Venezuela has called on the governments of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay to withdraw their diplomatic staff accredited in the country.

The measure, announced in an official statement released by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry on Monday, also calls for withdrawing Venezuelan diplomatic staff accredited in those nations, Xinhua news agency reported.

Venezuela has accused the governments of those seven countries of “interference” in its internal affairs, especially the presidential elections held on Sunday that saw President Nicolas Maduro reelected to a third six-year term.

Those countries are “subordinated to Washington and committed to … ideological postulates of international fascism”, according to the statement.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on Monday declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s presidential elections. AGENCIES

Peru’s President Dina Boluarte said the mega port being built in Chancay, a small town just north of Lima, will serve as a “nerve centre” to facilitate the connectivity between South America and Asia.

The port, due to be inaugurated in November, “will open investment opportunities for the development of infrastructure for all countries that see Peru as a point of connection to access the gigantic Asian market,” Boluarte said in a speech to Congress as part of independence celebrations on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The port stands to become the hub of the South Pacific and will serve to ship cargo from the north, east, and central mountains of Peru and redistribute cargo from countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Paraguay, she added.

Being constructed by Chinese company Cosco Shipping Ports Ltd., the port, once in operation, will allow exporters and importers to make the most of the logistical hub taking shape between Chancay and the Peruvian province of Callao, Boluarte said.

The port’s inauguration will coincide with this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held in Peru, she said, adding the port will benefit farmers, small and medium-sized businesses, and thousands of Peruvian families.

Boluarte said she was working to guarantee security surrounding the operation of the port.

Peru’s National Police is promoting the construction of a police complex in the town of Chancay, which is expected to be inaugurated in 2026. AGENCIES

Power supply to around 30,000 houses in Latvia was disrupted on Monday morning due to a storm, local news agency LETA reported.

The disruptions were mainly reported in the central part of the country, including the capital Riga, due to power grid damage caused by trees and branches falling onto overhead lines, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Riga City Council has called for the residents not to leave their homes on Monday.

Due to the extremely heavy rain and wind expected in Latvia, the Latvian Center for the Environment, Geology and Meteorology issued two red warnings, the highest warning degree, for the central part of the country on Sunday and Monday. AGENCIES

 Quad Foreign Ministers, including India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, jointly called on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following their meeting in Tokyo on Monday afternoon.

In a meeting that lasted 20 minutes, Kishida Fumio welcomed the progress that has been made in various areas of cooperation following discussions between the Quad grouping’s foreign ministers that also included Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko.

“Honoured to call on Prime Minister Kishida along with fellow Quad Foreign Ministers today in Tokyo. Conveyed the warm regards of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefed him on the key takeaways from our meeting today. Appreciate his guidance for continued growth of Quad grouping and value his views on further intensification of India-Japan relations,” EAM Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting.

In his remarks, Kishida mentioned that Japan, India, the United States and Australia would continue to cooperate closely at various levels.

“At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the visit of the foreign ministers of the three countries to Japan. He stated that amid increasing uncertainty in the international situation, cooperation among Japan, the United States, Australia and India is becoming increasingly important in order to uphold principles and fundamental values,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry stated after the meeting.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Moriya Hiroshi, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Ishihara Hirotaka, and several other top officials also attended the meeting.

“The three foreign ministers stated the importance of Japan, the United States, Australia and India, as partners sharing fundamental values, strengthening a rules-based, free and open international order, and confirmed that the four countries will promote various forms of cooperation and further collaborate together for the sake of peace and stability in the region,” the statement added. AGENCIES

 Russia will take corresponding countermeasures if the US deploys long-range weapons in Germany, President Vladimir Putin has said.

“If the US implements such plans, we will consider giving up the previously assumed unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium and short-range strike weapons, including increasing the capabilities of the coastal troops of our Navy,” Putin said during the naval parade ceremony at Russia’s annual Navy Day in St. Petersburg on Sunday.

The US announced earlier this month the decision to begin episodic deployments of long-range weapons in Germany from 2026 to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and Europe.

