DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 'Hotel Rwanda' figure Rusesabagina to be freed from prison -Rwanda government
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Philbert Girinema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The announcement of his release follows intense diplomacy by the United States, where Rusesabagina has permanent residency rights. "This is the result of a shared desire to reset US-Rwanda relationship," Stephanie Nyombayire, spokesperson of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, wrote on Twitter. Rusesabagina was sentenced in Sept. 2021 over his ties to an organization opposed to Kagame's rule. "If any individual benefiting from early release repeats offences of a similar nature, the commutation can be revoked and the remainder of the prison sentence will be served," Rwanda's justice ministry said. In a handwritten letter to Kagame released by the justice ministry, Nsabimana said he had apologised to all Rwandans and especially those affected by attacks by FLN fighters.

☆ Rwanda is releasing dissident Paul Rusesabagina from prison, the government says. The hero whose story inspired 'Hotel Rwanda' saved over 1,000 people from being massacred in the 1990s.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rwanda announced Friday that it is commuting the 25-year sentence of dissident Paul Rusesabagina. Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the Hollywood movie "Hotel Rwanda," saved over 1,000 people from being killed during the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana at an event in West Hollywood in 2005. The Hotel des Mille Collines, known as "Hotel Rwanda," where Rusesabagina sheltered Tutsis. Paul Rusesabagina (left) and actor Don Cheadle (right) at a 2005 press conference for "Hotel Rwanda."

☆ 'Hotel Rwanda' figure Rusesabagina to be released from prison -government source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Philbert Girinema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary * 'Hotel Rwanda' figure to be released on Saturday* Rusesabagina to be flown to Doha, and on to the U.S.* His release follows letter to president seeking clemency* Rebel spokesman Sankara to also be releasedKIGALI, March 24 (Reuters) - Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film "Hotel Rwanda" and is serving a 25-year sentence in Rwanda on terrorism charges, will be released on Saturday, a Rwanda government source said on Friday. His release follows intense diplomacy by the United States, where Rusesabagina has permanent residency rights. Rusesabagina will initially be flown to Doha, and then on to the United States, the source said. "If I am granted a pardon and released, I understand fully that I will spend the remainder of my days in the United States in quiet reflection," he wrote. Earlier this month, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said there were discussions about "resolving" the fate of Rusesabagina.

☆ Colombia prosecutor suspends warrant for FARC dissidents in step toward talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Estado Mayor Central armed group was founded by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who did not join that group's demobilization and conversion to a legal political party. The suspension will allow discussions to take place between the dissidents and government officials, Petro said on Twitter - a first step to beginning formal talks. The government is already in peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and the two sides have said they are progressing toward a bilateral ceasefire deal. The country's top peace official told Reuters last month the government expects talks with the Estado Mayor and Segunda Marquetalia, another FARC dissident group, within weeks. The attorney general said in January he would not drop extradition warrants for drug-trafficking bosses, with whom Petro wants to agree surrender deals.

☆ Colombia, ELN rebels have made first steps toward ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry RomeroBOGOTA, March 10 (Reuters) - Colombia's government and the left-wing ELN guerrilla group have taken the first steps toward a bilateral, temporary ceasefire, the heads of their delegations at peace talks said on Friday, as they closed their second cycle of negotiations in Mexico City. The ELN is Colombia's oldest remaining rebel group, and the talks are the cornerstone of efforts by leftist President Gustavo Petro - himself once a member of the now-demobilized M-19 insurgents - to bring "total peace" to Colombia. "We took the first steps to firm up a bilateral, national and temporary ceasefire which will create better conditions for Colombians' mobilization and participation in the peace process," said the ELN's Pablo Beltran. On New Year's Eve, Petro announced a ceasefire, but days later the ELN said it had not agreed to the measure. The ELN, founded in 1964 by radical Catholic priests, has some 2,500 combatants and is accused of financing itself through drug trafficking, illegal mining and kidnapping.

☆ Colombia, Ecuador working to prevent Indigenous abuse by armed groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Luis Jaime Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, March 7 (Reuters) - The human rights ombudsmen of Colombia and Ecuador on Tuesday launched a joint alert system to prevent abuses by illegal armed groups from affecting Awa Indigenous communities that live along the countries' shared border. Some 29,000 Indigenous Awa people live along the border and are subject to killings, forced displacement, land mines and recruitment of minors, among other ills, by armed groups, Colombia's ombudsman said. "The possibility of carrying out their operations along a porous border - with gaps in state presence - favors the interests of illegal groups," Colombia's Ombudsman Carlos Camargo said. Armed groups hide arms and combatants on the Ecuadorean side of the border, Camargo added. Camargo called on the armed groups to stop attacks on Indigenous communities and accede to policies of total peace pushed by the government of Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro.

☆ Indonesia vows restraint as troops surround separatists holding NZ pilot
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)/Handout via REUTERSJAKARTA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Security forces in Indonesia's restive Papua region have surrounded separatists holding captive a New Zealand pilot, but will exercise restraint while negotiations for his release continue, a top security official said on Tuesday. The rebels say they will not release Mehrtens, 37, unless Indonesia's government recognises the region's independence and withdraws its troops. Chief security minister, Mahfud MD said security forces had found the location of the group holding the pilot but would refrain from actions that might endanger his life. He did not elaborate on the location or what steps Indonesia might take to free the pilot. Security forces have previously said a "law enforcement operation" had been planned, but only as a last resort if negotiations failed.

☆ Deadlier and more media savvy, separatist rebels evolve in Indonesia's Papua
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Kate Lamb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Egianus Kogoya, young West Papuan rebel commander, sits on a captured plane piloted by New Zealand national Philip Mehrtens in Indonesia's Papua region in this undated picture released on February 14, 2023. Separatist rebels kidnapped New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens, 37, after he landed his small plane in the remote Papuan highlands on Feb 7. An estimated 500 fighters identify as members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). Cahyo Pamungkas, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency, said the separatists are using social media to get their message out. "Social media is a tool of resistance to deliver the stories from Papua because national media is mainly dominated by perspectives from Jakarta," he said.

☆ Factbox: Separatist insurgency in Indonesia's Papua region
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The kidnapping of 37-year-old New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens by separatist rebels in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua has thrown a spotlight on the decades-long, low-level insurgency in the remote, resource-rich area. Here are some facts about the region and its conflict:THE GEOGRAPHY* The western half of New Guinea island is Indonesia's easternmost region, commonly referred to as Papua. * The population of the Papua region is about 4.3 million. * In 2017, armed separatists occupied several villages, threatening to disrupt operations at the nearby Grasberg copper mine. * In April 2021, rebels killed a regional intelligence chief in an ambush in the highlands.

☆ Colombia and Venezuela sign deal to revive trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro react during a meeting for signing the Partial Scope Agreement Number 28 that will resume bilateral trade between Colombia and Venezuela at the Atanasio Girardot International Bridge on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, in San Antonio del Tachira, Venezuela, February 16, 2023. Colombian Presidency/Handout via REUTERSBOGOTA/CARACAS, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Colombia and Venezuela on Thursday signed an agreement to revive trade between the two countries during a ceremony on a border bridge at which Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro both signed. The deal "updates everything having to do with tariffs, with goods traded, (and) lays the foundations for a new dynamic, for the expansion of trade between Colombia and Venezuela," Maduro said at the event broadcast on Venezuelan state television. "We have to fill these bridges with trade," Petro said, warning that "there is lots still to do because it is not a question of whether these bridges are filled with trade but rather than they are filled with people." Caracas broke off relations with Bogota in 2019 after Venezuelan opposition activists tried to send aid trucks from Colombia.

☆ Rebels in Indonesia's Papua say images show abducted NZ pilot in good health
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Separatists in Indonesia's restive Papua region have released images that they say show a New Zealand pilot taken hostage last week is in good health, but pledged he would not be freed until authorities acknowledge the independence of the area. The pilot, Philip Mehrtens, who flew a plane operated by airline Susi Air, was abducted by fighters from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) last week after landing in the remote region of Nduga. One of the fighters is holding up the "Morning Star" flag, a symbol of Papuan independence. In a statement accompanying the images, Sambom said that the pilot was in good health and that he was collateral in a political dispute. Reporting by Kate Lamb and Stanley Widianto Editing by Ed Davies and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia unveils four-year development plan worth nearly $250 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Monday presented a $247.1 billion four-year development plan to the country's lawmakers, laying out details of its projected social and economic investments. Development plans are generally financed with funds from annual budgets and royalties from oil and mining projects, as well as resources from municipalities and provinces across the country. Petro, Colombia's first leftist leader, has pledged to seek peace or surrender deals with armed groups, reduce poverty, improve access to education and health and protect the environment. Petro says he wants to end Colombia's internal armed conflict, which has run for almost six decades, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. Petro has also offered criminal gangs with ties to drug trafficking the chance to surrender in return for more lenient sentences.

