Clashes break out at Venezuela May Day protest
Caracas: Clashes broke out between opposition supporters and Venezuela's armed forces in the capital Caracas on Wednesday during May Day protests with opposition leader Juan Guaido attempting to rally demonstrators against President Nicolas Maduro.
National Guard troops fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters attempting to block a highway close to the air base in eastern Caracas where Guaido had tried on Tuesday to spark a military uprising against Maduro.
A second day of confrontations between opposition supporters and Maduro's security services came as the United States said it was prepared to take military action, if necessary, to stem the crisis in the South American nation.
In Tuesday's clashes one person was killed and dozens injured, according to human rights monitors. Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, who heads the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself the acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Venezuela's authorities not to use deadly force against demonstrators, while the US and Russia accused each other of making the crisis worse, evoking Cold War confrontations of the past.
In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of "destabilizing" Venezuela. Lavrov, in turn, charged that US interference was "destructive" and "in flagrant violation of international law." Guaido rallied his supporters in Caracas in the Labor Day demonstrations, urging them to stay in the streets.
His appeal came despite the apparent failure the day before of a revolt by some soldiers and members of the Bolivarian National Guard who joined his side. "There is nothing for workers to celebrate," Guaido told supporters in the oil-rich country suffering from hyperinflation and food and medicine shortages that have driven millions to flee.
"We're going to remain in the streets until we achieve freedom for the Venezuelan people. "The regime will try to increase the repression. It will try to persecute me, to stage a coup d'etat," said Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as the country's interim president.
He said staggered industrial action would begin on Thursday, leading to a general strike. Maduro, whose supporters staged their own march in Caracas, posted a message of support for them on Twitter. "I'm receiving images of a huge display of joy spilling out over the streets of Caracas," he wrote.
Tuesday's events showed that "the insurrection, the coup and armed confrontation are not the way for our beloved Venezuela," Maduro said.
Maduro had congratulated the armed forces for having "defeated this small group that intended to spread violence through putschist skirmishes." Accusing Guaido of attempting to stage a coup, he vowed, "This will not go unpunished."
Hours after the revolt by military members appeared to have fizzled out, Pompeo told CNN he believed Maduro was ready to flee to ally Cuba before he was dissuaded by Russia -- a claim Maduro later refuted as "a joke." A senior Brazilian official said at least 25 Venezuelan troops had sought asylum at its Caracas embassy.
Venezuela's security forces number around 365,000 including military and police, as well as 1.6 million civilian reservists. Pompeo said on Wednesday that Washington wants a peaceful transfer of power but warned that US President Donald Trump is prepared to take military action if necessary.
"The president has been crystal clear and incredibly consistent. Military action is possible. If that's what's required, that's what the United States will do," Pompeo told Fox Business Network.
Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities as well as failing public services, including water, electricity and transport.
"We're living through hell, without water, without electricity. I believe the people in the streets will be the straw that breaks the camel's back," a resident of western Caracas, Evelinda Villalobos, 58, told AFP.
The United Nations says a quarter of Venezuela's 30 million people need humanitarian aid, 3.7 million people are malnourished while another 2.7 million have fled the country's economic woes.
"Yesterday we saw soldiers recognizing our interim president. We have to stay in the streets," said Patricia Requena, 40.
"I'll keep demonstrating as long as God allows me to." Michael Shifter, an analyst with the Inter-American Dialogue, told AFP the US approach to Venezuela was "unhelpful and often counterproductive." "The US is right to back Guaido in his battle against Maduro," said Shifter.
"But beyond being on the right side, the administration is making it harder, not easier, to achieve a democratic transition in Venezuela." He added that Russia had "committed fewer self-inflicted wounds than the US and seems more skillful in advancing its own interests."
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Decision on next Maharashtra CM to be taken 'in a day or two', says Shinde
New Delhi (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.
Speaking to reporters here before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said the decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be taken "in a day or two" in another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital.
Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Shah and Nadda late Thursday to thrash out a power-sharing pact for the next government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition registered a thumping majority in the Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," the outgoing chief minister said.
Shinde said that he would not be an obstacle in the government formation in the state and abide by the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
"This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he said.
Shinde said the meeting with Shah and Nadda was "good and positive".
"We all discussed the formation of government. There is good coordination between the allies, we are all very positive and we will honour the clear-cut mandate given to us by the people. We will form the government soon," he said.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters early Friday.
The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts".
Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP bagged 41 seats.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback with the grand old party registering one of its worst performances in the Assembly polls as it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.
