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☆ Sen. Bob Menendez's current wife killed a man while driving in New Jersey in 2018, records show. Body camera footage shows her telling police she 'didn't do anything wrong.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nadine Arslanian hit a man who was jaywalking, NorthJersey.com reported, citing a police report. Now Arslanian Menendez, she was never charged in the case, the local paper reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementNadine Arslanian was involved in a fatal car accident in December 2018, NorthJersey.com reported on Wednesday. A police report said Arslanian struck and killed a man while driving her Mercedes-Benz on Main Street in Bogota, New Jersey, on December 12, 2018, the local paper reported. NorthJersey.com reported that she asked why Koop was in the road in the first place and then said that she "didn't do anything wrong."

Persons: Sen, Bob Menendez's, Nadine Arslanian, NorthJersey.com, Arslanian Menendez, —, Arslanian, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Richard Koop, Koop Organizations: Service, Mercedes, Benz, Bogota Police Department, Senate, The New York Times, Name Medical Locations: Bogota , New Jersey, Bogota, New Jersey

☆ DNA remnants found in fossil of 6 million year old turtle
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers excavate the 6 million year old fossil remains of a sea turtle of the genus Lepidochelys near La Pina along the Caribbean coast of Panama in this handout photograph taken in 2015 and obtained by Reuters on September 28, 2023. Cadena said the only older vertebrate fossils than the newly described turtle to have been found with similar DNA remnants were of two dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurus, which lived about 66 million years ago, and Brachylophosaurus, which lived about 78 million years ago. Cadena said DNA remnants also have been reported in insects dating to tens of millions of years ago. The turtle is from the same genus - Lepidochelys - as two of the world's seven living species of sea turtles - the Kemp's ridley, the world's smallest sea turtle, and the olive ridley, Cadena said. "Each fossil, each fossil site has specific conditions of preservation that in some cases could have favored preservation of original biomolecular remains such as proteins and DNA," Cadena said.

Persons: Carlos de Gracia, today's Kemp's ridley, Edwin Cadena, Cadena, ridley, Kemp's ridley, Will Dunham, Elida Moreno, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Universidad del Rosario, Smithsonian Tropical Research, Pacific, Thomson Locations: La Pina, Panama, Handout, Bogota, Gulf of Mexico, Washington

☆ Swedish furniture maker IKEA to open first Colombia store
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The IKEA logo is seen outside an IKEA furniture store in Brussels, Belgium June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Swedish furniture maker IKEA will this week open its biggest South American store in Colombia, as part of an international expansion plan which includes growth in Peru and Chile with an investment worth $600 million, an executive said on Wednesday. The Colombia store, to be opened on Thursday in the capital Bogota, will be the first in the country and will span three floors with 40 exhibition rooms. "The opening of our first store in Colombia is part of the brand's plan to establish nine stores in Chile, Colombia and Peru over the next 10 years," Hasbleidy Castaneda, IKEA's manager in Colombia, said in an interview. The investment plan includes opening two more stores in Colombia next year, to be located in Medellin and Cali, the country's second and third-largest cities respectively.

Persons: Yves Herman, Hasbleidy Castaneda, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, IKEA, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights BOGOTA, Swedish, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Mexico, Dominican Republic

☆ Son of Colombia's president to face trial over money laundering -attorney general's office
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Defendant and son of Colombian president Gustavo Petro, Nicolas Petro attends a hearing in Bogota, Colombia August 3, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Colombian Prosecutor's Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Nicolas Petro, the son of Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, will face trial for alleged crimes of illicit enrichment and money laundering while serving as a politician in the province of Atlantico, the attorney general's office said on Monday. A written indictment against Petro was filed in the Criminal Courts of the Specialized Circuit of Barranquilla, the attorney general's office said in a statement. According to the charges, Nicolas Petro received money from accused drug traffickers in exchange for including them in the president's peace plans. The president has denied awareness of any illegal activities and said he will continue with his administration's policy plans.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Nicolas Petro, Petro, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, Oliver Griffin, Luis Jaime Acosta, Michael Perry Organizations: Colombian Prosecutor's, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Atlantico, Barranquilla, Barraquilla

