In Colombia the designation of a us envoy to the peace talks has been taken as recognition of the U.S's responsibility in the country's armed conflict. In Bolivia, representatives from the country's maritime commission and nobel peace prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu met in La Paz yesterday to discuss the country's ongoing dispute with neighboring Chile over a pacific ocean passage. In the United States, the militarization of the police force is making waves as the department of justice decides whether to bring discrimination charges against police in Ferguson. In New Zealand, opposition parties have condemned Prime Minister John Key's decision today to deploy one hundred and forty troops to Iraq. In Ecuador, president Rafael Correa announced a measure to cut his own salary and those of public servants earning more than us$6,000 per month by 5 to 10 percent, to help finance the hiring of medical professionals and programs to combat maternal mortality.