"John Forbes Nash, Jr. by Peter Badge" by Peter Badge / Typos1 - OTRS submission by way of Jimmy Wales. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons New York, May 24 (EFE).- Mathematician John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in 1994 and was the inspiration for the film "A Beautiful Mind," died on the weekend along with his wife in a New Jersey taxi accident, local media reported. He was 86....

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, May 23 (EFE).- Members of the campaign team of the conservative PAN's candidate for governor of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, Jorge Camacho, came under fire while riding in a vehicle near the town of Petatlan. The campaign SUV was targeted Friday night after it was used to drive former Government Secretary Santiago Creel to the Zihuatanejo airport fo...

"Les femmes d’Alger, Picasso, version O" by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia New York, May 21 (EFE).- A Qatari sheikh was the buyer who paid $179.36 million for Pablo Picasso's "Les femmes d'Alger," making it the priciest painting ever auctioned, the daily New York Post reported Thursday. The mysterious buyer of the Spanish painter's work was identified by the New Y...

FARC child fighter. Flickr Commons Bogota, May 22 (EFE).- Colombia's FARC rebels on Friday suspended their months-old unilateral cease-fire after 26 insurgents were killed in an army bombing raid on a guerrilla camp in the southwestern province of Cauca. Suspension of the unilateral and indefinite cease-fire, declared as part of peace talks with the Colombian government, "was not under cons...

Wikimedia Commons New York, May 22 (EFE).- British singer Paul McCartney and wife Nancy have purchased an apartment in New York for $15.5 million, the local press reported Friday. The property is a luxury penthouse on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue with stunning views of Central Park, the daily New York Post said. The ultra-exclusive duplex was owned up to now by heirs of real-estate magnate M...

Wikimedia Commons By David Blanco Bonilla Lima, May 18 (EFE).- A team of Peruvian archaeologists led by Walter Alva, who discovered the famous Lord of Sipan, is working to unveil the mysteries surrounding the origins of the Mochica culture, considered one of ancient Peru's most complex and developed cultures. Archaeologists found a temple decorated with about 30 drawings and graffiti wit...

Cobija, Bolivia La Paz, May 21 (EFE).- About 477 people, most of them children but including 34 teachers, were poisoned at breakfast in a school in the northern Bolivian city of Cobija, which borders on Brazil, medical authorities said Thursday. Roberto Galindo Hospital director Jhonny Choque told local media that the majority of the children "suffered a bout of food poisoning," which at fi...

Washington, May 20 (EFE).- The U.S. government said Wednesday that five of the world's largest banks have agreed to pay a combined total of nearly $3 billion in criminal fines and penalties for rigging currency rates. Those global financial institutions "for years participated in a brazen display of collusion and foreign exchange rate market manipulation and will as a result pay a total of near...

Wikimedia Commons San Juan, May 20 (EFE).- The cruise ship with 3,502 people on board that ran aground on a reef off the coast of Bermuda this week has set out for Boston again, scheduled to arrive on Friday, just as had been planned before it suffered a problem with its propulsion system. Norwegian Cruise Lines said on the social networks that investigative and insurance teams had confirme...

Wikimedia Commons Atlanta, May 21 (EFE).- The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 97-89 here in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to big scoring nights from LeBron James and J.R. Smith and poor 3-point shooting by the host squad. The top-seeded Hawks led Wednesday night's game at Philips Arena in the early going and were tied with the Cavs at halftime, but two 3-poin...

Washington, May 19 (EFE).- Japanese auto parts maker Takata agreed to recall more than 33 million vehicles in the United States, acknowledging that the air bags it installed in them are defective and could cause serious injury to motorists. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday at a Washington press conference that Takata has a...

Rio de Janeiro, May 19 (EFE).- Brazilian police are investigating the murder of investigative reporter Evany Jose Metzker, who was found decapitated earlier this week in the town of Padre Paraiso, in Minas Gerais state, authorities said Tuesday. Commissioner Fabricia Nunes, who is in charge of the case, is pursuing two investigative lines, that it was either a crime of passion or that it was carr...

