Colombia

BOGOTA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Ivan Duque on Saturday condemned the recent violence that occurred in the country, with five young people killed on Aug. 11.

"They are not alone. We are here as a government, we are here to reject violence, and we have told you that we will be delivering results quickly to clarify these facts and for justice to be done," the president in a speech in the city of Cali.

BOGOTA, Aug 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Colombia registered 295 new COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking its total to 10,105, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said yesterday.

The country has so far reported a total of 295,508 cases, up 9,488 from the previous day, including 3,717 in the capital Bogota, 2,073 in Antioquia and 668 in the city of Barranquilla.

According to the ministry, 154,387 people have recovered so far.

BOGOTA, July 31 (NNN-ANADOLU) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that his government is ready to begin a new round of Norway-mediated talks with the opposition.

Maduro said Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez held a meeting with a Norwegian delegation.

“Jorge Rodríguez is having a conversation; he received them here and now he is coordinating what was left unresolved with the Norwegians,” he said. “The talks were reactivated.”

BOGOTA, July 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Colombian army said they recovered two bodies from a helicopter crash in a jungle region where guerrillas are active, bringing the toll to 11 dead and six wounded.

The Black Hawk helicopter went down on Monday with 17 people aboard on a stretch of the Inirida River, in the country’s southeastern jungle region.

The wounded soldiers, along with the bodies of nine of their comrades, were rescued on Tuesday, but two soldiers were missing, officials said.

BOGOTA, July 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 118 members of the Colombian army have been investigated since 2016 for alleged involvement in sexual abuse against minors, the head of the army said, amid accusations of sexual violence by soldiers against young girls.

Of the 118 soldiers and army officials, 45 were fired, while the remaining 73 are facing criminal and disciplinary investigations by the attorney general and procurator’s offices, General Eduardo Zapateiro told a virtual news conference.

BOGOTA, July 1 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — A bilateral trade agreement between Colombia and the United Kingdom has passed in Colombia’s plenary senate session and now passes to the Andean nation’s lower house for approval.

The legislation seeks to maintain uninterrupted trade access, terms and conditions between Colombia and the UK that have existed under the Colombia – European Union agreement.

Colombia’s exports to the UK last year totaled US$ 470.4 million and represented about 10% of what Colombia sells to the European Union.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Ivan Duque on Friday called Venezuela a public health “time bomb,” and said the lack of reliable information about the status of its neighbor’s coronavirus outbreak was a worry as his administration tries to control its own infections.

Colombia has long been the top destination for Venezuelans fleeing years of social and economic upheaval in their home country.

BOGOTA, June 8. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is convinced that Russia, China, Iran and Ciba are real friends of the country as they provide all-round help to Caracas, he said in the Venezuelan capital Sunday.

"Humanitarian aid is coming from China, Russia, Iran and Cuba. They are [Venezuela’s] true friends," Maduro said in a speech broadcast by the state TV.

He recalled that the US was offering $20 million worth of help, "but not a single dollar came through".

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The U.N. World Food Program is warning that upward of at least 14 million people could go hungry in Latin America as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, shuttering people in their homes, drying up work and crippling the economy.

New projections released late Wednesday estimate a startling increase: Whereas 3.4 million experienced severe food insecurity in 2019, that number could more than quadruple this year in one of the world’s most vulnerable regions.

(Reuters) - Avianca Holdings AVT_p.CN, Latin America’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, after failing to meet a bond payment deadline, while its pleas for coronavirus aid from Colombia’s government have so far been unsuccessful.

If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Bogota-based Avianca would be one of the first major carriers worldwide to go under as a result of the pandemic, which has crippled world travel.