Washington, Apr 12 (EFE).- U.S. media outlets on Sunday discussed the "historic" meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro, saying it was a key milestone in a new era of relations between the two countries. The daily Washington Post, which led in its online edition with the Saturday meeting of the two leaders at the 7th Summit of the Americas in Panama, ...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Apr 12 (EFE).- Mining companies negotiate with the drug cartels operating in their areas, making arrangements for exploration projects, Mexican Association of Mining, Metallurgical and Geological Engineers, or AIMMGM, president Manuel Reyes said.   "We ask the mafia for permission, the organized crime groups, and we are able to (operate). Things get re...

Source: Presidencia Costa Rica At the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama, President Barack Obama of the United States called a special Civil Society Forum, to which only President Luis Guillermo Solís of Costa Rica and Tabaré Vásquez were invited. The topics discussed included: Education, support for the development of small businesses, technical support for the production of clean energy, ...

EFE file photo Washington, Apr 9 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama said prior to a regional summit that he remained committed to promoting security and prosperity in Central America and to pushing through an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system.   "Throughout my trip this week (to Jamaica and the April 10-11 Summit of the Americas in Panama City), I'll continue to make the case...

File photo of retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro. EFE/File Washington, Apr 8 (EFE).- Almost 80 percent of Cubans have a favorable impression of U.S. President Barack Obama, compared with 47 percent who think well of Cuban President Raul Castro and 44 percent who think well of revolutionary leader and former President Fidel Castro, according to the largest opinion survey ever performed in Cuba b...

File photo New York, Apr 6 (EFE).- A bust of Edward Snowden was secretly placed at a monument to the Revolutionary War fallen in New York by a group of artists who wanted to pay tribute to the former National Security Agency analyst.   The "museum-quality" sculpture, placed on top of a column some eight feet high, was covered with a tarpaulin shortly after being found by municipal e...

File photo of retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro. EFE/File Havana, Apr 4 (EFE).- Former Cuban President Fidel Castro visited a school in Havana last Monday where he happened to meet up with members of a Venezuelan "Solidarity with Cuba" delegation, in what was his first public appearance in more than a year, official media reported Saturday News about Castro's visit to Vilma Espin School, an...

Washington, Apr 2 (EFE).- The Indiana House of Representatives announced Thursday that it will make changes to the state's controversial law on religious freedom, which has engendered much criticism for allowing discrimination against homosexuals. The head of the lower house, Republican Brian Bosma, said Thursday he wanted to make it "very clear" that the law permits no leeway to "allow discrim...

Senator Menendez, second from right. Wikimedia Commons Washington, Apr 1 (EFE).- Sen. Robert Menendez on Wednesday called the corruption charges announced against him completely mistaken, attributing them to "political motivations." The New Jersey lawmaker said he was "angry and ready to fight" the charges in a statement he read in English and Spanish when he appeared before reporters in Ne...

San Juan, Mar 31 (EFE).- Popular ufologist Reinaldo Rios has announced his independent run for the governorship of Puerto Rico on a platform of making the island a world center for paranormal tourism. "What I want is to create a Disney World of the infinite space we live in. Many tourists would come here and make investments," Rios said in an interview with Efe. The candidate, who teaches fi...

Source: Wikimedia Commons If you are used to taking your dog outside for a walk, and for the purpose of tending to certain bodily process, your failure to pick up excretory byproducts could lead to an exorbitant fine ranging from about $800 to nearly $2,400. Such is the gist of a legislative proposal tendered in Costa Rica by the opposition party Social Christian Union (Spanish initials: PUSC)...

Washington, Mar 27 (EFE).- A group of 30 defenders of marijuana use distributed 15,000 seeds of the plant in Washington D.C. to celebrate the fact that, since a month ago, it has been legal to smoke, plant and possess cannabis, though not to sell it, in the capital of the United States. The promoter of legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Washington, Adam Eidinger, told Efe on Friday th...

Source: US Navy By Jesus Sanchis Moscardo Quito, Mar 27 (EFE).- The secretary general of the Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, considers it opportune to "make use of the (April 10-11) Summit of the Americas to reassess relations between the United States and South America." In an interview with Efe, former Colombian President Ernesto Samper said it would be a worthwhile item on...

