The Swedish warship Vasa. It sank in 1628 less than a mile into its maiden voyage and was recovered from the sea floor after 333 years, almost completely intact
Now housed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Itâs now one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has been seen by over 35 million visitors since 1961. Read More...
Nestled in the heart of Elvas, Portugal, stands the enigmatic Nossa Senhora da Graça Fort, or the Fort of Our Lady of Grace, a true marvel of military architecture.
Constructed between 1579 and 1592 under the reign of King Philip II of Spain, this captivating star-shaped fortress was brought to life by the brilliant military engineer Francisco de Arruda. Its strategic location near the Spanish border made it a bastion of defense critical to the protection of Elvas.
The fortâs ingenious star design, coupled with its formidable walls and bastions, was meticulously engineered to withstand the onslaught of artillery fire, showcasing the military tactics of its time. Throughout history, the fort has witnessed a series of fierce confrontations, playing a vital role in significant conflicts such as the War of the Spanish Succession and the Peninsular War.
As the tides of time shifted, the fortâs purpose evolved, and by the 20th century, it found itself transformed into a military prison. Eventually decommissioned, it has since been restored, standing proudly as a testament to Portugal's intricate tapestry of historyâa silent guardian of stories untold.
#NossaSenhoradaGraça #ElvasFortress #MilitaryArchitecture #PortugueseHistory #WarOfSuccession #HistoricalLandmark
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Drought-hit Danube River reveals scuttled German World War II ships
Mohacs, Hungary/Prahovo, Serbia
Reuters
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The wrecks of explosives-laden Nazi ships sunk in the Danube River during World War II have emerged near Serbiaâs river port town of Prahovo, after a drought in July and August that saw the riverâs water level drop.
Four vessels dating from before 1950 have also come to light in Hungaryâs Danube-Drava National Park near Mohacs, where the Danubeâs water level stood at only 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) on Tuesday, the lingering effect of severe heat waves and persistent drought in July and August.
The vessels revealed in Prahovo were among hundreds scuttled along the Danube by Nazi Germanyâs Black Sea fleet in 1944 as they retreated from advancing Soviet forces, destroying the ships themselves. The wrecks can hamper river traffic during low water levels.
Strewn across the riverbed, some of the ships still have turrets, command bridges, broken masts and twisted hulls, while others lie mostly submerged under sandbanks.
Endre Sztellik, a guard at the Danube-Drava national park, said of one of the ships, âwe still donât know what this is exactly. What is visible and an unfortunate fact is that the wreck is diminishing as people are interested in it and parts of it are going missing.â
The Danube stood at 1.17 meters (3.8 feet) in Budapest on Tuesday, which compares with an all-time record low of around 0.4 meters (1.3 feet) registered in October 2018. During floods, the Danube rises well above 6 meters (19.7 feet).
âEastern Europe is experiencing critical drought conditions that are affecting crops and vegetation,â the European climate service Copernicus said on its website in its latest drought report, published earlier this month.
Long-awaited rainfall set in on Monday, which is expected to raise Danube levels to around 3 meters (9.8 feet) at Mohacs by the weekend, with the river likely to submerge the shipwrecks again.
The level of Polandâs longest river, the Vistula, has fallen to a record low, leaving sandbanks exposed in Warsaw and water so shallow a moose was filmed walking across it in a section in the countryside.
#news
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âď¸â¨ Warriors of the Pharaoh â¨âď¸
This powerful relief shows the Pharaoh in a dynamic pose, striking down his enemy, symbolizing his strength and dominance in battle. đş The scene illustrates the Pharaohâs role as both a ruler and warrior, defending Egypt and maintaining order through military might.
Such depictions were common in ancient Egyptian art, designed to showcase the Pharaoh's divine authority and ability to protect the land from invaders. đ These carvings serve as reminders of the Pharaohâs role as protector of Egypt, as well as their divine connection to the gods. đ
#AncientEgypt #Pharaoh
#EgyptianArt #WarriorKing #EgyptianHistory #DivineAuthority
#BattleScenes #ProtectorsOfEgypt
#PharaohPower #HistoricalRelief #AncientCivilizations #EgyptianCulture
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Typer.me App Now Available on the Play Store!
Typer.me is now on the Play Store! Download the app today and start connecting with others in a whole new way. Whether youâre sharing ideas, organizing content, or exploring trending topics, Typer.me gives you the tools to stay engaged. Install now and join our growing community! Read More...
