15 h. ago Venezuelan Nobel peace prize winner greets crowds in Oslo after nearly a year in hiding

María Corina Machado climbs over barriers to meet chanting supporters gathered outside the Grand Hotel in early hours of ThursdayVenezuela’s best-known opposition leader, the Nobel peace prize winner María Corina Machado, has made a dramatic appearance in Norway after slipping out of her authoritarian homeland by boat.The Venezuelan politician and pro-democracy activist stepped out on to the balcony of Oslo’s iconic Grand Hotel at just before 2.30am local time, after spending the past 11 months in hiding in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. Continue reading...

Politics

23 h. ago Venezuela's Machado absent from Nobel ceremony but her travel to Oslo draws mixed reactions at home

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was absent from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway on Wednesday

Politics

23 h. ago Nobel peace prize winner misses award ceremony after secret operation to leave Venezuela due to fears she would be killed by Maduro's regime

Machado, 58, was unable to attend as she was being smuggled out of her home nation amid fears that the authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro would order her execution.

Events

29 h. ago Venezuelan Nobel peace prize winner misses ceremony but vows to continue struggle

Daughter delivers speech, with Nobel Institute saying María Corina Machado still expected in Oslo after journey of ‘extreme danger’ Europe live – latest updatesVenezuela’s most prominent opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has vowed to continue her struggle to free the country from years of “obscene corruption”, “brutal dictatorship” and “despair” as she was awarded the Nobel peace prize at a ceremony in Norway’s capital, Oslo.The 58-year-old conservative has lived in hiding in Venezuela since its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, was accused of stealing the 2024 presidential election from her political movement. Despite fevered speculation that she would make a dramatic appearance at Wednesday’s event, having somehow slipped out of Venezuela, Machado was not present, although she was expected to arrive in Oslo in the coming hours. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago Nobel peace prize winner misses ceremony but is ‘safe’ and due in Oslo in ‘just a few hours’, says daughter – Europe live

Winner María Corina Machado has been seen only once in public since going into hiding in August last yearJørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, is now delivering his opening speech.It’s a damning verdict on Maduro’s authoritarian rule in Venezuela, as he talks about a number of figures facing repression and torture from the regime.“As we sit here in Oslo City Hall, innocent people are locked away in dark cells in Venezuela. They cannot hear the speeches given today – only the screams of prisoners being tortured.”Venezuela has evolved into a brutal, authoritarian state facing a deep humanitarian and economic crisis. Meanwhile, a small elite at the top – shielded by political power, weapons and legal impunity – enriches itself.“A quarter of the population has already fled the country – one of the world’s largest refugee crises.Those who remain live under a regime that systematically silences, harasses and attacks the opposition.”“Venezuela is not alone in this d...

Politics

29 h. ago Freedom Manifesto: Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado’s vision for Venezuela’s future in full

The Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner has laid down an outline for a democratic future, Maira Butt writes

Politics

33 h. ago Venezuelan Nobel peace prize winner will not attend ceremony, say organisers

Opposition leader María Corina Machado’s daughter to receive award on her behalf in Oslo, says Nobel InstituteThe Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will not attend the Nobel peace prize ceremony and the award will be accepted by her daughter, organisers have said.Machado has been seen only once in public since going into hiding in August last year amid a tense showdown with the president, Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela’s attorney general has said Machado, 58, would be considered a “fugitive” if she left the country to accept the award. Continue reading...

Politics

50 h. ago Oslo appearance by Nobel peace prize winner María Corina Machado cancelled

Press conference was expected to have been Venezuelan opposition leader’s first public appearance in 11 monthsA press conference in Oslo with the Nobel peace prize laureate María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader in hiding, has been cancelled, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said, adding that it was “in the dark” as to her whereabouts.Machado last appeared in public on 9 January at a demonstration in Caracas protesting against the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro for his third term as president. The press conference, traditionally held by the Nobel laureate on the eve of the award ceremony, had been expected to be the 58-year-old’s first public appearance in 11 months. Continue reading...

Politics

50 h. ago Venezuelan opposition leader's news conference called off a day before Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

A planned news conference on Tuesday by Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has been canceled after a several-hour delay, a day before the award ceremony in Oslo

Politics

54 h. ago Oslo appearance by Nobel peace prize winner María Corina Machado delayed

Press conference expected to go ahead later, Venezuelan opposition leader’s first public appearance in 11 monthsA press conference in Oslo with the Nobel peace prize laureate María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader in hiding, has been postponed but should take place later in the day, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said.The press conference, traditionally held by the Nobel laureate on the eve of the award ceremony, is expected to be the 58-year-old’s first public appearance in 11 months. Machado last appeared in public on 9 January at a demonstration in Caracas protesting against the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro for his third term as president. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Donald Trump awarded controversial Fifa Peace Prize by Gianni Infantino at World Cup 2026 draw

The US president, who was beaten to the Nobel Peace Prize by Venezuelan democracy campaigner Maria Corina Machado, was presented with Fifa’s hastily arranged new award

Politics

2 w. ago Sirāt review – rave in the desert leads to exasperating quest in the sands of Morocco

Oliver Laxe’s Cannes prize winner about a father’s search for his missing daughter starts impressively then descends into Pythonesque perditionOliver Laxe leads his audience into a wilderness of non-meaning in this strange and unrewardingly oppressive film that was the joint jury prize winner at Cannes this year and the recipient of all sorts of critical superlatives. For me, Sirāt is the most overpraised movie of the year – exasperating and bizarre in ways that become less and less interesting and more and more ridiculous as the film wears on.There is a moment of tragic horror halfway through the action that is not absorbed or clarified and whose (presumed) emotional and spiritual consequences are not conveyed. It simply looks coercive and even slightly farcical. The later explosions in the desert are, frankly, Pythonesque. And yet, as with Laxe’s earlier film Mimosas there are some wonderful visual moments and stylish shots of the Moroccan desert landscape. Veteran Spanish actor S...

Politics