IN BRIEF (Page 12)

United States

Trump gloats after Mueller hearing

US President Donald Trump declared the alleged Russia meddling and obstruction probe a "big hoax" on Wednesday as Democrats reaped precious little new ammunition for impeachment in marathon testimony to Congress by investigation leader Robert Mueller. The former Justice Department special counsel said during his hotly-anticipated appearance that he had not exonerated Trump of obstruction allegations, but once again declined to accuse the US president of a crime or recommend that Congress do so. Answering questions on his investigation for the first time, a shaky-voiced, sometimes uncertain Mueller would not go beyond the facts set out in his final investigation report and refused dozens of times to answer questions from both Democrats and Republicans.

Venezuela

Maduro oversees defensive military drill

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday oversaw the launch of a large-scale defensive military drill in the Venezuelan Caribbean Sea. "We are going to test several weapons that Venezuela has to defend our territorial integrity," Maduro said as the exercise was underway. The president authorized the start of the military maneuvers in the Gulf of Venezuela. The drill will be held in three stages and end on Aug 30. The drill comes amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and the United States, which has backed the opposition in its push to oust Maduro from power. It is the second large-scale military drill in the country this year. The first was held in February. Maduro also blamed the US for a second widespread blackout this year that cast most of the South American nation in darkness.

Puerto Rico

Embattled governor resigns after protests

Puerto Rico's embattled governor Ricardo Rossello announced his resignation late on Wednesday following two weeks of massive protests triggered by the release of a chat exchange in which he and others mocked gays, women and hurricane victims. "I announce that I will be resigning from the governor's post effective (on) Friday, Aug 2 at 5 pm," Rossello said, in a video statement posted on the commonwealth government's Facebook page. As soon as the video ended, a joyous commotion and cries of "ole, ole, ole" were heard from protesters who had rallied since the afternoon at the gates of the governor's mansion in San Juan. The protests have been ongoing since July 13. Rossello said that Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez would temporarily succeed him.

France

Inventor fails to cross Channel on flyboard

A French aviation buff and inventor failed on Thursday in his attempt to cross the English Channel on a homemade "flyboard". After careful preparations, Franky Zapata took off from the French coastal town of Sangatte fastened to the small flying platform he designed. From afar, it looked like he was skateboarding on the sky. But as he descended for a refueling stop about halfway through, he encountered a "problem", said spokeswoman Anna Venekas, adding that "the flight is canceled" and that Zapata "is doing fine". CNews television cited people close to Zapata as saying his journey was cut short when he hit the refueling boat and fell in the water. Zapata, 40, wowed crowds in Paris on Bastille Day, whirling over European leaders on the flyboard. But crossing the windy, ship-filled Channel is a much tougher challenge.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily 07/26/2019 page12)