Maduro warns heâll call for a ânew revolutionâ if forced by âNorth American imperialismâ
Venezuelaâs President Nicolas Maduro warned Wednesday that he will not hesitate to call on the population for a ânew revolutionâ if forced by what he calls âNorth American imperialism and fascist criminals.â
Maduroâs comments come amid deadly protests across the country following its disputed presidential election victory, which the US and several other countries have refused to recognize.
âI would not like to go to other ways of making revolution, I say it solemnly from political power, we want to continue the path that [Hugo] Chavez outlined,â Maduro said in Caracas during a press conference with international media.
âBut if North American imperialism and fascist criminals force us, my pulse will not tremble to call the people to a new revolution with other characteristics,â he added.
The presidentâs comments come just hours after US National Security spokesman John Kirby called on Maduro to âcome cleanâ on Sundayâs election.
âOur patience, and that of the international community, is running out on waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release the full, detailed data on this election so everyone can see the results,â Kirby told reporters during Wednesdayâs White House press briefing.
Kirby said the US and other nations share âserious concerns of the reports of casualties, violence and arrests, including the arrests warrants that Maduro and his representatives issued today (Wednesday) for opposition leaders.â
âAlongside the international community, we are watching, and we are going to respond accordingly,â Kirby said.
20 âcredible reportsâ of deaths
The Venezuelan leaderâs comments came as Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had received 20 âcredible reportsâ of deaths connected to the nationwide protests over the election results.
âWe are working to document and corroborate each case,â Juanita Goebertus, HRW Director for the Americas, wrote on X.
Foro Penal, a local NGO, reported on Tuesday that a total of 11 people have died during the protests.
Of those killed, five died in Caracas, two in Zulia and Yaracuy, and one in Aragua and Tachira, the head of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, told reporters on Tuesday.
CNN has reached out to Venezuelaâs Public Prosecutor for comment.
So far, the Venezuelan government has not published any information regarding the death of civilians.
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Israel will say it had no choice, but its airstrikes in Lebanon risks igniting a regional war
Israel carried out "pre-emptive" strikes against Hezbollah overnight, while the militant group says it has completed the "first phase" of an attack on 11 Israeli military sites.
This appears to have been a high-stakes Israeli military operation that risked igniting a regional war.
Israel will say it had no choice: One of the pillars of Israeli military doctrine has long been the principle that offence is the best form of defence.
It is not the first time it has used its air force hoping to defang an imminent threat. Israel insists it sent an armada of warplanes to the skies over Lebanon, more than a hundred strong, to stop an 'extensive planned attack involving thousands of rocket launches' about to be let loose by Hezbollah.
Just as Israel launched audacious air attacks obliterating Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser's air force in 1967 and Saddam Hussein's atomic programme in 1981, Israel says it despatched jets overnight to neutralise Hezbollah.
It is not clear how many enemy drones and missiles were already in the air. Hezbollah claims all 11 of its targets in Israel were hit and it launched 320 Katyusha rockets.
The primary strike it says was aimed at "a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later" as well as "enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome [missile defence] platforms".
Israeli intelligence sources had claimed the airbase used in the strike on Shukr and the headquarters of Unit 8200, the Israeli military intelligence agency, north of Tel Aviv, were on Hezbollah's target list.
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Hezbollah meanwhile says Israel's operation failed to pre-empt its long-awaited retaliation and insists it succeeded in striking targets deep within Israel.
Two questions for now: Hezbollah's next move and what this does to efforts to end the war in Gaza.
Will Hezbollah draw a line under the Shukr/Haniyeh affair? The organisation says today's action is over but is more planned in the coming days? All eyes are on its commander Hassan Nasrallah who will address his faithful by video link tonight.
He has not been seen in public since Hezbollah's war with Israel in 2006 for fear of being assassinated by Israeli jets himself.
Hezbollah attacked Israel in the wake of Hamas atrocities on 7 October and has been locked in an almost daily artillery duel with Israel over their border ever since.
Israeli intelligence claims Hezbollah has amassed an arsenal of 150,000 missiles secreted in the hills of southern Lebanon since 2006, 10 times the amount it possessed back then.
It has so far refrained from unleashing that firepower: Analysts believe its paymasters and patrons in Tehran prefer to keep that armoury in reserve as an insurance policy for the day Israel may attack Iran itself, as well as its alleged nuclear programme.
But Israel has been testing that theory for months now, responding with force to Hezbollah's attacks in the north. Each exchange of fire has the potential to escalate the region into a wider war through miscalculation and unintended mass civilian casualties.
