The top commander of the largest guerrilla army in Colombia on Monday dismissed government criticisms about the rebels' recent spree of kidnappings and said that "there is no crisis" regarding the ongoing peace talks. The commander who goes by the alias of "Timochenko " said that negotiations between the FARC and the government continued "in normal mode." According to the rebel leader, "nobody has walked out or formally threatened to withdraw."...

"It is unacceptable that an inspection, which should be part of daily operations, leads to so much violence. This clearly shows -one more time- the crisis that the penitentiary system faces. It has definitely reached alarming levels," Amnesty International remarked in a statement. Non-governmental organization International Amnesty has requested the Venezuelan authorities to conduct an independent, objective, and unbiased inquiry into the a violent riot recorded Uribana prison,...

Argentina and Iran signed an agreement to form an independent commission to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish community center. The pact was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries on Sunday in Ethiopia on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa. The parliaments of both countries must ratify the agreement, which creates a Commission of Truth consisting of five independent judges, none from either Argentina or Iran. Suspects may be...

Reporters Without Borders is today releasing a report entitled “ ” that examines all of the shortcomings of this South American giant’s media landscape It is based on fact-finding visits to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasilia in November 2012. The media topography of the country that is hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics has barely changed in the three decades since the end of the 1964-85 military dictatorship. As well as the ten or so major companies...

The Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico has issued this Wednesday “immediate and absolute” freedom of French Florence Cassez, who was convicted in this country to 60 years in prison for kidnapping and other crimes, a case that caused tensions with France. The decision was approved by a majority of votes by the first Chamber of the Court, who modified an original draft resolution calling for the return of the case to a criminal court for irregularities during the judicial...

According to Bilboko Branka web, the basque Lander Fernandez imprisoned in Italian state will be extradited to spain. Despite the case of Lander have caused different mobilizations in Italy and Basque Country, finally the court of Rome have decided to extradite him. Although the defense of Lander have ten days to make a judicial remedy. He was accused of participating in a sabotage (burning a bus in Donosti) on 2002. According to the defense of Lander, he was tortured and the crime has...

Brazilian police on Friday confirmed the arrest of a suspected member of Basque separatist group ETA. Joseba Gotzov Vizan Gonzalez was arrested in the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro as soon as an arrest warrant was issued by the Spanish National Court. Vizan Gonzalez, 53, is wanted for questioning in connection to terrorist organization, taking part in terrorist attacks and murder. He has also been linked to a car bomb in 1988 which left a policemen seriously injured. After leaving...

Venezuela’s National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) launched proceedings on 9 January against the terrestrial television station Globovisión over its broadcast of four clips about the postponement of the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez for a new six-year term, originally scheduled for the following day. The videos are based on a specific interpretation of Article 231 of Venezuela’s Bolivarian constitution. The station was banned from rebroadcasting them and...

Benat Atorrasagasti Ordonez, 36, was arrested after police swooped on his home in Sloan Street, Leith, in July and has remained in custody while fighting extradition requests. Last year two European Arrest Warrants were issued by France and Spain seeking his extradition. The Spanish warrant accuses Ordonez of being a member of ETA, moving materials and men from France to Spain and gathering information on politicians and police officers. At a hearing in Edinburgh Sheriff Court at the...

Reporters Without Borders urges the Chilean authorities to conduct a full and rapid investigation into yesterday’s burglary of the Santiago home of Mauricio Weibel, the correspondent of the German news agency DPA and Reporters Without Borders and president of the South American Press Correspondents Union. It was no ordinary burglary. Those who broke into Weibel’s home knew what they wanted and found it - Weibel’s laptop containing the files from his investigation into the...