an agreement with russia could keep the venezuelan debt cliffhanger going for another few days at least. well you're ahead of that deal with russia and spoke to dr talwar long at the university all for aid in the u.k. he specializes in latin america and i began by asking him whether we should expect venezuela to tape into full blown a bankruptcy and how likely he thought help from russia. well i think that this was going to be facing a really hard time and it's been looking to russia and before russia to china for solutions for quite a while assistance has been mounting more than sixty billion dollars in bonds but a total external debt that's probably well over over twice that so this was going to continue facing difficulties because it's in the middle of one a cash crunch and two it's negotiations have been complicated by u.s. actions yet i mean restructuring of its debt could be quite tricky with those u.s. sanctions the european union has also ready to sanctions the country though is spiraling into a humanitarian crisis if investors seize assets what would happen to the country what

this is part of cuba's attempt to break its dependence on venezuelan crude oil.t to see installed across the islands, and a new push towards renewable by major sources. “— new push towards renewable by major sources. —— renewable energy sources. —— renewable energy sources. cu ban officials sources. —— renewable energy sources. cuban officials deny they have embraced green technology simply because of venezuelan economic woes. independent of the problems experienced by our brother nature venezuela, in cuba we need to reconsider production for our own economy. we need to read —— reconsider consumption of fossil fuels, because they are not infinite. you must find viable alternatives. with some 22,000 homes in cuba still not on the electricity grid, these root annals could be a vital resource for many families. —— roof panels. the state knows that greater investment in the sector is key. china remains the most likely source, if cuba's green revolution is to thrive. now let's brief you some other business stories. the ceo of at&t has said he never offered to sell cnn

economy at the expense of the venezuelan people. >> reporter: it's not illegal for a u.s. company to drill in venezuela. but why would a small firm from oklahoma want to go into a country rocked by violent protests and saddled with a collapsing economy? listen to the company's spokesman. >> you probably gathered from some of the stories that horizontal well drillers is n doing a lot of interviews, i haven't done any about this project. they just wanted to kind of keep a low profile. >> reporter: so after weeks with no answers, we traveled to purcell, oklahoma, population 6400, to try to get some. we knocked on door after door of executives and former executives of horizonta well drillers, finally showing up at the gated community where brent mills lives. >> i understand you have a crew outside of this house. i just talked to brent. he's not going to be available to talk to you in person. we were going to call and schedule a te to visit. >> reporter: that supposed visit never happened. we drove to horizontal wells headquarte where security took pictures of us while took pic

it is an image of defiance that summoned —— that venezuelans were emboldened by.ving crossed the border into colombia. until last week he was under house arrest, accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the government. he spent more than 1000 daysin government. he spent more than 1000 days in detention and now speaks for venezuelan political prisoners. translation: i will concentrate on travelling the world in excise. i will contribute and be an extension of the hope of the venezuelan people to get rid of this regime, this dictatorship. venezuela is the victim of a regime that is colluding with drug traffickers. on saturday, he was meeting the spanish prime minister. he says he has not gone to madrid to seek asylum but political support. translation: i have asked mr roy to continue to put pressure against the tyranny in venezuela. he is a tyrant who uses force and seeks to subdue people like me. in caracas, the president was sarcastic. he commentated on the escape. the vampire is flying free in the world. he says he is going to spain to live the high life, drinking

an agreement with russia could keep the venezuelan debt cliffhanger going for another few days at least. well let's bring in dr tom long at the university of warwick in the u.k. now he's a specialist in latin america tom what can we expect venezuela to take into bankruptcy and how likely is it that russia may come to its say with some debt restructuring thank you very much for having me well i think that this was going to be facing a really hard time and it's been looking to russia and before russia to china for solutions for quite a while as it stands have been mounting more than sixty billion dollars in bonds but a total external debt that's probably well over over twice that so the us was going to continue facing difficulties because it's in the middle of one cash crunch and two it's negotiations have been complicated by u.s. actions yet i mean restructuring of its debt could be quite tricky with those u.s. sanctions the european union has also readied sanctions the country though is spiraling into a humanitarian crisis if investors seize assets what would happen to the country what

