Venezuela acting leader urges oil industry reforms for foreign investment
Global News
Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez, who has been under pressure from the U.S. to fall in line, said oil sales revenue would go to bolster domestic services.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez used her first state of the union address on Thursday to promote oil industry reforms that would attract foreign investment, an objective aggressively pushed by the Trump administration since it toppled the country’s longtime leader less than two weeks ago.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure from the U.S. to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
While she sharply criticized the Trump administration and said there was a “stain on our relations,” the former vice president also outlined a distinct vision for the future between the two historic adversaries, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezuela.
“Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
Trump on Thursday met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
In her speech, Rodríguez said money earned from foreign oil sales would go into two funds: one dedicated to social services for workers and the public health care system, and another to economic development and infrastructure projects.
Canada is amongst several nations who 'condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf.'
Gas prices in Canada have been climbing sharply since the Iran war began, but how much higher they could go is unclear as consumers struggle with the higher cost of living.
The Oscar-winning actor has denied all allegations against him and maintains that the incidents raised in the lawsuits either did not happen or were consensual.
European leaders have deflected entreaties from U.S. President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq, supporting operations against Iran.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that the regime remains intact and Tehran and its proxies remain capable of attacking U.S. and allies' interests.
James 'Jimmy' Gracey was reported missing after he didn't return to the short-term rental where he was staying with friends during spring break.
The U.K. Health Security Agency described the event as 'rapidly evolving' and warned of the potential for further cases.
U.S. benchmark crude fell US$1.24 to US$94.53 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose to US$104.17 per barrel. That's down from more than US$106 on Monday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's allies not to forget about his country, and suggested the U.S. and others should make use of Ukraine's anti-drone technology during the war.
Trump’s visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce, but it has become tangled in his effort to find an endgame to the war in Iran.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz starting to move is "a sign of how little Iran has left."
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night," Israel said.