Category World News

At least 14 people have died after torrential rainfall led to the collapse of a Venezuelan gold mine.

The National Risk System announced on Monday that it had launched recovery efforts at the mine in the southern El Callao municipality, with bodies found in three separate shafts.

Venezuela has deposits of copper, diamonds and other precious minerals, but unsafe working conditions are common in a poorly regulated industry.

A command post had been set up in the town of El Callao, about 850km (528 miles) southeast of the capital, Caracas, to coordinate operations, Bolivar state’s Operational Zones for Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis agency said.

The deaths occurred in three different shafts of the Cuatro Esquinas de Caratal mine, the agency said in a statement, as flooding caused the collapse of the mine’s vertical shafts.

It said two miners managed to escape unharmed from one of the shafts, which was about 100 metres (328 feet) deep.

“The first phase of the works is to pump out all the shafts in the sector to reduce the water level, and then evaluate rescue efforts”, emergency officials said in a post on social media.

The death toll is based on the testimony of the surviving miners, The Associated Press news agency reported, citing comments by local firefighters on social media.

Safety not guaranteed

El Callao has been a gold-mining hub since 1853, when the precious metal was first discovered there. Most of the city’s residents are directly or indirectly involved in the trade.

Venezuela’s mining sector is poorly regulated, with reports of unsafe working conditions and widespread exploitation.

In July 2020, the United Nations human rights chief at the time, Michelle Bachelet, accused Venezuelan authorities of failing to investigate crimes linked to the mining industry,

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has opened a criminal case against exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of creating a “terrorist organisation” and plotting to violently seize power.

The FSB said on Tuesday that the charges relate to the activities of a Khodorkovsky-backed group that opposes the war in Ukraine. Numerous individuals and groups inside and outside Russia have been prosecuted as the Kremlin has cracked down on even the smallest sign of dissent concerning its narrative of the invasion of its neighbour.

There was no immediate comment from Khodorkovsky or his Anti-War Committee, which has been banned in Russia.

The oil tycoon, once Russia’s richest man, served 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges that he and many Western countries – where his incarceration became a cause celebre – said were politically motivated.

Khodorkovsky rose to prominence as one of a handful of wealthy businessmen who backed former President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, gaining huge power over the Russian economy as a result.

He fell from grace as Yeltsin’s successor, Vladimir Putin, tightened the Kremlin’s grip on previously independent-minded business figures.

Most of the remaining members of the group became loyal supporters of Putin. However, some fled, including Roman Abramovich.

Abramovich’s former mentor, Boris Berezovsky, also fled to the United Kingdom, where he became a staunch critic of the Russian president. Russian courts handed down numerous sentences against him during his time in exile until his death, ruled a suicide despite some doubt, in 2013.

Khodorkovsky left Russia after being released from jail that same year, thanks to a presidential pardon granted on the basis that he would not engage in politics.

In December, Putin’s spokesperson accused Khodorkovsky of failing to keep his end of the deal after a Moscow court imposed a fine on the exiled tycoon for administrative violations.

Legislation against discrediting the Russian military was introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has repeatedly been used by Russia’s courts to jail and silence Putin’s critics.

In 2024, a court in St Petersburg jailed Sasha Skochilenko, an artist and musician, for seven years for swapping supermarket price tags for those with antiwar messages.

Since 2022, Khodorkovsky has positioned himself as a leading figure among Russian exiles who back Kyiv against Moscow. Shortly after the war’s outbreak, he was designated a “foreign agent” by Russia.

EXPLAINER

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s participation in Summit for Peace held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on Monday may have been a surprise to those who were expecting only world leaders, presidents and high-ranking officials to be in attendance at the Red Sea resort town.

Infantino was photographed next to the co-chair of the event, United States President Donald Trump, in the latest joint appearance by the pair during the second Trump presidency.

Here is all to know about Infantino’s presence in Egypt:

Why was FIFA president at the Egypt Peace summit?

Infantino stated that Trump had invited him to the Summit for Peace and that “FIFA is here to help, to assist and to put ourselves at disposal for whatever we can do to make sure that this peace process comes to fruition and to the best possible end.”

His invitation followed the FIFA president becoming more vocal on the Israel-Gaza conflict in recent days.

Last week, he called for football to support efforts towards peace in the Middle East in the lead-up to two World Cup qualifiers that involved Israel, after pro-Palestinian demonstrations were planned at stadiums in Norway and Italy.

After Friday’s Israel-Hamas ceasefire announcement, Infantino praised the US-brokered plan and singled out Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

“The role of President Trump has been absolutely fundamental and crucial in the process. Without President Trump, there would be no peace,” he said.

What role did Infantino play at the Summit for Peace?

In Sharm el Sheikh, the FIFA president stressed football’s important role in creating new hope in the Middle East region.

Infantino pledged the governing body’s support to rebuild football infrastructure in Gaza as part of wider post-war reconstruction efforts following Monday’s peace summit.

“Football’s role has to be to support, has to be to unite, has to be to give hope in the region. In Gaza, in Palestine, we will, of course, help to rebuild all the football facilities. We will help to bring football back – together with the Palestinian Football Association – in every corner of the country. We will bring (footballs), we will build pitches, we will bring instructors, we will help organise competitions, we will launch a fund to help rebuild football infrastructure in Palestine,” he announced.

Infantino added that FIFA would contribute with mini-pitches and “FIFA arenas” and invite other partners to join the effort, saying “football brings hope to children, and it’s very, very important.”

What is the relationship between Infantino and Trump?

Trump first met Infantino at the White House in 2018, during his first presidential term, after the US was awarded the co-hosting rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

They have appeared at summits together before; in 2020, they shared the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It was during this summit that Infantino first called Trump “my great friend”, according to reporting by The Washington Post.

The pair remained in contact when Trump left office in early 2021, but since the second Trump presidency, which coincided with June’s FIFA Club World Cup staged in the US, Infantino has been seen repeatedly with the US president.

Most recently, on August 22, Infantino was filmed inside the Oval Office after he gifted a gold replica World Cup trophy to Trump.

In late 2024, Infantino relocated to Trump’s hometown in Miami due to his North American-based World Cup commitments, ensuring the two friends have easy access for any joint public appearances in the future.