Colombian president halts talks with Farc rebels after general kidnapped

Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, has suspended peace talks with leftist Farc rebels following the kidnapping of a general in a remote jungle region, putting the future of the process to end the country’s 50-year-old war in jeopardy.

Gen Rubén Darío Alzate, who heads the Titan task force in the Pacific department of Chocó, was taken on Sunday afternoon by members of the Farc, along with another military official and a civilian, in a small village close to the provincial capital of Quibdó.

Santos ordered a massive search and rescue operation to locate and free the hostages while at the same time suspending peace talks with the Farc, which were scheduled to being a new round in Havana on Tuesday. “The talks are suspended until these people are released,” he said in a statement early on Monday morning.

“This kidnapping is completely unacceptable,” the president said. “The Farc is responsible for the life and the security of these three people.” The defence ministry said it had contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ask it to intercede with the Farc to ensure the safety of the hostages and try to secure their release.

Alzate was abducted by men armed with rifles after disembarking from a boat in the village of Las Mercedes, according to Juan Carlos Pinzon, the defence minister. An army corporal, Jorge Rodriguez Contreras, and a civilian lawyer, Gloria Urrego were taken along with the general, but a soldier who piloted the vessel escaped and alerted authorities, the minister said.

Alzate was travelling as a civilian and was unaccompanied by his customary bodyguards despite going into an area with a known guerrilla presence. Santos asked his defence minister to explain the reasons behind the apparent breach of security protocol.

Senator Roy Barreras, a member of the congressional peace commission, told W Radio that the general’s excursion “not only put the general’s life in danger but put the life of the peace process in danger”.

Despite two years of talks, and agreements on three of the five negotiating points, no ceasefire has been declared and combat between the two forces, ambushes and guerrilla attacks are frequent. Last week two soldiers were abducted in eastern Arauca province and Santos had warned the Farc that such actions put the peace process at risk.

“If the Farc do not free the general and his companions unconditionally but rather try to negotiate, the process could go into crisis that could lead to a definitive break,” said Jorge Restrepo, director of the Conflict Analysis Resource Centre, a Bogotá thinktank.

Santos has made achieving peace with the Farc the main priority of his presidency but faces criticism from conservative sectors of Colombian society who feel the 8,000 strong guerrilla force should be defeated militarily.

“The abduction will be used by those who criticise the negotiation process to galvanise opposition to the process,” said Restrepo.

Former rightwing president Álvaro Uribe, who leads opposition to the peace process from the seat he now holds in the Senate, tweeted: “Santos has allowed the Farc to feel they are equal to the armed forces, that’s why terrorists kidnap.”

The Farc had not made any public statements about the general’s abduction nor the suspension of talks. The only other time talks have been suspended since beginning in November 2012 was in August of last year when the Farc balked at a government plan to put any peace deal to a referendum. Negotiations resumed several days later.

A public opinion poll published at the weekend showed that 55% of Colombians support the peace process but 53% are pessimistic about the outcome.

Will Rajini's film 'Lingaa' work some magic for BJP in Tamil Nadu?

“Will he, won’t he?” has been the million dollar question associated with Tamil superstar Rajinikanth for more than 25 years. The question obviously is about his entry in politics. All these years, it’s been part of the Rajini legend.

The question resurfaces as a statewide obsession yet again. And the occasion is the release of a new movie titled Lingaa, the first feature that he appears in a full length role after his illness in 2011. At the audio launch of the movie, speakers from the industry repeated their plea to him to join politics.

In response, he didn’t rule out the possibility. Neither did he show any inkling that he would take the plunge. "Politics is dangerous and deep. I am not afraid of politics, but hesitant. In politics, you need strong roots," Times of India quoted him as saying.

“I am a product of circumstances. So, if a situation arises, I could enter politics. I am only hesitant because I know the depth of politics. I have to step on so many shoulders,” reported The Hindu.

We have heard this on many occasions before. In his films, he would be more explicit to the point of his fans expecting a decision soon. But when the film’s vanity wears off, the expectations also die down. The actor would go back to his usual elusive self until he makes another larger than life film.

The expectations of him joining politics are also high this time because the BJP leaders have been making noises to own him. They say that he is close to the national leaders of the party including Narendra Modi, and his sympathies are with the party. Modi had made a point to visit him at his Poes Garden residencThis is not the first time that BJP is eyeing for the superstar. In 2004, speculation was rife that he would join the the party and would support its alliance with the AIADMK. Inan interview with Rediff political commentator Cho Ramaswamy, who is close to both Rajini and Jayalalithaa, had said that the actor is “spiritually minded and is a firm believer in Hindutva”. Rajini, however, refused to endorse the AIADMK-BJP front, but did say that personally he would vote for the BJP. That was the first time he came out openly in support of the party.

