Venezuela: One oil company resists
Four major oil companies on Wednesday agreed to cede control of Venezuela’s last remaining privately run oil projects to President Hugo Chavez’s government, but ConocoPhillips resisted, prompting warnings that its fields could be taken over outright. Officials from Chevron, BP PLC, France’s Total SA and Norway’s Statoil ASA signed memorandums of understanding Wednesday agreeing to give state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA a majority stake in three of the projects. Exxon Mobil Corp. signed earlier in private, officials said.
Ethiopia: Blames Eritrea for attack
Ethiopia on Wednesday blamed its rival Eritrea for a Tuesday attack on a Chinese-owned oil exploration field that killed 74 people, raising tensions between the neighbors who have yet to resolve a border issue following the end of a two-year war in 2000. The rebel group that has been linked to Eritrea in the past, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack, which killed 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese.
Mexico: Abortion protest vowed
Mexico’s leading anti-abortion group, Pro-Vida, (“pro-life”) vowed Wednesday to block pregnant women from entering hospitals and clinics and publicly identify abortion doctors if a measure legalizing the practice in the capital is signed into law. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has said he’ll sign the bill that city lawmakers passed Tuesday.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
