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Venezuela Foreign Ministry warns of ‘immoral military threat’ from US

Venezuela Foreign Ministry warns of ‘immoral military threat’ from US

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Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto has told the United Nations General Assembly that the United States has an “illegal and completely immoral military threat hanging over our heads”, as reports emerge that the US is planning to escalate attacks on the South American country.

Pinto told the gathering of UN member states on Friday in New York that his country was grateful for the support of governments and people “that are speaking out against this attempt to bring war to the Caribbean and South America”.

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The minister claimed US threats towards his country were aimed at allowing “external powers to rob Venezuela’s immeasurable oil and gas wealth”.

He also accused Washington of using “vulgar and perverse lies” to “justify an atrocious, extravagant and immoral multibillion-dollar military threat”.

Earlier on Friday, US broadcaster NBC News reported that US military officials are drawing up plans to “target drug traffickers inside Venezuela” with air attacks, citing two unnamed US officials.

US President Donald Trump said last week that US forces had carried out a third strike targeting a vessel he said was “trafficking illicit narcotics”. At least 17 people have been killed in the three attacks.

Experts have cast doubt on the legality of US attacks on foreign boats in international waters, while data from both the UN and the US itself suggest that Venezuela is not a major source of cocaine coming into the US, as Trump has claimed.

In an address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said of drug smugglers: ” To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence.”

By contrast, Colombian President Gustavo Petro used his UNGA address to call for a “criminal process” to be opened against Trump over the attacks on vessels in the Caribbean, which had killed Venezuelans who had not been convicted of any crime.

The US has so far deployed eight warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighter jets sent to Puerto Rico, in what it calls an anti-drug operation.

Washington has also refused an appeal for dialogue from Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump administration has accused of drug trafficking – a claim Maduro has strenuously denied.

Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, had once been regular presences at the annual UNGA meetings taking place in New York, but Maduro did not come this year, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a fugitive from justice over a US indictment on drug-trafficking allegations.

Back home in Venezuela, Maduro has called for military drills to begin on Saturday, to test “the people’s readiness for natural catastrophes or any armed conflict” amid US “threats”.

‘Our fishermen are peaceful’

Venezuelan fishers who spoke to the AFP news agency said that the US strikes on Venezuelan boats have made them fearful to venture too far from shore.

“It’s very upsetting because our country is peaceful, our fishermen are peaceful,” Joan Diaz, 46, told AFP in the northern town of Caraballeda.

“Fishermen go out to work, and they [the US] have taken these measures to come to our … workplace to intimidate us, to attack us,” he said.

Diaz said most fishers stay relatively close to shore, but that “to fish for tuna, you have to go very far, and that’s where they [the US forces] are.”

A fisherman holds his catch at a harbour in Caraballeda, La Guaira State, Venezuela, on Wednesday [Federico Parra/AFP]

Luis Garcia, a 51-year-old who leads a grouping of some 4,000 fishermen and women in the La Guaira region, described the US actions as “a real threat”.

“We have nine-, 10-, 12-metre fishing boats against vessels that have missiles. Imagine the madness. The madness, my God!” he exclaimed.

“We keep contact with everyone … especially those who are going a little further,” he said.

“We report to the authorities where we are going, where we are, and how long our fishing operations will last, and we also report to our fishermen’s councils,” Garcia said.

But, Garcia added, they would not be intimidated.

“We say to him: ‘Mr Donald Trump, we, the fishermen of Venezuela … will continue to carry out our fishing activities. We will continue to go out to the Caribbean Sea that belongs to us.’”

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In a quiet street in northern Singapore, a car plies the road like any other – except it is a left-hand drive from China and the person in the driver’s seat has been trained to keep his hands off the wheel and his foot off the pedals unless an emergency arises.

Eventually, there will be no need for a safety officer or any human behind the wheel at all – mirroring the autonomous vehicles (AVs) already operating in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

For now, Singapore is in the early stages of rolling out AVs, specifically robotaxis, to the public.

Jeffrey Siow, the acting transport minister, said last September that the country aimed to have around 100 to 150 of these vehicles on the road by the end of this year.

