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IS POLLUTION BECOMING A PERMANENT HEALTH HAZARD IN MEDELLIN? 

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IS POLLUTION BECOMING A PERMANENT HEALTH HAZARD IN MEDELLIN? 

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by Adriaan Alsema March 18, 2019

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The future of Colombia Reports is under threat. The country's largest independent news website needs your help. Please become our patron.

Medellin authorities on Sunday declared a red alert for the second time in two weeks over the health hazards caused by extreme pollution.

The red alert triggered a number of emergency measures, most notably a rush hour ban on half of the city’s motorized vehicles, in all 10 municipalities that make up the Medellin Metropolitan Area.

According to SIATA, the system measuring air quality in the metropolitan area, 14 of the 19 air quality measuring systems turned to red on Sunday, a day on which there is least traffic traditionally.

The emergency measures will last at least until Wednesday in an attempt to improve the air quality to the point that breathing stops being a health hazard.

The pollution is mainly due to a growth in the use of cars that are fueled by the substandard gasoline provided by state-run oil company Ecopetrol.

Is Colombia’s oil company Ecopetrol killing citizens for profit?

The company has refused to improve its filtering systems, claiming that they comply with government regulations.

Legal sulfur limits

Colombia         United States   European Union

Diesel   50        15        10

Gasoline           300      10        10

This situation caused by the pollution is aggravated on days when there is no rain or wind to disperse the sulfur particles produced by the burning of Ecopetrol’s gasoline.

Instead of promoting a change in legislation that would obligate Ecopetrol to produce gasoline that would comply with pollution standards applied in the United States and Europe, Medellin authorities discouraged all sporting activity and canceled Sunday’s “cicloruta” that clears many of the city’s roads to promote the use of bicycles.

Authorities on Wednesday will decide whether to lift the emergency measures or to extend them.

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https://colombiareports.com/is-pollution-becoming-a-permanent-health-hazard-in-medellin/

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COLOMBIA NOMINATES ‘BIRDS OF PASSAGE’ FOR OSCAR

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COLOMBIA NOMINATES ‘BIRDS OF PASSAGE’ FOR OSCAR

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by Shane Cassidy

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“Birds of Passage” has been selected as Colombia’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2019 Oscars.

The Colombian Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that Birds of Passage will be the official submission into the 91st Academy Awards.

The film which opened Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2018 tells the tale of the early days of the marijuana trade in Colombia through the eyes of an indigenous Wayuu family.

The film proven a hit with Colombian audiences having been watched by more than 200,000 people and is now in its fifth week in cinemas nationwide, according to the newspaper El Pais.

Director Cira Guerra and Cristina Gallego previously picked up Colombia’s only Oscar nomination in 2015 for their film Embrace of the Serpent.

“We are very happy and thank you for the vote of confidence from the Colombian Film Academy to send Summer Birds to this contest,” Gallego told local media.

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MORE THAN 100 KILLED IN MALI MASSACRE AS UN VISITS

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MORE THAN 100 KILLED IN MALI MASSACRE AS UN VISITS

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AFP     AFP•March 23, 2019

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Mali is a key part of the fight by international forces against jihadist fighters in the Sahel region

Bamako (AFP) - Dogon hunters killed more than 100 people in an attack on a Fulani village in central Mali on Saturday, local officials said, as a UN delegation visited the country.

"The new toll is 115 dead" in the village of Ogossagou, said Cheick Harouna Sankare, mayor of neighbouring Ouenkoro. "It is a massacre of Fulani civilians by traditional Dogon hunters."

Earlier he had reported the deaths of around 50 people, but warned the toll could rise because many people were unaccounted for. Those bodies had now been found, he said.

The victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes, said a security source. Malian troops with local support arrived at the site in the afternoon, and they gave a toll of at least 105, a security source added.

Boubacar Kane, the governor of Bankass district, which covers Ogossagou, said the "provisional toll" was 115. Survivors had accused traditional hunters of carrying out the attack, he added.

