International
At least 7 dead, including three children, in the fire of a building in Nice that could have been caused
At least seven people have died, including three children, in a fire in the French city of Nice that is being investigated as a provoked act.
“The criminal clue is under consideration,” prosecutor Damien Martinelli briefly declared next to the damaged building.
Martinelli also revealed that an investigation has been initiated on the charge of voluntary arson causing deaths.
For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, praised the action of the firefighters on the social network X: “the rapid action of the firefighters has undoubtedly made it possible to avoid numerous victims. The police services will clarify the circumstances of this frightening drama.”
The prosecutor did not detail what indications point to a voluntary authorship, but he did say that experts from the Marseille police laboratory “will come to perform examinations at the crime scene.”
The deputy mayor of Nice, Anthony Borre, pointed directly to drug trafficking as the possible source of the fire, as he said in a statement to the France Info station.
“If it is due to drug trafficking, as I think, a strong and unprecedented response from the State will be needed,” he said.
The fire began around 3:00 a.m. on the seventh and last floor of a residential building in the Les Moulins neighborhood, “a neighborhood that is traumatized by this drama, which is very concerned about drug trafficking,” he added.
The accident was “very powerful” and caused six deaths in the apartment, including three children. In addition, two people threw themselves out the window to flee the flames, one died and the other is hospitalized, the deputy mayor explained.
“The firefighters have done an admirable job and have saved dozens of inhabitants” from the high floors of the building thanks to their long stairs, he said.
The authorities have set up a psychological help device for the neighbors, and even “the national police are also affected by what they have seen,” the politician said.
Borre explained that the Les Moulins neighborhood is an area that was being renovated since 2009 but that in the last two years drug trafficking groups have been installed that use young people “as labor,” which has forced the use of even private security guards in some buildings.
The mayor of the city, Christian Estrosi, spoke by phone with the Minister of the Interior, who was asked to “mobilize the security forces in order to guarantee the safety of the inhabitants and avoid new acts after this drama,” he said in a message in X.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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