Pressure grows for release of Venezuelan political prisoners

They have been holding a vigil outside the police detention centre since 8 January, when the head of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, first announced that "a significant number" of prisoners would be freed as a goodwill gesture to demonstrate what he said was the interim government's will "seek peace". Source link

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Giant robot tribute to Brazil’s Lula leads start of Rio Carnival

A tribute to Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has marked the first day of the iconic carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro.The samba school Acadêmicos de Niterói traced Lula's life as a boy growing up in poverty in the Brazilian northeast, to a metalworker, union leader and then president, showcasing giant figures to honour the president.The parade drawn criticism from the opposition because Brazil's next general election, which will also elect the country's president, will take…

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Nigeria warns against enlisting abroad after reports of deaths in Ukraine

According to Nigerian officials, investigations and security reports indicate that some nationals were enticed with promises of well-paid employment, security work, educational opportunities or migration incentives, only to find themselves thrust into active war zones. Source link

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Trump eyes Venezuela visit – but obstacles to his oil plan remain

During the Chávez presidency, Venezuela reclassified its reserves. Previously, there were thought to be just 80 billion barrels of extractable oil, but by 2011, its reported figure had nearly quadrupled. That statistical change was made possible by high oil prices at the time, which allowed previously unviable projects to look feasible. Source link

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Trump’s new world order is real and Europe is having to adjust fast

On the one hand, you have the Nordic and Baltic nations that are geographically close to Russia, and also Germany and the Netherlands, which are all big defence spenders, she says, whereas in southern Europe, there's Spain, for example, that is absolutely unapologetic about refusing to increase defence budgets to the levels demanded by Donald Trump. Source link

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