Senior Biden administration officials have quietly traveled to Caracas in the latest bid to rebuild relations with the South American oil giant as the war in Ukraine drags on, driving higher gas prices and forcing the U.S. to recalibrate other foreign policy objectives. The delegation that arrived Monday in Caracas includes Ambassador James Story, who heads the U.S. government’s Venezuelan Affairs Unit out of neighboring Colombia, said a State Department spokesperson on the condition of anonymity so as not to interfere with diplomatic discussions. It also includes Roger Carstens, the special

An air ambulance service official says at least eight helicopters are taking patients from the site of a passenger train that derailed in Missouri while traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago. Matt Daugherty, Lifeflight Eagle director of business development, said helicopters were responding from around the state, The Kansas City Star reported. Daugherty said he knew there were a number of injuries and some people were in critical condition. The train derailed Monday after hitting a dump truck that was blocking a public crossing, Amtrak said. The Southwest Chief was carrying about 243 passenge

Ukrainian officials say scores of civilians are feared killed or injured after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post Monday that the number of victims was ``unimaginable,'' citing reports that more than 1,000 civilians were inside at the time of the attack. Zelenskyy stressed that the target presented ``no threat to the Russian army'' and had ``no strategic value.'' At least 13 people were dead and more than 40 wounded, according to the regional governor, Dmytro Lunin, who said th

The federal government is contributing almost 30 million dollars to help the new Vancouver Art Gallery become the first so-called passive house art gallery in North America. The low-energy building will receive $25 million in funds from Infrastructure Canada, while the Canadian Heritage Department will pitch in $4.3 million. The new gallery will be built a few blocks from the current building and is expected to be complete by 2027. The total cost for the gallery is expected to come in around 400 million dollars.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced new sanctions against 74 people and businesses in Russia and Belarus. They include 46 entities linked to the Russian defence sector and 15 Ukrainians who support the Russian occupation. Trudeau says Canada also plans to sanction state-sponsored propaganda agents in an attempt to counter Kremlin disinformation. The announcement comes as G-7 leaders meeting in Germany discuss the threat to global stability posed by the invasion of Ukraine.

Environment Canada says heat warnings will persist in British Columbia and Yukon for at least another day, but cooler conditions are on the way. The weather office is maintaining heat warnings for Metro Vancouver, parts of B.C.'s inner south coast, inland sections of the north coast, including Kitimat and Terrace, and for Yukon's Dawson region northwest of Whitehorse.Forecasters say inland temperatures reaching 34 C are possible across Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Howe Sound, while conditions will be just slightly cooler on the north coast and the mercury will move into the high 20s around

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and agreed to expand trade and economic linkages as the two leaders took stock of India-Canada relations. "Useful exchange between PM @narendramodi and Canadian PM @JustinTrudeau at Schloss Elmau. Leaders discussed bilateral ties and agreed to expand trade and economic linkages, cooperation in security and counter-terrorism, as well as P2P ties," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said both leaders took stock of the India-Canada friendship and discussed ways to further str

Several parts of China will experience heavy rainfall and floods for the next few days, China's National Meteorological Center said on Monday after it renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms. The torrential rainfalls in China which started on Sunday have induced floods in several parts of the country including Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province, Global Times reported. China's National Meteorological Center has forecasted more heavy rain in the next few days. It said that across 13 areas including Southwest China's Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou

After learning about the demise of Sarabjit Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur, actor Randeep Hooda immediately rushed to Punjab from Mumbai to perform her last rites. Randeep and Dalbir Kaur formed a relationship during the shooting of Sarbjit. In the film, Randeep played the role of Dalbir Kaur's brother Sarbjit Singh, who was strayed into Pakistan in 1990 in a drunk condition and was kept behind the bars for 23 years with many serious allegations against him. He died on May 2, 2013, in a Pakistan jail following a brutal attack by one of the inmates. During the film's shoot, Dalbir Kaur told Randeep