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Colombian president Gustavo Petro gives a speach

Nurphoto

Colombia’s Petro clashes with Israel

The deepening war between Israel and Hamas could have security implications as far away as the Andes. In recent days, Israel announced it would cut exports of security technology to Colombia, after Colombian President Gustavo Petro likened Israel’s chokehold on the Gaza Strip to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

For decades, Israel has been a close security partner for Colombia, helping the South American country as it grappled with the triple challenge of armed guerilla insurgencies, rightwing paramilitary groups, and powerful drug cartels.

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

Reuters

Is Colombia’s Petro showing his true colors?

Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro sacked much of his cabinet earlier this week in a move that suggests the headstrong former guerrilla might be moving in a more confrontational direction after just eight months in office.

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Google's new chatbot, Bard.

Reuters

Hard Numbers: Meet Bard, grim new climate report, Colombia’s Toro ban, Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law, IMF approves Sri Lankan relief

4: Bard has entered the conversation! Alphabet shares were up 4% at midday trading Tuesday after Google announced the release of Bard, its new AI technology. Google had previously been criticized for rushing to release the new chatbot tech to compete with Microsoft's OpenAI and its ChatGPT.
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Protestors gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of the oral arguments in two cases that challenge President Joe Biden's $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan.

Megan Smith-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect

What We’re Watching: SCOTUS mulling student debt relief, Blinken visiting Central Asia, Biden's partial TikTok ban, Petro’s post-honeymoon phase

US Supreme Court weighs student loan forgiveness

The US Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Tuesday in a pair of cases that will test the limitations of presidential power and could derail Joe Biden’s plan to forgive $400 billion in student debt. Biden campaigned on debt relief, promising to help families burdened by the pandemic-fueled economic crisis. But now the court will decide whether Biden has the authority to forgive student loans. The White House cites a 2003 law aimed at alleviating hardship suffered by federal student loan recipients following a national emergency, but opponents say debt relief should require congressional approval. Biden hopes to fulfill his campaign promise ahead of next year’s presidential race, and millions of millennials and Gen-Z scholars – many of whom could see up to $20,000 of their federal student loan debt wiped away – will be waiting with bated breath. A decision will drop before the court adjourns in June, but so far, justices in the conservative majority seem critical of Biden’s move.

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Will Gustavo Petro overhaul Colombia's economy, forests, and drug policy?
An Exclusive Interview With Colombia’s New President | GZERO World

Will Gustavo Petro overhaul Colombia's economy, forests, and drug policy?

Colombia is Latin America’s longest-standing democracy, but it’s never elected a leftist president … until now.

Gustavo Petro swept to power by a slim margin in June, thanks largely to young Colombian voters. What do they want from him? Change. It won't be easy. Petro wants to provide free university education and health care, to end oil exploration and to tax the rich. Will he deliver?

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How to solve Colombia's cocaine problem
How to Solve Colombia's Cocaine Problem | GZERO World

How to solve Colombia's cocaine problem

According to a 2022 White House report, during the pandemic, coca cultivation and production in Colombia reached a record 245,000 hectares and 1,010 metric tons. In an exclusive interview with GZERO World, Colombia's new president, Gustavo Petro, said that enough is enough.

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Who is Colombia's new president?
Who is Colombia's New President? | GZERO World

Who is Colombia's new president?

Who is Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist president? He’s a [deep breath] sixty-two-year-old-ex-leftist-guerilla-turned-mayor-turned-opposition-leader who rode a wave of voter anger to a narrow victory over a populist construction magnate last June. Got that?

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Can a leftist president change Colombia?
Can a Leftist President Change Colombia? | GZERO World

Can a leftist president change Colombia?

Colombia now has its first leftwing president: Gustavo Petro. He’s a [deep breath] sixty-two-year-old-ex-leftist-guerilla-turned-mayor-turned-opposition-leader who rode a wave of voter anger to a narrow victory over a populist construction magnate last June. Got that?

Petro was swept to power by a slim margin in June, thanks mainly to young Colombians. He had promised them something different in a country that's been rocked by mass protests over inequality and corruption, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.

Colombia's new president, who started his political career as a leftist guerrilla in the 1990s, promises change. He wants to fight climate change by ending oil exploration and to massively increase social spending by taxing the rich more.

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