International
Venezuelan opposition leader urges oil companies to cut ties with “Corrupt and Criminal Regime”
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called on multinational oil companies this Tuesday to stop operating “under a corrupt and criminal regime.”
Venezuela’s oil industry has been under sanctions since 2019, but Washington grants individual licenses for several companies to operate in the country, including the U.S. company Chevron, Spain’s Repsol, and France’s Maurel & Prom.
“These energy companies need to realize that they are partnering with the most corrupt company in the energy sector worldwide, which has been accused of money laundering and even drug trafficking, PDVSA,” Machado said, referring to Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, during a panel organized by the Georgetown Americas Institute in Washington.
“No one knows the nature of the contracts that have been signed, which violates our Constitution. No one knows how much they are paying the regime or how much the government is making from their operations,” Machado added in a virtual connection, just hours after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro joked that she had fled the country.
“It’s not only a matter of the international community understanding how these resources are being used, but I wonder what the shareholders and stakeholders of these companies think about the goodwill and reputation of these firms,” Machado commented.
“Our message to them is that we want them here. We want them to invest and generate many resources, a lot of money, and many jobs for Venezuela, but not like this — not under a corrupt and criminal regime that violates and is violating Venezuela’s laws,” she stressed.
International
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Six people, including a baby girl about two years old, were killed on Sunday in an armed attack near a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said. The shooting, carried out with rifles, also left three people wounded.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular tourist destination known for whale watching. The attack occurred amid a surge of violence over the weekend that left at least nine people dead nationwide, according to local media reports.
“There are six fatalities and three injured,” Colonel William Acurio, the local police commander, told reporters on Sunday. He confirmed that one of the victims was a baby “approximately two years old.”
Authorities have not released further details about the motive behind the attack or whether arrests have been made.
International
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
The man who killed nine people, including five children, on Saturday night in Paramaribo died by suicide while in custody, Suriname police confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The suspect, identified by the initials D.A., 43, “hanged himself inside a holding cell at the Keizerstraat police station” in the capital, Paramaribo, according to the official report.
Police said the man sustained leg injuries during his arrest and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to the detention facility on Sunday night. Authorities did not provide further details on the circumstances surrounding his death.
International
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Airlines canceled around 1,500 flights across the United States during the peak Christmas travel season after warnings of a severe winter storm and forecasts of heavy snowfall in the Midwest and Northeast. An additional 5,900 flights were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
More than 40 million Americans were under snowstorm warnings or weather advisories one day after Christmas. Meanwhile, another 30 million people faced flood or storm alerts in California, where an atmospheric river triggered intense rainfall.
New York City was bracing for up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow overnight, which would mark its heaviest snowfall in four years. Cold weather was expected to persist through the weekend in the nation’s largest city. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, airports in the New York area recorded about 850 flight cancellations.
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International1 day agoWinter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
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International4 hours agoSix killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
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International4 hours agoMan accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody

























