CARACAS: Venezuelan authorities on Monday arrested five members of a “terrorist cell” linked to self-proclaimed rogue Venezuelan helicopter pilot Oscar Perez, and killed several other militants during a shootout in a poor area outside Caracas.
Perez appeared with a bloody face in nearly a dozen dramatic Instagram videos early on Monday, saying that he was surrounded by authorities shooting at him with grenade launchers.
State television later read out an official statement that said two police officers were gunned down in the clashes but did not specify Perez’ fate.
A former police pilot, Perez is wanted for using a stolen helicopter to lob grenades and shoot at government buildings in June as well as for breaking into a National Guard unit in December to steal weapons.
President Nicolas Maduro’s leftist government has described him as a “fanatic, extremist terrorist” and a manhunt has been under way for months. Some Maduro critics have questioned whether Perez’ attacks were staged in cahoots with the government to justify a further crackdown on the opposition.
Authorities finally tracked Perez down in the poor hillside neighborhood of El Junquito on Monday.
“We’re wounded ... they’re killing us!” said Perez in one video, seemingly wearing a bulletproof vest as he crouched in what appeared to be a small house. Gunshots were heard in the background.
“Venezuela, don’t lose hope... Now only you have power so that we can all be free,” he said in an earlier video, staring into the camera and telling his children he loves them and hopes to see them again.
His last video was posted about 10:30 a.m. (0230 GMT). A Reuters witness in the area later saw an ambulance speed by and said gunshots were no longer heard.
’CAUGHT LIKE A RAT’
The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Members of Maduro’s government scoffed at Perez on Monday.
“What a coward now that he’s caught like a rat!” tweeted Prisons Minister Iris Varela. “Where is the courage he had to attack military units, kill and injure officials and steal weapons?“
Perez, who also has been an action film star and portrays himself as a James Bond or Rambo-like figure on social media, has added surreal twists to Venezuela’s long-running political drama.
He rose to fame in June after allegedly hijacking a police helicopter, flying over Caracas’ center and firing shots at and lobbing grenades on the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Court.
Perez claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was to fight what he said was a tyrannical government. He went into hiding afterward, only to pop up two weeks later at an opposition vigil for anti-government protesters killed during demonstrations that rocked the country last year.
In December, a video posted on Perez’s YouTube account shows armed, masked men taking control of military barracks under cover of night.
They smashed photos of Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, handcuffed about a dozen soldiers and berated them for supporting “dictatorship” in Venezuela. Perez says his team stole about 26 AK-103’s and more than 3,000 munitions for the rifles, as well as pistols.
Opposition politicians called for due process on Monday.
“There is no death penalty in Venezuela,” tweeted opposition lawmaker Yajaira Forero. “We demand that Mr. Oscar Perez’ right to life be respected. If he committed a crime he must be judged by a court, as the law establishes.”
Venezuela says 5 ‘terrorists’ arrested, others killed after shootout
Venezuela says 5 ‘terrorists’ arrested, others killed after shootout
Philippines Senate returns Sara Duterte impeachment case to lower house
- After a series of debates among members, the senators voted in favor of returning it to the lower house to certify that the complaint was constitutional
MANILA: Philippine senators on Tuesday voted to send an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the lower house for clarification, just hours after convening a trial that could see her banned from politics for life.
After a series of debates among members that included a motion presented by a Duterte ally to dismiss the case, the senators voted in favor of returning it to the lower house to certify that the complaint was constitutional.
The lower house in February voted to impeach the vice president for alleged high crimes and betrayal of the public trust, allegations she has vehemently denied. A majority of the senators on Tuesday approved a motion to return the case to confirm the complaint did not violate the constitution and the next session of Congress was “willing and ready” to pursue the impeachment complaint following midterm elections in May.
The decision could be a stay of execution for Duterte, a likely contender to be the next president, in a trial that could be a pivotal moment in Philippine politics.
The outcome of the trial could not only make or break Duterte, but also carries big implications for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his agenda for the remaining three years of his presidency and beyond. The impeachment accusations against Duterte range from budget anomalies to amassing unusual wealth and threatening the lives of Marcos, his wife, and the house speaker. She rejects the allegations and on Tuesday, her office said the impeachment process had been weaponized.
The trial of the popular daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte follows an acrimonious falling-out with former ally Marcos, who ran on a joint ticket that won the 2022 election in a landslide.
