Bogota

Chile ex-president Pinera dies in helicopter crash, aged 74

Chile's former president Sebastian Pinera, a billionaire tycoon who twice held the South American nation's top job, died Tuesday in a helicopter crash, his office said in a statement.

The 74-year-old Pinera often flew himself around in his own helicopter, and was a former shareholder in the country's national airline, with stakes in television and football, among other businesses.

Man linked to 2022 bank safe box heist arrested in Colombia

Colombian police have arrested a 47-year-old man suspected of involvement in the robbery from five safe deposit boxes in an Athens bank in July 2022, Greek police said on Saturday.

He was arrested on January 10 in Bogota on an Interpol red notice, they added. A second suspect believed to have participated in the crime was arrested in Sweden on April 11, 2023.

Colombia's ruling left loses elections in major cities

Left-wing candidates lost in a slew of local elections in Colombia on Sunday, the electoral authority reported, in what analysts described as a rebuke to the government of President Gustavo Petro.

With almost 55 percent turnout, the elections in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla were seen as a pushback against Petro's administration, analysts told AFP.

Colombian president to visit China this week

 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro will visit China this week, Beijing's foreign ministry said yesterday, with the leftist leader seeking to strengthen ties with the world's second-largest economy.

Petro's visit comes at the invitation of President Xi Jinping and will take place from today to Oct. 26, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

Children lost for 40 days in Colombian Amazon found alive

Four Indigenous children who had been missing for more than a month in the Colombian Amazon rainforest were found alive and flown to the capital Bogota early Saturday.

The children, who survived a small plane crash in the jungle, were transported by army medical plane to a military airport at around 00:30 am Saturday (0530 GMT).

Former FARC leader killed in Venezuela: Colombian media

A dissident former leader of the FARC guerrillas was shot dead in Venezuela by other rebels, Colombian media reported on Dec. 5.

Citing Colombian and Venezuelan intelligence sources, several newspapers said Hernan Dario Velasquez, nicknamed "El Paisa" ("The Peasant"), had been ambushed in the state of Apure, on the border with Colombia.

Havana syndrome attacks again

The syndrome appeared in the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, all before the visit of Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the capital Bogota.
The official added that he suspected that the problem appeared in several other people, the "Wall Street Journal" reported. An American family left the country for treatment because of that.

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