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[1/5] Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva attend an international conference on the political crisis in Venezuela, at Palacio de San Carlos in Bogota, Colombia April 25, 2023. The meeting in Bogota, hosted by Colombian President Gustavo Petro with support from the United States, included Spain, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil and others. The meeting was meant to help Maduro and the opposition restart stalled talks in Mexico focused on free elections and the possible lifting of sanctions against the government. Attendees found common ground over the need for free elections and lifting of sanctions parallel to agreements between the two sides, he said. The Mexico talks, held briefly last year and in 2021, are supposed to provide a roadmap out of the long-running crisis.

☆ Lawyers plan to depose Tucker Carlson about 'sexist' workplace later this year amid reports he was ousted from Fox News over misogynistic messages
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Grossberg's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court against Fox News in March, also names both Carlson and one of his top producers, Justin Wells, as defendants. Their removal from Fox News, however, doesn't mean they can escape scrutiny in the lawsuit, Grossberg's lawyer Tanvir Rahman told Insider. Grossberg's lawsuit was one factor in the decision to fire him, according to the Los Angeles Times. Grossberg's lawsuit alleges she experienced a hostile environment while working as a producer for shows hosted by Carlson and Maria Bartiromo. Fox executives derided Bartiromo with sexist terms, calling her "menopausal," "hysterical," a "diva," and a "crazy bitch," Grossberg's lawsuit claims.

☆ New migrant caravan heads for Mexico City to speed up legal route to US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Migrants take part in a caravan towards Mexico City called 'The Migrant's Via Crucis' in memory of the 40 migrants who died during a fire at a migrant detention center in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, as they walk along the road en route to Viva Mexico, Chiapas state, Mexico April 23, 2023. The migrants, mostly Venezuelans, started their march north early in Tapachula, the city bordering Guatemala whose detention centers have been overwhelmed by their vast numbers. Some said they expected to reach Mexico City in about 10 days. Fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, thousands of migrants walk together for safety to Mexico each year, crossing several states in hopes of finding a legal route into the United States. Out of money, he said his family was hoping to speed up the legal process needed for onward travel in Mexico City.

☆ Sanctions Against Russia Could Be Better, These Harvard Economists Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Paul Hannon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ricardo Hausmann, a former Venezuelan official, leads a group of Harvard economists proposing ways to further degrade Russia’s economy. Photo: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg NewsIn response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western nations have targeted Moscow with the biggest coordinated package of economic restrictions ever levied against a major economy, including sanctions, export controls, asset freezes and energy price caps. Many of those measures, though, have proven less costly so far to Russia than some economists had expected and many officials in Washington and Brussels had hoped. Some Russian officials, meanwhile, had braced for more economic damage from the sanctions barrage by now.

☆ China's big refineries crowd out teapots for discounted Russian oil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SummarySummary Companies Hengli, Shenghong join Russian oil purchasesChina's April Russian oil imports likely to exceed March recordTeapots turn to cheaper Iranian oil, diluted bitumenSINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - Chinese state oil giants and major private refiners are sweeping up more Russian crude, supporting prices and forcing smaller independents to seek out cheap alternatives such as Iranian oil, according to trade sources and shipping data. Shenghong imported a Urals crude cargo of about 720,000 barrels in March and 1 million barrels in April, Kpler showed. China's overall Russian crude imports, including pipeline and ships, rose to a record 9.61 million tonnes, or 2.26 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, customs data showed on Friday. TEAPOTSSmaller Chinese independent refineries, known as teapots, snapped up almost all of the ESPO supplies between November and January when others steered clear of Russian oil around the start of the European Union ban on Dec. 5. With the return of big buyers, price-sensitive teapots are looking for alternatives such as Russian Arctic grades, Iranian and Venezuelan oil.

