Everything you need to know about Colombia: news, reviews, in-depth analysis, opinion and more
Colombia: From Simon Bolivar to FARC in the Andean Country
The Republic of Colombia with its capital Bogotá has a long and illustrious past going back to the Incan Civilisation, which explains its high cultural heterogeneity. Colombia traces its name to Christopher Columbus who visited the country in 1502 and later on the Spanish colonised it. Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander played a leading role in freeing Colombians of the Spanish yoke and Simon Bolivar became Colombia’s first President and Santander became the second. Colombia has had a troubled past with constant fighting between the left wing FARC, the right-wing paramilitary groups and the Government forces. These non-state groups have thrived largely on account of widespread drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion rackets run by different mafias in the country.
Colombiana Quick Facts:
· National Name: República de ColombiaGeoghraphy and Climate of Colombia:
Colombia, South America’s 4th largest country borders Brazil and Venezuela in the east and by Ecuador and Peru in the south. It has unique location in that it is the only South American country to border both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. The imposing Andes mountains dominate the Colombian landscape and consist of Volcanic branches or cordilleras on which famous Colombian cities like Cali, Medellin, Bogota and Cucuta are situated. To the north are situated major Colombian port cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla and east of the Andes lies the Savanna lowlands. To the southeast lie the Amazon rainforests, as a result of this mind-boggling diversity, Colombia is part of the 17 mega-diverse countries.
Colombia has a largely tropical climate being located close to the Equator and the weather is also influenced by the El Nino and La Nina phenomena.
Economy of Colombia:
Colombia is a fairly robust South-American economy owing to abundance of natural resources like Petroleum, Coal and Coffee. However, Colombia also has the dubious record as one of the highest exporters of illegal drugs, on which a number of drug cartels thrive. Colombia has enjoyed relatively low inflation over the past few years.
Culture of Colombia:
Colombians display cultural influences from Spain, America, Europe, Caribbean and Africa owing to Colombia’s unique location. Colombianos have strong regional affinities owing to the relative isolation of different regions from each other. The Bogotanos, the paisas of Antioquia and central highland residents display great variation in their dress, music, food and accent.
Colombia has a well-developed sports scenario and has produced many football and racing personalities like Freddy Rincon, Juan Pablo Montoya. Apart from this Colombia is also home to famous artists like the Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the singer Shakira and actors like Sofia Vergara among many others.
Tourist Attractions of Colombia:
Colombia offers a heady mix of Carnivals, Museums, Festivals and beautiful Scenery to the tourist visiting this beautiful country. The Bogota Festival, Cali’s Fair, the Barranquilla’s Carnival are just some of the Colombian festivals to be relished. Travellers may also enjoy the fine cruise along the cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta. Apart from this other Colombians sites to visit include:
Bogota, May 3 (IANS/EFE) The Rev. Jesus Maria Parra, a priest of Colombia's Orthodox Catholic denomination, was fatally shot at a downtown Bogota hotel he owned, police said Wednesday.
Washington, May 2 (ANI): US Secret Service agents who were involved in the Colombian sex scandal had paid 10 out of 12 prostitutes in Cartagena, agency officials said.
Bogota, May 2 (IANS/EFE) Colombia's FARC guerrillas admitted Tuesday that they are holding French journalist Romeo Langlois, who disappeared three days ago in the middle of a firefight between security forces and the guerrillas in the southern province of Caqueta.
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Bogota, May 1 (IANS/EFE) Popular Puerto Rican salsa singer Andy Montanez was injured Monday in an accident in Colombia after giving a concert in the city of Valledupar, one of his representatives reported.
Washington, Apr 30 (ANI): The wife of Secret Service agent Arthur Huntington, whose refusal to pay a Colombian hooker in full brought the sex scandal to light, has said she will support her husband through his difficult time.
Bogota, April 30 (IANS/EFE) Colombia plans to invest 1.3 trillion pesos (about $738.13 million) in housing programmes "for the poorest of the poor", which it is adding to the plan to provide 100,000 homes free to the most vulnerable among the population, President Juan Manuel Santos said.
