World News Roundup: Gunmen kill 14 in Kenya hotel compound attack; U.S. eyes Taiwan risk as China's military capabilities grow

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Venezuela Congress and U.S. government ratchet up pressure on Maduro

Venezuela's opposition-run Congress declared President Nicolas Maduro a "usurper" on Tuesday, and the U.S. government indicated its support for an opposition leader, ratcheting up pressure on the socialist president as he embarks on a disputed second term. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was considering recognizing the leader of the Congress, Juan Guaido, as the country's legitimate president, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Gunmen kill 14 in Kenya hotel compound attack claimed by Somali Islamists

Gunmen blasted their way into a hotel and office complex in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and sending workers diving under desks from an attack claimed by Somali Islamist group al Shabaab. Eight hours after the assault began at Nairobi's upscale 14 Riverside Drive complex, a burst of gunfire was heard in the area, suggesting the situation was not yet under control.

'El Chapo' paid former Mexican president $100 million bribe: trial witness

Accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman once paid a $100 million bribe to former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, a former associate testified on Tuesday that he previously told U.S. authorities. Alex Cifuentes, who has described himself as Guzman's onetime right-hand man, discussed the alleged bribe under cross-examination by one of Guzman's lawyers in Brooklyn federal court. Asked if he told authorities in 2016 that Guzman arranged the bribe, he answered, "That's right."

U.S. eyes Taiwan risk as China's military capabilities grow

The United States is closely watching Chinese intentions toward Taiwan, concerned that Beijing's growing military prowess may increase the risk it could one day consider bringing the self-ruled island under its control by force, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The senior U.S. defense intelligence official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, did not predict that China's military, known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA), would take such a step but said such a possibility was the top worry as China expands and modernizes its military capabilities.

Colombia clears migrant camp as Venezuela exodus continues

Colombian authorities evacuated a camp that housed Venezuelan immigrants in the capital of Bogota on Tuesday, dismantling a temporary shelter even as the flow of refugees from the crisis-stricken neighboring nation is expected to continue unabated. Yellow tents that once housed families were piled into a corner of the football pitch that in November was turned into a temporary shelter for some 600 Venezuelan migrants who had previously been sleeping outside the city's main bus terminal.

U.S.-bound Honduran migrant caravan grows as Trump argues for wall

A new U.S.-bound caravan of Honduran migrants grew to nearly 1,000 people as it neared the Guatemalan border on Tuesday, a Honduran official said, while U.S. President Donald Trump seized on news of the group to try to drum up support for a border wall. Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez told reporters that there were between 800 and 1,000 people traveling together and headed toward the Agua Caliente border crossing into Guatemala.

Fearing for Saudi teen's safety, Canada refugee agency hires guard

Amid threats to the safety of Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed, who was granted asylum in Canada, the Toronto agency helping her has hired a security guard to ensure "she is never alone" as she starts a normal life, its executive director said on Tuesday. Mohammed, 18, made international headlines after she barricaded herself in an airport hotel room in Thailand's capital Bangkok to avoid being sent home to her family due to fears of being harmed or killed. The family denies any abuse.

Brexit bedlam: May's EU divorce deal crushed by 230 votes in parliament

British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit divorce deal by a crushing margin on Tuesday, triggering political chaos that could lead to a disorderly exit from the EU or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave. After parliament voted 432-202 against her deal, the worst defeat in modern British history, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn promptly called a vote of no confidence in May's government, to be held at 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

How Trump slowed rush for Syria exits after huddle in Iraq

U.S. President Donald Trump was reeling from sharp rebukes at home and abroad over his surprise announcement last month to immediately pull American troops out of Syria when he flew into the al Asad airbase in neighboring Iraq the day after Christmas. Inside a canvas Quonset hut, one of the arced prefabricated structures used by the military and surrounded by concertina wire, Trump received operational briefs from U.S. commanders suggesting a territorial victory against Islamic State was within sight, but the military needed just a bit more time, U.S. officials said.

U.N. to approve Yemen truce monitors on Wednesday: diplomats

The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Wednesday to approve the deployment of up to 75 observers to Yemen's port city of Hodeidah for six months to monitor a ceasefire and redeployment of forces by the warring parties, diplomats said. After a week of U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Sweden last month, the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed Yemen government foes reached the deal on Hodeidah, the entry point for most of Yemen's commercial goods and aid supplies, and a lifeline for millions of Yemenis on the verge of starvation.