The attack was launched at dawn Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, said several sources. The district has been the scene of frequent inter-communal violence.

Two witnesses questioned separately by AFP said hunters had burned down nearly all the huts in the village.

The massacre took place as a delegation from the United Nations Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat there.

The UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said in a Twitter message it "firmly condemns such attacks against civilians" and called on the Malian authorities to investigate.

The UN said the visiting ambassadors from the Security Council countries met on Saturday with Mali's Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and discussed with him the volatile situation in the centre of the country.

- Land disputes -

While local attacks are fuelled by accusations of grazing cattle on Dogon land and disputes over access to land and water, the area is also troubled by jihadist influence.

In the past four years, jihadist fighters have emerged as a threat in central Mali. A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Muslim Fulani community.

Since then, there have been repeated clashes between the nomadic Fulani herders and the Dogon ethnic group.

Last year that violence cost the lives of 500 civilians, according to UN figures.

In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.

The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from the authorities. The government in Bamako has denied their accusations it turns a blind eye to -- or even encourages -- Dogon attacks on the Fulani.

Once considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, Mali in recent years has been dogged by a coup, civil war and Islamist terrorism.

Extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

In June 2015, Mali's government signed a peace agreement with some armed groups, but the jihadists remain active, and large tracts of the country remain lawless.

Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region, jihadist violence has not abated.

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Bamako (AFP) - Mali's government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of an ethnic militia, a day after the massacre of more than 130 Fulani villagers, including women and children.

Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said new military chiefs would be named, and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved.

The dissolution of the militia was to send a clear message, Maiga told journalists: "The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state."

Survivors of Saturday's attack said ethnic Dogon hunters carried out the deadly raid in Ogossagou, a village in central Mali inhabited by the Fulani community.

While local attacks are fuelled by accusations of Fulani herders grazing cattle on Dogon land and disputes over access to land and water, the area is also troubled by jihadist influence.

Maiga did not name the senior officers sacked, but defence ministry sources told AFP they were the Armed Forces Chief of General Staff M'Bemba Moussa Keita, and chiefs of the army and the air force.

The prime minister's announcement came hours after an emergency meeting called by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in response to Saturday's massacre.

At least 136 men, women and children were killed in the attack, according to a "provisional toll", public television ORTM said late Sunday.

The television showed images of burned huts and livestock and shell casings in the village.

The victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes, a security source told AFP.

A government delegation led by Justice Minister Tiena Coulibaly went to the site of the massacre Sunday.

They were sent by the president to "tell the people of Ogossagou that what happened here is unacceptable and that it will not go unpunished," Coulibaly said.

- 'Predictable attack' -

The UN Children's Fund said "Malian children are paying a heavy price for the intensification of violence."

"Growing insecurity since 2017 has led to an increase in murders, mutilations and the recruitment of children," UNICEF said.

For its part, the European Union called for "immediate steps (including) the disarmament and dismantling of all militias" in Mali.

Researcher Baba Dakono of the Bamako-based Institute for Security Studies told AFP the attack was "unprecedented" but "predictable" because of a weak state presence in the region.

It was the deadliest attack since the end of the 2013 French-led military intervention that drove back jihadist groups who had taken control of northern Mali.

- UN chief 'outraged' -

The massacre took place as a delegation from the UN Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat.

"The secretary general is shocked and outraged" by the bloodshed, Antonio Guterres's spokesman said in a statement late Saturday.

The UN chief called on the Malian authorities "to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice", the statement added.

Guterres's spokesman said the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, provided air support to deter further attacks and assisted with the evacuation of the injured.

The attack was launched at dawn on Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, in a district that has seen frequent inter-communal violence.

Jihadist fighters have also emerged as a threat in central Mali in the past four years. A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Fulani community.

Since then, there have been repeated clashes between the Fulani and Dogon and last year the violence claimed some 500 civilian lives, according to UN figures.

In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.

The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from the authorities. The government in Bamako has denied their accusations that it turns a blind eye to -- or even encourages -- Dogon attacks on the Fulani.

