‘It’s heartbreaking’: #Canada’s #Venezuelan community reeling after devastating earthquakes. Among the devastating images coming out of Venezuela, is one of a woman waving a piece of clothing from a damaged building in La Guaira, hoping to be rescued.

She is one of many people who were trapped inside their homes following two of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in more than a century. Both quakes struck near Venezuela’s northern coast, with the first — a magnitude 7.2 — hitting at around 6:04 p.m. local time, and the second — a magnitude 7.5 — occurring just 40 seconds later.

“I don’t think we can really comprehend just what this is, you know, having two huge earthquakes so close together,” said Jon Rosemberg, a Toronto resident who grew up in Caracas. “It’s heartbreaking.”

First responders, rescue workers and civilians spent the night combing through the rubble of collapsed buildings trying to find survivors. The two earthquakes battered the country’s already fragile infrastructure with hundreds of buildings toppled in the cities of Caracas and La Guaira. Nearly 200 people have been killed and there are fears the death toll could climb to the thousands. But rescue efforts have been complicated by decades of corruption and a lack of investment in basic services some say.

“First responders and all of the infrastructure that can be used for a situation like this, there’s no resources available,” said Rosemberg in an interview with CTV News.

Today Venezuela’s President Delcy Rodriguez, called for unity in the face of the disaster in a televised address The earthquake is likely to further test her presidency as new concerns about the long-term impact the damages will have on the stability of the country.

Rodriguez was installed after the United States ousted former president Nicolas Maduro in January. While many Venezuelans had hoped their country had turned a corner after decades of his oppressive rule, they say the natural disaster could present new challenges.

First global rules adopted for self-driving cars: #UN. The first global regulations for fully autonomous vehicles were adopted Wednesday, a UN agency said, establishing uniform international safety requirements that could pave the way for larger-scale rollouts of self-driving cars.

Safety concerns and the cost of developing next-level systems have long slowed progress on autonomous vehicles.

As self-driving cars have begun to hit the road in a growing number of cities, the fragmented national approaches to regulation have spurred manufacturer fears that vehicles developed for one market could be blocked from others.

In a bid to address that issue, a meeting of the World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations at the United Nations in Geneva decided to introduce a global regulatory framework for vehicles equipped with fully autonomous driving systems (ADS).

The forum brings together dozens of countries, carmakers and technology giants.

“The global regulatory landscape has reached a decisive milestone,” said the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the forum’s umbrella organisation that counts 56 member states in Europe, North America and Asia.
‘Really big step’

The new regulatory framework, which does not cover assisted systems, comes at a time when the market is heating up especially for so-called “robotaxis” -- driverless cars loaded with sensors.

In China and the United States combined, private robotaxi fleets more than doubled in 2025 to reach 8,000 vehicles across more than two dozen major cities, according to a May report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

By 2035, the IEA forecasts there will be between 700,000 and three million robotaxis in 40 to 80 major cities.

The global regulations aim to “to strengthen trust among governments, industry and the public by ensuring that automated systems everywhere meet rigorous ... safety standards”, UNECE said.

“This is a really big step,” said Richard Damm, chair of the UNECE Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA) behind the proposal.

“It’s very important, as automation will be one of the future technologies we will see on the road,” he told AFP.

The new framework will require manufacturers to ensure testing meets strict credibility criteria, and also to implement audited safety governance and processes throughout the ADS lifecycle.

They would also need to provide evidence their system “poses no unreasonable risk”, UNECE said, and would be required to provide continuous performance monitoring.

The vehicles must also record and store safety-relevant ADS data.
January 2027 target

The move was backed by all the major auto markets, including the United States, China, the European Union, Japan and Britain, the organisation said, voicing confidence that the worldwide deployment would be speedy.

“We expect it to enter into force in January 2027,” GRVA secretary Francois Guichard told AFP, adding that a few manufacturers “are already in the starting blocks”.

Under the complex system of international vehicle regulations, identical sets of rules were adopted in two separate votes Wednesday, according to UNECE.

They will be included in two existing international agreements, adhered to by separate and partially overlapping groups of countries.

More than half of the 62 state parties to a 1958 agreement took part in Wednesday’s vote, agreeing unanimously to implement the new rules.

Under this agreement, autonomous vehicles produced in one of the countries can be sold without further controls in the others.

