Venezuela’s Guaido calls for massive protest as blackout drags on

View of Caracas during a partial power outage on March 9, 2019. (AFP / Matias Delacroix)
Updated 10 March 2019
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Venezuela’s Guaido calls for massive protest as blackout drags on

  • President Maduro blames outages on “electromagnetic and cyberattacks directed from abroad by the empire"
  • Opposition leader Jose Guaido urged to seek UN intervention by invoking a principle known as “responsibility to protect”

CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday called on citizens nationwide to travel to the capital Caracas for a protest against socialist President Nicolas Maduro, as the country’s worst blackout in decades dragged on for a third day.
Addressing supporters in southwestern Caracas, Guaido — the leader of the opposition-run congress who invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January — said Maduro’s government “has no way to solve the electricity crisis that they themselves created.”
“All of Venezuela, to Caracas!” Guaido yelled while standing atop a bridge, without saying when the planned protest would be held. “The days ahead will be difficult, thanks to the regime.”
Activists had scuffled with police and troops ahead of the rally, meant to pressure Maduro amid the blackout, which the governing Socialist Party called an act of US-sponsored sabotage but opposition critics derided as the result of two decades of mismanagement and corruption.
Dozens of demonstrators attempted to walk along an avenue in Caracas but were moved onto the sidewalk by police in riot gear, leading them to shout at the officers and push on their riot shields. One woman was sprayed with pepper spray, according to a local broadcaster.
The power flickered on and off in parts of Caracas on Saturday morning, including the presidential palace of Miraflores, according to Reuters witnesses. Six of the country’s 23 states still lacked power as of Saturday afternoon, Socialist Party Vice President Diosdado Cabello said on state television.
“We’re all upset that we’ve got no power, no phone service, no water and they want to block us,” said Rossmary Nascimiento, 45, a nutritionist at the Caracas rally. “I want a normal country.”
At a competing march organized by the Socialist Party to protest what it calls US imperialism, Maduro blamed the outages on “electromagnetic and cyberattacks directed from abroad by the empire.”
“The right wing, together with the empire, has stabbed the electricity system, and we are trying to cure it soon,” he said.
Several hundred people gathered at the rally in central Caracas for a march to denounce the crippling US oil sanctions aimed at cutting off the Maduro government’s funding sources.
“We’re here, we’re mobilized, because we’re not going to let the gringos take over,” said Elbadina Gomez, 76, who works for an activist group linked to the Socialist Party.

Clinics idle
Julio Castro, a doctor and member of a nongovernmental organization called Doctors For Health, tweeted that a total of 17 people had died during the blackout, including nine deaths in emergency rooms.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the deaths or whether they could have resulted from the blackout. The Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Clinics in the sweltering western state of Zulia, which suffers chronic regional blackouts, had scaled back operations after nearly 72 hours without power.
“We’re not offering services and we don’t have any patients staying here because the generator is not working,” said Chiquinquira Caldera, head of administration at the San Lucas clinic in the city of Maracaibo, as she played a game of Chinese checkers with doctors who were waiting for power to return.
Venezuela, already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of basic goods, has been mired in a major political crisis since Guaido assumed the interim presidency in January, calling Maduro a usurper following the 2018 election, which Maduro won but was widely considered fraudulent.
Maduro says Guaido is a puppet of Washington and dismisses his claim to the presidency as an effort by the administration of US President Donald Trump to control Venezuela’s oil wealth.
Former mayor and exiled opposition activist Antonio Ledezma on Saturday called on Guaido to seek United Nations intervention in Venezuela by invoking a principle known as “responsibility to protect.”
The UN doctrine sometimes referred to as R2P was created to prevent mass killings such as those of Rwanda and Bosnia and places the onus on the international community to protect populations from crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
“President @jguaido, (you should) formally request Humanitarian Intervention, applying the concept of R2P, to stop extermination, genocide and destruction of what’s left of our country,” Ledezma wrote via Twitter.
At the opposition rally, Guaido said he would not invoke an article of the Venezuelan constitution allowing the congress to authorize foreign military operations within Venezuela “until we have to.”
“Article 187 when the time comes,” Guaido said. “We need to be in the streets, mobilized. It depends on us, not on anybody else.”
Trump has said that a “military option” is on the table with regard to Venezuela, but Latin American neighbors have emphatically opposed a US intervention as a way of addressing the situation.