Once considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, Mali in recent years has been dogged by a coup, civil war and Islamist terrorism.

Extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

In June 2015, Mali's government signed a peace agreement with some armed groups, but the jihadists remain active, and large tracts of the country remain lawless,

The violence persists despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region.

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Mali sacks senior army officers, dissolves militia after massacre

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Mali's government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of an ethnic militia, a day after the massacre of more than 130 Fulani villagers, including women and children. Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said new military chiefs would be named, and that

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HUGE COCAINE SHIPMENT SWAPPED WITH SALT TO CATCH TRAFFICKERS

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HUGE COCAINE SHIPMENT SWAPPED WITH SALT TO CATCH TRAFFICKERS

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By Lorenzo Tondo

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Largest drugs haul in Italy in 25 years comes after sting operation involving Colombia and Spain

Police swap cocaine with salt in sting operation in Italy's largest drugs bust in 25 years – video

Italian police have taken possession of more than two tonnes of cocaine in the largest drugs seizure in the country in 25 years, after a sting operation involving three other nations across two continents.

The drugs, discovered in 60 bags in a cargo container at the Port of Genoa, have a total value of €500m (£436m) and were found with the help of the British, Colombian and Spanish police.

The cocaine belongs to various drug-trafficking organisations associated with an organised armed group known as the “Gulf Clan”, which makes use of contacts in numerous European ports where drug expeditions are carried out. The container set off from Colombia and arrived in Genoa last week and was then destined for Barcelona in Spain.

To catch the traffickers in Barcelona, the Italian investigators replaced the cargo of drugs - 1,801 bricks of pure cocaine - with salt and let it continue on its journey. In the Catalan city, Spanish police arrested the alleged recipient of the shipment, a 59-year-old Spaniard.

“We had four hours to make a decision,” Maurizio Cintura, lieutenant of the Guardia di Finanza, told the Guardian. “After four hours the container had to leave for Barcelona where the traffickers were waiting for it. We therefore put 40 military in place, unloaded the two tonnes of cocaine and replaced it with 1,800 packets of salt. Then we placed GPS receivers in the load. This allowed us to arrest a 59-year-old man related to drug traffickers at Barcelona port.”

Cintura said the investigation began on 22 January in Colombia and that the seized drugs would have been marketed all over Europe. The operation, dubbed ‘‘Genoese snow’’, follows another seizure of cocaine at the port of Livorno on Wednesday.

In that case, 644 kilos of cocaine were hidden inside bags of coffee. The drugs were divided into 582 bricks inside 23 bags, hidden in one of the thousands of containers loaded on a ship flying the Portuguese flag and coming from the Spanish port of Algeciras. The value of the cocaine found in the earlier raid was around €130m.

Spanish police said that using an empty container was a new technique being adopted by criminal organisations there.

The two operations were not connected, police said, although both Italian ports seem to have become important destinations for cocaine trafficking from South America.

“The port of Genoa, along with that of Livorno, has become the new narco trafficking crossroads,” said Genoa chief prosecutor, Francesco Cozzi, in a press conference.

Prosecutors in Genoa said they were now looking into the connections between the cartels in South America and the drug traffickers in Europe. When asked about the role of the Italian Mafia in the Genoa raid, investigators said: “It is too early to say.”

The Calabrian Mafia, or so-called ‘Ndrangheta mafia, is thought to run much of Europe’s cocaine trade. A study by the Demoskopika research institute in 2013 claimed the ’Ndrangheta made more money than Deutsche Bank and McDonald’s put together, with a turnover of €53bn.

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Huge cocaine shipment swapped with salt to catch traffickers

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Largest drugs haul in Italy in 25 years comes after sting operation involving Colombia and Spain

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U.S. ENDING AID TO EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS OVER MIGRANTS

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U.S. ENDING AID TO EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS OVER MIGRANTS

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by Julia Harte and Richard Cowan

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The United States is cutting off aid to the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, known collectively as the "Northern Triangle", the State Department said on Saturday, the day after President Donald Trump blasted the countries for sending migrants to the United States.

"We are carrying out the President's direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The State Department declined to provide further details or clarify the time periods involved.

The State Department said that it would "engage Congress in the process," an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers' approval to end the funding.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump's order a "reckless announcement" and urged Democrats and Republicans alike to reject it.

"U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens," Menendez said in a statement.

Trump claimed on Friday during a trip to Florida that the countries had "set up" caravans of migrants in order to export them into the United States. A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across its southern border in recent days.

“We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and we’re not paying them anymore because they haven’t done a thing for us," Trump said.

Trump also threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States, a move that could disrupt millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known collectively as the "Northern Triangle," the State Department said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States.

"We are carrying out the President's direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The department declined to provide further details.

The State Department said it would "engage Congress in the process," an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers' approval to end the funding.

A U.S. House Appropriations Committee aide estimated that around $700 million of aid was affected.

Democratic Representative Nita Lowey, who chairs the committee, tweeted that the move to cut aid was "immoral and more likely to deteriorate conditions that push people into the kind of poverty and despair that exacerbates migration."

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump's order a "reckless announcement" and urged Democrats and Republicans alike to reject it.

"U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens," Menendez said in a statement.

Trump claimed on Friday during a trip to Florida that the countries had "set up" caravans of migrants in order to export them into the United States. A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across its southern border in recent days.

"We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and we're not paying them anymore because they haven't done a thing for us," Trump said.

Trump also threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States, a move that could disrupt millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade.

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U.S. ending aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras over migrants

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The United States is cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known collectively as the "Northern Triangle," the State Department said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States.

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LIONEL MESSI CREATES ANOTHER SENSATIONAL RECORD WITH BARCELONA STAR'S ESPANYOL DOUBLE

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LIONEL MESSI CREATES ANOTHER SENSATIONAL RECORD WITH BARCELONA STAR'S ESPANYOL DOUBLE

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By Alex Smith

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Lionel Messi bagged a brace as Barcelona beat Espanyol 2-0 to move 13 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Lionel Messi has added another couple of incredible records to his Barcelona career - after the superstar bagged a brace against Espanyol on Saturday.

Argentine Messi opened the scoring with a deftly clipped free kick before making sure of the 2-0 result with a tap-in after Malcolm's cut-back.

It sent Barca 13 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

It also allowed Messi to draw level with former Real Madrid shot stopper Iker Casillas as the player with the most wins in the Spanish league.

Messi has now been a part of 334 victories with Barca.

To go alongside that, Messi's free kick brought up his 40th goal of the season - making it 10 campaigns in a row that he has reached that tally.

He has won nine La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and six Copa Del Reys with Barca - as well as five Ballon d'Or gongs.

Individually, Messi has the most goals in a calendar year (91), most La Liga assists (166) and most goals in the division (409) among his many records.

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Lionel Messi has added another couple of incredible records to his Barcelona career - after the superstar bagged a brace against Espanyol on Saturday.

Argentine Messi opened the scoring with a deftly clipped free kick before making sure of the 2-0 result with a tap-in after Malcolm's cut-back.

It sent Barca 13 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

It also allowed Messi to draw level with former Real Madrid shot stopper Iker Casillas as the player with the most wins in the Spanish league.

Messi has now been a part of 334 victories with Barca.

To go alongside that, Messi's free kick brought up his 40th goal of the season - making it 10 campaigns in a row that he has reached that tally.

The last season Messi failed to reach the 40 goal mark was in 2008/09 - where he bagged 38 times.

Cristiano Ronaldo , with whom Messi is constantly compared to, only managed to score 40 goals in eight consecutive years.

Messi's records are an ever growing list - as he attempts to cement himself as the greatest football of all-time.

He has won nine La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and six Copa del Reys with Barca - as well as five Ballon d'Or gongs.

Individually, Messi has the most goals in a calendar year (91), most La Liga assists (166) and most goals in the division (409) among his many records

Messi admitted this week that he misses Ronaldo's presence in Spain - with the Portuguese ace leaving Real Madrid to join Juventus last summer.

"Yes [I miss him in La Liga]," he said. "It was great, although it was tough for me to watch him win titles.

"I have to say, it would be nice to still have him here."

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Messi creates another sensational record with Barcelona star's Espanyol double

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Lionel Messi has added another couple of incredible records to his Barcelona career - after the superstar bagged a brace against Espanyol on Saturday. Argentine Messi opened the scoring with a deftly clipped free kick before making sure of the 2-0 result with a tap-in after Malcolm's cut-back.

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LEWIS HAMILTON 'PONDERS SHOCK FORMULA 1 EXIT' - TO FORMULA E

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LEWIS HAMILTON 'PONDERS SHOCK FORMULA 1 EXIT' - TO FORMULA E

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F1 star Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is considering a switch to Formula E.The five-time world Formula One champion says electric-only series Formula E - which his team Mercedes will join next year - is "the future" of motorsport.Hamilton is contracted to Mercedes until the end of the 2020 season but says he is considering all options for when he quits Formula One.The 34-year-old reigning F1 champion was grilled about his future at an event at Silverstone to mark Mercedes-Benz’s 125th year in motorsport.That is something I have kind of been debating - up until now it has always been about Formula One," said Hamilton, in quotes reported by The Sun ."Being that I have been racing since I was eight years old, I am going to have massive withdrawal symptoms, like every driver has when they stop racing, when Formula One stops for me.Hamilton suggested he could follow fellow Englishman Gary Paffett into Formula E."I actually grew up in the same era as Gary Paffett."He is a little bit older than me and he is now racing in Formula E and that is now going to be the future.

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F1 star Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is considering a switch to Formula E.The five-time world Formula One champion says electric-only series Formula E - which his team Mercedes will join next year - is "the future" of motorsport.Hamilton is contracted to Mercedes until the end of the 2020 season but says he is considering all options for when he quits Formula One.The 34-year-old reigning F1 champion was grilled about his future at an event at Silverstone to mark Mercedes-Benz’s 125th year in motorsport.That is something I have kind of been debating - up until now it has always been about Formula One," said Hamilton, in quotes reported by The Sun ."Being that I have been racing since I was eight years old, I am going to have massive withdrawal symptoms, like every driver has when they stop racing, when Formula One stops for me.Hamilton suggested he could follow fellow Englishman Gary Paffett into Formula E."I actually grew up in the same era as Gary Paffett."He is a little bit older than me and he is now racing in Formula E and that is now going to be the future.

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ELN LEADERS TO STAY IN CUBA FOR TALKS WHILE GUERRILLAS TO KEEP FIGHTING IN COLOMBIA

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ELN LEADERS TO STAY IN CUBA FOR TALKS WHILE GUERRILLAS TO KEEP FIGHTING IN COLOMBIA

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The leaders of Colombia’s last-standing guerrilla group, the ELN, will remain in Cuba until Colombia’s President Ivan Duque agrees to resume peace talks, according to the rebels’ chief negotiator.

In a video that was released on Friday, “Pablo Beltran” said that while ELN guerrillas continue fighting in Colombia, he and his fellow-negotiators will remain in Cuba.

Following a terrorist attack that killed 22 in the capital Bogota in January, Colombia’s President Ivan Duque has refused to either continue talks or allow the rebel leaders to reunite with their troops.

Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo wants Cuba to extradite the peace negotiators, but this has been rejected by the island state and other countries that have acted as guarantor countries for peace negotiations.

Beltran reiterated his group’s call to resume negotiations, agree to a bilateral ceasefire and ultimately come to a peace agreement as agreed with former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Juan Manuel Santos.

“We are not interested in escalating the war, which is why we are asking President Ivan Duque to appoint his delegates and resume the dialogues, as well as agreeing to a bilateral cessation of hostilities,” Beltran said in the video that was sent to the NGO “Vivamos Humanos” of former President Ernesto Samper (Liberal Party).

