|
From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting.
A massive wall of water from three overflowing rivers in southwestern Colombia swept through the town of Mocoa overnight as residents slept, destroying homes and infrastructure and killing more than 150 people. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos visited the wrecked town of 40,000 near the border with Ecuador Saturday and declared a state of public calamity. He said, "We did an analysis of the situation at this moment. The last figure of dead people was 154, a really lamentable figure and I want to reiterate that these families are in our hearts." Red Cross officials said 400 people were injured in the deluge, with at least 220 others missing. Video from the scene showed flattened buildings and mounds of crumpled cars and uprooted trees as dazed residents surveyed the scene and rescuers pulled the injured and the dead from the wreckage. The catastrophe came after days of torrential rains that left large parts of the region without electrical power or running water. Venezuela's Supreme Court said Saturday it would abandon measures to strengthen President Nicolas Maduro's grip on power after it was widely and harshly criticized. In a ruling posted on its website, the Supreme Court said it was overturning its decision to diminish the legislative powers of the General Assembly, which opponents had called a "coup d'état." Maduro's opponents and international powers, including the United States and governments across Latin America, had condemned the Venezuelan Supreme Court rulings. For more, visit our website. This is VOA news. Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes has fired the country' interior minister and a top police official on Saturday following the killing of a young opposition party leader and violent overnight clashes sparked by a secret Senate vote for a constitutional amendment to allow him to be reelected. Cartes said he had accepted the resignations of Interior Minister Miguel Tadeo Rojas and police commander Crispulo Sotelo. Meanwhile, mourners carried the body of Rodrigo Quintana through the streets of Asunción after he was killed by what opposition leaders say was a rubber bullet fired by police. The 25-year-old Quintana was shot when police raided the headquarters of the opposition Liberal Party's youth branch. Authorities said 30 people, including some opposition leaders, were injured when rioters set fire to the parliament late Friday to protest that bill that would allow the country's president to serve more than one term. Iraqi state television says the chief lieutenant of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in an airstrike in al-Anbar province near the Syrian border. The report Saturday said Ayad al-Jumaili and several other Islamic State commanders were killed in a strike by the Iraqi Air Force. The report did not say when the attack occurred and offered no other details. Citing a statement from Iraqi intelligence officials, the report described Jumaili, also known as Abu Yahya, as Islamic State's war minister. Jumaili, who once served as an intelligence officer under Saddam Hussein, joined the Sunni insurgency after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Analysts say he has since answered directly to Baghdadi. Israeli police said they shot and killed a Palestinian man Saturday after the man stabbed three people in the Old City of Jerusalem. Spokeswoman Luba Samri said the man stabbed two Jewish people before fleeing. A short time later, he stabbed a border guard and then was killed by police. The two Israelis were lightly wounded. The other has more serious injuries. A Taliban suicide car bomber killed an Afghan regional base commander and two soldiers Saturday in the southeastern province of Khost. A government spokesman told VOA the Afghan forces were targeted in Mando district. The powerful blast also wounded six students from a nearby school. A Taliban spokesman who said insurgents carried out the assault claimed the explosion killed five Afghan special forces members. He said the slain Afghan commander was a "trustworthy" partner of U.S. forces and worked with them in the region. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |