World

The United States said Tuesday it recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect of Venezuela — the first time it called him that — four months after a disputed election in which incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory amid accusations of fraud.The statement from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken prompted a furious reaction from Caracas, …

US recognizes Venezuela opposition’s Gonzalez Urrutia as ‘president-elect’ Read More »

European powers and the United States are moving ahead with a plan to censure Iran for its poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog at this week’s board meeting, despite an offer by Tehran to cap its highly enriched uranium stock, diplomats told AFP.Tensions between Iran and Western powers have repeatedly flared since a 2015 …

European powers, US seek to censure Iran at UN nuclear watchdog board Read More »

Kizza Besigye, a major Ugandan opposition figure, was “kidnapped” in Kenya and is being held in a Kampala military jail, his wife, a top UN official, said Tuesday.Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAIDS, demanded on X that the government of Uganda “release my husband Dr. Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately”.Besigye, a medical …

UNAIDS chief says husband, Ugandan opposition figure Besigye, ‘kidnapped’ Read More »

Senior US and Israeli officials will meet in early December to address American concerns over harm to civilians caused by military operations in Gaza, the State Department said Tuesday.The United States has regularly voiced concerns to key ally Israel over American-supplied weapons being used in strikes that have killed civilians in the Gaza Strip.However, it …

US announces talks with Israel over civilian casualties in Gaza Read More »

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was appointing Mehmet Oz, a former surgeon and TV celebrity known as “Dr. Oz,” to lead the United States’ massive public health insurance program. The 64-year-old heart surgeon was championed on daytime television by Oprah Winfrey before he entered politics with an unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat in 2022.Oz …

Trump appoints TV celebrity ‘Dr. Oz’ to key US health post Read More »

Pro-democracy Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai will on Wednesday take the stand in his collusion trial, testifying in court for the first time despite five previous trials in almost four years.Lai’s case is one of the most prominent prosecuted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020, with Western countries and rights groups …

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai takes witness stand in collusion trial Read More »

Western governments and rights groups condemned Tuesday the jailing of 45 pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong in the city’s largest national security trial.Criticism immediately followed the sentencing of dozens of opposition figures including “mastermind” Benny Tai who was given the longest term of 10 years in prison.A US State Department spokesman called the sentences “unjust”, …

Hong Kong court jails 45 democracy campaigners, drawing condemnation Read More »

US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of his transition team, as his commerce secretary on Tuesday — a choice set to bring a tougher stance on China from the incoming administration.Lutnick will also lead the country’s tariff and trade agenda, with “additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade …

Trump names China hawk Howard Lutnick as US commerce secretary Read More »

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of his transition team, as his commerce secretary on Tuesday — a choice set to bring a tougher stance on China from the incoming administration.Lutnick will also lead the country’s tariff and trade agenda, with “additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” …

Trump names China hawk Howard Lutnick commerce secretary Read More »

The European Union is key to a deal being done at UN climate talks in Baku by Friday — viewed as a bridge both with China and poorer nations — after climate sceptic Donald Trump’s triumph in the US elections. The bloc’s envoys have been quietly negotiating with China at COP29 in Azerbaijan and consolidating “high-ambition” alliances …

Europe’s pivotal role in bid to strike COP29 climate deal Read More »