World

The government of Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition broke a political stalemate Saturday with a broad social accord, and the US government responded by allowing a major US oil company to resume operations in Venezuela.

The breakthrough signaled a potential easing of a grinding economic and political crisis in Venezuela. It will impact world oil markets and could ease a massive flow of refugees from Venezuela throughout the region.

The accord reached at a meeting room in a hotel in Mexico City represents “hope for all of Latin America,” said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who helped bring the talks about.

The two sides in the Venezuelan crisis signed a humanitarian agreement focused on education, health, food security, flood response and electricity programs.

They also agreed to continue talks on presidential elections scheduled for 2024.

Venezuela’s political crisis has worsened since Maduro declared himself victor of a contested 2018 elections, which were widely seen as fraudulent. 

Immediately following the signing of the agreement in Mexico City, the US Treasury Department issued a license to oil major Chevron to resume limited oil extraction operations in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest reserves of crude.

The license will remain in effect for six months while the Biden administration judges whether the Maduro government meets commitments made in the accord signed Saturday, Treasury said.

International efforts to resolve the Venezuelan crisis have gained strength since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pressure it has placed on global energy supplies.

Despite its huge oil reserves, Venezuela suffers grinding poverty and a political crisis that has led a UN-estimated seven million Venezuelans to flee the country in recent years. Food, medicine and such basics as soap and toilet paper are often in short supply. 

Maduro’s opposition is seeking free and fair presidential elections, next due in 2024, while Caracas wants the international community to recognize Maduro as the rightful president and to lift sanctions, particularly a US oil embargo.

Government negotiator Jorge Rodriguez told reporters after arriving in Mexico City that one of his objectives was to ink a “broad social agreement” with the opposition.

The government side said earlier that the pact was expected to establish a mechanism to restore access to funds frozen in the international financial system.

The money would be used to improve public health care and the power grid, according to a statement released by Rodriguez, who did not specify the amount or where the funds were blocked. 

– ‘Live in peace’ –

After the contested 2018 elections, almost 60 countries, including the United States, recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as acting president.

Rodriguez, who also presides over the National Assembly, said before departure from a Caracas airbase that his team will defend “the right that we have… to live in peace.”

For its part, the Unitary Platform opposition group demanded concrete steps to resolve “the humanitarian crisis, respect for human rights… and especially (guarantees for) free and observable elections.”

Nevertheless, a source close to the negotiating process told AFP that the opposition has not reached consensus over the conditions it requires to take part in a 2024 vote.

Guaido’s influence has waned in recent years, and he has lost key allies both at home and in the region, where many countries have since elected leftist presidents.

Colombian leader Gustavo Petro has become a new actor in the talks since taking the reins as his country’s first leftist president in August.

He has worked to improve his country’s relationship with Venezuela, resuming diplomatic ties for the first time since 2019, when then president Ivan Duque refused to recognize Maduro’s election.

Charles Ble Goude, a key figure in post-electoral violence in Ivory Coast 11 years ago, returned to the country Saturday for the first time in more than eight years, an AFP reporter said. 

The former right-hand man to ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, dubbed the “street general” for his ability to organise a crowd, was acquitted along with Gbagbo of crimes against humanity charges by the International Criminal Court last year.

Wearing a suit and tie, the 50-year-old Ble Goude landed at the airport in the capital Abidjan after flying in on a commercial flight from neighbouring Ghana, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

Around a dozen people including Simone Gbagbo — wife of the ex-president — had gathered to welcome the controversial figure.

Ble Goude soon disappeared into a vehicle and out of sight.

Members of his circle said he would head to the capital’s district of Yopougon for a “party” — not a “political gathering” — in the afternoon.

Security was tight around the airport. A few hours before his arrival, police shooed away most journalists, and a planned press statement was cancelled.

President Alassane Ouattara’s office has approved the return.

The West African state remains deeply scarred by the 2010-11 conflict, which erupted after Gbagbo refused to concede electoral defeat to Ouattara.

Some 3,000 people were killed.

Gbagbo was arrested in April 2011.

Ble Goude was detained in Ghana in 2013 and transferred to The Hague the following year.

The government of Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition are to restart political talks in Mexico on Saturday after a 15-month standoff, aiming to break a stalemate over what constitutes “free” elections.

A successful outcome could open the door to oil-rich Venezuela returning in force to global oil markets and the easing of a US oil embargo. 

A political crisis has worsened there since Maduro declared himself victor of a contested 2018 election, which was widely seen as fraudulent.

Maduro and his opposition held several rounds of negotiations mediated by Norway in Mexico last year.

