- Citizens participated in the Great World Protest to ratify the victory of Edmundo González; Venezuelans protested in different countries around the world to ratify the victory of Edmundo González; they denounced the arrest of the national secretary of Democratic Action in Caracas | Photo: El Diario
This Saturday, August 17, citizens gathered on Francisco de Miranda Avenue, in front of the Líder shopping center (Caracas), to protest against the results issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and to ratify the victory of Edmundo González.
For their part, Venezuelan migrants from different countries around the world joined this demonstration called by the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).
In international news, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced that starting Tuesday, August 20, flights financed by the United States will begin to return migrants who cross the Darién jungle.
Below are the highlights of Saturday, August 17:
This Saturday, August 17, protesters gathered on Francisco de Miranda Avenue, in front of the Líder shopping center (Caracas), to protest against the results issued by the CNE and ratify the victory of Edmundo González.
The rally began at 10:00 am, as called by the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) on its X account (formerly Twitter).
The protesters began to arrive at the site with their flags, their printed documents and with signs with phrases that read: “We are protagonists of freedom and democracy. The results are what they are.”
This Saturday, August 17, Venezuelan migrants from around the world gathered in different cities to ratify the victory of Edmundo González in the presidential elections of July 28.
Venezuelans protested early in the morning in New Zealand, Australia, India, Malaysia, Japan, Belgium, Korea, and other countries.
“I want Venezuela free” or “Sovereignty, peaceful transition to democracy: Long live free Venezuela, glory to the brave people,” read some of the banners displayed in downtown Sydney, where the Venezuelan national anthem was sung.
In several European countries such as Spain, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Belgium, Denmark, among others, Venezuelans also joined the demonstrations. The same occurred in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Colombia.
Venezuelan opponents denounced on Saturday, August 17, the arrest of the national secretary of the Democratic Action (AD) party, Piero Moroún, who – they say – was arrested on the night of Friday, August 16 in Caracas by “unidentified” agents.
AD Secretary General Henry Ramos Allup explained, through X, that Moroún “was detained by three unidentified people, forcing him to board a van” at the time he was “having dinner with his wife and sister-in-law in a restaurant” at 10:20 pm.
The information about the arrest of Moroún, AD’s national secretary of organization, was spread on the same social network by opposition leader María Corina Machado, who confirmed that the events occurred on Friday night, and demanded his release.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced that U.S.-funded flights will begin on Tuesday, August 20 to return migrants who cross the Darién jungle, on the border between Panama and Colombia.
“On the 20th (of August the plan for the return of migrants will begin). I am deeply sorry, sincerely, because I know why many of them are fleeing. The political crisis in Venezuela is strangling them,” Mulino said in an interview with Univision News on Saturday, August 17th.
Mulino said that the majority of migrants crossing the Darien jungle are from Venezuela.
“There are families torn apart, children of five or six years old whose parents have died on the journey and now we have them in shelters in Panama and we don’t know who they are or what their names are,” said Mulino.
5. British firefighters brought fire under control at the historic Somerset House building in London
The London Fire Brigade (England) said it had “under control” the fire detected this Saturday in the historic building of Somerset House, in central London and next to the River Thames.
Speaking at a press conference outside the building, London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Keeley Foster said the building’s age and design were a “challenge” for the more than 125 firefighters deployed, who had to carry out a “complex and technical” response to the fire, the cause of which is still unknown.
As a result, according to Foster, the spread of the flames was limited by the creation of firebreaks on the roof of Somerset House – the part most affected by the fire – as well as by cranes and “four aerial ladders of the brigade, including a 64-metre rotating technical ladder”.
6. A road accident left 14 dead and 18 injured in Bolivia
At least 14 people were killed and 18 others injured when a public transport bus crashed into a rock on a highway in the Tarija region in southern Bolivia, Bolivian police reported on Saturday, August 17.
The accident occurred on Friday night on the highway that connects Tarija with the eastern region of Santa Cruz, near the community of Canaletas, said the director of Tarija’s traffic department, José Pacheco, in statements reported by the EFE news agency.
The driver lost control of the vehicle for reasons that are being investigated, which caused him to invade the opposite lane and go into a ditch, “even crashing into a rocky outcrop,” he explained.
7. Turkish authorities evacuated almost 4,000 people due to fires
Fires raging in five provinces in Turkey, all in the western part of the country, have forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 people, the Turkish public emergency service, AFAD, reported on Saturday, August 17.
The most worrying fire broke out on Thursday night in the northern outskirts of Izmir, the country’s third largest city, which forced the evacuation of 1,430 people and destroyed 16 houses and an industrial estate.
Strong winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour hampered the intervention of three firefighting planes and 14 helicopters yesterday, but today the aircraft are continuing the battle against the flames, said the Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Ibrahim Yumakli, to the press.
In The Diary We present you a summary of the most important information of the day, which you should know at the national and international level.
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2024-08-18 11:45:22
