World

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, called on Friday for the country to implement a "new judicial system" and proposed an "amnesty law" that would lead to the release of hundreds of political prisoners and turn an infamous detention center into a sports and social venue. "May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation, violence, and extremism," she said in an event at the Supreme Court of Justice. "May it serve to restore justice in our country and restore peaceful coexistence among Venezuelans." Though the interim Venezuelan government did not release the text of the bill, leaving unclear the specific criteria that will be used to determine who qualifies for amnesty, Rodriguez said it would cover cases from after 1999 but would exclude those impriso...

"I was involuntarily undressed by Elon Musk's Grok on X," Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said in a recent video on the platform. She is one of countless victims of a feature on X's AI chatbot, Grok, that allows users to digitally strip women and children of their clothing. In less than two weeks, Grok generated three million sexualized images, including tens of thousands that appear to depict children.  Now, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has launched an investigation into Grok under the Digital Services Act, or DSA. The Commission said it would "assess whether the company [X] properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the EU."  The investigation could set an important precedent in confronting US te...

Burkina Faso's military-led government dissolved all political parties by decree on Thursday. "The government believes that the proliferation of political parties has led to abuses, fuelled divisions among citizens and weakened the social fabric," it said. A bill scrapping party statutes, financing rules and the post of opposition leader will be sent to the transitional council, according to cabinet minutes. All assets of the dissolved parties will be transferred to the state. Before the coup, Burkina Faso had more than 100 registered political parties, with 15 holding seats in parliament after the 2020 election. But the junta that seized power in 2022 under Captain Ibrahim Traore has clamped down on dissent. Political parties in Burkina Faso have already been barred from holding publi...

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday signed a law that will open the nation's oil sector to privatization. Lawmakers in the country's National Assembly approved the overhaul of the energy industry law earlier in the day. "We're talking about the future. We are talking about the country that we are going to give to our children," Rodriguez said. Ruling-party lawmaker Orlando Camacho, head of the assembly's oil committee, said the reform "will change the country's economy."Is Venezuelan oil United States' main interest?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The decision comes less than a month after the US launched a military attack and kidnapped the country's then-President Nicolas Maduro. Washi...

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that would slap additional tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba.   The order invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and calls the Cuban government an "extraordinary threat" to US national security. Cuba's foreign minister condemned Trump’s executive order, calling it a "brutal act of aggression." The move could further aggravate an already deep energy crisis in the country. The Caribbean island has experienced severe fuel shortages in recent years, impacting its power grid and causing widespread blackouts.Cuba's economy faces a future without Venezuela's oilTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Trump cuts off...

After Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Janos Lazar is one of the most recognizable politicians in Hungary. In fact, the construction and transpor minister, who regularly makes headlines with racist and belittling attacks on minorities and poor people, is one of the few recognizable politicians within Orban's Fidesz party. He is still remembered for saying years ago that "those who have nothing are worth exactly that." Lazar, who is said to be keen to replace Orban one day, has now created the biggest scandal yet in Hungary's 2026 election campaign. On January 22, Lazar told residents of the town of Balatonalmadi, just outside the capital, Budapest, that he does not consider immigration to be the solution to Hungary's labor shortage. "If someone has to scrub the toilets on our Intercity train...

After Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Janos Lazar is one of the most recognizable politicians in Hungary. In fact, the construction and transpor minister, who regularly makes headlines with racist and belittling attacks on minorities and poor people, is one of the few recognizable politicians within Orban's Fidesz party. He is still remembered for saying years ago that "those who have nothing are worth exactly that." Lazar, who is said to be keen to replace Orban one day, has now created the biggest scandal yet in Hungary's 2026 election campaign. On January 22, Lazar told residents of the town of Balatonalmadi, just outside the capital, Budapest, that he does not consider immigration to be the solution to Hungary's labor shortage. "If someone has to scrub the toilets on our Intercity train...

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni toured the Sicilian town of Niscemi on Wednesday after a massive landslide, triggered by days of heavy rain, tore away part of the town's edge, destroying homes and forcing more than 1,500 residents to evacuate. The landslide spanned roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles), prompting civil protection crews to establish a 150-meter-wide "no-go zone." "To be honest, there are houses located on the edge of the landslide that obviously can no longer be inhabited, so we need to work with the mayor to find a permanent relocation for these families," civil protection chief Fabio Ciciliano said. Officials warned that many residents living in that area will not be able to return, as the water-soaked territory remains dangerously unstable.Landslides forced the evacu...

Hungarian prosecutors on Wednesday charged Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony over his role in organizing last year's Pride parade, saying he violated the country's assembly law. The move heats up a legal battle between Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing populist government and the leftist-green mayor. Why was Pride banned in Budapest? Budapest Pride took place on June 28 last year and drew around 200,000 participants celebrating LGBT+ people. The event went ahead after Orban's government amended the law on public assembly. The legislation bans holding or attending assemblies that violate the law on the protection of children, which forbids promoting or displaying homosexuality or gender change to persons under the age of 18, therefore banning Pride parades. That allowed police to...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer touched down in Beijing with a business delegation on Wednesday for a three-day visit, the first by a British leader in nearly eight years.  Starmer is seeking to strengthen political and business ties between the United Kingdom and China as relations between the United States and its allies become increasingly strained under Donald Trump.  Criticized by some opponents in the United Kingdom for not taking a hard enough line on China, Starmer said the UK must remain vigilant on security threats but could not afford to ignore the world's second-largest economy.  "It doesn't make sense to stick our head in the ground and bury it in the sand when it comes to China: It's in our interests to engage," Starmer told reporters on the flight to China. "It's going to ...