RIO DE JANEIRO: Colombia plans to lead the formation of a global coalition of nations at an international meeting in April that want to end the use of fossil fuels, the country&#39;s Environment Minister Irene Velez said Tuesday. The conference, organized by Colombia and the Netherlands, will come as the world is facing an &quot;extreme energy crisis&quot; due to the war in the Middle East, which has driven up oil prices and sparked fears of a global economic crisis, Velez said. Colombia&#39;s goal is to establish a &quot;coalition of those of us who possess the will to eliminate fossil fuels&quot; and are &quot;ready for action,&quot; she said during an online meeting with journalists organized by the Climate Observatory, a Brazilian network of NGOs. Velez said 45 countries had confirmed their attendance at the meeting in the city of Santa Marta on April 28 and 29. She said attendees would include major hydrocarbon producers from Europe and North America, but did not give further details. The gathering was organized during last year&#39;s COP30 meeting in Belem, Brazil, as interested nations sought to bypass a lack of consensus between around 200 participating nations over the transition away from fossil fuels, a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions. Velez said she hoped that California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and a leading figure in the opposition to the dismantling of climate policies spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, will attend the conference. Meanwhile, the Brazilian presidency of COP30 has been developing an international roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels since late 2025. It is due to be presented next November at the next international climate conference, which will be hosted by Turkey.

Irene Velez Colombia's mines and energy minister (File Photo: X account)

Americas

Colombia will host an April meeting to form a coalition of about 45 countries committed to phasing out fossil fuels amid a global energy crisis. 

Colombia seeks fossil fuel phase-out coalition amid Middle East crisis

BOGOT&Aacute;: An airplane carrying 15 people, including a lawmaker, crashed near Colombia&#39;s border with Venezuela on Wednesday, killing all passengers and crew, Colombia&#39;s civil aviation authority said. The plane, operated by state airline Satena, took off from the border city of C&uacute;cuta and lost contact with the control tower shortly before it was due to land in nearby Ocana around noon (1700 GMT). &quot;There are no survivors,&quot; an official from the aviation authority told AFP. There were 13 passengers and two crew members aboard. The C&uacute;cuta area is mountainous, with highly changeable weather, and swathes of it are controlled by Colombia&#39;s largest guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, better known by its Spanish acronym, ELN. The government deployed the air force to search for the plane and recover the bodies. One lawmaker and one legislative candidate are feared to have been aboard. &quot;We have received with concern the information about the air accident ... where my colleague Diogenes Quintero, Carlos Salcedo and their teams were traveling,&quot; local parliamentarian Wilmer Carrillo said. Quintero is a member of Colombia&#39;s Chamber of Deputies, and Salcedo is a candidate for the upcoming elections. The aircraft was a Beechcraft 1900 twin-propeller plane.

Government deploys air force to search for plane, recover bodies; one lawmaker, one legislative candidate, are feared to have been aboard.

Fifteen dead, including lawmaker, in Colombia plane crash

ISLAMABAD: Colombian authorities said Sunday they had rescued 17 minors from members of Lev Tahor, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect under investigation for alleged child sex abuse. Lev Tahor, which practices a form of Judaism in which women wear black tunics covering them from head to toe, has been the subject of investigations for the mistreatment of minors in several countries. &quot;We have rescued 17 boys, girls and teens,&quot; the country&#39;s immigration service said on X, with pictures of some of the children, their faces blurred or shielded from view. &quot;International alerts have been issued over crimes against minors associated with this community.&quot; The raid took place on Saturday, police said. The minors -- who are of various nationalities including American and Guatemalan, were taken to a government-run center. &quot;There are indications that some of them may have been kidnapped, suggesting a possible human trafficking scenario, under the guise of religious activity,&quot; a police report said. The Lev Tahor sect was formed in the 1980s, and some members settled in Guatemala in 2013. Authorities estimate that the community is made up of roughly 50 families from Guatemala, the United States, Canada and other countries. Lev Tahor also has run into problems with officials in Mexico and Canada. Interpol has issued red notices for the arrest of some of the group&#39;s leaders. In December 2024, Guatemalan authorities rescued 160 minors from a farm occupied by Lev Tahor, alleging they were being abused. At the time, public prosecutor Dimas Jimenez told a press conference that the raid was carried out due to suspicions of &quot;forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape.&quot;

Lev Tahor has been the subject of investigations for the mistreatment of minors in several countries.

Articles tagged with "Colombia"

Colombia seeks fossil fuel phase-out coalition amid Middle East crisis

Fifteen dead, including lawmaker, in Colombia plane crash

Colombia says 17 minors rescued from Jewish sect accused of abuse