Bogota, Apr 28 (Xinhua-ANI): A French journalist went missing in Colombia on Saturday after an attack launched by leftist rebels on an army column killed four people, military officials said.
Washington, April 29 (ANI): A new study has revealed that men visit prostitutes for a variety of reasons, many of which vary by culture.
Washington, Apr 29 (ANI): A Congresswoman, who is a member of the House of Representative, has called for including more women in the U.S. Secret Service to prevent it from future dishonour similar to the Colombian prostitution scandal.
Washington, April 28 (IANS) The Secret Service agent at the centre of the prostitution scandal - during US President Barack Obama's visit to Colombia - has been identified as Arthur Huntington, CNN reported.
Washington, Apr 28 (ANI): The U.S. Secret Service has issued a new code of conduct for its officers that bans them from heavy drinking and visiting to "non-reputable establishments" amid investigations into the Colombian sex scandal.
Washington, April 28 (IANS) The US Secret Service, disgraced by a prostitution scandal, Friday promulgated a set of new conduct guidelines for its agents, as it emerged that agents had in 2000 visited a Moscow nightclub known for raucous parties.
Moscow, April 28 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Ahead of a state visit to Russia by then president Bill Clinton, US Secret Service agents had visited a downtown Moscow nightclub known for raucous parties in 2000, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Washington, April 27 (ANI): The Secret Service has said that it is investigating if its employees had hired prostitutes before President Barack Obama's visit to El Salvador last year.
Bogota, April 27 (IANS) The Colombian government has asked the US for an apology for tarnishing the image of Cartagena, a key Caribbean resort on the northern coast of Colombia, over a prostitution scandal involving US Secret Service agents and military personnel.
Washington, April 27 (IANS/EFE) The US Secret Service said Thursday it is investigating allegations that agents frequented a strip club and patronized prostitutes in El Salvador ahead of President Barack Obama's March 2011 visit to the Central American country.
Washington, Apr 26 (ANI: US President Barack Obama's safety was not at risk by the vice scandal involving a dozen Secret Service agents in Colombia, a Senate panel has revealed.
Bogota, April 26 (IANS/EFE) State oil company Ecopetrol announced a new crude discovery at an exploratory well in Tisquirama, a block in northern Colombia that has been in commercial production for more than a half century.
Bogota, April 26 (IANS/EFE) Rapper Alejandro Serna Correa was fatally shot in an attack that targeted two people accompanying him, authorities in the northwestern Colombian city of Medellin said Wednesday.
Rio de Janeiro, April 26 (IANS/EFE) The US is ready to transfer military technology to Brazil to be able to count the South American country as a strategic ally, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said here Wednesday.
Washington, April 25 (IANS) US President Barack Obama was never in danger because of a prostitution scandal involving Secret Service agents during a trip to Colombia, a top official said Wednesday.
Washington, April 25 (ANI): Prostitutes involved in the Colombian sex scandal could have been Russian spies, believes Senator Chuck Grassley.
London, April 25 (IANS) A US senator has claimed that the prostitutes who were involved in Colombia with President Barack Obama's Secret Service agents could have been placed there on behalf of Russia.
London, April 25 (IANS) The British men's football team has been handed out a tough draw in the 2012 London Games.
Washington, April 25 (IANS) The US Secret Service Tuesday announced the fate of five remaining agents implicated in a scandal involving agency personnel and prostitutes during a presidential visit to Colombia. Two of the agents have decided to quit.
Washington, April 25 (ANI): U.S. President Barack Obama has described Secret Service agents involved in the Colombian prostitution scandal 'knuckleheads', as another group of agents resigned.
Brasilia, April 25 (IANS/EFE) Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim has made a proposal to Pentagon chief Leon Panetta for collaboration in the military sphere including the transfer of US technology.
Washington, April 24 (ANI): The Colombian prostitution scandal appears to have some positives, with sex workers in America demanding that prostitution be legalized.iring a prostitute was never outlawed in the military until 2006, when the Bush administration made changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), ABC News reports.
London, Apr 23 (ANI): Angelina Jolie made her maiden visit to displaced Colombians forced to seek refuge across the border in Ecuador, as a special envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.