Since then, he has not been explicit about his affiliation and was hardly a political factor in 2009 and 2011.

The last and only time that he played a real politically influential role was in 1996 when he openly spoke against Jayalalitha, who was facing the elections after her first and unpopular tenure in office, and supported the DMK-TMC (Tamil Maanila Congress) alliance. In fact Rajini was a critical factor for the success of the DMK-TMC front. His film images, particularly from a movie titled “Annamalai” in which he was riding a bicycle, were widely used in the campaign - the election symbol of the TMC was bicycle. His support to the alliance continued for the Lok Sabha elections as well. Since then, he has been playing hard to get.

The main reason for the expectations of his political entry are his “punch dialogues”. In Muthu, which was released in 1995, when there was enormous pressure on him to join politics because of the unpopular regime of Jayalalithaa, he said: “No one can tell when or how I'll arrive; but I always do, when the time is right”. It was the closest to his entering politics.

Two years later, in Arunachalam, he continued the enigma by saying, “God commands and I obey”. In another two years, he said in Padayappa, “My way is my own”. And one of his most popular “punch dialogues” to date, which apparently is a personal favourite of Rajini is this: “If I say something once, it’s like saying a 100 times”. Read in the context of Tamil Nadu politics and the expectations from him, they drive his fans crazy.

Apparently, his Lingaa, which is currently in post-production, also has a lot of such one liners. His fans and others will certainly watch them with a lot of expectation. With hardly any anti-incumbency sentiment against Jayalalithaa, there is no political compulsion on him to join politics, but BJP wants him to build the party in the state.Lingaa is likely to generate a new round of expectations, which incidentally will be good for the business of the movie.e during the Lok Sabha elections. Last month, the state president of the BJP Tamilisai Soundararajan also visited him. A few months ago, she had told reporters that Rajini is in the good books of the BJP and he was welcome to join the party.

Arpita Khan’s wedding gift from ‘bhai’ Salman Khan : A terrace flat worth Rs 16 crore

alman Khan is the ‘dabangg’ of Bollywood; he has his own ways, own relations and his own peculiar ways to deal with the world. And if you wonder what gives the superstar the power to continue his conquests at the box office even after being embroiled in a lot of legal battles, it’s his family! Salman, himself, doesn’t leave a chance to reciprocate the love and affection. His youngest sister Arpita is going to get married soon and thereby, he is not leaving any stone unturned to make this the most memorable occasion of her life. The list of the most affluent personalities from all over the nation adds to this ‘expenses-no-bar’ wedding .

The latest we hear is Salman has planned to give a 3 BHK terrace flat to his darling sister as her wedding gift. The flat is said to be costing around Rs 16 Cr and is situated in one of the poshest areas of Mumbai – Carter Road. It’s also touted to be very close to Galaxy Apartments – just 5 mins drive – where Salman stays with his family. The apartment also falls near the late Rajesh Khanna’s prized bungalow ‘Aashirwaad’. 

The venue of the wedding – the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad – is also said to be costing around a crore or two per day and the family is reported to have booked it for 5 days. With the expenses not being bothered upon and the who’s who of the country, including Shah Rukh Khan, attending the celebrations, the wedding certainly goes to be one of the most grand marriages of the nation. 

Eskimos win but it doesn’t help the CFL much

It was a five-word quote that succinctly — yet perfectly — described the Edmonton Eskimos 18-10 win in this clumsy Canadian Football League semifinal.

“We won. So, good enough.”

The speaker was “backup” quarterback Mike Reilly. The question: “Could you critique your performance?”

Reilly came off the bench midway through the third quarter in aid of an Eskimos offence that had turned four first-half interceptions into a measly four points. Reilly didn’t exactly pitch Madison Bumgarner relief (6-for-8 for 53 yards), but in the end he was standing outside the winning locker room doing interviews, not the losing one. And truly, in the playoffs, only the result matters.

Down the hall, this two-word quote said it all for Kerry Joseph’s day: “I sucked.”

“Bottom line: I just sucked,” the 41-year-old said, after what was very likely the last start of a very productive CFL career. “They brought a lot of pressure early, I didn’t see the field well, I didn’t make good throws. At the end of the day, the only way I can sum it up is, I sucked.”