for the espouses venezuelan style socialism forthe uk, espouses venezuelan style socialism for the ukaking of courses for alarm, are you alarmed about getting in a taxi without a human in it? a driverless taxi? this is what waymo is testing now in arizona. in phoenix. they are on the streets, these driverless taxis. a p pa re ntly streets, these driverless taxis. apparently google have been doing this for seven years. they have really stolen the march on the big majors like audi. i quite like the idea, i have to say. it doesn't worry you that there is no human day to ta ke worry you that there is no human day to take the wheel is nothing —— if something goes wrong? of course it does, but you have to embrace change. i recognise that i have a luddite in me, which i have to counter. an interesting business angle, how do you ensure a d riverless angle, how do you ensure a driverless car? well, this was in the press a couple of days ago. we we re the press a couple of days ago. we were talking about this in the uk, they are looking at the insurance angle of the business, when it comes to d

this is salt of the us government has made jointly with the venezuelan opposition today venezuela is limited to seek financing find it also is faced with the need to consider a new formulas to get out of this complexity critics say then as well as leaders have prioritized clearing debt over a growing humanitarian crisis that has left many of its people hungry and children dying in hospitals with medical shortages venezuelan president nicolas maduro blames the u.s. for his country's crisis so he's turning to his traditional rivals the compromise front that i'm not sure not like all that i poured a couple international agreements with the people's republic of china are working perfectly and will continue to go that way so i could announce that we have reached a renegotiation a refinancing agreement with the russian federation. in spite of president lee duros plans u.s. firms still own much of venezuela's debt and the trumpet ministration wary of providing an economic lifeline to his administration has blocked americans from protests a paid in any debt restructuring talks with diminishi

that has left many of its people hungry and children dying in hospitals with medical shortages venezuelan president nicolas maduro blames the u.s. for his country's crisis so he's turning to his traditional rivals in a compromise fight that i'm not sure not a whole lot i pulled a couple international agreements with the people's republic of china are working perfectly and will continue to go that way so i could announce that we have reached a renegotiation a refinancing agreement with the russian federation. in spite of president we do rose plans u.s. firms still own much of venezuela's debt and the trumpet ministration wary of providing an economic lifeline to his administration has blocked americans from pretty disappointing in any debt restructuring talks with diminishing cash revenues then as well as financial problems are likely to get even worse but joining us now from london is edward glossop an emerging markets economist at capital economics specializing in latin america good to have you with us so what do you think is going to go with venezuela what's likely to happen next. well

i don't think i don't tell the investors of the world the holders of venezuelan debt i have the moral to summon them on one of them but thirteen to caracas and begin the process of refinancing and renegotiation of the external debt. he hopes creditors will extend repayment deadlines lower interest rates and even agree to cancel debt altogether if no arrangement can be reached the country faces bankruptcy cutting it off from financial markets and unable to borrow more money meanwhile for ordinary venezuelans the suffering continues. now for some more analysis let's go straight to wall street tarkus correspondent. well said it was venezuela has been embroiled in economic turmoil for quite some time what do investors think will happen near a default after all. we will probably know by monday what will happen cristobal but so far investors and i point out that caracas might be instead default on its sovereign debt applied to remain current on paid advances adept and obligations and why is that basically because this submarine has a few hours as a broader greater risk and size about pedoph

the fabric of venezuelan society is beginning to tear a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. has followed suit with a weapons embargo and travel restrictions on some government officials desperation is mounting economists estimate venezuelan inflation is running as high as seven hundred percent food and medical supplies are scarce as the country scrambles to save money. ninety five percent of its exports are crude oil imports an overwhelming majority of its food and so. when imports are slashed. investors are demanding a default declaration for the state oil company p d vs a to do to its own financial mismanagement a country practically swimming in oil is now drowning in debt. or at its center matic situation there want to analyze with our financial correspondent at the new york stock exchange so fisherman hi sophie good to see you and this troubling time. well now as we just heard president nicolas maduro said that his country would never default and it is true that we've been talking about been it's one of being on the brink of bankru

