Venezuela accuses 3 countries of attack
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's government said Monday that diplomats from three Latin American countries may have played a role in an attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, and it demanded the foreign governments investigate.
Embassy staff members from Colombia, Chile and Mexico working in Caracas either lent support or were willing to assist those carrying out the attack, Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said.
"We are ready to present confessions made by the detainees to the foreign ministers of Colombia, Chile and Mexico," Rodriguez said, urging them to investigate any role their diplomats may have had.
Two drones loaded with explosives exploded nearby as Maduro spoke at an outdoor military ceremony on Aug. 4. Maduro was unhurt, but Venezuelan officials say the incident was an attempt to kill him.
Rodriguez said that one suspect's confession implicates the Chilean Embassy, and several others have confessed to being trained across the border in Colombia.
Colombia, Chile and Mexico all have rejected the accusations that Rodriguez levied.
Rebel attacks kill 18 people in Congo
KINSHASA, Congo -- A Congolese civil society group says that 18 people have been killed in attacks by suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels in the eastern city of Beni, an added threat to the city and region that are battling an Ebola outbreak.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said it and other aid agencies have been forced to temporarily suspend activities in Beni because of Saturday's attack.
"This points to an increasingly worrisome security situation across the country," the group said in a statement Monday. "These suspensions have disrupted aid to thousands of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection."
The Democratic Republic of Congo's health minister, Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga, said that health staff had to only temporarily suspend field activities that required home visits, but otherwise "that all pillars of the response remain fully operational."
"Despite the unfortunate events of the last few days, the Ministry of Health remains fully committed to your community," he said.
Health centers, including the Beni Ebola Treatment Center, all remained open, among other responses, he said.
This latest outbreak in the country's east has infected at least 118 people, including 69 people who have died, according to Congo's Health Ministry.
Hundreds of youths held in Ethiopia unrest
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- An Ethiopian security official confirmed the arrests of hundreds of youths in the capital, Addis Ababa, after violence in the city and in nearby towns last week in which several dozen people were killed.
The announcement on Monday came after widespread calls on social media by citizens of the East African country to disclose the reason for the arrests.
"We arrested several people following the violence but most of them were released shortly after provided with advice. If we were to keep them all, our prisons wouldn't be able to handle them," said Degife Bedi, a police official with the Addis Ababa Police Commission. "28 people lost their lives in the violence in Addis Ababa alone. Most of them lost their lives after beatings with stones and sticks. Other seven people lost their lives due to actions taken by security forces."
According to the official, more than 1,200 individuals who were "directly involved" in the violence in the capital have been sent to a military camp to be "rehabilitated" and 107 others will face criminal charges.
"An additional 2,000 people were detained inside hookah-serving houses, gambling shops and khat-chewing stores," the police head said, adding that most were later released.
Russian arrested on spy charge in Norway
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A Russian national was arrested in Norway on suspicion of spying after he attended a conference on strengthening cooperation between Europe's parliamentary administrations, his lawyer said Monday.
Russia strongly denied the charges and demanded the release of the man it identified as Mikhail Bochkarev, a 51-year-old aide at the upper house of Russian parliament.
Lawyer Hege Aakre told the Norwegian news agency NTB that her client, who wasn't identified, was being questioned by Norway's domestic intelligence agency.
The man was arrested Friday during the event by the European Center for Parliamentary Research and Documentation, held at Norway's Parliament, and placed on pretrial detention for two weeks the next day.
Aakre said her client denies any wrongdoing.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Norwegian ambassador on Monday to protest the detention it described as a "provocation."
Norwegian media reported that the man is a senior IT adviser with the Russian parliament. They reported that his behavior at the two-day conference prompted parliamentary officials to contact the intelligence service.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 09/25/2018