JAKARTA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Separatist fighters in Indonesia's Papua region have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting a small commercial plane alight when it landed in a remote highland area on Tuesday, a pro-independence group said in a statement. A police spokesperson in Papua province, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, said authorities were investigating the incident, with police and military personnel sent to the area to locate the pilot and five passengers. The plane operated by Susi Air landed safely early on Tuesday morning, before being attacked by rebel fighters, authorities said. The TPNPB made no mention of the passengers, but said this was the second time the group had taken a hostage. Susi Air founder and former fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Twitter she was praying for the safety of the pilot and passengers.

☆ Violence in Colombia falls in first month of ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Colombia's ceasefire with four armed groups has led to significant reductions in violence during its first month, Interior Minister Alfonso Prada said on Monday, with fewer murders and attacks on armed forces. Homicides in provinces heavily affected by conflict and where one or more of the groups participating in the ceasefire are active fell by up to 68%, he said, without giving absolute figures. The Pacific province of Choco saw the 68% reduction, followed closely by Arauca, on the Venezuelan border, which saw murders fall by 66%. In Cordoba homicides were down 52%, while in Magdalena they fell 37%, Prada said. Prada did not give figures for members of illegal armed groups killed this month, but the country's navy said earlier on Monday at least nine rebels from the ELN died in fighting last weekend close to Buenaventura.

☆ Colombia cocaine seizures break record in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Colombia seized more cocaine in 2022 than any other year on record, the South American country's defense ministry reported Saturday. Security forces seized 671 tonnes of the drug last year, surpassing the 2021 total by about 1.7 tonnes. The data showed that Narino, Bolivar and Valle del Cauca provinces were the site of the most seizures last year. The guerilla group National Liberation Army, dissidents from the FARC rebel group and criminal gangs made up of former right-wing paramilitaries have all been implicated in drug trafficking. Cocaine seizures were 505 tonnes in 2020 and 428 tonnes in 2019.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaCARACAS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group said on Saturday they will resume peace talks in Mexico next month, overcoming a recent impasse after the government recently declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire. There was a first cycle of talks last year in Caracas to end the guerrillas' part in nearly six decades of war. The about-face on the ceasefire came after ELN said it had not agreed to it. "In said cycle, the issue of society's participation in peace building will be addressed. Colombia and the ELN said they would jointly examine progress in implementing agreements reached during the first cycle of talks and agreed to keep communication channels open even when not at the negotiating table.

☆ Colombia, ELN rebels likely to hold emergency meeting in Caracas-negotiator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group could hold an emergency meeting in Caracas as early as this week, the head of the government negotiating team said on Tuesday. Colombia declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire with the group last week after the ELN said it had not agreed to the move. But Mexico was not yet ready to host, Otty Patino, the head of the government's negotiating team told Blu Radio and the two sides could hold a prior meeting back in Caracas this week or next. A meeting in Caracas "is not a cycle but an emergency meeting" he added. Petro, who took office last year, has pledged to seek peace agreements or surrender deals with armed groups of all stripes.

☆ Colombia's ELN rebels say they have not agreed to ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His government held a first round of peace talks with the ELN in December. Over the weekend Petro said Colombia would hold a six-month ceasefire with the ELN and four other armed groups. "The negotiations delegation of the ELN has not discussed with the government of Gustavo Petro any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire, so there exists no agreement on that issue," the ELN said in a statement posted on its website. "Once we finish (that issue) it is predicted we will be available to discuss the bilateral ceasefire proposal, to examine the terms to make a deal possible," the rebels added. Rebel leaders have said the group is united, but it is unclear how much sway negotiators hold over active units.

☆ Colombia announces ceasefire with five illegal armed groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist and former guerrilla, announced late on Saturday a January ceasefire with five illegal armed groups to support peace talks. Petro has pledged to end the Andean nation's internal conflict, which has run for almost six decades and left at least 450,000 dead between 1985 and 2018. "The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organizations and the state to respect it. Among the groups are leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) as well as dissident groups run by former members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Segunda Marquetalia and Estado Mayor Central. The government added that it would issue a specific decree for each of the organizations, which will determine the durations and conditions of the ceasefire.

