Court witness killed in Colombia

1 July 2011 Last updated at 21:10 GMT Mr Gomez was killed in Arboletes, an area once dominated by the paramilitaries One of the main witnesses in a court case investigating politicians' links to right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia has been killed.

Luis Eduardo Gomez, 70, was shot dead by gunmen in his home in Arboletes, in north-western Antioquia province.

He is the second witness in the case to be killed this week, officials say.

Prosecutors are investigating scores of local politicians over their alleged links to the paramilitary United Self-Defence Forces.

The United Self-Defence Forces, or AUC, was formed by landowners and drug traffickers in the 1990s to combat Colombia's left-wing guerrillas.

The group demobilised under a 2003 peace agreement with the government, and around 30,000 fighters surrendered their weapons.

Mr Gomez, a freelance journalist, had testified in the court case which is investigating more than 20 local politicians over their alleged links to the AUC.

The group is accused of forcing thousands of people off their land as well as dealing in drugs, forcibly recruiting minors and killing hundreds of people they suspected of being rebels or rebel sympathisers.

Prosecutors say the AUC built up close connections with a number of local and national politicians, financing their campaigns in exchange for their backing in local government and Congress.

Many current or former members of Congress have been jailed or investigated for allegedly conspiring or collaborating with the AUC paramilitaries, in what has been dubbed the "parapolitics" scandal.

Mr Gomez's murder comes just days after the killing of Vicente Botero Arbelaez, who was also a witness in the case.

Prosecutors say five other witnesses are missing, while a sixth is part of a witness protection programme.

The government says many former AUC members now swell the ranks of the so-called Bacrin, short for criminal narcotics gangs.

Police suspect one of the Bacrins, Los Urabenos, of being behind the killing of Mr Gomez.

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Court suspends Chile dam works

20 June 2011 Last updated at 23:51 GMT The project has provoked protests from different sectors of society A court in Chile has ordered the suspension of a multi-billion-dollar dam project in the south of the country, following objections by legislators and environmentalists.

The five dams are to be built on two rivers in the sparsely-populated Aysen area of Chilean Patagonia.

The project was approved in May, after heavy backing from President Sebastian Pinera.

But the court has now ruled it needs to review the approval process.

It is not clear how long the court will take to decide on the matter.

The project has sparked a number of protests, some of which have seen violent clashes between demonstrators and the security forces.

The government says the dams are needed to meet the country's increasing demand for electricity.

But environmentalists say they will damage the area's fragile ecology and its tourist potential.

They also say the energy produced will be used mainly for the country's mining industry.

Rugged beauty The river Baker is one of two rivers that will be dammed if the project goes ahead

The five dams will be built on two fast flowing rivers that run into the Pacific - two on the river Baker, and three on the river Pascua.

They drain lakes in a region that is famous for its rugged beauty - a landscape of glaciers, ice-fields, mountains and fjords.

The dam project, which is a joint venture between a Chilean company and a Spanish-owed one, will cost some $3bn (?1.85bn) and is designed to generate 2,750MW of power.

The company, HidroAysen, says the project "represents a cost-effective, sustainable, reliable, and ecologically viable source of energy".

It says it involves flooding nearly 60 sq km (23 sq miles) of land, but will provide 4,000 jobs at its peak.

But other potential sticking points lie ahead for the company.

Correspondents say one of these could be approval to build the more than 2,000km (1,240 miles) of power lines needed to carry the electricity generated from the dams to the capital, Santiago.

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