International
Board of Brazil’s Petrobras elects Lula ally as new president
January 26 | By AFP |
The board of directors of Petrobras on Thursday appointed Jean Paul Prates, an ally of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as head of the state oil company.
Prates, a 54-year-old lawyer and economist, was previously a senator in northeastern Rio Grande do Norte state and a member of Lula’s Workers’ Party.
Lula described Prates as a specialist in the energy sector when nominating him for the job on Twitter last month.
In a statement confirming the appointment, the Petrobras board said Prates had been chosen unanimously.
Prates has 30 years experience in the oil, natural gas, biofuels and renewable energy sectors.
“I have been given the mission of managing Petrobras in the coming years,” Prates said.
He added that he was “honored to lead a company that is the heritage of all Brazilians.”
Petrobras is the flagship of Brazilian industry. It is the largest company in the South American country but was at the center of the wide-ranging “Operation Car Wash” corruption scandal.
As part of the graft investigation, Lula was himself convicted of accepting a bribe and spent 18 months in jail before a judge annulled his conviction.
Petrobras went through some turbulent years during the presidency of Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
The company went through four different CEOs during that period due major disagreements over Petrobras’s oil pricing policies.
Bolsonaro even went so far as to accuse Petrobras of theft over its price hikes.
The company sets prices based on the standard international rate for a barrel of oil.
The position of Petrobras chief executive is one that comes with great exposure to political pressure.
In its 68 years of existence, the company has had 39 CEOs, meaning they have lasted on average less than two years.
The markets have expressed fears that Prates could change the company’s pricing policies and that under Lula’s socialist government there will be greater interference in the running of state companies.
The Brazilian state owns 50.26 percent of Petrobras’s capital and Lula has ruled out privatizing the company.
International
Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 4,490 as Rescue Efforts Continue
The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,490, according to the latest official figures released by the government on social media.
Authorities reported that 16,740 people have been injured, while more than 19,500 residents remain in temporary shelters after the twin earthquakes devastated Caracas and the neighboring state of La Guaira.
Rescue teams from Venezuela and several foreign countries continue searching through collapsed buildings in an effort to recover victims who remain trapped beneath the rubble.
Government officials said the earthquakes damaged more than 850 buildings, with 190 structures completely collapsing.
Thousands of families who lost their homes are currently staying with relatives or friends, while more than 19,500 displaced people are living in overcrowded emergency camps set up in parks, stadiums, and public squares across La Guaira and Caracas.
International
Tensions Escalate in Middle East as U.S. Bombs Iran After Maritime Attacks
The United States launched new strikes against Iran on Wednesday, following President Donald Trump’s warning that Washington would “hit hard” against the Islamic Republic. While Trump ordered the retaliation after attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, he also said he hoped the latest wave of bombings would end soon and left the door open for renewed negotiations.
U.S. forces “have begun carrying out additional strikes against Iran to further reduce its ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the United States Central Command said in a post on X.
Washington blamed Iran for what it described as “recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping.”
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that explosions were heard in the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak, and Chabahar.
“This is in retaliation for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will be much worse,” Trump wrote on social media alongside an image showing what appeared to be a bombing at an Iranian location.
Before ordering the strikes, the U.S. president said that the ceasefire with Iran had ended. Mediators Pakistan and Qatar called for de-escalation, while the United Nations also urged both sides to reduce tensions.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical flashpoint in the Middle East conflict, which began in late February after U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran-linked attacks on at least three vessels in recent days triggered a U.S. offensive against Iranian targets on Tuesday. Tehran responded by launching attacks against Gulf countries that are allies of Washington.
International
Deadly Drug Trade Rivalry Suspected After Eight Bodies Discovered in Southern Mexico
Eight bodies were found Wednesday along a highway in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, in an incident authorities believe may be linked to a dispute over local drug sales.
The victims — six men and two women — were found abandoned on a road in a mountainous area of the municipality of El Bosque, according to the state prosecutor’s office in a statement published on Facebook.
Initial investigations indicate that the killings may be connected to “a dispute over retail drug sales between local criminal groups operating in the region,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Local media reports that several criminal incidents have increased in the area since the beginning of the year.
The road where the bodies were discovered is located in a mountainous region largely inhabited by Indigenous communities. Authorities have not released further details about the victims or possible suspects as the investigation continues.
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