Politics

Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 19:29 UTC
Chavismo pushes oil-law reform to open Venezuela’s upstream to private firms

Venezuela’s National Assembly has approved, in a first reading, a reform to the country’s Hydrocarbons Law that would expand private participation in crude production and marketing—an important shift from the long-running “mixed-company” model in which the state held majority stakes. The bill still requires a second reading before it can become law, EFE reported.
Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 19:19 UTC
EU ‘ready’ to roll out Mercosur deal once South American ratifications start, von der Leyen says

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is prepared to provisionally implement the EU–Mercosur trade agreement as soon as Mercosur countries begin completing their ratification procedures, seeking to reassure partners after a European Parliament vote injected fresh uncertainty into the bloc’s approval track.
Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 03:50 UTC
Venezuela frees opposition leader’s son-in-law as Caracas signals thaw with Washington

Venezuelan authorities on Thursday released Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of opposition figure Edmundo González Urrutia, in one of the most politically charged prisoner releases since Nicolás Maduro’s ouster and the installation of an interim administration led by Delcy Rodríguez, according to agency reporting.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 23:02 UTC
Argentina envoy asks French lawmakers to cover “Falklands” label on map during hearing

Argentina’s ambassador to France, Ian Sielecki, halted the start of a hearing at France’s National Assembly and refused to speak while a map behind him displayed the Falklands/Malvinas as UK territory. Proceedings resumed only after a staff member covered the islands with a sticky note.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 21:51 UTC
US appoints career diplomat Laura Dogu as new mission chief for Venezuela amid thaw signals

The United States has named veteran Foreign Service officer Laura Dogu as its new mission chief for Venezuela, a step that aligns with broader signs of a tentative diplomatic reset — including discussions about reopening embassies and plans for Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez to travel to Washington, though no dates or agenda have been disclosed.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 09:38 UTC
Trump says “framework” deal with NATO on Greenland is taking shape and drops tariff threat

US President Donald Trump said his administration has agreed with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on a “framework” for a potential understanding covering Greenland and the wider Arctic region, and announced he would pull back a tariff threat aimed at several European allies. Trump offered no operational detail, but framed the talks as a solution that would benefit the United States and NATO as a whole.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 01:55 UTC
Falklands, Minister Doughty reaffirms support for the Islands and the Great British family

”We remain strong defenders of the Falkland Islands as part of our Great British family globally and we continue to work very closely with them on a range of trade and tariff issues, said Foreign Office minister for Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty during a question time in Parliament.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 00:24 UTC
Trump is buying eleven icebreakers from Finland for Arctic Ocean patrolling

“We are buying the best icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for producing them,” US president Donald Trump said, as part of his campaign to take over Greenland and his concern as the Arctic Ocean becomes more navigable and with more trade routes.
Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - 00:01 UTC
Why Trump is obsessed with Greenland and why Canada's staying out of it

By Gwynne Dyer - After the Danish and Greenland foreign ministers came out of a meeting in Washington on last week convinced that Donald Trump really intended to seize Greenland, things moved very fast.
Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 21:26 UTC
European Parliament puts EU-Mercosur trade deal on hold, seeks top court legal opinion

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to freeze its approval track for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement and request a legal opinion from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on whether the deal is compatible with EU treaties. The motion passed by a razor-thin margin —334 in favour, 324 against, with 11 abstentions— injecting new uncertainty into a pact that the two blocs had only just signed in Asunción after a quarter-century of negotiations.