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CNN —As the Colombian military frantically searches for four children missing after a jungle plane crash over two weeks ago, new details are emerging about the plane’s history – and local concerns over the safety of air travel in that part of the Amazon. Colombian Military Forces/ReutersIndigenous activists who mourned the deaths in a statement earlier this week said the crash was no surprise, accusing airline companies operating in the Amazon of chasing profits and the Colombian government of failing to uphold safety standards. Speaking to CNN, OPIAC president Julio Cesar Lopez pointed out that the ill-fated plane had previously crashed in the same region, on July 25, 2021. The report states that the plane was built in 1982 and, prior to the 2021 crash, had accumulated over 10 thousand flight hours. Relatives say the children knew the jungle well, and are holding out hope that they will be found alive.

☆ Colombia jungle plane crash: Government official hopeful children found alive in jungle 17 days after plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Mia Alberti Stefano Pozzebon Jennifer Deaton | Mia Alberti | Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Colombian government official is “very confident” four children were found alive 17 days after their plane crashed in the Amazon jungle but is awaiting further proof. The Director of Colombia’s Family Affairs Institute, Astrid Caceres, said her team received second hand confirmation that search teams rescued and identified the children missing following the crash of a small airplane in southern Colombia. While the children were found alive, Aerocivil said they found another three bodies inside the small aircraft. President Petro said news of the rescue was “a joy for the country.”“After arduous searching by our military, we have found alive the four children who went missing after a plane crash in Guaviare. A joy for the country,” Petro tweeted earlier on Thursday.

☆ Colombia’s President Replaces Market-Friendly Finance Minister in Cabinet Reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Gustavo Petro has seen some of his signature proposals stall in Congress or run into political opposition. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg NewsBOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombian President Gustavo Petro , a leftist who has pressed for broadscale social reforms in eight months in office, replaced his market-friendly finance minister on Wednesday amid the breakup of his congressional coalition. José Antonio Ocampo, a Columbia University professor who was seen by the markets as a stabilizing force, was replaced as finance minister in a cabinet shuffle that saw seven ministers ousted. The shake-up weakened the long-battered Colombian peso and sent bonds tumbling.

☆ Colombia's Gustavo Petro finds his opening in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

So what was the most solid common ground President Biden, as host, could find for his guest? Leaders from the region tend to see the climate issue as their platform in international summits. Like many countries in Latin America, Colombia has received considerable investments from Chinese companies in recent years, mostly in the transport and mining sectors. “Petro has the aspiration of leading the new phase of Latin America’s geopolitics. And Biden can also tout a considerable concession from his meeting with Petro, who had always refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine – until now.

☆ Biden to discuss Venezuela sanctions with Colombia's Petro in White House talks -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matt Spetalnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks on the day of a presentation of the labor reform that his government wants to carry out, in Bogota, Colombia March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa GonzalezWASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will tell Colombian President Gustavo Petro in White House talks on Thursday that he is willing to further ease sanctions on Venezuela only in return for concrete steps toward free elections there, a senior administration official told Reuters. The White House talks are aimed at renewing historically strong ties between Washington and Bogota and charting a new relationship with Colombia’s first leftist president. Since taking office, Biden has eased some U.S. sanctions on OPEC-member Venezuela to encourage dialogue. “Unilateral lifting of sanctions," the official said on condition of anonymity, "will line the pockets of people who have already stolen billions of dollars from Venezuela ...

☆ Fact Check-Video compiles CCTV footage that predates Turkey-Syria earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Footage from 2015 and 2018 has been miscaptioned online to say it shows the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6, 2023. The first miscaptioned clip showing CCTV imagery of a white van in the middle of a street as an earthquake hits has already been addressed by Reuters (here). According to the description, the footage depicts an earthquake in Trinidad and Tobago. See the latest Reuters coverage on the 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria (here). This video compiles two clips that date to at least 2015 and 2018 respectively.

A sailor was rescued by the Colombia’s navy after what he said was a 24-day ordeal in which he only had a bottle of ketchup and some seasoning to eat. Elvis Francois, 47, a national of Dominica, said in a video released by the navy that he spent 24 days with no sight of land before his rescue in the Caribbean Sea. Colombian Navy press office via APHe had written “help” on the hull of the boat, which was spotted by air, the navy said. In video released by the Navy and distributed by news services The Associated Press and Reuters, Francois tells medical staff he is doing OK.“Twenty-four days, no land. Francois said in the video he tried to go back to port, but couldn't, and he tried to call friends but lost service.

☆ Dozens are killed in Colombia after mudslide buries bus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A mudslide unleashed by torrential rain buried a bus and two other vehicles in central Colombia, killing at least 27 people and leaving others trapped as rescuers tried to reach them in the wreckage on Monday. The mudslide late Sunday divided a highway in two in the town of Pueblo Rico in the district of Risaralda. “Solidarity with the victims’ families, they’ll have the complete support of the national government,” Petro added as he confirmed the death toll. The public bus was carrying more than 20 people and was left buried in the wreckage of the highway. The town had been under a mudslide threat due to heavy rains caused by the La Niña weather phenomenon, according to Colombia’s national emergency management agency.

The Mexican grupera (a form of regional music) band Los Bukis become the first Latin music band to sell out two shows at the 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium. The magnitude of generational diversity could be seen when the Grammy award-winning Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte were on stage. Hernán Hernández and Jorge Hernández of the band Los Tigres del Norte perform Saturday. Scott Dudelson / Getty Images"Before, we really were invisible,” said Leila Cobo, a renowned Latin music expert and Billboard’s vice president of Latin content. "Now I think the kids go to see their parents’ music and Bad Bunny."