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Treasury has announced sanctions against nine affiliates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug trafficking cartel, as well as the current leader of Colombia’s powerful Clan del Golfo criminal enterprise. The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated all 10 for their roles in drug trafficking, meaning any of their assets in the United States will be blocked and U.S. citizens are generally prohibited from dealing with any of their assets. The nine affiliates of the Sinaloa cartel follow a U.S. indictment unsealed in April that targeted a branch of the Sinaloa cartel run by the sons of former leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Mexico extradited one of those sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, earlier this month to the United States. “Today’s actions reinforce the United States’ whole of government approach to saving lives by disrupting illicit drug supply chains,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Persons: del, Joaquín “, Ovidio Guzmán López, Antony Blinken, de Jesus Avila Villadiego, “ Chiquito, ”, U.S . Avila, Avila Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Treasury, Foreign Assets Control, Colombian, de, U.S ., Southern District of, of Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Sinaloa, United States, Guzmán, Mexico, Colombia, Bogota, Avila, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Eastern, of New York

☆ Chile raises alert for Villarrica volcano to amber
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A general view of the Villarrica volcano seen from Villarrica area, Chile, December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 24 (Reuters) - Chile's National Geology and Mining Service, Sernageomin, on Sunday raised the alert level for the Villarrica volcano from yellow to amber, citing a gradual increase in volcanic activity. One of South America's most active volcanoes, Villarrica has a 200 meter-wide open crater and last erupted in 2015, sparking a mass evacuation but ultimately no injuries. An amber alert means there is a greater probability that an eruption will take place in the coming days or weeks. Reporting by Oliver Griffin in Bogota Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ivan Alvarado, Oliver Griffin, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Mining Service, Thomson Locations: Chile, Bogota

☆ Colombia Poverty Fell in 2022, Extreme Poverty Rose Slightly -Gov't
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Poverty levels in Colombia declined slightly in 2022, according to a report from the government's DANE statistics agency, although the proportion of people living in extreme poverty rose slightly. The share of Colombians living in poverty fell to 36.6% in 2022 - equivalent to 18.3 million people in the country of 50 million - down from 39.7% in 2021, the agency said in a report on Friday. However, while poverty declined overall, the share of the population living in extreme poverty rose slightly to 13.8% last year, from 13.7% in 2021, DANE said, adding that 6.9 million people were living in extreme poverty in Colombia in 2022. President Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist leader, took power in August last year after winning an election with promises to fight poverty and inequality and to increase access to healthcare, among other pledges. According to the report, DANE defines poverty as those surviving on some $3.30 a day, while those in extreme poverty live on around $1.65 a day or less.

Persons: DANE, Gustavo Petro, Colombia's, Oliver Griffin, Alistair Bell Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia

☆ Exclusive: At least 40% of Colombia's ELN rebels seen rejecting peace deal, security sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Luis Jaime Acosta | Thomson Reuters | Luis Jaime Has Worked At Reuters For More Than Years. While He Chiefly Covers Colombia'S Armed Conflict | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Pablo Beltran, head of leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN), speaks with members of the media in Caracas, Venezuela January 21, 2023. It would also appear to undermine repeated reassurances by ELN leaders that the group is united behind talks. The three security sources said some 2,300 of the ELN's total 5,850 members were seen as likely to reject the deal. The ELN talks, which restarted in November 2022, are the most advanced of Petro's peace efforts, which also include conversations with crime gangs like the Clan del Golfo. "We don't deny the risks that could come from a dialogue that doesn't acknowledge that reality," Rueda said, but added that orders from national ELN leaders are respected by fighters.

Persons: Pablo Beltran, Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Gustavo Petro, holdouts, they're, Antonio Garcia, Danilo Rueda, Rueda, Ariel Avila, Avila, Luis Jaime Acosta, Julia Symmes Cobb, Daniel Wallis Organizations: National Liberation Army, REUTERS, Rights, Colombia's National Liberation Army, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Northeastern Fronts, Reuters, Green Alliance, Thomson Locations: Caracas, Venezuela, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia, Eastern

