Source: FEDEFUTBOL Madrid, Oct 30 (EFE).- Costa Rican Keylor Navas, who is recovering from a strained muscle in his right leg, completed training at Real Madrid's sports complex in Valdebebas at a session that Frenchman Karim Benzema missed. Coach Rafa Benitez has to decide whether to include Keylor Navas in the starting line-up for Saturday's league game against Las Palmas or rest the goal...

Despite its small size, Costa Rica’s avian diversity is world renowned. More species have been recorded in this small nation than in the whole of United States and Canada combined. Learn more at: news.co.cr...

Nicuesa Lodge in Costa Rica Tegucigalpa, Oct 29 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- The main challenges facing small hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean are access to technology and the global market, industry representatives said at a gathering in the Honduran capital. The event, which is sponsored by the Inter-American and Caribbean Network of Small Hotels and has t...

Source: Miss Mexico Facebook Mexico City, Oct 29 (EFE).- Wendolly Esparza, winner of the beauty contest title Nuestra Belleza Mexico in 2014, says she has "prepared arduously" to win the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant, a contest in which she is eager to compete now that Mexico is back in it following real estate magnate Donald Trump's departure from the show. "I have prepared arduously for this...

Source: Wikimedia Commons San Juan, Oct 28 (EFE).- Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller sent her condolences Wednesday to the families of the 19 babies who died in outbreaks of bacterial infections at two hospitals in Jamaica. "I extend sincere sympathies to parents and other members of the families of those children who died. The Ministry of Health and the Minister will look at the present...

Wikimedia Commons Georgetown, Oct 27 (EFE).- Guyanese President David Granger has ruled out giving neighboring Venezuela access to the Atlantic as part of any settlement of the border dispute over Essequibo region. "We cannot sell out. We cannot give away. We cannot offer the adversary any corridor or any passage," Granger said on Tuesday after the successful completion of Exercise Greenhea...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Oct 26 (EFE).- Ford Motor Co. denied Monday that it decided to shift production from Mexico to the United States as a result of criticism from real estate magnate and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. "Ford has not spoken with Mr. Trump, nor have we made any changes to our plans," a company spokesperson said. "We decided to move the F-650 and F-750 ...

Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman. Source: Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Oct 26 (EFE).- The United States is assisting with the manhunt for Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman, but U.S. law enforcement agents are not taking part in operations in Mexico, Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said Monday. "Not one single person" from a U.S. security agency is particip...

Source: myBulova.com New York, Oct 24 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- The watch used by the commander of the Apollo 15 space mission was sold at a highly competitive auction for $1,625,000, U.S. media reported. Commander Dave Scott used a Bulova Chronograph during that 1971 lunar landing, the ninth manned mission of the United States' Apollo program and fourth to land o...

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...

Wikimedia Commons Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct 24 (EFE). - Patricia, which weakened quickly after making landfall in Mexico as a fearsome Category 5 hurricane, caused no casualties and only minor damage, authorities said Saturday in a preliminary report. "There were some regrettable accidents ... a road accident, a fallen tree, but no major incidents," Communications and Transportation Secretar...

Garcia Marquez. Source: Flickr Commons By Albert Traver Austin, Texas, Oct 24 (EFE). - The personal archive of late Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who for decades was barred from entering the United States due to his friendship with Fidel Castro, makes clear his close bond with the Cuban revolutionary leader, University of Texas academics told EFE. "There are lots of (...

By Carolina Ruiz Vega In Costa Rica, video surveillance systems are key security factors for any home or business because they keep an  eye on the owner’s assets, ensure a close monitoring of critical processes or events, and protect people who live or work in that space. How can you keep hackers from accessing security camera systems? Victor Merino, Director of Pelco by Schneider Electric f...

Rio de Janeiro, Oct 22 (EFE). - Brazilian researchers have identified a protein trace in coffee with pain and anxiety relieving properties similar to morphine's, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, or Embrapa, said. The substance's effects have already been tested on lab mice, Embrapa, considered the world's largest tropical agricultural research center, said. The discovery was ...