Major ride-hailing companies Grab and ComfortDelGro were given the green light to collaborate with leading Chinese AV manufacturers WeRide and Pony.ai, respectively, to test and deploy shuttle taxi services on public roads in Punggol.

A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau
A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau

Chinese AV companies are industry leaders, experts say, and are keen to show that their vehicles can operate in international markets – despite profitability concerns, as most are still in the start-up phase and rely heavily on investments.

#Singapores #robotaxi #drive #revs #Chinese #leadersSouth China Morning Post, News, Opinion, China, Hong Kong, World, US, Asia, Business, Economy, Technology, Lifestyle, Sport">Singapore’s robotaxi drive revs up with help from Chinese AV leadersIn a quiet street in northern Singapore, a car plies the road like any other – except it is a left-hand drive from China and the person in the driver’s seat has been trained to keep his hands off the wheel and his foot off the pedals unless an emergency arises.Eventually, there will be no need for a safety officer or any human behind the wheel at all – mirroring the autonomous vehicles (AVs) already operating in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, San Francisco and Los Angeles.For now, Singapore is in the early stages of rolling out AVs, specifically robotaxis, to the public.Jeffrey Siow, the acting transport minister, said last September that the country aimed to have around 100 to 150 of these vehicles on the road by the end of this year.Major ride-hailing companies Grab and ComfortDelGro were given the green light to collaborate with leading Chinese AV manufacturers WeRide and Pony.ai, respectively, to test and deploy shuttle taxi services on public roads in Punggol.A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean IauChinese AV companies are industry leaders, experts say, and are keen to show that their vehicles can operate in international markets – despite profitability concerns, as most are still in the start-up phase and rely heavily on investments.#Singapores #robotaxi #drive #revs #Chinese #leadersSouth China Morning Post, News, Opinion, China, Hong Kong, World, US, Asia, Business, Economy, Technology, Lifestyle, Sport

Singapore, a car plies the road like any other – except it is a left-hand drive from China and the person in the driver’s seat has been trained to keep his hands off the wheel and his foot off the pedals unless an emergency arises.

Eventually, there will be no need for a safety officer or any human behind the wheel at all – mirroring the autonomous vehicles (AVs) already operating in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

For now, Singapore is in the early stages of rolling out AVs, specifically robotaxis, to the public.

Jeffrey Siow, the acting transport minister, said last September that the country aimed to have around 100 to 150 of these vehicles on the road by the end of this year.

Major ride-hailing companies Grab and ComfortDelGro were given the green light to collaborate with leading Chinese AV manufacturers WeRide and Pony.ai, respectively, to test and deploy shuttle taxi services on public roads in Punggol.

A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau
A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau

Chinese AV companies are industry leaders, experts say, and are keen to show that their vehicles can operate in international markets – despite profitability concerns, as most are still in the start-up phase and rely heavily on investments.

#Singapores #robotaxi #drive #revs #Chinese #leadersSouth China Morning Post, News, Opinion, China, Hong Kong, World, US, Asia, Business, Economy, Technology, Lifestyle, Sport">Singapore’s robotaxi drive revs up with help from Chinese AV leaders
In a quiet street in northern Singapore, a car plies the road like any other – except it is a left-hand drive from China and the person in the driver’s seat has been trained to keep his hands off the wheel and his foot off the pedals unless an emergency arises.

Eventually, there will be no need for a safety officer or any human behind the wheel at all – mirroring the autonomous vehicles (AVs) already operating in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

For now, Singapore is in the early stages of rolling out AVs, specifically robotaxis, to the public.

Jeffrey Siow, the acting transport minister, said last September that the country aimed to have around 100 to 150 of these vehicles on the road by the end of this year.

Major ride-hailing companies Grab and ComfortDelGro were given the green light to collaborate with leading Chinese AV manufacturers WeRide and Pony.ai, respectively, to test and deploy shuttle taxi services on public roads in Punggol.

A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau
A fleet of robotaxis is seen parked outside a building in Punggol, Singapore. Photo: Jean Iau

Chinese AV companies are industry leaders, experts say, and are keen to show that their vehicles can operate in international markets – despite profitability concerns, as most are still in the start-up phase and rely heavily on investments.