Unidentified U.S. federal agent during the seizure of Elián González from his uncle's residence on April 22, 2000. Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. Photograph taken by Alan Diaz of the Associated Press. Wikimedia Commons Fair Use.  Miami, May 18 (EFE).- Young Cuban student Elian Gonzalez, who as a child was rescued at sea in 1999 by two U.S. fishermen, said in an interview Monday ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons San Jose, May 18 (EFE).- The first sextuplets in the history of Costa Rica - four boys and two girls - were born by Cesarean section at San Jose's Mexico Hospital, a spokesperson of the medical center said Monday. The sextuplets are doing well, though their birth Sunday night was premature after only six weeks of gestation, and for that reason they are being protec...

The town of Salgar before the landslides. Source: Government of Antioquia Bogota, May 18 (EFE).- At least 33 people died and an unknown number are missing in a landslide caused when a creek overflowed in the town of Salgar, in northwest Colombia, a regional government spokesman confirmed to Efe. "The latest official figure provided by the Dapard (emergency management department) is of 33 de...

Mennonite children. Wikimedia Commons By Santi Carneri El Breal-Colonia Sur, Bolivia, May 18 (EFE).- Mennonite communities in Bolivia's Chaco blend peasant and creole traditions as they adhere to their beliefs - no electric power and shunning modern technology - leading lives devoted to religion, agriculture and communal ranching. The dusty roads winding between hills have allowed the Ch...

Miami, May 17 (EFE).- The Lulu app, which lets women review the guys they date and post comments online, has 5 million users, including one out of every four female university students in the United States, signed up. Lulu, available on iTunes and Google Play, was created by former pro tennis player Alexandra Chong to try to reproduce "the safe and intimate mood you find at a women's only gathe...

Russian Proton M Rocket. Wikimedia Commons Moscow, May 16 (EFE).- The Mexican communications satellite Centenario disintegrated Saturday in the atmosphere hours after its liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency Roscosmos reported. "The accident occurred at a height of 161 kilometers (100 miles). The third stage of the carrier missile and the space device...

Montevideo, May 16 (EFE).- Organizations for and against abortion in Uruguay clashed about whether an 11-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped by a man of 40 should continue with the gestation process now in its 15th week. The anti-abortion movement known as Pro-Vida published Friday a communique slamming the statement by a group of six human-rights NGOs that came out in favor of ...

Los Angeles, May 13 (EFE).- Mexican actor Diego Luna will take on one of the main roles in "Star Wars: Rogue One," the next film in the famous galactic franchise focusing on the attempt by a group of rebels to steal the plans for the Death Star space station, the magazine Variety reported Wednesday. Luna's participation has not yet been confirmed by Lucasfilm, which announced that Felicity Jone...

Crocodile Man Tour at the Tarcoles River near Jaco, Costa Rica Mexico City, May 14 (EFE).- Five crocodiles were returned to their natural habitat and a sixth is undergoing treatment for wounds at a wildlife center following trapping operations in populated areas in Mexico's Tamaulipas, Guerrero and Tabasco states, the Profepa federal environmental protection agency said. Three crocs were tr...

Wikimedia Commons Bogota, May 6 (EFE).- Colombia's first organic puree brand, which boasts chemical- and preservative-free ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging, is looking to compete in Latin America's baby-food market, having already begun expanding to the neighboring countries of Ecuador and Panama. Baby Faves Organics has been sold since last year by Colombia-based Odaco Gr...

Follow these tips to keep the weather from deteriorating your walls and ceilings By: Carolina Ruiz Vega Sun, rain, hail, even volcanic ash… Costa Rica’s weather can be uncertain and merciless to unprotected walls and ceilings, which are vulnerable and likely to suffer environmental damages. May marks the beginning of the rainy (green) season in this tropical country. However, due to the E...

