CARACAS: “Terrorists” attacked a military base in Venezuela’s third-biggest city of Valencia on Sunday, but soldiers defended it and arrested several people, officials said.
“In the early morning hours, terrorist attackers entered the Paramacay Fort in Valencia...,” Diosdado Cabello, a Socialist Party leader, said on his Twitter account.
The situation was under control with “various terrorists detained,” he added.
Local media and social networks spoke of a possible military uprising at the base against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, but there was no immediate confirmation.
One video was posted in which a man presenting himself as an army captain declared a “legitimate rebellion.” Around him stood 15 other men dressed in camouflage, some of them armed.
He demanded the “immediate formation of a transitional government and free elections.”
The head of the armed forces, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, tweeted: “They couldn’t do anything against the FANB (military)... they try to assault it with terrorist attacks. They can’t.”
The reported unrest occurred as a new assembly with supreme powers and loyal to Maduro starting sitting in Venezuela, a week after it was elected in polls marred by violence and allegations that the results were tampered with.
The opposition and dozens of countries say the new body is illegitimate and serves only to create a “dictatorship” by bypassing the opposition-controlled legislature.
In its first act on Saturday, the body, the Constituent Assembly, ordered the dismissal of the country’s attorney general, Luisa Ortega, who became a vociferous critic after breaking ranks with Maduro.
’Terrorists’ attack Venezuela military base: Maduro ally
’Terrorists’ attack Venezuela military base: Maduro ally
In rare overlap, Chinese Muslims observe Ramadan with Lunar New Year
- Lunar New Year started on Feb. 17 and is celebrated for another two weeks
- Chinese Indonesians make up about 3 percent of the Indonesian population
JAKARTA: Every year, on the first day of Lunar New Year, Febriani visits relatives and gathers for a feast with her Chinese Muslim family, part of a long-standing tradition honoring their ethnic heritage.
But this year, as Thursday marks the beginning of Ramadan, she is celebrating two important occasions within the same week, in a rare overlap that last took place in 1995.
“I’m very happy and grateful that Lunar New Year and Ramadan are celebrated so closely. I observe both every year, so it’s truly special,” she told Arab News.
Widely observed across Asia, the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year festival is believed to date back to the 14th century B.C., to the times of the Shang Dynasty, China’s earliest ruling dynasty, when people celebrated good harvests.
In 2026, it started on Feb. 17 and is celebrated for another two weeks. For many, celebrations typically involve elaborate feasts, giving children pocket money in red envelopes, and watching dragon dance parades.
In Indonesia, Chinese-descent citizens make up an estimated 3 percent of the country’s Muslim-majority population of more than 280 million. While most are either Buddhists or Christians, a small minority professes Islam.
For 25-year-old Febriani, both Lunar New Year and Ramadan are equally meaningful.
“The two celebrations teach us to strengthen bonds, to share with one another, and to become closer to family,” she said.
“They are both important to me because they happen only once every year and they’re always an occasion to gather with the extended family. It is also a chance to self-reflect and strengthen relationships with your loved ones.”
For Naga Kunadi, whose family lives in Central Java’s Cepu district, Chinese New Year is all about embracing his ethnic identity.
Earlier in the week, his family was busy preparing for the new year’s feast, which was a fusion of Chinese and Indonesian dishes, such as claypot tofu, meatball soup and shumai, or steamed dumplings.
“To celebrate Chinese New Year, we prepared halal Chinese food at home. It’s also a way to introduce to my children the traditions from our Chinese side, but there’s a bit of a fusion because my wife is Javanese,” Kunadi told Arab News.
Kunadi, an Islamic teacher at the Lautze Mosque in Jakarta, sees both Chinese New Year and Ramadan as opportunities to teach important life values for his two children.
Upholding Chinese New Year traditions with his family is for him a way of preserving his ethnic heritage.
“We want to preserve cultural values as long as it does not clash with our religion,” he said.
“If we leave our culture behind, we might lose our identity, so this is something I want to teach my children.”
The fasting month of Ramadan, on the other hand, gives him a chance to teach and practice honesty.
“I want to focus on the religious and moral aspects during the holy month of Ramadan, when we practice honesty on a personal level,” Kunadi said.
“There’s always an opportunity to eat or snack in secret without anybody knowing, but we train ourselves not to do that. For me, Ramadan is a time for everyone to put honesty into practice, including myself and my children.”
