World News Roundup: Maduro says dollar transactions in Venezuela are an 'escape valve'; Lebanon slips deeper into crisis after Safadi withdrawal


Reuters | Updated: 18-11-2019 05:25 IST | Created: 18-11-2019 05:24 IST
World News Roundup: Maduro says dollar transactions in Venezuela are an 'escape valve'; Lebanon slips deeper into crisis after Safadi withdrawal
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (file photo) Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Maduro says dollar transactions in Venezuela are an 'escape valve'

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Sunday that dollar transactions, which have been growing in the country in recent months, are an "escape valve" that could help the economy in recession, amid U.S. sanctions and ongoing currency controls. The official currency, the bolivar, has depreciated more than 90% this year, while hyperinflation in the first nine months of the year clocked in at 4,680%, according to the central bank. The runaway inflation has reduced the purchasing power of the minimum wage, which together with food assistance, is equivalent to about $10 per month.

Russia says it will return captured naval ships to Ukraine on Monday

Russia will return three captured naval ships to Ukraine on Monday and is moving them to a handover location agreed with Kiev, Crimea's border guard service was cited as saying by Russian news agencies on Sunday. A Reuters reporter in Crimea, which Russian annexed from Ukraine in 2014, earlier on Sunday saw coastguard boats pulling the three vessels through the Kerch Strait toward the Black Sea where they could potentially be handed over to Ukraine.

Iran's Khamenei backs fuel price hike, blames 'sabotage' for unrest

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday backed the gasoline price rises that have caused nationwide protests, which he blamed on the Islamic Republic's opponents and foreign foes. "Some people are no doubt worried by this decision ... but sabotage and arson is done by hooligans not our people," the Iranian Supreme Leader said in a live speech on state TV.

Exclusive: Interpol plans to condemn encryption spread, citing predators, sources say

The international police organization Interpol plans to condemn the spread of strong encryption in a statement Monday saying it protects child sex predators, three people briefed on the matter told Reuters. At the group’s conference in Lyon, France on Friday, an Interpol official said a version of the resolution introduced by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation would be released without a formal vote by representatives of the roughly 60 countries in attendance, the sources said.

Exclusive: Haiti's president warns of humanitarian crisis, calls for support

Haiti needs international support to tackle an unfolding humanitarian crisis, President Jovenel Moise said in an interview, two months into anti-government protests that have exacerbated food insecurity in the Americas' poorest nation. Moise also told Reuters he was holding closed-door talks with civil society groups and the private sector, as well as radical and moderate members of the opposition in a bid to break political gridlock by creating a government of unity.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un supervises air drills while U.S. and South Korea postpone drills: KCNA

North Korean media reported on Monday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised air force drills for the second time in three days, even as the United States and South Korea decided to postpone their joint air drills to ease denuclearisation talks with North Korea. The U.S. and South Korea said on Sunday they would postpone upcoming military drills, known as the Combined Flying Training Event, in an effort to bolster a stalled peace push with North Korea. Washington denied the move amounted to another concession to Pyongyang.

Sri Lanka strongman Rajapaksa wins presidency by big margin

Sri Lanka's former civil wartime defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa was declared the winner in the presidential election on Sunday, after promising to secure the country against militant threats following Easter bombings this year. Rajapaksa, who will be sworn into office in an ancient Buddhist temple on Monday, is the latest nationalist leader to sweep to election victory, tapping into the anger and fears of majority communities.

Hong Kong police seal off university amid fears of crackdown

Hong Kong police on Monday trapped hundreds of protesters inside a major university and demonstrators rampaged through a tourist district, after almost two straight days of standoffs that have raised fears of a bloody showdown. Defiant protesters inside Hong Kong's Polytechnic University faced off against a police water cannon and armored vehicles in raging battles that lasted an entire day and through the night.

Britain's Prince Andrew 'categorically' denies sex claims

Britain's Prince Andrew said he could not have had sex with a teenage girl at a socialite's London home because he returned to his house after a children's party on the night in question and has no recollection of ever meeting her. The rare interview was an attempt to draw a line under a scandal after months of headlines about Andrew's ties to the U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August while being held on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Lebanon slips deeper into crisis after Safadi withdrawal

Protesters waving Lebanese flags rallied in cities and towns in their thousands on Sunday to mark a month of protests against the ruling elite as politicians struggled to form a government and solve the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Lebanon's political troubles deepened further after the withdrawal of a top candidate for prime minister narrowed the chances of creating a government needed to enact urgent reforms.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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