Pixabay Commons Washington, May 11 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama has no plans to divulge information about the secret military base known as Area 51, where spy aircraft were tested during the Cold War and where some believe confidential information about extraterrestrials is being kept, the White House said. However, Democratic presidential favorite Hillary Clinton has said that, if s...

(CRS Archive) Panama City, May 11 (EFE).- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and several Latin American leaders will attend the June 26 inauguration of the expanded Panama Canal, the government of that Central American nation confirmed Wednesday. "President (Michelle) Bachelet of Chile, the presidents of Honduras (Juan Orlando Hernandez) and El Salvador (Salvador Sanchez Ceren), former Pres...

ISIS fighters in Iraq. (Wikimedia Commons) By Britt Nelson Editor’s Note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. West Virginia voters spoke loudly Tuesday night in the Democratic presidential primary giving Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders a large win over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. While West...

Wikimedia Commons Toronto, May 10 (EFE).- Canadian William Gadoury, age 15, discovered an ancient Maya city in the Yucatan jungle without leaving home while reviewing satellite images on his computer, local media reported Tuesday. Gadoury, who admits being fascinated by the Maya civilization, discovered that the location of bright stars in various constellations corresponded to the location...

Source: NASA Washington, May 9 (EFE).- The planet Mercury on Monday made its first transit of the Sun in a decade, an unusual event that NASA broadcast live on its Web page. For about 7 1/2 hours, Mercury was visible from Earth as a tiny black disc crossing in front of the fiery Sun, a spectacle recorded for the first time by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a telescope launched in 2010. ...

YouTube Commons Lima, May 9 (EFE).- The Cuzco Decentralized Culture Directorate reported Monday that vandals had painted eight graffiti with aerosols on five streets of the historic center of that ancient Inca city, which they called a crime against culture. The graffiti were sprayed on the stone walls with black paint to form the word "KOYOS 16," at a height of approximately 40 centimeters...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, May 8 (EFE).- Mexican authorities shut down a Web site that posted erotic pictures of minors and extorted them in exchange for removing the photos, the Attorney General's Office, or PGR, reported Sunday. Two people have been arrested so far for their association with the network operating in the southern states of Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, the head o...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Bogota, May 8 (EFE).- Actress Sofia Vergara on the weekend stirred up the northern Colombian city of Cartagena, returning to her homeland to shoot a beer commercial with white beaches in the background under the watchful and thrilled eyes of journalists and fans. "Toti," as her friends call her, arrived in Cartagena on a private jet to take on her role as the...

Fer-de-lance snake, found in the jungles of Costa Rica By Carol Blair Vaughn We should care about the Reptilian Top Ten. Here's why: Scientists from Oxford University (U.K.) and from Tel Aviv University (Israel) have created a top ten list of the world’s most popular reptiles. You call this science? It turns out, that it actually IS science. The research team discovered valuable in...

Wikimedia Commons By Britt Nelson Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Trump, Clinton and Sanders – what a nice ménage à trois. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders refuses to quit the Democratic presidential race, causing much frustration within the campaign of former Secretary of State Hillary ...

Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman. Source: Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, May 7 (EFE).- Mexican authorities on Saturday transferred notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman from the Altiplano prison in the central state of Mexico to another maximum-security prison in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, amid rumors about his possible extradition to the United States. Mexico's Gover...

Source: US DEA Buenos Aires, May 6 (EFE).- An Argentine court put three accused drug dealers on trial Friday in the case of five revelers who died from consuming synthetic designer drugs during an electronic music festival last month in Buenos Aires. Judicial sources confirmed to EFE that Judge Sebastian Casanello put the three men on trial, including two foreign nationals, for suspected dr...

Illustrative image. (Flickr Commons) Caracas, May 6 (EFE).- Venezuelan politician German Mavare, leader of the opposition UNT party, died Friday after being shot in the head, an assassination that occurred in the western state of Lara, his organization said. "The board of the UNT expresses its deepest sorrow for the slaying of colleague German Mavare. We demand justice and an end to violenc...

EFE file photo Washington, May 5 (EFE).- A U.S. Army officer has sued President Barack Obama for waging war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria without congressional authorization, U.S. media said Thursday. Capt. Nathan Michael Smith, an intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Smith argues that ...

