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☆ William Calley, officer convicted for his role in My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, dead at 80
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Chelsea Bailey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

While multiple officers were charged in connection with the massacre, Calley was the only one convicted. “Calley and his men rounded up these civilians and then Calley ordered his men to kill them.”The massacre lasted for hours. A ditch in My Lai village, Vietnam, where US troops killed Vietnamese civilians on March 16, 1968. Kham/ReutersThe fragile lineThousands of miles away and 30 years later, those who lost loved ones in the My Lai massacre would tell CNN they were never truly able to move on. “There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” Calley said, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Persons: William L, Calley Jr, Calley, Charlie, Lai, ”, Bill Allison, ” Allison, –, Fred Borch, Borch, Charlie Company –, ” Calley, “, ” Borch, “ Calley, Brad Lendon, Hugh Thompson, Thompson, he’d, “ Thompson, Ron Ridenhour, Seymour, Allison, Fort Moore, Calley’s, Richard Nixon, Nixon, ” Thompson, Lawrence Colburn, Nguyen Chung, Calley –, – Borsh Organizations: CNN, Army, The Washington, Social Security Administration, Charlie Company, Loan, Georgia Southern University, US Army, American Army, US, General’s Corps, House Armed, 11th Brigade, Armed Services Committee, Military, Gallup, The New York Times, Associated Press, Kiwanis Club, Greater, Columbus Ledger Locations: Gainesville , Florida, Vietnam, Saigon, My Lai, South Vietnam, Viet, Geneva, Lai, Fort Benning, Kham, Greater Columbus, Georgia

The global antidoping regulator disclosed on Tuesday that it is investigating why athletes in China and other countries who are testing positive for banned drugs are escaping discipline through claims that they have unwittingly ingested the performance-enhancing substances through food. The statement from the World Anti-Doping Agency came after The New York Times reported earlier on Tuesday on a previously undisclosed case in which two elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a powerful steroid in 2022 were cleared late last year after their country’s antidoping authority blamed contaminated hamburgers. It was the third incident in recent years in which China blamed food contamination for positive tests among members of its national swimming team. In its statement on Tuesday, the World Anti-Doping Agency, known as WADA, revealed that at the same time it was looking into how the two swimmers had tested positive, it was also examining the previously undisclosed cases of two other Chinese athletes in different sports — shooting and BMX bike riding — who tested positive in early 2023 for trace amounts of the same banned drug, metandienone.

Persons: WADA Organizations: Doping Agency, The New York Times Locations: China

☆ Venezuelans have seen this movie before, but Maduro should beware. This time, the ending could be different
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Rafael Romo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The month before, President Nicolás Maduro had declared a “constitutional state of emergency.”Julio Borges, in a photograph taken by CNN's Rafael Romo on June 9, 2016. Maduro, now 61, is a former bus driver who became a Caracas metro system union leader and rose through the ranks. In January of that year, Juan Guaidó, then president of the National Assembly, had proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela. Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido scuffle with members of the Bolivarian National Police during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on November 18, 2019. The Venezuelan opposition political party Voluntad Popular said Tuesday that its leader Freddy Superlano has been kidnapped.

Persons: “, Caracas Osmary Hernández, Julio Borges, colectivos, Nicolás Maduro, ” Julio Borges, CNN's Rafael Romo, Rafael Romo, Hugo Chávez, Juan Guaidó, Guaidó, Juan Guaido, Nicolas Maduro, Yuri Cortez, María Corina Machado, Machado, Chávez, Edilzon Gamez, ”, Michael, ‘, would’ve, Maduro, they’ve, Edmundo González, Jorge Fernando “ Tuto ” Quiroga, ” Quiroga, Edmundo, González, could’ve, Popular, Freddy Superlano Organizations: CNN, National Assembly, Caracas Osmary, Electoral Council, Bolivarian National Police, Getty, Bolivian Embassy, Inter, Georgetown University, Venezuela’s CNE, Venezuelan, Foro Locations: Caracas, Venezuela, Maduro, United States, AFP, North Macedonia, Bolivian

But, as events this week in Paris have once again shown, when it comes to women’s skating, Japan’s teenage girls are on fire. Fourteen-year-old Coco Yoshizawa’s late surge helped her beat compatriot Liz Akama, 15, to the gold medal at La Concorde Urban Park, Paris on Sunday. Sakura Yosozumi, then 19, and Kokona Hiraki, then 12, topped the 2021 Tokyo women’s park event. “Since there’s no age limit for skateboarding at the Olympics, any youngsters can compete,” Hiraki, the youngest Olympic medalist since 1936, told CNN in July. Lars Baron/Getty ImagesSkewing youngJapan aside, women’s skateboarding across both categories is dominated by teenage athletes.

