Politics
Venezuela says in talks with US to restore diplomatic ties
- US diplomats in Caracas to discuss reopening embassy: officials
- Venezuela says it would reciprocate by sending delegation to US.
- Trump urges US oil giants to repair Venezuela’s energy industry.
Venezuela said Friday it had launched talks with the United States on restoring diplomatic ties, days after US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president.
It was the latest sign of cooperation following the leftist leader’s capture and US President Donald Trump’s claim to be “in charge” of the South American country.
Officials said US diplomats were in Caracas to discuss reopening the country’s embassy, while in Washington Trump met with oil companies over his plans to access Venezuela’s huge crude reserves.
The government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez “has decided to initiate an exploratory diplomatic process with the government of the United States of America, aimed at re-establishing diplomatic missions in both countries,” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement.
John McNamara, the top US diplomat in neighbouring Colombia, and other personnel “travelled to Caracas to conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations,” a US official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Venezuela said it would reciprocate by sending a delegation to Washington.
Rodriguez, in a statement, condemned “the serious, criminal, illegal and illegitimate attack” by the United States and vowed: “Venezuela will continue to confront this aggression through the diplomatic route.”
Trump vows oil investments
Trump said earlier Friday that he had called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela due to the prisoner releases.
The US president had suggested he might use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
At a White House meeting on Friday, he pressed top oil executives to invest in Venezuela’s reserves, but was met with a cautious reception — with ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods dismissing the country as “uninvestable” without sweeping reforms.
Trump said foreign firms had enjoyed no meaningful protections under Maduro, “but now you have total security. It’s a whole different Venezuela.”
He also stressed that the companies would deal only with Washington, not Caracas, when exploiting Venezuela’s oil resources.
Trump earlier said that oil companies promised to invest $100 billion in Venezuela, whose oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.
He had earlier announced a plan for the United States to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, with the money to be used at his discretion.
He promised any funds sent to Caracas would be used to buy only US-made products.
In the meantime, Washington has maintained maritime pressure on oil tankers in the Caribbean, where it seized a fifth tanker carrying Venezuelan crude — oil that would be sold, Trump said.
State-owned oil company PDVSA confirmed in a statement that one vessel was returning to Venezuelan waters, describing it as the “first successful joint operation” with Washington.
Prisoners’ release
Anxious relatives waited outside Venezuelan jails for a glimpse of their loved ones as the authorities began releasing political prisoners — a move Washington claimed credit for.
“When I heard the news, I broke down,” said Dilsia Caro, 50, waiting for the release of her husband Noel Flores, who was jailed for criticising Maduro.
Venezuela began releasing prisoners on Thursday in the first such gesture since US forces removed and detained Maduro in the deadly January 3 raid.
Trump told Fox News he would meet next week with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whom he earlier brushed aside as lacking the “respect” to lead Venezuela.
Exiled Venezuelan opposition figurehead Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said that any democratic transition in the country must recognise his claim to victory in the 2024 presidential elections.
Maduro was proclaimed the winner of the vote, but his re-election was widely seen as fraudulent.
Gonzalez was hoping for the release of his son-in-law, who was detained a year ago in Caracas.
Protests in Caracas
Maduro was seized in a US special forces raid accompanied by airstrikes, operations that left 100 people dead, according to Caracas.
US forces took Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking and other charges.
Rodriguez insisted Thursday her country was “not subordinate or subjugated” despite her pledge to cooperate with Trump.
Angry protesters rallied in the streets of Caracas on Friday, demanding Maduro’s release in the latest of a daily series of demonstrations.
“We don’t have to give one little drop of oil to Trump after all that he has done to us,” said one protester, Josefina Castro, 70, a member of a civil activists’ group.
“Our Venezuelan brothers died (in the attack), and that hurts.”
DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.
Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.
The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.
The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.
Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.
Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.
The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.
Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.
India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.
“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”
At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.
Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.
The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
- Iran to suspend strikes on neighbours unless attacks from them.
- Putin calls for immediate halt to Iran conflict.
- Iran envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war.
Israel and Iran traded attacks on Saturday as the war entered a second week, while the Islamic Republic made an unusual apology to neighbouring states for its “actions”, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He said Iran’s temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
Gulf states hit by drones and missiles
The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon.
The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.
Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure — hotels, ports and oil facilities — were struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.
How far Pezeshkian’s statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or if it should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.
Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia — a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.
No deal without surrender, says Trump
While Gulf states host US military bases, they had told Washington they would not allow these to be used for any attacks on Iran.
Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world’s economy.
Pezeshkian’s remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with US President Donald Trump demanding Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” he added.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six US service members have been killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from “the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.
UAE president says country is well and ‘no easy prey’ in first public comments since Iran strikes
Go Digit General Insurance gets GST demand notice of Rs 170 cr – The Times of India
Saturday Sessions: Cory Wong performs "Roses Fade"
Attock Cement’s acquisition approved | The Express Tribune
Policy easing drives Argentina’s garment import surge in 2025
India Us Trade Deal: Fresh look at India-US trade deal? May be ‘rebalanced’ if circumstances change, says Piyush Goyal – The Times of India
-
Business1 week ago
Attock Cement’s acquisition approved | The Express Tribune
-
Business1 week ago
India Us Trade Deal: Fresh look at India-US trade deal? May be ‘rebalanced’ if circumstances change, says Piyush Goyal – The Times of India
-
Fashion1 week agoPolicy easing drives Argentina’s garment import surge in 2025
-
Sports1 week agoLPGA legend shares her feelings about US women’s Olympic wins: ‘Gets me really emotional’
-
Entertainment1 week agoBobby J. Brown, “The Wire” and “Law & Order: SUV” actor, dies of smoke inhalation after reported fire
-
Fashion1 week agoSouth Korea’s Misto Holdings completes planned leadership transition
-
Fashion1 week agoTexwin Spinning showcasing premium cotton yarn range at VIATT 2026
-
Entertainment1 week agoPakistan’s semi-final qualification scenario after England defeat New Zealand