World
Tanzanian police crack down on planned opposition rally
Leaders arrested following police chief’s warning of tough measures to block protest.
Police have cracked down on a planned protest against the government organised by Tanzania’s main opposition party.
The leaders of Chadema were arrested on Monday, the party said. Further arrests were made on the streets of the Magomeni area of the capital Dar-es-Salaam where protesters were gathering for a rally against alleged killings and abductions of government critics.
The crackdown extends fears of renewed political repression in the East African country ahead of upcoming local elections and next year’s national vote.
Video footage posted on X by Chadema showed police arresting the party chairman, Freeman Mbowe, as he arrived “to lead a peaceful protest”.
A separate post showed police outside the home of deputy chairman Tundu Lissu before he was taken into custody.
Police said they had arrested 14 people, including Mbowe and Lissu, for defying a prohibition on the protests.
In advance of these arrests, the police were seen blockading the homes of both party leaders.
Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2016 despite being shot 16 times, earlier wrote on social media platform X that three police vehicles full of officers in riot gear were outside his house.
“They’ve informed me I’m directed to be taken to the Regional Crimes Officer. I’m getting ready to go,” he said.
Over the weekend, Dar-es-Salaam police chief Jumanne Muliro had warned that the planned rally would breach the peace and that his officers would take strict action to prevent it.
Riot police with water cannon have been deployed across key areas of the city since Saturday.
Chadema has accused the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan of returning Tanzania to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli.
Hassan took over in March 2021 following Magufuli’s sudden death and initially appeared to signal a more open democracy, reversing restrictions on opposition rallies and the media.
But Chadema now accuses security forces of being behind the disappearance of several members and the killing of Ali Mohamed Kibao, a senior party official who authorities said was doused with acid and beaten to death last month.
In a speech broadcast on X on Sunday, Mbowe insisted that the planned protest would be peaceful.
“We are neither carrying any weapons nor planning to violate the peace as some people allege,” he said. “We have seen the deployment of armed police officers in the city but we are ready to face them.”
When Chadema last tried to hold a rally in August, police arrested hundreds.
Rights groups and Western governments, including the United States, have criticised the crackdowns as “antidemocratic”.
World
Rescue Workers and Aid Arrive in Venezuela, Official Says
More than 1,600 rescue workers have arrived and 25 flights filled with aid will land over the next day in Venezuela after earthquakes devastated the country on Wednesday, according to Venezuela’s vice minister of foreign affairs, Oliver Blanco.
World
American rescue teams pull infant alive from rubble in Venezuela days after devastating twin earthquakes
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American search-and-rescue teams pulled an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, the U.S. Department of State said Saturday.
The State Department shared video on social media showing U.S. personnel pulling the infant from the rubble as rescue crews continued searching for survivors more than 72 hours after two powerful earthquakes struck the South American country.
The infant was 9 months old and was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.
“This heroic rescue was carried out in Catia La Mar by the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team (USA-01), which deployed to Venezuela on June 26 following activation by the State Department,” a State Department spokesperson said.
TRUMP SAYS VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES LEFT ‘DEVASTATING NUMBER OF DEATHS’ AS US READIES AID
American search-and-rescue teams rescued an infant trapped beneath the rubble following this week’s deadly earthquakes in Venezuela, according to the State Department. (Department of State)
The rescue comes as emergency crews race against time to locate survivors before the critical rescue window closes.
“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.
“American search and rescue teams rescued an infant from beneath the rubble following the earthquake in Venezuela,” the post continued. “Every life saved is a victory.”
The White House also shared the video, calling it “America at its best.”
“Thank you to the American search and rescue teams providing assistance in Venezuela,” the White House wrote.
PLAYERS, FANS FLEE STADIUM AS POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES STRIKE DURING VENEZUELA BASEBALL GAME
Rescue workers search through the rubble three days after earthquakes struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Round-the-clock rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast Wednesday.
As of Saturday evening, officials said the death toll from the twin earthquakes had reached 1,430.
Earlier Saturday, officials reported that 243 people had been rescued.
FORMER METS PITCHER NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH IN VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES THANKS TO ELEVATOR MALFUNCTION
Rescue personnel with a rescue dog assist in rescue efforts after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday. (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
According to The Associated Press, more than 68,000 people remain missing across the country.
Aid groups consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a disaster to be the most critical window for finding survivors, though access to food and water can extend that period.
Venezuelan officials said 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue personnel had arrived Saturday to assist with search-and-rescue efforts.
US RESCUE TEAMS TO DESCEND ON HARD-HIT CARIBBEAN AFTER CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE MELISSA’S IMPACT
Members of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s international urban search and rescue team (USA-2) prepare to leave for Venezuela, in Pacoima, Calif., on Thursday. (Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images)
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.
According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, including firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists. The teams also deployed more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.
The Los Angeles County team includes 73 members equipped with concrete-breaking equipment and specialized listening devices used to detect survivors trapped beneath debris.
COLORADO AVALANCHE VICTIM RESCUED IN DRAMATIC VIDEO
Responders search for victims in a demolished building in Caracas, Venezuela, after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and a 7.5 aftershock struck the region. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
Rescuers have fanned out across La Guaira, where the worst destruction occurred, and parts of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent days pulling survivors and victims from the rubble.
The United States has pledged $150 million in emergency assistance and support for international relief organizations responding to the disaster.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for additional information on the rescue.
Fox News Digital’s James Cirrone, and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
World
Serbian Vučić says he will resign in weeks and calls early elections
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Saturday that he will resign in the coming weeks and called for early presidential and parliamentary elections.
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“I will be president for only a few weeks, and then I will resign,” Vučić told supporters at a rally in Belgrade. His second and final term was due to expire in mid-2027.
His remarks followed recent comments suggesting he could step down, amid speculation that he may seek a return as prime minister, a position he held from 2014 to 2017
It also follows a year and a half of student-led anti-corruption protests, triggered by the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. The protesters have been demanding early elections.
During his speech, Vučić said he would support his Serbian Progressive Party in the upcoming elections, including snap parliamentary polls originally scheduled for next year.
He did not provide a specific timeline for his resignation or for the dissolution of parliament, which is required before early legislative elections can be held.
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