Death toll from Venezuela’s twin quakes rises to 3,889. The death toll from the powerful twin tremors that struck Venezuela two weeks ago has risen to at least 3,889, a government report published Thursday stated.

Nearly 17,000 people were injured in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24, while almost 18,000 more lost their homes.

The death toll rose from 3,811 to 3,889 on Thursday, according to a report from National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez posted on Telegram.

Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday called for the release of Venezuelan funds frozen abroad to help the country cope with the disaster.

The United Nations is meanwhile trying to raise some US$300 million in recovery funds for Venezuela.

The South American country is also negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unblock its financial assets, according to IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack.

In the hardest-hit coastal area of La Guaira, over 800 buildings sustained damage while 190 collapsed entirely.

While rescue teams were abandoning the search for survivors a fortnight after the disaster struck, some families had not given up hope of finding their loved ones.

Ciro Ocando believes he has located the spot where his teenage sons are buried under mountains of rubble in Playa Grande in the city of La Guaira.

He, like many others, just wants to find the bodies of his boys aged 13 and 18, having accepted that their chances of survival are non-existent at this stage.

“I’m in the right place, but there are a lot of obstacles,” he told AFP, using his own tools to dig through the debris.

#China’s consumer inflation slowed more than expected after a pullback in commodity costs with an easing of tensions over Iran last month

Carney’s NATO gun gift turned over to RCMP

U.S. begins removal of #Syria designation as state sponsor of terrorism.

#WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday began the removal of Syria’s decades-old designation as a state sponsor of terrorism that has severely impeded investment.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

This is a developing story. More details to come...

The #US Justice Department settled a second lawsuit against the government brought by Michael Flynn

#BELGOROD, July 7. Repeated missile strikes have been launched against Belgorod and the Belgorod district, resulting in injuries and damage, Acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev stated.

"The Ukrainian armed forces have launched repeated missile strikes on Belgorod and the Belgorod district. Preliminary reports indicate there were no casualties following the shelling. <…> A report has been received in Belgorod regarding a fire at an infrastructure facility. Firefighters are at the scene," he said.

Earlier, he reported "a massive Ukrainian missile attack" in which "although most of the missiles were intercepted, some struck civilian #infrastructure." The regional head then noted that "three people were injured in the village of Belovskoye."

Shuvayev also noted that power and water outages have been reported. Energy infrastructure facilities have sustained serious damage, the acting governor stressed.

#Lebanon says Israeli strike on south kills 4, including 3 women. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a school principal, her mother, a foreign female domestic worker and a male Syrian worker were killed when an Israeli drone targeted their car as they returned from inspecting their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it identified “four suspects” approaching the area its forces occupy in southern Lebanon who posed a threat and so “conducted a precise strike in order to remove the threat”.

Israel has kept up intermittent strikes on south Lebanon, particularly in the Nabatieh area, despite the two-week-old truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.

Both sides accuse the other of violating the ceasefire.

A lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamade, denounced Monday’s strike as “a heinous crime against civilians” and blamed it “first and foremost” on the Lebanese state.

His movement has been highly critical of an agreement signed last month by Lebanon and Israel aiming to pave the way for a permanent end to hostilities.

The NNA reported further Israeli strikes on Monday afternoon.
‘Lasting peace’

The framework agreement followed an earlier deal between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the wider regional war that also established a ceasefire in Lebanon, in effect since June 21.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider war with rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The Israeli-Lebanese deal calls for the disarmament of the Iran-backed group, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, starting with two “pilot” areas, but without specifying a timeline for the pull-out.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Israel’s occupation was preventing the Lebanese army’s deployment to the south.

A statement from his office said he emphasised the need to pressure Israel to withdraw because “the occupation undermines the legitimacy of the (Lebanese) state and prevents the army from deploying, and the laying of foundations for achieving a just and lasting peace”.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reiterated that Israel’s military would maintain its presence “as long as necessary in order to protect the residents of the north and all the citizens of Israel”.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed around 4,300 people.

The conflict also displaced more than one million people, but according to the United Nations more than 640,000 have returned home since June 22.

United States President Donald #Trump, publicly thanked #FIFA after the governing body suspended the red-card sanction issued to #USA striker #Folarin #Balogun.

#Jewellery worth millions stolen from French glassmaker #museum. Jewellery worth millions of euros was stolen in a burglary at the museum of French luxury glassmaker Lalique on Sunday, the company and an investigation source said.

The thief or thieves broke in to the museum in Wingen-sur-Moder in northeastern France around 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT) and headed straight for the jewellery room, the source close to the investigation told AFP.

“Around twenty pieces of jewellery were stolen. The loss is currently being assessed but could amount to several million euros, likely close to four million,” the source said.

The museum said on its website that it will be closed for several days because of the burglary.

“An alarm went off, but by the time the security company had completed its checks, it was a cleaning lady who arrived first on the scene and called the police,” the investigation source added.

The CCTV footage is currently being examined.

The museum, dedicated to the Art Nouveau and Art Deco jeweller and glassmaker Rene Lalique, was opened in 2011 near the company’s factory.

A dramatic daytime jewel heist at the Louvre museum in Paris in October last year put security at French museums and galleries under the spotlight.

Thieves made off with $102 million worth of jewellery from the Louvre in a raid lasting less than eight minutes.

#China launches coast guard patrol east of Taiwan despite international pushback