Colombia

Hostages’ relatives take over cathedral

Relatives of people kidnapped by Colombia’s rebels took over Bogota’s 17th-century cathedral on Tuesday and vowed to stay as long as it takes to force the government to renew talks to free their loved ones.

More than 25 people — including five children — walked into the cathedral Tuesday, asked everyone to leave and settled down on the church pews, said Juan Carlos Lecompte, one of the protesters and the husband of a kidnapped presidential candidate.

Furious church officials barred access to toilets and bolted the large wooden front doors to stop other relatives from coming in.

The families said they were fed up with President Alvaro Uribe’s unwillingness to seek an accord with the guerrillas to secure the hostages’ release.

Geneva

Red Cross requests $716 million for ’04

The Red Cross on Tuesday appealed for $716 million for next year, pledging not to abandon its risky operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other danger spots.

The budget reflects the Red Cross’ commitment “to remain a global actor in all situations of armed conflict and violence,” said Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Kellenberger met with reporters Tuesday to launch the appeal, which includes $55.3 million for Iraq and $37.6 million for Afghanistan.

The Red Cross temporarily withdrew its foreign staff from Baghdad and Basra after an Oct. 27 car bomb attack in Baghdad that killed two Red Cross staff and 10 bystanders.

The United States is the largest donor to the Red Cross.