International
Chile defense minister’s home robbed, presidential car stolen
AFP
The home of Chilean Defense Minister Maya Fernandez was robbed by attackers who beat her son and threatened her husband, authorities said Saturday.
Fernandez, a granddaughter of former Socialist leader Salvador Allende, was not at home at the time of the attack late Friday in Santiago’s Nunoa neighborhood.
A bodyguard in President Gabriel Boric’s security team was also shot in the arm by attackers who stole a presidential vehicle, as Chile suffers what one official has called “the worst moment in security since the return to democracy,” with crime surging in both numbers and severity.
“There was a robbery in the defense minister’s property,” General Jean Camus, a district police chief, announced Saturday. “Unknown individuals stole cash and also a vehicle.”
The same night, the presidential bodyguard, a sergeant in the Carabineros, or national police, was robbed and shot when a group of men approached him as he sat in an official vehicle.
The attack occurred in the San Miguel neighborhood in southern Santiago as the man was driving the car back to the presidential palace. Police said the assailants drove him to a town north of Santiago, shot him and left him in the street before fleeing aboard the vehicle.
There was no information on his condition.
Chilean officials have called for a redoubling of efforts to rein in crime and improve security.
“We have taken concrete actions to go after organized crime,” said Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve.
Blaming organized criminals for the surge in lawlessness, the authorities have promised greater cooperation between the militarized Carabineros police and their civilian counterparts.
International
Singer seriously injured after knife attack in Tokyo’s Akasaka District
A woman in her forties was stabbed on Sunday by a man in Tokyo’s busy Akasaka district, leaving her with serious injuries, according to local media reports.
At around 10:25 a.m. (local time), police received an emergency call reporting that a woman was bleeding after being attacked with a knife by a man wearing a black hood in the basement of a building in Akasaka, police sources told Kyodo News.
The woman sustained severe injuries to her abdomen and hand but was conscious when she was transported to a hospital, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said, adding that the suspected assailant fled the scene with what appeared to be a knife.
The victim, believed to be a singer, was reportedly attacked while waiting alone outside a live music club where she was scheduled to perform.
Police stated that they are searching for the suspect and noted that the woman did not know him.
International
Ombudsman confirms deaths of six minors in bombing targeting FARC dissidents
Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office reported on Saturday the deaths of six minors who had been recruited by guerrilla groups, killed during the deadliest airstrike ordered by President Gustavo Petro in an Amazonian region in the south of the country.
Amid pre-election criticism and pressure from the United States demanding stronger action against drug trafficking, Petro has intensified military operations against armed groups. Over the past week, a series of bombings have left 28 people dead.
The minors were killed in an airstrike announced on Tuesday against a camp belonging to dissident factions of the now-defunct FARC guerrilla in the department of Guaviare, resulting in 19 deaths—the largest operation of its kind under Petro’s administration.
“This is all deeply regrettable; it is war in its most painful and inhumane expression, harming the most vulnerable—minors recruited due to lack of protection and now turned into military targets,” said Ombudswoman Iris Marín in an audio message sent to the press, confirming the deaths of six minors without providing their ages.
Marín held the guerrilla group led by the country’s most-wanted man, alias Iván Mordisco, responsible for recruiting the children.
However, she also stressed that “the military forces must take every feasible precaution to protect children,” in accordance with international principles that require “careful evaluation of the means and methods of warfare to avoid disproportionate or unnecessary harm.”
International
Colombia reaches $4.5 billion deal to acquire 17 Gripen Fighter Jets from Saab
The Colombian government has finalized a negotiation agreement with the Swedish company Saab for the purchase of 17 SAP-39 Gripen fighter jets, valued at more than $4.5 billion, according to local media reports.
Colombian outlets indicated that payments are scheduled to begin in 2026, starting with an initial installment of 100 billion Colombian pesos. However, the aircraft will be delivered between 2027 and 2032, when the final jet is expected to arrive in Colombia.
This new contract represents the second-largest public purchase made by Colombia so far this century, surpassed only by the investment in the Bogotá metro system, local media noted.
The agreement is expected to be officially signed during the ceremony commemorating the 216th anniversary of the Colombian Aerospace Force, to be held in Cali on November 14 of this year.
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