عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

US Energy Secretary in Venezuela for Oil Talks

Handout picture released by the US Embassy in Venezuela showing US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (2-R) walking next to the new head of the United States diplomatic mission for Venezuela, Laura Dogu (2-L), upon his arrival at Maiquetia International Airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on February 11, 2026. (Handout / US Embassy in Venezuela / AFP)
Handout picture released by the US Embassy in Venezuela showing US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (2-R) walking next to the new head of the United States diplomatic mission for Venezuela, Laura Dogu (2-L), upon his arrival at Maiquetia International Airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on February 11, 2026. (Handout / US Embassy in Venezuela / AFP)
TT
TT

US Energy Secretary in Venezuela for Oil Talks

Handout picture released by the US Embassy in Venezuela showing US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (2-R) walking next to the new head of the United States diplomatic mission for Venezuela, Laura Dogu (2-L), upon his arrival at Maiquetia International Airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on February 11, 2026. (Handout / US Embassy in Venezuela / AFP)
Handout picture released by the US Embassy in Venezuela showing US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (2-R) walking next to the new head of the United States diplomatic mission for Venezuela, Laura Dogu (2-L), upon his arrival at Maiquetia International Airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on February 11, 2026. (Handout / US Embassy in Venezuela / AFP)

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday for talks with acting president Delcy Rodriguez and oil industry executives on harnessing the country's vast crude reserves.

Wright is the highest-ranking official in the administration of US President Donald Trump to travel to Venezuela since US special forces seized and overthrew longtime socialist leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

Trump has backed Maduro's former deputy Rodriguez to succeed the ousted leader, on condition that she abide by US demands, including granting the United States access to Venezuelan oil and ease state repression.

Welcoming Wright to Venezuela on X, the US embassy in the country said: "Your visit is key to advancing @POTUS's (Trump's) vision of a prosperous Venezuela."

It added that "the US private sector will be essential to boost the oil sector, modernize the electric grid, and unlock Venezuela's enormous potential."

A photo posted by the embassy showed Wright on the tarmac at Maiquetia International Airport, which serves the capital Caracas, together with the new US charge d'affaires in Venezuela, Laura Dogu.

Venezuela sits on about a fifth of the world's oil reserves and was once a major crude supplier to the United States.

But it produced only around one percent of the world's total crude output in 2024, according to OPEC, due to years of under-investment, mismanagement and US sanctions.

Washington eased sanctions on Venezuelan oil last month after Rodriguez's administration passed a law throwing open the sector to private investment.

Trump wants US oil majors to rapidly rebuild the sector and boost output by millions of barrels a day.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Türkiye Condemns Closing of 8 Turkish Schools in Greece

View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)
View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Türkiye Condemns Closing of 8 Turkish Schools in Greece

View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)
View of the island of Halki from a ferry sailing to the island of Rhodes, off the island of Halki, Greece, April 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Türkiye's foreign ministry on Sunday condemned a decision by Greece to close eight schools catering to the country's Turkish-speaking minority, accusing its neighbor of discrimination.

In a communique, the ministry condemned "systematic practices aimed at undermining the right to education of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace".

"We once again call on Greece to act in accordance with its contractual obligations regarding minority rights and fundamental rights," it added.

The number of Turkish-language schools left in the north-east region of Thrace -- near the border between the two countries -- is now 76.

Greek authorities have said they were closing schools, and not solely in Turkish-speaking areas, because of declining numbers of pupils.

According to 2021 statistics, some 120,000 Muslims of Turkish origin live in Thrace, where they enjoy specific rights in regards to religion and education under the Treaty of Lausanne, signed after the First World War.

World

5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Peru’s Andes Region, Killing at Least 5 People

This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)
This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)
TT
TT

5.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Peru’s Andes Region, Killing at Least 5 People

This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)
This handout picture released by Peru's Defense Ministry shows a collapsed house on the outskirts of Huancayo, about 300 km east of Lima, on July 19, 2026, following a 5.5 magnitude quake. (Handout / Peruvian Ministry of Defense / AFP)

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Andes region of Peru, killing at least five people, local authorities said on Sunday.

More than 20 people were injured, and 300 have been displaced so far.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake struck on Saturday at 9:24 p.m. local time, with its epicenter located 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) west-southwest of the city of Sicaya, in Huancayo province. The incident took place at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles).

Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said in a statement the total number of people missing is still unknown.

Several buildings collapsed or suffered structural damage, including the local church and convent.

Images broadcast by local media captured the anguish of victims’ relatives in one of the hardest-hit areas, the agricultural region of Chongo Bajo, where residents huddled under blankets outside severely damaged homes. Animals were also seen under the rubble.

In 2007, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the province of Pisco in the Ica region, leaving nearly 600 people dead.

Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, as the country is located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire.”

World

UN Watchdog Calls for Restraint as Iran Says US Attacked Unfinished

Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Watchdog Calls for Restraint as Iran Says US Attacked Unfinished

Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past an anti-US banner in Tehran on July 19, 2026. (AFP)

The UN's nuclear watchdog called for restraint on Sunday after Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said the United States had attacked an under-construction nuclear power plant in the country's southwest.

The US and Iran have been trading escalating attacks for days, and Washington carried out fresh airstrikes on Sunday to "punish" Iran for the deaths of two US service members in Jordan on Friday -- its first reported losses since the return to open hostilities in the Middle East war.

Tehran's Atomic Energy Organization said US forces "in an aggressive and brutal act contrary to international law, attacked the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant... with a number of projectiles on Sunday", according to a statement carried by state TV.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said it was looking into the reports, noting the plant "is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA".

While the incident "is not believed to pose any radiological risk", IAEA director Rafael Grossi reiterated his "call for military restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites", the agency said, in a post on X.

Iran's nuclear program has long been a major point of contention between it and the West, including in negotiations aimed at ending the current war.

While foreign powers including the US and Israel suspect it of seeking a bomb, Tehran has always maintained its program is peaceful, though it insists on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.