consecutive day on Friday as police investigated a threat of racist violence against non-white students that had been posted online, officials said. City leaders have worked to ease racial tensions in the city since a white nationalist rally in August 2017 descended into violence, with a white nationalist killing a counter-protester… Read more »
When Brayleigh was born on Jan. 10, 2018, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, her body was completely rigid. Her tiny head didn’t tilt backwards, her arms could hardly move and her chin was cramped against her breast. She emitted high-pitched, shrill cries. Her tiny body was in the throes of withdrawal. The first few days in this world were an ordeal for… Read more »
US scientists have been conducting “questionable” experiments on felines for over three decades, feeding them dead cats and dogs and killing off perfectly adoptable lab animals after the tests, a watchdog has found. The damning report, dubbed ‘USDA Kitten Cannibalism’ has been unveiled by the White Coat Waste Project this week. The animal rights watchdog is striving to stop the US… Read more »
Tuition fees are under political scrutiny in many countries – with fierce arguments over the principle of paying to study, about the amount being charged and how the cost should be divided between students and the state. As an example of how this can play out, Chile has gone through the complete cycle in the past decade. There were high… Read more »