Huge California wildfire tears through 5,000 acres every hour
Venezuelans are heading to the polls on Sunday in what is being described as the most significant challenge to the ruling socialist PSUV party since it assumed power 25 years ago.
Nicolás Maduro, who has been president since the death of his mentor Hugo Chávez in 2013, is seeking a third consecutive term.
His primary opponent is Edmundo González, a former diplomat backed by a coalition of opposition parties.
Polls indicate Mr. González has a substantial lead over the incumbent. However, given that Mr. Maduro’s 2018 re-election was widely criticized as neither free nor fair, there are concerns that the results of this election might be manipulated if they do not favor Mr. Maduro.
These concerns are heightened by Mr. Maduro’s assertion to his supporters that he would win “by hook or by crook.”
Furthermore, there are very few election observers in the country to oversee the poll—only four from the United Nations and a small technical team from the Carter Center.
An invitation for European Union observers was revoked by the head of the electoral authority, a close ally of President Maduro.
Former President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, was also uninvited after he suggested that the Maduro government should accept a potential defeat at the polls.
Observers from Brazil canceled their attendance following criticism from Mr. Maduro.
To compensate for the lack of international observers, the opposition has mobilized thousands of people to act as witnesses at individual ballot stations.
He is being held in jail without bail as authorities determine what charges he will face.
A woman who answered the door of the mobile home listed as his home address in Chico told the San Francisco Chronicle that prosecutors “are trying to make him the scapegoat”.
“They’re saying he did it intentionally, but he didn’t. The car caught on fire,” the unidentified woman said, before refusing to answer further questions.
The Park fire is one of many currently burning across the US and Canada.
The National Interagency Fire Center is currently monitoring 102 large fires in the US, mostly in states on the west coast.
In Oregon, a firefighting pilot was killed in a tanker plane crash after the aircraft went missing on Thursday night.
In Canada, a large wildfire in the Jasper National Park destroyed hundreds of buildings in the town of Jasper.
Weekend conditions have improved in Jasper, with rain and cooler temperatures helping efforts to protect other parts of the historic tourism town.
