New Delhi: Former Indian Hockey Team Captain Viren Rasquinha on Thursday expressed disappointment over the lack of coverage of the Hockey World Cup in Indian media. The Hockey World Cup is set to begin in India starting Friday, January 13.

In a tweet, Viren said there have been barely any articles even on Indian players. He further urged media and Indian newspapers to give space to hockey journalists who he said were brilliant.

“Extremely disappointed with mainstream media & top Indian newspapers on lack of Hockey coverage.” He wrote in the tweet.

“Hockey World Cup starts tomorrow. India is hosting it. Been barely any articles even on our own players. We have brilliant hockey journalists. Give them some space please!!!” he further added.

Viren was a member of the team that competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He quit international hockey in 2008 to pursue management studies at the age of 28. After completing his MBA, he joined Olympic Gold Quest in 2009 and is now the CEO.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Caracas (Venezuela) (AP): The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.

The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, in early January.

It also comes a month after the US formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.

Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.

Earlier, the airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.

In late January, US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.

The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighbouring Latin American countries.

In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.

American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.