Washington, April 23 (ANI): The head of the Homeland Security Committee in the U.S. Congress, Peter King, has asked Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan to reveal the number of agents involved in the Colombian prostitution scandal.
Washington, April 23 (ANI): Investigations into the Colombian prostitutes scandal have revealed that one Secret Service agent took a woman to the Hotel Hilton in Cartagena, Colombia, five days before President Obama's arrival.
Bogota, April 22 (ANI): Authorities in Colombia are investigating if any of the women involved in the prostitution scandal with Secret Service agents were underage.
Washington, Apr 21 (ANI): Sarah Palin fired the Secret Service bodyguard after he revealed on his Facebook page that he was "really checking her out."
New York, April 20 (ANI): Spirit Airlines is now capitalizing on the Secret Security prostitution scandal with a new Internet advertisement offering cheap flights to Colombia that promises 'more bang for your buck.'
London, Apr 20 (ANI): First pictures of the bikini-clad working girl allegedly involved in the Secret Service prostitution scandal have emerged on a social network site.
Bogota, April 20 (IANS/EFE) Colombia's FARC rebels said they won't surrender or lay down their weapons as a precondition for dialogue with the government of President Juan Manuel Santos.
Washington, April 18 (ANI): U.S. President Barack Obama has been supporting Secret Service director Mark Sullivan amid pressure on the latter to resign following the Colombian prostitution scandal.
Washington, April 18 (ANI): A U.S. Senator has claimed that about 20 women were brought to a hotel in Colombia where Secret Service agents were staying.
New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Latino dances are now the world's hottest cultural diplomacy tool connecting people across continents. And in India, it is the new beat on dance floors.
Bogota, April 18 (IANS/EFE) Colombian troops killed a rebel who was behind a 1998 attack on a fuel pipeline that left 84 people dead, the army said Tuesday.
Rio de Janeiro, April 17 (IANS) Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari says he has been approached by Colombia and "two Asian teams" to coach them for the 2014 football World Cup.
Bogota, April 17 (ANI): Secret Service officers suspended from their jobs on alleged charges of misconduct in Colombia were seen partying at a Cartagena brothel.
Washington, April 16 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has said that he will be annoyed if allegations made against the Secret Service agents are proved correct.
Los Angeles, April 16 (IANS) Singer Shakira returned to her native Colombia to deliver a speech, urging improved childhood development policies in Latin America.
Washington, April 16 (ANI): Former Secret Service agent Dan Emmett has rubbished claims made by some Republicans lawmakers that members of the Secret Service hired prostitutes to potentially blackmail President Barack Obama and endanger his reputation.
Washington, Apr 16 (ANI): Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was snapped partying the night away at a club in Cartagena, Colombia on Sunday.
Havana, April 16 (IANS/EFE) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in Cuba again for more radiation therapy after he was operated on in February for a new cancerous tumour.
Washington, Apr 15 (ANI): A heated argument between at least one of the alleged prostitutes and at least one of the Secret Service agents first alerted authorities of the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena to the cavorting between Secret Service agents and prostitutes, a senior administrative official has claimed.
Washington, Apr 15 (ANI): The US authorities have reportedly put 11 Secret Service employees on administrative leave for their misconduct in Colombia, where they were tasked with overseeing President Obama's security, who is on a trip to the South American country to attend the Summit of Americas conference.
Cartagena (Colombia), April 14 (IANS/EFE) Colombian singer Shakira announced on the eve of the Americas Summit here an alliance of foundations to fund quality education for low-income children.
Bogota, April 11 (IANS/EFE) One of the whiskers on the giant "El Gato" (The Cat) statue donated by painter and sculptor Fernando Botero to his native Medellin has been stolen, an official in the Colombian city told EFE.
Havana, April 10 (IANS/EFE) Fidel Castro poked fun at US President Barack Obama's plans to sport a guayabera - a tropical shirt that is Cuba's official garment - during this week's Summit of the Americas in Colombia where the Communist-ruled island will not be represented.
Washington, Apr 7 (ANI): A 10-year-old Colombian girl has given birth to a healthy baby girl, making her one of the youngest mothers ever.
Havana, April 6 (IANS) The number of visitors to Cuba this year reached one million Thursday.