So far, events overnight do not seem to have upended the fragile efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza. Delegations are still on their way to Cairo for the next round of talks. If anything the escalation reemphasises the urgency behind the diplomacy.
But it could also offer the Israelis a distraction, should they want one, from huge pressure from the US to make the concessions required to reach a deal.
Most Israeli observers believe Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire on the terms currently being negotiated for fear it could lead to his coalition government falling apart.
But US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators insist the truce terms are the best and possibly last chance of bringing home Israel's hostages and ending the war.
They also believe a ceasefire in Gaza is the best way of reducing tensions in the north - which have exploded overnight so spectacularly.
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A farmer, Eric Howard, trying to save a field from fire in Weld County, Colorado.
Eric is actually the neighbor of the farmer who owns the field. Once alarmed, he ran home and grabbed his equipment to help out.
#FarmLife #FireRescue #ColoradoFarmers #NeighborlyHelp #WeldCounty
#FarmHeroes #FieldFire #CommunitySupport #FarmEquipment #EricHoward
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NCSoft Just Announced Guild Wars 3
You know itâs a good day when you wake up and see news that one of the largest, most influencial, arguably most popular free to play MMOs get a confirmed sequel. Thatâs what just happened with Guild Wars 2.
When I first mentioned NCSoft were potentially developing a Guild Wars 3, people told me I was crazy, that there was no way that could be the case.
When I followed up several years later with confirmation that NCSoft were hiring programmers to create an MMO in an already pre-existing intellectual property, people said there was no way that could be Guild Wars 2. The game is too healthy, a staple of NCSoftâs roster of games, and by association, potential to make a quality game.
Yet according to multiple sources online â Inven â which documented NCSoftâs shareholdersâ meeting on the 28th, and several websites that have since covered the reveal, Guild Wars 3 is already deep in development. Much further than any of us likely even thought possible after this announcement.
But what would a Guild Wars 3 look like? Will it differ from Guild Wars 2? Is it the same team working on it, and how will this ultimately affect Guild Wars 2? Especially given ArenaNetâs commitment to releasing more frequent expansions each year.
Thatâs what weâre going to try and find out.
The investorâs meeting began by acting chairman, Park Byeong-moo â who weâll refer to as Park for the remainder of this video â stating that the global gaming market in 2023 is very unstable, and NCSoft has experienced difficulties both internally and externally, resulting in a decline in stock price.
With how poorly Throne & Liberty did in Korea, and NCSoftâs recent statement confirming itâs up to Amazon with the Global release to save the game, with Aion, Blade & Soul, and their mobile games all doing poorly â this was to be expected.
Park followed this up with a statement referring to the companies history over the last 20 years. âIf you look back at NCâs history, there are a number of successful IPs that were developed independently in Korea.â
Which is true. Aion, Lineage, Blade & Soul. All exceptional MMORPGs that did fantastic, financially, until they were ruined by NCSoftâs mismanagement and greed.
âI am confident that NC will be able to develop its capacity for sustainable development again.â â With regards to new intellectual properties? Unlikely. Potentially, by expanding on already existing intellectual properties like Lineage, Aion or Blade & Soul because they already carry a fanbase.
He then goes on to confirm âInnovation for change has already begun,â further elaborating on NCSoftâs Global vision by stating âthis year is NCSoftâs first step forward as a global game company.â
âI dare say itâs the first year,â explaining that theyâre in the process currently of releasing numerous games that fill a variety of different genres â some of which havenât been done before, like the new open-world Trailblazer game, among many others.
The CEO, Kim Taek-jin is in the process of traveling around the world at present, in an active effort to expand not only their brand, but also their scope and games by engaging in Global collaborations.
As noted, one of the most important routes for the companiesâ success moving into the future, is âestablishing a foundation for globalization,â along with âcontinuous investment to increase new IPs.â
2024 is going to be a very important year for NCSoft and its shareholders, with much of its potential success riding on how well received Throne & Liberty is Globally.
A question was asked of Park, âNC West has been running a deficit for 8 years, and I donât understand why the person in charge remains the same.â NC West is the North American studio in charge of Lineage, Aion, Guild Wars, and Blade & Soul across America, Europe and Oceania.
Park goes on to respond to this by confirming that originally, NCSoft had six studios within the United States, and after extensive work, with likely quite substantial costs, every studio was integrated into one: ArenaNet. ArenaNet is the developer behind Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, and itâs at this point that the revelation was made concerning Guild Wars 3.
