Venezuela
Leaders: Coup was staged
Venezuela’s congress on Sunday declared that the government had staged a coup by blocking a drive to recall President Nicolas Maduro in a raucous legislative session that was interrupted when his supporters stormed the chamber. Opposition lawmakers vowed to put Maduro on trial after a court friendly to his socialist administration on Thursday suspended their campaign to collect signatures to hold a referendum on removing the deeply unpopular president. Lawmaker Julio Borges said the opposition-led congress is now in open rebellion after a majority of its members voted that the decision constituted a coup with government participation.
Haiti
150 inmates still at large
Police officers were searching cars and boats for escaped prisoners on Sunday after recapturing at least a dozen of the 172 inmates who overpowered guards and fled from a lockup in central Haiti, the prison’s director said. The prison break occurred Saturday in Arcahaie, about 30 miles north of Haiti’s capital. The community is far from the southwest area that was slammed by Hurricane Matthew earlier this month. One guard was reported killed and an inmate died following a bad fall while trying to scale a prison wall.
Afghanistan
Increase in poppies, opium
Afghanistan saw an increase of 10 percent in opium poppy cultivation and 91 percent decrease in eradication across the country, according to a new joint survey released Sunday by the UN and Afghan government. The report showed the total area under cultivation at an estimated 496,681 acres in 2016, a 10 percent increase from 2015. It said no eradication took place in provinces with high levels of poppy cultivation due to poor security in those areas, as well as logistical and financial challenges. Overall, the potential opium production in Afghanistan increased 43 percent to 4,800 tons this year, Salamat Azimi, Afghan counter-narcotics minister, said in a news conference with the UN.
Nigeria
Soldiers missing in action
Some 83 Nigerian soldiers are missing in action since Boko Haram Islamic extremists attacked a remote military base in the northeast, senior army officers said Sunday. The soldiers were unable to fight back and fled because Boko Haram had superior fire power, the officers told the Associated Press.
Compiled from wire reports.