Colombia

Colombia cocaine production acreage at 'record level'

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the acreage under coca cultivation rose to 171,000 hectares in 2017, a 17% increase from 2016.

The agency warned production could harm recent peace-building efforts.

Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine, much of which ends up in the US - which is the world's largest consumer.

Gloria María Borrero Restrepo, Colombia's justice minister, reportedly called the data "really very worrying".

Poland 0 Colombia 3

Monaco striker Falcao stroked home his 30th international goal, making him the first player from Colombia to reach such a milestone, midway through the second half of a cagey encounter in Kazan, where defeat for either side would have meant elimination from the competition.

Barcelona defender Yerry Mina scored the opener, powering a header beyond Wojciech Szczesny five minutes before half-time to enliven the contest, and it was the creativity and industry of Juan Cuadrado and James Rodriguez that picked apart Poland's tightly stitched seams.

Colombia 1 Japan 2

The Group H favourites suffered a nightmarish start to their campaign when Sanchez blocked Shinji Kagawa's shot with his arm after just two minutes and 56 seconds, prompting the referee to brandish the first straight red card for handball at a World Cup since Luis Suarez was sent off against Ghana in 2010.

Kagawa then put Japan ahead from the penalty spot but even with 10 men Jose Pekerman was able to make his side competitive and Juan Fernando Quintero levelled with a free-kick six minutes before half-time.

Colombia 0 Australia 0

Half-time substitute Borja was denied from the spot by birthday boy Danny Vukovic and hit the post twice – the second coming in the last minute of stoppage time – as Colombia failed to show the clinical edge that saw them come from two goals down to beat Les Blues 3-2 in their previous outing.

Jose Pekerman's team were by far the better side at Fulham's Craven Cottage and produced plenty of the fast attacking breaks and skilful forward play they hope will bring them success at the World Cup, but ultimately failed to convert a number of excellent chances.

Colombia conflict: Two Dutch journalists kidnapped

Derk Bolt and Eugenio Follender went missing at the weekend in Catatumbo, a region where several armed groups operate, including the left-wing ELN.

They were searching for the mother of a Colombian child adopted in the Netherlands a few years ago.

The Colombian authorities tweeted a demand "for the immediate release of the two men."

Last year the ELN rebel group kidnapped a Spanish journalist and several Colombians in the same area. All were later released.

The Colombian army says it has sent specialist forces to the region to search for the Dutchmen.

Colombia frees eight child recruits from the ELN

The group were found during an army operation in a remote northern region, in which at least 12 rebel fighters were captured.

The ELN has been fighting the government for more than five decades.

Proposed peace talks broke down in October when the rebels failed to release a hostage they were holding.

A fresh attempt to arrange talks is due to take place in neighbouring Ecuador this month.

According to the ministry the operation took place in the municipality of Montecristo in the northern department of Bolivar.

Colombia outrage over killing of young girl

Yuliana Samboni's body - which showed signs of torture - was found in a luxury apartment in the city. It's believed she had been suffocated.

The suspect, who has been detained by the police, is from a wealthy family.

The killing has ignited public anger about child sex abuse as well as over the country's deep social divide.

President Juan Manuel Santos has condemned the killing.

Yuliana Samboni had been playing outside her family home in a working class neighbourhood of Bogota when she was snatched from the street by a man in a grey van.

Colombia's President Santos says peace with Farc will boost growth

"War is always more costly than peace," he said in an interview with the BBC.

Mr Santos and Farc leader Timoleon Jimenez, known as Timochenko, will sign a historic peace deal later on Monday.

But it will take a long time for Colombian society to recover from more than five decades of conflict, he said.

"We could have grown between 2% and 3% more per year for the past 23 years," said Mr Santos.

The conflict has also had a profound impact on Colombian society, Mr Santos told the BBC's Lyse Doucet.

Raped for speaking out against rape

Her story illustrates just how powerful armed groups still are. Even though a ceasefire has been declared between the army and the left-wing Farc rebels, parts of the country remain lawless.

A statuesque Afro-Colombian woman wearing a bright turban and loose flowing robes hovers over her patient and gently prods his stomach.

Colombia destroys cocaine labs in jungle region

Officials say the raids are part of a new strategy to target producers and traffickers rather than poor farmers who grow the coca plant.

The raids took place where Farc rebels have been operating. Their leaders have denied involvement in the drug trade.

Police said the labs could produce around 100 tons of cocaine a year.

"This is a structural blow to the finances of drug-trafficking," anti-drug police director General Jose Angel Mendoza told Reuters news agency.