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EFE News Briefs for Wednesday, April 23(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Colombian president reinstates ousted capital mayor Bogota (EFE).- President Juan Manuel Santos reinstated Gustavo Petro as mayor of this capital after a court found that the March 19 ouster of the leftist politician contravened Colombia's obligation to honor formal requests from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. "The laws, the judges, order me to reinstate Mayor Petro and I have signed the corresponding decree to reinstate him," the president said. Acknowledging that some would be unhappy with his decision, Santos insisted he was obliged to obey the law and to respect the independence of the courts. The president removed Petro last month in accord with a ruling by the Colombian Inspector General's Office based on the events of December 2012, when trash piled up in Bogota for several days after the mayor shifted responsibility for waste management from four private firms to the municipal water company. ___ 3 Suspects arrested in killings of officials in western Mexico Morelia, Mexico (EFE).- Three hitmen suspected of participating in a plot to destabilize the government by killing security and justice officials in the western Mexican state of Michoacan have been arrested, federal officials said. The suspects planned attacks on Michoacan Public Safety Secretariat and Attorney General's Office personnel sent by President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration to the state, the federal commissioner for security and development in Michoacan, Alfredo Castillo Cervantes, said. The suspects are also being investigated in connection with the murders of several public officials, Castillo said. "They have been tied to different crimes, including the murders of local Attorney General's Office and Public Safety Secretariat public servants, with the goal of creating instability in these institutions," he said. ___ Spain's economy to grow average of 1.5 pct. in 2014 and 2015, minister says Madrid (EFE).- Spain's economy will grow an average of 1.5 percent in 2014 and 2015, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said. Spain will have a "sustained recovery" with net job creation for the first time since the economic crisis hit, De Guindos said, adding that job growth should be "relatively significant" over the two-year period. Spain's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in 2013, but it grew 0.20 percent in the fourth quarter. The economic indicators still point to "growth that is clearly insufficient" given the unemployment rate, but it is "quite above" the levels of the last six years of the recession, De Guindos said. ___ Brazil: No nation has right to rule Internet Sao Paulo (EFE).- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said at a gathering here that no country can have "more weight than another" in governing cyberspace. She made her remarks at the opening of the NETMundial international conference, where delegations from more than 85 countries will debate Internet regulation issues and try to reach agreement on a new oversight model. The push to reformulate Internet governance gained momentum in Brazil after documents leaked by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden showed the U.S. National Security Agency had spied on the phone calls and e-mails of Brazilian citizens and companies and the president herself. "This meeting is in response to a global desire for changes to the current situation and the systematic strengthening of freedom of expression and the protection of basic human rights, including the right to privacy," Rousseff said. ___ Strike halts Panama Canal expansion project Panama City (EFE).- A nationwide strike by construction workers demanding annual salary hikes of at least 20 percent brought work on a major Panama Canal expansion project to a standstill. The expansion project "is completely paralyzed," Hector Hurtado, secretary of the Suntracs union, told Efe. Spokespersons for the Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, which manages the inter-oceanic waterway, told Efe for their part that the workers had arrived at their stations but "are inactive." Efe was unable to get an immediate comment from the GUPC consortium, which is led by Spain's Sacyr and responsible for the centerpiece of the $5.25 billion expansion project: the construction of a third set of locks. The strike comes as the project to build the new locks - essential for handling larger, modern ships - was ramping back up to normal speed after a contractual dispute paralyzed it for two weeks in February. ___ Mexico's America Movil inks deal for control of Telekom Austria Vienna (EFE).- Mexico's America Movil and Austrian state holding company ÖIAG signed a shareholder pact that gives them joint control over Telekom Austria. After 12 hours of deliberations and a long wait due to lack of a quorum, ÖIAG's supervisory board gave the green light here Wednesday for an agreement with the telecommunications giant controlled by Mexican multi-billionaire Carlos Slim. The accord was then signed by two representatives from ÖIAG and two from America Movil's wholly owned subsidiary Carso Telecom, Austrian news agency APA reported. The shareholder pact, which requires the two companies to vote in unison on key company issues, creates a controlling syndicate with a combined 55.2 percent stake in TA. EFE dr (c) 2014 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. |