TSHANZU: The Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebel group declared an end to its 20-month insurgency yesterday and said it was ready to pursue a political solution after the army captured its last two hilltop strongholds.
The M23 made its announcement hours after government forces drove the rebels out of Tshanzu and Runyoni before dawn, following a two-week offensive that cornered the insurgents in heavily wooded hills along the border with Uganda and Rwanda.
Rebels reject peace talks
MAPUTO: Mozambique’s revived rebel movement Renamo yesterday spurned the government’s invite for high-level talks to end destabilising military skirmishes.
The Frelimo-led government had called on its civil war foe Afonso Dhlakama to travel to Maputo on November 8 to discuss his grievances personally with President Armando Guebuza. But just hours later Renamo rejected the invitation outright as “cynical”.
Supporters of Dhlakama are demanding a share of the country’s resource wealth.
French centrist pact launched
PARIS: A new French centrist alliance was launched yesterday aimed at taking votes from left and right to build a strong foothold in the European Parliament next year, capitalising on frustration with President Francois Hollande.
The alliance, to be called The Alternative, brings together veterans of centrist politics Francois Bayrou and Jean-Louis Borloo, who split in 2012 when the former endorsed socialist Hollande and the latter conservative Nicolas Sarkozy.
Toronto mayor smoked cocaine
TORONTO: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted yesterday that he has smoked crack cocaine, probably “in one of my drunken stupors,” but insisted he’s not an addict.
Facing a raucous group of reporters, Ford said he smoked crack, perhaps about a year ago. The admission came days after Toronto’s police chief confirmed that police have recovered a copy of a video that two media organisations have said shows the mayor smoking the drug.
Call to probe Charles’s taxes
LONDON: British lawmakers called yesterday for an investigation into the tax paid by Prince Charles’s estate, arguing that it may have an “unfair advantage” over commercial competitors because it is exempt from some taxes.
The heir to the throne’s estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, owns more than 53,000 hectares of land and has a financial portfolio.
Dating back to 1337, it was set up to provide an income for the monarch’s oldest son and heir apparent, and currently has assets valued at £763m ($1.2bn).
Extinct platypus found in Oz
SYDNEY: A giant extinct species of the platypus with powerful teeth has been discovered in Australia, with a scientist describing the duck-billed water animal as a Godzilla-like monster.
The new species, named Obdurodon tharalkooschild, was identified by a single but distinctive tooth found in the Riversleigh site in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland — a World Heritage area rich in fossil deposits.
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