Members of congress representing countries across the world, converged on Bogota for the 35 Annual Parliamentary Forum, showing support for ongoing peace talks between Colombia’s government and FARC rebels. At the start of the event, Ross Robertson, president of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), said, “to fight for peace, we are here to give positive energy. We sustain peace. We are legislators and we can make the difference, we can alert our institutions to support the Colombian peace process.”

Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “If a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” Nelson Mandela was a man who cherished the ideal of a free society all his life, an ideal that, as he proclaimed at his trial in Pretoria in April 1964, he hoped to live for, but if need be, die for.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that any agreement to emerge from newly restarted talks with the Palestinians will likely initially result in a “cold peace,” and therefore Israel must insist on “iron-clad security arrangements” to protect itself in case the accord collapses.

Just over two months ago, the Tamils went to the polls for Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council elections with defiance, yet with a cautious sense of festivity. Military harassment of voters and party candidates had been thorough and brutally innovative throughout the campaigning; in addition to the typical battering of election monitors, cash-for-votes and widespread intimidation, government supporters had even printed a fake newspaper.

During an official visit by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos to the White House on Tuesday, President Obama reiterated his government's support for continued peace talks between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebel group, FARC. The meeting between the two hemispheric leaders focused on the ongoing peace talks, being held in Havana, Cuba, and on other issues like human rights and trade.

Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos announced Tuesday that two women will be joining negotiators for the government in ongoing peace talks with the counrty’s largest rebel group the FARC in Havana, Cuba. The two women named were Maria Paulina, a lawyer and human rights advocate, and Nigeria Renteria, currently the High Presidential Adviser on Women’s Equality.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and defeated M23 rebels failed to sign a hoped-for peace deal Monday, after Kinshasa demanded the agreement be revised, a Ugandan government official said. The "DRC delegation has aborted the signing of agreement with M23," Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said, adding that the meeting was "adjourned sine die (without date)."

Negotiations with Marxist guerrillas are closer than ever to ending a 50-year conflict, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in an interview after a breakthrough in talks, even as his political opponents accuse his government of selling out to the rebels. “I think this time we will reach an agreement, and we will have peace,” Santos said, appearing relaxed, the collar of his dress shirt unbuttoned, as he flew on the presidential plane to this northern city to oversee infrastructure projects. “We have never even been close to what we have already achieved.”