Twitter user and cruise passenger @flatgreg Miami, Feb 8 (EFE).- The cruise ship Anthem of the Seas of the Royal Caribbean company will dock within the coming hours at Florida's Port Canaveral after coming through an unexpectedly dangerous storm in the Atlantic that damaged the vessel and left four people injured. The ship, which had sailed from New Jersey last Saturday on a seven-day cruis...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (rear) applauds his wife, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as they appear with their daughter Chelsea (R) at Mrs. Clinton's caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif By Britt Nelson Editor's note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertis...

Roses now adorn the spot where the Jesuits were gunned down on the UCA's campus on Nov. 16, 1989. They were planted by Obdulio Ramos, husband to Julia Elba Ramos and father to Celina Ramos, who were killed along with the Jesuits. Photo by Charles Barry. Jesuits.org Washington, Feb 5 (EFE).- A U.S. district judge on Friday approved the extradition to Spain of a retired Salvadoran army officer w...

Washington, Feb 4 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday announced the "Peace Colombia" plan, a new bilateral accord between Washington and Bogota for which he will ask Congress for some $450 million in the fiscal 2017 budget, substantially more than the $296 million authorized for that country this year. The president announced the proposal during the White House ceremony to commemora...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (rear) applauds his wife, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as they appear with their daughter Chelsea (R) at Mrs. Clinton's caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif By Britt Nelson New Hampshire voters will again have the world on their shoulders for the Feb. 9 primary election. Every four years -...

Microcephaly, a birth defect which causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and brains, is linked to the Zika virus. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters) (VOA) A county in the southwestern state of Texas reported what appears to be the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted in the United States by sexual contact. Officials in Dallas County said Tuesday the patient was infe...

Flickr Commons Mexico City, Jan 28 (EFE).- Mexican authorities sent the U.S. teenager who used an "affluenza" court defense after killing four people while driving drunk in Texas back to the United States to face court proceedings. "Ethan Couch, who entered at the Las Agujas immigration station ... after being found to be in an irregular administrative situation, was transferred this mornin...

Alan Gross with his wife Judy, attorney Scott Gilbert, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. watch television on board a U.S. government plane headed back to the U.S. as the news breaks of his release, Dec. 17, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) By Lucia Leal Washington, Jan 23 (EFE).- U.S. citizen Alan Gross believes the C...

Photo by Cohen.Canada. Flickr Commons Washington, Jan 21 (EFE).- The U.S. government on Thursday toughened the requirements for entering this country from Syria, Iraq, Iran and Sudan for citizens of the 38 countries belonging to the Visa Waiver Program, though the new guidelines make allowances for journalists, aid workers and members of international organizations. The increased requiremen...

Source: America TeVe MIAMI, Jan. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- América TeVé once again makes television history in the United Stateswith its unique coverage of its' caravan – Path To Freedom Route. For the first time, a professional news team accompanies step by step and day by day, the first group of Cuban refugees stranded for months in Costa Rica, through its pilgrimage through Central Americ...

By Ivonne Malaver Miami, Jan 18 (EFE).- The first Cuban migrants - who had been stranded in Costa Rica - began arriving in Miami on the weekend distressed over their ordeal, but also grateful to the Central American country for its "incredible humanitarian consciousness" after Nicaragua closed its border to them, temporarily halting their trek to the United States. Odalanier Diaz, 27, was re...

File photo Washington, Jan 16 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama signed Saturday an executive order to lift economic sanctions on Iran, the White House said. Obama signed the order after the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, confirmed that Iran has met all the commitments it made last July in Vienna to reach a historic nuclear accord and have international sanctions on that coun...

Washington, Jan 15 (EFE).- Two helicopters of the U.S. Armed Forces collided in mid-flight with 12 people aboard off the coast of Oahu in Hawaii, and up to now no survivors have been reported, the Coast Guard said Friday. Coast Guard official Sara Mooers told local media that each of the two choppers carried a crew of six, and that wreckage from the collision was found 2 miles off the north coa...

IOM Media Release - A pilot group of 180 Cuban economic migrants stranded in Costa Rica since 14 November, 2015, left shelters provided by the Government of Costa Rica and departed the country as regular migrants. They have each paid USD 555 for a commercial plane and bus tickets in a package trip to reach Mexico via El Salvador and Guatemala. “The departure of the pilot group of Cubans should ...

