Trump welcomes American prisoner freed by Venezuela
Washington, May 27: US President Donald Trump welcomed Josh Holt, an American who had been held as a prisoner in Venezuela since 2016, upon his arrival here after being released, the media reported.
"You've gone through a lot, more than most people could endure," the President said to Holt as the two were seated side-by-side in the Oval Office late Saturday night.
"I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude for you guys for everything that you've done," Holt said in response, adding that it had been a "very, very difficult two years", reports CNN.
Holt, a Utah native, arrived at the White House with his wife, Thamy, who had also been imprisoned, shortly after flying back from Venezuela earlier on Saturday.
After the flight landed, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who said earlier in the day that his office helped secure Holt's release, posted a video to Twitter showing Holt reuniting with his family.
In his remarks from the White House, Trump also took the opportunity to highlight the release of other Americans held prisoner abroad, including the recent release of three Americans who had been detained by North Korea.
"You were a tough one, I have to tell you, that was a tough situation," the President said to Holt, adding that he is "very proud" of the administration's overall track record.
Holt travelled to Venezuela in June 2016 to marry Venezuelan Thamara Caleno, reports CNN.
He was arrested shortly afterward and accused by the Venezuelan government of stockpiling weapons and attempting to destabilise the government, according to The Washington Post.
Holt was held for nearly two years without standing trial.
Holt and his wife were freed overnight and released to the US Embassy in Caracas, according to Foro Penal, a human rights organization of lawyers and others who assist political prisoners in Venezuela.
The couple was joined by Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee as they flew back to the US on Saturday afternoon.
Holt's release comes more than a week after he posted videos to Facebook during a prison riot, pleading for help from Americans and the US government.
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Bhopal gas tragedy: Effects of leak seen in next generation of survivors, says ex-forensic doctor
Bhopal (PTI): The effects of poisonous gases that leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal 40 years ago were seen in the next generations of those who survived the tragedy, a former government forensic doctor has said.
At least 3,787 people were killed, and more than five lakh were affected after a toxic gas leaked from the pesticide factory in the city on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984.
Speaking at an event held by organisations of gas tragedy survivors on Saturday, Dr D K Satpathy, former head of the forensics department of Bhopal's Gandhi Medical College, said he performed 875 post-mortems on the first day of the disaster and witnessed 18,000 autopsies the next five years.
Sathpathy claimed Union Carbide had denied questions about the effects of poisonous gases on unborn children of women survivors and said effects would not cross the placental barrier in the womb in any condition.
He said blood samples of pregnant women who died in the tragedy were examined, and it was found that 50 per cent of poisonous substances found in the mother were also found in the child in her womb.
Children born to surviving mothers had the poisonous substances in their system, and this affected the health of the next generation, Sathpathy claimed and questioned why research on this was stopped.
Such effects will continue for generations, he said.
Satpathy said it was said that MIC gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant, and when it came in contact with water, thousands of gases were formed, and some of these caused cancer, blood pressure and liver damage.
Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information and Action said Satpathy, who carried out most autopsies, and other first responders in the 1984 disaster, including the senior doctors in the emergency ward and persons involved in mass burials, narrated their experiences during the event.
Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, a poster exhibition covering every aspect of the disaster will be held till December 4 to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.
An anniversary rally will be organised, with focus on global corporate crimes such as industrial pollution and climate change, she said.
