BERLIN: Germany police on Friday said they had arrested a woman after at least 12 people were injured in a knife attack at the main station in the northern city of Hamburg.
Some of the injured sustained life-threatening injuries in the stabbing, emergency services said, although the exact number remained unclear.
Around 6:30 p.m. (1600 GMT), Hamburg police said on X they were carrying out a major operation at the main train station in Germany’s second-largest city.
“A person injured several people with a knife at the main train station” and a suspect had been arrested, they said.
The suspect, police subsequently said, was a 39-year-old woman who was thought to have “acted alone.”
Investigations into the incident were “running at full speed,” police said, without giving an indication of a possible motive.
A spokesman for the Hamburg fire department told AFP that 12 people had been injured in the knife attack.
Among them were “six people with life-threatening injuries,” the spokesman said. German media however reported the number of people with very severe injuries was lower.
The attack took place around 6:00 p.m. in the middle of rush hour at the end of the working week, according to German media.
The suspect was thought to have carried out the attack “against passengers” at the station, a spokeswoman for the Hanover federal police directorate, which also covers Hamburg, told AFP.
Images of the scene showed access to the platforms at one end of the station blocked off by police and people being loaded into waiting ambulances.
Some of the victims in the attack were being treated onboard waiting trains in the station, Bild reported.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said on X that four platforms at the station had been closed.
The incident would lead to “delays and diversions in long-distance services,” Deutsche Bahn said in a post on X.
Germany has been rocked in recent months by a series of violent attacks with often jihadist or far-right extremist motivations that have put security at the top of the agenda.
The most recent, on Sunday, saw four people were injured in a stabbing at a bar in the city of Bielefeld.
The investigation into the attack had been handed over to federal prosecutors after the Syrian suspect in the attack told the police officers who arrested him that he had jihadist beliefs.
The question of security — and the immigrant origin of many of the attackers — was a major topic during Germany’s recent election campaign.
The vote at the end of February saw the conservative CDU/CSU top the polls and a record score of over 20 percent for the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany.
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Woman arrested after 12 injured in stabbing at Hamburg station
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Woman arrested after 12 injured in stabbing at Hamburg station
- Some of the injured sustained life-threatening injuries in the attack
- Suspect is a 39-year-old woman who was thought to have acted alone
US allows oil majors to broadly operate in Venezuela, new energy investments
- Treasury Department issues general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela
- Move is the most significant relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro
WASHINGTON: The US eased sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licenses that allow global energy companies to operate oil and gas projects in the OPEC member and for other companies to negotiate contracts to bring in fresh investments. The move was the most significant relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro last month.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country and stakes in projects, and are among the main partners of state-run company PDVSA.
The authorization for the oil majors’ operations requires payments for royalties and Venezuelan taxes to go through the US-controlled Foreign Government Deposit Fund.
The other license allows companies around the world to enter contracts with PDVSA for new investments in Venezuelan oil and gas. The contracts are contingent on separate permits from OFAC.
The authorization does not allow transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China or entities owned or controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries.
The licenses “invite American and other aligned companies to play a constructive role in supporting economic recovery and responsible investment, ” the US State Department said in a release. Additional authorizations may be issued “as necessary,” it said.
A spokesperson for Chevron, the only US oil firm currently operating in Venezuela, said the company welcomed the new licenses.
“The new General Licenses, coupled with recent changes in Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law, are important steps toward enabling the further development of Venezuela’s resources for its people and for advancing regional energy security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Eni said it is assessing the opportunities in Venezuela that the authorization opens up.
Oil law reform
The US licenses follow a sweeping reform of Venezuela’s main oil law approved last month, which grants autonomy for foreign oil and gas producers to operate, export and cash sale proceeds under existing joint ventures with PDVSA or through a new production-sharing contract model.
The US has had sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 when President Donald Trump imposed them during his first administration. Trump is now seeking $100 billion in investments by energy companies in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, during his second day of a trip to Venezuela, that oil sales from the country since Maduro’s capture have hit $1 billion and would hit another $5 billion in months.
Wright said the US will control the proceeds from the sales until Venezuela stands up a “representative government.” Since last month, the Treasury issued several other general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports and sales from Venezuela. It also authorized the provision of US goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government expropriated assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007 under then-President Hugo Chavez. The Trump administration is trying to get those companies to invest in Venezuela as well. At a meeting at the White House with Trump last month, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was “uninvestable” at the moment.
Wright said on Thursday that Exxon, which no longer has an office in Venezuela, is in talks with the government there and gathering data about the oil sector. Exxon did not immediately comment.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country and stakes in projects, and are among the main partners of state-run company PDVSA.
The authorization for the oil majors’ operations requires payments for royalties and Venezuelan taxes to go through the US-controlled Foreign Government Deposit Fund.
The other license allows companies around the world to enter contracts with PDVSA for new investments in Venezuelan oil and gas. The contracts are contingent on separate permits from OFAC.
The authorization does not allow transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China or entities owned or controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries.
The licenses “invite American and other aligned companies to play a constructive role in supporting economic recovery and responsible investment, ” the US State Department said in a release. Additional authorizations may be issued “as necessary,” it said.
A spokesperson for Chevron, the only US oil firm currently operating in Venezuela, said the company welcomed the new licenses.
“The new General Licenses, coupled with recent changes in Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law, are important steps toward enabling the further development of Venezuela’s resources for its people and for advancing regional energy security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Eni said it is assessing the opportunities in Venezuela that the authorization opens up.
Oil law reform
The US licenses follow a sweeping reform of Venezuela’s main oil law approved last month, which grants autonomy for foreign oil and gas producers to operate, export and cash sale proceeds under existing joint ventures with PDVSA or through a new production-sharing contract model.
The US has had sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 when President Donald Trump imposed them during his first administration. Trump is now seeking $100 billion in investments by energy companies in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, during his second day of a trip to Venezuela, that oil sales from the country since Maduro’s capture have hit $1 billion and would hit another $5 billion in months.
Wright said the US will control the proceeds from the sales until Venezuela stands up a “representative government.” Since last month, the Treasury issued several other general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports and sales from Venezuela. It also authorized the provision of US goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government expropriated assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007 under then-President Hugo Chavez. The Trump administration is trying to get those companies to invest in Venezuela as well. At a meeting at the White House with Trump last month, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was “uninvestable” at the moment.
Wright said on Thursday that Exxon, which no longer has an office in Venezuela, is in talks with the government there and gathering data about the oil sector. Exxon did not immediately comment.
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