The United States, Canada and China -- not party to the first agreement -- were meanwhile among 13 countries to vote to add the same set of regulations to a 1998 agreement, which is similar but does not provide for mutual recognition between countries.

Damm stressed that bringing all the big players on board had not meant weakening safety requirements.

“This regulation is not a compromise on safety,” he said.

Anand announces $35M to boost Caribbean security, tackle Haiti's gang crisis.

#OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced $35 million in new funding Tuesday for projects aimed at shoring up security and curbing violence in the Caribbean.

Anand was in Panama on Tuesday for meetings of the Organization of American States, a multilateral organization that co-ordinates state efforts on security, democracy and economic development across the Western Hemisphere.

Most of the new funding focuses on the violence and political chaos caused by Haiti’s gang crisis. Armed gangs have controlled much of the country since 2021, including critical infrastructure and food production.

The gangs have caused a major humanitarian crisis, with Washington trying to avoid a wave of asylum claimants and Caribbean states urging the U.S. to stop the flow of American handguns into the region. Canada has targeted members of Haiti’s economic elite with sanctions, arguing they have collaborated with the gangs sowing instability across the country.

Tuesday’s funding includes $7.5 million to support the Haitian National Police service’s fight against the gangs, $6.8 million to help countries in the region stop drug trafficking through better policing and information sharing, and $10 million to help launch a task force on drug trafficking.

The funding also covers projects to help Jamaica recover from Hurricane Melissa, a category five storm that was one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic.

Some of the funding is also going to support Colombia’s peace process.

Canada has been a major funder of OAS projects, including elections monitoring in South America, and has advocated in recent years for better financing for Caribbean states hit by climate change.

Anand said Canada also has ratified a 1994 convention on gender-based violence which sets obligations for member states on preventing, investigating and punishing violence against women.

A Global Affairs Canada news release did not explain why it took so long for Canada to ratify the convention. Global Affairs said ratifying the convention required consultation with other levels of government and the terms “are consistent with obligations that Canada is already subject to under the international human rights treaties to which it is a party.”

Anand’s office said that, while she was in the region, she also met with her counterparts from Mexico, Brazil and Panama, and the head of the OAS.

The meetings come as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says Canada and Mexico are boosting bilateral trade while working to retain the continental trade deal known in Canada as CUSMA. They also come as Canada tries to secure a trade deal with a bloc of Southern American countries known as Mercosur.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

#MOSCOW, June 23. Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers conducted a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian seas, with Mikoyan MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft providing escort, the Russian #Defense Ministry said.

"The Tu-160 strategic bombers of Russia's Aerospace Forces long-range aviation performed a scheduled flight through international airspace over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian seas. The flight lasted approximately 16 hours. During the mission, the Tu-160 crews practiced aerial refueling," the Defense Ministry said.

The ministry also noted that "escort support was provided by MiG-31 crews from the Russian Aerospace Forces."

LONDON — When British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he is stepping down, he became the sixth person to make a farewell speech in front of No. 10 Downing Street in a turbulent decade of U.K. politics.

Starmer had pledged to bring stability, grow the economy and end years of political chaos under the Conservative Party when he was elected in 2024 in a landslide victory for his Labour Party.

Barely two years later, Starmer was forced to step down after his popularity plummeted and his government struggled to deliver on his promise to “rebuild Britain.”

The rapid turnover in the past 10 years is a first in British modern political history. By contrast, the preceding four decades saw just six prime ministers.

A look at the quick succession of British prime ministers since 2016:
David Cameron (2010 to 2016)

Cameron, who won an election majority in 2015, announced his resignation in June 2016 — a day after British voters voted to leave the European Union in a pivotal referendum that he had campaigned hard against.

It was Cameron who called the referendum in a bid to quell longstanding party quarrels over Britain’s relationship with Europe.
Theresa May (2016 to 2019)

May served from 2016 to May 2019, when she ended a failed three-year quest to lead Britain out of the European Union.

While May successfully struck a divorce deal with the EU, her fellow Conservative Party members refused to accept the deal. Her proposal was defeated three times in Parliament, rejected both by pro-EU opposition lawmakers and by Brexit-supporting Conservatives who thought it kept Britain too closely bound to the bloc.

