World News

U.S. President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are calling on Venezuela’s government to release detailed voting data from the presidential election. Electoral authorities have said President Nicolas Maduro won, but the opposition says their candidate, Edmundo González, secured more than twice as many votes in Sunday’s election. In a joint statement after a call in which Venezuela’s election was discussed, Biden and Maduro ally Lula said they “agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data at the polling station level by the Venezuelan electoral authorities."

Israel has struck the Lebanese capital of Beirut and says it killed the militant commander allegedly behind a rocket strike that killed 12 youths. Israel had vowed heavy retaliation against Hezbollah for Saturday’s strike, though Hezbollah has denied any role in the attack. The strike on a Beirut apartment building Tuesday killed at least three others and injured dozens of others. Meanwhile, in Israel, soldiers appeared before a military court over allegations of sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner from Gaza. And more bodies have been found after Israeli forces withdrew from parts of Gaza, where the Health Ministry says over 39,300 people have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Israel has carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed the Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. At least three other people were killed. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death. The Israeli strike killed a woman and two children and wounded dozens of other people in escalating hostilities with the Lebanese militant group. An Israeli official said the target was Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah military commander whom the U.S. blames for planning and launching the deadly 1983 Marine bombing in the Lebanese capital.

A lawyer for Ilya Yashin says the prominent Kremlin critic has been moved to an unknown destination from his prison where he was serving an 8 1/2-year sentence for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine. The statement on the Telegram messaging app by Tatyana Solomina gave no further details. However, it noted that several other figures imprisoned for criticizing the military or for alleged extremist activity because of their work with the organization of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny also were moved. The movements prompted speculation on social media about whether they were in preparation for some kind of a prisoner swap.

Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary has been sentenced to life in prison for directing a terrorist group. Choudary, who was previously convicted of supporting the Islamic State group, was convicted last week of being a member of the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun, and for drumming up support for the group. Prosecutors say Choudary directed the group, which was outlawed by the British government in 2010 because it was involved in committing, preparing for or promoting terrorism. He testified that the group no longer existed and denied promoting it in lectures he gave to a group that was allegedly its New York branch.

An Israeli military court is holding a hearing for nine soldiers detained for questioning over alleged abuse of a Palestinian at a shadowy facility where Israel has held prisoners from Gaza during the war. A defense lawyer for some of the soldiers says the investigation is over alleged sexual abuse. The probe has stoked tensions between the military command and hard-line nationalists in the government who advocate an even harsher hand in Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza. Tuesday's hearing, in which judges are expected to rule on extending the detention, could bring new protests by supporters of the soldiers.

Anti-government activists across Venezuela are toppling giant statues of Hugo Chávez to express their anger over the alleged stealing of elections by the late president’s handpicked successor, Nicolás Maduro. A video provided to AP shows one such monument being torn down in the seaside city of La Guaira. A protester told AP that the statue was then dragged by motorcycles across the plaza before being set on fire. This isn’t the first time monuments honoring El Comandante have been attacked. But the simultaneous nature and high number of attacks underscores the depth of anger many Venezuelans feel after Maduro was declared winner in Sunday’s presidential election. The opposition says its candidate more than doubled the incumbent’s vote count.

Bangladesh is observing a day of mourning in memory of more than 200 people killed in recent weeks during violence that evolved from student protests over a quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for war veterans. Government officials wore black badges on Tuesday and ordered all places of worship to hold prayers for the dead. Media reports say about 10,000 people have been arrested over the past two weeks. Rights groups have called for an end to arbitrary arrests, and critics accused the government of using excessive force to tamp down the violence. The government has defended its position, saying that the arrests were being made on specific charges.

Belarus’ authoritarian leader has granted pardon to a German citizen who has been sentenced to death on terrorism charges. It wasn’t immediately clear whether President Alexander Lukashenko’s decision means that the capital punishment will be replaced with life in prison for Rico Krieger as it’s usually done in Belarus or he will be released. A Telegram channel that reports Lukashenko’s decisions didn’t offer specifics. Krieger was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment in June. He has been in custody since his arrest in October 2023. Belarusian state media reported that he was accused of staging an explosion at a railway station on orders from Ukrainian special services.