"Alleged US plane incursion protested"
"CARACAS - Venezuela wants the US ambassador to explain a violation of its airspace by a US Navy plane, the country's foreign minister said yesterday. The US Navy plane was detected in Venezuelan airspace Saturday night near the Caribbean island of La Orchila, and questioned by the Caracas airport control tower, Defense Minister General Gustavo Rangel Briceno said. The Navy S-3 Viking, used for counter-narcotics missions, may have accidentally crossed into Venezuela's airspace while experiencing "intermittent navigational problems" on a training mission in international airspace, a US defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the issue's sensitivity (AP)."
Yeah, it was an accident, sure, we can violate people's airspace all the time, and no biggie!
Pffffffftttt!!!!
And here is the war you never hear about:
"Colombia guerrilla urges end to conflict"
"by Toby Muse, Associated Press | May 20, 2008
BOGOTA - A day after surrendering to the army, Colombia's best-known female rebel commander urged other guerrillas yesterday to follow her example and abandon their decades-long struggle.
Nelly Avila Moreno, better known as "Karina," denied her bloody reputation during a news conference and said her surrender owed much to intense military operations. She said she feared for her life after the recent killing of a fellow rebel commander by one of his bodyguards.
Avila also expressed admiration for President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who has been implicated in seeking to arm and finance the rebels, according to documents the Colombian government says it found on the computer of a different slain guerrilla.
Nothing about the tampering, 'eh, Globe? That's what closes cases, readers!
Her surrender Sunday was a major propaganda victory for President Alvaro Uribe, who has made defeating the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the cornerstone of his administration. Just two weeks ago, Uribe made a special call for her to turn herself in.
"To my comrades: Change this life that you are leading in the guerrilla group and reenter society with the government's reinsertion plan," Avila told reporters.
She said she was not sure of her legal status, but she should be able to apply for leniency under a law designed to encourage demobilization that caps prison terms at eight years.
"The decision [to surrender] was made because of the pressure by the army in the area," she said, standing alongside her boyfriend, another guerrilla who also surrendered.
Her comments gave a glimpse into how some parts of the FARC are faring under a withering US-backed offensive by Colombia's military, which has claimed the lives of several top commanders in recent months and isolated the its leadership.
Huh. WHO KNEW?
Avila said she had been cut off from the main front in the area for the past two years, and had not had been in contact with the guerrillas' seven-member ruling Secretariat during that time.
"It's a difficult situation: You have a lot of fighters by your side, but you don't know what each one is thinking," Avila said. "Some of them are thinking of their economic situation."
Who doesn't?
The prosecutor's office released a statement saying she was wanted for several massacres in 1999 and 2002 and on suspicion of terrorism and kidnapping.
The office did not give further details.
Avila denied the allegations and said other guerrillas could confirm she was not involved in many of those crimes."