International efforts to resolve the Venezuelan crisis have gained strength since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pressure it has placed on global energy supplies.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest oil reserves even as grinding poverty and an ongoing political crisis have led a UN-estimated seven million Venezuelans to flee the country in recent years. 

Maduro’s opposition is seeking free and fair presidential elections, next due in 2024, while Caracas wants the international community to recognize Maduro as the rightful president and to lift sanctions, particularly a US oil embargo.

Government negotiator Jorge Rodriguez told reporters after arriving in Mexico City that one of his objectives was to ink a “broad social agreement” with the opposition.

The government side said earlier that the pact was expected to establish a mechanism to restore access to funds frozen in the international financial system.

The money would be used to improve public health care and the power grid, according to a statement released by Rodriguez, who did not specify the amount or where the funds were blocked. 

– ‘Live in peace’ –

The US government has signaled a willingness to lift restrictions on US energy companies’ operations in Venezuela, including possibly offering a license to oil major Chevron to expand operations.

But the State Department insists that any easing would come only if the Maduro government moves in concrete steps toward holding free elections.

After the contested 2018 elections, almost 60 countries, including the United States, recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as acting president.

Rodriguez, who also presides over the National Assembly, said before departure from a Caracas airbase that his team will defend “the right that we have… to live in peace.”

For its part, the Unitary Platform opposition group demanded concrete steps to resolve “the humanitarian crisis, respect for human rights… and especially (guarantees for) free and observable elections.”

Nevertheless, a source close to the negotiating process told AFP that the opposition has not reached consensus over the conditions it requires to take part in a 2024 vote.

Guaido’s influence has waned in recent years, and he has lost key allies both at home and in the region, where many countries have since elected leftist presidents.

Colombian leader Gustavo Petro has become a new actor in the talks since taking the reins as his country’s first leftist president in August.

He has worked to improve his country’s relationship with Venezuela, resuming diplomatic ties for the first time since 2019, when then president Ivan Duque refused to recognize Maduro’s election.

Argentina face a battle to stay alive at the World Cup on Saturday, with Lionel Messi and his teammates preparing to take on Mexico in a match they cannot afford to lose.

In the early kick-off in Qatar, Australia beat Tunisia 1-0, recovering from a chastening opening defeat against defending champions France to keep their hopes alive.

Two-time world champions Argentina, who arrived in Qatar on a 36-match unbeaten run, are in a precarious position after a stunning 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia.

The Argentines said they would draw on memories of superstar Diego Maradona, their 1986 World Cup-winning captain who died two years ago this week, to inspire them against the Mexicans.

“We keep him in mind. He was a very important person in world football, and not just for us Argentines,” said Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez.

“Today is a sad day for everyone and hopefully tomorrow we can give happiness.”

The surprising Saudis have a chance to prove they are no flash in the pan when they face Poland and Robert Lewandowski, the prolific striker who is still looking for the first World Cup goal of his career.

The Barcelona forward missed a penalty in the goalless draw against Mexico in Group C.

Australia, who were beaten 4-1 by France, won a World Cup game for only the third time in their history at the Al Janoub Stadium.

Striker Mitch Duke scored the only goal of a tight game with a clever header in the first half and Australia desperately held on to silence Tunisia’s vociferous fans.

The Socceroos sit second in Group D with three points from two games, with a game to come against Denmark.

“As a striker you need to have that confidence and believe that you can score in every match,” said Japan-based centre-forward Duke, 31.

“I actually was messaging some of my family saying that I was going to score today.”

– France eye knockouts –

Defending champions France could book their place in the last 16 if they beat Denmark at Stadium 974, which incorporates shipping containers in its design.

The French lost defender Lucas Hernandez to injury in their opening win against Australia, adding to a list of absences headed by Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who limped out of the World Cup before a ball was kicked.

But France coach Didier Deschamps said defender Raphael Varane was ready to return after more than a month out with a leg injury.

Veteran forward Olivier Giroud needs just one more goal to become France’s all-time top goalscorer.

Belgium star Eden Hazard admitted the nation’s much-vaunted “Golden Generation” were past their best on the eve of his team’s match against Morocco.

Belgium, who finished third at the tournament in Russia in 2018, are still ranked second in the world but many of the side are now in their 30s.

“To be fair I think we had a better chance to win four years go,” admitted 31-year-old Hazard.

“The team was better four years ago but still we have the quality to win games and to win the competition. We have a few guys, they are a bit older now but we have experience and the best goalkeeper in the world (Thibaut Courtois).”

