MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/ Venezuela's Armed Forces refuse to recognize parliament speaker Juan Guaido as interim president, the country's Defense Minister Padrino Lopez said on Wednesday.

"Soldiers of the Motherland do not recognize the president imposed on us under the influence of foreign interests and self-proclaimed unlawfully. The Armed Forces are defending the Constitution and are guarantors of national sovereignty," Lopez wrote on his Twitter account.

24 Jan 2019; AFP: China said Thursday that Chinese-Australian author and democracy advocate Yang Hengjun was detained on national security grounds, becoming the latest Western citizen to face such accusations from Beijing.

Yang's detention comes at a moment of heightened tension between Western countries and an increasingly muscular Beijing, prompting fears that he may be the victim of a dragnet by Chinese security services targeting foreigners.

NEW YORK (AP) — A white supremacist pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing a black man with a sword as part of an attack that authorities said was intended to incite a race war in the United States.

James Jackson admitted to fatally stabbing 66-year-old Timothy Caughman in March 2017 after stalking a number of black men in New York City.

Jackson, who is white, told police he traveled from Baltimore to carry out the attack because New York is the media capital of the world. He said the slaying was intended to be practice for further assaults on black people.

24 Jan 2019; DW: AfD lawmakers in Bavaria's state parliament were sharply criticized for leaving during a speech by Jewish community leader Charlotte Knobloch. The Holocaust survivor had accused the party for downplaying Nazi atrocities.

Lawmakers with Bavaria's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) staged a walkout on Wednesday during a memorial service honoring the victims of the Holocaust.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At this time of year, John Sprinkle and his wife would normally be planning their summer vacation. Not now. Sprinkle, a furloughed federal employee, is about to miss his second paycheck since the partial government shutdown began just before Christmas.

With no end in sight to the longest shutdown in American history, Sprinkle and his family are postponing all manner of spending.

Nashik, Jan 23 (PTI) A 60-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide here in Maharashtra apparently due to crop failure and debt burden, police said Wednesday.

Deepak Eknath Vazre, a resident of village Mukhed in Yeola tehsil, hanged himself using his turban at his residence Tuesday, they said.

Vazre, who owned agriculture landat Mukhed, had suffered losses due to drop in crop production, the police said, adding he had also taken loan from a cooperative society.

23 Jan 2019; DW: Visitors are braving subzero temperatures to see the Niagara Falls in all its winter glory. Arctic wind coupled with a cold weather system have transformed the massive falls into scenes of black and white.

Icy temperatures have taken hold of Niagara Falls, transforming the waterfalls into a magical black and white scene. The phenomenon was brought on by a cold weather system moving over North America, which the US National Weather Service says was strengthened by additional arctic air coming from Canada.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Singer, the director of the Oscar-nominated “Bohemian Rhapsody,” has been accused of sexually assaulting minors in an expose published by the Atlantic.

The Atlantic on Wednesday published a lengthy article based on a 12-month investigation. It details the stories of four alleged victims who said they were seduced and molested by the “Bohemian Rhapsody” director while underage. Three of the men spoke on the condition of anonymity. Victor Valdovinos said he was molested by Singer on the set of 1998′s “Apt Pupil” when he was in the seventh grade.

New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI) The Delhi Police has registered a case based on a complaint filed by the Election Commission regarding allegations of hacking of EVMs and rigging of polls levelled by self-proclaimed cyber expert Syed Shuja, officials said Wednesday.

"Based on a complaint received from the Election Commission, an FIR has been registered under Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code (intent to cause fear or public mischief) at Parliament Street police station. Action will be taken as per the law," a senior police officer said.

New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day tour of his parliamentary constituency Amethi starting Wednesday.

Gandhi said he would meet and discuss issues with people in his home constituency.

"I am coming to Amethi. Will be with my people and discuss issues with them. Will keep sharing the details of my story of happiness with you by way of pictures," Gandhi said in a Facebook post.

GAZA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior Qatari diplomat arrived on Wednesday night in the Gaza Strip carrying the third financial installment of the Qatari grant, Palestinian security sources and local media in Gaza reported.

The sources and reports said that Mohammed Amadi, Chief of the Qatari Corporation to reconstruct Gaza, entered the Gaza Strip through Erez Crossing point coming from Israel and was carrying 15 million U.S. dollars in suitcases.

24 Jan 2019; DW: Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has been named Malaysia's new king. The 59-year-old was picked after the abrupt resignation of Sultan Muhammad V earlier this month.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of central Pahang state was elected Malaysia's 16th king on Thursday following a meeting with the country's royal households.