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MADRID, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Spain's foreign minister urged the European Union on Friday to lift its sanctions on Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, after lawmakers in the South American country approved  a limited amnesty bill for certain prisoners. Rodriguez, who took power last month after the U.S. ouster of President  Nicolas Maduro , has bowed to Trump administration demands on oil sales and released hundreds of people who human rights groups class as political prisoners, as part of a normalisation of relations between the countries. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the EU should "send a signal that (Venezuela) is heading down the right path in this new phase". "Sanctions are never an end in themselves. They are a means to achieve ends so that this broad, peaceful and democratic dialogue can take place," Albares told reporters in Barcelona. Later on Friday, EU Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni declined to d...

NAIROBI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight on Russia's side in the war in Ukraine , according to a Kenyan intelligence report presented to lawmakers this week, five times more than authorities had previously estimated. The Russian Embassy in Nairobi denied on Thursday that Moscow was involved in illegally recruiting Kenyans to fight in Ukraine, though it said foreign citizens could voluntarily join its armed forces. Reading the report of Kenya's National Intelligence Service to lawmakers on Wednesday, Parliament Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah described a network of rogue state officials it said had colluded with human trafficking syndicates to recruit Kenyans to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine. The recruiters targeted former soldiers and police officers, as well as unemployed people, with promises that they would earn some 350,000 shillings ($2,715) per month and get bonuses of up to 1.2 million shillings ($9,309). ...

A Japanese city has received a hefty donation to help fix its ageing water system: 21kg (46lb) in gold bars. The gold bars, worth an estimated 560 million yen ($3.6m; £2.7m), were given last November by a donor who wished to remain anonymous, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told a press conference on Thursday. Home to nearly three million people, Osaka is a commercial hub located in the Japan's Kansai region and the country's third-largest city. But like many Japanese cities, Osaka's water and sewage pipes are ageing - a growing cause for safety concern. Osaka recorded more than 90 cases of water pipe leaks under its roads in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the city's waterworks bureau. "Tackling ageing water pipes requires a huge investment. So I have nothing but appreciation," Yokoyama told reporters on Thursday, in response to a question about the huge gold donation. Yokoyama said the amount was "staggering" and he was "lost for ...

The US is preparing to largely withdraw its remaining troops from Syria over the next few months, a senior White House official has told the BBC. The official said the Syrian government had agreed to take the lead combatting terrorism within its borders and US military presence "at scale" was no longer required. American troops have been in Syria since 2015, as part of an anti-terrorism campaign to counter the influence of the Islamic State group (IS). The decision came as US President Donald Trump ramps up military presence in the Middle East while tensions mount with Iran. The official noted that the decision to remove the roughly 1,000 remaining troops from Syria is part of a conditions-based transition, and that the US remains ready to respond to any threats in the region. The news comes amid an increased presence of US troops in the region, specifically near Iran. BBC Verify has confirmed the location of aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln - equipped wit...

Real Madrid has sent UEFA, football’s governing body in Europe, “all available evidence” of an alleged racist insult against Vinicius Jr in a Champions League match against Benfica. “Our club has actively collaborated with the investigation opened by UEFA following the unacceptable episodes of racism experienced during that match,” the Spanish club said on Thursday without elaborating on the evidence. UEFA appointed a special investigator on Wednesday to gather evidence  about what happened in Lisbon on Tuesday in Madrid's 1-0 win  at Benfica in the first leg of the knockout round of the Champions League. Vinicius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him “monkey” after the Brazilian scored the only goal. Prestianni was among the Benfica players upset with Vinícius after the forward celebrated by the Benfica corner flag. Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt when he allegedly spoke to the Brazilian player and denied racially abusing Vinicius, ...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg  said in a Wednesday court testimony that he reached out to Apple  CEO Tim Cook to discuss the “wellbeing of teens and kids.” The comments came after the defense lawyer Paul Schmidt pointed to an email exchange between Zuckerberg and Cook from February 2018. “I thought there were opportunities that our company and Apple could be doing and I wanted to talk to Tim about that,” Zuckerberg said. The email exchange was part of a broader portrayal by the defense attorney to show jury members that Zuckerberg was more proactive about the safety of young Instagram users than what was previously presented to court by the opposing counsel, going so far as to reach out to a corporate rival.   “I care about the wellbeing of teens and kids who are using our services,” Zuckerberg said when characterizing some of the content of the email. Zuckerberg testified during a landmark trial in Los Angeles Superior Court over the question of social media ...

The US presidential jet is getting a new paint design that will include one of President Donald Trump's preferred colour choices for the White House and his hotels, gold. Air Force One and other planes used by high level US officials, including First Lady Melania Trump, are being repainted gold, deep red and navy blue as they undergo scheduled repairs and maintenance, according to the US Air Force. The colours will also feature on a new luxury 747-8i Boeing plane donated to the presidential fleet by Qatar, an Air Force spokesperson told CBS. The white, blue and robin's egg blue associated with the presidential jet have been in use since the 1960s, when John F Kennedy was president. Trump has called for updates to the executive fleet since his first term. His successor, former President Joe Biden, cancelled a broad makeover Trump had initially planned. The new colours have already been spotted on model aircraft seen at the White House, where Trump is also making his ...

Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US aimed at ending Moscow's war in Ukraine have concluded without a breakthrough. The trilateral meetings, held in Geneva, went on late on Tuesday but only lasted two hours on Wednesday. Although US envoy Steve Witkoff had expressed optimism over the talks, both the chief Russian negotiator and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky indicated they had been "difficult". After the main talks concluded, Kremlin negotiator Vladimir Medinsky returned to the venue and held a closed-door meeting with the Ukrainian side for about an hour and a half. No details from that meeting have emerged. Some progress was made on "military issues", including the location of the front line and ceasefire monitoring, according to a Ukrainian diplomatic source. But an agreement on the issue of territory - without which no ceasefire can be envisaged - remains elusive, with Moscow and Kyiv's positions still far apart. Russia has not budged i...

GENEVA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia concluded the first of two days of U.S.-mediated peace talks in Geneva on Tuesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump pressing Kyiv to act fast to reach a deal to end the four-year conflict. Ahead of the negotiations in Switzerland, Russia carried out airstrikes overnight across swathes of Ukraine, severely damaging the power network in the southern port city of Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attacks left tens of thousands without heat and water. "We are ready to move quickly toward a worthy agreement to end the war," Zelenskiy said in his nightly address, saying he was waiting for a report from the negotiating team in Geneva. "The question for the Russians is: Just what do they want?" Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov, the head of the National Security and Defence Council, said in a statement that the day's talks had focused on "practical issues and ...

GENEVA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Iran and the United States reached an understanding on Tuesday on main "guiding principles" in talks aimed at resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute, but that does not mean a deal is imminent, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said. Oil futures fell and the benchmark Brent crude contract tumbled more than 1% after Araqchi's comments, which helped ease fears of conflict in the region, where the U.S. has deployed naval forces to press Iran for concessions. "Different ideas have been presented, these ideas have been seriously discussed, ultimately we've been able to reach a general agreement on some guiding principles," Araqchi told Iranian media after the talks concluded in Geneva. A U.S. official said Iran would make detailed proposals in the next two weeks to close gaps in the nuclear talks. "Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss," said the official, who declined to be i...

JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told U.S. President Donald Trump last week that any U.S. deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process. Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyahu also said Israel still needs to "complete the job" of destroying all tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km (93 miles) of an estimated 500 km. A second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran are slated for this week. Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat  was reported as saying on Sunday. Netanyahu said he is sceptical of a deal but it must include enriched material leaving Iran. "There shall be no enrichment capability - not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and...

According to Fars, the IRGC Navy commander declared that, "The weapon that reaches the battlefield on the day of war is different from what is displayed in exercises." Parts of the Strait of Hormuz closed for a few hours on Tuesday due to 'security precautions' for shipping safety, semi-official Fars news agency reported, as the Revolutionary Guards conduct military drills in the waterway. The Strait is the world's most vital oil export route, connecting the largest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia,  Iran , Iraq, and the  United Arab Emirates , with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. According to Fars, the IRGC  Navy commander claimed that, "The weapon that reaches the battlefield on the day of war is different from what is displayed in exercises." On Monday, Iran launched a Hormuz drill  as an attempt to push back against the US, a person familiar with the matter told  The Jerusalem Post . IRGC Navy launches drill in...

MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its vessels and may retaliate against European shipping if Russian ‌ships are taken, Nikolai Patrushev, one of Russia's leading hardliners, was quoted as ‌saying on Tuesday. Western states have sought to cripple Russia's economy with sanctions and in recent months have tried to block ​oil tankers suspected of involvement in Russian oil shipments. In January, the United States seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker as part of efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports. Patrushev, a Kremlin aide who is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia needed to give a tough response - particularly ‌towards Britain, France and Baltic ⁠states. "If we don't give them a tough rebuff, then soon the British, French and even the Balts (Baltic nations) will become arrogant to such an extent ⁠that they will try to block our country's access to the seas at least in the Atla...

China offered new humanitarian energy assistance to Ukraine — even as a senior U.S. official said Beijing has the power to stop Russia’s invasion and has chosen not to. " China could  call Vladimir Putin and end this war tomorrow and cut off his dual-purpose technologies that they’re selling," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said during a Friday panel on U.S. foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference, moderated by Bloomberg. "China could stop buying Russian oil and gas," he added. "You know, this war is being completely enabled by China." Whitaker’s remarks came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the conference and pledged what both sides described as humanitarian energy assistance to help Ukraine cope with ongoing Russian strikes on its power infrastructure. Sybiha said on social media that he was grateful for China’s decision to provide an additional energy...

NEW DELHI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - India has seized three U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers linked to Iran this month and stepped up surveillance in its maritime zone to curb ‌illicit trade, a source said on Monday, confirming a post on X by Indian ‌authorities earlier in February that had been deleted. India aims to prevent its waters from being used for ship-to-ship transfers that obscure ​the origin of oil cargoes, the source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The seizures and heightened surveillance follow an improvement in U.S.-India relations. Washington earlier this month announced it will cut import tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%, after New Delhi agreed to stop Russian oil imports. The three ‌sanctioned vessels - Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star ⁠and Al Jafzia - frequently changed their identities to evade law enforcement by coastal states, the source said, adding that their owners were based overseas. VESSELS SEIZED OFFSHORE ⁠MUMBAI Iranian state media cited...