Columbia

Colombian mudslide: Children swept away as river burst its banks

Rising water levels caused mudslides which swept away homes in Quetame, a municipality south-east of the capital, Bogotá.

Rescue workers are searching for at least a dozen people who have been reported missing.

A bridge linking Bogotá with the city of Villavicencio has been destroyed.

Among those killed are three children aged 12, 10 and six, rescue workers said.

The 12-year-old was swept away by a mudslide along with his mother, newspaper El Tiempo reports.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his condolences on Twitter.

Scores injured in deadly bullfight stand collapse

Footage has emerged showing the three-storey wooden stand filled with spectators falling at a stadium in El Espinal, Tolima department.

The traditional "corraleja" event involved members of the public entering the ring to engage the bulls.

President-elect Gustavo Petro urged local officials to ban such events.

"I ask mayors not to allow more events involving the death of people or animals," he said.

It was not the first time such an accident had happened, he added.

Colombia elects former guerrilla Petro as first leftist president

Petro beat construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez with an unexpectedly wide margin of some 716,890 votes. The two had been technically tied in polling ahead of the vote.

Petro, a former mayor of capital Bogota and current senator, has pledged to fight inequality with free university education, pension reforms and high taxes on unproductive land. He won 50.5 percent to Hernandez's 47.3 percent.

Petro's proposals - especially a ban on new oil projects - have startled some investors, though he has promised to respect current contracts.

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Colombian anti-government protesters topple Columbus statue

The figure of the European explorer, after whom Colombia is named, was dragged from its plinth with ropes and vandalised.

The demonstration marked two months since the start of a nationwide protest movement calling for social reform.

Indigenous activists see Columbus as a symbol of colonialism and oppression.

The mayor of Barranquilla said those responsible would be brought to justice.

The Columbus statue is the latest to be pulled from its pedestal as part of the anti-government protests which have been sweeping through the country.

Colombian President backs down on tax reform after protests

Protests - which have led to multiple deaths around the country since they began on Wednesday, continued on Sunday in some cities, despite the announcement.

Duque said on Friday the law would be revised to remove some of its most controversial points - including the leveling of sales tax on utilities and some food - but the government had previously insisted it could not be withdrawn.

Pop stars Shakira and Vives accused of plagiarism

Their hit, La Bicicleta, won last year's Grammy Latino.

Cuban musician Livan Rafael Castellanos claims that Shakira and Vives copied a line and part of the chorus of his 1997 song Yo Te Quiero Tanto.

The complaint was filed at a court in Spain, where Shakira lives.

A spokesman for the court said the case centred around an intellectual property problem and focuses mainly on the melody and the lyrics of the choruses of both songs.