The former spy chief to embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has revealed new details of the plot to oust him including code names, secret meetings and a back channel to the Americans.  Gen. Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, who fled the country after the plot collapsed in May, laid bare the full scale of the plan…

Members of a Facebook group for US border agents reportedly mocked the death of a migrant child in custody and posted racist comments about congresswomen inspecting the facilities. In one post, the group of current and former border patrol agents referenced a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan who died in Border Patrol custody, with…

The Italian government’s calls for an anti-migrant wall on its border with Slovenia is reopening wounds from the post-war era of fences and barbed wire, as border communities fear they could be split down the middle.  Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s populist Northern League party, has said his "extreme remedy" of "physical barriers" on…

The investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street financier charged with underage sex offences, has expanded to a sprawling ranch he owns in New Mexico’s high desert. Epstein’s "Zorro Ranch," worth $12 million, is in the hills outside Santa Fe and has a private runway for his plane, stables, and perfectly manicured gardens. The office…

Germany’s new defence minister has picked an early fight inside the country’s troubled coalition, pledging to beef up military spending against the will of junior partners the Social Democrats. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer will make it a priority to allocate a budget equivalent to 2 percent of the German economy to the Bundeswehr, the 56-year-old told the…

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, currently serving time in jail for calling for unauthorised protests, was hospitalised after suffering an acute allergic reaction on Sunday, his spokeswoman said. Navalny was jailed this week for 30 days for calling for an unauthorised march to protest against the exclusion of several opposition candidates from a local election…

The Kennedy family has been hit by yet another tragedy as Saoirse Kennedy Hill, granddaughter of Robert Kennedy, died from an apparent overdose at her family’s compound aged 22. It was the latest in a long line of horrific events to befall the American political dynasty in what has become known as the "Kennedy curse."…

Cambridge University and Peking University are in talks to launch a business school partnership in southern China. Mark Welland, deputy vice chancellor of Cambridge, and Christopher Loch, director of the Judge Business School, visited Peking University’s business school in Shenzhen last week, meeting with university officials and city mayor Chen Rugui. Details are still being…

MINEOLA, NY — As a mysterious vaping-related respiratory illness sickens hundreds nationwide, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to ban most flavored e-cigarettes. The move comes after Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would propose new legislation to ban them at the state level. Alex Azar, the federal Health and Human Services secretary, announced Wednesday…

The University of Minnesota’s M Club, one of the nation’s largest and oldest varsity letterwinner clubs, announced its 2018 Hall of Fame class. The nine-person class represents nine different Gopher programs, 26 All-America honors and nine national titles (individual and team). These Gopher greats will be officially added to the more than 350 current members…