THE HAGUE — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U.S. state after President Trump said he was “seriously considering” the move.
Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.
“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” she added.
Rodríguez went on to say that Venezuelan and U.S. officials have been in touch and are working on “cooperation and understanding.”
Before addressing Trump’s comments, Rodríguez defended her country’s claim to Essequibo at the United Nations’ highest court, telling judges that political negotiations — not a judicial ruling — will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.
The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.
That output is close to Venezuela’s daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.
Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.
Venezuela has argued that a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. In 2018, however, three years after ExxonMobil announced a significant oil discovery off the Essequibo coast, Guyana’s government went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling.
Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when Rodríguez’s predecessor, Maduro, threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Rodríguez did not address the referendum in her remarks, but she told the court that the 1966 agreement is designed to allow negotiations between Venezuela and Guyana to resolve the territorial dispute. And she accused Guyana’s government of undermining the agreement with the “opportunistic” decision to ask the court to address the dispute.
“At a time when the mechanisms established in the Geneva agreement were still fully in force, Guyana unilaterally chose to shift the dispute from the negotiating arena to a judicial resolution,” she said. “This change was not accidental; it coincided with the discovery in 2015 of the oil field that would become world-renowned.”
When hearings opened last week, Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, told the panel of international judges that the dispute “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning.” He said that 70% of Guyana’s territory is at stake.
The court is likely to take months to issue a final and legally binding ruling in the case.
Venezuela has warned that its participation in the hearings does not mean either consent to, or recognition of, the court’s jurisdiction.
Quell and Cano write for the Associated Press. Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
THE UK’s ‘Golden Mile’ is getting a major revamp and now it has been named as the home of the country’s best pier.
Great Yarmouth’s Britannia Pier has been named the Pier of the Year.
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Britannia pier in great yarmouth, which recently underwent a £2.2million revamp, was originally built in 1858 as one of the original Victorian timber-framed piers in the UKCredit: Supplied
In the annual National Piers Society’s (NPS) competition, the pier beat 62 other seaside piers around the UK.
According to the BBC, NPS chairman Tim Wardley said: “Huge congratulations to the worthiest of winners who have shown that in challenging economic times, investment is still the way forward to success.”
The pier’s co-owner Joseph Abbott also added: “We feel this is a huge testament to us as new owners for the work, time and investment we have put in since our takeover in December 2022.”
The pier, which recently underwent a £2.2million revamp, was originally built in 1858 as one of the original Victorian timber-framed piers in the UK.
Over the years, the Britannia Pier on the Norfolk coast has undergone a number of transformations including being destroyed and rebuilt after a fire in 1958.
Thanks to the recent £2.2million revamp the pier has several new features including an upgraded amusement arcade, entrance and the end-of-pier Britannia Pier Theatre – which is one of only five remaining in the UK.
Current owners, who bought the pier back in 2022, are keen to make the pier “a must-visit attraction for holidaymakers and the community to enjoy year-round – with a strong line-up of acts, events, shows and family-friendly activities”.
The pier isn’t the only destination in the seaside town to see a change.
Over the coming years, Great Yarmouth will undergo an extensive £40million glow-up.
There will be several projects taking place including opening the 19th century Maritime House and the Iron Duke art deco pub.
The Maritime House, which can be found on the seafront, has been abandoned for five years now.
It was originally a safe house for sailors who became shipwrecked nearby but has seen a number of different uses over the years including being a museum and a tourist information centre.
When it finally reopens, which is expected to be this spring, it will house a cafe and a number of flats.
Over the coming years, Great Yarmouth will undergo an extensive £40million glow-upCredit: Alamy
Our favourite UK seaside towns
*If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue.
Sidmouth, Devon Take a trip to Sidmouth on the Jurassic Coast and wander down Jacob’s Ladder to its pretty shingle beach. Make sure to walk along the promenade and check out the independent shops and boutiques. Stay at the four-star Harbour Hotel for sea views and traditional afternoon tea from £135 per room.
