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Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Machado at the White House

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Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado will meet President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House has confirmed.

The visit comes just weeks after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized in Caracas by US forces. But Trump declined to endorse Machado, whose movement claimed victory in 2024’s widely contested elections, as its new leader.

The US instead backed Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president.

Machado said last week she hoped to thank Trump personally for the action against Maduro and would like to give the Nobel Prize to him. Trump called it “a great honour”, but the Nobel Committee later clarified that it was not transferable.

Earlier, Trump had expressed displeasure over Machado’s decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an honour the president has long coveted.

Asked on Friday whether receiving Machado’s prize might change his view of her role in Venezuela, the president said: “She might be involved in some aspect of it.”

“I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in. And that’s what I understand the reason is,” he said.

Earlier this month, after Maduro’s ouster, Trump had said Machado “doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country”. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” he said.

The US has so far backed Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim president.

Trump describes Rodríguez as an “ally”, and she has not been charged by US officials with any crimes.

“Delcy Rodríguez and her team have been very cooperative with the United States,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.

But Machado has maintained that her coalition should “absolutely” be in charge of the country.

Machado has said nobody trusted Rodríguez, telling CBS that the interim leader was “one of the main architects… of repression for innocent people” in the South American country.

“Everybody in Venezuela and abroad knows perfectly who she is and the role she has played,” Machado said.

The former legislator, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, described US military action in Venezuela as “a major step towards restoring prosperity and rule of law and democracy in Venezuela”.

Rodríguez has rebuffed claims by Trump that the US was in charge of Venezuela.

“The Venezuelan government rules our country, and no-one else does,” she said in a televised speech. “There is no external agent governing Venezuela.”

[BBC]



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Muzarabani returns as Zimbabwe opt to bowl against Oman

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Sikandar Raza and Jatinder Singh at the toss (Cricinfo)

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman  in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.

Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani  back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.

Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem  the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.

Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.

Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.

Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.

Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza,  Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale,  Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan,  Shah Faisal,  Shakeel Ahmad

Zimbabwe:  Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani,  Dion Myers,  Brendan Taylor (wk),  Sikandar Raza (capt),  Ryan Burl,  Tashinga Musekiwa,  Brad Evans,  Wellington Masakadza,  Richard Ngarava,  Blessing Muzarabani

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Munsey and Leask spoil Italy’s T20 World Cup debut2

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George Munsey top scored for Scotland (Cricinfo)

Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy  in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World  Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut  in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.

Brief scores:

Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon  McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant  Stewart  1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22,  Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs

(Cricinfo)

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Italy captain Wayne Madsen injures shoulder in T20 World Cup opener

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Wayne Madsen hurt his shoulder while fielding at Eden Gardens (Cricinfo)

In an inauspicious start to Italy’s maiden T20 World Cup campaign, their captain Wayne Madsen dislocated his shoulder in the fourth over of Scotland’s innings at #den Gardens. He was later ruled out of any further participation in the match.

Madsen was fielding at midwicket when he tried to stop a pull from George Munsey. He unsuccessfully dived to his left and rolled over on the practice pitches and immediately asked for medical attention. He soon left the ground using a towel as a sling for his left arm.

Madsen, by far Italy’s most experienced cricketer at age 42, is playing his maiden T20 World Cup and was taken for X-rays right away at the venue. A typical shoulder dislocation can take anywhere between seven to 21 days for full recovery while more serious cases can take three to four months.

In Madsen’s absence, Italy were captained by Harry Manenti  for the remainder of Scotland’s innings. Scotland went on to score 207 for 4 after they were sent in to bat.

While serious injury replacements are being trialled by cricket boards in India and Australia in domestic cricket, there are no injury replacements in the playing XI allowed in international cricket. At the moment, replacements are allowed only if players suffer concussion.

Madsen was appointed Italy captain for the 2026 T20 World Cup after Joe Burns was not selected for the tournament. This World Cup is his second across sports; he also represented South Africa in the men’s hockey in the 2006 World Cup.

After the game against Scotland in Kolkata on February 9, Italy play Nepal in Mumbai on February 12, and then travel back to Kolkata to play England on February 16 and West Indies on February 19.

( Cricinfo)

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