Workers at the Miravalles geothermal plant in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, March 14, 2016. TRF/Fabíola Ortiz By Fabiola Ortiz MEXICO CITY/SAN JOSE (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mexico and Costa Rica aim to build on their position as Latin America's leading producers of geothermal power to help meet the challenges they face of curbing planet-warming emissions and making their ene...

Confiscated rhino horns. Wikimedia Commons By Jessica Martorell Nairobi, Apr 30 abr (EFE).- Kenya declared war on poachers Saturday with the burning of 105 tons of ivory and 1.35 tons of rhinoceros horns gathered by illegal hunting, which puts at risk the survival of elephants in Africa. Never before has such a huge quantity of ivory been destroyed in Kenya, which reaffirmed with this ac...

Wikimedia Commons By Britt Nelson Trump buried Cruz in the Indiana Primary on Tuesday night while Sanders scored an upset victory over the former U.S. Secretary of State. Democrat Hillary Clinton’s recent comments about shutting down the coal industry in America replayed this week on national TV from West Virginia – a former coal country king -- apparently resonated with close-by Indiana...

"Stephen Curry 2" by Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA - Stephen Curry. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons U.S. Sports Desk, May 4 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry sat out once more while recuperating from a right knee injury, but the Golden State Warriors again showed their depth of talent by rallying for a 110-99 victory over the Po...

Zika map. Source: CDC Washington, May 3 (EFE).- The first human trials with a vaccine against the Zika virus will begin this autumn, but it will be two or three years before researchers will know if it is successful against the disease, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Tuesday. Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke at a press conference at the Washington...

Wikimedia Commons San Juan, May 2 (EFE).- Cinefiesta, San Juan's prestigious international short film festival, has canceled its next edition after finding it lacked sponsors due to the economic crisis the Caribbean island is going through, its chief promoter, Luis Cruz, announced Monday. Despite the fact that 5,044 short films from 124 countries have been entered for this year's edition, C...

Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles, May 2 (EFE).- Moviemaker Justin Lin, known for his work on a number of "Fast & Furious" action films about illegal street racing and other shady dealings, is currently in negotiations to direct the sequel of "Space Jam" starring NBA basketball player Lebron James, The Hollywood Reporter said Monday. If the deal is finally struck, Lin, besides directing and...

Wikimedia Commons New York, May 1 (EFE).- Complaints by New Yorkers over the presence of rats in the city have shot up in recent months, according to figures compiled by authorities and published Sunday by the local daily New York Post. Between January and April, a total of 8,335 complaints about rats were phoned in to the free 311 hotline number, 18 percent more than during the same period...

Pixabay Commons Caracas, May 1 (EFE).- The Venezuelan government on Sunday moved local time up 30 minutes, to four hours behind UTC, with an eye toward dealing with the emergency caused by the ongoing severe drought. The time change will enter into effect as of May 1 and brings Venezuela back to the time schedule that prevailed until 2007, when the government shifted the nation's clocks bac...

(Wikimedia Commons) By Britt Nelson The dark side of politics reared its ugly head Thursday night during a political rally in California for New York Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – massive police presence in riot gear, cops on horseback, a smashed police car, hatred on display in the streets, violence everywhere, shouting and fighting resulting in 20 arrests. Welcome to Ca...

From US Navy media gallery Washington, Apr 30 (EFE).- China has denied a U.S. aircraft carrier and other ships entry to a Hong Kong port, a Pentagon spokesman told CNN. "We were recently informed that a request for a port visit by a U.S. carrier strike group, including the USS John C. Stennis and accompanying vessels, to Hong Kong was denied," Cmdr. Bill Urban said Friday. "We have a lon...

Source: Animal Defenders International Lima, Apr 30 (EFE).- A group of more than 30 lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia have departed this capital for a natural sanctuary in South Africa, an operation known as "Spirit of Freedom" that was organized by the British-based non-governmental organization Animal Defenders International. "Simba is sleeping. The 'Spirit of Freedom' has ...

Wikimedia Commons Buenos Aires, Apr 29 (EFE).- A judge lifted a precautionary ruling that temporarily prohibited discotheque and dance festival activities in the Argentine capital on grounds that they lack the necessary controls to guarantee participants' safety, following the death of five youths two weeks ago at an electronic music fest. In a ruling to which EFE had access, Buenos Aires J...

