A drone loaded with explosives detonated near a military event where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was giving a speech, but he escaped unharmed in what the embattled leader called an assassination attempt. Seven people were wounded on Saturday in the apparent attack, which came as Maduro celebrated the National Guard's 81st anniversary in the capital, Caracas. Maduro later said "everything points" to a right-wing plot that an initial investigation suggested was linked to Colombia and the US state of Florida, where many Venezuelan exiles live. Several perpetrators were caught, he said, without elaborating. "This was an assassination attempt, they tried to assassinate me," Maduro said in a televised address.

Unknown assailants attempted to attack President Nicolas Maduro with drone-like devices armed with explosives that detonated just as the embattled leader was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers, the Venezuelan government said Saturday.

CARACAS – Drones armed with explosives detonated near Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an apparent assassination attempt that took place while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television, officials said. Caught by surprise mid-speech, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, looked up at the sky and winced after hearing the sound of an explosion pierce the air. "This was an attempt to kill me," he said later in an impassioned retelling of the events. "Today they attempted to assassinate me." Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the incident took place shortly after 5:30 p.m. as Maduro was celebrating the National Guard's 81st anniversary.

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dodged an apparent assassination attempt when drones armed with explosives detonated while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television, officials said. Caught by surprise mid-speech, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, looked up at the sky and winced Saturday after hearing the sound of an explosion pierce the air. "This was an attempt to kill me," he said later in an impassioned retelling of the events. "Today they attempted to assassinate me." Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the incident took place shortly after 5:30 p.m. as Maduro was celebrating the National Guard's 81st anniversary.

On Saturday, as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gave a speech in Caracas before a large military assemblage, drones carrying explosives approached, detonating near the stage. While Maduro was unharmed, Venezuelan information minister Jorge Rodriguez said that the attack injured seven soldiers. It's a method of assault that only a few years ago felt unthinkable, but has quickly become inevitable. Details remain scarce about the exact nature of the attack, which Rodriguez characterized as an "assassination attempt," including what type of drones were used and the nature of the explosives involved. In a televised address to his country, Maduro appeared to attribute the strike to far-right factions in Venezuela and Columbia.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro may be the first major leader to have faced a drone-based assassination attempt. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez claimed that at least one bomb-laden drone had exploded close to Maduro while he was giving a speech at a Caracas event on August 4th. The authoritarian leader was unhurt in the incident, but seven National Guard soldiers were reportedly injured. Video from state TV showed Maduro and officials looking up in a moment of panic before the camera cut away, with the assembled troops running soon afterward. The country has seen mounting unrest over recent years due to both Maduro's anti-democratic policies and an economic collapse triggered in part by plummeting oil prices.

Venezuelan officials say explosive drones went off as President Nicolás Maduro was giving a live televised speech in Caracas, but he is unharmed.

CARACAS, Venezuela – Drones armed with explosives detonated near Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as he gave a speech to hundreds of soldiers in Caracas on Saturday but the socialist leader was unharmed, according to the government. Seven people were injured in the apparent attack which came as Maduro celebrated the National Guard's 81st anniversary, said Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez. Maduro's speech was abruptly cut short and soldiers could be seen breaking ranks and scattering. "At exactly 5:41 p.m. in the afternoon several explosions were heard," Rodriguez said in a live address to the nation minutes after the incident. "The investigation clearly reveals they came from drone-like devices that carried explosives."

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Chennai: An indigenously designed and developed landing gear for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-Rustom II has been successfully tested on Thursday, a defence statement said. The landing gear developed by a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory here has undergone low-speed and high-speed taxi trial in Chitradurga, Karnataka, it said. The maiden flight of Rustom II with the indigenously developed gear was successfully carried out. "The Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), the main laboratory of DRDO, has designed and developed the gear," the statement said. Rustom II is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV designed for carrying out surveillance for the armed forces.