Category: World

Questions Raised About Safety of Old Montreal Building Destroyed by Fatal Fire

More than a week after a fatal fire tore through a building in Old Montreal, accounts from former tenants and victims of the blaze are raising questions about the safety of the heritage property. Five bodies had been found as of Saturday evening and two people were missing in the shell of the once-elegant greystone…


Brazil’s Lula Cancels Trip to China Due to Pneumonia: Press Secretary

BRASILIA—Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has canceled a high-profile trip to China due to medical reasons, and the March 27-31 visit will be rescheduled for a later date, his press secretary said on Saturday. The press secretary released a medical note stating that after a clinical evaluation, the 77-year-old Lula was diagnosed with…


5 Killed in West Sudan Tribal Violence, Rights Group Says

CAIRO—Two days of tribal violence in western Sudan’s long-troubled Darfur region killed at least 5 people, tribal leaders, and a rights group said Friday. The violence between African Masalit tribesmen and Arab shepherds in West Darfur erupted Thursday after two armed assailants fatally shot a merchant in a remote area, leaders from both groups said….


Venezuela Arrests 21 in Corruption Crackdown, 11 More Wanted

CARACAS—An expanding anti-corruption probe in Venezuela has led to the detention of 10 officials and 11 businessmen, the country’s attorney general said on Saturday, adding that arrest warrants for 11 more people have been issued. The investigation, which began in October, is focused on state oil company PDVSA, a government entity supervising crypto currency operations,…


2 Cuban Illegal Immigrants Fly Into Florida on Motorized Hang Glider

KEY WEST, Fla.—Two Cuban migrants used a motorized hang glider to fly the approximately 90 miles (145 kilometers) from the communist island to Key West on Saturday, Florida officials said. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said the duo landed safely at Key West International Airport at about 10:30 a.m. and were turned over to the…


US State Department Monitoring Reports of Kidnapped Couple in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE—A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Saturday the government is aware of reports of two U.S. citizens missing in Haiti, after media outlets said a Florida couple had been kidnapped. Abigail Toussaint and Jean-Dickens Toussaint, both 33, were taken near capital Port-au-Prince and have been held for days, according to an online petition started by…


UN Nuclear Watchdog Says Missing Libya Uranium Found

CAIRO—U.N. inspectors visiting southern Libya found drums containing natural uranium reported missing earlier this month in the chaos-stricken country, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday. The International Atomic Energy Agency said earlier this month that some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored at a site in the southern town of Sabha had gone missing. Forces…


Honduras’s Castro Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Taiwan, Recognizes China

Honduras’s leftist government has cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the Latin American country announced Saturday, saying it recognizes “only one China in the world” under pressure from China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The announcement by Honduras’s Foreign Ministry posted on Twitter, and also reported by China’s state-controlled media CCTV, comes amid rising tensions between…


Putin Says Russia Will Station Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Putin said the move was triggered by Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low…


As Climate Experts Warn of Looming Catastrophe, Past Bad Predictions Hurt Their Message

Humanity only has a few years to act before the world may irreversibly plunge into an environmental catastrophe of global proportions, climate experts warned in a recent report. Their calls are muffled, however, by a ballast of dozens of past dramatic predictions that have failed to pan out. Environmental experts have been predicting upcoming doom…