On Wednesday, the European parliament passed a resolution asking Colombia to do more on human rights and labour law before it will sign a free trade agreement with Peru and Colombia, which EU member states approved in May.

The Colombian Ambassador to Belgium, Rodrigo Rivera, explained that this is not a conditioning factor, but a political resolution in support of the advances both countries have shown.

The Senate began its final debate surrounding the constitutional reform that seeks to create legal framework for peace or transitional justice. Senator Roy Barreras defended the project and explained “it’s not a reprieve, it’s not amnesty, it’s legal framework in order to achieve piece. Above all it’s a guarantee that the truth will be discovered and that there will be sanctions for all crimes against humanity.”

Barreras explained that the law will take the magnitude of the cases into consideration when it comes to making selections. Conservative Senator, Hernán Andrade, said this reform is necessary for the country to achieve peace because “we are in the midst of an internal conflict”, a situation the country has already acknowledged.

Voting on the issue was postponed until Thursday.

Ideam, the Colombia’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, explained that the drought felt in some parts of the nation does not mean the El Niño phenomenon has arrived.

Ideam director, Ricardo Lozano, said the institute cannot confirm whether El Niño is coming but only that there is a 50 percent chance it will make an appearance; if it does, however, it would be early next year.

“We are coming out of the first rainy season of the year, which began in mid March and ends in mid-June,” Lozano explained, “we don’t have seasons like countries to the North and South do, we are a tropical country, so we will always have rain. Whenever I am asked when summer is coming I say never because we don’t have seasons. What the country has is a rainier season and a less rainy season. Right now we are in the transition between the rainier season and the less rainy one that comes mid-year.”

For local authorities and experts, the phenomenon is nothing new for Colombia and “we have learned some lessons”, which should assist the agricultural sectors as well as the energy and water industries in preparing to deal with a period of less rain.

The World Health Organization (WHO) just confirmed what the scientific community had been claiming for quite some time: diesel fumes cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported findings that prove a connection between lung cancer and exhaust from diesel engines; the study also revealed a ‘positive association’ between these fumes and bladder cancer..

According to IARC study leader, Dr. Christopher Portier, the experts’ decision to shift the exhaust fumes from ‘probable carcinogen’ to ‘carcinogen’ was unanimous. “Given the additional health impacts from diesel particulates, exposure to this mixture of chemicals should be reduced worldwide,” he said.

Experts say the announcement should raise awareness but not cause panic.