A Russian drone struck a multi-story apartment building late on Sunday in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, triggering a fire and injuring eight people, the city’s mayor said.
Kharkiv resisted capture in the early days of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and has since been a frequent target of air attacks. A medical center was damaged in one of several drone strikes in the city on Friday.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the fire triggered by Sunday’s attack spread to several apartments on the top floor of the building.
None of the injured had required hospital treatment, he said. Three other residential buildings were damaged, with well over 100 windows smashed.
Emergency crews were working at the site, the mayor added.
Drone hits apartment building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injures seven, mayor says
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Drone hits apartment building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injures seven, mayor says
- Kharkiv resisted capture in the early days of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and has since been a frequent target of air attacks
Venezuela advances amnesty bill that could lead to mass release of political prisoners
- Such an amnesty is a central demand of the country’s opposition and human rights organizations with backing from the United States
CARACAS: Venezuela’s legislature on Thursday advanced an amnesty bill proposed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez that could lead to the release of hundreds of opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons.
Such an amnesty is a central demand of the country’s opposition and human rights organizations with backing from the United States. But the contents of the bill have not been released publicly, and rights groups have so far reacted with cautious optimism — and with demands for more information.
The bill, introduced just weeks after the US military captured then-President Nicolás Maduro, still requires a second debate that has yet to be scheduled. Once approved, it must be signed by Rodríguez before it can go into effect.
In announcing the bill late last month, Rodríguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled National Assembly would take up the legislation with urgency.
“May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation fueled by violence and extremism,” she said in a pre-taped televised event. “May it serve to redirect justice in our country, and may it serve to redirect coexistence among Venezuelans.”
Rights groups, fearing some political detainees will be excluded, want more details about the requirements for amnesty before any final vote.
The Venezuelan Program for Education-Action in Human Rights, or PROVEA, issued a statement emphasizing that the bill must be made public urgently due to its potential impact on victims’ rights and broader Venezuelan society.
Based on what is known so far about the legislation, the amnesty would cover a broad timeline, spanning the administration of the late Hugo Chávez from 1999 to 2013 and that of his political heir, Maduro, until this year. It would exclude people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, and serious human rights violations, reports indicate.
