memon_ishaque's JumboTweets
- Headline : U.S. president Obama meets civil society leaders in Kenya.
U.S. President Barack Obama met with civil society leaders in Kenya on Sunday (July 26) to learn about how the country is dealing with environmental and social issues.
During the gathering at Kenyatta University, issues such as women's rights, education and extremism were discussed.
"You can't just fight terrorism through military and the police. You also have to change people's hearts and minds and give them a sense that they are included in society and enlist them in assisting in fighting against terrorism," Obama said.
On Saturday (July 25), the U.S. president challenged Kenya's stance on homosexuality during a press conference saying that discriminating against gays was like treating people differently because of race, drawing criticism from anti-gay activists who said he was imposing his morality on the continent.
In response to the same question, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the United States and Kenya shared many values but not in all areas, saying gay rights was a "non-issue" for Kenyans.
Obama said equality was an essential ingredient for a successful state.
"Ultimately I just want to remind everybody that Kenya's prosperity, its freedom, its opportunity, the strength of its democracy, is going to depend on Kenyans. It's ultimately up to the people of those countries to determine who leads them and their form of government. But, we are not going to apologise for believing in certain values and ideals. And I may interact with a government out of necessity where we have common interests. But if there are areas where we disagree, I will also be very blunt in my disagreement. And that's true whether it's Russia, or China or some of our European friends or a great friend like Kenya," he told the audience.
"But I'm very encouraged to see that we've got such a strong civil society that's going to help move Kenya forward and also help create a stronger relationship between the United States and Kenya for years to come. So thank you for being here, it was a great conversation," he added.
After Kenya, Obama travels on Sunday to Ethiopia, a nation brought to its knees by famine in the 1980s that now boasts some of the fastest economic growth rates on the continent.
Colombia's Santos orders halt to air raids on FARC rebels
Headline : Colombia's Santos orders halt to air raids on FARC rebels.
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos ordered a halt to air raids against FARC rebel camps as the government seeks to cool hostilities with the Marxist group while the two sides hammer out a peace accord to end five decades of war.
Santos's decision on Saturday (July 25) came just days after a unilateral ceasefire by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) went into effect, providing a breakthrough in talks threatened by a recent escalation of battlefield violence.
"Given the statement made by the enemy, the FARC, the unilateral declaration of a ceasefire by the FARC, I have given the order to suspend starting today the air strikes on camps where there is a concentration of members of that organization. And from this date, such bombings can only be performed by the explicit order of the President of the Republic," Santos said in the coastal city of Cartagena.
The two sides have been engaged in peace talks in Cuba for 2-1/2 years in an attempt to end Latin America's longest war, which has killed some 220,000 people and displaced millions over 50 years.
However, the negotiations have been overshadowed by an increase in fighting this year.
In March, Santos suspended bomb attacks against the FARC but resumed them a month later after the rebels broke their ceasefire and killed 10 soldiers.
Santos has said he would like to reach a peace agreement in 2015, but the five-point agenda remains complicated.
The FARC's latest unilateral ceasefire - its sixth - began on Monday and runs for a month. Santos has said he will analyze progress in four months to decide if talks will continue.
The FARC has long advocated a bilateral ceasefire, which the government has rejected saying the group has used previous attempts at such truces to rearm.
Santos has emphasized that the military's de-escalation of the conflict is not tantamount to a government ceasefire, and that the armed forces would respond based on FARC actions.