Armed groups in Colombia stealing childhood from girls and boys alike
By Ontheweb Wednesday, August 27, 2008
BOGOTA, Colombia – Juan, 15, and Gloria, 12, lived with their parents in the rural community of Antioquia, Colombia. But their family life was disrupted when both children were captured and recruited by one of the country’s illegal armed groups.
During their time as child soldiers, Juan and Gloria were separated into different groups. Each group operated as mobile column, which supported other fixed groups engaged in armed conflict on the streets of various municipalities and sub-districts, or ‘veredas’, around the country.
10 Reasons Why Colombia Is Not as Dangerous as You ThinkBy Ontheweb Wednesday, August 27, 2008
1. President Uribe
Love him or hate him– and there appears to be no standing on the fence here– Bush’s best buddy in South America has increased security, dealt some serious blows to the guerrillas, presided over economic growth, and encouraged tourism into a “conflict zone.”
By Ontheweb Wednesday, August 27, 2008
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA—Western anti-terrorism officials are increasingly concerned that Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim militia that Washington has labeled a terrorist group, is using Venezuela as a base for operations.
Second best Olympics ever for ColombiaBy Ontheweb Monday, August 25, 2008
The Olympic Games in Beijing are over and while Colombia missed out on Gold, they did - as a whole - achieve their best result in 36 years.
With one Silver and one Bronze medal, these games were Colombia’s second best in history. Only at Munich 1972 there were more medals: One Silver and two Bronze.
Some FARC rebels ready to quitBy Ontheweb Monday, August 25, 2008
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — Once a guerrilla, always a guerrilla. At least that’s the credo of Colombia’s largest rebel group, which insists that its foot soldiers remain loyal to the cause even from behind bars.
But in a startling development, more than 700 imprisoned rebels have renounced the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and are calling on the guerrilla army to make peace.
Switzerland does not rule out talking to bin LadenBy Ontheweb Monday, August 25, 2008
GENEVA (AFP) — Switzerland’s foreign minister on Monday broke with the country’s tradition of studiously discrete diplomacy by raising the possibility of direct talks with Osama bin Laden to tackle global terrorism.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, who has raised both eyebrows and hackles with her controversial style, told Swiss ambassadors gathered in the capital Bern that they needed to talk to “heavyweight political figures” on the world stage even if they are considered persona non grata by other powers.
SYDNEY — When Const. Steven Conohan is not at home in Newfoundland coaching soccer, baseball or leading a beaver troop you may find him in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Colombia, dismantling clandestine drug laboratories.
Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol will soon be traded on Wall Street, in more good news to stockholders after a year in which its profits and stock price nearly doubled, according to news reports.
This beautifully majestic tall masted “barque” made a fantastic grand entrance to San Diego last Wednesday, more...with many crew members standing aloft, and one lucky crew member standing way, WAYYYY up on a mast (wish that could have been ME!! Talk about a VIEW!!! LOL). A barque is “a vessel with at least three masts, all of them fully square rigged except for the sternmost one, which is fore-and-aft rigged”.
This morning, Carlos and I decided to visit Castillo San Felipe de Barajas and walked there from El Centro. Castillo San Felipe is located just outside the city and was the largest Spanish fort in the New World. It was built between 1536 and 1657 to defend the rich port of Cartagena from invaders. I really loved the Castillo (it may be one of my favorite places that we visited in Cartagena); it was huge with lots of ramps and tunnels used to transport cannons, ammunition, and soldiers.
Tottenham Hotspur are reported to have made a bid for Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. The River Plate star may be the man to fill Robbie Keane’s boots following his transfer to Liverpool…
