Page 5 - DESPA MARCH 10,2016

WORLD NEWS A11
CDC chief Frieden
visits Puerto Rico,
warns of Zika crisis BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) —
DANICA COTO
Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)
— The director of the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention warned on
Tuesday that the Zika cri-
sis gripping Puerto Rico is
likely to accelerate without
quick action and said his
agency is helping the U.S.
territory find insecticides
best-suited to the fight
mosquito-borne disease.
Visiting the U.S. territory to the two sides may miss the
help boost the fight against
the virus, Dr. Tom Frieden
urged local officials to cre-
ate a robust and long-term
mosquito surveillance and
control program.
“Zika is likely to spread
very quickly, so time is of
essence,” he said, not-
ing that the virus is differ-
ent from the dengue and
chikungunya epidemics
that have gripped Puerto
Rico. “It can bring many
problems to families, to the
community, to the island
for many years to come.”
Frieden said the island
needs new insecticides
that are efficient in killing
the Aedes aegypti mos-
quito that carries Zika and
other diseases, and he
noted that CDC officials
are helping test nine dif-
ferent insecticides for that
purpose.
Researchers are trying to
determine if Zika may be
linked to a variety of seri-
ous outcomes for develop-
ing babies, including mi-
crocephaly, which causes
babies to have unusu-
ally small heads and brain
damage. Those threats
can affect a woman at
any stage of pregnancy,
officials have said.
Puerto Rico has 157 con-
firmed Zika cases, but
many other people are
believed to be infected. q
Santos: Colombia may miss peace deal deadline
Colombian President Juan
Manuel Santos acknowl-
edged Wednesday that
his government may miss
a fast-approaching dead-
line to sign a peace deal
with rebels and end the
main part of the country’s
decades-long conflict.
“I’m not going to sign a
bad agreement to meet a
date,” he Santos said at a
public event.
It was his first public state- bia that will monitor and
ment acknowledging that
March 23 deadline they
agreed to last year.
Santos says if the govern-
ment and the Revolution-
ary Armed Forces of Co-
lombia have not come up
with an acceptable deal,
they will simply set a new
deadline.
The two sides have come
to agreements on many
key issues in recent months
during talks in Havana, but
still have to hammer out
a plan for disarming the
guerrillas. A smaller rebel
group has not joined the
Puerto Rico:
Ruling raises doubts over same-sex marriages
DANICA COTO
Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
(AP) — An unexpected rul-
ing from a federal judge in
Puerto Rico is raising doubts
and creating confusion
about the future of same-
sex couples seeking to get
married on the island.
Judge Juan Perez-Gimenez
ruled that a U.S. Supreme
Court decision that allows
gay couples to marry any-
where in the United States
does not apply on the is-
land because it is a U.S. ter- by the U.S. District Court
ritory and not a state. The
ruling also rejects a motion
filed by Lambda Legal and
Puerto Rico’s government
Thursday 10 March 2016

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos talks in Quito, Ecuador. Santos acknowledged on
Wednesday, March 9, 2016, that his government may not be ready to sign a peace deal with
rebels to end the country’s decades-long civil war by March 23.
(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
talks. verify a future cease-fire. ment and the rebels on a
Because of the progress, The announcement was sub-commission dealing
U.N. Secretary-General Ban made Wednesday. with issues on ending Latin
Ki-moon appointed veter- Arnault has been lead- America’s longest-running
an U.N. envoy Jean Arnault ing U.N. preparations for guerrilla conflict.
of France to head the new deployment of the mis- Arnault previously led U.N.
U.N. sion and has been work- missions in Georgia, Af-
political mission in Colom- ing closely with negotiat- ghanistan, Burundi and
ing teams for the govern- Guatemala.
to stop enforcement of the Garcia authorized gay spokeswoman for Senate
island’s ban on same-sex marriage through an exec- President Eduardo Bhatia
marriage. Lambda Legal utive order shortly after the did not return a message
attorney Omar Gonzalez U.S. Supreme Court issued seeking comment.
said Wednesday the group its decision in June 2015.
is seeking to have the ruling However, Bhatia had earlier con-
vacated as soon as pos- legislators did not amend demned the ruling.
sible. Puerto Rico’s civil code to “It is unbelievable that the
“We believe this order is allow for same-sex mar- federal court itself ignores
erroneous,” Gonzalez said riages, and activists on that rights guaranteed by
in a phone interview. “It’s Wednesday called on the U.S. Constitution apply
something that we cannot them to do so. in Puerto Rico,” he said.
let stand.” “It was a shame that same- Gonzalez said the ruling
Gov. Alejandro Garcia sex marriage was imposed does not invalidate the
Padilla said he would not by the U.S. Supreme Court dozens of same-sex mar-
observe Tuesday’s ruling and not authorized by riages that have taken
Puerto Rico’s legislature,” place on the island.
in Puerto Rico but rather said rights activist Pedro Ju- The U.S. territory recently
follow rulings that higher lio Serrano. extended other rights to
courts have previously is- It is unclear if legislators will same-sex couples, in De-
sued on the matter. take up that petition. A cember ruling that they
can adopt children.