Syrians toppled a dictator. Today they have a new leader.

He's managed to rehabilitate Syria as a state, managed to gain international recognition for his government.

That is on the world stage.

Domestically, the scorecard is pretty low.

I'm Carolyn Beeler.

Today, how serious reinvention is going one year in.

Also investigating toxic waste in a town where it is hard to miss.

The closer I get the stronger, this smell of feted onions or manure or sewage. Plus, Colombian mercenaries

are fighting around the globe. Columbians had the profile to fit those positions that were

lacking. That's all ahead on the world.

This is the world. I'm Carolyn Beeler. Thank you for being here. Conflicts happening in one part

of the world have ripple effects all over. Just one example today, the war in Sudan.

Colombians are doing some of the fighting there.

This week, the U.S. announced sanctions against those responsible for hiring out Colombian mercenaries to the rapid support forces, a rebel group in Sudan.

The RSF has been accused of war crimes, including genocide.

There is some history to Colombian soldiers turning up in other conflict zones.

Crisis groups Elizabeth Dickinson is based in Bogota.

She explained why Colombian mercenaries are in global demand.

So Colombia is a very specific military history.

This is a country that has been involved in internal conflict for over a half century, which means that everyone in the military, from the sort of rank and file soldiers to the mid-level officers to the generals, have been actively involved in operations every day of their life in the military, every day of their career. That means that they have a lot

of tactical and operational experience that is really coveted in conflicts that are kinetic and

active like Sudan, like Ukraine, like Yemen. Colombians first started going to these roles

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