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World in briefCompiled from Times wires© St. Petersburg Times published October 4, 2002 Ivory Coast cease-fire brokered BOUAKE, Ivory Coast -- Ivory Coast rebels agreed to a cease-fire Thursday in a steamroller offensive that has taken half the country in just over two weeks, West African mediators announced -- saying the way was now clear for peace talks. "They have agreed to a cease-fire," negotiator Mohamed Ibn Chambas said after foreign ministers of five West African nations flew into the heart of rebel-held territory to press for the cease-fire. Speaking in the central city of Bouake, where the talks took place, he said a cease-fire deal would be signed in the nation's capital, Yamoussoukro, today. Chambas said he hoped the mediators would be able to discuss the rebels' grievances after the agreement was signed. It was not immediately clear how long the cease-fire would last, or what, if any, conditions were attached to the deal. Ivory Coast has been plunged into crisis since a Sept. 19 uprising by disgruntled soldiers, who have since captured Bouake and the northern opposition stronghold of Korhogo, as well as most of the northern half of the country. Around 300 people died in the first days of the uprising -- the nation's deadliest ever. In other news...U.S. TROOPS TRAIN COLOMBIANS: U.S. Special Forces will begin training a new Colombian army commando unit this month to attack outlawed armed groups, U.S. officials in Bogota said Thursday. The officials, speaking on condition they not be further identified, said the Colombia soldiers would be trained at an army base near the capital and would then form a new special forces commando battalion. KOREAN TALKS BEGIN: U.S. and North Korean officials on Thursday held their first talks on security issues in two years, but the State Department offered no information, saying any discussion of details would be premature. The talks were held in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, with Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan heading the respective delegations. NUNS ROBBED: A community of nuns who live off profits from cookies they bake and sell were robbed Sunday of a reported $6,000 while attending Mass at Santa Cruz Convent in Sahagun, Spain. The 12 Benedictine sisters realized they had been robbed when the nun staffing the cookie stand went to give a customer change and found the till empty. Police searched the rest of the convent and learned that the mother superior's office, where most of the community's savings were kept, had also been broken into and robbed.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
