LONDON: England’s chief coroner began Monday an inquest into the death of five people last year in an extremist attack on Britain’s Parliament, saying it was “82 seconds of high and terrible drama.”
Mark Lucraft said the “lives of many were torn apart” in that brief period when an extremist killed four people on Westminster Bridge in a rented vehicle and then fatally stabbed a police officer guarding Parliament.
Dozens more were injured in the March 22, 2017 attack carried out by 52-year-old Khalid Masood.
The coroner asked for a minute’s silence to honor the victims at the start of the inquest.
The proceedings included brief portraits of the victims.
Melissa Cochran, whose husband Kurt Cochran was one of those killed on the bridge that leads toward Parliament, provided a statement to the inquest that was read on her behalf by her sister, Angela Stoll. The Cochrans had been in London on holiday.
Melissa Cochran, who was reported to have been too upset to pay her tribute in person, said her husband had died trying to save her from the attacker.
“He was my best friend, my husband and my everything,” she said. “I was so lucky to have had 25 wonderful years with the man of my dreams. He made me laugh every single day. I cherish every single memory we made.”
She added: “No words will bring Kurt back or anyone else who has died senselessly in such cowardly attacks on humanity.”
The inquest is expected to determine the cause of death for each victim.
UK inquest begins into attack on bridge, Parliament
UK inquest begins into attack on bridge, Parliament
- Mark Lucraft said the “lives of many were torn apart” in that brief period when an extremist killed four people on Westminster Bridge
- Dozens more were injured in the March 22, 2017 attack carried out by 52-year-old Khalid Masood
Venezuela’s acting president calls for oil industry reforms to attract more foreign investment
- In her speech, Rodríguez said money earned from foreign oil sales would go into two funds: one dedicated to social services for workers and the public health care system, and another to economic development and infrastructure projects
CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez used her first state of the union address on Thursday to promote oil industry reforms that would attract foreign investment, an objective aggressively pushed by the Trump administration since it toppled the country’s longtime leader less than two weeks ago.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure from the US to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
While she sharply criticized the Trump administration and said there was a “stain on our relations,” the former vice president also outlined a distinct vision for the future between the two historic adversaries, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezuela.
“Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the US, said Rodriguez, who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
Trump on Thursday met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
In her speech, Rodríguez said money earned from foreign oil sales would go into two funds: one dedicated to social services for workers and the public health care system, and another to economic development and infrastructure projects.
Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long suffered. Patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws. Economic turmoil, among other factors, has pushed millions of Venezuelans to migrate from the South American nation in recent years.
In moving forward, the acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela’s security forces and strongly oppose the US Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the US, to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.
American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to US meddling in its affairs.
For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez’s government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That’s because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.
Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure US control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”
Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.
Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.