The ELN may say it does not want to increase hostilities, but it has expanded territories under its control, taking advantage of the government’s failure to assume territorial control over the countryside during a peace process with the FARC that began in 2016.

This is confirmed by the Defense Ministry, which registered a 22% increase in terrorist activity between 2017 and 2018, an 86% increase in attacks on oil and road infrastructure and a 16% increase in killed members of the security forces.

“We cannot underestimate the ELN because it is expanding, in Vivamos Humanos we have information that out of 280 municipalities that used to have a FARC presence, the ELN is already in 68, and that is very dangerous for the civilian population,” said Samper.

The former president called on Duque to “make a final effort” to resume talks and end the conflict between the state and the guerrillas that is entering its 55th year this year.

Duque has expressed no interest in talking to the ELN ever since he took office last year and removed the group’s status as an insurgent force, and is now considering it an organized crime organization.

The majority of the Colombian population, however, wants the government to resolve the conflict through negotiations, according to multiple polls

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BOY, 8, FOUND AFTER LEAVING HOME TO 'TRAVEL THE WORLD'

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BOY, 8, FOUND AFTER LEAVING HOME TO 'TRAVEL THE WORLD'

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An eight-year-old boy from the city of Astrakhan in southern Russia has won social media fame after setting off on an around-the-world trip.

The boy's mother contacted the police after finding a note from her son saying he had left to "travel around the world".

A few hours later, a search team found him walking down a street equipped with encyclopaedias, a toy, money from his piggy bank and a banana, the Russian Interior Ministry reported on its official website.

The young explorer told his rescuers that he was already tired from his trip and wanted to rest. By that point he had travelled on three different buses before continuing on foot.

News of his exploits were widely shared on social media where many users admired the boy's ambition.

"An eight-year-old boy from Astrakhan undertakes a round-the-world-trip by foot. Whereas I complain when I have to travel across town," one Twitter user wrote.

"respect his willingness to get the hell out of Astrakhan," another joked.

The boy also caught the attention of a private language school that offered via Twitter to "teach the young explorer from Astrakhan English for free for a full year".

The viral story led some to recount how they had nearly embarked on "trips around the world" as kids.

"I also left a similar note when I was a kid. But before the journey, I decided to lay down for a bit to gain strength and fell asleep. In the end, I wasn't allowed to go," one user wrote.

Another person recalled being caught when his grandmother found a "stash of food" he had prepared for his trip across the globe.

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CHILDREN USE TIC’S IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS

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CHILDREN USE TIC’S IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS

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By Yulieth Serrano

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Currently, the technology is so important in our lives and specifically in education, because it offers a lot of tools that allow to use them and to have an excellent learning process. Technology has some advantages and disadvantages of technology in the classroom, it promotes individual learning because students can use their devices to search information and do their tasks; technology simplifies teachers work because there are creative ways of making their work easier by using technology in the classroom and technology promotes students engagement in classroom, they can teach to their classmates using the devices.

Teachers and students in Padre Luis Variara School use in their classes, various tools and platform such us Santillana, Pleno and Richmond Spiral to have different, creative and motivate class and thus, students are happy and committed to use those platforms.

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WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF COLOMBIA'S LARGEST RIVER

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WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF COLOMBIA'S LARGEST RIVER

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By: Cindy Loraine Vargas Dallos
The Magdalena River is Colombia’s largest. By the time it reaches the Caribbean coast in the north its waters have traveled 950 miles from the river’s birthplace.
In order to see the birthplace of the majestic river, one has to travel all the way to the southern Huila province. It is there where tiny currents coming down the Andes mountains join to form what will ultimately become the country’s largest river.
The Magdalena River is born from the mists of the Paramo de las Papas, exactly the place where also the Caqueta river —  that ultimately joins the Amazon River to travel to the Atlantic Ocean — begins.
Their sacred sites near the Magdalena Strait have long since become a major tourist attraction, but the forests between the Paramo de Las Papas and the lower plains.