Marcos is limited to a single term in office and is expected to try to retain future influence by grooming a successor capable of fending off Duterte in the next election if she is acquitted. The president has distanced himself from the impeachment process, even though it was launched by his legislative allies.
Sara Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, only one of whom, Renato Corona, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, was convicted.
US imposes sanctions on a Palestinian NGO and other charities, accusing them of ties to militant groups
- Those sanctioned include Addameer, a nongovernmental organization that was founded in 1991 and is based in the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a major Palestinian legal group for prisoners and detainees along with five other charitable entities across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, accusing them of supporting Palestinian armed factions and militant groups, including Hamas’ military wing, under the pretense of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Those sanctioned include Addameer, a nongovernmental organization that was founded in 1991 and is based in the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian group provides free legal services to Palestinian political prisoners and detainees in Israeli custody and monitors the conditions of their confinement.
The federal government claims that Addameer “has long supported and is affiliated” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, left-wing movement with a political party and an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis. Israel and the United States have labeled the PFLP a terrorist organization.
Addameer did not immediately have a comment on the sanctions.
Israel has alleged that Addameer funds terrorism, a claim that the United Nations previously said it could not support with compelling evidence. In a 2022 report on human rights practices, the US State Department noted Israel’s arrest of Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian human rights lawyer and an Addameer employee, in a section on “retribution against human rights defenders.”
The organization also works with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and is a member of the World Organization Against Torture.
Israel’s 2022 storming of Addameer’s offices, prompted a rebuke from the UN, who said in a statement that Israel had not provided convincing evidence to support the claim. The UN said Addameer was conducting “critical human rights, humanitarian and development work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
In February, Zachor Legal Institute, an Israeli-American advocacy group that says it focuses on combatting antisemitism and terrorism, requested Addameer be added to Treasury’s sanctions list. The letter, which was written by Zachor, signed by 44 other groups and is addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, relies in part on undisclosed evidence from the Israeli Security Agency in its call for sanctions on Addameer.
Marc Greendorfer, president of Zachor Legal Institute said in an email to the Associated Press that his group is “very pleased to see Treasury following up on our request.” He said the federal government should act “to prevent hostile foreign actors from spreading hate and violence in the United States. We applaud Treasury’s action and encourage Treasury to expand its focus to the other groups that we identified.”
Goodbye Lenin? Russians flock to see Bolshevik leader’s tomb before it closes for repairs
- Famous mausoleum set to close for two years
- Large lines of Russians form to see Lenin’s body
MOSCOW: Russians are flocking to catch what some fear could be a final glimpse of the embalmed body of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin before his tomb on Moscow’s Red Square, long a place of pilgrimage for communists, closes for repairs until 2027.
The mausoleum, which houses a waxy-looking Lenin replete in a three-piece suit inside what is purportedly a bullet-proof, blast-proof glass case, is due to be structurally overhauled after an inspection uncovered problems.
Once a popular attraction for Western tourists and still a favorite for Russians visiting the capital from the regions, the red and black granite structure is expected to close in the coming weeks, with repair work set to last until June 2027.
Officials say that the body of Lenin, who died in 1924 after helping to establish the world’s first socialist state, is not going anywhere and that the central hall where he lies in state will not be touched.
But news of the temporary closure has seen long lines form to get into the mausoleum, with some visitors fearing it could be their last chance to see Lenin.
“From a historical point of view, I want to witness his being in a mausoleum because I think Lenin will be buried at some point, maybe in the future or near future,” said Tatyana Tolstik, a historian from Ulyanovsk, the city on the Volga where Lenin was born.
A young woman called Snezhana, who did not give her surname, said she wanted to “dive into the past” because she was also unsure how long it would be possible to visit the mausoleum.
The Communist Party, which ruled the country from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, is fiercely opposed to the removal of Lenin’s body, and Gennady Zyuganov, the party’s veteran leader, has said President Vladimir Putin has assured him it will not happen on his watch.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied plans to permanently close the mausoleum.
Singapore-flagged ship carrying toxic oil explodes off Indian coast
- 18 members of the vessel’s crew rescued, while 4 remain missing
- Alert for Kerala coast as containers drift between Kozhikode and Kochi
NEW DELHI: India’s Coast Guard and Navy were struggling on Tuesday to extinguish a fire on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that exploded in the Arabian Sea, triggering an alarm over its load of 100 tonnes of bunker oil.