During his speech, Putin stressed that such missiles possibly equipped with nuclear warheads would hit targets on Russian territory within 10 minutes, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We will take corresponding measures to deploy them, taking into account the moves by the United States and its allies in Europe and other regions of the world,” he said.

Russia, Putin said, will continue to build up its surface, underwater forces and naval air force and equip them with new generation and hypersonic missile systems. AGENCIES

Several acts of vandalism have disrupted the internet services across France, various reports emerging from the country, which is hosting the 2024 Olympic Games, said Monday afternoon. 

Quoting local police, the French media revealed that the fibre optic networks of several operators were “sabotaged” overnight even though Paris may not have been directly affected.

This is the second such act reported from the country in the last few days after the French National Railway Company SNCF revealed last Friday that it was the victim of “several simultaneous malicious acts affecting the LGV Atlantique, Est and Nord”.

As traffic on French hi-speed trains was disrupted on three routes, SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou reportedly said that the perpetrators had set fire to gutters where many optical fibers run.

“Over the last 24 hours, Free recorded 291 mobile outages and 2,212 internet outages on its fixed network throughout the country,” said another French telecommunications company FREE on Monday morning.

The French government remains on high alert as athletes and spectators from all over the world have arrived in Paris for the Games. AGENCIES

 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Paris and told him that there must be “immediate steps towards a ceasefire” in Gaza.

The two leaders met on Sunday and reiterated their “commitment to maintaining the historic friendship” between Israel and the UK.

Starmer expressed his condolences for the deaths of the five hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, whose bodies have recently been recovered from Gaza.

Starmer’s office in a statement said that the Prime Minister reiterated his “ongoing support for Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law”.

The Prime Minister was “clear that there is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democratic state actions and Hamas, a terrorist organisation”, it added.

According to the statement, Starmer said there must be “immediate steps towards a ceasefire, so that hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid can get in for those in desperate need”.

The two leaders committed to continuing their close partnership in key areas of collaboration such as trade and investment. AGENCIES

Three members of a family were killed in an apparent stabbing incident in central Japan’s Shizuoka prefecture, the local media reported.

At around 2:25 p.m. local time on Sunday, the police received a report that a man was running wild at the house located in a residential area in the city of Kikugawa, and officers rushed to the scene, Jiji Press reported.

The report said that the three, Shoichi Shibuya, 87, his wife Ikuko, 81, and their daughter Rumiko, 52, were found lying with what appeared to be stab wounds and were confirmed dead after being taken to hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

A man in his 20s, believed to be a relative of the victims, is on the run and the police are trying to arrest him on suspicion of murder, it added.

According to the Shizuoka prefectural police, a knife was found at the scene. AGENCIES

Two people were killed and three wounded on Monday in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a civilian car and a motorcycle in southern Lebanon, military sources said.

Lebanese military sources said that an Israeli drone fired two air-to-ground missiles at a car that was going on the main road linking the villages of Mays al-Jabal and Chaqra in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, injuring two people with one of them dying later due to his severe injuries, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate incident, an Israeli drone fired three missiles at a motorcycle near the Dubieh Fortress on the road between the villages of Mays al-Jabal and Chaqra, resulting in one death and two victims with injuries, including a child, according to sources.

Moreover, Israeli drones launched multiple airstrikes on five towns and villages in the border area of southern Lebanon on Monday morning, while Israeli artillery shelled nine towns and villages in the area.

Tension along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah towards Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ attack on Israel the day before.

Israel then retaliated with heavy artillery fire towards southeastern Lebanon. AGENCIES

The US has said that it has been in “continuous discussions” with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the horrific rocket attack that on Saturday killed at least 12 children playing soccer in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

US National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement on Sunday said that the rocket used in the attack belonged to Lebanese Hezbollah and was “launched from an area they control”. Hezbollah, however, has denied responsibility.

Watson further said that the attack should be universally condemned.

“Hezbollah started firing on Israel on October 8 (2023), claiming solidarity with Hamas, another Iranian-backed terrorist group. Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah,” she added.

Watson said that the US is “also working on a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line that will end all attacks once and for all, and allow citizens on both sides of the border to safely return to their homes”. AGENCIES