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Bolivian president survives failed coup, calls for 'democracy to be respected,' army general arrested

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Bolivian president survives failed coup, calls for 'democracy to be respected,' army general arrested

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Bolivian President Luis Arce announced three new heads of the South American country’s armed forces following an attempted coup in which military units used armored vehicles to ram into the doors of Bolivia’s government palace before the army general allegedly responsible was arrested.

The news of the new heads of the army, navy and air force came amid the roar of supporters.

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“The country is facing an attempted coup d’état. Here we are, firm in Casa Grande, to confront any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize,” Arce said in a video message.

Video footage showed troops setting up blockades outside the government palace. Arce said the troops who rose against him were “staining the uniform” of the military.

BOLIVIAN INTERIM GOVERNMENT ACCUSES MORALES OF TERRORISM, SEDITION

Bolivian president Luis Arce (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

“I order all that are mobilized to return to their units,” said the newly appointed army chief José Wilson Sánchez. “No one wants the images we’re seeing in the streets.”

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Soon after, troops began pulling back from the presidential palace. 

Arce confronted Army Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, who was recently stripped of his military command and who appeared to be leading the rebellion, in the palace hallway, as shown in a video on Bolivian television. Zúñiga was later arrested after the attorney general opened an investigation against him. It wasn’t immediately clear what the charges were against him.

Zuniga said Arce asked him to storm the palace in a political move. 

“The president told me: ‘The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity’,” Zúñiga told reporters.

Army Cmdr. Gen. Juan Jose Zuniga sits inside an armored vehicle at Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday. Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday as President Luis Arce said the country faced an attempted coup.  (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

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Zúñiga sajd he asked Arce if he should “take out the armored vehicles?” and Arce replied, “Take them out.”

“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” he said. 

On X, Arce called for “democracy to be respected.”

The United States said it was closely monitoring the situation and urged calm and restraint.

BRAZIL’S PRESIDENT WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL, LEAVING DIPLOMATIC POST VACANT

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LA PAZ, BOLIVIA – JUNE 26: Military Police walk amid tear gas outside the presidential palace at Plaza Murillo on June 26, 2024, in La Paz, Bolivia. President of Bolivia Luis Arce warned about irregular movements of military troops and raises the alert of a possible Coup d’état. (Photo by Gaston Brito Miserocchi/Getty Image)

Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.

The country also has seen a high-profile rift at the highest levels of the governing party. Arce and his one-time ally, leftist icon and former President Morales, have been battling for the future of Bolivia’s splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.

The leadership of Bolivia’s largest labor union condemned the action and declared an indefinite strike of social and labor organizations in La Paz in defense of the government.

The incident was met with a wave of outrage by other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States; Gabriel Boric, the president of neighboring Chile; the leader of Honduras, and former Bolivian leaders.

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26 June 2024, Bolivia, La Paz: Supporters of Bolivian President Arce rally in support of democracy near the government palace during an attempted coup. (Photo by Radoslaw Czajkowski/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The most recent attempted coup on the continent occurred in December 2022 when Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was arrested the same day that he attempted to dissolve Congress, declare a state of emergency and re-write the constitution. He was eventually impeached and removed from office.  

“Brazil’s position is clear. I am a lover of democracy and I want it to prevail throughout Latin America. We condemn any form of coup d’état in Bolivia and reaffirm our commitment to the people and democracy in our sister country,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote on X. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane Present Ravi Muppa’s ‘Incognito’ as New YouTube Shorts Channel Launches (EXCLUSIVE)

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Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane Present Ravi Muppa’s ‘Incognito’ as New YouTube Shorts Channel Launches (EXCLUSIVE)

Indian auteurs Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane have joined forces again to spotlight writer-director Ravi Muppa’s short film “Incognito,” the debut release on shorts-only YouTube channel titled Oh Flip Shorts that is launching July 15.

The channel arrives courtesy of producer Ranjan Singh, with Kashyap serving as curator. The plan calls for a fresh short to premiere on the platform each month, with the goal of building an audience and community around independent short-form work.

“Incognito” stars Vikram Singh, Ayushi Nema and Dev Chauhan. The story follows a motel receptionist short on money who makes extra income selling hidden-camera footage of guests, then finds himself torn between self-preservation and intervening after filming a woman who appears to be a trafficking victim.