âArenaNet are currently working on Guild Wars 3, looking at this process, we have considerable competitiveness. Although it is not completely profitableâ â referring to ArenaNet â âI believe that it has increased its competitiveness.â
ArenaNet and the Guild Wars intellectual property have proven to be the continued driving force behind NCSoft in recent years, looking at their sales breakdown by region from the 4th quarter of 2023, youâll see that âNA/EU sales grew by 15% quarter over quarter due to strong sales of Guild Wars 2.â
Park further elaborates on NC West by reiterating this is their âfirst year Global leap forward,â but they are also âreorganizing the Global headquarters.â
Park talked a little about he, the COO and CEOâs claims of excessive financial compensation, even in light of their continued stock price decline, but navigating further down, we see a question asked concerning NCSoftâs reputation â and how brand value has fallen recently.
I just want to point out, this isnât a recent occurence. This is a reputation that has been deteriorating for the better half of 2 decades.
Park states that NCSoft has a ânegative image among streamers in the gaming industry,â and that these creators will likely change their opinion about them after seeing the quality games they plan on releasing in 2024.
I havenât seen a single game announced by NCSoft that screams a significant alteration in terms of quality. Or a drastic departure from what theyâve become synonymous with.
The rest of the Investorâs meeting went over topics that were unrelated to Guild Wars, but it looks as though theyâre anticipating Guild Wars 3 will be a large driving force behind the studioâs expansion into the Western gaming market.
Which could very well be true. Guild Wars 2 is keeping the studio afloat right now. Guild Wars 3 could bring an entirely new audience to their games. But letâs take a look at what people have to say.
Honestly, I think Guild Wars 3 has the potential to be a phenomenal game so long as the people that made Guild Wars 2 stick to a formula that people love. Thereâs no need to reinvent the wheel, just optimize and improve on what worked.
But at the same time, I donât forsee this game releasing for many years. Probably sometime after 2030. So they have plenty of time to craft the perfect formula.
Until then, thereâs always Blue Protocol or Throne & Liberty, right? Right?
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She's a model
Sheâs a model
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.
.
.
#jenniferlopez
#alexandradaddario #AngelinaJolie #MeganFox #margotrobbie
#chrisevans #ChristianBale #AnneHathway #BrieLarson
#ScarlettJohansson #elizabetholsen #JenniferLopez
#JenniferAniston #JenniferLawrence #priyankachopra
#KristenStewart #HaileeSteinfeld #emiliaclarke #galgadot
#wonderwoman #DC #mcu #MeganFox #kyliejenner
#kimkardashian #kendalljennerâ¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸
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Ubisoft reveals full Star Wars Outlaws system requirements and PC-specific features
Uncapped frame rates, ultra-wide support, the good ray-tracing stuff: It's all here.
With two weeks to go before the arrival of Star Wars OutlawsâAugust 30 is the big dayâUbisoft has revealed the official PC system requirements, as well as a rundown of PC-specific features you'll be able to take advantage of if you've got the hardware to handle it.
You're going to need some pretty heavy hardware to run Star Wars Outlaws at its "ultra" setting, but it's reasonably forgiving at the other end of the scale. Of course, one of the great things about PC gaming is that you can fiddle: Turn this up so you can turn that down, until you find a balance of eye-candy and performance that makes you happyâor, at the very least, that you can live with until you're able to upgrade your rig.
Minimum
Visual settings: 1080p/30 fps/Low preset with upscaler set to quality
GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 6GB / AMD RX 5600 XT 6GB / Intel Arc a750 8GB (ReBAR ON)
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: 16GB (dual-channel mode)
OS: Windows 10/11 with DirectX 12
SSD Storage: 65GB
Recommended
Visual settings: 1080p/60 fps/High preset with upscaler set to quality
GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 8GB / AMD RX 6700 XT 12GB
CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
RAM: 16GB (dual-channel mode)
OS: Windows 10/11 with DirectX 12
SSD Storage: 65GB
Enthusiast
Visual settings: 1440p/60 fps/High preset with upscaler set to quality
GPU: GeForce RTX 4070 12GB / AMD RX 6800 XT 16GB
CPU: Intel Core i5-11600K / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
RAM: 16GB (dual-channel mode)
OS: Windows 10/11 with DirectX 12
SSD Storage: 65GB
Ultra
Visual settings: 4K/60 fps/Ultra preset with upscaler set to quality
GPU: GeForce RTX 4080 16GB / AMD RX 7900 XTX 24GB
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
RAM: 16GB (dual-channel mode)
OS: Windows 10/11 with DirectX 12
SSD Storage: 65GB
One interesting thing is all these specs, as hardware writer Jeremy Laird wrote earlier this month when the basic requirements first appeared on the Ubisoft Store, is that "upscaling is the new normal." Even at the minimum setting you'll need to have DLSS, FSR, or some other upscaling tech in order to achieve Ubisoft's frame rate targets, and the game will be running at a lower-than-spec resolution and then be upscaled.
That's not a big deal in and of itself, but some lower-end GPUs may struggle more than expectedânote, for instance, that Intel Arc GPUs are only listed in the "minimum" setting. Unlike Nick, I'm not a hardware guy, but it does make me think that maybe the smart play is to treat the "recommended" spec as the minimum, at least until the game's been out for a while and you can see how it runs for other people.
Anyway, speaking of fiddling, here's the lowdown on PC-specific features you'll find in Outlawsâagain, the availability of which will depend on the weight of your iron:
Ray-traced global illumination, reflections, and shadows
NVIDIA RTX dynamic illumination (RTXDI) Support
NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 support (ray reconstruction, Frame Generation, Super Resolution)
Intel XESS 1.3 and AMD FSR 3.0 (upscaling and frame generation) support
In-depth customization options
Uncapped frame rate
21:9 Cinematic Display Mode
Multi-monitor and ultrawide support\
"In-depth customization options" is a bit vague, so here's a still from the new PC gameplay trailer to give you an idea of what's in store:
Star Wars Outlaws is set to come out on August 30, and will be available for PC on the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store. You can get into it up to three days early by spending extra (a lot extra, really) for the Gold or Ultimate edition of the game (which also include the season pass and various extra cosmetics) or by subscribing to Ubisoft+.
#Games #Ubisoft #StarWars
Source: PCGAMER.COM
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That's a little bit to! Yeah nice Warning
#warning #meme #funny
Thanks for warning đ
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Venezuelans have seen this movie before, but Maduro should beware. This time, the ending could be different
It happened in Caracas on June 9, 2016, when I was there to cover a series of violent protests that had broken out in Venezuela.
That sunny day, as our CNN team was walking towards the building that houses the National Assembly for interviews, we noticed a group of men heading the same way from the opposite side of the street.
âHurry up!,â CNN en espaĂąolâs correspondent in Caracas Osmary HernĂĄndez said. âI think the colectivos are up the street.â We all picked up our pace and breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to the building. Colectivos are armed groups that function like a street gang, but are closely affiliated with the socialist government and often do their dirty work.
Moments after we made it inside the building, Julio Borges, an opposition member of the assembly and its former president, arrived in bad shape. He had a bloody nose and said a group of opposition legislators like him had been attacked by colectivos as they were headed to the office of the national electoral authority. The month before, President NicolĂĄs Maduro had declared a âconstitutional state of emergency.â
Even before that tumultuous period, it had become abundantly clear that Maduroâs government had absolute control of all three branches of government as well as the the National Electoral Council (CNE).
And, as we had just witnessed, it also controlled the streets of Caracas. Maduro, now 61, is a former bus driver who became a Caracas metro system union leader and rose through the ranks. He is the handpicked successor of the late strongman Hugo ChĂĄvez, who ruled Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013.
A new wave of violence shook Venezuela once again in 2019. In January of that year, Juan GuaidĂł, then president of the National Assembly, had proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela. The then-35-year-old GuaidĂł argued that he had the constitutional right to the presidency as leader of the assembly because Maduro, who had been sworn in only days before, was an illegitimate president.
Both the opposition and leaders of several countries in the region had called the previous yearâs election a sham. GuaidĂł convinced 50 countries that he had a right to be president, including the United States.
By June 2019, when I returned to Caracas, GuaidĂł had already attempted a military uprising that almost succeeded on April 30, followed by weeks of violent clashes between protesters and security forces that left dozens dead.
The world started to pay close attention to Venezuela once again in the last few months as the country was getting ready to hold a new presidential election. Would Maduro allow the opposition to run a candidate of its choosing? Would this be a free, fair, and transparent election? Would the colectivos once again be used to intimidate voters as they had done in previous elections?
The first and second questions were answered in January when opposition leader MarĂa Corina Machado was barred by Venezuelaâs highest court from running for president (or any other elected position) for 15 years over alleged financial irregularities. Machado had won more than 90% of the vote in last Octoberâs opposition primary. She attracted large crowds everywhere she went, even though the government did everything possible to stop her, even persecuting those who rented sound systems to her campaign.
