Venezuela

US reimposes oil sanctions on Venezuela as hopes for a fair presidential election fades

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MIAMI: The Biden administration on Wednesday reimposed crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela, admonishing President Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to consolidate his rule just six months after the U.S. eased restrictions in a bid to support now fading hopes for a democratic opening in the OPEC nation. A senior U.S. official, discussing the decision with reporters, said … Read more

House passes bill to bar data brokers from selling personal information to U.S. adversaries

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Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee speaks during the hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images WASHINGTON — Bipartisan leaders … Read more

Biden to issue executive order safeguarding American personal data from US adversaries

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President Biden will issue an executive order Wednesday preventing large-scale transfers of Americans’ personal data to U.S. adversaries, such as Russia, China and Iran. The executive order directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish protections for genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data and sensitive government-related data. “Our intelligence community … Read more

How Guyana’s big oil boom turned it into the world’s fastest-growing economy

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Guyana, a tiny South American nation home to more than 800,000 people, made big headlines in December. The reason? Its neighboring country, Venezuela. Venezuela’s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro called for a referendum in the first week of December 2023 to seek approval to annex Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana’s land. Venezuelans approved it … Read more

Why there is a new global race to the moon

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Japan recently became the fifth nation to successfully complete a soft landing on the moon’s surface, joining a select few countries — the U.S., Russia, China and India — in accomplishing this feat. But moon landings are likely to become more common over the next few years. Globally, more than 100 lunar missions, both by … Read more

Exxon CEO dismisses worries FTC could hold up Pioneer deal

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Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2023.  Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods on Thursday dismissed worries that the Federal Trade Commission could hold up the oil giant’s pending acquisition … Read more

U.S. swaps Maduro ally for ‘Fat Leonard’ in Venezuela prisoner exchange

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U.S. President Joe Biden pauses as he announces the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as part of administration efforts to lower gasoline prices, during remarks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, … Read more

Venezuela and Guyana pledge not to use force in territory dispute

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TOPSHOT – Aerial view of the Essequibo region taken from Guyana on December 12, 2023. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, will meet on December 14, 2023 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on their countries’ growing dispute over the oil-rich region of Essequibo, amid mounting international warnings against escalating the … Read more