The northern Colombian city of Barranquilla is set to erupt on February 9 when one of Colombia's largest and most important celebrations, the 200th Carnaval de Barranquilla, begins. The UNESCO recognized four-day festival is traditionally held four days before Ash Wednesday.

New Colombia Resources Inc announced its plans of a Public Private Partnership with the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura of Colombia to build a railroad that will move its high quality metallurgical coal from central Colombia to export terminals on the northern coast. The Company is in talks with consultants to develop a pre feasibility study to submit to the ANI.

American retail investors buying up mutual funds and exchange traded funds from their Ameriprise Financial advisors and their home broker accounts pumped money into emerging market equity funds for the 11th straight week in a row, according to fund tracking firm EPFR Global in Cambridge, Mass.

The Louvre, arguably the most important art museum in the world, has decided to lend parts of its ceramic collection to Colombia’s National Museum in the capital Bogota. Colombia’s National Museum, which this year celebrates its 190th birthday, said a full collection of ancient Greek ceramic will arrive in July this year from the Louvre museum in Paris, France.

A Colombia development agency on Wednesday approved more than $28 million for higher education projects in central Colombia. Findeter, a financial development agency linked to the Colombian ministry of finance, will invest the money to improve the quality of education in the central Colombian department of Caldas, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

Colombia, with its 45 million consumers, has long seemed a prime market for U.S. exports in the region. It has the third-largest economy in Latin America, and in 2010, U.S. producers exported more than $11 billion in goods to Colombia, making it the U.S.’s third-largest market in Latin America after Mexico and Brazil.

Colombia's state-controlled oil and gas giant Ecopetrol this week eclipsed Brazil’s Petrobras on the New York Stock Exchange. Ecopetrol’s market capitalization increased to $129.95 billion on the NYSE, overtaking Petrobras, currently valued at $121.87 billion. The 25% increase in value of Ecopetrol pushed the company past Petrobras after the state-governed Brazilian energy company lost nearly 40% of its value over the same period, according to NASDAQ's official website.

Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Mexico will eliminate 90% of all trade barriers between their respected countries, said Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos on Monday. The agreement marks a new era of relations between the constituent countries of the Pacific Alliance, a trade bloc which serves to increase competitiveness in international commerce. Besides improving competitiveness, the Pacific Alliance was created to offset the Mercosur group, which includes Brazil and Argentina. The alliance has a combined GDP of $1.7 trillion dollars, which is equal to 35 percent of Latin America’s GDP.

Ad Age has announced its hotly contested Agency ‘A List’ and has named Lowe and Partners’ Colombia agency Lowe SSP3 its International Agency of The Year. … Lowe SSP3 is the first Colombian agency to win this accolade. Agencies from across the world compete and past winners have been among the most interesting and successful agencies in the history of our industry.

Colombia's free trade agreement with the European Union (E.U.) and Peru is expected to be implemented by the end of March, said the president of the European Commission on Sunday. The accord, signed last June, awaits ratification in the Colombian Senate. The European Parliament and the Peruvian Congress approved the deal in December.

Colombia's ambassador to the United Nations (UN) on Monday was elected President of the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Nestor Osorio Londoño will lead the influential UN council responsible for economic and social work. They address topics as varied as promoting sustainable development and environmental conservation, drug policy, science and technology development, and promoting equal rights for women.

The European Union, Colombia and Peru are working to implement their free trade agreement on a provisional basis by the end of March, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. Full implementation will follow once the accord has been approved by Colombia’s Senate, Barroso told reporters in Santiago, Chile. The European Parliament and Peru’s Congress approved the deal last month, he said.

Competitors fly above the mountains in Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, during the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal, on January 24, 2013. The competition is taking place for the first time in Colombia and involves the 140 world's best pilots from 32 countries.

Paul Schrader, writer of 'Taxi Driver,' and Willem Dafoe are among the big names at the 53rd International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias. The festival, which runs through January 27, exhibits selections from around the world, favoring Colombia only slightly, and awards prizes to outstanding films, including $10,000 for best picture.

