(The Online News) South America on Wednesday morning looked on in disgust at the news that Bolivian President Evo Morales was being detained in Austria amid suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board his private jet.
Morales was on his way back to Bolivia from Moscow, when France, Portugal, Spain and Italy reportedly prevented the plane from using their airspace, prompting an unscheduled stop in Vienna. Read full story at The Online News
(Colombia Reports) Peace talks between Colombia’s government and rebel group FARC recommenced on Tuesday for the 10th round of discussions to address the second point on the agenda; post-conflict participation of FARC rebels in politics.
A disagreement has already emerged on the negotiating table, as a request by the FARC’s head representative, Ivan Marquez, to postpone the 2014 election by one year was rejected by the government negotiating team.
“Let us open a national debate on the urgency and the desirability of postponing the electoral timetable by a year,” Marquez told press. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) Medellin is due to host a three-day jazz festival featuring US and Colombian university jazz orchestras for the fourth year running.
The University Jazz Festival, coordinated by language / culture institute Colombo Americano and the Medellin city government, will present three nights of concerts displaying “different interpretations of Jazz, from the classic to modern,” from three Colombia and three American jazz bands. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) Citizens of Bogota are donating money to buy a replacement bicycle for a Russian tourist whose vehicle was stolen in Colombia’s capital, halfway through an epic trip from Mexico to Argentina.
Tourist Vladimir Kumov was hoping to reach Argentine capital Buenos Aires on two wheels, until thieves stole his bicycle while he was having a coffee in the Colombian capital last Wednesday. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) More than 36% of all forced displacement cases in Colombia take place on the Pacific coast, according to 2012 figures released on Friday by non-government human rights and displacement group Codhes.
Codhes recorded 92,596 cases of forced displacement on the Pacific coast last year and attributed the high level to the region’s strong presence of illegal armed groups, who exploit the strategic location for narco-trafficking and mining. Read full story at Colombia Reports.
(Colombia Reports) Armed men have raped at least three women in the northwest of Colombia, forcing their families to flee their homes, local media reported on Friday.
The three families were allegedly forced to leave the neighborhood of La Esmeralda in the town of Apartado due to escalating violence, which began last Friday when armed men broke into their their homes, raped three and sexually assaulted one more. The men reportedly threatened to kill the victims if they spoke out about the crimes. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) Bogota fought off competition from Medellin and Cali to secure the title of best city in Colombia for investment, researchers said Wednesday.
In the list compiled by the Bogota-based Rosario University and the Chilean company Business Intelligence, five Colombian cities gained top-30 positions in the regional ranking. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) Sofia Vergara was sophistication personified in a beautifully sculpted, floor-length gown at the 99th White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
The curvy Colombian let her fun side shine through by combining the demure dress with glitzy pink bracelets, a giant pink ring and enormous teardrop earrings to match.
The star of television show Modern Family perfected the look with an embroidered silver clutch and her trademark glossy curls. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) Two top businesswomen in Colombia, a country that has just over 50% of its women in the workforce, said Monday they attribute their success to hard work and commitment.
Although gender equality is far from a reality in Colombia, a number of Colombian women have defied the stereotypes and risen to highly regarded positions in business.
According to the most recent statistics from Colombia’s national statistics agency, DANE, a mere 53.2% of Colombian women participated in the labor force last trimester – 22.2% less than men. Of those women within the labor force, 45.2% actually have work compared to 69.2% of men.
But in spite of these seemingly pessimistic figures, a report on gender and development by the World Bank in 2012 states that Colombia has a better participation rate than many other Latin American nations and Colombian women have better access to higher level positions, something that is still a challenge in many wealthy nations. Read full story at Colombia Reports
(Colombia Reports) Colombian Senator Armando Benedetti on Tuesday said he was optimistic that the gay marriage bill he introduced will pass, despite the chaos surrounding recent debates on the issue.
Benedetti, who introduced the gay marriage bill to Colombia’s Congress, told Colombia Reports that the gay marriage bill, originally introduced in late 2012, will become a reality, clearly unintimidated by the fierce opposition to the bill. Read full story at Colombia Reports
Hannah Mead 