Colombian rebel group signs cease-fire
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s government and last remaining major rebel group signed a bilateral ceasefire Monday ahead of Pope Francis’ visit this week, an agreement seen as a significant step toward negotiating a permanent peace deal.
The deal with the National Liberation Army goes into effect Oct. 1. It runs through Jan. 12 and can be renewed if both sides agree.
Under the cease-fire, the rebels agree to suspend attacks on infrastructure, kidnappings and recruitment of minors. In exchange the government has vowed to boost protection for social leaders who have recently come under attack and develop a program that would provide humanitarian aid to rebels, among other measures.
Reconciliation is expected to be a central theme of the trip by Francis, who has lobbied for an end to Colombia’s decades-old civil conflict and who is fulfilling a promise to visit if peace was made with the much larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
“The pope is arriving amid a unique moment in our history, as we turn the page on an absurd conflict and look to the future with hope,” President Juan Manuel Santos said Monday in a televised address.
Caribbean braces for Hurricane Irma
Workers in the northeast Caribbean cleared drains and pruned trees as authorities urged islanders to prepare for Hurricane Irma, which strengthened into a Category 4 storm Monday and was forecast to begin buffeting the region today.
Emergency officials warned that Irma could dump up to 10 inches of rain, unleash landslides and dangerous flash floods and generate waves of up to 23 feet as the storm draws closer.
A hurricane warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Martin, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and St. Barts.
Irma’s center is forecast to move near or over the northern Leeward Islands tonight and early Wednesday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
The center said that as of 10 p.m. Monday, Irma had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and was 410 miles east of the Leeward Islands moving west at 13 mph. Additional strengthening was expected during the next 48 hours.
U.S. residents were urged to monitor the storm’s progress in case it turns north toward Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas.
States of emergency were declared in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and all of Florida.
Kenya schedules new vote next month
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya will hold fresh presidential elections on Oct. 17, the electoral commission announced Monday.
The new elections will be between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga after the Supreme Court’s ruling last week to nullify the results of the Aug. 8 polls that gave victory to Kenyatta, according to a statement issued by the electoral commission chairman, Wafula Chebukati.
The new elections will be held in just over 40 days, well within the time limit set by the Supreme Court ruling, which said the fresh polls must be held within 60 days.
The electoral commission is “revising the operational and procedural requirements for the conduct of the fresh election and will share details with stakholders,” Chebukati said in his statement. He asked for the Supreme Court to issue a detailed judgment “in order to allow the commission to identify areas that require improvement in the management of the fresh election.”
Peace Corps pulls out of Burkina Faso
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The Peace Corps has evacuated 124 volunteers from Burkina Faso because of security concerns, the United States Embassy in Burkina Faso said.
“The Peace Corps has been closely monitoring the safety and security environment in Burkina Faso and will continue to assess the situation,” it said in a statement Sunday. “The Peace Corps looks forward to a time when volunteers can return while underscoring that the safety and security of its volunteers are the agency’s top priority.”
The statement didn’t specify a concern, but the evacuation follows the second major terrorist attack in less than two years and as fears rise of further violence and kidnappings.
A Section on 09/05/2017