After decades of war, Colombia's FARC rebels debut political party - Reuters

Reuters

Colombia’s leftist FARC rebel group is introducing its political party at a conference that began on Sunday, a major step in its transition into a civilian organization after more than 50 years of war and its first chance to announce policy to skeptical voters.

The six-day meeting in Bogota of FARC members, who have handed in more than 8,000 weapons to the United Nations during their demobilization, is expected to conclude on Friday with a platform that the party will campaign on in elections next year.

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Colombia FARC rebels include boots, kitchen supplies in list of assets - Reuters

Colombia’s FARC rebel group included footwear and orange juicers in the list of assets it will hand over for victim reparations, drawing ire on Thursday from officials who maintain the guerrillas have extensive criminal wealth and sparking the government to announce a special verification commission.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed under a 2016 peace deal with the government to hand over all funds and property to pay reparations to victims of forced disappearance, rape, displacement, kidnapping and land mines.

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Colombia reaches deal to end 37-day teachers' strike - Reuters

Colombia on Friday reached a deal with public school teachers to end a 37-day strike that has kept millions of children out of classes, amid criticism the government has failed to keep its promise to improve public education after a peace deal with Marxist rebels.

Union members participating in the nationwide walkout held near-daily marches, often blocking busy roads in the capital Bogota to demand more funding for school maintenance, supplies, student meals and salaries.

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Colombia to clarify mining laws as ruling, vote worry investors - Reuters

Colombia’s government will seek congressional approval to harmonize national and local mining laws, the mines and energy minister said on Monday, as legal wrangling over environmental regulations and community opposition threaten investment.

Voters in central Tolima province last month backed a proposal to ban mining projects in their municipality, raising questions about the future of an AngloGold Ashanti Ltd gold exploration in the area. Canadian company Eco Oro Minerals Corp, meanwhile, is waging a legal battle against a court ruling that bars exploration in half its concession.

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Forging new leaders for a Colombian region torn by war - UNHCR

Julia Symmes Cobb

Yurany Bañol vividly remembers the gun battles that ravaged her family’s home in Chocó, Colombia.

“We were in the middle, with the army over there and the people who’d taken the land over here,” Bañol says, recounting shoot-outs between military forces and opportunists who took control of farms left behind by people fleeing the violence. “Who knows how many dead people are buried along that road.”

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