8 d. ago Venezuela’s Nobel laureate urges Maduro to cede power peacefully

Nicolas Maduro’s time is up but he can still leave power peacefully, Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said in an interview from hiding on Monday. Offering a barbed olive branch to Venezuela’s long-lasting leader, 58-year-old Machado said President Maduro could get personal guarantees if he were to cede power. “Maduro currently has the opportunity to move toward a peaceful transition,” the opposition figurehead told Agence France-Presse as a flotilla of US warships...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump calls off talks with Venezuela as US considers cartel targets on land

US President Donald Trump has called off US diplomatic engagement with Venezuela, people familiar with the move have said, a decision that favours Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s more hardline approach and may lead to further military escalation. Trump told Richard Grenell, a long-time aide who had been leading diplomacy with Venezuela, that he should stop pursuing a deal with Nicolas Maduro’s administration, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not...

Events

2 w. ago Venezuela says foiled ‘false flag’ bomb plot targeting US embassy in Caracas

President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that Venezuela foiled a false flag operation by what he called local terrorists to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caracas and exacerbate a dispute between the two countries over drug trafficking. Speaking on his weekly TV show, Maduro said two sources which he did not name “agreed on the possibility that a local terrorist group placed an explosive device at the US embassy in Caracas” in order to aggravate the dispute with Washington. Jorge Rodriguez,...

Events

2 w. ago Venezuela says foiled ‘false flag’ bomb plot targeting US embassy

President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that Venezuela foiled a false flag operation by what he called local terrorists to plant explosives at the US embassy in Caracas and exacerbate a dispute between the two countries over drug trafficking. Speaking on his weekly TV show, Maduro said two sources which he did not name “agreed on the possibility that a local terrorist group placed an explosive device at the US embassy in Caracas” in order to aggravate the dispute with Washington. Jorge Rodriguez,...

Events

2 w. ago Israeli strikes kills dozens in Gaza despite Trump’s demand to halt bombing

Dozens were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Saturday, local health officials said, despite a demand from US President Donald Trump for Israel to stop bombing in response to a declaration by Hamas that it was ready to free hostages under his plan to end the two-year-old war. With ceasefire talks due to begin in Egypt in the coming week, Trump said on Saturday on social media that Israel had agreed to an “initial withdrawal line” inside Gaza and that “when Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will...

Events

3 w. ago Venezuela’s Maduro ready to declare state of emergency over US ‘aggression’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is ready to declare a state of emergency over the threat of US “aggression”, following a spate of deadly US strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday. Rodriguez told foreign diplomats that Maduro had signed a decree giving himself “special powers” as head of state to act in matters of defence and security in the event the United States “dares to attack our homeland”. A government source, however, told Agence...

Politics

4 w. ago Super Typhoon Ragasa: firms, schools, transport in southern China close

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing now for 50 per cent off during our two-day flash sale. As residents and officials in southern China brace for the full force of Super Typhoon Ragasa, the most powerful typhoon to hit the region in recent years, they are Guangdong province upgraded its typhoon alert to Level 1, the highest in a four-tier warning system, as officials declared a “combat-ready”...

Politics

4 w. ago China’s Guangdong province braces for ‘worst’ as Super Typhoon Ragasa nears

The global manufacturing centre of Guangdong in southern China has come to a halt as people brace for the most powerful typhoon to hit the region in recent years. On Tuesday morning, the province upgraded its typhoon alert to Level 1, the highest in a four-tier warning system, as officials declared a “combat-ready” status in preparation for Super Typhoon Ragasa. More than 10 cities, including the technology hub Shenzhen, have announced the closure of all markets, schools, factories and transport...

Politics

4 w. ago China’s Guangdong evacuates 371,000, suspends flights as Ragasa nears

The global manufacturing centre of Guangdong in southern China has come to a halt as people brace for the most powerful typhoon to hit the region in recent years. On Tuesday morning, the province upgraded its typhoon alert to Level 1, the highest in a four-tier warning system, as officials declared a “combat-ready” status in preparation for Super Typhoon Ragasa. More than 10 cities, including the technology hub Shenzhen, have announced the closure of all markets, schools, factories and transport...

Politics