☆ Colombia gov't, largest FARC dissident group to begin peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Then Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Colombia's government and the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest FARC dissident group, on Tuesday said in a joint statement they would begin peace talks on Oct. 8 and start a 10-month bilateral, national ceasefire on the same day. The EMC was founded by dissident former members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, who reject a 2016 peace deal signed by that group. Colombia's government in May suspended a national ceasefire with the EMC in some areas of the Andean country following the murder of four Indigenous teenagers. The government is also in peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and the two sides have also agreed a bilateral ceasefire.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Jaime Saldarriaga, Gustavo Petro's, Oliver Griffin, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Estado Mayor Central, FARC, EMC, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Segunda Marquetalia, National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA

☆ Colombian artist Fernando Botero dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | Eyad Kourdi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero, celebrated for his iconic style featuring rotund figures used to convey political critique and satire, has died at the age of 91. The news of his death was confirmed by his daughter, Lina Botero, in an announcement made to various Colombian media outlets on Friday. PL Gould/Getty Images A Botero sculpture in Plaza Botero in Medellin, Colombia pictured on April 15, 2022. The exhibition, titled "Celebration," featured some 80 works by the Colombian artist spanning 60 years of his practise. Vincent West/Reuters "La Gorda Gertrudis," a Botero sculpture depicting a reclining nude woman, on display in Cartagena, Colombia.

Persons: Fernando Botero, Lina Botero, Mona Lisa, PL, Juan Barreto, Vincent West, Gilles Barbier, Luis Eduardo Noriega A, Shutterstock, Shannon Stapleton, Piero della Francesca, della Francesca, Duke, Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, Battista Sforza, Hwee Young, Nicolas Maeterlinck, Barbara Sax, Juan Mabromata, Gustavo Petro, Damian Dovarganes, Daniel Quintero, Stefano Pozzebon Organizations: CNN —, PL Gould, Getty, Museo, Bellas Artes, Reuters, Museum of Antioquia, National Museum of, Buenos Aires Fine Arts Museum, Twitter, Bowers Museum Locations: Colombian, Botero, Medellin, Colombia, AFP, Bilbao, Spain, Cartagena , Colombia, New York, China, National Museum of China, Beijing, Mons, France, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Medellín, Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Santa Ana , California, Bogota, Eyad

Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero sits underneath one of his sculptures during a stroll with Medellin's Mayor Federico Gutierrez (not pictured) in Medellin, Colombia January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Fredy Builes/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Colombian artist Fernando Botero, whose sculptures and paintings of playful, rotund subjects in sometimes harrowing situations made him one of the world's richest artists, has died at 91. "Fernando Botero has died, the painter of our traditions and defects, the painter of our virtues. Although widely known for his large subjects, Botero insisted his pieces were not focused on body type. As an artist, Botero sought to make his work accessible, donating over 200 works to create the Botero Museum in Bogota, which is free and receives half a million visitors a year.

Persons: Fernando Botero, Federico Gutierrez, Fredy, Picasso, Botero, lounging, Abu, Gustavo Petro, Spain's, Manuel Marulanda, Mona Lisa, Fernando Botero Angulo, Dali, Monet, Sophia Vari, Colombia's, Julia Symmes Cobb, Diane Craft, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Medellin's, REUTERS, Rights, Spain's El Mundo, Revolutionary Armed Forces, The New York Times, Museum, Colombia's El Tiempo, Thomson Locations: Medellin, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Colombian, U.S, Bogota

☆ Colombia Was Deadliest Country for Environmentalists in 2022 -Advocacy Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Oliver GriffinBOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2022, with at least 60 environmental and land rights defenders killed there, British advocacy group Global Witness said in a report on Tuesday. Global Witness found at least 177 environmentalists were killed globally last year. The findings returned Colombia to the top of the list of deadliest countries for environmentalists after killings declined in 2021 compared to 2019 and 2020. "The ratification of the Escazu agreement by the Constitutional Court is fundamental," Muhamad said. The only two countries not from Latin America to be included in the 10 most dangerous for environmentalists were the Philippines and Indonesia, Global Witness said.

Persons: Oliver Griffin BOGOTA, Laura Furones, Gustavo Petro, Susana Muhamad, Muhamad, Oliver Griffin, Grant McCool Organizations: Global, Environmental, Constitutional Locations: Colombia, America, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Indonesia

REUTERS/Emilie Madi/ Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2022, with at least 60 environmental and land rights defenders killed there, British advocacy group Global Witness said in a report on Tuesday. Global Witness found at least 177 environmentalists were killed globally last year. The findings returned Colombia to the top of the list of deadliest countries for environmentalists after killings declined in 2021 compared to 2019 and 2020. Brazil and Mexico were the second and third most deadly countries for environmentalists in 2022, the report found, with at least 34 and 31 killings respectively. The only two countries not from Latin America to be included in the 10 most dangerous for environmentalists were the Philippines and Indonesia, Global Witness said.