Whitby, North Yorkshire With a history of sailors and vampires, a dramatic coastal path, and the very best in pints and scampi, it takes a lot to beat Whitby. Pop in the amusements, eat award-winning fish and chips, and board the all-singing Captain Cook boat tour on the harbour. The Royal Hotel overlooks the harbour with stays from just £68 per room.
Old Hunstanton, Norfolk This town has some of the best beach walks beside striped limestone cliffs, a Victorian lighthouse and 13th century ruins. The beach has golden sands with rolling dunes and colourful beach huts, backed by a pretty pinewood forest. Stay at a beachfront hotel from £100 per room.
Seahouses, Northumberland This is an authentic British seaside break, with fishing boats bobbing on its pretty harbour and fresh catches of the day to enjoy in local restaurants. There’s no flashing arcades here, but there’s a great beach with rockpools, boat trips, and you may even spot a grey seal, too. Treat yourself to a stay at the Bamburgh Castle Inn from £129 per room.
The Iron Duke pub which closed back in 2007, will also reopen this year following a £2.4million renovation.
The Victorian Winter Gardens will get a major makeover as well, set to cost £18million.
The Grade-II listed landmark is the UK’s last surviving Victorian seaside cast iron and glass winter gardens and will reopen next year as the ‘People’s Palace’ and include indoor gardens, cafes and entertainment venues.
The final project will involve a £20million transformation of the North Quay, which is expected to take a few years.
Eventually the area will include shops, homes and leisure venues, such as a ‘Leisure Box’ which will include a multi-screen cinema and 120-room hotel.
If you are visiting the seaside town, make sure to visit the beach which is often dubbed ‘the Golden Mile’.
One recent visitor said in a review on Google: “First time at Great Yarmouth and we loved it!
Great Yarmouth’s beach is often dubbed the ‘Golden Mile’Credit: Supplied
Venezuela’s acting president defends country’s territory and rejects Trump’s 51st state remarks
THE HAGUE — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U.S. state after President Trump said he was “seriously considering” the move.
Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.
“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” she added.
Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was “seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state,” according to a post by Fox News’ co-anchor John Roberts on social media. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Trump has made similar comments about Canada.
Rodríguez went on to say that Venezuelan and U.S. officials have been in touch and are working on “cooperation and understanding.”
Before addressing Trump’s comments, Rodríguez defended her country’s claim to Essequibo at the United Nations’ highest court, telling judges that political negotiations — not a judicial ruling — will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.
The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.
That output is close to Venezuela’s daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.
Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.
Venezuela has argued that a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. In 2018, however, three years after ExxonMobil announced a significant oil discovery off the Essequibo coast, Guyana’s government went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling.
Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when Rodríguez’s predecessor, Maduro, threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Rodríguez did not address the referendum in her remarks, but she told the court that the 1966 agreement is designed to allow negotiations between Venezuela and Guyana to resolve the territorial dispute. And she accused Guyana’s government of undermining the agreement with the “opportunistic” decision to ask the court to address the dispute.
“At a time when the mechanisms established in the Geneva agreement were still fully in force, Guyana unilaterally chose to shift the dispute from the negotiating arena to a judicial resolution,” she said. “This change was not accidental; it coincided with the discovery in 2015 of the oil field that would become world-renowned.”
When hearings opened last week, Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, told the panel of international judges that the dispute “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning.” He said that 70% of Guyana’s territory is at stake.
The court is likely to take months to issue a final and legally binding ruling in the case.
Venezuela has warned that its participation in the hearings does not mean either consent to, or recognition of, the court’s jurisdiction.
Quell and Cano write for the Associated Press. Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
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UK seaside town undergoing a £40million overhaul is officially home to the country’s best pier
THE UK’s ‘Golden Mile’ is getting a major revamp and now it has been named as the home of the country’s best pier.
Great Yarmouth’s Britannia Pier has been named the Pier of the Year.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
In the annual National Piers Society’s (NPS) competition, the pier beat 62 other seaside piers around the UK.
According to the BBC, NPS chairman Tim Wardley said: “Huge congratulations to the worthiest of winners who have shown that in challenging economic times, investment is still the way forward to success.”
The pier’s co-owner Joseph Abbott also added: “We feel this is a huge testament to us as new owners for the work, time and investment we have put in since our takeover in December 2022.”
