UNITED NATIONS, New York, Dec. 12 — Former Portuguese leader Antonio Guterres was sworn in Monday as the ninth secretary general of the United Nations, officially succeeding Ban Ki-moon after a decade of the South Korean's leadership. United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a special #UNGA meeting to pay tribute to him and to swear in incoming Secretary-General António Guterres (picture...

Montevideo, Dec. 8 — Uruguay on Thursday inaugurated the first cannabis museum in South America, seeking to show visitors the history of cannabis and educate them about the "enormous variety of uses" the plant has, according to Eduardo Blasina, museum director. Medical marijuana, Wikimedia Commons The Cannabis Museum of Montevideo (MCM) is located in the heart of the Uruguayan capital, in t...

Barcelona (Spain), Dec. 11 — Santiago Peralta went from being an Ecuadorean peasant, raising cows and selling guinea pigs as a child, to being ranked the Best Chocolatier in the World by the Fine Chocolate Industries Association (FCIA). "Thank God I've never been to any chocolate school," says the founder of the family company Pacari, to EFE in Barcelona, who boasts growing the first organic co...

The Tenorio and Miravalles Volcano area is located in northern highlands along Guanacaste's eastern border with the Alajuela Province. With many rivers, waterfalls, dense dry tropical forests, rainforests, and primary cloud forests, the area hosts an abundance of wildlife. The area is perhaps best known for the mystical Rio Celeste, a fascinating river with a unique and strange blue hue, genera...

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Washington, Dec 8 — A magnitude-6.5 earthquake rattled California's northern coast on Thursday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. 7.7 earthquake in the Solomon Islands, Thursday, Dec. 8, source Facebook. There have been no reports thus far of casualties or significant material damage. The temblor occurred at 6:49 am (1449 GMT) off the coast, with its epicenter located 160 k...

Paris, France. Dec. 7 — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for the immediate release of Okke Ornstein, a Panama-based Dutch journalist who was arrested last month in Panama City to begin serving the absurdly disproportionate 20-month jail sentence he received at the end of a flawed defamation trial in 2012. Bananama Republic is Ornstein's satirical site that jabs at Panama's ...

BOXING PUERTO RICO Puerto Rican sisters Cindy (l) and Amanda Serrano are sparring partners as they prepare for upcoming matches, source Facebook. San Juan, Dec. 7 — Puerto Rican boxer Cindy Serrano’s hoping for an unusual gift this Christmas, said the Spanish newswire EFE. If she wins a match this Saturday, Cindy and her sibling Amanda would become the first sister duo to hold simultaneo...

Montevideo, Dec. 7 — Uruguay has made a dramatic turnaround in addressing the serious problem of child sexual exploitation, reported expert Luis Purtscher. More than a dozen institutions and groups came together to draft Conapees national action plan against child sexual exploitation in Uruguay, photo Facebook. The country did an about face from basically denying the situation several years...

Sao Paulo, Dec. 6 — Colombian singer Shakira said here Tuesday that the task of being a mother has been the most difficult one in her life, admitting that combining motherhood with her professional career is a "daily challenge." Shakira with her eldest son in early 2015, source Facebook. "I don't know how I do it. I imagine that, like all women in the world, we're crazy. It's a daily challe...

Managua, Dec. 6 — "We are willing to pay (Costa Rica). We just want to clarify the accounts they are charging us" for US$6 million, said Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, after receiving the credentials from the new Costa Rican ambassador to Nicaragua, Eduardo Trejos. The San Juan River that divides Costa Rica and Nicaragua, photo credit AFP. The International Court of Justice in The Hagu...

Dentons and Muñoz Global approve combination to create first global law firm in Central America The partners of Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, and Costa Rica-based Muñoz Global have agreed to combine to create the first global law firm with offices in Central America. The combination will enable Muñoz Global clients to access the experience of more than 7,600 lawyers and 13,600 peopl...

CANNON BALL, N.D., Dec. 4 — After weeks of growing protests, the federal government announced Sunday it will not issue a permit for the construction of a stretch of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota. Protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline have amassed up to 5,000 people from all over the US and the world, source Facebook. The Army Corps of Engineers said it will not give an easemen...

Endangered leatherback sea turtles are known for their open-ocean migratory nature and nomadic foraging habits – traveling thousands of miles. They nest on the coasts of Costa Rica, as well as beaches in other countries. A leatherback sea turtle on shore in Costa Rica to nest. A Cornell naturalist and his colleagues discovered an area along the Mozambique coast that the turtles have made th...

San Salvador, Dec. 5 — Some 10,800 people have disappeared in El Salvador since 2010 due to violence attributed to gangs. This is 8,000 more than those officially registered as disappeared during the country’s civil war that lasted between 1980 and 1992. None of these have been reported by police as "found." Mara Salvatrucha Gang, El Salvador, file photo. The year in which the greatest numb...

Madrid, Dec. 1 — Spanish authorities arrested 34 people, including seven tennis players, for allegedly fixing tennis matches to obtain favorable gambling outcomes, police said last Thursday. Maria Jimenez, spokeswoman for the Civil Guard — Spain's national, militarized police force — said in a press conference that the detained players were all male and occupied spots between 30-360 in Spain's ...

Lima, Nov. 30 — A spectacled bear was photographed for the first time in the Rio Abiseo National Park, a reserve in the Peruvian Amazon region of San Martin, officials said. A spectacled bear cub, source Facebook. Camera traps were used to capture an image of that vulnerable species, also known as the Andean bear, and which is of great cultural and ecological significance in Peru's Andean a...

Lack of sleep among the U.S. working population is costing the economy up to $411 billion a year, which is 2.28 percent of the country's GDP, a new report finds. Map showing economic costs of insufficient sleep across five OECD countries. Credit: RAND Corporation According to researchers at the not-for-profit research organisation RAND Europe, part of the RAND Corporation, sleep deprivation...