Persons: Coco Yoshizawa’s, Liz Akama, ” Yoshizawa, Yuto Horigame, Jagger Eaton, Nyjah Huston, Horigame, Momoji Nishiya, Sakura Yosozumi, Kokona Hiraki, Brown, ” Hiraki, Julian Finney, ”, Junnosuke Yonesaka, Yonesaka, “, ” Akama, Lars Baron, Rayssa Leal, Cui Chenxi, Zhang Haohao, ’, China’s, Mazel Paris Alegado, Trew, Hiraki –, –, it’s Organizations: CNN, Team Japan, Concorde Urban, “, Paris Olympics, Tokyo Games, Urban Sports, Olympic, Concorde, Getty, Japan, Association, Paris, Asian Games Locations: Japan, Paris, Tokyo, France, China, Philippines

☆ U.S. Accuses Norfolk Southern of Delaying Amtrak Trains
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Mark Walker | More About Mark Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department on Tuesday accused Norfolk Southern, one of the country’s largest freight railroad companies, of violating federal law by delaying Amtrak passenger trains along the route between New Orleans and New York. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said Norfolk Southern failed to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains, as it is required to do under federal law. “Norfolk Southern regularly fails to do so, leading to widespread delays that harm and inconvenience train passengers, negatively affect Amtrak’s financial performance and impede passenger rail transportation,” according to the complaint. “Americans should not experience travel delays because rail carriers break the law,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “Our action today alleges that Norfolk Southern violates federal law by failing to give the legally required preference to Amtrak passenger trains over freight trains.”

Persons: General Merrick B, Garland Organizations: Department, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, District of Columbia, Justice Department Locations: New Orleans, New York, U.S, Southern

☆ Robots Are Coming, and They’re on a Mission: Install Solar Panels
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The companies racing to build large solar farms across the United States are facing a growing problem: Not enough workers. On Tuesday, AES Corporation, one of the country’s biggest renewable energy companies, introduced a first-of-its-kind robot that can lug around and install the thousands of heavy panels that typically make up a large solar array. AES said its robot, nicknamed Maximo, would ultimately be able to install solar panels twice as fast as humans can and at half the cost. After months of testing, AES will put Maximo to work in the California desert later this year to help install panels at the largest solar-plus-battery project under construction, meant to power Amazon data centers. If all goes well, the company aims to build hundreds of similar A.I.-powered robots.

Persons: Maximo Organizations: AES Corporation, AES Locations: United States, California

☆ How Authoritarian Governments Rig Elections to Stay in Power
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Eve Sampson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuela’s presidential vote on Monday despite glaring election irregularities, plunging the country into widespread protests. Mr. Maduro was declared the winner by the country’s electoral authority, which did not release a full vote count, fueling suspicions about the credibility Mr. Maduro’s claim of victory. Ms. Machado called the results “impossible,” and many pointed to government interference at polling stations. This is not the first time Mr. Maduro’s administration has been accused of reporting false election results. Like other authoritarian leaders across the world, Mr. Maduro has employed myriad tactics to rig elections in an attempt to garner legitimacy by skewing the democratic process.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Edmundo González, María Corina Machado, Maduro, Maduro’s, Ms, Machado

☆ Chinese E.V. Makers Rush In and Upend a Country’s Entire Auto Market
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Daisuke Wakabayashi | Claire Fu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ma Haiyang and eight of his colleagues arrived in Thailand a year ago to establish the first overseas operation for GAC Aion, an electric vehicle maker from China. The Aion team set up shop in a Bangkok hotel, commandeering conference rooms and holding meetings in the lobby. They had a long list of things to do: Find office space, recruit dealers and devise a business strategy. The team worked around the clock and, 74 days after arriving in Thailand, sold its first electric vehicle. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers like Aion are stampeding into overseas markets.