Wikimedia Commons Charlotte, North Carolina, Mar 26 (EFE).- The Aztec empire was not as powerful as previously thought and did not enjoy total domination of its central Mexican heartland, according to a study published by the Journal of Archaeological Science. "The Geopolitics of Obsidian Supply in Postclassic Tlaxcallan" is the product of a collaboration among researchers from North Caroli...

Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica On March 24th, the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs heard testimony provided by William R. Brownfield, the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The testimony focused on the assistance given to Central Americ...

A pristine beach in Barbados. Wikimedia Commons San Juan, Mar 24 (EFE).- Prime Minister Freundel Stuart wants Barbados to renounce Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and declare itself a republic. A spokesperson in the prime minister's office confirmed to Efe on Tuesday that Stuart made "personal" comments in favor of republicanism over the weekend at an activity hosted by the ru...

Wikimedia Commons Montevideo, Mar 23 (EFE).- Uruguayan Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa said Monday that Montevideo absolutely will not accept any more inmates from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo, in contrast to the previous government of Jose Mujica, who took in - as refugees - six Middle Eastern men who had been held at the facility. In remarks to the press, Nin Novoa addressed the issue...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Mar 23 (EFE).- Two Latino groups on Monday rejected the presidential candidacy of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, saying that he could alienate Hispanics from that party even more given his "anti-immigrant" stance and his rejection of President Barack Obama's executive action measures on behalf of undocumented immigrants. Cruz, a senator from Texas who was born to a ...

The yellow regions are controlled by rebels. Wikimedia Commons Sanaa, Mar 22 (EFE).- The Shiite Houthi rebel movement on the weekend took control of the airport in the southwestern city of Taiz and began sending fighters toward Aden, where Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi lives. Witnesses in Taiz, the country's second-largest city, told Efe that Houthi militias wearing the uniform of...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Washington, Mar 19 (EFE).- The Obama administration's designation of the situation in Venezuela as a threat to U.S. national security may herald a military intervention, the Venezuelan foreign minister said Thursday at the Organization of American States headquarters in this capital. "History has shown that ...

Wikimedia Commons San Juan, Mar 19 (EFE).- Jamaica is ready to lead discussions in the United Nations about changing international anti-narcotics treaties to acknowledge the therapeutic and medicinal benefits of marijuana. "Jamaica intends to participate, and to lead, if necessary, a process in the United Nations to have those treaties amended or to reflect what I believe is the evidence th...

San Juan, Mar 18 (EFE).- A Jamaican lawyer has filed a lawsuit in the Caribbean Court of Justice aimed at forcing the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and Belize to scrap immigration laws that bar the entry of gays and lesbians. Legal representatives from Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean Community made statements Wednesday at a hearing on the suit, court Registry supervisor Nandlal Hardi...

Pixabay Commons Panama City, Mar 18 (EFE).- Europe is concerned about its loss of influence in Latin America and China's growing presence in the region, one of the co-presidents of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, or Eurolat, said here. "We worry about no longer being the big economic partner that Europe has been for many Latin American countries, and about being replaced by ...

EFE file New York, Mar 17 (EFE).- Venezuela on Tuesday took out a full-page ad in The New York Times to ask the U.S. government to immediately cease its "hostile actions" against Caracas and to retract the executive order declaring the South American nation to be a threat to its national security. Entitled "Venezuela is not a threat," the ad takes the form of a letter directed at the Americ...

Source: MexicoLeaks By Paula Escalada Medrano. Mexico City, Mar 16 (EFE).- Mexicoleaks, an online platform that encourages citizens to leak documents related to wrongdoing by government officials to the media, says it wants to end Mexicans' fear of reporting corruption and abuses of power. "This breaks the sources' natural wariness, the fear of being identified, the fear of violating sec...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Leo Varadkar, Ireland's Health Minister, introduced emergency legislation in the lower house of the Irish parliament yesterday evening, to negate the legal loophole created by a decision from Dublin's Court of Appeal that morning. Various hard drugs — including ketamine, ecstasy, and magic mushrooms — were rendered legal, following the law governing their prohibition ...

