The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Colombia president says government ready for peace talks with ELN rebels
- Tropical storm Juliette heads toward Mexican Pacific tourist hub
- China urges restraint over Syria tensions, calls for calm
| Colombia president says government ready for peace talks with ELN rebels Posted: BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government is ready to start peace talks with the smaller of the country's two guerrilla groups, the National Liberation Army, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday. Santos had insisted the government would not engage in talks with the rebel group, known as the ELN, until it released a Canadian geologist it kidnapped in January. The ELN handed the hostage over to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday. The ELN, which has an estimated 3,000 fighters, has been fighting the government in nearly five decades of bloody conflict. The government is already negotiating peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. "The government is ready to make this step too and hopefully we can work out the necessary procedures to start dialogue with the ELN to see if once and for all we can put an end to this conflict with the two groups involved in it," Santos said at the presidential palace. Both groups are considered terrorist organizations by the United States and European Union. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Peter Murphy; Editing by Peter Cooney) |
| Tropical storm Juliette heads toward Mexican Pacific tourist hub Posted: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical storm Juliette was about 40 miles (65 km) southeast of the Mexican Pacific beach resort Cabo San Lucas, where it is now heading, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday, as authorities there prepared for the prospect of evacuations. The tropical storm was blowing at 45 miles per hour (72 km per hour) and heading northwest toward the tourist resort in the state of Baja California Sur at 25 mph (40 kph), the NHC said. Authorities said that up to 15,000 people who live in the storm's path could be evacuated and taken to temporary shelters. "We're currently on orange alert and tonight we'll be on red alert. We've prohibited sailing for all small vessels," said Carlos Enriquez, head of Baja California Sur emergency services. Juliette is due to make landfall in the next few hours and produce rainfall of up to 3 inches (8 cm), the NHC said, although it said the storm should weaken by Thursday morning. Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex has no major oil installations or refineries nearby. (Reporting by Anahi Rama and Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Andrew Hay and Lisa Shumaker) |
| China urges restraint over Syria tensions, calls for calm Posted: BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign minister urged restraint on Thursday in the growing tensions over Syria, saying any military intervention in the crisis would only worsen turmoil in the Middle East. President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday that the Syrian government would face "international consequences" for last week's deadly chemical attack, but made clear any military response would be limited to avoid dragging the United States into another war in the Middle East. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said military action would not help, but also repeated that China opposed anyone using chemical weapons. "A political resolution has, from the very beginning, been the only way out for the Syrian issue," Wang said in a statement on the ministry's website. There should be no rush to prejudge the findings of a U.N. team currently in Syria to investigate the claims chemical weapons were used. "China calls on all sides to exercise restraint and remain calm," Wang said. In New York, Britain pushed the other four veto-holding members of the U.N. Security Council to authorise military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to protect Syrian civilians - a move certain to be blocked by Russia and, probably, China. The meeting ended without a decision. The United States and its allies say a U.N. veto would not stop them. Western diplomats called the proposed resolution a manoeuvre to isolate Moscow and rally a coalition behind air strikes. Moscow and Beijing have both vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Assad, although China has been keen to show it is not taking sides and has urged the Syrian government to talk to the opposition. It has also said a transitional government should be formed. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Hui Li; Editing by Paul Tait) |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan