Colombia has halted electricity exports to neighboring Ecuador as its hydropower plants reach near-critical levels due to a biting drought, the government said late Monday. The severe dry spell, associated with the El Nino climate phenomenon, has also led to water rationing that is affecting 10 million people in the capital Bogota and surrounds. Mining … Read more
The European Union is planning new sanctions on Iran following Tehran’s recent missile and drone attacks on Israel, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday in Brussels. “The region is at the edge of an abyss,” Borrell warned, describing the tense situation in the Middle East. “We have to move away from it,” … Read more
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of his country’s embassy and consulates in Ecuador on Tuesday in solidarity with Mexico in its protest over a raid by Ecuadorian authorities on the Mexican embassy in Quito. Venezuela also “fully supports” Mexico’s request to have the United Nations suspend Ecuador from the … Read more
Poland aims to improve its air defences until it is “as secure as Israel,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in Warsaw on Tuesday, following a cabinet meeting on national security. Tusk noted that Israel had intercepted almost all missiles and drones fired at it by Iran over the weekend, while Ukraine, Poland’s neighbour to the … Read more
Germany needs to become more resistant to Russian disinformation, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on visiting the military’s operative communications centre in Mayen in the south-west of the country. Disinformation campaigns had to be recognized early on and publicly exposed, he said. “We cannot be taken in by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in this area … Read more
There were more attacks on journalists in Germany in 2023 than in the previous year, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) has found. After 56 cases in 2022, 69 cases of physical attacks on journalists were recorded last year, the non-profit organization announced on Tuesday in its annual long-term analysis. The capital … Read more
[Getty Images] An influential global body has forecast Russia’s economy will grow faster than all of the world’s advanced economies, including the US, this year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Russia to grow 3.2% this year, significantly more than the UK, France and Germany. Oil exports have “held steady” and government spending has “remained … Read more
The artist representing Israel at the Venice Biennale called Tuesday for a ceasefire in the war with Hamas and said her exhibit would remain closed until the hostages were released. Ruth Patir’s video installation “(M)otherland” was due to open on Saturday at Israel’s national pavilion at the international art show, but the day before a … Read more
Anti-tourism movements are multiplying in Spain, the world’s second most visited country, prompting authorities to try and reconcile the interests of locals and the lucrative sector. Rallying under the slogan “The Canaries have a limit”, a collective of groups on the archipelago off northwest Africa are planning a slew of protests on Saturday. The Canaries … Read more
* Catalonia is holding an election on May 12 * Puigdemont’s return made possible by controversial amnesty * Junts acted as kingmaker for Spain’s socialist government * Support for independence has ebbed in polls By Joan Faus PERPIGNAN, France, April 16 (Reuters) – Catalonia’s former president Carles Puigdemont, who has been living in self-exile since … Read more