Venezuela will not grant safe passage to leave the country to six opposition aides who have taken refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, a ruling party official said late on Wednesday. Senior Argentine officials told Reuters this month the administration of President Nicolas Maduro had reneged on April promises to allow the aides to leave. The opposition says Maduro is targeting rivals ahead of July presidential elections.
New research suggests that climate change, which causes more erratic and severe weather conditions, may be a trigger for more intense migraines.
Prosecutors' star witness in the hush money case against Donald Trump will be back in the hot seat Thursday as defense lawyers try to chip away at Michael Cohen’s crucial testimony implicating the former president. The trial will resume in Manhattan with potentially explosive defense cross-examination of Cohen, whose credibility could determine the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s fate in the case. Cohen is prosecutors’ final witness — at least for now — as they try to prove Trump schemed to suppress a damaging story he feared would torpedo his 2016 presidential campaign, and then falsified business records to cover it up.
The maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of aid getting into the Gaza Strip.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Thursday to deepen their "strategic partnership" while scolding the United States for a series of moves that they said threatened their countries. * Russia and China "are determined to defend their legitimate rights and interests, resist any attempts to hinder the normal development of bilateral ties, interfere in the internal affairs of the two states, and limit the economic, technological or foreign policy potential of Russia and China."
Ukrainian units locked in street battles with the Kremlin’s forces in a key northeastern Ukraine town have halted the Russian advance, military officials in Kyiv claimed Thursday, though a senior Moscow official said the frontline push had enough resources to keep going. Russian attempts to establish a foothold in the town of Vovchansk, which is among the largest towns in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region with a prewar population of 17,000, “have been foiled,” Ukraine’s general staff said in a midday report. Vovchansk, located just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Russian border, has been a hotspot in the fighting in recent days.
Walmart Inc. reported another quarter of strong quarterly results Thursday as its low prices pull in shoppers scouring for discounts with inflation stubbornly high. Walmart reported profits of $5.10 billion, or 63 cents per share for the quarter ended April 30. Adjusted earnings per share was 60 cents, far surpassing estimates for 53 cents per share, according to FactSet analysts.
France accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of "interference" in the politics of its Pacific territory of New Caledonia, which has seen deadly riots in recent days.The riots in New Caledonia, a French territory lying between Australia and Fiji, were sparked by moves to agree a new voting law that supporters of independence from France say discriminates against the indigenous Kanak population.
Europe's major stock markets staged a modest pullback Thursday as investors cashed in profits from record-breaking rallies, shrugging off strong Asian gains and all-time Wall Street peaks that followed news of easing US inflation.Asian equities rallied Thursday after US data showed inflation cooled last month, fuelling speculation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice this year and sending Wall Street to record heights on Wednesday.
After months of tense negotiations, Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders and his coalition partners have struck a deal to form a right-wing government. The coalition aims to have the strictest admittance policy for asylum seekers among EU countries and says it will request an opt out of common EU rules for migration. Border controls will be intensified, admittance procedures will be shorter and stricter, while foreigners who have already been denied asylum in another EU country will be sent away immediately.
Ukraine warned on Thursday it faced a "very difficult" military situation in its northeast Kharkiv region, where Moscow has made its largest territorial gains in 18 months since launching a surprise offensive last week.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday met military leaders in Kharkiv city, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Russian border to assess Ukraine's defensive efforts.
Indonesian authorities on Thursday raised the alert level for Mount Ibu, a volcano in North Maluku province, to the highest level following a series of eruptions since last week. The 1,325-meter (4,347-foot) volcano on the northwest coast of the remote island of Halmahera has been spewing thick grey ash and dark clouds up to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the air every day since last Friday. “Based on the results of visual and instrumental monitoring which show the occurrence of increased volcanic activity for Mount Ibu, we have raised the alert level from 3 to 4,” said Muhammad Wafid, chief of Indonesia’s Geology Agency.
Former President Barack Obama will headline a fundraiser next month to benefit Democratic Senate candidates as the party gears up to defend its slim majority.
J. Smith-Cameron thinks she’s found a secret weapon.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said Thursday a “foreign influence” bill passed by parliament that critics call a threat to free speech is “unacceptable” and can't be modified. In an interview with The Associated Press, Zourabichvili harshly criticized the ruling Georgian Dream party for pushing the bill that also is widely seen as a threat to Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union. The bill requires media and nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
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The Israeli military said Thursday that five soldiers were killed and seven injured in a friendly fire incident in northern Gaza, amid renewed battles in the area against regrouped Hamas militants.
German lawmakers on Thursday lifted the immunity from prosecution of one of the far-right Alternative for Germany party's top candidates in the upcoming European Parliament election as he faces an investigation. The German parliament's lower house, or Bundestag, voted to lift Petr Bystron's immunity to clear the way for searches in connection with the investigation. Lawmakers from Alternative for Germany, or AfD, abstained.
Far-right leader Geert Wilders told AFP Thursday it could take "years" for the Netherlands' new government to fulfil its pledge to opt-out of the EU asylum system, but vowed the nation would enforce its strictest asylum policy ever."What we have today in our agreement is really the most tough anti-asylum (policy) ever being implemented in the Netherlands," he told AFP. The far-right leader also vowed to implement border controls to enforce the stricter asylum policy.
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it launched on Thursday "more than 60" rockets at Israeli military positions in retaliation for overnight air strikes on the country's east.Hezbollah fighters "launched a missile attack with more than 60 Katyusha rockets" on several Israeli military positions in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the group said in a statement.