Venezuela

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Chavez Grabs Vast New Powers With Dictator Decrees

List includes a personal militia

(Newser) - Avowed US foe Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has drastically expanded his powers with a litany of personal decrees that bypass the nation's legislature, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some of the decrees enact laws specifically rejected by the electorate in a referendum just months ago.

China's Thirst for Gaz-Guzzlers Boosts Oil Demand

SUV sales jump 43% over last year

(Newser) - While soaring gas prices are driving Americans to buy more energy-efficient cars, Chinese consumers are opting for gas-guzzling Buicks and Hummers, reports the Washington Post. China accounts for 40% of the world's recent increase in oil demand. There were few private cars in China 15 years ago, but today there...

Chavez: I'd Welcome Russian Troops in Venezuela

Seeking military pact with Moscow to ward of North American 'invasion'

(Newser) - Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is on a two-day trip to Moscow seeking closer military and economic ties —and raising the possibility that Russian troops may be stationed in Venezuela. Chavez and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev have already agreed to extend an energy partnership and are negotiating an arms deal...

Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
GLOSSIES
Jun 23, 2008 3:25 AM CDT

Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'

But Venezuelan leader receives steadying advice from Castro

(Newser) - With the US distracted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been busy amassing a Latin American power bloc to blunt Washington’s influence. But the firebrand leader, who calls President Bush “the devil” and the US “the empire,” is receiving level-headed...

Four Nations Fight Microsoft Doc Standard

Brazil, Venezuela, South Africa and India target format

(Newser) - Four nations have appealed to stop the fast-track adoption of Microsoft’s Office Open XML file format as an international standard, a world standards body announced yesterday. Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa and India have all appealed. The exact reason is unknown, but many have complained that the March vote to...

Analysts See Oil Bust Ahead
 Analysts See Oil Bust Ahead 
Jun 4, 2008 12:56 PM CDT

Analysts See Oil Bust Ahead

Stronger dollar, other factors will take air out of 'classic' bubble

(Newser) - The oil price surge is just like the dot-com boom, analysts at Lehman Brothers tell the Wall Street Journal, and costs will sharply decline once the US dollar strengthens and demand dips in certain countries. Lehman claims oil is experiencing the "classic ingredients of an asset bubble," and...

Chavez Takes Over Intelligence Agencies

Extends domestic spying and requires citizens to be informers

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has ordered a draconian restructuring of Venezuela’s intelligence agencies, bringing them under his personal control, increasing domestic spying powers, and levying prison sentences on citizens who decline to cooperate, the New York Times reports. One justice on Venezuela’s top court expressed outrage, calling it “a...

US Navy Jet Buzzes Curacao, Venezuela Furious

Drug patrol jet violation 'deliberate,' officials claim

(Newser) - A US Navy drug-patrol plane violated Venuzuelan airspace Saturday night, exacerbating  the  already-tense relationship between the two nations. The S-3 Viking, used to spot and attack drug-running ships, flew over the line near the island of Curacao, reports CNN. The pilot realized he made a navigational error, contacted a Venezuela...

Portugal PM Gets Heat for Smoking on Plane

Was he just blowing smoke when he backed Portugal's cigarette ban?

(Newser) - Portugal banned smoking in public places five months ago but the country's prime minister appears to have forgotten the rule his own government enacted. Jose Socrates—known to be a smoker in private—stunned passengers and triggered an uproar when he blithely lit up in the first-class cabin of a...

Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler
 Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler 
May 12, 2008 10:26 AM CDT

Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler

Venezuelan fires back after German chancellor advises neighbors to keep distance

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez fired back at Angela Merkel after the German leader suggested Latin American countries should be wary of ties to Venezuela. "She is from the German right," he said yesterday, "the same that supported Hitler, that supported fascism, that's the Chancellor of Germany."

Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel
 Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel 
May 9, 2008 8:46 AM CDT

Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel

And heads for $126 as weakening dollar opens investors' wallets

(Newser) - Oil climbed over $125 a barrel today, just ahead of the US driving season and propelled by investors jumping at a weaker dollar, the AP reports. Light, sweet crude for June rose to $125.98 on the New York Mercantile Exchange today, later dropping to $124.86 in Europe.

Rebel's Files Show Chávez Aided FARC

Laptops point to arms deals, training accords with Colombian rebels

(Newser) - A cache of computer files found on a dead Colombian guerrilla leader's laptops implicates Hugo Chávez in arms deals with the FARC rebels. The Wall Street Journal reports that Colombian and American intelligence agencies, which came into possession of about 100 files, have no doubt of their authenticity. Both...

Chavez Bans Simpsons, Brings in Baywatch Babes

Chavez takes unsuitable cartoon off air, tells kids to watch 'Baywatch' instead

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has bumped pudgy Homer Simpson from Venezuela's airwaves, reports the Times of London, opting instead for the decidedly more fit and furry David Hasselhoff. The dysfunctional Simpsons were deemed "inappropriate" for kiddies watching the morning TV lineup, but were replaced with the entirely, er, wholesome "Baywatch...

Venezuela Tried to Arm FARC, Colombia Says

Unverified docs reveal activities of Colombian rebels

(Newser) - Colombian officials claim to have computer files captured from its FARC rebels that indicate Venezuela sold arms to the terrorist group, the New York Times reports. If Interpol verifies the files, they would also suggest links between FARC and Ecuador’s government and provide insight into the rebel organization. Colombia...

Rice Snubs Argentina in Trip South
Rice Snubs Argentina in
Trip South
Mar 13, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

Rice Snubs Argentina in Trip South

Relations grow icier as Kirchner drifts toward Chavez

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice has embarked on a visit to Brazil and Chile, but the secretary of State won’t be stopping in neighboring Argentina, a sign of ever-frostier relations. “The United States is clearly snubbing Argentina,” one expert tells the New York Times. New Argentine president Cristina Fernández...

Recovered Data Links Venezuela to FARC Rebels

US, studying evidence, won't yet call Chavez a terror sponsor

(Newser) - Possible links between Hugo Chavez’ Venezuelan government and the Colombian FARC guerrilla group concern Washington, but US officials aren't yet saying the nation will be declared a state sponsor of terrorism, Reuters reports. Colombia said computers seized in a March 1 raid on a FARC base in Ecuador contain evidence...

Venezuelan Diplomats to Return to Colombia

Ecuador not ready to reconcile after standoff

(Newser) - Venezuela will return its diplomats to Colombia after last week’s border crisis was largely resolved at a regional summit. Ecuadorean diplomats say it will take longer for them to return, reports the BBC. Colombian forces killed an important rebel leader inside Ecuador last week, provoking a bristling regional standoff.

South American Crisis Ends With Handshakes

After spat over raid, Colombia, Ecuador make nice with promises for future

(Newser) - The threat of war involving Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela was diffused today with a bevy of handshakes televised all over Latin America, Reuters reports. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his opposite number, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, reached an agreement on combating insurgents in the future; the Colombian military's killing of...

Venezuela Adds Firepower on Colombian Border

Tanks, aircraft deployed as standoff escalates

(Newser) - Venezuela deployed tanks to the Colombian border, Reuters reports, as Latin American tensions remained high enough that Hugo Chavez warned of an Andean war. Though Colombia refused to send reinforcements to its border, the mobilization of heavy artillery, including support from air and sea forces, is the first in the...

Ecuador Wants Apology on FARC; US Backs Bogota

Bush to Colombia: We're with you

(Newser) - Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is in Brazil today, pushing for an apology from Colombia for its incursion into Ecuador to attack FARC guerrillas Saturday. While most Latin American nations, including Brazil, have condemned the cross-border attack, the White House yesterday unequivocally backed Colombia in the rapidly escalating crisis. Correa heads...

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