Nobel peace laureate’s decision to flee on people-smuggling route is highly symbolic, but will her influence wane if unable to return?

• Venezuelan Nobel laureate reunited with family after perilous journey to receive prize

Thousands of Venezuelan migrants have braved the seas off Falcón state in recent years, fleeing their shattered homeland towards the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao in rickety wooden boats called yolas . Many lost their lives chasing a brighter future after their overcrowded vessels capsized or were smashed apart by rocks.

This week, the opposition leader María Corina Machado got a taste of that perilous journey herself as the Nobel laureate began her surreptitious 5,500-mile-plus odyssey from her authoritarian homeland to Norway to collect her peace prize.

Nobel peace laureate’s decision to flee on people-smuggling route is highly symbolic, but will her influence wane if unable to return?

• Venezuelan Nobel laureate reunited with family after perilous journey to receive prize

Thousands of Venezuelan migrants have braved the seas off Falcón state in recent years, fleeing their shattered homeland towards the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao in rickety wooden boats called yolas . Many lost their lives chasing a brighter future after their overcrowded vessels capsized or were smashed apart by rocks.

This week, the opposition leader María Corina Machado got a taste of that perilous journey herself as the Nobel laureate began her surreptitious 5,500-mile-plus odyssey from her authoritarian homeland to Norway to collect her peace prize.

Nobel peace laureate’s decision to flee on people-smuggling route is highly symbolic, but will her influence wane if unable to return?

• Venezuelan Nobel laureate reunited with family after perilous journey to receive prize

Thousands of Venezuelan migrants have braved the seas off Falcón state in recent years, fleeing their shattered homeland towards the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao in rickety wooden boats called yolas . Many lost their lives chasing a brighter future after their overcrowded vessels capsized or were smashed apart by rocks.

This week, the opposition leader María Corina Machado got a taste of that perilous journey herself as the Nobel laureate began her surreptitious 5,500-mile-plus odyssey from her authoritarian homeland to Norway to collect her peace prize.

Sarah Mullally accused of mishandling abuse complaint against priest in London, where she serves as bishop

The Church of England is reviewing a complaint against the incoming archbishop of Canterbury over her handling of an abuse allegation.

Dame Sarah Mullally is due to take up the role next month, after Justin Welby was forced to resign over the way he dealt with a safeguarding scandal.

Sarah Mullally accused of mishandling abuse complaint against priest in London, where she serves as bishop

The Church of England is reviewing a complaint against the incoming archbishop of Canterbury over her handling of an abuse allegation.

Dame Sarah Mullally is due to take up the role next month, after Justin Welby was forced to resign over the way he dealt with a safeguarding scandal.

Sarah Mullally accused of mishandling abuse complaint against priest in London, where she serves as bishop

The Church of England is reviewing a complaint against the incoming archbishop of Canterbury over her handling of an abuse allegation.

Dame Sarah Mullally is due to take up the role next month, after Justin Welby was forced to resign over the way he dealt with a safeguarding scandal.

Trump and Vance head to South Park in Christmas gear for a big showdown – only for Jesus to show up. At one point, you can almost feel Trey Parker and Matt Stone taking a stand against the US government

Coming off its most controversial and highest rated season in years, South Park had high expectations to meet with its season finale. Given how infamously down-to-the-wire its production schedule is – showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker often don’t start writing scripts until the week they’re set to air, working up to the 11th hour to turn in a completed episode (a method that caused them to miss a deadline earlier this year) – there was some question as to whether they would be able to tie everything up at all, let alone in a satisfying manner.

Most viewers were probably anticipating a giant, apocalyptic climax to the various long-running storylines – chief among them Donald Trump’s attempts to kill his and his lover Satan’s soon-to-be-born spawn. Instead, Stone and Parker swerved expectations, delivering an introspective and ultimately melancholy climax, one that managed to balance hope and despair in equal measure, alongside the outrageous shock humour for which they’re famous.

Trump and Vance head to South Park in Christmas gear for a big showdown – only for Jesus to show up. At one point, you can almost feel Trey Parker and Matt Stone taking a stand against the US government

Coming off its most controversial and highest rated season in years, South Park had high expectations to meet with its season finale. Given how infamously down-to-the-wire its production schedule is – showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker often don’t start writing scripts until the week they’re set to air, working up to the 11th hour to turn in a completed episode (a method that caused them to miss a deadline earlier this year) – there was some question as to whether they would be able to tie everything up at all, let alone in a satisfying manner.

Most viewers were probably anticipating a giant, apocalyptic climax to the various long-running storylines – chief among them Donald Trump’s attempts to kill his and his lover Satan’s soon-to-be-born spawn. Instead, Stone and Parker swerved expectations, delivering an introspective and ultimately melancholy climax, one that managed to balance hope and despair in equal measure, alongside the outrageous shock humour for which they’re famous.

Trump and Vance head to South Park in Christmas gear for a big showdown – only for Jesus to show up. At one point, you can almost feel Trey Parker and Matt Stone taking a stand against the US government

Coming off its most controversial and highest rated season in years, South Park had high expectations to meet with its season finale. Given how infamously down-to-the-wire its production schedule is – showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker often don’t start writing scripts until the week they’re set to air, working up to the 11th hour to turn in a completed episode (a method that caused them to miss a deadline earlier this year) – there was some question as to whether they would be able to tie everything up at all, let alone in a satisfying manner.

Most viewers were probably anticipating a giant, apocalyptic climax to the various long-running storylines – chief among them Donald Trump’s attempts to kill his and his lover Satan’s soon-to-be-born spawn. Instead, Stone and Parker swerved expectations, delivering an introspective and ultimately melancholy climax, one that managed to balance hope and despair in equal measure, alongside the outrageous shock humour for which they’re famous.