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PENTAGON CITES UTAH BASE AS MOST AT RISK IN CLIMATE CHANGE RANKINGS

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PENTAGON CITES UTAH BASE AS MOST AT RISK IN CLIMATE CHANGE RANKINGS

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By: Cindy Loraine Vargas Dallos

The Pentagon calls Hill Air Force Base in Ogden most at risk for negative impacts from climate change among 79 vital military installations in the United States.

The Salt Lake Tribune and the Standard-Examiner report that a document provided by the Defense Department to members of Congress provided rankings of 79 Air Force, Army and Navy bases considered mission-critical.

It said the most endangered Navy base was Naval Air Station at Key West, Florida, and that the most endangered Army base is Fort Hood in Texas.
The bases were evaluated for potential for wildfire, flooding, drought, desertification and thawing permafrost. Hill had no potential for thawing permafrost but was rated high in other categories.

Hill has units that fly F-35 fighters and perform logistical and maintenance work.

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TIMES SPORT UNSEEN: MARC ASPLAND'S DAY ON THE RIVER WITH JAMES CRAC

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TIMES SPORT UNSEEN: MARC ASPLAND'S DAY ON THE RIVER WITH JAMES CRAC

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By: Cindy Loraine Vargas Dallos
On Sunday, James Cracknell, the double-Olympic rowing champion, will make history when he becomes the oldest person to have competed in the Boat Race, aged 46. Marc Aspland, the Times photographer, spent the day with him and his Cambridge University team-mates to capture their gruelling preparations.
Marc says: It would be interesting to find out how many times Cracknell has lifted a boat up-and-over during his long and illustrious career — here he lowers his boat into the River Ouse before the training session.

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Colombians await One Hundred Years of Solitude screen adaptation with joy and fear.

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Colombians await One Hundred Years of Solitude screen adaptation with joy and fear.

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( theguardian)
By Ingrid Ortiz

Like the cloud of yellow butterflies which follows one of the characters through the fantastical world of One Hundreds Years of Solitude, the legacy of Gabriel García Márquez hovers restlessly over Colombia – a country which has often seemed poised between beauty and tragedy.

“It’s hard to overstate how important and masterful One Hundred Years of Solitude is,” said Andrés Camilo Ramírez, the young owner of Maestros Grandes, a secondhand bookstore in Bogotá. “There’s a richness to it, to its language and its characters, and we just have to hope they capture that in the adaptation.”

So when Netflix this week announced the first screen adaptation of García Márquez’s landmark novel, Ramírez – and many of his compatriots – met the news with a blend of trepidation and excitement. […]

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UK scientists discover world's tallest tropical tree

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UK scientists discover world's tallest tropical tree

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(BBC)
by Ingrid Ortiz

Scientists in the UK and Malaysia say they have discovered the world's tallest tropical tree measuring more than 100m (328ft) high.

The lofty yellow meranti was spotted in a Borneo rainforest by a team from the University of Nottingham last year.

Researchers from the University of Oxford then carried out 3D scans and drone flights to confirm the record.[…]

Dr Doreen Boyd, from the University of Nottingham, said the find was key because "it's the science telling us these trees do exist, they are reaching heights we have perhaps never anticipated and there will be other tall trees out there that haven't been discovered yet".

"It tells us that we do need to protect these trees," she said.

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John Cena's blockbuster WrestleMania moments: All of WWE legend's Mania highlights

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John Cena's blockbuster WrestleMania moments: All of WWE legend's Mania highlights

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(Mirror

By Ingrid ortiz
John Cena is the biggest name in sports entertainment.

With millions of fans all over the world, he is WWE's biggest draw and most valuable asset.

As a result, he has had many blockbuster Wrestlemania moments - and he will be hoping for another heading into this weekend's event in New Jersey.

The only problem being that this year, he heads into the Show of Immortals without a scheduled match.

It remains to be seen just how WWE utilise Cena at this year's Wrestlemania, but there is no doubt that he will be involved in some capacity.

So, what better way to get warmed up for this year's show than to recap Cena's most memorable Mania moments?