but venezuelan feiss president -- but the venezuelan vice president had nothing firm to say about hisntry's future. on state-controlled tv, rather than laying out a plan he blamed the u.s. for venezuela's quandary, talking of an economic war against the country. the u.s. had imposed sanctions on venezuela. the eu had not followed suit but did have an embargo. the eu does not want to worsen the plight of venezuela's people. inflation is running at 50%. food and medical supplies are scarce. yet venezuela still hopes to pull through. >> there is of course a little bit of news on the horizon that venezuela could see a restructuring with russia. perhaps that could be announced later in the week. reporter: an agreement with russia could keep the venezuelan debt cliffhanger one for another few days at least. javier: some corporate news. volkswagen is hitting the headlines again, but this time it is not about the dieselgate scandal. it is far worse. volkswagen is being accused of actively contributing to the military dictatorship that brazil had but the carmaker -- the reaction from the headq

and other representatives of the right in venezuela in venice through the fabric of venezuelan society has been tearing for months on the streets protesters clashed with police and military the u.s. has imposed sanctions the e.u. has imposed a weapons embargo on travel restrictions desperation is mounting supplies are scarce security forces have to hold back hungry crowds at food distribution points medicine is becoming unaffordable venezuelan inflation is estimated at seven hundred percent. the state oil company p.t.v. has a has also been unable to pay its debts a committee of creditors real that the company has defaulted potentially triggering payment of default insurance to investors. venezuela a country practically swimming in oil is now drowning in debt. the start of the week had looked less than promising for airbus at the dubai airshow after an anticipated deal to sell a three eighty super jumbos collapsed production will have to be scaled back in two thousand and nineteen but then on wednesday the deal of deals airbus landed the largest single order in the company's history nam

instead they were offered colorful packets of venezuelan chocolate and coffee. as recently as sunday president nicolas maduro had said his country would never default and promised investors a good deal. but venezuelan vice president sammy wrapping up tuesday's proceedings with a press conference had nothing firm to say about his country's future on state controlled t.v. rather than laying out a plan he blamed the u.s. to venezuela's quandary talking of an economic war by donald trump against the country a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. hasn't followed suit but did impose an embargo on weapons sales to caracas the e.u. doesn't want to worsen the plight of venezuela's people who are suffering under catastrophic shortages. inflation is running at fifty percent food and medical supplies are scarce. yet venezuela still hopes to pull through. there is. perhaps. a rise in the courts that venezuela could. restructure with russia. in the week an agreement with russia could keep the venezuela debt cliffhanger going for another few days at

to strengthen the social security venezuelan families and workers with the sort of. the government also raise the minimum wage which starting in november rose by thirty percent. that israel is mired in corruption and can hardly pay off its loans due to the lack of hard currency foodstuffs and medicine in the country are scarce despite having the world's largest oil reserves venezuela is teetering on the brink of economic collapse on thursday maduro essentially admitted that publicly for the first time announcing plans to restructure the country's ballooning debt. thousands of protesting drivers like here in sao paulo brought traffic to a standstill in cities across brazil this week. to raise awareness of their situation they drove at a snail's pace down main roads or parked in the middle of the street. they're all against draft law number twenty eight. it says that drivers will need a license to transport passengers. they'll have to buy passenger insurance and their cars will be inspected more often. in a market in brazil is in the middle of a financial crisis lots o

meanwhile for ordinary venezuelans the suffering continues. chinese shopping john and ali baba has reason to celebrate after shoppers spent a record twenty five billion dollars in just one day i made the money as part of a promotion for a single stay a relatively new annual event which on us the attached at its peak on saturday the online retailer was processing well over two hundred fifty thousand payments per second the vast majority of purchases were made on file devices. well european business leaders are getting increasingly in the us over the lack of progress in brics of negotiations britain least the e.u. in march twenty ninth teen and prime minister to recent days has been meeting with fifteen business groups from across the bloc today hoping to calm their nerves and not move overseas but they instead want to terrorism a hard to breaks it would be fatal for industry because the asians with the e.u. are deadlocked with still no hint of how things as basic as customs procedures will

