Venezuela’s act of national bravery

VENEZUELA: In an “act of national bravery,” 7.2 million Venezuelans (out of 19 million possible voters) voted against the regime of Nicolas Maduro in a symbolic referendum held Sunday, two weeks before nationwide elections that Maduro is expected to control.

“With these numbers, Maduro is rebuked,” Julio Borges, president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, said late Sunday. “The people have given a clear mandate to have a free and democratic country. We don’t want to be Cuba.”

Cuba’s intervention in Venezuela is overwhelming and includes 4,500 infantrymen in nine battalions stationed there.

IRAQ: Despite repeat reports of his death, Iraq’s interior ministry says Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive and believed to be in Syria, likely in Raqqa.

With the liberation of Mosul, the before-and-after for the youngest victims of ISIS is coming to light, and it’s as horrific as we imagined. Imad is a Yazidi captured by ISIS three years ago when the militants killed the rest of his family. He was rescued over the weekend in Mosul.

Reporter Jenan Moussa took a Yazidi girl shopping after she was freed from ISIS slavery. The 8-year-old had been trafficked to Syria from Sinjar and forced to wear a black abaya for three years. She wanted to buy a dress “with colors” and pink nail polish.

IRAN: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson faces a deadline today to certify whether Iran is in compliance with measures to ease economic sanctions under the nuclear deal, and Republican senators argue against it.

Chinese-American grad student Xiyue Wang has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for spying. Tehran released five Americans as part of the 2016 nuclear deal in a sign the Islamic regime might ease such arrests.

INDIA: A security camera captured the drive-by shooting of prominent Punjab pastor Sultan Masih, who also ran a school for the poor in Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, an area considered safe for Christians.

PHILIPPINES: The siege in Mindanao’s Marawi City has continued now nearly eight weeks, with ISIS-linked rebels controlling a portion of the city against the Philippine army and mission groups working to support both Muslim and Christian populations there.

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