Disputed Vote in Venezuela 

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) – The Biden administration said on Monday that electoral manipulation had stripped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s claim of reelection victory of “any credibility,” and Washington left the door open to fresh sanctions on the OPEC nation.

Senior U.S. officials, briefing reporters on Sunday’s election, sharpened Washington’s response to the disputed vote, in which Venezuela’s electoral authority declared Maduro had won a third term, extending 25 years of socialist party rule.

Independent exit polls pointed to a landslide opposition win.

Landslides: 45 killed in India 

BBC (30 July) Around 45 people have been killed and dozens are feared trapped after heavy rains triggered massive landslides in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

The landslides struck hilly areas in Wayanad district in the early hours of Tuesday.

Rescue operations are under way, but are being hindered by heavy rains and the collapse of a crucial bridge.

“We will be able to assess the extent of the damage only after a few hours,” state minister AK Saseendran told BBC Hindi.

maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region

Japan Times (30 July)Top diplomats from “the Quad” group of nations on Monday pledged to boost maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region as they criticized what they called the “militarization” of the disputed South China Sea, in a move seen as targeting China’s growing assertiveness in the strategic waterway.

 In a joint statement following a meeting in Tokyo, the officials from Australia, Japan, India and the United States expressed “serious concern” about “coercive and intimidating maneuvers,” the “dangerous use” of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, as well as efforts to “disrupt” other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.

The criticism came as the Quad diplomats sought to present a united front amid heightened tensions between China and the Philippines, a U.S. ally, over maritime disputes.