COLOMBIA
Peace deal still possible
Representatives from Colombia’s right-wing opposition could meet with leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to discuss potential changes to a peace accord signed by the guerrillas and the government, opposition leader Alvaro Uribe said on Tuesday. Uribe had previously said his group would not meet with the rebels, who signed a peace deal with the government last month to end 52 years of war. Colombians rejected the accord with the FARC in a surprise plebiscite result this month. Uribe spearheaded the “No” campaign. “We think that at this time, in the interest of a national deal, spokespeople from ‘No’ could at some point speak with the FARC,” Uribe said. President Juan Manuel Santos, who has staked his legacy on a successful deal, has been meeting with opponents in a bid to salvage the accord. In a televised speech on Tuesday, Santos said talks were advancing and he would continue to hear opposition proposals until today before discussing them with the FARC.
UNITED STATES
Taiwanese dies in crash
A 72-year-old Taiwanese woman who was visiting the US on vacation has died from injuries she suffered in a single-vehicle crash on US Highway 50 near Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The state highway patrol has identified the victim of Sunday’s fatal crash as Tseng Pao-yi. She was a passenger in the back seat of a westbound Nissan Altima that her husband was driving when it crossed over the shoulder of the right side of the highway and hit a tree north of Glenbrook near the Douglas County line. The couple’s daughter was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Barton Memorial Hospital. The driver, Tseng Jiann-juh, was not seriously injured. The patrol said he was wearing a seat belt. It is not yet clear if the others were. Troopers said impairment is not suspected, but the crash remains under investigation.
UNITED STATES
Biden urges cancer research
Vice President Joe Biden headed to Boston yesterday to talk about the White House’s push to find a cure for cancer. Biden was to speak about the so-called “Cancer Moonshot” initiative at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate. President Barack Obama announced the initiative in his final State of the Union address in January. He has created a task force comprised of the heads of at least a dozen federal departments and agencies, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services. The task force aims to double the rate of progress in cancer research and treatment, accomplishing what could be achieved in 10 years in five.
UNITED STATES
Send in the frowns
This year’s nationwide creepy clown craze has become a nightmare before Halloween for actual, working clowns. They say their bookings at parties and other events have dropped sharply, even after many of the social media-fueled scary clown sightings have turned out to be hoaxes. Some professional clowns fear going out with their greasepaint makeup and red noses would make them a target of police, or even marauding mobs who take to the streets on so-called “clown hunts.” The World Clown Association, comprised of more than 2,000 members in 30 countries, has been flooded with calls from scared performers. It has been sending out tips for how professional clowns can stay safe.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
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