“I have done my best,” May said at the time.
Boris Johnson (2019 to 2022)

The charismatic and divisive Johnson oversaw Britain’s exit from the EU and steered the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was brought down after a series of ethics scandals tarnished his administration.

Johnson clung on to power even as allegations snowballed that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules. He was eventually forced out after dozens of officials and his allies quit the government.
Liz Truss (2022)

Truss, a libertarian who championed small government and free-market economics, became Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister when she announced her resignation in October 2022, just six weeks after taking office.

Truss took the top job on a promise to shake up Britain’s economy, but her ill-conceived stimulus plan, including drastic tax cuts, caused economic and political chaos and wiped out her support in the Conservative Party.
Rishi Sunak (2022 to 2024)

Sunak, Britain’s youngest prime minister in some 200 years, secured support from his fellow Conservatives to take over from Truss in 2022. He vowed to reduce inflation, cut public health-care backlogs and halt the flow of migrants entering the U.K. by illegal means.

Sunak was not able to lift the poll ratings for the Conservatives after the chaos brought by his predecessors. He called an early election for July 2024, and stepped down after his party suffered its biggest defeat in its two-century history.

“I am sorry,” he said in a speech. “I take responsibility for this loss.”
Keir Starmer (2024 to 2026)

Keir Starmer came to power after winning a landslide election victory in 2024, pledging to rebuild the economy and tattered public services and restore trust in politics. A former director of public prosecutions, Starmer was the first Labour Party prime minister Britain has seen in 14 years.

Close to two years later, after a series of policy missteps and party infighting, he acknowledged his party does not believe he is “best placed to lead us into the next general election.”

Sylvia Hui, The Associated Press

Patrols and nanobubbles continue at the Reflecting Pool as Trump looks for a renovation do-over.

#WASHINGTON — National Guard service members and U.S. Park Police were patrolling the deck around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix a botched renovation and cleaning efforts ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

The patrols come two days after Trump said authorities had made “multiple arrests” of people he insisted were responsible for damage to the peeling coating after an algae bloom occurred. The liner was installed as part of his US$14 million-plus project.

The president has confirmed the problems likely require draining the pool again for liner repairs, and he promised a quick fix. But the timeline was not clear Monday, and the administration did not immediately respond to questions about a new round of work. Contractors and federal workers in recent days have been using chemicals and ozone nanobubbles to combat the algae.

Trump pitched the original improvements as intended to clean, beautify and reinforce an iconic site that he said had become dilapidated and dirty because of previous presidents’ neglect. Algae has plagued the pool for a century, and Trump insisted that a newly installed ‘American flag blue’ coating, which he selected himself, would turn the pool into a gleaming expanse along the National Mall.

Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool’s coating. An approximately four foot-square piece of the liner was observed last Friday to be partially floating in the pool. The Associated Press observed additional pieces in the water Monday.

Via social media, the president has blamed the problems on “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE!” He asserted Monday on Truth Social that intentional damages include a “300 foot long gash” and that “chemicals have been illegally placed in the water.” A day earlier, Trump posted, “Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool.”

He has not substantiated those claims, and even if anyone has deliberately peeled the lining, that would not explain the algae bloom that appeared more intensely than what typically occurred before the renovation.

Images showing that Trump’s project apparently backfired boomeranged across social media last week, drawing crowds of onlookers eager to see the effects themselves. An unknown number ended up being detained by federal authorities.

One man arrested was David Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland. A former Olympic canoe racer, Hearn told The Associated Press that he reached into the pool because he wanted to examine the peeling new coating. He said he briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to. Hearn said he was then detained by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released Friday night.

“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said in a telephone interview. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”

The Park Police did not immediately respond Monday to AP’s questions about how many arrests were made and whether any charges had been filed. Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department said Monday that the agency is not involved.

It was not immediately apparent what criminal or civil violation someone might commit reaching into the pool. Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts on the matter, threatened prison time for his unnamed assailants, referencing laws against defacing federal monuments.

___

Barrow reported from Atlanta. Katie Vogel contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.

Nathan Ellgren And Bill Barrow, The Associated Press

Amnesty slams EU migration co-operation with ‘racist’ #Libya. Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned a European Union move to increase co-operation with Libya to stem migration despite an intensifying crackdown on migrants in the country.