Joseph was not, however, alone. Eskimo starter Matt Nichols’ numbers (12-for-23 for 59 yards) were worse than Joseph’s (7-for-17, 120 yards), with one exception: Joseph threw five interceptions on the day, while Nichols threw only one — and that was in the Riders end zone.

“The dressing room was good at halftime because we knew despite the turnovers we were still in the ball game (down 17-7),” said Joseph. “But it was horrible on my part. I let these guys down. I let this organization down. I let the province of Saskatchewan down and it was horrible, plain and simple.”

Nichols was handed every opportunity to make this a first-half rout, but between his ineffective work and some iffy kicking by bearded gnome Hugh O’Neill, the Riders were left to hang around, hang around… And with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and Joseph long since replaced by Tino Sunseri, Saskatchewan was only a touchdown with a two-point conversion behind, scrimmaging first-and-10 at the Edmonton 44.

But Edmonton’s strong suit is defence, and Sunseri wasn’t enough quarterback to crack it. The Esks defence has allowed one TD over the course of its last four home games. Edmonton now travels to Calgary next Sunday for the Western Final in which Reilly expects to start.

“I think it is pretty likely,” said Edmonton head coach Chris Jones. His club posted a 12-6 season, but went into the huddle on Sunday without its No. 1 in Reilly (foot injury) and No. 3 Pat White (concussion).

Fittingly, it was the Eskimos special teams that was responsible for the winning points, an 84-yard punt return by Kendial Lawrence that extended the score to 17-0. “It would have been a lot easier on me if we could have stuffed those ones in,” Jones said.

It was a worrisome day for the CFL, starting with a Commonwealth Stadium playoff crowd of just 26,237 in one of its stalwart cities. It was pretty cold in Edmonton, with a temperature of -10C at kickoff. But in Montreal, another anchor town for this league, they announced a crowd of 15,107 for the Eastern semi. Not good.

It must be said though, on a day when the CFL traditionally goes up against the National Football League, the quality of football on display in Canada was not at a level required to keep Canadians from reaching for the clicker and switching over to four-down football.

The rash of injuries to first-string QBs across the league is out of the CFL’s control, but the work by three of four starting QBs on Sunday (including B.C.’s Kevin Glenn in Montreal) was amateurish, and had absolutely zero chance of showing the CFL in a professional, competent light.

As the old cliché goes however, “They don’t ask how, just how many.” There are four teams left and they aren’t critiquing wins. Meanwhile, these Green Riders, last year’s Grey Cup champs, will now have all winter to lament an opportunity that was there for the taking.

“We didn’t do enough things to win,” said Saskatchewan defensive end John Chick. “You can’t give up points, big points, on special teams. That’s tough to come back from. There’s no secret to the game, you can look throughout the year the turnover battle usually wins the game.”

“We won it last year. We just weren’t good enough this year,” said Saskatchewan coach Corey Chamblin. “We weren’t ready to be champs this year.”

Russell Martin, Blue Jays agree

Veteran catcher Russell Martin has agreed to a five-year, $82 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, sources confirmed to ESPN's Buster Olney.

The deal, which had been earlier reported by Fox Sports, is pending a physical exam.

In 2014, the 31-year-old Martin had an offensive season reminiscent of those at the beginning of his career, batting .290 with 11 home runs and 67 RBIs for the Pittsburgh Pirates, while also setting a career best in on-base percentage (.402).

Martin, who was born in Toronto, also led the majors by throwing out 37 attempted base stealers and finished fourth overall with a caught-stealing percentage of 38.5 as he threw out 37 of the 59 baserunners attempting to steal with him behind the plate.

In nine seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Pirates, Martin has hit .259 with 119 homers and 540 RBIs.

He was paid $8.5 million in 2014.

The Pirates made a one-year qualifying offer of $15.3 million to Martin for 2015, which he rejected, ensuring them draft-pick compensation. The Pirates traded for Yankees backup catcherFrancisco Cervelli last week.

The Blue Jays used four catchers in 2014. Dioner Navarro, Josh Thole, Erik Kratz and George Kottaras (who had three at-bats as a Jay) combined to rank 11th among MLB catching contingents with a .659 OPS.

Navarro, who hit .274 and logged 2.1 wins above replacement in 139 games, will make $5 million in 2015 in the final season of a two-year, $8 million contract.