#Singapores #robotaxi #drive #revs #Chinese #leadersSouth China Morning Post, News, Opinion, China, Hong Kong, World, US, Asia, Business, Economy, Technology, Lifestyle, Sport

The picturesque town of Gabala in northwest Azerbaijan hosted the fourth round of civil societies talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan representatives as the two countries continue to build on their process of peaceful future together after decades of tragic conflicts.

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Amernia and Azerbaijan established together the so-called Peace Initiative Bridge format shortly after the two former foes signed their historic peace agreement in Washington DC. The Peace Initiative Bridge includes multiple participants from the two countries’ civil society who visit each other to conduct the ongoing peace dialogue by addressing all common issues openly and in an atmosphere of trust.

In an answer to Euronews, Armenia’s Areg Kochinyan, president of the Armenian Council and the Armenian coordinator of the Peace Initiative Bridge, said the two countries have to deal with a “gigantic amount of trauma,” as both nations are making significant efforts to move on as part of their historic peace agreement.

However, he added that “the normalistion and the peace in South Caucuses is well-needed in the West, in Europe, in the United States and that’s partially the reason why we have seen this level of interest of the United States in the region.”

On Azerbaijan’s side, Farhad Mammadov, director of the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus and Azerbaijan’s coordinator of the Peace Initiative Bridge, said that “the conflicts in the region did not have a negative effect on the peace-building process.”

“This is a two-way peace-building process and it is autonomous,” he added.

The focus of Saturday’s meeting in Gabala was on building momentum for the ongoing peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s Lusine Kharatyan, writer and cultural anthropologist as well as member of the Peace Bridge Initiative, told Euronews that “it is extremely important to continue these talks in this world where violence and conflict grows around us, so it’s very important to keep the track of peace.”

“I think the talks went very well because we were able to discuss very important and sensitive issues for both societies and do it very deeply and very sensitively towards each other,” she added.

Eleonora Sargsyan from Armenia, a youth worker and member of the Peace Bridge Initiative said that “for 30 years, we’ve lived with closed borders and we haven’t had the chance of structured dialogue, which created a framework of mutual dehumanisation.”

“I believe that one of the primary objectives of peacebuilding initiatives and any civil society initiatives that untites Armenian and Azerbaijani experts is to start the process of rehumanisation.”

In its turn, Azerbaijan’s representatives underlined the importance to both countries to deepen the dialogue at civil society level.

Orkhan Amashov, Azerbaijan’s participant of the Peace Bridge Participant, described the discussions as being “incredibly comprehensive and wide-ranging.”

“The participants here are to prepare their respective societies for that ultimate eventuality – a peace agreement – and its consequences.” , he added.

Ramil Iskandarli, chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan’s National NGO Forum, and member of the Peace Bridge Initiative, described the symbolism of both sides crossing each other’s borders for peace talks.

“Both I and (the) other group members crossed the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia twice and our Armenian colleagues did the same to come to Gabala,” he said.

He added that “this particular meeting is important because it represents the fourth step actually. I am participating from the very first day of this process,” underlining that “there is also a certain symbolism in this process.”

Energy disruption has become a dominant challenge due to the global climate of instability also due to Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade crisis, which has shifted attention to the South Caucasus as a critical alternative route that Azerbaijan and Armenia are now working together to develop as a joint opportunity.

Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy advisor to the president of Azerbaijan, led Saturday’s peace talks and greeted each participant.

In a post on X after the talks, he announced that Azerbaijan is “fully committed to the Washington agenda” of the peace process and that “this commitment is not merely declarative or confined to paper; rather, concrete and pragmatic steps are being taken to strengthen the peace agenda,” in the context of both countries continuing the development of the major regional project of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, also known as the TRIPP corridor, which is a US-backed, 42-kilometre transit corridor through Armenia’s Syunik region which connects Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave.

Hajiyev underlined the fast developing economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia stating that “these include bilateral trade, transit shipments to Armenia via Azerbaijan, and people-to-people contacts, all of which reflect the concept of the economic dividends of peace.”

The participants concluded the Gabala talks agreeing that continued dialogue is an important step in maintaining communication between the two sides.