YouTube Commons Manila, Apr 28 (EFE).- At least 14 members of the Filipino rebel group Abu Sayyaf, which has publicly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, have been killed in army operations in the southern Philippines, military sources said Thursday. The head of the armed forces' press department, Col. Noel Detoyato, said the Western Mindanao Command had received reports from civilians...

Wikimedia Commons Havana, Apr 28 (EFE).- With a level of activity never before seen in Cuba and numerous streets blocked off, the filming of the new "Fast and Furious" movie is altering Havana's daily routine with unusual traffic jams and groups of curious onlookers attracted by the excitement. The eighth film in the series, the first major U.S. film production to be undertaken in the Carib...

Photo by Robert Moreno, citizen journalist in Maracay Caracas, Apr 27 (EFE).- A series of violent disturbances erupted in several Venezuelan cities over frequent power and water cuts and longstanding food shortages, regional officials and media outlets said Wednesday. The governor of the northwestern state of Zulia, Francisco Arias Cardenas, said Wednesday that "destabilizing actions" had t...

(Archive image for illustrative purposes. Wikimedia Commons) By Britt Nelson Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Donald Trump’s five-state win Tuesday night is being called “astonishing” and “profound.” What’s so incredible is that the New York billionaire Republican won each county in ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons San Juan, Apr 26 (EFE).- Puerto Rican drug agents on Tuesday found a caiman inside an abandoned apartment in the San Juan district of Rio Piedras while they were carrying out monitoring operations in the area. The Puerto Rico police issued a statement saying that the agents also found two ammunition clips and many rounds of ammo in the apartment. The officers tu...

San Jose, Apr 26 (EFE).- A major strike launched Tuesday with a huge march by union groups in defense of labor rights and public institutions paralyzed classes at Costa Rica's public schools and assorted health services. "It's been a success. President (Luis Guillermo) Solis should understand that the people are not happy with his administration," the president of the ANDE teachers union, Gilbe...

Source: Milena Santos Facebook Sao Paulo, Apr 26 (EFE).- Photos posted on Facebook by the dishy wife of Brazil's new tourism minister, taken in his office, have sparked controversy on the nation's social networks. Milena Santos, named Miss Bumbum 2013 in Miami, released on her Facebook profile photos posing in an office of the Tourism Ministry, now headed by her husband, Alessandro Golombiw...

Archive photo Buenos Aires, Apr 26 (EFE).- The Argentine teenager who was hospitalized April 16 after attending an electronic music festival in Buenos Aires, at which five people died, has been released, while another three whose health seems to be slowly improving remain in intensive care, medical sources said Tuesday. The 17-year-old youth, who had been admitted to Rivadavia Hospital in B...

2016 Rio Olympics Logo Rio de Janeiro, Apr 25 (EFE).- Around 100 days before the start of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games the condition of the lakes and bays where sailing and rowing competitions will take place are "between depressing and tragic," environmental consultant Mario Moscatelli told EFE. The ecologist, who has spent more than 20 years fighting to improve the environment in...

(FILE) WASHINGTON (VOA) Nearly 15 years after terrorists hijacked four passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a farm field in Pennsylvania, 28 pages detailing foreign support for the attackers could soon be made public. Only a select group of U.S. officials have read the highly classified document, which has been l...

Wikimedia Commons Bogota, Apr 24 (EFE).- Colombian and U.S. authorities seized 1,850 kilograms of cocaine in two operations conducted in Guatemalan and Salvadoran waters, arresting four Ecuadorians and two Colombians, Bogota authorities reported Sunday. The first anti-drug operation was carried out in Guatemalan waters by Colombia's Dijin and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, suppor...

Flickr Commons Washington, Apr 24 (EFE).- Pop star Beyonce on Sunday made a surprise announcement of the release of her sixth studio album, entitled "Lemonade" and containing 12 songs. The 34-year-old U.S. singer made the announcement, much anticipated by her fans, after the release of a music video on HBO, of which she had already released an excerpt a week ago. The new "visual-album" w...

An anti-GMO activist in San Francisco. Source: Wikimedia Commons By Juan Palop Hanover, Germany, Apr 23 (EFE).- Tens of thousands of people protested Saturday in Hanover against the TTIP trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, on a day when both U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed their unyielding support for the project. Th...