Jonas Gray made history in Patriots' victory over Colts

On October 16, running back Jonas Gray was languishing on the New England Patriots' practice squad, freely available to the other 31 teams in the league. On November 16, Gray accomplished a feat unmatched by any NFL player going back 75 years.

Gray authored the best performance by any running back this season, pounding out 199 yards and four touchdowns on a whopping 38 carries in Sunday's win over the Indianapolis Colts.

According to NFL Media's research department, Gray currently stands as the first player since at least 1940 to rush for as many touchdowns as the rest of the NFL combined in a given week.

Jamaal Charles (2), Knile Davis and Eddie Lacy were the only other players to run for a score in Week 11.

Even if the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans steal Gray's thunder on Monday night, his performance remains notable for its rarity. If we raise the minimum to 10 league games in a week, no single player has even managed more than 25 percent of the NFL's rushing touchdowns.

The four-touchdown outing was the first by a player without a previous NFL touchdown since 1921.

The former Notre Dame star's manifold accolades beg a follow-up question: Is this a sign of things to come or a one-game aberration?

Gray was at the eye of a perfect storm Sunday, offering a power-back skill set ideally suited for thegame plan specific to an Indianapolis defense that rolled over for 234 rushing yards and six touchdowns at New England last January.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft even pulled Gray aside last week to tell him he would have a "big game" as the offensive focal point, per NFL Media's Judy Battista.

No coaching staff is better at tailoring game plans and personnel groupings to each opponent, while fully exploiting the niche skill sets of late-round draft picks and street free agents.

"We've got a lot of weapons," Gray said, via Battista. "Younever know when guys will have a big game."

Coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDanielshave already begun preparing for a Detroit Lions defense allowing the fewest yards per carry (3.0) and rushing yards per game (68.8) in the league.

In other words, it's a good bet the game plan will feature more of passing-down specialist Shane Vereen and fewer six-lineman sets paving the way for Gray between the tackles.

The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Sunday game from an action-packed Week 11. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.

Heyward, Miller in Braves-Cards swap

ATLANTA -- Jason Heyward stirred up enormous expectations when he joined the Atlanta Braves at age 20. He homered in his first big league at-bat. He was voted to the All-Star Game as a rookie. He was hailed as the future of the game by Hank Aaron.

Heyward never quite lived up to the hype, and now he's heading to a team looking to bounce back from tragedy.Concerned that Heyward would leave as a free agent after next season and rebuilding with an eye toward their new stadium, the Braves dealt their right fielder and reliever Jordan Walden to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday for promising pitcher Shelby Miller and a minor-leaguer.

"It's very difficult to trade Jason Heyward," said John Hart, the Braves' new general manager. "But the deal was made to help us not only in the short term but the long term."

The NL Central champion Cardinals felt compelled to pursue Heyward after top prospectOscar Taveras was killed in a car crash last month in the Dominican Republic. The team hopes to sign Heyward to a long-term extension but didn't want to go into next season without adding to the offense.

"The reality is we have to move on," St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said.

Heyward said he was not surprised by the trade, especially since there were never any serious talks on a new deal with the Braves. He is due to make $7.8 million in the final season of a two-year contract.

"This is a business," said the 25-year-old Heyward, who grew up in the Atlanta area and was one of the team's most popular players. "I was definitely open to long term, but that conversation never took place."

The deal signals a long-term strategy for rebuilding the roster by the time the Braves move into their new suburban ballpark in 2017.

By trading Heyward and Walden, the team shed what could have been as much as $10 million from next season's payroll while acquiring a 24-year-old pitcher who is not yet eligible for arbitration and can't become a free agent until after the 2018 season.

"We want to build something that's going to sustain," Hart said.

After his promising rookie year, Heyward was plagued by injuries and struggled to put up the sort of power numbers that the Braves expected. He's had only one season with at least 20 homers and 80 RBIs; this past year, he batted .271 with 11 homers, 58 RBIs and 20 stolen bases, though he did win his second Gold Glove.

Heyward frequently batted leadoff for the Braves, which the Cardinals believe hurt his power production.

After the Braves slumped to their first losing season since 2008, general manager Frank Wren was fired. Hart took over and is looking to build depth throughout the organization, with a focus on starting pitching.

Atlanta is hampered by bad contracts, which will limit Hart's flexibility in the short term. B.J. Upton is owed more than $46 million over the next three years, and the Braves are still responsible for the final $13 million of Dan Uggla's deal, even though he was released this past season.