Politics

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 08:32 UTC

  De la Espriella sets ten armed group leaders as his target for his first 90 days

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has pledged to capture or kill ten leaders of illegal armed groups during the first 90 days of his term, which began on Friday in Cali. The commitment, made during his campaign, is the centerpiece of the “shock plan” with which the new president seeks to reverse the negotiation policy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro.

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:58 UTC

  Keiko Fujimori starts her term in Peru with 60% approval, Datum poll finds

  

  Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori has begun her five-year term with a 60% approval rating, against 24% disapproval and 16% who gave no opinion, according to a Datum Internacional survey published on Sunday by the newspaper El Comercio.

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:44 UTC

  Bolivia records its first same-sex civil marriage after a court ruling

  

  Bolivia has recorded its first civil marriage between two people of the same sex, held on Friday, August 7, in Santa Cruz, the country's most populous city, following a legal process that lasted three years and ten months.

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:37 UTC

  Uruguay's Partido Nacional sets a 2030 return to government as its goal

  

  The president of the board of Uruguay's Partido Nacional, Álvaro Delgado, on Sunday called on members of the country's main opposition force to “build the history of the future” and set a return to government in 2030 as the first objective, so that Uruguay can “find direction again.”

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:05 UTC

  Machado congratulates De la Espriella and says Venezuela will soon follow suit

  

  Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado congratulated Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and said Venezuela would “very soon” undertake a process of institutional and democratic strengthening similar to the one she said is beginning in the neighboring country. The Colombian president replied on Sunday thanking her for the support.

• Saturday, August 8th 2026 - 07:52 UTC

  De la Espriella sworn in before Congress in Cali, delivers first speech to the military

  

  Abelardo de la Espriella took office as president of Colombia in Cali on Friday, the first time a Colombian leader has been sworn in outside Bogotá, and delivered his first speech at an Army battalion rather than before Congress, breaking with the country's institutional tradition.

• Saturday, August 8th 2026 - 07:48 UTC

  Falklands: 'South Atlantic Sentinel' exercise involves all three services

  

  In late July, forces from the three services stationed at Mount Pleasant Complex in the Falkland Islands — headquarters of British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) — took part in a series of military exercises designed to demonstrate their speed of response and operational integration, under the banner of the deployment's name, South Atlantic Sentinel.

• Saturday, August 8th 2026 - 07:38 UTC

  Celtic roots of both the Falklands and Malvinas names?

  

  The Irish Times has published a very interesting piece from Tomaí Ó Conghaile following on the fallout from the World Cup, who argues that both the English and Spanish versions of the Falkland-Malvinas Islands names have their roots in Celtic languages.

• Saturday, August 8th 2026 - 07:00 UTC

  China will have the largest embassy in London, the former Royal Mint

  

  The UK High Court on Friday threw out a challenge against UK authorities' decision to permit a new Chinese super embassy in central London. The challenge was brought by a neighborhood group called the Royal Mint Court Residents' Association (RMCRA), which represents families and businesses in roughly 100 properties around the planned embassy site.

• Friday, August 7th 2026 - 21:17 UTC

  Venezuelan government and opposition open US-backed talks

  

  Delegations from the Venezuelan government and one sector of the opposition met on Thursday in Caracas to open negotiations backed by the United States, in the first face-to-face encounter since Nicolás Maduro's detention by US forces on January 3.