Persons: Susana Muhamad, Emilie Madi, Laura Furones, Gustavo Petro, Muhamad, Oliver Griffin, Grant McCool Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Global, Environmental, Constitutional, Thomson Locations: Red, el, Sheikh, Egypt, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia, America, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Indonesia

REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Ecopetrol SA FollowBOGOTA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Colombia's government is considering revising rules to make majority state-run energy company Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) an obligatory partner in every offshore wind project, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. If approved, the revision would make it "mandatory for Ecopetrol to take part in each offshore project," another source told Reuters. Having Ecopetrol partner up with other companies on offshore wind farms would "minimize the risks of new projects" one of the sources said, adding that the size of any given Ecopetrol stake would be "very, very small," without hinting at possible percentages. Ecopetrol's involvement in offshore wind projects would help shore up energy self sufficiency, another of the sources said. Plans to hold the bidding round to assign maritime blocks for offshore wind farms are running behind.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez, Gustavo Petro, Colombia's, Energy Irene Velez, Andres Camacho, Oliver Griffin, Timothy Gardner Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, The, of Mines, Energy, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, BOGOTA, Colombia's

☆ Colombia Potential Cocaine Output Rose 24% in 2022 - UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Also at a more than 20-year high was potential cocaine output, which rose 24% to 1,738 metric tonnes. Coca is the chief ingredient in cocaine, whose production has fueled the Andean country's six-decade armed conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people. Petro's government wants to help rural communities voluntarily substitute some 100,000 hectares of coca crops over the next four years, an official told Reuters recently. The government wants to reduce cultivation areas to 150,000 hectares and production capacity to 900 metric tonnes by 2026, Osuna said. Some 13% of Colombia's annual deforestation is linked to illicit crops, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad told a drugs conference last week.

Persons: Candice Welsch, Welsch, Gustavo Petro, Colombia's, Nestor Osuna, Osuna, Susana Muhamad, oversupply, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Julia Symmes Cobb, Richard Chang Organizations: United Nations Office, Drugs, Reuters, UN, Food Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Putumayo province, Ecuador

☆ Colombian President Proposes Latin American Alliance to Transform 'War on Drugs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia's history, closed the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs, which was held in the city of Cali, by saying that 50 years of a failed war on drugs had resulted in immeasurable bloodshed and pain in Latin America. "It is time to rebuild hope and not repeat the bloody and ferocious wars, the ill-named 'war on drugs', viewing drugs as a military problem and not as a health problem for society," Petro said. Colombia, like other Latin American countries, faces persistent violence resulting from drug trafficking and the presence of cartels with growing firepower and economic might, according to security sources and analysts. They also agreed on the need to break the harmful links between drug and firearms trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal logging, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, money laundering and corruption. The Mexican president said Latin American countries need to support the United States in its fight against fentanyl out of a "moral obligation" and "humanism."

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Petro, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Luis Jaime Acosta, Raul Cortes, Jackie Botts, Chizu Nomiyama Organizations: Caribbean Conference, Drugs Locations: BOGOTA, Cali, America, Colombian, Colombia, Mexican, United States, Bogota, Mexico City

☆ Colombian President proposes Latin American alliance to transform 'war on drugs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] President of Colombia Gustavo Petro speaks during the closing of the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs "For life, peace and development", during the visit of the Mexican president, in Cali, Colombia September 9, 2023. Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia's history, closed the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs, which was held in the city of Cali, by saying that 50 years of a failed war on drugs had resulted in immeasurable bloodshed and pain in Latin America. Colombia, like other Latin American countries, faces persistent violence resulting from drug trafficking and the presence of cartels with growing firepower and economic might, according to security sources and analysts. They also agreed on the need to break the harmful links between drug and firearms trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal logging, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, money laundering and corruption. The Mexican president said Latin American countries need to support the United States in its fight against fentanyl out of a "moral obligation" and "humanism."