☆ Smartmatic could be Fox’s next big problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Fox News’ legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems is over. It now has to deal with Smartmatic, which is seeking billions of dollars more than its rival wanted in damages. Dominion wanted “only” $1.6 billion and settled with Fox for $787 million Tuesday. Both lawsuits focus on Fox News’ coverage of the 2020 election, including lies about voter fraud. “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign,” Smartmatic lawyer Erik Connolly said in a statement after the settlement.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Questions being asked over Ukraine's much-awaited counteroffensive; Russia's top diplomat is in Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that "the United States can cheat at any moment," claiming Russia had experienced this when the Western military alliance NATO expanded eastward. Lavrov claimed this deception was seen when former Soviet and Russian Federation Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin "were assured that NATO would not expand," he added. Russia has long complained that it was deceived by Western nations at the end of the Cold War and into the 1990s into believing that NATO would not expand eastward toward its territory. Analysts say, however, that the USSR was never offered any formal guarantee on limits to NATO expansion and that the "betrayal narrative" is designed to provoke anti-Western sentiment. So we will share it with our Venezuelan colleagues," Lavrov said.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation suit against Australian outlet Crikey in wake of massive Dominion settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

We won.”The legal dispute centers on a 2022 Crikey story that carried the headline, “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator.”After the article was published, Murdoch demanded the story be removed and the outlet apologize. Murdoch followed through on the dare, filing a lawsuit against Crikey publisher Private Media. Crikey and Private Media said throughout the legal process that they would defend themselves and were confident in their case. Not only would he have been ensnared in another high-profile defamation case, his camp would have had to make effectively the opposite arguments it has made in the United States in regard to defamation law.

[1/4] U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueApril 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden praised Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday for his country's treatment of refugees from Venezuela and for his commitment to democracy and human rights. "As we begin the next century of our partnership, I believe we can do even more" to deepen and develop cooperation, Biden told Petro during Thursday's meeting. Biden thanked Petro for the hospitality and support that Colombia was showing to Venezuelan refugees. REGIONAL PARTNERS"We're working closely with regional partners to help Colombia meet this challenge," Biden said.

☆ U.S. extends Citgo's protection from creditors for three months
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. on Wednesday extended for three months a license that protects Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum (PDVSAC.UL) from creditors trying to seize its assets to recoup pending debts. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) extended the general license until July 20, according to the department's website. Washington has since 2019 recognized the opposition-led congress as the entity controlling the refining subsidiary, extending protection to prevent its breakup at the hands of Venezuela creditors. O-I Glass Inc (OI.N), Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII.N), ACL1 Investments, Rusoro Mining Ltd (RML.V) and Gold Reserve (GRZ.V) separately have won attachments contingent on obtaining U.S. Treasury approval to seize assets, or an end to the Treasury protection. ConocoPhillips (COP.N) separately has a claim against Venezuela valued at $1.29 billion over the nationalization of its oil assets in the country.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - A former Venezuelan treasurer, who also served as an aide to late President Hugo Chavez and was convicted in the U.S. of money laundering, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. A Florida jury in December convicted Diaz, as well as her husband Adrian Velasquez, on two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in association with a corruption scheme in Venezuela. U.S. District Court Judge William Dimitroulea in Florida sentenced Diaz and her husband, who also received 15 years, on Wednesday, the Justice Department said. Diaz, Velasquez and Gorrin purchased and paid expenses related to private jets, yachts, mansions, champion horses and a designer fashion line in South Florida, prosecutors said. (This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous word in paragraph 4)Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 16 takeaways from Fox News' historic $787.5 million settlement with Dominion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

In the moments after I watched the judge announce the settlement in court, 16 things went through my mind:1. Evidence obtained by Dominion in the lawsuit and filed to court ahead of the settlement appeared to support that theory. There's always the Smartmatic case. In court filings ahead of the settlement, Fox complained about the $1.6 billion price tag Dominion put on the lawsuit. "Would be pretty unreal if you guys like 20x'ed your Dominion investment with these lawsuits," read one text to a Staple Street executive cited in a Fox court filing.

☆ Fox News pushes Dominion to settle mammoth defamation lawsuit as judge delays trial, multiple sources report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Fox is pushing Dominion to settle its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, WSJ and Reuters report. Fox made a last-minute attempt to settle the case out of court, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. A spokesperson for Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, declined to comment to Insider on the record. Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Adrian Edwards/GC ImagesIn his own messages and depositions, Fox Corp.

