Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas “truly over” Tuesday, as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down. Santos himself shut a padlock on the last lot of decommissioned rifles before it was taken out …
Read More »Trump to hold press conference Thursday
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump plans to hold a press conference with Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday, officials said, as his administration battles multiple crises. The event will be the first time Donald Trump answers questions from the White House press corps since the …
Read More »Shakira plans new album this month
New York, United States | AFP | Shakira announced Thursday that she will release a new album later this month after the superstar sported a reggaeton sound on her first single. Shakira, one of the top-selling Latin artists of all time, told her nearly 45 million Twitter followers that her …
Read More »Sudamericana title given to Chapecoense plane crash team
Asuncion, Paraguay | AFP | South American football confederation CONMEBOL agreed Monday to award the Copa Sudamericana to Brazilian club Chapecoense, whose team was wiped out in a plane crash while heading to the final. “CONMEBOL awards the title for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana championship to Chapecoense,” including the $2.0 …
Read More »Colombia plane crash: What we know
The same plane was used two weeks ago to fly the Argentine national football team — with Messi on board La Unión, Colombia | AFP | Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about flight LMI 2933, which crashed into the Colombian mountains Monday night with a Brazilian …
Read More »Football mourns as plane crash kills Brazilian players
La Unión, Colombia | AFP | The football world was plunged into mourning Tuesday after a plane carrying a Brazilian team crashed in the mountains in Colombia, killing 75 people with six survivors, officials said. Football legends Pele and Maradona as well as current superstar Lionel Messi led tributes to …
Read More »Plane carrying Brazilian football players crashes in Colombia
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | A charter plane carrying a Brazilian football team crashed in the mountains in Colombia late Monday, killing 76 people, officials said. They said five survived the disaster. The LAMIA airlines charter declared an emergency at around 10 pm local time” 0300 GMT Tuesday, reporting it …
Read More »FARC, Colombian government strike new peace deal
Havana, Cuba | AFP | Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels on Saturday announced a revised peace deal to end 52 years of armed conflict, after voters rejected a prior peace accord in a referendum. “We have reached a new final agreement to end the armed conflict, which incorporates changes, …
Read More »In divided Colombia, split reactions to Nobel prize
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | In a Colombia left deeply divided by a contested peace deal with the FARC rebels, not everyone was happy about President Juan Manuel Santos winning the Nobel Peace Prize Friday. “Santos doesn’t deserve it,” said Rodolfo Oviedo, one of the opponents of a peace deal …
Read More »Why divided Colombia said ‘No’ to peace deal
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombians say they are sick of their country’s 52-year civil war. So why did a thin majority of voters reject their biggest chance yet for peace? Forecasts ahead of Sunday’s surprise referendum result misjudged how divided Colombians are over how to settle the conflict …
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