Venezuela wins a seat on U.N. Human Rights Council
The Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro won a seat Thursday on the U.N. Human Rights Council, a controversial victory for a regime accused of using intimidation, torture and murder to cling to power.
The Maduro government, no longer recognized as legitimate by the U.S. and about 50 other countries, had sought a return to the 47-member panel to counter an image of international isolation — and thwart investigations into its own alleged abuses.
Venezuela and regional rival Brazil beat out Costa Rica for the two Latin American seats up for election. Costa Rica had declared its candidacy only this month in an effort to deny Venezuela a three-year term, but the support of China, Russia, Cuba and other allies gave the socialist state the win.
While the government celebrated, opposition leader Juan Guaido accused it of killing a member of his party. Edmundo Rada, a 42-year-old former councilman, was found shot twice in the neck, a bag covering his face and half his body burned.
U.K., EU make deal
Britain and the European Union agreed on a Brexit deal Thursday, setting the stage for a fateful showdown in Parliament, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a struggle to marshal enough votes for his plan after three years of politically corrosive debate.
However, Mr. Johnson, yet to win a vote in Parliament as prime minister, may win even if he loses. He can now say he negotiated an agreement but blame Parliament. He is then likely to call for a general election, hoping to win a mandate to do what the paralyzed political class has so far been unwilling to do: pull Britain out of the EU as fast as possible.
The deal ran into political headwinds almost immediately, when Northern Ireland’s influential Democratic Unionist Party refused to support it and deprived Mr. Johnson of a clear path to a majority.
Mr. Johnson, who called a special session of Parliament for Saturday, appears to be betting on lawmakers fed up with the Brexit wrangling who may view this deal, however imperfect, as better than any alternative.
Catalonia erupts
BARCELONA, Spain — For years, Catalonia’s separatist movement painstakingly built an amiable image of its quest to secede from Spain: Smiling parents and grandparents, children in tow, cheerily chanting “independence!”
But this week, that was replaced by the visage of a furious young man hurling gasoline bombs at police struggling to contain riots.
A failed 2017 attempt to declare independence left the movement rudderless: Twelve of its leaders were arrested after an illegal referendum, and the rest fled. Frustration over the breakaway’s lack of international support has been building since then.
So the fuse was lit when Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday found 12 of the movement’s leaders guilty for their role in the referendum. The rage exploded.
For four successive nights, nighttime protests have spiraled out of control, with demonstrators burning cars and trash cans, causing 1.1 million euros ($1.2 millon) of damage and clashing with police in Barcelona.