Persons: Ma Haiyang, ”, Ma Organizations: GAC Locations: Thailand, China, Bangkok, Southeast Asia

CNN —Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, has been reelected as president, the country’s election authority has announced, amid allegations of electoral irregularities by the opposition. Maduro will hold office for a third consecutive six-year term – representing the continuity of “Chavismo” in power, which started in 1999 at the hands of former president Hugo Chávez. Maduro has been in power since Chávez’s death in 2013. The vote has come at a crucial moment for Venezuela, an oil-rich nation that experienced the worst economic crash of a peacetime country in recent history. In the capital Caracas, opposition supporters were seen crying and hugging after the results were announced.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Edmundo González Urrutia, Maduro, Hugo Chávez, —, Antony Blinken Organizations: CNN, Democratic, National Electoral Council, Voters, CNE Locations: Venezuela, Caracas

☆ North Korea’s Kim ‘inspects’ flood response as thousands evacuated from China border region after heavy rains
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Some 5,000 people were rescued from flood-hit areas along North Korea’s border with China over the weekend in efforts supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, the country’s state media reported Monday. A flooded area in North Korea's North Pyongan province on July 28, pictured in a photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. At least 15 people died following a rain-triggered landslide in central China’s Hunan Province, Chinese state media Xinhua said Sunday. China’s northeast – a key food-growing region which traditionally had been less effected by frequent flooding – is also grappling with heavy rains. In China’s Liaoning province, across the border from North Korea’s North Pyongan, more than 45,000 people were evacuated from their homes as of Sunday morning as heavy rains hit the region, according to Xinhua.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Kim –, Gaemi Organizations: CNN, North Korean, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, Xinhua Locations: China, North Pyongan, Yalu, North Korea, Sinuiju City, Dandong, Asia, North Korea's, Pyongan province, Philippines, Taiwan, China’s Fujian Province, China’s Hunan Province, –, China’s Liaoning, North Korea’s, Xinhua, Southwest Liaoning

At the city’s main military base, where Maduro lives, people were seen setting fire to the strongman’s election posters. The CNE, which is stacked with Maduro allies, has yet to issue final vote tallies from Sunday’s election. “Venezuela has the best electoral system in the world!” CNE president Elvis Amoroso announced before proceeding with the formal announcement. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives with his wife Cilia Flores for a ceremony where the National Electoral Council (CNE) certified he won the presidential election. Senior Biden administration officials on Monday said Venezuelan election authorities must release the “detailed precinct level results” from the election.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Esthefania Natera, ”, Maduro, Hugo Chavez, Elvis Amoroso, Nicolas Maduro, Flores, Matias Delacroix, Maria Corina Machado, Maduro’s, Edmundo Gonzalez, “, ” Machado, Machado, ” CNN’s Avery Schmitz Organizations: Caracas CNN —, CNN, Electoral Council, CNE, “, Maduro’s, Democratic, National Electoral, Monday, Venezuelan, Biden, Organization of American States Locations: Venezuela, Caracas, Falcón, “ Venezuela, States, Peru, Chile, Brazil, “, United States

☆ Analysis: In Venezuela, voters caught in Maduro’s dangerous dance are seeking answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Flora Charner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We want peace for Venezuela, for our family members,” a protester, who chose not to be identified, told reporting teams on the ground. Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images/FileA ‘cyberattack’ curveballIt seems unlikely Maduro’s government will pay too much attention to the concerns raised over the results. Nearly 8 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reacts following the election results in Caracas on July 29, 2024. “We want Venezuela to be free and for the people’s will to be respected,” she said.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Nicolás Maduro, “, Nicolas Maduro, ” Maduro, Edmundo González, González, Maria Corina Machado, ”, Federico Parra, Antony Blinken, Stephane Dujarric, Maduro’s, Miguel Díaz, Canel, Leo Ramirez, it’s, Tarek William Saab, Machado, Leopoldo López, Lester Toledo, Panamá, Consultores, Maduro, ” Eva Martinez, Will Freeman, Juan Barreto, Hugo Chavez, Chavez, sobbed Heczair Blanco Organizations: CNN, Bolivarian, Electoral Council, Armed Forces, Getty, UN, The United Nations, Carter Center, Washington, Twitter, AFP, CNE, Caracas Monday, Saab, ’, United Nations, Refugees, US Customs, Border Patrol, Council, Foreign Relations, Democrats, Biden Locations: Miraflores, Caracas, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Venezuelan, AFP, United States, Tokyo, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, China, Cuba, North Macedonia, Balkans, UNHCR, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, “, Buenos Aires