Colombia will be the nation of honor at the 33rd Caribbean Festival (of Festival of Fire), scheduled from July 3 to 9 in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, organizers said at a press conference. According to Orlando Verges, the director of the Casa del Caribe, Colombian artist Bazanta Sonia (popularly known as “Toto”), will participate in the celebration.

United States senator John Kerry on Thursday commended the strides the Colombian government has made to curb violence and cites the country as an example for the rest of the region. Kerry, who has been nominated for US secretary of state, said at a senate confirmation hearing on Thursday that he hoped Washington could make progress in the Western Hemisphere with improved relations with Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, much like the success the United States had with Colombia.

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday confirmed that his country was first on the list to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

“Adiós, Queens!” said the squat, burly man to Maria Marquez-Hass, the owner of Dulce Vida Cafe on Lexington Avenue and 82nd Street, on a recent Saturday. He wasn’t talking about an impending move. He meant that her Colombian food was so good that he would no longer have to traipse from his home in the Bronx out to Jackson Heights, where many of the city’s Colombian restaurants are found, to get his fix.

Shine America the producer and distributor television and digital content has launched a new Spanish language division, with new offices in Colombia and Miami (US). The new division of Shine America will produce and distribute original Spanish-language content to the U.S. and Latin American marketplaces.

A new 22-million-tonne-capacity Colombian coal port by Glencore International PLC's Prodeco unit should be ready in the next "few months", the government said on Wednesday. Two of Colombia's top three coal exporters, Prodeco and Drummond International, are building new Caribbean ports to expand capacity as they ramp up production and because of a change in rules requiring upgrades to how coal is put on ships.

Sabena Technics subsidiary Barfield opened a new aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday. Barfield said the new facility will focus on avionics testing and repair, eventually expanding its capabilities to support a larger range of aircraft components. The company did not say what aircraft the facility will specifically be supporting.

After a difficult few years for Colombia's coffee growers that has seen global market fluctuations and poor weather hit profits, there's hope that 2013 will see the industry rebound. The National Federation of Coffee Growers say they hope to expand the land area used for coffee cultivation in the country by approximately 100,000 hectares during 2013 to boost productivity.

Northwestern Spain's University of Santiago de Compostela is leading a project to create "sustainable energy communities" in Colombia, providing free electricity to residents of La Primavera, a town in the so-called "FARC zone," officials said.

It's a common error, but one that leaves those with an affinity for Latin America shaking their heads: The Andean country known for its coffee and flower exports is Colombia, not Columbia. Now, a group of marketing-savvy Colombians, spurred by the government's public relations arm, have launched a social media campaign to set the record straight.

Colombia's culture minister on Saturday inaugurated Barranquilla's pre-carnival, a series of festivities preceding the city's carnival that will kick off on February 9. Minister Mariana Garces officially opened the carnival's Documentation and Information Center and will attend the "Lectura de Bando," the official opening of the pre carnival later in the evening.

The Colombian Congress declared the “vueltiao” hat a national cultural symbol in 2004.  These hats are hand-woven from natural cane fibers by Zenu indigenous people in the northwest provinces of Cordoba and Sucre. Colombian and foreign artists, athletes and politicians have worn the hat in numerous occasions. In 2011, the vueltiao hat became a collective mark and Zenu weaving became a denomination of origin. In the past few months, almost one million knock-off vueltiao hats entered Colombia from China.

After an arduous and daring ascent, seven Colombian climbers on Thursday reached the highest peak in Antarctica. President Juan Manuel Santos was the first to hear the news when he received a call from the climbers directly from the 16,000-feet peak of Mount Vinson. 

By the end of 2012, Colombia was crowned the happiest country in the world. But why exactly are Colombians so happy? A poll by WIN/Gallup International Association released earlier this month revealed that individuals in the South American country not only felt the happiest but almost doubled the global average.

Sociedad Matriz SAAM SA (SMSAAM), the port operator spun off from the container shipping company Cia. Sud Americana de Vapores, rose after announcing a deal to expand operations in Colombia.