The BBC’s South America correspondent Ione Wells tells us whether Venezuelans have seen the promised economic and political benefits of Nicolas Maduro’s removal as president.

Wednesday marks five months since US forces raided Maduro’s compound in Caracas. At the time, President Donald Trump said the US would run Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could be ensured, vowing that American oil companies would fix the local infrastructure and start making money for the country.

This week, trade unions and student groups have planned anti-government protests to call for better wages, the release of political prisoners and a democratic transition.

Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice-president, was sworn in as the country’s leader last month, with the support of the US government.

But there are long-time opposition leaders waiting in the wings. Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado – who has been living in effective exile in Norway – has said she plans to run for president again, and will to return to Venezuela before the end of 2026.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to face questions about the American involvement in Venezuela this week, as he testifies before Congress on the State Department’s budget.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

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00:00 Introduction
00:23 New freedoms
01:58 Is Venezuela’s economy stronger?
03:47 Will Venezuela have elections?
06:15 How strong is Venezuela’s political opposition?
07:24 Will María Corina Machado run for president?
08:23 America’s influence on Venezuelan politics

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Russia said its air defences have been responding to a Ukrainian drone attack on the area around St Petersburg.

At least 50 of the drones were downed over the Leningrad region northwest of Moscow, according to the regional governor Alexander Drozdenko.

Black smoke could also be seen rising over St Petersburg on Wednesday, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming the city’s oil terminal had been hit.

In a separate incident, Russian authorities in the occupied Donetsk region said a Ukrainian drone hit a bus on the way to Russian-occupied Crimea, killing seven people and inujuring 11 others.

The attack comes as St Petersburg hosts the annual International Economic Forum – an event designed to showcase Russia to the world – and a day after a massive Russian assault on cities across Ukraine killed at least 22 people, including several women and children.

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Today, more than 1000 pages of documents about Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US have been published by the government.

Adam, Chris and Joe get together to discuss what the files tell us about Peter Mandelson’s vetting process, his relationship with some of the government’s most senior figures and his thoughts on the Prime Minister’s leadership.

Some of the files have been redacted or held back as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office by Peter Mandelson. He has repeatedly let it be known that he believes he has not acted criminally, did not act for personal gain and is co-operating with police.

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00:00 Inside the government’s massive document drop
02:10 What did the humble address call for?
04:20 What’s missing: police probes, lost phones and disappearing messages
06:30 Trump, redactions and the limits of transparency
08:40 Pat McFadden’s WhatsApps and the ‘welfare party’ row
11:00 Inside Labour’s No 10: ‘Beleaguered and bereft’
13:10 Disappearing messages and the WhatsApp era of government
15:00 Keir Starmer’s texts and the bigger political question

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Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news …

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Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

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