☆ Khartoum: Women and girls subjected to widespread sexual violence by warring parties, HRW report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Of those, 18 had provided direct care to a total of 262 survivors of sexual violence, aged from 9 through 60. The RSF has also pillaged medical supplies, according to the report, and some fighters “have on occasion perpetrated acts of sexual violence” against healthcare providers. One healthcare provider recalled being told not to report instances of sexual violence to the UN. CNN has previously reported on the RSF’s campaign of killings, enslavement and sexual violence, conducted behind a curtain of secrecy. The report added that the UN Security Council should call on the warring parties to end sexual violence and impose targeted sanctions against the commanders and perpetrators responsible for the atrocities.

Persons: “, Women ”, , ”, Laetitia Bader, shivering –, ’, HRW Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Human Rights Watch, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations, Women, HRW, AFP, Getty, UN Locations: Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Sudan’s, Africa, Gedaref, AFP

☆ El Chapo’s Son Abducted Fellow Cartel Leader to the U.S., Officials Now Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Alan Feuer | Natalie Kitroeff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the hours after the arrest of Ismael Zambada García, the last remaining godfather of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, U.S. officials gave their early understanding of the mystery at the center of it all: How did a fugitive who had evaded capture for decades end up being delivered straight into their hands? Mr. Zambada García, the officials said, had been lured by a son of his former partner in crime, the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, onto a private plane that flew him without his permission over the border. But after a fuller vetting of the account of El Chapo’s son, Joaquín Guzmán López, with people who had knowledge of it, American officials have since come away with a different and more dramatic version of what took place in Mexico. Mr. Zambada García, one of his country’s most wanted men, had come down from a hide-out in the mountains last week and was ambushed in the Mexican city of Culiacán at what he thought would be a friendly meeting with Mr. Guzmán López, according to three federal law enforcement officials who spoke anonymously to discuss sensitive details of the case. Mr. Guzmán López then forcibly flew Mr. Zambada García in a Beechcraft King Air turboprop across the border, where he was apprehended by U.S. federal agents, the officials said.

Persons: Ismael Zambada García, Zambada García, El, El Chapo’s, Joaquín Guzmán, Guzmán, Guzmán López, Zambada Organizations: Beechcraft King Air Locations: Sinaloa, U.S, Mexico, Mexican, Culiacán

Port-au-Prince, Haiti CNN —Security forces protecting Haiti’s leader provided covering fire as he left a hospital in Port-au-Prince after an interview with CNN, in a stark illustration of the violence that continues to plague the gang-ravaged nation. Conille initially proceeded with the interview and did not remark on the gunfire — which is not an unusual thing to hear in Port-au-Prince. No one was injured and the prime minister was safely returned to his office. In May, Conille was appointed prime minister during the government’s transition period, with the aim to eventually lead Haiti to new elections. Conille had previously briefly served as prime minister from 2011 to 2012 during the presidency of Michel Martelly.

Persons: Garry Conille, MSS Force “, Conille, Ariel Henry, –, Michel Martelly Organizations: Haiti CNN — Security, CNN, Haitian National Police, Multinational Security, MSS Force, General Hospital, Haitian Police, Kenyan, Haitian Locations: Prince, Haiti, Port, Conille, Kenyan, Kenya, combatting

☆ South Africa’s ANC kicks former president Jacob Zuma out of party he once led
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Sarah Dean | Jessie Gretener | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been expelled from the African National Congress (ANC), the party he once led. “Former President Jacob Zuma has actively impugned the integrity of the ANC,” ANC Secretary General Comrade Fikile Mbalula outlined at a press briefing on Monday. In January, the ANC stated that the party is dedicated to nurturing and, when required, correcting its members and leaders. Yet, while he was barred from running in this May’s general election, his face remained on the ballot paper for the MK party. While Zuma’s MK had nearly 14.59% of the vote.

