Medell - Scientists warned Monday that land degradation imperils the health and well-being of billions of people, threatening food and water supplies while fuelling conflict, mass migration and disease spread.

Medell - Land degradation will unleash a mass migration of at least 50 million people by 2050 -- as many as 700 million unless humans stop depleting the life-giving resource, more than 100 scientists warned Monday.

Medell - Scientists will publish the first-ever analysis Monday of the global state of land and its ability to sustain a fast-growing human population that relies on it for 95 percent of all food.

Medell - Chicken or beef? Think carefully: your choice can help determine the future of the planet.

Medell - The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) issued a dire diagnosis Friday of Earth's plant and animal species.

Medell - Human activity has driven animals and plants into decline in every region of the world, putting our own well-being at risk by over-harvesting and polluting, a comprehensive species survey warned Friday.

Medell - Scientists will deliver a comprehensive assessment Friday of the state of biodiversity -- the animals and plants that humankind depends on to survive but has driven into a mass species extinction.

Arroyo Arena - The guaimaro, a highly prized tree bearing nutritious fruit, once abundant throughout South America, is slowly being coaxed back from near extinction in Colombia.Widely adaptable, the tree is resistant to drought -- though not, sadly, to man.

Medell - A comprehensive, global appraisal of mass species extinction -- and what can be done to reverse it -- kicked off in Colombia's second-largest city Saturday, with more than 750 experts in attendance.

Cali - Despite his small stature, 10-year-old Juan David Camacho has big dreams: pacing through Colombia's jungle with binoculars in tow, he aims to spot all the bird species his country offers.

Ocache - Former Colombian rebels are returning to mountain strongholds where they once fought to the death, this time to campaign in the first elections held under a peace accord that ended a 50-year insurgency.

Caldono - Two Colombian police officers were killed Saturday when criminals bombed their car, then hurled grenades and strafed it with gunfire, local authorities said.

Bogota - Colombian presidential candidate and FARC leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono will have open heart surgery following a heart attack, officials said Friday.

Bogota - The leader of Colombia's former main FARC rebel group, Rodrigo Londono -- also known as Timochenko -- was in "stable" condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack on Thursday, a doctor at the facility told AFP.

Bogota - An influential Colombian senator was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison Wednesday for his role in a corruption scandal which has ensnared politicians throughout Latin America.

Bogota - The ex-rebel leader running for president of Colombia for the former leftist guerrillas of the FARC said Wednesday their peace deal with the government is in serious danger.

Bogota - Five Colombian soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded in a bomb attack near the Venezuelan border blamed on ELN guerrillas, the head of the army said Tuesday.

Bogota - Colombia's ELN rebels, whose peace talks with the government have been suspended since the end of January, announced on Monday a temporary ceasefire during next month's legislative elections.

Bogota - Three Venezuelans were shot dead in northeastern Colombia Sunday in an attack blamed on the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerilla group, official sources said.

Bogota - A drug kingpin dubbed Ecuador's "Pablo Escobar" who was under arrest in Colombia was extradited to the United States early Saturday, local officials said here.