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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

World in brief: Mugabe celebrates 84th birthday


Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe greets party supporters at his 84th birthday celebration on Saturday.Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
The Spokesman-Review

President Robert Mugabe vowed Saturday that “there will never be regime change” as he celebrated his 84th birthday at a rally ahead of elections next month.

Opponents blame Mugabe for an economic meltdown that has left Zimbabwe with acute shortages of gasoline, hard currency, food and most basic goods. The official rate of annual inflation rose to 100,580 percent in January – the highest in the world.

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980, lashed out at the country’s “enemies” who have criticized his presidency, including the U.S. and Britain.

“There will never be regime change here … Never,” he said Saturday.

Bogota, Colombia

Guerrillas vow to keep hostages

Colombian guerrillas vowed Saturday to hold three U.S. hostages for “60 years in a jungle prison,” because a U.S. court sentenced a fellow rebel to a similar term in their kidnapping.

The three U.S. defense contractors, captured when their plane went down in rebel-held jungles in February 2003, will remain hostages for that time unless U.S. and Colombian officials release captive guerrillas, Ivan Marquez of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was quoted as saying.

Marquez, a senior member of the FARC whose real name is Marin Arango, spoke in an interview posted Saturday on the left-wing Bolivarian Press Agency’s Web site.

His comments follow the January sentencing of FARC commander Ricardo Palmera, who was extradited to the U.S. and convicted in the three contractors’ kidnapping. A federal judge gave him the maximum sentence of six decades in prison.