International

María Corina Machado hopes that Maduro will accept a negotiation for an orderly transition

The opposition leader of Venezuela María Corina Machado told EFE on Wednesday that she hopes that President Nicolás Maduro, a candidate for re-election in the elections of July 28, will agree to negotiate for an orderly transition because, she expected, anti-Chavism will “wipe out,” with former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia as a candidate.

“We are going to a delicate process of transition and, for the very good of Mr. Nicolás Maduro and the rest of his structure, I hope he accepts a negotiation process that allows us an orderly and sustainable transition,” said the former deputy, during a political event in which she participated, along with González Urrutia, 74 years old, before thousands of supporters.

In his opinion, Maduro – in power since 2013 – lost “the trust and support of the people,” and that is why he has chosen to sow “fear,” a strategy that, he considered, “does not work for him.”

The opponent thus responded to the president’s speeches in recent weeks, when – in front of thousands of sympathizers at her rallies – she has used expressions such as “old decrepit” to refer to “a candidate” of anti-Chavism, whose name she did not mention, as she usually does.

In addition, he said that the accusations of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Government about alleged plans of the opposition, along with an irregular Colombian group, to act against the president or destabilize the country, are one more “fabrication” of Chavismo, which has denounced more than a hundred “conspiracies” against him in the 25 years he has been in power.

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“I’ve already lost track of how many conspiracies they are. Every week a new one starts and, evidently, they make some narratives, manufacture the evidence, chase innocent people and in the end everything falls,” he said.

Machado, who accompanies González Urrutia in her campaign events, was elected in the primaries as a presidential candidate of the Democratic United Platform (PUD), the main anti-chavista coalition, but could not register in the contest due to a sanction from the Comptroller’s Office, so she supports the former ambassador.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.