The pier, which recently underwent a £2.2million revamp, was originally built in 1858 as one of the original Victorian timber-framed piers in the UK.
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Over the years, the Britannia Pier on the Norfolk coast has undergone a number of transformations including being destroyed and rebuilt after a fire in 1958.
Thanks to the recent £2.2million revamp the pier has several new features including an upgraded amusement arcade, entrance and the end-of-pier Britannia Pier Theatre – which is one of only five remaining in the UK.
And there are new food stalls and rides too.
Current owners, who bought the pier back in 2022, are keen to make the pier “a must-visit attraction for holidaymakers and the community to enjoy year-round – with a strong line-up of acts, events, shows and family-friendly activities”.
The pier isn’t the only destination in the seaside town to see a change.
Over the coming years, Great Yarmouth will undergo an extensive £40million glow-up.
There will be several projects taking place including opening the 19th century Maritime House and the Iron Duke art deco pub.
The Maritime House, which can be found on the seafront, has been abandoned for five years now.
It was originally a safe house for sailors who became shipwrecked nearby but has seen a number of different uses over the years including being a museum and a tourist information centre.
When it finally reopens, which is expected to be this spring, it will house a cafe and a number of flats.
Our favourite UK seaside towns
*If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue.
Sidmouth, Devon
Take a trip to Sidmouth on the Jurassic Coast and wander down Jacob’s Ladder to its pretty shingle beach. Make sure to walk along the promenade and check out the independent shops and boutiques. Stay at the four-star Harbour Hotel for sea views and traditional afternoon tea from £135 per room.
BOOK A STAY
Whitby, North Yorkshire
With a history of sailors and vampires, a dramatic coastal path, and the very best in pints and scampi, it takes a lot to beat Whitby. Pop in the amusements, eat award-winning fish and chips, and board the all-singing Captain Cook boat tour on the harbour. The Royal Hotel overlooks the harbour with stays from just £68 per room.
BOOK A STAY
Old Hunstanton, Norfolk
This town has some of the best beach walks beside striped limestone cliffs, a Victorian lighthouse and 13th century ruins. The beach has golden sands with rolling dunes and colourful beach huts, backed by a pretty pinewood forest. Stay at a beachfront hotel from £100 per room.
BOOK A STAY
Seahouses, Northumberland
This is an authentic British seaside break, with fishing boats bobbing on its pretty harbour and fresh catches of the day to enjoy in local restaurants. There’s no flashing arcades here, but there’s a great beach with rockpools, boat trips, and you may even spot a grey seal, too. Treat yourself to a stay at the Bamburgh Castle Inn from £129 per room.
BOOK A STAY
The Iron Duke pub which closed back in 2007, will also reopen this year following a £2.4million renovation.
The Victorian Winter Gardens will get a major makeover as well, set to cost £18million.
The Grade-II listed landmark is the UK’s last surviving Victorian seaside cast iron and glass winter gardens and will reopen next year as the ‘People’s Palace’ and include indoor gardens, cafes and entertainment venues.
The final project will involve a £20million transformation of the North Quay, which is expected to take a few years.
Eventually the area will include shops, homes and leisure venues, such as a ‘Leisure Box’ which will include a multi-screen cinema and 120-room hotel.
If you are visiting the seaside town, make sure to visit the beach which is often dubbed ‘the Golden Mile’.
One recent visitor said in a review on Google: “First time at Great Yarmouth and we loved it!
“Really clean, lots of places to eat from, lots of attractions for the kids.
“Will definitely be coming again.”
Another visitor said in a review on Google: “Place looks like Miami and is perfect for beach and casinos.”
For somewhere to stay, you could head to Parkdean Resorts Vauxhall Holiday Park that has a number of new attractions and family activities.
And you can stay there with The Sun’s Hols from £9.50, as there’s still breaks available for this year.
In other seaside news, here are Britain’s hidden seaside holiday towns where you can dodge sky-high prices and book stunning breaks from just £49.
Plus, here are seven great UK seaside towns with beachfront theme parks – and you can stay with Hols from £9.50.
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