☆ Christmas vacations: 15 of the best places to go
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The Bath Christmas Market has a multitude of wooden chalets selling distinctively British handmade crafts in a quaint Georgian setting. Bogotá, ColombiaA woman dressed as Santa Claus sits next to a Christmas tree and a Christmas star at Bolivar Square in Bogota. Salzburg and Oberndorf, AustriaThe Christmas Market and associated festivities in Salzburg are really something to sing about. Dating back to 1570, Strasbourg claims to be the oldest Christmas market in France and one of the oldest in Europe. damianalmua/Adobe StockThe traditional Christmas colors of red, green and white take on an entirely new meaning in New Zealand.

Persons: CNN —, Santa Claus, Claus, ”, Allan Baxter, Jesus, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Centre –, Austen, Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar, Roy Rochlin, Bergdorf Goodman, Wangari Maathai, Fernando Vergara, “ Ruta, John’s, Miguel de Allende, Mary, Joseph, “ posada ”, Mozart, White Organizations: CNN, Bath Abbey, Jane Austen Centre, The, Royal, Catholic, Rockefeller, Getty Images Rockefeller, New York, Radio City, Columbus Circle, Fashion’s, Saks Fifth, Macy’s Herald Square, Kenyan, Park, Nuremberg, Toy Museum, Bolivar, Downtown, Malta Toy Museum, Quebec City, Adobe, Nord Expe, Mexico Piñatas, UNESCO, ”, Santa Locations: England, Philippines, Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Santa, Bethlehem , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York City, Bethlehem, Moravian, Bath, “, Fernando , Philippines, Asia, San Fernando, Catholic Philippines, Manila, of Bethlehem, Barcelona, Spain, Santa Eulalia, New York City New York, Central Park, Macy’s, Nairobi, Kenya, Nuremberg, Germany, German, Bogotá, Colombia, Bogota, Christmastime, Malta, Downtown Valletta, Quebec City, Canada, Petit Champlain, Quebec, Old Quebec, Sentier, Nord, Miguel, Mexico, posadas, ponche, Piñatas, Salzburg, Oberndorf, Austria, ” Salzburg, Bavaria, Strasbourg, France, Europe, Queenstown , New Zealand, New Zealand, Queenstown, Wakatipu

☆ Colombia wants Biden admin. to grant temporary legal status to its citizens in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia wants the Biden administration to grant temporary legal status to its citizens now living in the United States, noting its own efforts to address regional migration by hosting 2 million Venezuelans who fled their homes. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, he asks President Joe Biden to grant Colombians already in the U.S. a form of temporary status called Deferred Enforced Departure. It is unclear how many Colombians are living in the United States without legal status. Murillo Urritia said there are nearly 2 million Colombians living in the United States, without elaborating on their immigration status. The Biden administration has extended temporary status for some countries and added Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Cameroon and Venezuela, reversing a Trump-era trend to cut back on protections for those already in the United States.

☆ In Cambodia, Biden seeks to counter China's influence and Putin's war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

On Sunday, Biden will meet jointly with two valued allies, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. They are expected to discuss the nuclear threat from North Korea, whose repeated missile tests have sent residents in both countries scurrying to bomb shelters for safety. The centerpiece of Biden’s trip is a sit-down Monday in Bali with Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office. Sullivan added, "And if North Korea keeps going down this road, it will simply mean further enhanced American military and security presence in the region. Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that between Russia and North Korea, China “has two friends acting like absolute rogues," adding that Beijing is "not managing either well."

☆ Colombia’s Acreage of Coca, Used to Make Cocaine, Surges to Record
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Colombia’s harvest of coca, the base ingredient of cocaine, has grown steadily in recent years. BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombia has posted a sharp rise in coca cultivation, the United Nations said on Thursday, raising concerns among U.S. antinarcotics officials about how the country’s new government will bring drug trafficking under control. The U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime said the amount of land used to grow coca—the main ingredient in cocaine—had expanded 43% from 2020 to 2021 to 504,000 acres spread out across several rural states.

☆ Cuba shouldn't be on sponsor of terrorism list, former U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ed Augustin | Ed Augustin Is A British Journalist Based In Havana Who Has Written For The New York Times | The Guardian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

HAVANA — Along with Iran, Syria and North Korea, Cuba is listed as a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State. Cuba has called the sponsor of terrorism designation "illegitimate and immoral," arguing that it deprives it of financing and credit sources. “‘Cuba is not a state sponsor of terrorism’ was a mantra from the moment I walked into the State Department to the moment I walked out,” he said. Throughout the 1980s, Cuba shared intelligence with, trained and apparently supplied weapons to revolutionary movements fighting military dictatorships in Central America. Cuba will once again be a “guarantor state.”The Biden administration has provided no evidence that Cuba sponsors terrorism.

☆ This young Black designer is dressing Afro Colombian vice president Francia Márquez in ‘resistance’ fashion
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTÁ — Esteban Sinisterra, a young Black fashion designer from Colombia’s largely-poor Pacific region, is dressing Vice-President Francia Márquez — the first Afro-Colombian woman to hold the post — in what he calls “resistance” fashion. His background has commonalities with Márquez, a former housekeeper and environmental activist, who grew up in the poor municipality of Suárez, in Cauca province, and faced death threats for her opposition to gold mining. Colombia's Vice President Francia Marquez speaks in Bogota on Aug. 18, 2022. “Each and every one of Francia’s outfits evokes that,” Sinisterra said. Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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