30 Jan 2019; AFP: Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice barred self-declared president Juan Guaido from leaving the country and froze his bank accounts Tuesday, as leader Nicolas Maduro seeks to neutralize the American-backed opposition chief.

The 35-year-old head of the National Assembly legislature "is prohibited from leaving the country until the end of the (preliminary) investigation" for having "caused harm to peace in the republic," high court president Maikel Moreno said.

29 Jan 2019; DW: Russian gas will be piped direct to Germany from November despite the project's detractors, a project engineer has asserted. Critics have said Europe will be left vulnerable and climate goals will be undermined.

Russia's second natural gas pipeline across the Baltic seabed to Germany is just months away from completion, despite warnings from the US, Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania and the EU commission over Europe's energy security.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stacey Abrams, the rising political star who marshaled the power of black women voters but narrowly lost the Georgia governor’s race, will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, congressional Democrats said Tuesday.

30 Jan 2019; AFP: British Prime Minister Theresa May won parliament's backing on Tuesday to renegotiate her Brexit deal -- a major policy reversal that sets up a new standoff with the European Union after it ruled out any change.

May's dramatic decision to abandon a pact she herself sealed with the 27 EU leaders at a summit last month came with Britain on course to crash out of the bloc in political and economic chaos on March 29.

29 Jan 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump will meet with China's trade envoy this week during talks aimed at resolving the trade dispute with Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is leading a delegation of 30 officials to Washington for talks Wednesday and Thursday as the pressure mounts on both sides to reach a deal.

30 Jan 2019; AFP: A Canadian landscaper on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the murders of eight men with links to Toronto's gay community and the mutilation of their bodies, most of them chopped up and hidden inside planters.

The plea entered by Bruce McArthur, 67, was a surprise -- he had been scheduled to stand trial next year.

Ralegan Siddhi (Maha), Jan 30 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare began a hunger strike on Wednesday over "non-fulfilment" of assurances by the Centre and the Maharashtra government on the appointment of Lokpal and passage of the Lokayukta Act in the state.

Hazare offered prayers at the Padmavati Temple in his village Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra in the morning. He then went in a procession, accompanied by students, youths and farmers, to the Yadavbaba Temple and sat near it to begin his hunger strike.

29 Jan 2019; AFP: French urban freeclimber Alain Robert was arrested on Tuesday, police said, after he scaled one of Manila's tallest towers in his latest high-risk ascent.

The 56-year old adventurer dubbed the "French spiderman" climbed the 47-storey GT Tower without safety equipment, leaving watchers on the ground staring in amazement.

30 Jan 2019; AFP: The death toll from the collapse of a Brazilian dam rose to 84 on Tuesday as mining giant Vale announced that moves to dismantle similar structures would hit production.

Brazilian authorities are stepping up their probe of Vale, with five engineers involved in the operating licenses and the last inspection of the dam arrested on prosecutors' orders in the state of Minas Gerais, where the disaster occurred Friday at one of the firm's mines.

28 Jan 2019; DW: Although parts of the intelligence report had already circulated through German media, the full AfD report reveals an exhaustive analysis of the party's rhetoric as well as members' links to extremist groups.

A classified intelligence report on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was posted online in its entirety [link in German] on Monday by bloggers with the independent news outlet netzpolitik.org.

29 Jan 2019; DW: The move has been seen as a possible bid by President Mahmoud Abbas to isolate his political rivals, Hamas. The next government is likely going to be comprised of members of Abbas' Fatah movement.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah submitted his government's resignation on Tuesday, in a step that would likely end stalled attempts at reconciling with the rival Hamas movement.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday quietly launched an effort to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts, despite clear reservations and conflicting messages from the Mexican government.