Libya is one of the main North African departure points for migrants risking the perilous journey across the Mediterranean sea to reach Europe.

Amnesty said both the United Nations-recognized government and its rival eastern-based administration have been carrying out crackdowns on migrants and fuelling anti-migrant sentiment with “xenophobic and racist statements”.

“The European Union is seeking to expand its migration co-operation with rival Libyan authorities and allied armed groups just as they have been escalating their campaign of racially discriminatory mass arrests, arbitrary detention, and unlawful collective expulsions of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants supported by xenophobic discourse,” the U.K.-based rights group said.

Since the death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 following a NATO-backed uprising, Libya has been riven by divisions and instability.

It is divided between the government based in the capital Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.

The situation has fostered human trafficking and abuses against migrants, who have fallen victim in particular to extortion and slavery, according to the UN and international NGOs.

According to Amnesty, the EU is seeking to set up a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in eastern Benghazi.

Amnesty’s deputy regional director Diana Eltahawy said the bloc was already “complicit in horrific violations and abuses” due to its financial support for the Libyan coast guard, which regularly intercepts migrant vessels.

“Extending this cooperation to eastern-based armed groups with records of committing war crimes and other abuses with impunity shows a shocking disregard, not only for international law, but also for human life and dignity,” she said.

Eltahawy called on the EU and its member states to “suspend their containment policies that trap people in cycles of abuse”.

Migration has sparked anger among Libyans. Earlier in June, hundreds of people gathered outside the UN refugee agency headquarters in Tripoli to protest against irregular migrants and refugees whom they say should leave Libya.

As of mid-2024, the International Organization for Migration estimated that around 900,000 migrants and refugees were living in Libya.

Former South Korean justice minister gets 25-year prison term for role in martial law declaration

#Pakistan and Qatar, acting as mediators between the United States and Iran, announced the conclusion of the first round of negotiations in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock focused on implementing the Islamabad memorandum.

According to them, the talks took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere.

"The first high-level round of negotiations under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding has concluded in Burgenstock, Switzerland, with the participation of representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States of America, and the two mediating parties -- the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere. Encouraging progress was achieved, including the establishment of a framework for further technical negotiations," Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement.

#Trump threatens to ‘hit Iran very hard again’ over support for Hezbollah.

OBBUERGEN, Switzerland — Negotiators expected to work through the night after high-level U.S.-Iran talks on their interim deal to end the war had a tense start Sunday in Switzerland, when Tehran took offense at President Donald Trump‘s threat to attack and his warning that Iran’s president should watch what he says.

The comments from afar — on social media and to news outlets — complicated efforts by Vice President JD Vance and mediators Pakistan and Qatar to keep Iran engaged in discussions meant to address thorny issues like Tehran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.

Before anything, however, Iran wants to discuss Lebanon, where Israel’s military has been fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, since the deal halts conflict on all fronts.

“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

“They would do better to be careful about their statements,” Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X after Trump’s comments. “Our armed forces are prepared to respond to them in a different manner. They may keep talking, it is we who act.”

Iranian state media said talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed after the “publication of an insulting message by the U.S. President.” The Iranian delegation then met with Qatari mediators and left the negotiating site, state media said.

Vance and U.S. negotiators including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had met with Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for what Iranian state media said was about 80 minutes.

It was not clear when they might meet again. Negotiators were anticipating working through the night, according to a senior U.S. diplomat engaged in the talks.

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private discussions, said talks included clarifying what Iran meant by recent statements about the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiators also discussed “mechanisms” to ensure the strait remains open and that a ceasefire in southern Lebanon is enforced, along with “robust” discussions on the nuclear issue.

Iran first wants to focus on Israeli strikes in Lebanon

Negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.

“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?” Vance said as the talks began, and asked whether they could “change relations in the Middle East permanently.”

The U.S. wants Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear program amid concerns it may be used for military purposes, which Iran denies. Vance also wants Tehran to commit to keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran on Saturday claimed to close. The U.S. has disputed that, saying shipping traffic continued Sunday.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told the state news agency that Tehran first wants talks to focus on the conflict in Lebanon.

A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appeared to be holding, and Israel’s military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the border with Lebanon on Monday morning — another sign of calm.

But neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.