The third question was answered in the last hours of the election itself on Sunday when colectivos showed up at at least one polling center in Caracas and started beating up opposition sympathizers who had been asked by the leadership to keep an eye on ballot boxes in an effort to prevent tampering.
Those of us who have been following Venezuela for decades have seen this movie before: a âshamâ election to justify Maduroâs staying in power. Democracy has been gradually weakening in Venezuela over the last 25 years since the charismatic socialist leader ChĂĄvez rose to power in 1999.
While Venezuelans and the world awaited results Sunday night, the countryâs electoral authority delayed publication, alleging the system had been targeted by hackers operating from North Macedonia without showing any evidence. This was not surprising in a country where all three branches of government are in the hands of government loyalists, hundreds of opposition leaders have been imprisoned, and true democracy hasnât existed in a generation.
âIs there anything different this time?â Thatâs the question I asked Michael Shifter, the former president of the Inter-American Dialogue and current professor of Latin American Politics at Georgetown University, who has been following Venezuelan politics for decades.
Shifter said the Maduro victory was a âblatant, massive and egregious fraud,â but the opposition managed to do something it had been unable to do before: uniting behind a single candidate and going to the polls in massive numbers.
âThe alternative [to participating in the election] was taking themselves completely out of the political game, saying âwe refuse to take part in this unfair and unjust election,â but that wouldâve left the opposition in a weaker position in practical and political termsâ as it happened in 2018 when the opposition decided to boycott the whole process.
âI think the opposition learned that refusing to take part in elections was not helping their cause. They recognized that even when the elections werenât free and fair, they needed to defeat Maduro on his terms, which theyâve done,â Shifter said.
Venezuelaâs CNE declared Maduro the winner Monday saying he had won with 51.2% of the votes, with 80% of the ballots counted. His main rival, opposition candidate Edmundo GonzĂĄlez, had obtained 44.2% of the votes, according to the body.
Critics like former Bolivian President Jorge Fernando âTutoâ Quiroga, who was one of several former heads of state prevented from flying to Venezuela by its government as they tried to serve as observers, called the Maduro government a âdesperate regime; an open, pure and hard tyranny that has chosen to steal the presidency staging a fraudulent coronation.â In an interview with CNN, he said that even the math didnât add up when Venezuelan electoral authorities declared a winner with 80% of the vote counted.
âWhen youâre in first grade, you learn that 20 is more than seven,â Quiroga said. âThe probability that [opposition presidential candidate] Edmundo [GonzĂĄlez] couldâve won was low, but still arithmetically possible,â at that point, he said, adding that prior to the election there were credible exit polls showing GonzĂĄlez was ahead by as much as 40 percent.
Just like 2016 and 2019, violence has returned to Venezuela. At least 11 people died during protests in Venezuela on Monday, according to the non-governmental organization Foro Penal on social media. Venezuelan authorities say more than 700 people were detained in the protests. The Venezuelan opposition political party Voluntad Popular said Tuesday that its leader Freddy Superlano has been kidnapped.
Unlike the 2018 election, Shifter says, this time the opposition âknows they won, and the regime knows they won.â The question now is how long the governing coalition that includes not only the socialists, but the armed forces can hold, Shifter said.
If that coalition becomes âdivided and weaker, the armed forces may say âthis ship is sinking and we donât want to go down with it,ââ Shifter said.
SOURCE: CNN
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World of Warcraftâs The War Within headstart is live â prepare for a long spoiler-dodging weekend
Depending on how much you shelled out for World of Warcraftâs newest expansion, this is either the best or longest weekend of the year for you. Early access for The War Within kicked off yesterday, with the world-first level 80 happening a shade over an hour later.
WoW players who donât have access to the head start are advised to stay off the global chat channels, streams, and WoW fan sites as spoilers are being flung around pretty fast and loose right now. Those âleft behindâ can continue to enjoy the Radiant Echoes event, although this had a nasty (but now corrected) issue where the XP was pretty much disabled.
Meanwhile over in WoW Classic, Blizzard is consolidating all of its Season of Discovery servers to one PvP and one PvE realm per region with free character transfers available. âMost of the origin realms currently still have healthy populations, and we recognize that moving characters can be disruptive to player communities, so this is not a decision we take lightly,â the studio said.
Source: World of Warcraft, 2
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