A mother who was pulled from the rubble of her wrecked home in Venezuela with her 18-day-old baby has told the BBC of how her son helped keep her alive.

Dayana Patino said her son Juan David gave her “motivation to be awake and alert”.

“As long as he was alive, I was going to be alive. Every now and then I was touching his nose for proof that he was still breathing,” she said.

Footage of the rescue has been shared around the world, with Juan David becoming a symbol of hope in Venezuela, which has been devastated by the twin earthquakes that hit the country on Wednesday – killing at least 1,450 people.

Tens of thousands more are missing in what the country’s interim president has described as the “most brutal natural catastrophe” in Venezuela’s history.

A civilian aircraft carrying skydivers plummeted from the sky and crashed near the eastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday, killing everyone on board in one of the country’s deadliest light aircraft disasters in years, authorities said.

All 11 people aboard — believed to include the pilot and 10 skydivers — died in the crash, local officials confirmed. Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of the downed aircraft, but found no survivors.

The aircraft went down in a rural area close to Tomblaine, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, shortly after takeoff on what was reportedly a routine skydiving excursion. Debris was scattered across the crash site, and a large emergency operation involving firefighters, police, and medical teams is underway.

French authorities have launched a full investigation into the cause of the tragedy. The National Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) has been notified and is expected to lead the probe, examining factors such as mechanical failure, weather conditions, or human error.

“This is a terrible tragedy that has shocked the entire community,” a local official told reporters at the scene. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives today.”

Skydiving operations are popular in the region, but light aircraft accidents remain rare. Sunday’s crash ranks among France’s worst involving small planes in the past decade.

More details are expected as the investigation progresses. This is a developing story.

• Current President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe’s upper house of parliament has approved a bill to extend presidential terms from five to seven ‌years, which will allow current President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030.

75 senators voted in favour of the draft legislation while four voted against it, above a threshold needed for a two-thirds ⁠majority.

The bill, which also includes a provision for the president to be elected by parliament rather than by direct popular vote, will become law when Mnangagwa signs it.

Evidence that 83 years old Mnangagwa wanted to stay in power beyond the end of his second term in 2028 emerged about two years ago, when his supporters started ‌chanting ⁠slogans at ZANU-PF rallies that he needed more time to complete his agenda.The ruling party last year resolved to change the constitution to prolong presidential terms, and the plan ⁠received cabinet backing in February.President Mnangagwa came to power after a 2017 military coup ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who had been ⁠in power since independence in 1980.

Critics say the bill is a ruse for Mnangagwa to stay in ⁠power for longer, though its backers say it will strengthen accountability and foster political stability.