Source: Powerball.com Washington, Jan 10 (EFE).- The Powerball lottery hit $1.3 billion on Sunday, making it the richest lottery prize ever up for grabs in the United States, where lottery fever has afflicted millions of people. No one won the Powerball drawing on Saturday night, with the prize money rolling over to the next drawing. Hundreds of millions of dollars were wagered on Friday...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Jan 7 (EFE).- Three fugtives wanted on criminal conspiracy, drug, sexual abuse and homicide charges by U.S. federal courts were extradited to the United States, the Mexican Attorney General's Office said. "The Foreign Relations Secretariat cited the corresponding agreements under which the government of our country granted the extradition requested by U.S. aut...

Wikimedia Commons Miami, Jan 1 (EFE).- A record 41 endangered Florida panthers were killed in 2015, mostly as a result of collisions with motor vehicles, state authorities said Friday. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, said the new record was attributable to the state's growing human population, a demographic trend that is leading to greater contact between peop...

Source: Wikimedia Commons New York, Dec 31 (EFE).- A 25-year-old man was arrested in New York state for allegedly intending to commit a terrorist act on New Year's Eve, inspired by the Islamic State jihadist group, authorities said Thursday. The man was identified as Emanuel L. Lutchman of Rochester, a convert to Islam with a criminal record and mental problems, and he said he was instructe...

Wikimedia Commons Brussels, Dec 30 (EFE).- Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur decided Wednesday to cancel all fireworks displays and other public festivities planned for New Year's Eve, local media reported. The mayor made the decision after it became known on Tuesday that Belgian security forces had foiled - by arresting the presumed terrorists - a possible attack on "several emblematic sites" pla...

A Republican Member of the United States Congress visited Costa Rica and toured the shelters provided to stranded Cuban migrants during the holidays. Representative Kay Granger attended a meeting with President Luis Guillermo Solis, Chancellor Manuel Gonzalez, and U.S. Ambassador Fitzgerald Haney before touring the shelters located in the Guanacaste province. At the meeting, which was part of a...

New York, Dec 24 (EFE).- The temperature in New York soared to more than 70 F (21 C) on Thursday, the warmest Christmas Eve on record in the Big Apple, and is expected to climb even higher later in the day, U.S. media reported. The previous mark was set in 1996, when the mercury rose to 63 F (17 C), according to American broadcast TV network NBC. Record-high temperatures also are expected on...

NY Times screenshot New York, Dec 21 (EFE).- The United States should put an end to immigration policies that make it easier for Cubans to leave their island and come to live in this country, The New York Times said in an editorial. For the newspaper, these regulations amount to "a Cold War relic that is hindering the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana." "Congress s...

Source: US Homeland Security Washington, Dec 16 (EFE).- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Wednesday added another terrorist alert level to the system created in 2011, which consists of two scales and never has been implemented due to the lack of credible threats. At a press conference, Johnson presented the new intermediate level after announcing several days ago that there wo...

By Emilio J. Lopez Miami, Dec 8 (EFE).- Cuban immigration to the United States grew by almost 80 percent in 2015 out of fear that the thaw in relations between Washington and Havana might at any time put an end to the advantages Cubans currently enjoy the minute they set foot on U.S. territory. Since Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced to the world on Dec. 17, 2014, their determination to...

ISIS fighters in Iraq. Source: Wikimedia Commons Cairo, Dec 5 (EFE).- The Islamic State said in an online bulletin Saturday that two of its supporters carried out this week's attack in the Southern California city of San Bernardino that left 14 dead. The extremist group said in a broadcast on its Al-Bayan radio station that "two supporters of the Islamic State" attacked the Inland Regional ...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Nov 30 (EFE).- The U.S. government on Monday announced changes in its visa policy, known as the Visa Waiver Program, or VWP, which benefits citizens from 38 countries, due to the recent Paris attacks and the "ongoing threat" represented by foreign terrorists. In a communique, the White House set forth the changes that will be introduced into the VWP program, wh...