File photo of retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who congratulated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this week for his "brilliant and courageous" speech against the "brutal plans" of the United States against his country. EFE/File Havana, Mar 10 (EFE).- Cuba gave its "unconditional support" to Venezuela on Tuesday following Washington's declaration of a "national emergency" due to the "extra...

Obama imposes sanctions, declares emergency over Venezuelan threat to U.S. EFE Washington, May 9 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday ordered the sanctions recently approved against top Venezuelan officials to be implemented and declared a "national emergency" over the "extraordinary risk" that, he said, the Venezuelan situation poses for U.S. security. In an executive order, Obama...

By Desiree Garcia Kigali, Mar 7 (EFE).- A traditional Rwandan proverb says that "hens don't cackle when there's a rooster around," but the women of this country have made that saying obsolete because they have taken a decisive role in many spheres of society and politics. The new Rwanda has been built by its women, who came to represent 70 percent of the population after the 1994 genocide wi...

EFE Madrid, Mar 6 (EFE).- Agencia Efe on Friday denied having sent out any reports on a supposed "self-coup" staged by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and has notified authorities in Venezuela of its surprise at some statements made by the president in this regard.   In an address delivered on Thursday, the Venezuelan president said: "And the stupid people at Agencia Efe, that's...

U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum, or Oxy, has agreed to compensate five Peruvian Amazon Indian communities for damage resulting from oil production activity. EFE/File Lima, Mar 5 (EFE).- U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum, or Oxy, has agreed to compensate five Peruvian Amazon Indian communities for damage resulting from oil production activity. Leaders of the Achuar people from the ...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers a speech at the 30th anniversary gala for the Democratic organization Emily's List. EFE Washington, Mar 4 (EFE).- Hillary Clinton received the backing of some of the most powerful women in her party at the 30th anniversary gala of the Democratic organization Emily's List, and she didn't hesitate to ask the audience "Don't you someday want to s...

French President François Hollande. EFE/File Paris, Mar 3 (EFE).- French President François Hollande will travel to Cuba on May 11, the first visit by a French head of state to the Latin American country, the Elysee Palace, the French presidential residence, announced Tuesday.   "The visit of the president of the republic to Cuba on May 11 will constitute the first time a French hea...

A Cuban Farmer. Source: Flickr Havana, Mar 2 (EFE).- Almost 100 U.S. agri-businessmen visiting Cuba on Monday supported an end to the embargo on the island and said they were ready to push the productive sector there, one of the economy's most acute needs given that Cuba spends $2 billion per year to import food. The businessmen are representatives of the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cub...

Wikimedia Commons Back in March 2010, the conservative and controversial radio host Rush Limbaugh mentioned his intention of coming to Costa Rica if and when the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” would be enacted. Mr. Limbaugh actually set a date for this move, which would ostensibly take place a few days from today. To wit, we have this recent conversation on Twitter: ...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Caracas, Feb 28 (EFE).- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday ordered the United States, whose government he accuses of conspiring against him, to immediately reduce the staff of its Caracas embassy from approximately 100 to a level similar to the 20 that his government has in Washington.   ...

Washington, Feb 27 (EFE).- The U.S. government is optimistic about the prospects of reaching an agreement with Cuba to re-open embassies before April's Summit of the Americas in Panama, Washington's chief negotiator in talks with Havana said Friday. "I do think we can get this done in time for the Summit of the Americas," Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson said after discussions in W...

China extended loans worth $22.1 billion to Latin America in 2014, topping the $20 billion lent by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank combined. EFE/File Washington, Feb 27 (EFE).- China extended loans worth $22.1 billion to Latin America in 2014, topping the $20 billion lent by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank combined, according to a report from a Was...

Mogadishu - Wikimedia Commons President Barack Obama has named seasoned diplomat Katherine Dhanani as the new ambassador to the African nation of Somalia after 24 years. According to the U.S. State department, they are planning to reopen the Embassy in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu. The relationship between U.S. and Somalia got deteriorated in the beginning of 1990s as riots engulfed the p...

Wikimedia Commons As part of the ongoing bilateral relations between Costa Rica and the United States, our Minister of Foreign Affairs recently visited the White House and met with his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Two of the topics currently being discussed between these two nations include economic development and matters related to sustainable energy production. The follo...