Persons: Jacob Zuma, “, Comrade Fikile Mbalula, ” Mbalula, Zuma, Mbalula Organizations: CNN, African National Congress, ANC, uMkhonto WeSizwe Party, MK, Democratic Alliance, Zuma’s MK

☆ Britain’s Labour Government Says It Inherited a $28 Billion Budget Hole
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain’s Labour government said it was making “difficult decisions” concerning the budget, including cutting some road and rail projects and pension benefits, after accusing its predecessor, the Conservative Party, of leaving the country’s finances in a mess. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said on Monday that there was a hole of 22 billion pounds (about $28 billion) in the country’s coffers this year because spending needs had exceeded expected revenue. Ms. Reeves accused the Conservative Party of making spending commitments on plans such as road repairs and building new hospitals “knowing the money wasn’t there.” Some of those plans would scrapped or reviewed. “The scale of this overspend is not sustainable,” Ms. Reeves told lawmakers in Parliament. She will present a full budget to lawmakers at the end of October.

Persons: Rachel Reeves, Reeves, Ms Organizations: Labour, Conservative Party Locations: Rwanda

☆ Jacob Zuma, Ex-President of South Africa, Is Expelled From A.N.C.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Lynsey Chutel | More About Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The African National Congress, South Africa’s governing party announced on Monday that it had expelled the country’s former president, Jacob Zuma, officially severing ties with the once-celebrated anti-apartheid fighter after he helped form a rival political party. Though Mr. Zuma has been a vaunted figure in the A.N.C. This year, he used his broad political support to campaign for uMkhonto weSizwe, a rival party known by the initials M.K. The secretary-general of the A.N.C., Fikile Mbalula, said on Monday that Mr. Zuma had been expelled because he “actively impugned the integrity of the A.N.C. from power while claiming that he had not severed his membership.” Mr. Zuma was given 21 days to appeal the decision.

Persons: Jacob Zuma, Zuma, uMkhonto weSizwe, Fikile Mbalula, “, ” Mr Organizations: African National Congress Locations: South

Less than an hour after a gunman in Butler, Pa., tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump this month, David Sacks, a venture capitalist based in San Francisco, directed his anger about the incident toward a former colleague. “The Left normalized this,” Mr. Sacks wrote on X, linking to a post about Reid Hoffman, a technology investor and major Democratic donor. Mr. Sacks implied that Mr. Hoffman, a critic of Mr. Trump who had funded a lawsuit accusing the former president of rape and defamation, had helped cause the shooting. Elon Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla and previously worked with Mr. Sacks and Mr. Hoffman, then weighed in on X, name-checking Mr. Hoffman and saying people like him “got their dearest wish.”In Silicon Valley, the spectacle of tech billionaire attacking tech billionaire has suddenly exploded, as pro-Trump executives and their Democratic counterparts have openly turned on each other. The brawling has spilled into public view online, at conferences and on podcasts, as debates about the country’s future have turned into personal broadsides.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, David Sacks, “, Mr, Sacks, Reid Hoffman, Hoffman, Elon Musk Organizations: Democratic, SpaceX, Tesla, Trump Locations: Butler, Pa, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

☆ What to expect in the 100 days until Election Day – and beyond
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Annette Choi | Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

So we don’t know what specifically will happen in the next 100 days until Election Day on November 5, or what could come after, when the country’s unique Electoral College process gets going. December: Electoral votes are castAfter questions about the election are settled, states confirm, or ascertain, their statewide results. Electors gather in their respective state capitols to cast electoral votes for their statewide winner. Nebraska and Maine also allocate some electoral votes by congressional district, and these could be pivotal in a close race. In any event, lawmakers gather on January 6, as everyone should remember from 2020, to count electoral votes.

Persons: CNN —, Joe Biden’s, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Harris, Jeff Zeleny, Sen, JD Vance, Trump’s, He’d, Biden, Vance, Trump, Maya Rudolph, Harris –, isn’t Organizations: CNN, Democratic Party, Biden, Democrats, Republican, Trump, ABC News, ABC, Fox News, Supreme, that’s, Electors, Nebraska, Electoral College, Electoral Locations: Chicago, Harris, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maine

☆ An Olympics Scene Draws Scorn. Was It Really Referencing ‘The Last Supper’?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A performance during the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony on Friday has drawn criticism from church leaders and conservative politicians for a perceived likeness to Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of a biblical scene in “The Last Supper,” with some calling it a “mockery” of Christianity. In the performance broadcast during the ceremony, a woman wearing a silver, halo-like headdress stood at the center of a long table, with drag queens posing on either side of her. Later, at the same table, a giant cloche lifted, revealing a man, nearly naked and painted blue, on a dinner plate surrounded by fruit. He broke into a song as, behind him, the drag queens danced. The tableaux drew condemnation among people who saw the images as a parody of “The Last Supper,” the New Testament scene depicted in da Vinci’s painting by the same name.

