A research base in the Antarctic has recorded the hottest temperature ever for the continent amid rising concern about global warming that has caused an increase in the melting of ice sheets around the South Pole.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday denounced U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela, criticizing U.S. “provocations” and attempts to create what he called a pretext for military intervention.
A Brazilian judge indicted six people accused of hacking the phones of prosecutors in the country’s biggest corruption case on Thursday but held off “for now” on accepting cybercrimes charges against U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Global warming is to blame for Argentine Antarctica recording its hottest day since readings began, Greenpeace said on Friday. Temperatures climbed to 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit) at midday Thursday at the research station Esperanza base, the highest temperature on record since 1961, according to the National Meteorological Service.
U.S. job growth accelerated in January, with unseasonably mild temperatures boosting hiring in weather-sensitive sectors, indicating the economy will probably continue to grow moderately despite a deepening slump in business investment.
United States on Friday criminalized transactions with Venezuelan flag carrier Conviasa, saying it wanted to pressure President Nicolas Maduro to cede power. Under the new sanctions, anyone in the United States will be banned from any transactions with Conviasa, which stands for Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronauticas y Servicios.
An award-winning Cuban dissident who was detained this week announced on Thursday that he has been released without charge but barred from a planned trip to Europe for a meeting on human rights.
The top American serving at the International Monetary Fund will leave his post at the end of the month amid a reshuffling of the top leadership, the fund said Friday. David Lipton, 66, who has been in the number two position at the Washington-based lender since September 2011, will be replaced by newly installed IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva in the context of changes she will be making to the leadership team, the IMF said in a statement.