#Armenia #Azerbaijan #civil #societies #hold #talks #push #peace #plansPeace process,Armenia,Caucasus">Armenia and Azerbaijan civil societies hold talks to push peace plans The picturesque town of Gabala in northwest Azerbaijan hosted the fourth round of civil societies talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan representatives as the two countries continue to build on their process of peaceful future together after decades of tragic conflicts. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Amernia and Azerbaijan established together the so-called Peace Initiative Bridge format shortly after the two former foes signed their historic peace agreement in Washington DC. The Peace Initiative Bridge includes multiple participants from the two countries’ civil society who visit each other to conduct the ongoing peace dialogue by addressing all common issues openly and in an atmosphere of trust. In an answer to Euronews, Armenia’s Areg Kochinyan, president of the Armenian Council and the Armenian coordinator of the Peace Initiative Bridge, said the two countries have to deal with a “gigantic amount of trauma,” as both nations are making significant efforts to move on as part of their historic peace agreement. However, he added that “the normalistion and the peace in South Caucuses is well-needed in the West, in Europe, in the United States and that’s partially the reason why we have seen this level of interest of the United States in the region.” On Azerbaijan’s side, Farhad Mammadov, director of the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus and Azerbaijan’s coordinator of the Peace Initiative Bridge, said that “the conflicts in the region did not have a negative effect on the peace-building process.” “This is a two-way peace-building process and it is autonomous,” he added. The focus of Saturday’s meeting in Gabala was on building momentum for the ongoing peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia’s Lusine Kharatyan, writer and cultural anthropologist as well as member of the Peace Bridge Initiative, told Euronews that “it is extremely important to continue these talks in this world where violence and conflict grows around us, so it’s very important to keep the track of peace.” “I think the talks went very well because we were able to discuss very important and sensitive issues for both societies and do it very deeply and very sensitively towards each other,” she added. Eleonora Sargsyan from Armenia, a youth worker and member of the Peace Bridge Initiative said that “for 30 years, we’ve lived with closed borders and we haven’t had the chance of structured dialogue, which created a framework of mutual dehumanisation.” “I believe that one of the primary objectives of peacebuilding initiatives and any civil society initiatives that untites Armenian and Azerbaijani experts is to start the process of rehumanisation.” In its turn, Azerbaijan’s representatives underlined the importance to both countries to deepen the dialogue at civil society level. Orkhan Amashov, Azerbaijan’s participant of the Peace Bridge Participant, described the discussions as being “incredibly comprehensive and wide-ranging.” “The participants here are to prepare their respective societies for that ultimate eventuality – a peace agreement – and its consequences.” , he added. Ramil Iskandarli, chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan’s National NGO Forum, and member of the Peace Bridge Initiative, described the symbolism of both sides crossing each other’s borders for peace talks. “Both I and (the) other group members crossed the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia twice and our Armenian colleagues did the same to come to Gabala,” he said. He added that “this particular meeting is important because it represents the fourth step actually. I am participating from the very first day of this process,” underlining that “there is also a certain symbolism in this process.” Energy disruption has become a dominant challenge due to the global climate of instability also due to Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade crisis, which has shifted attention to the South Caucasus as a critical alternative route that Azerbaijan and Armenia are now working together to develop as a joint opportunity. Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy advisor to the president of Azerbaijan, led Saturday’s peace talks and greeted each participant. In a post on X after the talks, he announced that Azerbaijan is “fully committed to the Washington agenda” of the peace process and that “this commitment is not merely declarative or confined to paper; rather, concrete and pragmatic steps are being taken to strengthen the peace agenda,” in the context of both countries continuing the development of the major regional project of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, also known as the TRIPP corridor, which is a US-backed, 42-kilometre transit corridor through Armenia’s Syunik region which connects Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. Hajiyev underlined the fast developing economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia stating that “these include bilateral trade, transit shipments to Armenia via Azerbaijan, and people-to-people contacts, all of which reflect the concept of the economic dividends of peace.” The participants concluded the Gabala talks agreeing that continued dialogue is an important step in maintaining communication between the two sides. #Armenia #Azerbaijan #civil #societies #hold #talks #push #peace #plansPeace process,Armenia,Caucasus

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