Persons: Leonardo da, Robert Barron, ” Organizations: Paris Olympics, Bishops ’ Conference Locations: Minnesota

☆ Venezuelans vote in crucial election as opposition challenges Maduro
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Venezuelans headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in a highly consequential presidential election where the country’s longtime strongman, Nicolas Maduro, will face one of his greatest political challenges yet, say analysts. Of the nine other candidates running for the presidency, his biggest challenger is a unified opposition movement that overcame their divisions to form a coalition known as the Democratic Unitary Platform. The opposition movement has maintained its momentum despite sustained government repression, in which their first-choice candidate, María Corina Machado, was disqualified from running. The government has also created significant impediments for the millions of Venezuelans abroad to vote, including widely unattainable passport and residency requirements. But several international election observers have announced this week that they will no longer travel to Venezuela to monitor the vote.

Persons: Nicolas Maduro, Maduro, Hugo Chavez’s, María Corina Machado, Machado, Edmundo González Urrutia, Matias Delacroix, –, Laboratorio de, Jimmy Carter –, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ” Laura Cristina Dib, CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon, David Shortell, Michael Rios Organizations: CNN, Democratic, International Monetary Fund, European Union, The Carter, Washington Office Locations: Venezuela, Latin America, Caracas, United States, Laboratorio de Paz, Venezuelan, America, WOLA

They arrived at polling stations long before dawn, slept in the streets so they could be the first in line, and then cried as they cast their votes. On Sunday, millions of Venezuelans headed to the ballot box in an election that will determine the fate of the socialist movement that has governed oil-rich, crisis-laden Venezuela for 25 years. By 8 p.m., most polling stations had closed, and the nation waited with apprehension for the country’s electoral body, headed by an acolyte of the ruling party, to announce the result. For the first time in more than a decade, the country’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, faced a strong challenger, Edmundo González, a previously little-known former diplomat who has the backing of a popular leader, María Corina Machado.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Edmundo González, María Corina Machado Locations: Venezuela

☆ Tiger populations in Thailand are bouncing back
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —As Global Tiger Day rolls around, there’s good news for the big cats in Thailand. Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation/WCS ThailandThe DNP began working with WCS to “build and strengthen site-based protection,” says Jornburom. Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation/WCS ThailandA ‘conservation-dependent species’While Thailand’s success story offers hope, the outlook across the region is not so optimistic. This has left small, isolated tiger populations in Myanmar, Indonesian Sumatra, and peninsular Malaysia — the latter of which is worrying conservationists after a recent spate of tiger deaths. WEFCOM currently boasts most of the country’s tiger population, and has the potential to support up to 2,000 tigers, according to WCS.

Persons: It’s, Pornkamol Jornburom, she’s, ”, Pornkamol, WEFCOM, WCS, Stuart Chapman, they’ve, Chapman, Thailand Chapman, ” Stuart Chapman Organizations: CNN, Initiative, Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife Conservation Society, Tigers, Thailand Department of National Parks , Wildlife, Plant, Patrol, GPS, WWF’s Tigers Locations: Thailand, Wildlife, Kha, Thung, Thung Yai, WEFCOM, Southeast Asia, Singapore, Java, Bali, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesian Sumatra, Malaysia, “ Thailand

☆ The 3 Biggest Mistakes You Can Make With Your 401(k)
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Diane Harris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a surprising turn, given the usual grim reports about how little most Americans have saved for retirement, there’s been a spate of good news lately about 401(k) investors. Yes, the median shot up an impressive 29 percent in 2023, but the typical account was still worth just over $35,000 by year end, Vanguard reports. Other signs of stress: A record number of savers withdrew money early, and the percentage taking out loans rose too. All told, despite the surface optimism about retirement savings, six in 10 investors told BlackRock they still worry they’ll outlive their money. “The rising tide for retirement savers has not lifted all boats,” said Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar.

Persons: there’s, they’ll, ”, Christine Benz Organizations: Vanguard, BlackRock, Morningstar

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