54 migrants rescued from Mediterranean oil platform

The Open Arms vessel: rescuing migrants and refugees at sea. (Supplied)
Updated 14 min 41 sec ago
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54 migrants rescued from Mediterranean oil platform

  • On Friday, one of the migrants gave birth to a boy, while another woman had given birth days before

ROME: Over 50 migrants were headed to the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday after a charity ship rescued them from an abandoned oil platform in the Mediterranean, where one woman gave birth.
The vessel Astral, operated by the Spain-based NGO Open Arms, rescued the 54 people, the group said in a statement.
The migrants had been trapped on the oil platform for three days after their rubber boat shipwrecked following their departure from Libya on Tuesday, Open Arms said.
On Friday, one of the migrants gave birth to a boy, while another woman had given birth days before.
Two other young children were among the group, Open Arms said.
Later Sunday, the charity said that, following the rescue of those on the oil platform, the Astral came upon another 109 people, including four people in the water.
That group, which included 10 children, had also departed from Libya, it said.
Open Arms said they provided life jackets to the migrants before they were rescued by another charity ship, the Louise Michel, which street artist Banksy sponsors.
The Louise Michel, a former French navy vessel, was transporting the migrants to a safe port in Sicily, Open Arms said.
It is not unusual for migrants crossing the Mediterranean on leaky and overcrowded boats to seek refuge on offshore oil platforms.
As of June 1, some 23,000 migrants had reached Italy by sea this year, according to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR.

 


Two charged with murder after death of Yemeni teenager in Sheffield hit-and-run

Updated 54 min 4 sec ago
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Two charged with murder after death of Yemeni teenager in Sheffield hit-and-run

  • Victim’s family said teenager had come to UK from Yemen in hope of a better future

LONDON: Two men have been charged with murder after a 16-year-old boy died in an alleged hit-and-run in Sheffield last week, it was reported on Sunday.

Zulkernain Ahmed and Amaan Ahmed have also been charged with three counts of attempted murder following the death of Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al-Yazidi, South Yorkshire Police said.

Al-Yazidi’s family said the teenager had come to the UK from Yemen three months ago, hoping for a better future. He had been learning English ahead of starting college in September and was described as someone who would “light up their faces with a big smile.”

He was walking along the road in Darnall on Wednesday when he was struck by a grey Audi.

Police believe the car first hit the rider of an electric bike before continuing on and hitting Al-Yazidi. He later died in hospital from his injuries.

An 18-year-old man riding the e-bike was seriously injured but is expected to recover.

The two suspects are due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

A 46-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, remain on bail.

Saleh Alsirkal, a relative who runs a shop in Darnall, said Al-Yazidi had dropped in shortly before the collision, after attending a hospital appointment.

“He was a kind boy,” he told the BBC. “He just wanted to look after his family. His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything.”

Local councillor Qais Al-Ahdal said the teen was widely liked and respected in the area.

“We’ve really lost someone who is good in the community,” he said. “Praised by everyone unanimously, he was a really good kid. May God have mercy on his soul,” adding that the Darnall community was united in grief.


Pope Leo prays for reconciliation and dialogue

Updated 9 sec ago
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Pope Leo prays for reconciliation and dialogue

  • Leo said the church “must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race”

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world as he prayed on Sunday for reconciliation and dialogue — a message in line with his pledges to make the Catholic Church a symbol of peace.
The pope celebrated Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square in front of tens of thousands of faithful, and asked the Holy Spirit to “break down barriers and tear down the walls of indifference and hatred.”
“Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,” the first American pontiff said.
Leo’s homily did not call out current events and conflicts, nor identify individual leaders.
But his choice of language was significant, encouraging people to “open borders” within their hearts and minds.
The address marked a month since the former Robert Prevost from Chicago was elected pope, and came during a Sunday mass to celebrate Pentecost held under sunny skies in St. Peter’s Square.
Before mass, the 69-year-old pontiff made a turn around the sprawling Baroque square in his popemobile to the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican at around 80,000 people.
Leo said the church “must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race.”
People must move “beyond our fear of those who are different,” he said.
The pope also said the Holy Spirit was an antidote for toxic relationships marked by “suspicion, prejudice, or the desire to manipulate others.”
“With great pain,” Leo cited “cases where an unhealthy desire marks relationships for domination, an attitude that often leads to violence, as is shown, tragically, by numerous recent cases of femicide.”
Leo also cited the dangers of social media, saying it risked making people “ever more alone” within a “vortex of individualism.”
“Constantly connected, yet incapable of ‘networking’. Always immersed in a crowd, yet confused and solitary travelers,” he said.
Since his election, Leo has offered to mediate between leaders of countries at war, and earlier this week, he had his first telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Several speeches of the new pontiff — including among his first words from St. Peter’s Basilica when he became pope on May 8 — have focused on building bridges between individuals and peoples.