Source: NOAA Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct 23 (EFE). - Thousands of residents and tourists on the Pacific coasts of the Mexican states of Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit were evacuated as landfall approached for Hurricane Patricia, described as the most powerful tropical system in history. National emergency management office chief Luis Felipe Puente told media that since Thursday the evacuation of ...

Wikimedia Commons Port-au-Prince, Oct 23 (EFE).- Crowds of Haitian voters accompanied ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as he set off with the presidential candidate of his Lavalas Family party, Marysse Narcisse, in a caravan to close her campaign. The caravan left from the ex-president's residence amid a crowd numbering over 1,000 partisans. Supporters of Aristide and Narcisse waited ...

Easy access. Hermosa is about 1 1/2 hour from San Jose. If you are staying in Jaco you can walk (2-3km) or rent a bicycle or hitch a ride: busses are infrequent and random. A taxi ride from Jaco is around $3, I personally wouldn't walk since there is only one road and no sidewalks. You can also rent scooters and other affordable vehicles in Jaco. Nice little restaurants & super friendly vibe. Sou...

g-star.com Pharrell Williams, the Grammy-winning artist behind that infectious tune “Happy”, is challenging all of us to join him in a campaign to stop throwing plastic products – especially bottles – into the ocean. Marine debris is killing our oceans, and we can join with Pharrell’s “RAW for the Ocean” project to bring that crime against Mother Nature to a halt. Plastic pollution in the o...

With the skyrocketing costs of healthcare in America, many patients are beginning to look outside of the US for their health and dental care. Because of Latin America’s reputation for healthcare quality and as an enjoyable place to rest and recover post-surgery, many nations in Latin America are becoming popular destinations for medical and dental tourism. Mexico is a common and popular dental car...

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Astana, Oct 22 (EFE).- Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov said during a meeting Thursday with his Costa Rican counterpart, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz, that "Kazakhstan is interested in Costa Rica's experiences with renewable energy." "Kazakhstan wants to learn about Costa Rica's experiences with renewable energy, especially the process of transitioning from...

US Special Forces. Pentagon file photo Washington, Oct 22 (EFE).- A special forces operation in Iraq to free Kurdish troops led to the rescue of 70 hostages and the death of the first American service member in direct combat with the Islamic State, the U.S. Defense Department said Thursday. The mission was carried out Thursday at the request of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq to f...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Oct 21 (EFE).- Mexican authorities have shut down nine tourist projects in Tulum, a protected natural area in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, citing their impact on wild flora and fauna. Staff with the Profepa federal environmental protection agency verified through five environmental impact assessments and four forestry inspections of those tourist de...

Peace be with you. In the near future, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) population of Costa Rica will be able to enjoy a new dance venue in Downtown San Jose, specifically across from the Roman Catholic Church of La Soledad (The Solitude) in Chinatown. According to a recent news report filed by entertainment journalist Ariel Chaves Gonzalez of daily tabloid Diario Extra, Clu...

Havana, Oct 20 (EFE).- The "Paquete," a peculiar system for the private, informal airing of audiovisual content in Cuba, does not threaten state television but will rather serve as a "catalyst" for its renovation and updating, according to a commentary posted Tuesday on government Web site Cubadebate. El Paquete de la Semana (The Weekly Package) has become something most Cuban households can't ...

An Uber driver in Bogota. Wikimedia Commons Rio de Janeiro, Oct 20 (EFE).- A group of taxi drivers took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to protest a ruling by a state judge suspending a municipal ordinance in the Brazilian city that banned the use of the Uber ride-sharing application to hire private vehicles. Taxi drivers gathered at Santos Dumont Airport, located near downtown ...

DelSexto blog Havana, Oct 20 (EFE). - Cuban graffiti artist Danilo "El Sexto" Maldonado, who has been on a hunger strike for four days, was freed Tuesday after being jailed for 10 months without trial in a prison outside of Havana, as he himself told EFE from his family home. "I'm very happy to be here at home. What I want to do now is see my daughter and thank everybody who made such an ou...