On Friday, host nation Qatar crashed out of their own World Cup. They lost 3-1 to Senegal while Netherlands and Ecuador drew 1-1 in the other Group A game.

An uninspired England, who won their opening match against Iran 6-2, missed the chance to wrap up qualification for the knockout phase following a 0-0 draw with the United States.

Brazil’s superstar forward Neymar could miss his team’s final two group games after suffering ankle ligament damage in the team’s opening 2-0 win against Serbia.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that negotiating with the United States would not put an end to the “troubles” that have rocked the Islamic republic over the past two months.

Iran has seen weeks of demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. She had been arrested for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code for women.

Government officials have blamed the “riots” on “foreign enemies” in the West whom they accuse of inciting law-breaking.

“Some tell us in newspapers or on the internet that to put an end to the troubles that started a few weeks ago, all that’s needed is to resolve your problem with America and listen to the voice of the nation,” Khamenei said.

“Negotiating will not resolve anything,” he said, in comments broadcast on state television.

“Our problem with America can only be resolved by letting that country hold us to ransom.”

Khamenei said that in order to put an end to hostilities, the US wants Iran to abandon its nuclear programme, change its constitution, restrict its influence to inside its borders, and close its defence industries.

“No Iranian can accept such conditions,” he said.

Khamenei also pointed to “the enormous voice of the nation that rang out” earlier this month during pro-government demonstrations, and for the funeral of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, whom the US assassinated in a 2020 drone strike in Baghdad.

“This immense crowd was the voice of the Iranian nation,” he said.

Khamenei made the comments to paramilitaries who visited him as part of celebrations for Basij week.

The Basij is a volunteer militia recruited under the auspices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, 

“The problem is not a few rioters in the street, even if each rioter, each terrorist, must be punished,” Khamenei told the large assembly.

“The battlefield is much broader. The main enemy is the global arrogance,” he added, using Iran’s catch-all term for the United States and allies including Israel.

President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday visited a Basij unit in Tehran and told them: “You have performed brilliantly in the fight against the rioters,” Tasnim news agency reported.

The official streaming platform of the World Cup is inaccessible in much of Saudi Arabia, subscribers told AFP on Saturday, saying they had received no explanation for the outage.

The platform, Tod TV, is owned by the Qatari broadcaster beIN Media Group, which was banned in Saudi Arabia for several years during a row between the two countries but was restored in October 2021. 

“Due to matters beyond our control, we are experiencing an outage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is currently impacting TOD.tv, the official streaming partner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Additional information will be provided as soon as it is available,” beIN said in a message sent to partners and subscribers. 

The Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment about the disruption, while beIN declined to comment. 

Tod TV is the official World Cup streaming service in 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. 

Several subscribers in Saudi Arabia told AFP on Saturday they had been unable to access the service since the World Cup began on November 20. 

One said the service cut out fully about an hour before the broadcast of the opening ceremony. 

Another said the service still works briefly but for no more than 10 minutes before an error message appears. 

“Sorry, the requested page is violating the regulations of Ministry of Media,” the error message says. 

“I want my money,” one subscriber told AFP, saying efforts to get a refund on the service, which costs about 300 Saudi riyals (roughly $80) per month, had been unsuccessful. 

beIN is broadcasting 22 World Cup matches for free in Saudi Arabia, including those of the Saudi Green Falcons, who stunned the world on Tuesday with their 2-1 defeat of Argentina.

The Saudi side were set to face Poland on Saturday afternoon.

– Mending ties –

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s 37-year-old de facto ruler, orchestrated a regional boycott of Qatar beginning in June 2017, the same month he became first in line to the throne. 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha over allegations it supported extremists and was too close to arch-rival Iran — allegations Doha denied.

During the boycott, beIN Media Group was banned in Saudi Arabia. 

But Riyadh announced in October last year it was lifting the ban, smoothing the way for the takeover of England’s Newcastle United football club by a Saudi-backed consortium.

The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund paid $408 million for an 80 percent stake in the Premier League club.

The Saudi purchase of Newcastle proved deeply controversial, with critics quick to deride it as an example of “sportswashing”, or using athletics to distract from human rights abuses. 

The sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, is now considering investing in beIN, Bloomberg reported last month.

Media Minister Majid al-Qasabi is a member of the fund’s board. 

Prince Mohammed attended the World Cup opening ceremony where he posed with its emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, while wearing a Qatar scarf. 

Prince Mohammed also ordered all government ministries and agencies “to provide any additional support or facilities required by Qatar” to host the event, according to a sports ministry statement.