Colombian President,Álvaro Uribe Vélez, and two other foreign leaders will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the hands of U.S. President, George W. Bush, the highest honor given to a civilian by the United States.

On January 13^th, Uribe will be recognized alongside former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and Australian counterpart, John Howard, all considered loyal friends and allies by Bush, especially in the war in Iraq.

“The President will honor these leaders for their efforts to improve the lives of their country’s citizens and promote democracy, human rights and world peace”, said White House spokesperson Dana Perino, adding that the award ceremony will take place in the East Room of the White House just one week before handing over the presidency to President-elect, Barack Obama.

During his tenure in office, Bush has awarded the medal 78 times.  

Uribe has been recognized several times in Washington, the most recent of them in September when the National Defense University gave him the William J. Perry Award for his extraordinary leadership in the field of military industry.

The Colombian representative to the Miss Earth Pageant, Mariana Rodríguez Merchán, rejected the negative image of Colombia that exists thanks to drug trafficking and explained that “contrary to what many believe, our main product for exports is coffee, not cocaine”.

“Ever since I arrived, reporters crack jokes about cocaine in Colombia”, the 20 year-old model said indignantly. Rodríguez is in Manila, Philippines, competing against 84 women from all over the world.  The brunette from Cali said although it’s clear that Miss Earth is a beauty pageant, it has a deeper message, to preserve the environment.

 “What we are doing here, although it may be crude to say so, is give a good image to the cause”, she said. Among the environmental issues that concern her most are deforestation and the gradual destruction of the ozone layer.

In spite of the difficulties facing world economy, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) considers the Latin American region, and Colombia in particular, is better equipped to deal with the situation. “We have less favorable surroundings, and that has an impact on nearly every country”, said Clements adding that “we believe Colombia’s economy is well prepared to face the crisis, with an adequate level of international reserves and a good handle on public finance”.

The country currently has the support of organizations such as the World Bank, the CAF (Andean Promotion Corporation) and the Inter-American Development Bank, so additional support from the IMF is not urgent as of right now.

In their final presidential debate before the November 4th elections, John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D) found an opportunity to discuss Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement still pending in the United States Congress.

While McCain says “the agreement is a no-brainer” and Colombia should be supported, Obama claims he will not back an agreement with a country where workers will be targeted and murdered. McCain pointed out that free trade with Colombia would mean generating business for the United States and has recognized the progress made in the fight against drug-trafficking and guerrillas; McCain also suggested Obama visit Colombia sometime, as the Senator has never been to Latin America.

President George Bush has tried on several occasions to get Congress to approve the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, especially before the elections, but has been unsuccesful.

Medellín-born, Colombian painter and sculptor, Fernando Botero, will be awarded the Cristobal Gabarrón Foundation’s Medal of Honor in recognition of his work as an artist. Botero will receive his award at the Foundation’s New York Chapter.

Since the FCG’s fifteenth anniversary last year, the Medal of Honor is bestowed sporadically upon a deserving person whose work is in line with the goals and objectives of the Institution. The Board’s decision to award Botero with the medal was unanimous.

The Foundation’s International Awards were instituted in 2002, during the celebration of its 10^th Anniversary, and look to recognize people whose work “constitutes an outstanding contribution to universal culture”. Last Friday, the Foundation held its annual awards ceremony in Valladolid, Spain.

Way to go, Botero. You make us look good.

26 year old Camilo Villegas won the Tour Championship, the last chapter of the FedEx Cup, climbing to 7^th place in the Official World Golf Rankings.

The Tour is Villegas’ second consecutive title on the PGA tour and in one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit, reserved for the 30 best golfers of the season, which makes this Colombian the second best player of the season.

Compared to tennis, Camilo’s season could be compared to that of Roger Federer, seeded 2^nd by the ATP.

Way to go, Camilo. You make us look good!

Several Colombian drivers are participating around the world in different events. In Spain, Yonny Hernández making his second appearance at the Speed Championship; in Nascar, in the Sprint Cup, Juan Pablo Montoya is racing the Camping World 400; and Gustavo Yacamán is in Valencia, Spain, for his seventh season in Spanish Formula 3.

Corruption and poverty levels go hand in hand, according to the report presented by the non-governmental organization, Transparency International.

The document measure CPI (Corruption Perception Index) in 180 countries and shows Colombia is in 70^th place, 13^th in Latin America, with a score of 3.8. Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden shared the highest score at 9.3.

Bogotá native, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Forero, earned the top spot in the history of squash for a Latin American player. Rodríguez got the 20^th spot in the PSA (Professional Squash Association) rankings.

Until now, the highest ranked Latino had been Argentinean, Federico Uzandizaga, who placed 21^st in the 80’s.  In addition, the 20^th slot currently makes Rodríguez the best American squash player overall.

Miguel Angel starts playing in the French Open today against Joey Barrington from England, ranked 28^th. In this competition, the best 16 players in the world compete against each other.

Way to go Miguel Angel, you make us look good!

Medellin is in a quite reputable second place, above Bogotá, Cali and Barranquilla, second only to Cartagena, among tourists’ preferred destinations.

This was revealed by Proexport, after polling 4,180 foreigners, making it the largest survey in recent years; they were asked which their preferred destination is, why they travel to Colombia, why they stay, and what makes them love it.

The survey had as goals to identify the profile of the country’s visitors, as well as what their activities are during the stay and their preferences as far as products are concerned. Based on the results, Proexport hopes to come up with strategies to divulge and promote Colombia as a first class touristic destination.

(más…)