Source: Flickr Commons Mexico City, Oct 19 (EFE).- Police found a dead man hanging off a bridge in eastern Mexico City, the Federal District Attorney's Office said Monday. The body had a bullet wound and was completely covered in bandages, a DA's office spokesman told EFE. The unidentified man was left hanging off the steel structure of a bridge over an intersection in the borough of Izt...

Washington, Oct 19 (EFE). - Facebook will notify its users if it has "a strong suspicion" that its accounts are being hacked by "state-sponsored actors," the company's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said. The notification, which will appear when the user tries to access the social network, will be worded as follows: ""We believe your Facebook account and your other online accounts may be th...

New York, Oct 19 (EFE). - Portuguese historian Manuel Rosa, a specialist in studies about Christopher Columbus, again casts doubt on the traditional account that the great navigator was born in Italy, and says he has found convincing evidence to the contrary. In a new article published by the Legal History Review at Connecticut's Quinnipiac University, Rosa says the testament of Columbus on whi...

The strikingly blue color looks almost out of this world but it’s real. The Rio Celeste gets its baby blue hue from a natural chemical reaction that occurs between minerals in this volcano-rich region. Access to the Rio Celeste River and Waterfall is via the jungle trails at Tenorio Volcano National Park. It is a moderately difficult hike along an often muddy, shaded path to reach the staircase th...

Source: FEDEFUTBOL Madrid, Oct 17 (EFE; additional stats by The Costa Rica Star). - Though still far from the club's highest level, Real Madrid got goals from Marcelo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese and outstanding goalkeeping in a 3-0 victory here Saturday over Levante. With doubts swirling around the injury-hit Blancos after back-to-back draws against Malaga and Atletico Madrid, getting a win...

Kiev, Oct 18 (EFE). - At least 14 people died and eight others are missing following the sinking of a ferry in the Black Sea off Odessa, Ukrainian officials said Sunday. The Ivolga, which was carrying more than 40 people, capsized on Saturday night. Officials initially put the death toll at 14, but they later said the vessel was carrying more than the 36 people that the captain had reported....

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Oct 17 (EFE).- A documentary film's trailer showing the incineration of dozens of Ayotzinapa students at a municipal waste dump has sparked controversy in Mexico, where protesters suspect the movie will uncritically present the government's version of what happened to those teacher trainees. The film, titled "La noche de Iguala," premiered Friday at 30 theater...

Paris, Oct 17 (EFE).- The European project Venomics has succeeded in creating the largest database of toxins in history after analyzing 203 species of poisonous animals, which will in turn help develop new medicines. The pharmaceutical applications being worked on are chiefly focused on cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes, leaders of the project told a press conference in Paris. Th...

Wikimedia Commons Madrid, Oct 17 (EFE).- Police have arrested 81 men in Spain over the past few months for sharing pedophilic files on the Internet, in what is seen as the most sweeping operation against pornography this year. The operation was intended to "uproot" such activities, even when they were limited to viewing photos and videos on the Web. The arrests were carried out thanks to a...

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...

Mexico City, Oct 16 (EFE).  - Some 4.5 million Mexicans living in poverty benefit from government programs that put food on their tables, President Enrique Peña Nieto said while leading a World Food Day ceremony. "We're working on different fronts against poverty and food insecurity. To get results we have to combine our efforts," Peña Nieto said during a visit to San Felipe del Progreso, a sma...

Washington, Oct 15 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday announced a new plan to keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond the end of his term in January 2017 so that they can continue training Afghan forces and tracking terrorist groups. "Afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be," Obama acknowledged during an appearance at the White House, where he also said that t...

Source: Floyd Mayweather Instagram Havana, Oct 14 (EFE). - American retired boxer Floyd Mayweather, regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, made a brief trip to Cuba this week and uploaded photos of the visit to social media. The images posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts include one of Mayweather on a street in Old Havana, the city's historical center, surrounded by ...

Wikimedia Commons U.S. Sports Desk, Oct 14 (EFE; odds by IDS).- Outfielder Kyle Schwarber, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Puerto Rican shortstop Javier Baez each hit home runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a series-clinching 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and a berth in the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2003. Tuesday evening's win also marked the firs...