“This is an unusual campaign, I have no plans to tour the country because it is a unique campaign. Maria Corina Machado is leading it and she is doing an excellent job.” Without wasting any time, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia took advantage of his first few days as a presidential candidate for the democratic opposition in the upcoming July 28 elections to introduce himself to the nation. He has become the new beacon of hope and a prominent figure in the long-awaited transition. Meanwhile, Machado embarked on a journey to visit various municipalities in the province of Portuguesa.

This province, which was previously dominated by Chavismo but now represents the devastated state of Venezuela under the failed revolution, showed overwhelming support for the opposition leader in a way not seen in the country for the past two decades.

Amidst thousands of supporters, Machado took to an improvised stage to proudly display Edmundo’s poster with the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), one of the three parties backing his candidacy. She passionately declared, “Once again, we have surprised them by fielding a registered candidate, none other than Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the candidate of all Venezuelans. Let’s be clear about this: we are entering a territory filled with deceit and fraud. There is no turning back! We will emerge victorious and we will make them pay,” as the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Machado’s tour included stops in Chabasquén, Guanarito, and Biscucuy, reaffirming that the political movement she leads, unprecedented since the rise of Hugo Chávez, originated in the most severely affected areas of the country. From the Llanos to the Andes, from the border to the east, their message resonated and gained support even in the most impoverished neighborhoods of Caracas and other major cities.

The tour left indelible images in the history of these pivotal elections, which the regime can only win through fraudulent means. One banner in vivid colors displayed the map of the suffering country with the words, “We will meet again, as a family.” A young boy wrote on a piece of paper, “I was born in socialism and I long for freedom,” conveying his hopes for change to the person he has pinned his aspirations on.

“This government is worthless. They now only have classes three times a week, and sometimes even cancel them due to lack of water, electricity, and basic supplies in our homes. We believe in you, María Corina. I am a mother, and last January I had to leave because I couldn’t even find rice or meat to feed my family. My mother is currently in Colombia because of this government… (and then she abruptly pauses). Damn this government,” passionately expressed a 16-year-old girl in the front row, to whom Machado gave the microphone to amplify the reality faced by these people.

More than 8.5 million Venezuelans have fled their homeland during the period of revolution.

Faced with these developments, Chavismo intensified its smear campaign against both the candidate and the opposition leader, resorting to illegal phone recordings from a decade ago and a barrage of insults. Machado has already been labeled as “the lady” and “the Sayona,” the latter being a legend originating from the Venezuelan Llanos, represented by a woman who haunts the nights with her cries.

Diosdado Cabello, the second-in-command of the revolution, has come up with a new attack against Gonzalez, unleashing threats and insults from his television pulpit, resembling an updated and foul-mouthed version of a Chavista tormentor. Cabello rallied his followers by exclaiming, “The candidate Inmundo Gonzalez was anointed by the Empire.”

“There is an invisible force that is exerting pressure within the power structure. As long as the opposition maintains unity, this force will only grow, taking the conflict to unprecedented levels. If there is any chance for change, it lies there,” commented political analyst Félix Seijas.

Rafael Uzcátegui, a sociologist and human rights defender, summarized the key factors behind this political phenomenon sweeping the nation: “It wasn’t just about incentives. It was also the synergy between political leadership and consensus-building mechanisms, the people’s hope for change, and the pressure exerted by the international community.

In the latest survey conducted by More Consulting, the candidate endorsed by Machado is projected to double Maduro’s votes, with the latter barely reaching above 20% nationwide. This represents a significant hurdle in a country where 80% of Venezuelans yearn for immediate change.

In a tragic turn of events, a newborn baby from Gaza has passed away after a valiant fight for her life. The baby, named Sabreen al-Sakani, was delivered through a Caesarean section after her mother tragically lost her life in an Israeli airstrike. Doctors worked tirelessly to revive Sabreen using a hand pump to bring air to her lungs, but she sadly succumbed to her injuries after five days of battling to survive.

The devastating news was confirmed by a relative of the girl, who shared their grief on Facebook. Sabreen’s soul, it seems, had made the decision to join her family beyond this world.

The airstrike not only claimed the life of Sabreen’s mother but also her father and three-year-old sister. Miraculously, Sabreen was the sole survivor, remaining nestled in her mother’s womb until she could be rescued.

