WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s support for Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro has become the latest flashpoint in deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia, moving to the top of a list of long-simmering spats between the Cold War foes.

As the dispute intensifies with both sides trading accusations and entrenched in diametrically opposed positions from which they are unwilling to retreat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to meet Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov next week in Finland to discuss the matter.

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua): Around 120 civilians were killed by U.S. overseas military operations in 2018, said a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

"There are credible reports of approximately 120 civilians killed and approximately 65 civilians injured during 2018 as a result of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia," said the Annual Report on Civilian Casualties in Connection with U.S. Military Operations.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After years of pressure to crack down on hate and bigotry, Facebook has banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on “dangerous individuals.”

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones’ site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories. The latest bans apply to both Facebook’s main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

3 May 2019; DW: Voters in England appeared to have punished both UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party and the Labour opposition, as local council election results emerged on Friday.

Both parties, which pledged to carry out Brexit in their 2017 election manifestos, appeared to have suffered badly, with almost half of council results declared.

SEATTLE (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are again going to court to challenge the Trump administration, this time over its policy to bar detained asylum seekers from asking a judge to grant them bond.

The American Civil Liberties Union, American Immigration Council and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project filed a class-action lawsuit over the policy in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday.

MOSCOW, May 2 (Xinhua): Russia and the United States have "incompatible" positions on the Venezuelan affairs, but Moscow is ready to talk with Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"Although U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and I agreed to continue contacts, I do not see how it is possible to combine our positions," Lavrov told reporters in Uzbekistan's capital city of Tashkent.

TEHRAN, May 2 (Xinhua): Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday that Iran will never bow to the U.S. anti-Iran pressures, Press TV reported.

"We will find a way (to deal with the U.S. pressures). We have done that for 40 years, and will do that now too," Zarif said in Qatari capital Doha on Thursday.

Zarif, who attended the 16th ministerial meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Doha, warned about the "existential threat" that the U.S. unilateralism poses to the international community.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Thursday that would prevent President Donald Trump from fulfilling his pledge to withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement and ensure the U.S. honors its commitments under the global accord.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr skipped a House hearing Thursday on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia report, escalating an already acrimonious battle between Democrats and President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr had already lied to Congress in other testimony and called that a “crime.”

2 May 2019; DW: The number of members belonging to Germany's two main churches will drop by half by 2060, putting severe financial strain on the religious institutions, according to a study published Thursday.

The main reasons for declining membership in the German Catholic and Protestant churches include adults leaving the church, fewer baptisms and an aging population, researchers at the University of Freiburg said.

MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/: Over 1,300 people left the Rukban refugee camp on Wednesday and entered the territory controlled by the Syrian government forces, chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria Viktor Kupchishin said on Thursday.

DONETSK, May 2. /TASS/: Over 1,000 Ukrainian army's servicemen have been killed or injured since the start of the military operation in Donbass under Sergey Nayev's command, head of the people's militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin said on Thursday.