Alive Links.org

Brasília (AFP) - Venezuela's fugitive former top prosecutor resurfaced in Brazil on Wednesday claiming to possess "a lot" of proof of President Nicolas Maduro's corruption and to warn that her life remains in danger. Days after a dramatic escape from chaotic Venezuela, Luisa Ortega, 59, turned up the heat on Maduro, who in turn asked Interpol to put out a "red notice" arrest warrant for his critic. Ortega -- speaking at a crime-fighting conference in the Brazilian capital with representatives from the Latin American regional trading alliance Mercosur -- said Maduro enriched himself in a massive corruption scheme uncovered at Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 11:27:08 -0400

French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published a provocative front-page cartoon about Islam and the recent terror attacks in Spain on Wednesday, sparking fears that it could encourage Islamophobia. Critics of Charlie Hebdo saw its front-page cartoon as tarring an entire religion, practised by around 1.5 billion people worldwide, by implying it is inherently violent. As the cartoon became one of the top trending topics on Twitter in France -- with more than 15,000 tweets praising or criticising it -- prominent Socialist MP and former minister Stephane Le Foll called it "extremely dangerous".

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 10:44:05 -0400

By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan has rejected U.S. criticism of its efforts to fight terrorism, saying it should not be made a scapegoat for the failure of the U.S. military to win the war in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his policy for Afghanistan on Monday, stepping up the military campaign against Taliban insurgents and singling out Pakistan for harboring them. U.S. officials later warned that aid to Pakistan might be cut and Washington might downgrade nuclear-armed Pakistan's status as a major non-NATO ally, in order to pressure it to do more to help bring about an end to America's longest-running war.

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 10:23:10 -0400

Fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil “misled the public” about the risks posed by climate change, an analysis of its public and private announcements on the subject by two Harvard University academics has concluded. While the company’s scientists and senior executive largely accepted the scientific consensus that global warming is real and poses significant risks, it spent thousands of dollars on regular advertorials in The New York Times (NYT) and other newspapers, in which it sought to cast doubt on the science. In some cases, the firm, led by the current US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, from 2006 to 2016, even contradicted itself.

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 08:53:00 -0400

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Iran wielded growing influence in Syria that was a "threat" to his country as he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, a figure in the Syrian crisis. "Iran is putting in great efforts to fortify its presence in Syria. This is a threat for Israel, for the Middle East and, I believe, for the whole world," Netanyahu said in remarks translated into Russian posted on the Kremlin's website.

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 07:50:59 -0400