☆ Dominion’s case against Fox News goes to trial next week. Is the First Amendment really on the line?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

But even by the standards of the profession, the language in Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News has been downright apocalyptic. A victory for Dominion against Fox, they say, could wreak havoc for other journalism organizations across the country. The sheer closeness between Trump and Fox News makes a case like this unlikely to harm journalism organizations down the line, Goodale said. The vast majority of defamation cases against media organizations are settled, which gives few high-profile precedents to the Dominion lawsuit. "And that's the balance that the Sullivan court strike tried to strike in 1964.

☆ Cuba's fuel shortages due to supplier nations not delivering, says president
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People wait in line for the arrival of a fuel tank truck in Havana, Cuba, April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, April 14 (Reuters) - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island's ongoing gasoline shortages were caused by countries contracted to supply the fuel not complying with their requirements due to "a complex energy situation." Besides car owners, truckers, taxi drivers, tourists and public transport have all been hit by the shortages. Diaz-Canel underlined that the shortages were a result of "non-compliance" from the supplier nations, rather than inefficiencies or issues within the country's energy institutions. Venezuela, one of Havana's political allies, has for decades supplied Cuba with oil from its state oil firm PDVSA under a cooperation agreement signed in 2000.

☆ Fact Check-Photo of Venezuelan bank notes on the ground is not new
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A photo of Venezuelan bank notes scattered on the street has been shared by online users alongside claims it is a depiction of current monetary values in the country. Examples of users sharing the photo on Facebook saying it shows current bank notes in Venezuela, can be seen (here) and (here). This scene is missing context, however, as it shows now-worthless notes tossed on the street following a bank robbery in the town of Merida the year after the Bolivar Fuerte was replaced. The photos show the aftermath of a Venezuelan bank robbery in 2019. Thieves discarded worthless currency on the streets as the stolen money was of a retired currency.

☆ Fox News Settles Defamation Suit With Venezuelan Businessman Over Election-Fraud Claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Isabella Simonetti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fox had denied allegations made in a lawsuit by a Venezuelan businessman. Fox News and former host Lou Dobbs have settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil , who alleged he was falsely accused of having helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election against Donald Trump. In a letter filed in a New York federal court on Saturday, the parties said they had reached a confidential agreement to resolve the case. “This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides,” a Fox News representative said. “We have no further comment.” Mr. Dobbs and a lawyer for Mr. Khalil declined to comment.

☆ Fox News settles with Venezuelan businessman in election defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - Fox News said on Sunday it has reached a settlement with a Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil, ending a defamation case in which Khalil said he was falsely accused on air of helping to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election against Donald Trump. We have no further comment," Fox News said in a statement on Sunday. Lawyers for Fox News and Dobbs referred Reuters to the statement. Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday ahead of a separate trial in Dominion Voting Systems Corp's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp (FOXA.O) over their coverage of debunked election-rigging claims. Reporting by Michael Martina and Jack Queen; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Majed Khalil: Fox News reaches settlement with Venezuelan businessman in election defamation case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit from a Venezuelan businessman who had accused the network of making false claims about him and the 2020 election, attorneys for the man and Fox News said Saturday in a court filing. Following the 2020 election, former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs had accused the businessman, Majed Khalil, of playing a key role in supposedly rigging the election against Donald Trump. In a tweet calling the 2020 election a “cyber Pearl Harbor,” Dobbs named Khalil as one of four people he wanted his audience to “get familiar with” for committing supposed election fraud. Fox News still faces a monster $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, which is set to go to trial in just days. Fox News has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, maintained it is “proud” of its 2020 election coverage, and argued that Dominion’s lawsuit represents a threat to the First Amendment.

