Colombian rebels say prepared to call unilateral ceasefire - Reuters

Leftist Colombian rebels said on Wednesday they are prepared to call a month-long unilateral ceasefire from July 20, a potential boost to peace talks that have been threatened by increased battlefield violence in recent months.

REUTERS

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos gave no immediate sign he would reciprocate, saying in response that "more is required" and that rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) need to show more urgency in 2-1/2-year-old peace talks.

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Colombia's FARC rebels suspend unilateral ceasefire - Reuters

Colombia's Marxist FARC rebels suspended a unilateral ceasefire after government troops killed 26 of its fighters, the guerrilla group said on Friday, a move that will likely ratchet up tension at peace talks to end five decades of war.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said it lifted the ceasefire because of the attack, one of the deadliest confrontations since the two sides began negotiations in Cuba at the end of 2012.

President Juan Manuel Santos said his armed forces are ready for the renewed offensive.

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More than 50 dead, dozens injured in Colombia landslide - Reuters

A landslide sent mud and water crashing onto homes in a town in Colombia's northwest mountains on Monday, killing more than 50 people and injuring dozens, officials said.

JOSE MIGUEL GOMEZ

"The earth slid into the course of the La Liboriana ravine, then the dammed water caused an avalanche which destroyed everything in its path" in Salgar in Antioquia department, regional police commander Jose Angel Mendoza said in an interview.

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BHP Billiton shuts oven at Colombia ferronickel plant, cutting output - Reuters

BHP Billiton has shut an oven at its Cerro Matoso ferronickel plant in Colombia after equipment damage, cutting output by as much as three quarters, the president of the union representing the plant's workers told Reuters on Friday.

Damage to a crane stopped production of one of two ovens at the world's sixth-largest ferronickel producer on Thursday afternoon, union leader Domingo Hernandez said.

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Colombia to halt bombings of FARC rebel bases for a month: president - Reuters

Colombia's armed forces will halt bombing raids against Marxist FARC rebels for one month, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Tuesday, in recognition of a unilateral ceasefire declared by the guerrillas as peace talks with the government advance.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels declared a ceasefire on Dec. 18, but the government had until now refused to reciprocate or halt attacks against the guerrillas.

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