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One Costa Rican island is so beset by illegal shark poachers that the local rangers have built an entire bridge with their confiscated gear. Source: http://www.atlasobscura.com...

Maria José Calderón is the taekwondista of only 14 years that managed to put the name of Costa Rica in high, when winning the Open of Chicago. The Costa Rican athlete traveled to Orlando to face her first US Open Taekwondo, without fear, her aspirations were put on a gold medal, and was so after four fights she climbed to the top of the podium and filled a country with joy. Almost two ye...

Addis Ababa, Dec. 1 — The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared on Thursday the Mexican charrería, a traditional horseback practice in communities dedicated to the breeding and grazing cattle, as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Mexico's charreria, source Facebook. The decision was made by the Intergovernmental Committee during its annual...

A container ship, photo for illustrative purposes. Scientists have long used satellite tags to track endangered blue whales along the West Coast, learning how the largest animals on the planet find enough small krill to feed on to support their enormous size. Now researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, Oregon State University and the University...

The question of whether President-elect Donald Trump will run afoul of federal conflict-of-interest rules or the Constitution because of his extensive foreign investments has been the subject of intense scrutiny among legal and ethics scholars. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters as he takes the stage for a campaign event in Dallas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. (AP P...

Copenhagen, Nov. 29 — One in seven people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, in Europe are unaware they are infected with the virus, according to a report released on Tuesday. The report was published by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in advance of World AIDS Day held on December 1 each year to promote ...

Washington, Nov. 28 — Eleven people were hurt Monday on the campus of Ohio State University when a man deliberately drove his car into a crowd and then jumped out and attacked pedestrians with a butcher knife until he was fatally shot by a police officer. Ohio State University campus after the attack, source Facebook. OSU public safety director Monica Moll identified the attacker as Abdul R...

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 28 — The Ohio State University Department of Public Safety this morning said an active shooter was on campus and urged people to shelter in place and await police instruction. Law enforcement told the Columbus Dispatch police shot and killed one suspect on the campus. There are reports there may be a second attacker. Wikimedia Commons Firefighters said at least nine ...

Though maintaining consistent schedules is challenging for many parents, a new study shows it can benefit children in the long run. Pixabay Commons The collaborative study, led by University at Albany psychologist Jennifer Weil Malatras, found that individuals who grow up with predictable, daily routines are less likely to have time management or attention problems as adults. Researchers...

The Washington, D.C.-based Global Commission on Drug Policy recently released its 2016 annual report, "Advancing Drug Policy Reform: A new approach to drug decriminalization", which details the destructive and harmful consequences of punitive drug policies and the need to reconsider reviewing current decriminalization models. The never-ending, and ineffectual 'war on drugs.' The report show...

London, Nov 26 — Former Cuban President Fidel Castro's human rights legacy is "a tale of two worlds," providing access to public services to the island's people while engaging in systematic repression, Amnesty International said Saturday. "Fidel Castro's legacy is a tale of two worlds. The question now is what human rights will look like in a future Cuba. The lives of many depend on it," Amnest...

Shops are bursting with toys, mince pies are on the menu and radios are blasting out Christmas tunes—so it's time for another festive favourite: lying to children. Millions of parents convince their kids Father Christmas is real—but this lie may be damaging, according to psychologist Christopher Boyle and mental health researcher Kathy McKay. They also suggest parents may not be motivated by...

"Ending violence against women is about guaranteeing the basic rights of women and liberating us all from the ties of prejudice, misogyny and inequality. The path is clear, and the ILO will continue its work until the entire world of work is free from violence," says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. Romanian women in Bucharest show support for Polish women protesting against a proposed near-tot...

It’s hard to imagine a bigger thrill than Costa Rica hang gliding, paragliding, or ballooning. Combine the kick of soaring above the earth with Costa Rica’s unforgettable scenery below, its steep cliffs and volcanic mountains, and you’ve got a perfect recipe for adventure and fun. Source: http://www.costa-rica-life.com...

Nicole Marie Carboni Renault is an athlete, hostess and beauty queen. She started her professional modeling career locally and internationally at the age of six. She have won the following international beauty pageants, Miss Teen World Costa Rica 2006, Miss Teen Universe Costa Rica 2010, Miss International Golden in 2013, also Miss WBC (World Boxing Consul) 2015 and Miss Miami USA 2017....

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By Wendy Anders Hurricane Otto on its approach towards Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Hurricane Otto left at least 564 damaged homes as it passed through the municipality of San Juan de Nicaragua, also known as Greytown, on the southeast coast of the country bordering Costa Rica, where it landed on Thursday late morning as a Category 2 hurricane, leaving no casualties so far, authorities said to...

Panama City, Nov. 22 — At least four people have died, another has gone missing, about 50 dwellings have been destroyed, classes have been suspended and flights at airports have been interrupted due to Tropical Storm Otto, which has since been upgraded to hurricane status, Panamanian authorities said Tuesday. Hurricane Otto's projected path, U.S. Weather Channel. A boy was killed Tuesday mo...

CARIBBEAN HURRICANE Photo from The Weather Channel. Miami, Nov 22 — Tropical Storm Otto on Tuesday strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) as it continued to move toward Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. As of 21:00 GMT (3:00 p.m. Costa Rica time), the storm was located 305 miles (485 km) east-southea...

Tokyo  — Japan activated its tsunami alert system early Tuesday local time after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima. Japan's north and central eastern coast is on high tsunami alert after a 7.3 quake. The temblor, which occurred at 5:59 am (20:59 GMT Monday), was felt strongly in Tokyo, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) away. Japanes...