BOGOTA Jordan Henderson Liverpool Jersey , Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Tuesday visited a town along the border with Venezuela, as a mass deportation of Colombians ordered by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro provoked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
During his visit to Paraguachon, located in northern La Guajira department, right on the border with Venezuela Joel Matip Liverpool Jersey , Santos approached Venezuelan soldiers guarding the border and greeted them, before listening to some of the deported Colombians seeking relief measures.
Santos assured the refugees that the government would protect them, that 1,000 jobs would immediately be created in the region Joe Gomez Liverpool Jersey , and that a food distribution center and a health clinic would be opened to guarantee the well-being of the deportees.
"The town of Puerto Estrella will build a food distribution center that will be permanently stocked by our armed forces and will see to all nutritional needs," he said.
Furthermore, the government will build 100 houses, a sports complex and a recreation center for the deported Colombians. A bus will also be provided to take their children to school.
The president was accompanied by Minister of Defense Luis Carlos Villegas James Milner Liverpool Jersey , Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Angela Holguin, Minister of Transport Natalia Abello and Minister of Housing Luis Felipe Henao.
Paraguachon has received 1,538 refugees since Maduro closed the border, according to official statistics.
The presidents of Venezuela and Colombia have agreed to meet to discuss the problems along their shared border Harry Wilson Liverpool Jersey , Venezuela's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Sunday.
"Presidents Nicolas Maduro and Juan Manuel Santos will decide on a date for the meeting," the ministry said via Twitter.
The crisis erupted on Aug. 19 when three Venezuelan army officers were wounded by suspected paramilitary gunmen operating in Colombia.
After the border incident, Venezuela closed major border crossing points and deported over 1,000 Colombians Georginio Wijnaldum Liverpool Jersey , with another 5,000 leaving voluntarily, in a bid to fight crime and a thriving cross-border smuggling trade, according to the Venezuelan government.
However Fabinho Liverpool Jersey , many of those Colombians are refugees fleeing decades of violence from Latin America's longest-running civil war, leading the United Nations in Colombia to urge a dialogue to avoid aggravating the humanitarian crisis on the border shared by Colombia and Venezuela.
The tension increased after two Venezuelan military airplanes entered the Colombian airspace of La Guajira department for 3 km and flew over a Colombian army unit. Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a complaint note to Caracas Sunday about the alleged violation of its airspace.
The Venezuelan government responded that those airplanes were only doing a reconnaissance flight over the border and did not violate Colombia's sovereign airspace, according to a statement made by its minister of foreign affairs.
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Venezuela denies violation of Colombian airspace
CARACAS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez denied on Monday that a Venezuelan military aircraft had violated Colombian airspace on Sunday.
The minister made the remarks in response to an accusation made by the Colombian government. Full story
Colombia accuses Venezuelan military planes of violating airspace
BOGOTA Dominic Solanke Liverpool Jersey , Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's Ministry of Defense Sunday said two Venezuelan military airplanes illegally overflew the country's airspace Saturday afternoon.
"The two Venezuelan military aircraft initially entered 2.9 kilometers inside Colombian airspace, flying over the area of Majayura (in northern Guajira department), quickly disappearing in the direction of Castilletes," the ministry said in a statement Divock Origi Liverpool Jersey , referring to a military base located along the border with Venezuela.
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HARARE, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe government on Friday denied that President Mugabe had ordered the arrest of the country's Olympics team for failing to win medals during the Rio Olympics.
Principal director of the Ministry of Sport and Recreation Benson Dube told Xinhua that the story was false and probably the work of social media.
The story that appeared on a Nigeria news website said Mugabe was not happy that the 31-member team had failed to win any medals and had instructed police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri to arrest the athletes on their arrival home.
""President Robert Mugabe has reportedly ordered the arrest of the entire Zimbabwean Olympic team for failing to win a medal at the just concluded 2016 Rio Olympics,"" the site said without giving the source of the information.
The site also alleged that Mugabe had ordered the athletes to repay government money used to finance their trip.
The Zimbabwean team competed in seven events of the 2016 Olympic Games -- archery, athletics, equestrian, football, rowing, shooting and swimming, and the locally based athletes are now back home.
Apart from the women's hockey team which won gold in the 1980 Olympics, Kirsty Coventry, hailed as the nation's greatest athlete, won gold, silver and bronze medals in the 2004 Olympic games in Greece and a gold and three silver medals in the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. Enditem
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) - the world's biggest mixed martial arts organization - announced Tuesday that it had added another Chinese fighter to its roster as it continues to reach into the Chinese market.
The 31-year-old RUFF (Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation, the first Chinese MMA organization) featherweight champion Wang "The Dongbei Tiger" Guan, who fights out of the Xi'an Sports University, will now ply his trade in the UFC and is hoping to make his -debut at the card set down for Singapore on June 17.