out of him but i return the investors of the world the holders of venezuelan debt i have the moral to summon him on nov thirteenth to caracas and begin a process of refinancing and renegotiation of the external debt. he hopes creditors will extend repayment deadlines lower interest rates and even agree to cancel debt altogether if no arrangement can be reached the country faces bankruptcy cutting it off from financial markets and unable to borrow more money meanwhile for ordinary venezuelans the suffering continues. chinese shopping giant alibaba has reason to celebrate after shoppers spent a record twenty five billion dollars in just one day alibaba made the money as part of the promotion for singles day a relatively new ad you will event which honors the attached and its peak on a saturday you at its peak on saturday the online retailer was processing well over two hundred fifty thousand payments per second the vast majority of purchases were made on mobile devices. and staying in the region japanese technology giant softbank is to invest billions of dollars in ride sharing app deta

the fabric of venezuelan society is beginning to tear a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. has followed suit with a weapons embargo and travel restrictions on some government officials desperation is mounting economists estimate venezuelan inflation is running as high as seven hundred percent food and medical supplies are scarce as the country scrambles to save money. five percent of its exports are crude oil imports an overwhelming majority of its food and so. things that are immediately when imports are slashed. investors are demanding a default declaration for the state oil company p d vs a to do to its own financial mismanagement a country practically swimming in oil is now drowning in debt. to a company drowning in bad news now more trouble for folks that are german the authorities raided the offices of several senior officials at the controversial automaker this time in connection with an extra high salary paid to it works council chief band was told prosecutors say that could amount to an illegal waste of corporate funds and a

the fabric of venezuelan society is beginning to tear a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. has followed suit with a weapons embargo and travel restrictions on some government officials desperation is mounting economists estimate venezuelan inflation is running as high as seven hundred percent food and medical supplies are scarce as the country scrambles to save money. ninety five percent of its exports are crude oil imports an overwhelming majority of its food and so. things that immediately when imports are slashed. investors are demanding a default declaration for the state oil company p d.v.s. a to do to its own financial mismanagement a country practically swimming in oil is now drowning in debt. you know the feeling of being stuck in the middle of a traffic jam when all you want to do is get going but on the mongolian chinese border a superhuman patience is required trucks are lined up over a one hundred and thirty kilometer stretch of road it's not only harming the health of the drivers but also the mongolian economy. thousands

investors holding venezuelan bonds could demand immediate repayment. they could also sees venezuelan assets overseas like shipments of oil. the country has the world's largest known reserves of oil but its financial standing has taken a beating. with a decline in global crude prices coupled with financial mismanagemen. the imf predicts inflation will hit six hundred and fifty percent this year an eye popping two thousand three hundred percent in twenty eighteen. this combined with a formal default is certain to makeke the situation in a concrete grappling with food and medicine shortages. even worse. venezuela may have the biggestt reserves in the world but the u. s. is likely to become the world's top producer of oil and gas. over the next decade. that's according to the international energy agency which says that output from american shale oil fields will grow faster than any other country. growth predicted of eight million barrels a day by twenty twenty five. young e. a says new technology and fewer restrictions on fracking or extracting oil and gas

i don't know but i tell the investors of the world the holders of venezuelan debt i have the moral to summon them on of them but you need to correct and begin a process of refinancing. and renegotiation of the external debt. he hopes creditors will extend repayment deadlines lower interest rates and even agree to cancel debt altogether if no arrangement can be reached the country faces bankruptcy cutting it off from financial markets and unable to borrow more money meanwhile for ordinary venezuelans the suffering continues. japanese technology giant softbank is to invest billions of dollars in the ride sharing the details of the deal have not yet been released but reports suggest softbank is hoping to acquire a fourteen percent stake in that move will clear the way for the right holding service to sell stock to the public before the end of the twenty nineteen let's talk to our financial correspondent in frankfurt about this now gentle dumas alone of course in but is one of the most valuable tech companies in the world we know that but it's also plagued by scandal so why would soft ban

