Spanish left-wing leader avoids delving into Chávezism

The leader rejected giving any opinion about the situation of the movement created by (late) Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez

European lawmaker Pablo Iglesias, Spanish left-wing leader of Podemos party, avoided in an interview with Spanish daily newspaper El País making any comments about Chávezism.

"The good thing is that anything happening in Venezuela will be decided by its citizens through their votes. The Spanish are not concerned about the exhaustion of Chávezism, yet some people want to talk about it to refrain from talking about Spain," Iglesias replied when queried if the movement created by (late) Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had exhausted.

Podemos has been accused by foes of seeking to implement in Spain a similar model to that of Venezuela in the event of wining the general election expected to take place by the end of the year. Close ties have been reported between Podemos and Chávezism.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com/

ISIS notes found at Mumbai airport, warn of terror attack on Republic Day

Zee Media Bureau

Mumbai: Security agencies here have gone into high alert mode after two notes found at the Mumbai airport on Thursday evening warned of a terror attack on Republic Day.

As per reports, the two notes with ISIS names on them teasingly ask: “26/01/2015 IS BOM OK?”

The notes were found in two toilets, meant for males, by a cleaner.

The toilets are located inside the Terminal A1 of Mumbai's domestic airport.

The development came just over a week after a hand-written note scribbled on a wall inside the Mumbai airport threatened of an impending attack by the ISIS, or the Islamic State, on January 10.

The note, found inside a toilet in the Level 2 of Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, read “ATTECK BY ISIS DATE 10/01/15 (sic)”.

The note appeared to have been scribbled on the wall using a pen.

The Mumbai Police has been – in view of the Republic Day on January 26 – maintaining heightened level of vigil.

Security agencies have reasons to be worried as four Indian youth, who had joined the Islamic State, were from Thane near Mumbai, pointing to the possibility of a network of ISIS sympathisers being active in the city.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/

Consumers' alliance: "Supply is the underlying problem in the country"

León Parilli, president of the National Alliance of Users and Consumers (Anauco), stressed that the government needed to cope with supply issues and called for a national consensus to find solutions.

León Parilli, the president of the National Alliance of Users and Consumers (Anauco), asserted that the "underlying problem" of lines in grocery stores in Venezuela has to do with supply. He also rejected the thesis formulated by the government that citizens "have a lot of money and that there are many products available."

He stressed that in addition to fitful supply, other irregularities in the system, such as smuggling and overpriced products are the result of demand exceeding supply, "that is the truth," he said.

Parilli rejected some government officials' statements that the opposition is accountable for long lines of people trying to buy in stores.

"If the opposition is making the lines, then there is plenty of opposition, because there are many people in lines. I think nothing can lead a person to buy food in order to harm the government; there is an actual need to buy food," he stated. 

Parilli stressed that the government needed to cope with supply issues and urged the Executive Office to gather with the private sector to find a solution to the problem.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com/

President Maduro: "I got the resources the country requires"

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro did not elaborate on the amount, the terms, or the specific investment areas. He added the information would be provided by the ministers

"I got the resources the country requires to keep its investment and import levels and economic stability," announced the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, after his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. 

The President referred to several agreements reached with Russia during his second visit to that country amid his presidential tour.

"We have agreed to expand investment and Russia's interest in the joint ventures of the Orinoco Oil Belt and other fields. We have decided to increase shareholding and investment in oil production," Maduro stated during a telephone interview with stat-run TV channel VTV.

He did not elaborate on the amount, the conditions, or the specific investment areas. He added the information would be provided by the ministers.

President Maduro commented that the US strategy was to overstock the oil market, by using techniques that cause environmental damage and seek to harm geopolitics, hitting the economies of Russia and Venezuela.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com/

Venezuela urges Chile not to air opinions about internal affairs

Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz offered to mediate in government-opposition dialogue in Venezuela.

The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted the remarks made by Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, who offered help to resume government-opposition dialogue in Venezuela.

"The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz to refrain from expressing any views on Venezuela's internal affairs, and requires through his ambassador to Venezuela an explanation on the content and extent of his statements," the communiqué reads.

The Venezuelan government "has not requested through public or diplomatic means any intervention in its affairs," the statement added.

In a press conference on Monday, Heraldo Muñoz said he hoped for the resumption of political talks in Venezuela, suspended in May 2014.

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com/

Capriles calls for "perfect unity" to tackle crisis in Venezuela

Dissenting Miranda state governor, Henrique Capriles Radonski, demanded the government to stop giving oil away, increase production to recover the market lost over the last years, and stop threatening the private sector

Opposition Miranda state governor, Henrique Capriles Radonski, asserted on Wednesday that dissenters should work together to face the problems in Venezuela because "this is not a time for disputes," for there is a much bigger aim.

In a press conference with local and international media, the governor stressed that the opposition will be restructured not only around the Unified Democratic Panel (MUD), a body he described as a coordination body, but also around something transcending that coalition. "This is a moment for team work; perfect unity has to be achieved."

He added that he had held talks with former deputy María Corina Machado, and that he would talk to dissenting party Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) leader and Metropolitan Mayor, Antonio Ledezma.

"For those who are asking what we should do, I can tell you that there are proposals which we can make a reality based on people's pressure. If censorship is imposed on the people, then it is time for people to express themselves on the streets," Capriles asserted, as he announced that an anti-government demonstration would be staged soon.

Moreover, he demanded the government, as a first step to overcome the crisis, to stop giving oil away, increase production to recover the market the country has lost over the last years, stop threatening the private sector, provide a balance of the plots of land that have been seized by the government, and disclose the list of the front companies that have received and embezzled foreign currency from the National Center for Foreign Trade (Cencoex).

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com/