 


Wagner replaced by Russia’s Africa Corp. in Mali: diplomatic sources

Updated 08 June 2025
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Wagner replaced by Russia’s Africa Corp. in Mali: diplomatic sources

  • Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted toward Russia for political and military support
  • Mali has never officially admitted Wagner’s presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors

DAKAR: The Russian paramilitary group Wagner has left Mali and its units there have been taken over by the Moscow-run Africa Corps, diplomatic and security sources told AFP on Sunday.
“Officially, Wagner is no longer present in Mali. But the Africa Corps is stepping up,” one diplomatic source in the Sahel region said.
A Telegram account affiliated with Wagner said: “Mission accomplished. PMC Wagner is going home.”
Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted toward Russia for political and military support.
Wagner, Russia’s best-known mercenary group, was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow.
Mali has never officially admitted Wagner’s presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors.

Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our point of contact remains the same, it is the central power in Russia, that is to say the Kremlin

Malian security source

France withdrew its 2,400 troops from Mali in 2022 after ties with the junta soured and anti-French sentiment surged among the public.
“The Kremlin remains in control,” the same diplomatic source added.
“Most of the Wagner personnel in Mali, who are originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into Africa Corps and remain in northern regional capitals and Bamako.”
The Africa Corps is another paramilitary group with links to the Kremlin and seen as the successor to the Wagner group. Like Wagner, its mercenaries are active supporting several African governments.
For over three years, Mali had relied on Wagner in its fight against jihadists who have killed thousands across the country.
“Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our point of contact remains the same, it is the central power in Russia, that is to say the Kremlin,” a Malian security source said Sunday.
The paramilitary group’s brutal methods on the ground in Mali have been regularly denounced by human rights groups.
A UN report accused Mali’s army and foreign fighters of executing at least 500 people during a March 2022 anti-jihadist sweep in Moura — a claim denied by the junta.
Western governments believe the foreign fighters were Wagner mercenaries.
Last April, bodies were discovered near a Malian military camp, days after the army and Wagner paramilitaries arrested dozens of civilians, most from the Fulani community.
Wagner’s withdrawal comes amid what the Malian army calls a “resurgence““of jihadist attacks, including two assaults that killed dozens of soldiers and forced troops to abandon a key central base.
A European diplomatic source in the Sahel believes Africa Corps will probably do “much more training of Malian soldiers than Wagner did.”
“Although Wagner claims that its operations and support strengthened the Malian army, Africa Corps will need to continue training and support, especially after the recent wave of attacks against the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces),” said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at the Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.


National Guard troops arrive in Los Angeles on Trump’s orders to quell immigration protests

Updated 08 June 2025
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National Guard troops arrive in Los Angeles on Trump’s orders to quell immigration protests

  • In recent days, clashes between between federal immigration authorities and protesters seeking to block them from carrying out deportations erupted in Los Angeles
  • Trump has said he is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell the protests

LOS ANGELES: National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles early Sunday on orders from President Donald Trump in response to clashes in recent days between federal immigration authorities and protesters seeking to block them from carrying out deportations.
Members of California’s National Guard were seen staging early Sunday at the federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes the Metropolitan Detention Center, one of several sites that have seen confrontations involving hundreds of people in last two days.
The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle.
Trump has said he is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell the protests, which he called “a form of rebellion.”
Early Sunday, the deployment was limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles. The protests have been relatively small and limited to a downtown section. The rest of the city of 4 million people is largely unaffected.
Their arrival follows clashes near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles. As protesters sought to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement, federal agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
On Sunday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the National Guard would “keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.”
In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.
The move came over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, marking the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Newsom, a Democrat, said Trump’s decision to call in the National Guard was “purposefully inflammatory.” He described Hegseth’s threat to deploy Marines on American soil as “deranged behavior.”
Trump’s order came after clashes in Paramount and neighboring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back.
Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people.