Colombia

Colombia's House of Representatives approved President Gustavo Petro's Health Reform, which seeks to help marginalised areas to have easier access to healthcare

The Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) has introduced a new version of animal welfare assessment methodologies, ensuring compliance with standards and emphasising measurable indicators for well-being diagnostics for animals

Tentative projections in Colombia suggest a 9% to 12% net increase in the minimum wage for 2024, following a 16% rise in late 2022, potentially bringing the net salary to around 1,3 Colombian million pesos per month, around €300

Authorities will launch a comprehensive management plan to control the population of hippos introduced to the country by the late drug lord Pablo Escobar; by sterilising them, the state plans to stop their negative impact on the local ecosystem

Israel's vital security partnership with Colombia is at risk due to tensions following President Gustavo Petro's comparisons of Israel's actions to Nazis; Israel has suspended security exports, impacting existing multi-million-dollar agreements

The "Zonas Comunitarias para la Paz" program has been launched; it provides free Internet to 162 municipalities affected by violence and it aims at establishing 1.180 Wi-Fi zones in rural educational institutions

To boost community tourism and protect cultural heritage, Colombia and the UNWTO launched the 'Community Tourism Innovation Challenge’, aiming at promoting innovation, improve locals' quality of life, and foster responsible tourism

Deputy Minister Elizabeth Taylor Jay, during the P4G summit in Bogotá, announced Colombia's commitment to present the Darién Biosphere for UNESCO approval, with the aim of fostering sustainable development and conserving biodiversity in this region

A massive cyberattack has affected hundreds of websites in the country, disabling state portals for public health and justice services; with more than 700 companies impacted, authorities are still working on resolving the issue

Part of the country’s deforestation decrease has been allegedly attributed to armed rebel groups banning illegal logging as a means to strengthen their position during peace negotiations with the state, posing risks if not regulated according to experts

In a historic achievement, Colombia has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time ever by defeating Jamaica 1-0, with Catalina Usme's goal in the second half breaking the tie in a challenging match

The 37 winning projects of the Crea Digital 2023 initiative have been announced; the contest by the Ministry of Information Technology aims at promoting the development of digital content, encouraging innovation in the creative and educational sectors