6 foreigners held for plot to kill Venezuelan Prez Maduro
Bogota (Colombia), Sep 15: Three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were arrested Saturday after Venezuelan officials accused them of coming to the South American country to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. The arrests were announced on state television by Diosdado Cabello, the nation’s powerful interior minister. Cabello said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership. In the television program, Cabello showed images of rifles that he said were confiscated from some of the plotters of the alleged plan. The arrest of the American citizens included a member of the Navy, who Cabello identified as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez. Cabello said that Gomez was a navy seal who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia. Spain’s embassy in Venezuela did not reply to a request for comment on the arrests of its citizens. The US State Department late Saturday confirmed the detention of a US military member and said it was aware of “unconfirmed reports of two additional US citizens detained in Venezuela.” “Any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela,” the statement said. (AP)
At least 8 die trying to cross the English Channel
Nice, Sep 15: At least eight people died during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel from northern France, French maritime authorities said on Sunday. The incident occurred Saturday just before midnight when authorities spotted a boat, carrying dozens, in distress near a beach in the northern town of Ambleteuse. A French rescue ship was deployed to the area and rescue services offered medical assistance to 53 migrants on the beach, a statement from the French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said. “Despite the emergency care provided, eight people have died,” the statement said. (AP)
China activates emergency response as Bebinca nears
Beijing, Sep 15: China’s Ministry of Water Resources has issued a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in Shanghai, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Strong rain caused by the approaching Typhoon Bebinca will hit China’s southeastern regions, and the water levels of some medium and minor rivers in the regions are projected to exceed warning thresholds, the Ministry said on Saturday. The Ministry highlighted the prevention of floods in small and medium-sized rivers and mountain torrents in the affected areas to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property, Xinhua reported. China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control, with Level I being the most severe. From Sunday night to Monday morning, Typhoon Bebinca will make landfall along the coast from Taizhou in Zhejiang to Qidong in Jiangsu, bringing heavy rain, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. (IANS)