Conservative newcomer Ivan Duque wins Colombia's presidential election
Bogota, June 18 : Conservative political newcomer Ivan Duque has been elected President of Colombia, a media report said on Monday.
Duque, 41, garnered 10.3 million votes or about 53.98 per cent of the ballot on Sunday, while his rival Gustavo Petro secured 8 million or about 41.81 per cent, reports Efe news.
"With humility and with honour I want to tell the Colombian people that I will give all my energies to unite our country: no more divisions, let's think of a country with all and for all," Duque said in a speech to his supporters here on Sunday night after acknowledging the elections' results.
He added that for him, "there are no defeated citizens" because he wants to be the President of all Colombians: those who voted for him, those who did not and those who opted for a blank vote.
Duque, who is due to take office on August 2 and whose term would last until August 2, 2022, further highlighted the need for Colombia to "unite" and "build" the country to prevent the future of all Colombians from getting "destroyed".
The orthodox economist, who is supported by former President Alvaro Uribe, has said he will overhaul the 2016 agreement which gave the rebels places in Congress, reports the BBC.
He has also said that he will revisit crimes allegedly committed by the rebels during the brutal five-decade conflict with the government.
Incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos telephoned Duque to congratulate him on his victory.
"I called Ivan Duque to congratulate him and wish him the best of luck. I offered the government's full cooperation to ensure an orderly and calm transition," Santos tweeted.
Meanwhile, Petro, a former Bogota mayor, accepted defeat on Sunday evening. "Eight million free Colombians taking a stand. There is no defeat here. For now we won't be the government," he tweeted.
Petro's campaign featured promises about creating a more equal society and ensuring people have access to health and education.
He also pledged to take on political elites and redistribute land to the poor.
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7 held for running fake call centre in South Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): Seven people were arrested from the Parnashree area in the southern part of the city for allegedly running a fake call centre, a police officer said on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house on Netaji Subhas Road on Friday night and found the fake call centre operating from the ground floor, he said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had set up a bogus company using forged documents and posed as employees of an antivirus firm to call citizens in the US, the officer said.
"The callers would gain the trust of victims and then use remote access to take control of their phones or other digital devices. The accused allegedly siphoned off large sums of money, running into millions of dollars, from victims' accounts," he said.
Five laptops, two WiFi routers, six mobile phones and four headsets were seized from the accused, he said, adding that the seven are being questioned to ascertain the full extent of the racket and to identify others involved.
