US Is Reviewing Relationship With El Salvador After It Broke Ties with Taiwan
WASHINGTON—The United States is “deeply disappointed” by El Salvador’s decision to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China and is reviewing its relationship with San Salvador as a result, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said on Aug. 21. El Salvador on Aug. 20 became the third Latin ...
Confirmed Ebola Cases Rise to 13 in Congo’s Latest Outbreak
KINSHASA, Congo—The number of confirmed cases in Congo’s new outbreak of the Ebola virus has risen to 13, including three deaths, the health ministry said late Aug. 4. The World Health Organization has warned that this new outbreak of the deadly virus in North Kivu province poses a particular challenge as ...
Doctor in Eastern Congo Contracts Ebola in ‘Dreaded’ Scenario: WHO
GENEVA—A doctor has become the first probable Ebola case in one of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s most violence-ridden and inaccessible zones, a scenario “we have all been dreading”, the World Health Organization said on Aug. 24. Since the outbreak erupted on Aug. 1, 103 confirmed and probable cases of ...
Kenya’s Former World Champion Athlete Dies in Road Accident
Kenya’s former 400m hurdles world champion Nicholas Bett has died in a road accident aged 28, the country’s ministry of sports and heritage said on Wednesday, Aug. 8. Bett died in Nandi county, north west Kenya after his car hit bumps and rolled into a ditch. He had returned home from ...
Nigerian Security Agents Blockade Parliament, Chief Later Fired
ABUJA—Nigeria’s security forces stopped lawmakers entering parliament on Aug. 7 in a blockade seen by the opposition as a bid to intimidate its leaders, but the presidency condemned the move and the acting president fired the head of the security agency. It is the first such incident since Nigeria became a ...
Zuma Influence-Peddling Inquiry Opens; Judges Seeks More Witnesses
JOHANNESBURG—The judge leading an inquiry into claims of influence-peddling against former South African president Jacob Zuma on Monday urged more witnesses to come forward, as public hearings began in a case that could last two years. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will review allegations that the Gupta brothers – who headed ...
Cultures Clash in Europe Over Muslims Refusing to Shake Hands With Members of the Opposite Sex
STOCKHOLM—The simple act of a handshake has become controversial because of growing Muslim populations in several European countries. In the past week, the issue has made headlines in Switzerland, France, Sweden, and Denmark. What some may see as a trivial matter has become a flashpoint, similar to that of religious dress ...
Global Trade War to Hold Back Modest Euro Zone Growth: Poll
BENGALURU—The euro zone economy will muddle through this year and next with steady but modest growth in a slowdown from 2017, according to economists in a Reuters poll, which shows a majority expecting a brewing U.S.-led trade war to hold back growth. The currency bloc grew at its fastest pace since ...
Europe’s New Data Law Upends Global Online Advertising
LONDON—Europe’s new data privacy law has put a small army of tech firms that track people online in jeopardy and is strengthening the hand of giants such as Google and Facebook in the $200 billion global digital advertising industry. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) brought in by the European Union ...
Britain’s Superdrug Says Victim of Extortion Attempt
British health and beauty retailer Superdrug has told its online customers to change their passwords after it was the victim of an extortion attempt from an individual claiming to have obtained shoppers’ personal information. The firm, part of the A.S Watson Group, said on August 20 it was contacted by an individual ...
Powerful 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Venezuela
CARACAS—A major earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck Venezuela’s eastern coast, home to largely poor fishing communities, on Aug. 21, shaking buildings as far away as Colombian capital Bogota and knocking power out in parts of Trinidad. Venezuelan officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries and two sources at state ...
Latin America’s Version of the EU Is Useless
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but a pen doesn’t do much good in a knife fight. Likewise, plentiful words and posturing from the Organization of American States (OAS) have brought nothing to Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, as they suffer under brutal, authoritarian regimes. “Democracy, human rights, security, and development” ...
Ecuador Imposes New Passport Requirements as Millions Flee Socialist Venezuela
Almost 500 Venezuelan migrants traveling to Ecuador from Colombia had to halt their journey when they learned that they needed a passport to enter the country. A mob of desperate Venezuelans numbering in the dozens, however, ignored the new requirement and simply forced their way into Ecuador without permission. The Ecuadorian government began ...
Brazil Has Not Ruled out Closing Border With Venezuela: Minister
BRASILIA—Brazil’s government has not ruled out closing its border with Venezuela at Pacaraima, in Roraima state, but sees obstacles to doing so because of international treaties it has signed, Political Affairs Minister Carlos Marun said on Aug. 20. The minister said the government would not make a decision before further evaluating ...
Brazilian Border Town Residents Drive out Venezuelan Immigrants
BRASILIA—Angry residents of the Brazilian border town of Pacaraima ran riot and drove out Venezuelan immigrants on Aug. 18 after a local restaurant owner was stabbed and beaten, residents and government officials said. The demonstrations forced hundreds of Venezuelans to flee back across the frontier on foot and residents set fire ...
China-Manufactured School Supplies Sold in US, Canada Found to Contain Toxic Chemicals
Results of laboratory tests detailed in a report released Aug. 7 indicated traces of asbestos, lead and other dangerous chemicals exist in a number of popular school supplies—some of them manufactured in China—sold in the United States and Canada. After sending 27 school items to an independent laboratory, the U.S. nonprofit ...
China Actively Targeting Critical Infrastructure in US; Railcar Manufacturers on List
Commentary Labeled as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security, the manufacturing of freight railcars in the United States is an often overlooked but essential part of our nation’s transportation security apparatus. Businesses and government alike rely on America’s freight trains to transport upwards of 5 million tons of goods ...
Drenching Rains Close Roads, Prompt Rescues in Pennsylvania
DARBY, Pa.—Overnight rains triggered flash flooding in parts of central and eastern Pennsylvania on Aug. 13, closing down a heavily traveled interstate and sending water into homes in the mountainous coal regions. State highway and emergency management officials reported numerous closed roads in a wide swath of the state from Williamsport ...
Fishing Boat Runs Aground, Fuel Removal Planned
Several agencies are cooperating to make sure a 56-foot fishing boat that ran aground early Sunday morning near Natural Bridges State Beach off the Santa Cruz County coast will not become an environmental problem, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The captain of the Pacific Quest called the Coast Guard about 2 ...
Egypt Voices Concern Over Red Sea Security After Houthi Attack
CAIRO—Egypt’s president said on Aug. 13 Cairo was deeply concerned about security in the Red Sea following an attack by Yemen’s Houthis on two oil tankers that forced Saudi Arabia to suspend crude shipments temporarily through the strait of Bab al-Mandab. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Yemeni counterpart, ...
