NEWS OF THE DAY
Syria war: A second convoy with desperately needed aid for the besieged rebel-held eastern suburbs of Damascus was postponed on Thursday because of the violence and a rapidly evolving situation on the ground as Syrian government forces effectively split the eastern Ghouta enclave into two parts. Troops and allied militiamen have further squeezed opposition fighters and tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside, state media reported. At least 800 civilians have been killed since the offensive started Feb. 18, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights group.
Security alert: Mexican officials said this week that the Caribbean resort city of Playa del Carmen is safe, despite a U.S. security alert. The government of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said hotel occupancy at the resort was 80 percent. Playa del Carmen is near the tourist destinations of Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum. The U.S. Embassy said it received information Wednesday about a “security threat” in Playa del Carmen and U.S. government employees are prohibited from going there, but it did not specify the nature of the threat. A Feb. 21 explosion on a tourist ferry in Playa del Carmen injured 19 Mexicans and five U.S. citizens.
Candidate withdraws: The political party formed by Colombia’s once-largest rebel group withdrew a former guerrilla commander from the race for president on Thursday, citing both criticism of the political process and his serious health problems. The exrebel Rodrigo Londono, more commonly known by his nomde-guerre Timochenko, won’t seek the presidency in the May 27 election, leaders of the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force said. The group known as the FARC reached a historic peace deal with the government of President Juan Manuel Santos in 2016, allowing it to start a political party in exchange for disarming and confessing any crimes.
Draft protest: Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked the main entrance to Jerusalem to protest the arrest of members of their community for refusing to register for the military draft. Israel has compulsory military service for most Jewish men, but the ultra-Orthodox, whose political parties enjoy an outsized role in the country’s coalition politics, have secured exemptions. Authorities still require ultra-Orthodox men to register for the draft, something to which the protesters gathered Thursday are opposed. The exemptions have angered many secular and mainstream Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners are currently arguing about whether to extend the draft exemptions as part of a budget debate. Hate crimes: The leaders of an anti-Muslim extremist group in Britain have been found guilty of hate crimes and sentenced to prison, months after they drew international attention for helping President Trump get entangled in a diplomatic dispute with British leaders. A judge in Folkestone Magistrates’ Court convicted Paul Golding, leader of the group, Britain First, of one count of religiously aggravated harassment, and Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader, of three counts of the same offense. Golding was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, and Fransen to 36 weeks. Britain First was little known outside the country until November, when Trump tweeted links to anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos made by the group, some of which were misleading.