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WASHINGTON, May 1-- The war of words between Washington and Moscow escalated on Wednesday over the latest situation in Venezuela.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which was later frustrated by security forces.

In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the White House said that the United States denounced Russia's "continued support" for the Maduro government.

The White House said that "the Trump Administration views interference from the Russian government and their support of the Maduro regime as extremely troublesome and unacceptable."

The statement read that "President Trump has made it clear to Russia that they must leave and renounce their support of the Maduro regime."

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States will continue to raise cost for Russia over the behaviors on Venezuela-related issue.

In an interview with Fox Business Network, Pompeo said that "as the president said, they've got to go, and the Russians need to have the cost for that raised."

On the same day, Pompeo called his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss the Venezuela situation.

According to the State Department, Pompeo said during the phone call that the role of Russia in Venezuela is "destabilizing" for the nation and "for the U.S.-Russia bilateral relationship."

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday denounced Washington's support for the Venezuelan opposition in their attempt to seize power.

In the telephone conversation with Pompeo, Lavrov noted the latest situation in Venezuela where the opposition had tried to seize power with "obvious support" from the United States, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The Russian side stressed that Washington's interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and threat against its leadership is a gross violation of international law," the statement said.

Lavrov said that only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine their destiny and that destructive external influence has nothing to do with a democratic process.

In a televised address on Tuesday night, Maduro called on other countries "which continue to support the coup opposition" to rectify their positions.

The United States has been pursuing a policy of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the Venezuelan government in support of Guaido. It recognized Guaido as the nation's "interim president" on Jan. 23, days after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term.

LONDON, May 1  -- Downing Street said Wednesday in a statement that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had been sacked by the Prime Minister for "unauthorized disclosure of information".

A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister has this evening asked Gavin Williamson to leave the Government, having lost confidence in his ability to serve in the role of Defense Secretary and as a member of her Cabinet.

"The Prime Minister's decision has been informed by his conduct surrounding an investigation into the circumstances of the unauthorized disclosure of information from a meeting of the National Security Council.

"The Prime Minister thanks all members of the National Security Council for their full cooperation and candor during the investigation and considers the matter closed."

Williamson has been defense secretary since 2017 in the wake of Michael Fallon's sudden resignation.

The British government has appointed Penny Mordaunt as new defense secretary to replace Williamson. She was previously the international development secretary.

British media said Mordaunt is the first woman to take the role of defense secretary, while Rory Stewart, current Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice, will be the new international development secretary.

MOSCOW, May 1 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday denounced Washington's support for the Venezuelan opposition in their attempt to seize power as an intervention in the country's internal affairs.

In a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Lavrov noted the latest situation in Venezuela where the opposition had tried to seize power with "obvious support" from the United States, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The Russian side stressed that Washington's interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and threat against its leadership is a gross violation of international law," the statement said.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which was later frustrated by security forces.

Lavrov said that only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine their destiny and that destructive external influence has nothing to do with a democratic process.

On the other hand, Pompeo criticized that Russia's role in Venezuela is "destabilizing" for the nation and urged Moscow to "cease support for Nicolas Maduro", according to the U.S. State Department.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reportedly rejected Pompeo's claim that Maduro was preparing to leave Venezuela but was talked out of it by Russia.

"Washington tried its best to demoralize the Venezuelan army and now used fakes as a part of information war," she was quoted by Tass news agency as saying.

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- U.S. media reported Wednesday that the Trump administration has not reached a consensus on whether to engage in military intervention in Venezuela to support the opposition leader Juan Guaido.

According to a report of the Washington Post, as the Maduro government remains intact after an attempted yet failed coup on Tuesday, the Trump administration has sent "mixed messages about what role, if any, the U.S. military would play in Washington's future efforts to resolve the Venezuelan crisis."

U.S. President Donald Trump has "shown little willingness to plunge into Venezuela," according to his current and former aides, the newspaper reported.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told financial news channel Fox Business on Wednesday that a peaceful solution was still desired but that "military action is possible. If that's what's required, that's what the United States will do."

The Pentagon also appeared Wednesday to downplay any active preparations to directly intervene in Venezuela but acknowledged detailed contingency planning since turmoil in the country deepens.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said in a congressional testimony that "to date, most of our actions have been diplomatic and economic."

Moreover, as National Security Advisor John Bolton has pushed for a more aggressive policy on Venezuela, he "has angered some within and outside the White House," the Washington Post report said.

Before the coup attempt, Bolton's staff clashed with Gen. Paul Selva, Dunford's vice chairman, during a meeting to address the ongoing crisis, according to several officials with knowledge of the exchange, the report said.

The United States has been pursuing a policy of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the Venezuelan government in support of Guaido. It recognized Guaido as the nation's "interim president" on Jan. 23, days after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term.

In response to Washington's support for Guaido, Maduro announced that he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States.

BEIJING, April 29 -- A joint military exercise with the Chinese and Russian navies has begun in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, marking the second time that both navies have met at the port of Qingdao since the launch of the annual drill mechanism in 2012.

The Chinese PLA Navy sent a warm welcome to the Russian fleet.