☆ Colombia's oil theft soars, leaving trail of environmental harm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Oliver Griffin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Reuters accompanied a police unit tasked with tackling oil theft in September to two sites near Tumaco, a Pacific port in southwest Colombia that is the terminal for the country's Transandino oil pipeline. The animals, the trees - everything is totally burned," said Colonel Johan Pena, commander of the police unit charged with tackling oil theft in Narino, a province bordering Ecuador that is known for cocaine production. Reuters approached more than a dozen environmental groups, rights advocates, government agencies and international organizations who either said they had no detailed information on the extent of the environmental damage in Colombia from oil theft or did not respond to questions. Oil spills on land smother soil pore spaces, restricting microorganisms' access to oxygen, said Martha Daza, a professor at Cali-based university Universidad del Valle's school of engineering of natural resources and the environment. Regional health authorities in Narino did not immediately respond to questions about the health impact of oil spills.

☆ The Biggest Debates and Opinions in 2022 - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +30 min

Opinion The 22 Debates That Made Us Rage, Roll Our Eyes, and Change Our Minds in 2022Debating is what we do here at Times Opinion. To many, she was an icon: She ruled for 70 years, presided over the transition from empire to commonwealth and served as a living link to the generation that won World War II. (Though Ben Bernanke, a former Fed chairman himself, wrote in The Times that that wasn’t going to happen.) The United States and its European allies poured weapons and aid into Ukraine, but how was this going to end? As 2022 draws to a close, the fighting continues and peace talks look as distant as ever — which probably means that the debates will continue.

☆ Colombia ELN leftist guerrilla group declares Christmas ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaBOGOTA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Colombian leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Monday declared a nine-day unilateral ceasefire over the Christmas period, as part of a bid to support peace talks with the Andean country's government, which urged other illegal armed groups to follow suit. Colombia's government and the ELN last week completed the first cycle of peace talks between the two parties in Venezuela's capital Caracas. The unilateral ceasefire will only apply to Colombia's military and police, the ELN said in a recorded statement, adding it reserves the right to defend itself if attacked. Following the announcement, Colombia's government called on other armed groups also to call a ceasefire. Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Oliver Griffin Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kagame criticizes U.S. over 'Hotel Rwanda' figure's detention
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Wednesday criticized the United States over the concerns it has raised in the case of Paul Rusesabagina, a U.S. permanent resident jailed in Rwanda who was portrayed as a hero in the film "Hotel Rwanda." Kagame, who was in Washington for a U.S.-Africa summit, questioned why Rwanda should release Rusesabagina because he is famous and a permanent resident of the United States. When asked if he would meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, Kagame said he was not sure yet. The United States in May determined that Rusesabagina had been "wrongfully detained," citing a lack of fair trial guarantees during Rusesabagina's trial. Rusesabagina, who was feted around the world after being portrayed by actor Don Cheadle in the 2004 film "Hotel Rwanda," is a vocal critic of Kagame.

☆ Colombia killings of social leaders, rights defenders hit new high
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Luis Jaime Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita/File PhotoBOGOTA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Colombia will end the year with at least 199 killings of social leaders and human rights defenders, the highest level recorded, due to attacks by illegal armed groups in areas tied to the drug trade, the country's human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday. "There's a correlation between the increase in the killings of social leaders and human rights defenders with the increase in illicit crops in different territories and operations by illegal armed groups that dispute territorial control of drug trafficking routes," Camargo added. Some 66 leaders and rights defenders have been killed during Petro's administration so far. According to the Ombudsman's office, the provinces of Narino, Cauca, Putumayo, Antioquia and Arauca have been the most affected by violence against social leaders and human rights defenders this year. The numbers on community and human rights leader killings in Colombia vary widely depending on the source.

☆ Colombia wants Biden admin. to grant temporary legal status to its citizens in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia wants the Biden administration to grant temporary legal status to its citizens now living in the United States, noting its own efforts to address regional migration by hosting 2 million Venezuelans who fled their homes. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, he asks President Joe Biden to grant Colombians already in the U.S. a form of temporary status called Deferred Enforced Departure. It is unclear how many Colombians are living in the United States without legal status. Murillo Urritia said there are nearly 2 million Colombians living in the United States, without elaborating on their immigration status. The Biden administration has extended temporary status for some countries and added Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Cameroon and Venezuela, reversing a Trump-era trend to cut back on protections for those already in the United States.

Search resuls for: "National Liberation"

25 mentions found