this government has defrauded thousands of venezuelans.espondent who is in bogota. tell us more about this man, he was in house arrest, how did he managed to escape? this man, he was in house arrest, how did he managed to escape7m this man, he was in house arrest, how did he managed to escape? it is quite unclear, what he said was that his trip from caracas into colombia was a movie like experience, where he had to cross 29 checkpoints, we have not clear picture of how he entered eastern colombia where he entered, the colombian government said asa entered, the colombian government said as a tourist, he did not do the redigolo paperwork —— he did the regular paperwork for a tourist, and from there he complained to bogota, where he boarded another plane which is currently taking him to madrid in spain where he is going to be reunited with his wife and his daughter ‘s who are expect thing in there. —— expecting him there. daughter ‘s who are expect thing in there. -- expecting him there. tell us there. -- expecting him there. tell us why he w

one of the fiercest critics of the venezuelan president nicolas maduro has been speaking out against spain, a day after escaping from house arrest in caracas. pablo 0choa reports. it is an image of defiance that some in venezuela will feel emboldened by. antonio ledezma, a former mayor of caracas and a staunch critic of president nicolas maduro, now safely in spanish soil after crossing the border into neighbouring colombia. until last week, he was under house arrest, accused in 2015 of plotting a coup to overthrow the government. he spent more than 1000 days in detention and says he will now speak for venezuela's radical prisoners. translation: i will concentrate on travelling the world in exile. i will contribute and be an extension of the hope of the venezuelan people to get rid of this regime, of this dictatorship. venezuela is a victim of a regime that is colluding with drug traffickers. on saturday, mr ledezma was meeting the spanish prime minister who has welcomed venezuela ns critical of their government with open arms. but he says he his not reaching out to madrid to seek as

stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: the venezuelan opposition leader, antonio ledezma, is in caracas. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election. she has asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson has been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european anti—nuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black—majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds' worth of damage. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: zimbabwe's president robert mugabe will meet military commanders on sunday as protesters in harare march on his residence demanding he step down. lebanon's prime minis

that's right, venezuelan's economy is in a diet is date. reach 2300%. the oil economy of venezuela, it relies on oilfor 95% of oil economy of venezuela, it relies on oil for 95% of its foreign earnings and that has plummeted, not just because of the oil price but its production ability has fallen dramatically. the one source of revenue it has relied on, it can no longer generate the income it used to. that's obviously a big impact for venezuela and of course the sanctions, that's what the maduro prejean blames but analysts say you can't blame the sanctions, it is economic mismanagement that has caused problems —— the maduro regime blames. how do you start to restructuring a debt of $150 billion? that 150 billion is an estimate of how much total external debt it owes, including credit line from the likes of russia and china but the talks today were for the bondholders, especially to come over and investors to talk about how they will go forward with repaying future debt. venezuela until now has paid the debt. the fear of default is a big one

monetary system to strengthen the social security venezuelan families and workers and sort out. the government also raised the minimum wage which starting in november rose by thirty percent. venezuela is mired in corruption and can hardly pay off its loans due to the lack of hard currency foodstuffs and medicine in the country are scarce. despite having the world's largest oil reserves venezuela is teetering on the brink of economic collapse on thursday maduro essentially admitted that publicly for the first time announcing plans to restructure the country's ballooning debt. thousands of protesting uber drivers like here in sao paulo brought traffic to a standstill in cities across brazil this week. to raise awareness of their situation they drove at a snail's pace down main roads or parked in the middle of the street. they're all against draft law number twenty eight. it says that uber drivers will need a license to transport passengers they'll have to buy passenger insurance and their cars will be inspected more often. and what's going to brazil is in the middle of a financial

instead they were offered colorful packets of venezuelan chocolate and coffee. as recently as sunday president nicolas maduro had said his country would never default and promised investors a good deal. but venezuelan vice president sami wrapping up tuesday's proceedings with a press conference had nothing firm to say about his country's future on state controlled t.v. rather than laying out a plan he blamed the u.s. to venezuela's quandary talking of an economic war by donald trump against the country a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. hasn't followed suit but it did impose an embargo on weapons sales to caracas the e.u. doesn't want to worsen the plight of venezuela's people who are suffering under catastrophic shortages. inflation is running at fifty percent food and medical supplies are scarce. venezuela still hopes to pull through. there is a little bit of perhaps. a rise in the courts that venezuela could. be stacked with russia perhaps that could be announced. in the week an agreement with russia could keep the venezuela deb

instead they were offered colorful packets of venezuelan chocolate and coffee. as recently as sunday president nicolas maduro had said his country would never default and promised investors a good deal. but venezuelan vice president sammy wrapping up tuesday's proceedings with a press conference had nothing firm to say about his country's future on state controlled t.v. rather than laying out a plan he blamed the u.s. for venezuela's quandary talking of an economic war by donald trump against the country a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. hasn't followed suit but did impose an embargo on weapons sales to caracas the e.u. doesn't want to worsen the plight of venezuela's people who are suffering under catastrophic shortages. inflation is running at fifty percent food and medical supplies are scarce. yet venezuela still hopes to pull through. there is a little bit of perhaps. a rise in the courts that venezuela could. restructure with russia perhaps. in the week an agreement with russia could keep the venezuela debt cliffhanger going

this is salt of the us government has made jointly with the venezuelan opposition today venezuela is limited to seek financing find it also is faced with the need to consider a new formulas to get out of this complexity critics say then as well as leaders have prioritized clearing debt over a growing humanitarian crisis that has left many of its people hungry and children dying in hospitals with medical shortages venezuelan president nicolas maduro blames the u.s. for his country's crisis so he's turning to his traditional rivals in a compromise fight that i'm not sure not like all that i pulled a couple international agreements with the people's republic of china are working perfectly and will continue to go that way so i could announce that we have reached a renegotiation a refinancing agreement with the russian federation. in spite of president lee duros plans u.s. firms still own much of venezuela's debt and the trumpet ministration wary of providing an economic lifeline to his administration has blocked americans from protests a paid in any debt restructuring talks with diminish

i don't i don't know how the investors of the world the holders of venezuelan debt i have the moral to summon a moment of them but thirteen to caracas and begin the process of refinancing. and renegotiation of the external debt. he hopes creditors will extend repayment deadlines lower interest rates and even agree to cancel debts altogether if no arrangement can be reached the country faces bankruptcy cutting it off from financial markets and unable to borrow more money meanwhile for ordinary venezuelans the suffering continues. the virtual currency bitcoin has dropped by a thousand dollars in value in just forty eight hours that's after hitting an all time high this week on wednesday the cryptocurrency peaked at over seven thousand eight hundred dollars after the suspension of a software upgrade that could have split the digital currency into interest in big five is huge some traditional investors are staying away fearing that government regulators may crack down on the currency. and that's why a business more world news with sara thank you so much christopher three people have been i

the fabric of venezuelan society is beginning to tear a few months ago the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela the e.u. has followed suit with a weapons embargo and travel restrictions on some government officials desperation is mounting economists estimate venezuelan inflation is running as high as seven hundred percent food and medical supplies are scarce as the country scrambles to save money. five percent of its exports are crude oil imports an overwhelming majority of its food and so. things that are immediately when imports are slashed. investors are demanding a default declaration for the state oil company p d vs a to do to its own financial mismanagement a country practically swimming in oil is now drowning in debt. or at its center matic situation there want to analyze with our financial correspondent at the new york stock exchange so fisherman hi sophie good to see you and this troubling time. well now as we just heard president nicolas maduro said that his country would never default and it is true that we've been talking about been a swell of being on

last week venezuelan president nicolas maduro announced a plan to restructure the country's one hundred twenty billion dollars in debt but some say it's just a political ploy and investors have lots of questions on how what can actually be done skepticism over that grew this summer after the u.s. imposed sanctions on venezuela one issue is that material appointed vice president to rock ally l i saw me as lead negotiator of that the problem with that is that he was sanctioned by the u.s. as an alleged drug trafficker and that means u.s. investment groups which are some of the biggest holders of venezuelan debt can all meet with him meanwhile no one really knows how much debt the central bank of venezuela has if you ask the bank it's ninety billion dollars in foreign debt but most analysts. claims it's actually much higher in addition to materials and government this spells trouble for cuba which is reliance on oil from venezuela cuba now receives about fifty five thousand barrels of it per day down from one hundred thousand about five years ago that figure continues to decline it could i