Leaders and supporters bid farewell to Chavez

March 09, 2013 00:15

Leaders from Latin America and beyond were in Venezuela's capital for the state funeral of late president Hugo Chavez. Hundreds of thousands of mourners attended Friday's funeral, which was to be followed by the swearing-in of his handpicked successor Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

Thousands of busses brought people from all over the country to the capital, Caracas. Fifty-five world leaders were expected at the funeral, including Cuba's Raul Castro, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, shunned by the West but long courted by the anti-US Chavez.

Ahmadinejad expressed his condolences as he arrived in Venezuela early on Friday, calling Chavez "a symbol for all those who seek justice, love and peace in the world".

TOP STORIES

Meet Baldev Kumar from Punjab, first outsider to contest J-K LS polls

The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 paved the way for outsiders to contest polls in the Union Territory.

IPL PIX: Rahul, de Kock power LSG to easy win over CSK

Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock hit fifties as LSG trounced CSK by eight wickets.

Phase 1 sees nearly 63% polling amid stray incidents of violence

"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC...

Manipur records 68% polling marred by violence, firing, booth capturing

At Thamnapokpi under Moirang constituency in Bishnupur district, armed men fired several rounds in the air near a polling booth prompting voters to flee, police said on Friday, adding additional security personnel were rushed to the spot...

Air India to soon have new crew management system

Air India will soon have a new crew management system that will help strengthen rostering rules and enable faster recovery from scheduled disruptions. In a message to the staff on Friday, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said that...