ISIS fighters in Iraq. Source: Wikimedia Commons NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In an interview with NBC News, Giovanni Gambino, son of a key figure in the Gambino crime syndicate, describes the historical reality that led to the birth of the Sicilian Mafia – and how its modern elements are at work today protecting New York City neighborhoods from Middle Eastern terrorists. In the wak...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Nov 19 (EFE).- More Mexicans are returning to their homeland than are emigrating to the United States, with a net outflow from this country of 140,000 between 2009 and 2014, according to a report released on Thursday. The report, prepared by the Pew Research Center, says that more Mexican immigrants have returned to Mexico from the U.S. than have migrated here ...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Caracas, Nov 19 (EFE).- The Venezuelan government on Thursday delivered a protest note to the United States after the publication of documents showing that the National Security Agency spied on employees of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. The note was delivered to the charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embass...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Nov 17 (EFE).- The United States last week received the first Central American children whose asylum requests were approved as part of a program launched almost a year ago, a State Department spokesman told EFE on Tuesday. "Six minors from El Salvador arrived last Thursday. They are the only ones to have arrived so far," Rubani Trimiew, spokesman for the Bureau...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Nov 6 (EFE).- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Friday that new airport security measures are being introduced as a result of the ongoing investigation into the Russian airliner tragedy last week on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. President Barack Obama cited Thursday the possibility that an explosive device on board the aircraft caused the crash ...

Source: Pixabay Commons Washington, Oct 30 (EFE).- United States authorities arrested 29 individuals accused of forcing Mexican and Central American women into prostitution in the southeastern part of the country after helping them cross the border illegally into the U.S., officials said. U.S. agents were able to identify 15 possible victims, including a young woman who was still an underag...

Wikimedia Commons Miami, Oct 25 (EFE).- More than 200 black bears were killed in the first day of an authorized hunt in Florida, a state where hunting the animals had been banned for 21 years, officials said Sunday. A total of 207 bears were killed on Saturday, the first day of the seven-day season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, said. Hunters killed nearl...

Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton. EFE file Washington, Oct 16 (EFE).- The Democratic front-runner in next year's U.S. presidential election, Hillary Clinton, backed the Obama administration's decision to normalize ties with Cuba, but she expressed concern over the human rights situation on the Communist-ruled island. In an interview with EFE Thursday in San Antonio, Clinton said the r...

Source: FEDEFUTBOL CR The current Women’s Football Champion of the World is the United States, and the most recent match by Team USA against the National Women’s Football Team of Costa Rica proves why. Playing before a crowd of more than 44,000 at the Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the National Team of Costa Rica (Las Ticas) were blanked out by a barrage of eight goals against zero.   T...

File photo of retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro. EFE/File Havana, Aug 13 (EFE).- The United States owes Cuba millions of dollars for the harm caused by its economic embargo on the island, Fidel Castro wrote in an article published Thursday, the day before Secretary of State John Kerry is due in Havana to raise the Stars and Stripes over the restored U.S. Embassy. "Cuba is owed compensation ...

Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles, Aug 1 (EFE).- Spanish actor Antonio Banderas will play the lead character in the TV series "Havana Quartet," based on the Mario Conde police procedural thrillers created by Cuban journalist Leonardo Padura, the Starz channel's CEO Chris Albrecht announced. Banderas and Cuba's "Magic City" author Eduardo Machado are executive producers of the series, while Mach...

Washington, Jul 27 (EFE).- The United States removed Cuba from the list of countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards for combating human trafficking and "do not make significant efforts to do so." The U.S. State Department published Monday its annual report on human trafficking around the world in 2014, in which it identified the countries not taking the necessa...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Jul 22 (EFE).- More than 97,000 Kemp's ridley sea turtles were born in recent days at the Playa Rancho Nuevo wildlife sanctuary in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the National Protected Natural Areas Commission, or Conanp, said. The hatchlings emerged from more than 2,000 nests in the wildlife reserve under monitoring by Conanp specialist...

Wikimedia Commons New York, Jul 18 (EFE).- Mexico is a corrupt country that should be subject to a U.S. "boycott," Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday by a New York radio station. Trump, whose remarks were published on Saturday by several media outlets, cited Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman's escape from the Altipl...