Rio de Janeiro, April 6 (IANS) Brazil and Colombia will play for a spot in the Davis Cup world group playoff when they meet on the clay surface of Sao Jose do Rio Preto Friday.
New York, Apr 6 (ANI): Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a federal judge in New York for conspiring to sell weapons to a US-designated foreign terrorist group based in Colombia.
New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) Tango from Argentina, salsa from Colombia and much more will be on shown at the three day Latin American dance and music festival that starts here Saturday.
New York, April 3 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The US justice department has called for a sentence of 30 years in jail for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, his lawyer said ahead of sentencing April 5.
New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) Come Saturday and there is a strong possibility that you won't be able to indulge in your favourite internet activities like shopping and surfing due to a hacking group - Anonymous - which has threatened to shut down the net.
Washington, Mar 20 (ANI): Sofia Vergara has revealed that when she saw a two piece bathing suit in the US for the first time she thought "who can look good in that."
London, Mar 20 (ANI): Sofia Vergara has revealed the things that American men should keep in mind before approaching a Latina woman in a sexual way.
London, Mar.20 (ANI): Tottenham Hotspur coach Harry Redknapp feared a repeat of Marc-Vivien Foe's death on the pitch when Bolton's Fabrice Muamba collapsed last Saturday.
Washington, Mar 20 (ANI): Sofia Vergara has revealed that when she saw a two piece bathing suit in the US for the first time she thought "who can look good in that."
London, Mar 20 (ANI): Sofia Vergara has revealed the things that American men should keep in mind before approaching a Latina woman in a sexual way.
London, Mar.20 (ANI): Tottenham Hotspur coach Harry Redknapp feared a repeat of Marc-Vivien Foe's death on the pitch when Bolton's Fabrice Muamba collapsed last Saturday.
Washington, Mar 14 (ANI): Sofia Vergara has admitted to considering freezing her eggs, so that she can have children with boyfriend Nick Loeb at some point of time in the future.
Washington, Mar 1 (ANI): Some male birds are better at attracting females if they gather with close male kin rather than in the company of distant relatives, a new study has found.
Washington, Mar 1 (ANI): Some male birds are better at attracting females if they gather with close male kin rather than in the company of distant relatives, a new study has found.
Washington, Feb 29 (ANI): Twenty-five suspected members of notorious Internet hacking group Anonymous have been arrested in a sweep across Europe and South America, the International Police agency has said.
London, Feb 29 (ANI): The location of the tomb of last Inca emperor Atahualpa has mystified researchers for centuries but now an expert has pinpointed a site in the Andes mountains, nearly 45 miles south of Quito, Ecuador, as the emperor's resting place. atrimony Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, spoke about the ruins unearthed by Ecuadoran historian Tamara Estupinan.
London, Feb 29 (ANI): The location of the tomb of last Inca emperor Atahualpa has mystified researchers for centuries but now an expert has pinpointed a site in the Andes mountains, nearly 45 miles south of Quito, Ecuador, as the emperor's resting place. atrimony Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, spoke about the ruins unearthed by Ecuadoran historian Tamara Estupinan.
Washington, Feb 29 (ANI): Twenty-five suspected members of notorious Internet hacking group Anonymous have been arrested in a sweep across Europe and South America, the International Police agency has said.
Gurgaon, Feb.1 (ANI): Travel management company Egencia on Wednesday announced that it has expanded its global footprint to seven more countries.
Gurgaon, Feb.1 (ANI): Travel management company Egencia on Wednesday announced that it has expanded its global footprint to seven more countries.
London, Jan 30 (ANI): Jonathan Franzen, who is being hailed as one of America's greatest living novelists, has warned that our desire for the instant gratification of e-books is damaging for society.
London, Jan 30 (ANI): Jonathan Franzen, who is being hailed as one of America's greatest living novelists, has warned that our desire for the instant gratification of e-books is damaging for society.
London, Jan 27 (ANI): David Beckham has revealed that the red card given to him during the 1998 World Cup and the reaction that followed still haunts him.
London, Jan 27 (ANI): David Beckham has revealed that the red card given to him during the 1998 World Cup and the reaction that followed still haunts him.