The MV Wan Hai 503, en route to Mumbai from Sri Lanka, reported an internal container explosion on Monday, which triggered a major fire on board as the vessel approached the coast of the southern state of Kerala.
The Indian Coast Guard said the situation was “critical” as its ships engaged in an overnight operation to douse the flames and rescue 22 members of the vessel’s crew.
Four crew remain missing. Two of them are from Thailand, one from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, according to Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority, which sent a team to assist the Indian rescuers.
Containers falling from the ship were reported drifting between Kerala’s Kozhikode and Kochi, triggering an alert by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services over a potential spill of what it identified as 100 tonnes of bunker oil.
Bunker oil is a thick, heavy and viscous fuel used to power large ships, especially cargo vessels and tankers. It is one of the dirtiest and most polluting fuels.
It contains sulfur, heavy metals and carcinogens. If spilled, it is difficult to clean up and may persist for months or years in the marine environment, suffocating coral reefs and killing fish and seabirds.
“Caution is advised about a few containers beaching between Kozhikode and Kochi,” the INCOIS said in a notification, adding that there was an “estimated 70-80 percent probability” that the containers that went overboard from the MV Wan Hai 503 might drift south-southeastwards from the accident location for the next three days.
The incident took place just two weeks after a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off Kerala’s coast.
The vessel went down with cargo containing calcium carbide and more than 84 metric tonnes of diesel, and 367 metric tonnes of furnace oil.
Diesel and furnace oil are both classified as marine pollutants that are toxic to marine life and can contaminate coastal ecosystems.
UK civil servants told to quit if they disagree with Gaza policy
- Over 300 Foreign Office staff signed letter to foreign secretary expressing concerns
- Britain facilitating potential ‘violations of international law’ by exporting weapons to Israel
LONDON: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office staff have been told to quit their jobs if they disagree with government policy on Gaza.
More than 300 civil servants signed a letter sent to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month, outlining concerns over UK arms sales and “complicity” in “stark … disregard for international law” by the Israeli military in the Palestinian enclave.
In a response to the letter, sent by the department’s two most senior civil servants Nick Dyer and Sir Oliver Robbins, signatories were told: “(If) your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the Civil Service. This is an honourable course.”
One official who signed the initial complaint told the BBC: “(There is) frustration and a deep sense of disappointment that the space for challenge is being further shut down.”
The letter is the fourth such case of civil servants contacting senior officials to air concerns about the UK’s position on the war in Gaza.
Signatories to it, which was sent on May 16, include overseas embassy staff and employees based in London.
Topics raised included potential breaches of international law, the death toll in Gaza, and Israeli settler activities in the occupied West Bank.
“In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK government complicity. In the intervening period, the reality of Israel’s disregard for international law has become more stark,” the letter said.
It added that Israel’s actions, including its blockade on food aid entering Gaza, have led “many experts and humanitarian organisations to accuse Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war,” and that the UK is facilitating potential “violations of international law” by continuing to export weapons to the country.
The letter also noted that “the Israeli government has made explicit plans for the forcible transfer of Gaza’s population.”
In the response, Dyer and Sir Oliver said it “might be helpful” to “remind” signatories that the FCDO has systems in place to address staff concerns with policy, including the “ultimate recourse” of resignation.
The “bargain at the heart of the British Civil Service is that we sign up to deliver the policies of the Government of the day wholeheartedly, within the limits imposed by the law and the Civil Service Code,” they wrote.
A former FCDO official told the BBC that the rhetorical reply “simply provides the government with supposed ‘plausible deniability’ for enabling breaches of international law.”
The official added on condition of anonymity that the FCDO has not learned the lessons of the 2016 Chilcot Report after the Iraq War, which raised suggestions of “ingrained belief” within the civil service requiring systems to challenge “groupthink” in future.
The FCDO said in a statement: “There are systems in place which allow (staff) to raise concerns if they have them.”
A spokesperson added: “Since day one, this government has rigorously applied international law in relation to the war in Gaza.
“One of our first acts in government was to suspend export licenses that could be used by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.
“We have suspended direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel, and we categorically do not export any bombs or ammunition which could be used in Gaza.”
The UK government has previously said it believes Israel to be “at risk” of breaking international and humanitarian law in Gaza.
Last September, 30 export licenses for arms were suspended over fears of “clear risk” that they may be used illegally, but over 300 remain in place.
The war in Gaza has killed well over 50,000 Palestinians and left millions displaced and without access to basic resources.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