Despite the efforts of doctors who performed an emergency cesarean section and placed her in an incubator, Sabreen’s condition remained critical. Eventually, her tiny body succumbed to the injuries inflicted upon her.

Tragically, the number of children lost in the ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to rise. According to recent data, a staggering 14,778 children have lost their lives. Among them are thirty children who died due to hunger and acute dehydration.

Over the weekend, another 16 children lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. The target of the attack, according to the Israeli Army, was Hamas fighters and their infrastructure.

His name is Dimitri Safronov and he paid his respects to the deceased man who should not have been honored. This Russian priest conducted the main tribute in memory of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He knew that it was the most perilous gathering of his life. This week, he faced suspension from his position, or rather, he was instructed to undertake three years of “penance”.

In an announcement, the Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church declared on Wednesday that Safronov would be demoted to the role of a psalm reader. Furthermore, he would be forbidden from donning a cross and would be transferred to another church in the Moscow region where he would serve a three-year “penance”. The verdict was not unexpected. Russia has previously retaliated against two journalists who covered the Navalny trials, accusing them of extremism, which is an offense carrying a potential prison sentence of up to six years.

This is not the first instance. Another priest who voiced opposition against the Russian invasion of Ukraine also faced repercussions in an ecclesiastical decree. Numerous Russian priests have been penalized with fines or demotions after signing an open letter against war in 2022. In several cases, they were reported by members of their congregations.

“In the absence of official information, the ban can only be linked to the memorial service held for Alexei Navalny,” denounces Ioann Burdin, a priest who was fined and subsequently expelled for criticizing the war in Ukraine. He stated to EL MUNDO, “We are not reverting to Stalinism, but rather to the German dictatorship of the 1930s”. In his case, it was a Ukrainian parishioner who reported him for advocating peace.

The ‘Safronov file’ does not provide a formal reason for his punishment. However, his ‘crime’ is well-known. Dimitri Safronov recited several memorial prayers, known as ‘panijida’ in Russian, at Navalny’s gravesite and conducted a church service last month to commemorate the 40th day since his death in a remote penal colony located above the Arctic Circle.

What awaits this priest? After his three-year penance concludes, a decision will be made on whether he may face formal expulsion, “depending on the assessment he receives in his new place of service,” as stated in the document.

In a social media post, Yulia Navalnaya, the late opposition leader’s wife, confirmed that Safronov had conducted a memorial service at his grave and urged her followers to donate to Safronov’s family. “I am immensely grateful,” she wrote. “Let’s assist him and his family.”

Russia has persistently persecuted Navalny supporters. Hundreds of individuals were detained during impromptu vigils held across Russian cities in the days following his death.

One of the most prominent cases is that of Antonina Favorskaya, who was arrested last month. She had shared footage of Navalny during a court hearing in mid-February, which turned out to be the opposition leader’s final video before his demise. She faced charges related to her involvement with Navalny’s FBK anti-corruption foundation, which was designated an extremist organization by the Russian government in 2021.

The president of Belarus believes that there is a plot to take away territories through an uprising supported from outside the country. Two years after allowing Vladimir Putin to use his southern border with Ukraine for Russian forces to march on kyiv to depose the Ukrainian government, Alexander Lukashenko is now warning that the Belarusian opposition plans to seize a province in the west of his country — along to Ukraine and Poland—and request support from NATO troops.

Lukashenko frequently refers to the risks of an attack by NATO or Ukraine as a justification for keeping his military and security apparatus in a constant state of alert and continuing to escalate repression.. Considered a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, he has presided since 1994 over a regime in which all the main opposition figures are currently in prison or have been forced into exile in countries such as Lithuania, Latvia or Poland..

This time Lukashenko warned of the “high risk” of military incidents occurring on the border with Ukraine and accused the United States authorities of doing “everything possible” to lead the country into armed conflict.. All of this within the framework of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he himself has made possible.

