News stories by Constanza Vieira, page 4

HAVANA/BOGOTA, Sep 05 (IPS) - The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are taking a pragmatic, reformist stance in the new attempt to negotiate a peace agreement with the Colombian government, to put an end to nearly half a century of civil war.

BOGOTA, Aug 29 (IPS) - The Colombian government and FARC rebels will start formal peace talks in Oslo on Oct. 5, in an attempt to put an end to an armed conflict that has gone through different stages since 1946, with brief lulls.

PIENDAMÓ, Colombia, Aug 16 (IPS) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos travelled to a native reserve in the southwest of the country Wednesday to meet with thousands of indigenous people who had gathered there for nearly a week, demanding an end to fighting in their territory.

BOGOTA, Jul 12 (IPS) - The same week that a bomb attack targeted Colombia's former interior and justice minister, Fernando Londoño, a Colombian national came forward and confessed that similar attacks were being planned against former senator Piedad Córdoba and current Bogota mayor Gustavo Petro.

French reporter Romeo Langlois is returning home today with an injured arm, after surviving a firefight and spending a month in the hands of the FARC guerrillas in Colombia’s southern Amazon jungle region.

If all goes well, French journalist Romeo Langlois will return home on Wednesday May 30, after spending just over a month in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

When 12 Colombian soldiers were killed by FARC insurgents a stone's throw away from the northern border with Venezuela, the consequences included military cooperation that reinforces the political, diplomatic and trade-related links that have developed over the past two years between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

There have been 'few tangible improvements' in human rights in Colombia, says Amnesty International’s new report, which also points to legal loopholes that ensure impunity, as well as government attacks on court rulings.

'Out of love for the river, we reforest, recycle, and make this place beautiful,' says a sign welcoming visitors to the Floragaita school, where a balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) tree with enormous white flowers guards the entrance to the lush green grounds on a hill in the heart of Colombia’s Andes mountains.

Romeo Langlois, a French reporter in Colombia, removed his helmet and bullet-proof vest and ran towards the guerrillas during fighting between them and Colombian army troops on Saturday, Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón reported.