U.S. sanctions Venezuela state oil firm, escalating pressure on Maduro
The Trump administration on Monday imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA, aimed at severely curbing the OPEC member’s crude exports to the United States and at pressuring socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down.
Russia tells Venezuela it must repay its debt to Moscow on time
Russia expects Venezuela to make its next scheduled debt repayment to Moscow on schedule at the end of March, the Russian Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, hours after one of its top officials said he expected Caracas to struggle with repayments.
Venezuela’s Guaido aims for peaceful transition, free elections: CNN interview
Venezuela’s opposition movement can achieve a peaceful transition away from President Nicolas Maduro and eventually free elections, its leader Juan Guaido told CNN in an interview that aired on Tuesday.
Australia PM urges Thailand not to extradite Bahraini player
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Asian soccer chiefs called on the Thai government to release footballer Hakeem Al Araibi as prosecutors in Bangkok on Tuesday acknowledged receipt of an extradition request from Bahrain.
Pakistan court upholds acquittal of Christian woman accused of blasphemy
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the acquittal of a Christian woman who spent years on death row after being convicted of blasphemy, dismissing a petition filed by Islamists who have called for her execution.
DUP holds firm to removal of backstop ahead of key UK votes
The Irish backstop and withdrawal agreement as they stand are not acceptable, Democratic Unionist Party lawmaker Sammy Wilson said on Tuesday, before the UK parliament votes on amendments to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal with Brussels.
Philippine president suggests church bombing was ‘suicide’ attack
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday twin explosions that killed 20 people in a church on a southern island at the weekend may have been a suicide attack, citing a briefing given to him by military commanders.
French police clear Paris migrant camp
Police cleared 300 migrants from a makeshift refugee camp by Porte de la Chapelle in northern Paris early on Tuesday, and took them to official shelters elsewhere in the city.
Palestinian PM, government resign
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah has tendered his resignation and that of his unity government to President Mahmoud Abbas, he said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to faltering reconciliation efforts with Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers.
Guaido: I am Venezuela’s legitimate leader, Maduro is dictator
Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader who proclaimed himself interim president last week with U.S. backing, told a German broadcaster that he was the country’s only legitimate leader.