For the Belarusian dictator, the threat is in Kobrin, in the province of Brest, a quiet area located in the south-western corner of Belarus at the confluence of the Mujavets river with the Dnieper-Bug canal.. Throughout history, this territory has belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Union, the Russian Empire, the Second Polish Republic and also Soviet Belarus.. In 1944, the city of Kobrin was recaptured by the Red Army.. Since 1991 it has been part of the independent Republic of Belarus. “I don't know why they chose the Kobrin district, they talk about it a lot. [They plan] to take over it… and appeal to NATO to deploy troops,” Lukashenko ventured, addressing the People's Assembly of Belarus.

Lukashenko threatened the Polish Government, urging it to “avoid aggressive actions by Belarus”. He raised the specter of civil war at several points in his speech, in which he indicated that “some forces are being used to intensify threats against national security.”. He did not provide evidence for any of his accusations..

Lukashenko's approach is in line with the official Russian narrative in times of war, where the continuous and unproven accusation that both Hungary and Poland are also preparing, just as Russia has already done, to annex Ukrainian territories, is constant..

The Belarusian leader has decided to transfer several battalions located in the Vitebsk region, on the border with Russia, to areas located in the western part of the country, as if they were truly preparing a deterrent approach in the event of an eventual attack.. “The main risk has been created in Ukraine. “Washington is doing everything possible to lead us into that conflict and weaken Eastern Europe,” he added after drawing a scenario (that of a local uprising supported by a foreign army) that actually coincides with the one promoted by Moscow in the Ukrainian region of Donbas in 2014.

Regarding the situation on the front, Lukashenko once again equated invaders and invaded. He regretted the heavy fighting and loss of life on the Ukrainian battlefield, and pointed out the lack of ammunition and military personnel on the part of the Ukrainian Army.. He also addressed the attacks suffered by Russia against its infrastructure.

Lukashenko is one of Russia's supporters in the invasion of Ukraine. That is why he criticized the aid to kyiv approved this week by the US Congress: “Offering this money has been a missed opportunity [by the United States] to weaken us and weaken Russia”. The aid sent by the US to defend itself from Russia is for this Putin ally “an important factor in increasing tension in Ukraine and is very dangerous”, because in any case the Russian Army is equipped with “new weapons and large reserves” .

In this sense, he emphasized that the Russian forces “continue to advance”, despite it being a “slow process” and has pointed out that the talks between the parties held in Turkey shortly after the start of the war in 2022 could serve as a “starting point for negotiations” to end the conflict.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) finds itself in a precarious position as it faces a poll slump and internal divisions following the dissolution of its coalition with the Green Party. This has opened the door for unionist forces to launch a motion of no confidence against Chief Minister Humza Yousaf, who replaced Nicola Sturgeon amidst controversy surrounding the party’s illegal financing scandal.

The Green Party has pledged its support for the motion, effectively leaving Yousaf in an untenable position. This move comes after Yousaf announced the end of the coalition with the Green Party due to disagreements over CO2 emission reduction commitments.

The Green Party leaders accused Yousaf of betraying future generations and surrendering to reactionary forces in the country, resulting in the breakdown of the 2021 government agreement known as the Bute House Pact. In response, Yousaf announced a fresh start for his minority government, despite the growing challenges faced by the SNP.

Meanwhile, the unionist forces, including the Labor Party, Conservative Party, and Liberal Democratic Party, have united to present their own motion of censure against Yousaf. With potential support from the Green Party and the Alba Party, led by former SNP leader Alex Salmond, Yousaf could face censorship from his own Parliament, leading to an uncertain crisis.

This government turmoil in Edinburgh comes after the Labor Party surpassed the SNP in the polls for the first time in ten years. With the general elections approaching in autumn, 33% of Scottish voters currently favor Labor, while 31% support the nationalists.

Additionally, a recent Statista poll shows that 53% are in favor of remaining in the United Kingdom, while 47% support independence. Support for independence reached its peak in August 2020 at 53% and has been gradually declining since then.

In the 2014 referendum, remaining in the United Kingdom won by a margin of ten points. However, after Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon championed a second referendum, which was met with resistance from the Conservative Government and setbacks in the courts.

Sturgeon’s reputation suffered due to the trans law debacle and the SNP’s illegal financing scandal, in which both she and her husband were implicated. With the baton now passed to Yousaf, a 38-year-old son of Pakistani immigrants, he remains determined to continue the fight for Scottish independence despite the challenges of governing as a minority.