Qiu Yanpeng, deputy commander of the PLA Navy, said that through the exercise, both sides will have closer collaboration and greater proficiency in addressing all kinds of security threats.

The subject of this year's exercise is "joint maritime defensive operations." Both navies have dispatched two submarines, 13 surface vessels, multiple aircraft and some 80 marines.

Reportedly, the "Joint Sea 2019" exercise will be conducted in three phases, namely preparation, execution and summary. At least ten drills will be held by May 4.

According to a senior military official, the exercise will focus on joint submarine rescue, air defense, and anti-submarine operations.

On Monday afternoon, the navies of both sides visited each other's vessels in order to deepen mutual understanding.

"This is the second time I have come to Qingdao, and I am so happy to be back," said Alexander Averianov, a chief warrant officer from Russian cruiser Varyag.

They will soon set out to hold exercises in the sea and airspace near Qingdao.

Both navies stressed that the exercise does not target any third party. It only aims to enhance their capability to commonly address maritime security threats.

Phnom Penh , April 30 – Interior Ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said Tuesday that the USD 3.5 million confiscated from three Chinese at Phnom Penh International Airport now belongs to the state-property thus preserved at the National Bank of Cambodia.

Phnom Penh municipal court investigating judge Ros Samedy, on Sunday, ordered to detain Wang Shiping, Wang Lichao, and Zhang Jian, accused of “money laundering”, a violation of law on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

Ministry of Interior’s immigration police, on 23 April 2019, arrested the trio for bringing USD 3.5 million into the kingdom from Hong Kong without proper financial source, according to the ministry’s press release dated Friday.

Phnom Penh , April 30 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation, speaking in a meeting on Tuesday at the Peace Palace Phnom Penh.

Aung San Suu Kyi informed the Premier that the three-day visit to Cambodia is her first official visit since she took office as head of government in 2016, and that her visit aims to promote bilateral tie with Cambodia, Eang Sophalleth, personal secretary to the Premier, told the press after the meeting.

Sophalleth said both sides discussed mainly on culture, religion, education, and economy.

Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi and commended her initiative to strengthen Cambodia-Myanmar bilateral ties.

2020 will mark the the 65th anniversary of the Cambodia-Myanmar diplomatic relations. Prime Minister recommended the joint ceremony to encourage and promote tourism in both countries by hosting cultural events in Siem Reap and Bakan – provinces enriched with heritages.

Regarding religion, the Premier thanked Myanmar for allowing Cambodia to build a monastery in the province of Myanmar, and for providing training to 94 Cambodian monks. Currently, four are still studying there.

Prime Minister encouraged the exchange study between Cambodian and Myanmar students. He announced to award 10 scholarships Myanmar students to study in Cambodia for 2019-2020.

Regarding economy, Prime Minister Hun Sen considered agreement on double tax avoidance and promotion of trade volume to be larger than USD 10 million.

Myanmar and Cambodia established diplomatic relations in 1955.

BERLIN, April 24 -- An unexploded World War II bomb was discovered and later defused on Wednesday in Cologne, forcing 2,500 residents to evacuate, according to the official twitter account of the city of Cologne.

The bomb was discovered Wednesday afternoon and an area of 500 meters in radius had been cordoned off. The discovery has disrupted local and long-distance traffic, including the train route from Cologne to Bonn.

The city of Cologne tweeted on Wednesday evening that the bomb was defused and residents can return home.

In the early morning of Wednesday, another bomb was defused successfully by a specialized robot in the city of Regensburg in Bavaria, forcing an evacuation of 4,500, local media said.

Decades have passed, yet World War II bombs are frequently discovered all across Germany.

TRIPOLI, April 25 -- Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj denied calling for ceasefire between the government and the east-based army, as both parties continue fighting for control over the capital Tripoli, the government spokesperson said Wednesday.

"The Head of the Presidential Council of the Government (Serraj) supervises the fight against Haftar's militias (army). There will be no negotiations or dialogue until ... the aggressors are defeated. The Head of the Council strongly denies requesting or desiring ceasefire," government spokesperson Mohannad Younis said in a press release.

"The position of the Council is clear against the aggression -- returning the aggressor forces to where they came from," Younis said.

The east-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over western Libya, particularly Tripoli where the UN-backed government is based.

The clashes between the two sides so far killed 272 people, injured 1,282 others, and displaced more than 30,000 civilians, according to the World Health Organization.

Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

BEIJING, April 25 -- China will further promote international space cooperation to make concrete contributions to the realization of sustainable development goals set by the United Nations, a senior official with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Wednesday.

China is to build a new type of cooperative and win-win relationship with other space agencies and international organizations around the world to jointly enhance the role of space industries in facilitating sustainable development, said CNSA deputy director Wu Yanhua at the United Nations/China Forum on Space Solutions: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Committed to a better service for the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, especially developing countries, China is constructing a space information corridor, and promoting the sharing of satellite resources, according to Wu.

Bringing into play the unique strength of satellites in supporting telemedicine, epidemic prevention and control, and distance education, social security services can be improved, said Wu.

Wu also mentioned that China is to undertake monitoring and research of global climate change by taking advantage of satellites, aiming to achieve the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.