☆ Fox News settles lawsuit with Venezuelan businessman it accused of helping rig the 2020 US presidential election, as it readies for $1.6 billion Dominion trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil. Khalil was accused on air of rigging the 2020 presidential election by then Fox host Lou Dobbs. The former Fox host also accused Khalil and other Venezuelans of being involved in a scheme to oust former president Donald Trump. Khalil filed a $250 million lawsuit against Dobbs, Fox News, and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell in December 2021. Dominion's mammoth $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox Corp, which it filed after Fox accused the company of using its voting machines to aid Joe Biden's victory, has garnered the most attention.

☆ Egypt's pound is among the worst performing currencies in 2023. And it's expected to plummet further
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A photo of one hundred Egyptian pound, one hundred U.S. dollars against the pyramids of Giza in Egypt on January 17, 2023. Fadel Dawod | Getty ImagesThe Egyptian pound has plunged almost 20% against the greenback since the start of the year — with some analysts predicting that the currency may still have room to plummet further. Egypt's pound currently ranks as the sixth worst performing currency since Jan. 1, extending a decline that saw it lose more than half its value during 2022. Egypt's embattled economyHowever, the economic woes plaguing the Middle East's most populous country means its pound still has a way to plummet, according to the experts. He expects Egypt's inflation to peak at around 36% in the third quarter, if there are no more devaluations.

☆ Migrants cried for help in Mexico fire but no one came, survivor recalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Thick suffocating smoke was filling the cell where he was held with over 60 other migrants in northern Mexico, but there was no way out. "We screamed for them to open the cell door, but no one helped us," Caraballo, 26, said through tears during a phone interview from his hospital bed. He is anxious to get better so he can be fully reunited with his family and start a new life in the United States. Like millions of others, Caraballo and his family fled Venezuela's economic and political crisis, setting off for the United States last October. The young father was the first to be able to cross into the United States, via the government's CBP One scheme which allows some migrants to formally enter the United States, but returned to Mexico in February after his infant daughter fell ill.

HOUSTON/PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela, April 4 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports rose in March to the highest monthly average since August, boosted by a resumption of loadings after an export freeze and by rising cargoes assigned to Chevron Corp (CVX.N), according to documents and shipping data. State oil company PDVSA has reinstated two export contracts after a January freeze by new boss Pedro Tellechea: a medium-term contract with Hangzhou Energy, and another with Portugal-based Adinius Sociedade de Servicios, the documents showed. Oil swap deals with Chevron, Cuba's state company Cubametales and Iran's Naftiran Intertrade Co (NICO) - and most exports of oil byproducts - have continued flowing without interruption during the freeze. Chevron received and exported about 115,000 bpd of Venezuelan heavy crude to the U.S., an increase from about 80,000 bpd in February. Oil exports averaged 774,420 bpd in March, the highest since August, as state company PDVSA reinstated supply contracts that allowed it to ship more crude and fuel in supertankers.

☆ Venezuela arrests nine CVG officials over corruption probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, April 2 (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have taken nine officials from state-owned metals conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) - including from steel-maker subsidiary Sidor - into custody during corruption investigations, attorney general Tarek Saab said on Sunday. Prosecutors began investigating irregularities at CVG and Sidor on Friday, adding to investigations into alleged corruption at state oil company PDVSA and a government agency overseeing cryptocurrency transactions, both led by Tareck El Aissami who subsequently resigned as oil minister. Nestor Astudillo and Pedro Maldonado, the presidents of Sidor and CVG respectively, are under arrest, as well as four company vice presidents and three managers, Saab said on Twitter. Some 42 people have been arrested as part of investigations into corruption, Saab tweeted on Saturday night, without giving more details. Reporting by Mayela Armas Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico—Five months after leaving Venezuela, Orlando Maldonado was detained by Mexican immigration authorities near the Rio Grande, a few hundred feet from El Paso, Texas. Six hours later, he died in a fire inside a cell at a crowded detention center along with 38 other migrants, according to authorities and his relatives. The blaze started when a small group of migrants fearing that they would be deported set alight highly inflammable cell mats to protest being detained, Mexican authorities said. Private security guards and immigration officers abandoned the facility, leaving the migrants locked up as smoke filled the detention area, a surveillance video showed.

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