The short has already made the festival rounds, screening at more than 20 international events, among them the Oscar-qualifying Palm Springs International ShortFest.

“I’ve always loved short films as they are the first stepping stone for a director to test their storytelling style and give an actual practice to them of shooting a story,” Kashyap said. “Continuing the same, this is our effort to showcase some excellent short films, curated by me and presented by filmmakers whose work I look up to. We’re glad to begin with ‘Incognito’ by Ravi Muppa, and very hopefully that it’ll be liked by the audience.”

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“‘Incognito’ is gripping and beautifully atmospheric, a true blue genre short with an out of the box ending. Congratulations to Ravi and his team and I’m so happy that we can present this to the audience,” Motwane added.

As revealed by Variety, plans for a feature-length version of “Incognito” are already underway, with Invention Studios joining Flip Films and Campfire Studios as co-producers. Kashyap, Nicholas Weinstock, Divya Souza and Singh are attached to produce.

Muppa, whose earlier development credits include “Stree” (2018), “Bala” (2019) and “The Family Man” (2019), said: “The film has been an incredibly special journey, and I’m deeply grateful to the producers, collaborators, and champions who believed in it and helped carry it forward. I’m especially excited that this is just the beginning, as we now look ahead to expanding ‘Incognito’ into a feature,” Muppa said.

Singh, who produced the short through his Flip Films banner, added: “We are thankful to Anurag for the curation, and Vikram and other directors to lend their support to the same. Every month we’ll be premiering one new short on the channel and hope that we’ll be able to make a community very soon.”

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Four Americans caught in horrific Mexico highway pileup that killed at least 10

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Four Americans caught in horrific Mexico highway pileup that killed at least 10

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Four Americans were reportedly caught in a fiery multi-vehicle crash in Mexico that left at least 10 people dead and about 10 others injured. 

The massive pileup happened Sunday after a tractor-trailer crashed into multiple vehicles on a highway in the western state of Jalisco, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit. 

While the agency reported 10 deaths, Mexico’s Army, Air Force and National Guard said nine people were killed.

Jalisco Civil Protection told Reuters that four Americans suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital.

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EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE

A vehicle was left charred and mangled following a massive multi-vehicle pileup in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)

“Four patients in minor condition, all U.S. citizens, were transferred to the Arboledas Hospital in Guadalajara by a private ambulance from the highway,” Jalisco Civil Protection said.

Reuters reported that two of those killed were minors.

Another two of the injured were identified as National Guard members who suffered serious injuries and were taken to a hospital in Guadalajara, according to Reuters. 

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Videos circulating on social media appeared to show several vehicles engulfed in flames along the highway connecting Guadalajara and Tepic, sending multiple plumes of black smoke into the air. 

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A firefighter works to douse the smoking engine of a destroyed vehicle after a devastating highway collision in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)

According to Mexican officials, the crash happened when a tractor-trailer apparently suffered a brake failure and slammed into a line of vehicles that had stopped because of an earlier accident. 

“According to initial reports, a trailer reportedly suffered a failure in its braking system and ended up crashing into several vehicles that were stopped due to a prior incident,” Mexico’s Army, Air Force and National Guard said in a post on X. 

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The initial accident reportedly involved a rear-end collision between two tractor-trailers. As emergency crews responded, a third tractor-trailer crashed into the scene, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit. 

“As a result of this second impact, three private vehicles and two tractor-trailer trucks were completely destroyed by the fire,” the authorities said. “Additionally, two other private vehicles and an official Dodge Charger unit belonging to the National Guard sustained material damage. “

Mexican authorities inspect the incinerated frame of a tractor-trailer on a highway connecting Guadalajara and Tepic in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)

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Firefighters later extinguished the blaze, officials said. 

Local outlet El Financiero reported that the driver of the tractor-trailer was detained by the National Guard. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

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At least 27 dead as fire engulfs popular Bangkok pub near Chatuchak market

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At least 27 dead as fire engulfs popular Bangkok pub near Chatuchak market
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At least 27 people were killed and 63 injured, many critically, after a fire ripped through a popular pub in Bangkok. Authorities are investigating whether the pub, located near the iconic Chatuchak Weekend Market, had adequate escape routes.

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