Persons: Colombia Gustavo Petro, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Luis Jaime Acosta, Raul Cortes, Jackie Botts, Chizu Organizations: Caribbean Conference, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Drugs, Thomson Locations: Colombia, Cali, Colombian, Rights BOGOTA, America, Mexican, United States, Bogota, Mexico City

☆ Colombia airline Avianca to invest $473 mln to grow fleet by 16 planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The exterior of the Avianca administrative office is pictured, as officers from Colombia's attorney general's office conduct a raid inside, in Bogota, Colombia February 12, 2020. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Colombia's flag-carrier airline Avianca will invest $473 million to grow its fleet by 16 aircraft as it looks to increase the number of routes on offer, Chief Executive Adrian Neuhauser said on Thursday. Avianca will lease 14 Airbus A320 NEO planes and two A320 CEO planes to push its daily flights on domestic routes up by almost 25%, from 600 to 750. Neuhaser during a press conference in Colombia's Bogota called the increase of almost 1 million weekly seats "unprecedented growth" in the airline's history. The 16 planes will join Avianca's fleet between October and the end of December, the executive said.

Persons: general's, Luisa Gonzalez, Adrian Neuhauser, Avianca, Neuhaser, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Mark Porter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Viva Air, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia's Bogota, Avianca's, Colombian

☆ Summit Materials to buy Cementos Argos' US unit in $3.2 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Ananta Agarwal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Cement silos of Colombian cement maker Argos are pictured at a plant in Bogota, Colombia May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez Acquire Licensing RightsSept 7 (Reuters) - Summit Materials (SUM.N) said on Thursday it would buy the U.S. operations of Columbia's Cementos Argos (CCB.CN) for about $3.2 billion in cash and stock, in a deal that would make the combined entity the largest U.S.-based cement producer. Cementos Argos, the core unit of industrial conglomerate Grupo Argos (ARG.CN), will own a 31% stake in Summit and receive $1.2 billion in cash payments, subject to certain conditions. The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2024, could lead to annual cost savings of more than $100 million, Summit said. Shares of Summit Materials fell 7.92% in mid-day trading.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez, Columbia's Cementos, Argos, Summit, Anne Noonan, Morgan Stanley, Ananta Agarwal, Savio D'Souza, Maju Samuel, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Grupo Argos, Summit, BofA Securities, Thomson Locations: Argos, Bogota, Colombia, U.S, Mid, Atlantic, Texas, Summit

☆ Summit Materials to merge with Cementos Argos's US operations in $3.2 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Cement silos of Colombian cement maker Argos are pictured at a plant in Bogota, Colombia May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez Acquire Licensing RightsSept 7 (Reuters) - Summit Materials (SUM.N) said on Thursday it would merge with the U.S. operations of Cementos Argos in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $3.2 billion, creating the fourth-largest cement platform in the United States. Cementos Argos will receive about $1.2 billion in cash, subject to closing adjustments, and 54.7 million shares of Summit based on its closing price on Wednesday. Argos USA has assets comprising four integrated cement plants, 140 ready-mix plants and eight ports, giving Summit a "significantly improved scale" in high-growth markets. Cementos Argos will own about 31% of the combined company on upon the closing of the transaction.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez, Cementos, Ananta Agarwal, Savio D'Souza, Maju Samuel Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Summit, Argos USA, Thomson Locations: Argos, Bogota, Colombia, United States

☆ The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Returns. But Not as You Knew It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The Victoria’s Secret World Tour,” which will stream on Amazon Prime on Sept. 26, is a putting-their-platform-where-their-mouth-is movie conceived to showcase the work of “a new generation of creatives” (all female, of course) from four major cities — Lagos, Nigeria; London; Bogotá; and Tokyo — the better to convince the world that this really is a new Victoria’s Secret. “To finally say, ‘This is it, this is who we are,’” said Raul Martinez, the brand’s chief creative director. “We haven’t forgotten our past, but we’re also speaking to the present. To take our platform, understand the power of that, but show up with a different narrative.”Which is what, exactly? “Hot” is an association the new Victoria’s Secret would rather stay far away from.

Persons: Hadid, “, ’ ”, Raul Martinez, we’re, Akech, Lila Moss Hack, Honey Dijon, Julia Fox, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel Organizations: Prime Locations: — Lagos, Nigeria, London, Tokyo, Spain, Barcelona

☆ Colombia banks call for measures to help liquidity squeeze
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Colombia's banks have called on the country's central bank to tackle liquidity issues amid lower-than-expected government spending and compliance with international regulatory framework Basel III, which strengthens bank risk management. Analysts attribute the financial system's decrease in liquidity to the government's slower budgetary spending and higher tax collection. The funds are stored in the central bank and have not flowed into the economy. Furthermore, banks are required to retain a certain level of reserves under Basel III, adding to the liquidity strain, Asobancaria said. The liquidity needs of banks have seen commercial interest rates rise above the central bank's benchmark rate of 13.25%.

Persons: Asobancaria, Nelson Bocanegra, Oliver Griffin, Josie Kao Organizations: Basel III, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Basel, Colombian

☆ Colombia attorney general stands by claim that ELN rebels plan to kill him
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Francisco Barbosa, Colombian Attorney General speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia March 24, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Colombia's attorney general on Wednesday defended the credibility of intelligence reports that ELN rebels were plotting to kill him and two other people despite denials by the ELN and military. Two weeks ago, Attorney General Francisco Barbosa reported that the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group planned to assassinate him using a sniper. The ELN has denied it planned the attacks, while Colombia's government has said it had no received no such reports. For two years, intelligence sources have known about the ELN's plan to carry out an attack in Bogota, the attorney general's statement said.

Persons: Francisco Barbosa, Luisa Gonzalez, General Francisco Barbosa, Maria Fernanda Cabal, Eduardo Zapateiro, ELN, Barbosa, Ivan Velasquez, Antonio Garcia, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Colombian, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, National Liberation Army, Democratic Center, Defense, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia's

☆ Opinion: Young Colombians had high hopes for their first leftist president. It didn’t last
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Opinion Kristina Foltz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Before Petro, Colombia had been governed for decades by liberal and conservative parties forming part of the broader Colombian political right. A demonstrator holds a tainted image of Colombian President Gustavo Petro (left) during an anti-government protest in the capital on August 16. Luisa Gonzalez/ReutersBut what about young Colombians, who, like me, are worried about the direction Petro is taking the country? Ivan says he was drawn to Petro because, “he always had a message about generating free quality education for young people. His successor, President Nicolas Maduro, continued Chavismo policies that have destroyed the Venezuelan economy.

Persons: Kristina Foltz, Read, — Gustavo Petro —, I’m, — Nicolas Petro —, Nicolas ’, Petro, Gustavo Petro, Luisa Gonzalez, Ivan Oros, “, ”, Ivan, —, Ivan’s, Juan Manuel Santos, Ivan Duque’s ‘, he’s, Nicolas —, Ariel Ricardo Armel, Juan Valdez, ” Ariel, Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, Ariel, Armando Duarte Galan, governability, it’s Organizations: Rotary Ambassador, CNN, Petro, Reuters, La Primavera, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Colombian, University of Pamplona, Social Communications, Colombian Organization, Students, El, SISBEN, WHO, US, Twitter, Facebook, Plaza Bolivar Locations: Bogotá, Colombian, Latin America, Colombia, Venezuela, Venezuelan

☆ Magnitude 6.3 quake shakes Colombian capital, buildings evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] People stand on a street after a strong earthquake shook Colombian capital Bogota, prompting evacuations of offices and restaurants, in Bogota, Colombia, August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Aug 17 (Reuters) - A strong earthquake struck the Colombian capital Bogota on Thursday, reaching a 6.3 magnitude according to the U.S. Geological Survey, prompting frightened residents to flee homes, offices and restaurants. The initial quake was followed by aftershocks minutes later as people crowded the city's streets. Colombia's national geological service estimated the second quake at a 5.6 magnitude, with the following aftershock measured at 4.8. Colombia's civil defense agency noted residents had been evacuated in the entire municipality of Calvario, in Meta, southeast of the high-altitude capital.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez, Adrian Alarcon, Julia Symmes Cobb, Oliver Griffin, Sarah Morland, David Alire Garcia, Alistair Bell Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, . Geological Survey, Windows, Thomson Locations: Colombian, Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA, Calvario, Meta, Villavicencio

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