内容摘要：this month, their worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10. More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, but there are competing claims on the casualties.

this month, their worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10. More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, but there are competing claims on the casualties.

US President Donald Trump condemned Vladimir Putin on Sunday over Russia’s deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities. The attacks coincided with the largest prisoner exchange of the war.Mexico is set to elect its judges, from the Supreme Court to local magistrates. But will the vote lessen corruption?

There will be more than 7,000 candidates. More than 2,600 open positions. And at least six ballots per person to weigh them all.On Sunday, Mexico embarks on an election believed to be the first of its kind: Voters will cast ballots for all of the country's judges, half now and half in 2027.Judges of all levels will be in the running. Some candidates are competing to serve on the Supreme Court. Others are aiming for federal district or circuit courts. Still more are competing for the thousands of open positions on the state and local levels.

By one estimate, if a voter spent five minutes researching each federal candidate on their ballot, they would need more than 15 hours to complete the task.Therein lies the dilemma, according to many election experts. While the Mexican government has touted the election as a milestone in democratic participation, critics fear the vote could in fact be vulnerable to political manipulation or criminal groups.

Julio Rios Figueroa, a law professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), considers the election a step towards "democratic erosion".

He fears the vote "will eliminate the judiciary as a countervailing factor" that balances other more overtly political branches of government, like the presidency and Congress.Rather, she argues that it is Mexico's incumbent judges who deserve to be under the microscope. She claimed many of them won their positions through personal connections.

"They got in through a recommendation or through a family member who got them into the judiciary," she said.President Sheinbaum has likewise framed the elections as part of the battle against nepotism and self-dealing in the judicial system.

"This is about fighting corruption," Sheinbaumin one of her morning news briefings. "This is the defence of the Mexican people for justice, for honesty, for integrity."