Mexican soldiers fighting the Drug War. Wikimedia Commons Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 13 (EFE).- Six people were killed when suspected drug traffickers shot down a small plane in Urique, a city in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, state officials said Wednesday. The victims were aboard an air taxi that was on its way from the northwestern state of Sinaloa to Chihuahua when it was shot...

Quito, May 12 (EFE).- Ecuadorian police seized 2.2 tons of cocaine that was intended for shipment to the United States in sacks of zeolite, a porous mineral used as an absorbent in the agricultural and petrochemical sectors, the Interior Ministry reported Tuesday. Deputy Interior Minister Diego Fuentes said in remarks broadcast by Ecuavisa television that five suspects were arrested in the oper...

Source: Becky Stern, Flickr Commons Washington, May 12 (EFE).- Google's self-driving cars have had 11 "minor" accidents in their six years of trials in California, the U.S. multinational said, a statistic that it prizes as proof of the cars' safety. "If you spend enough time on the road, accidents will happen whether you're in a car or a self-driving car. Over the 6 years since we started t...

Managua, May 12 (EFE).- Nicaragua hopes to lure European tourists with tours of active and inactive volcanoes, nature preserves, pristine forests, archaeological sites and colonial cities, as well as the chance to see wild birds or whales. Sustainable tourism, deemed the best fit for a country with unexplored regions and the lowest crime rate in Central America, has given Nicaraguan officials a...

By Beatriz Pascual Macias Washington, May 12 (EFE).- Hispanics living in the United States are becoming more fluent in English and speak less Spanish at home, according to a Pew Research Center report published Tuesday in Washington. As Hispanics' command of English grows - 68 percent now speak it easily - the percentage of Latinos who choose Spanish for their conversations at home diminishe...

AOL New York, May 12 (EFE).- Telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday it was acquiring digital content provider AOL Inc. for $4.4 billion. Verizon is paying $50 per share for AOL, a premium of 17.4 percent over the stock's closing price of $42.59 on Monday. "Verizon's vision is to provide customers with a premium digital experience based on a global multiscreen network plat...

French President François Hollande. EFE/File Havana, May 11 (EFE).- French President François Hollande on Monday in this capital met with retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The meeting between the French leader and the 88-year-old Fidel lasted about 40 minutes, a French diplomat told Efe. After being received by Fidel Castro, Hollande continued with his agenda by placing a floral offerin...

Flickr Commons New York, May 11 (EFE).- The Fox television network announced Monday that it will end its popular musical program "American Idol" after 15 seasons. The 15th and last season of "American Idol" will begin in January with host Ryan Seacrest and with Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. as the panel of judges, the network said in New York upon presenting its new prog...

Aedes aegypti mosquito, known dengue carrier. By Fabio Agrana Panama City, May 9 (EFE).- Panama's Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health, or ICGES, found in a recent study that genetically modified mosquitoes can be used to combat dengue with a high degree of effectiveness, scientists involved in the project said. The director of the ICGES study, Lorenzo Caceres, told Efe that in a period ...

Garcia Marquez. Source: Flickr Commons Bogota, May 9 (EFE).- Colombian police recovered a first-edition copy of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" with a dedication by the late Nobel laureate in Literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which had been stolen from a showcase where it was being exhibited at the International Book Fair in Bogota, or Filbo, officials said. The chief of police, Gen. Rodo...

Source: Flickr Commons Mexico City, May 8 (EFE).- The charred, decapitated remains of three people were discovered inside a vehicle in a highland area of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Police, who were informed of the killings shortly before 7:00 a.m. Thursday, found a narcobanner left at the crime scene - along the road linking the towns of Chilapa de Alvarez and Ahuacotzingo - bu...

Pixabay Commons Washington, May 8 (EFE).- The United States asked China on Friday to investigate the alleged cyber attacks on companies and other interests in the U.S. using a new tool called "The Great Cannon." "We are concerned by reports that China has used a new cyber capability to interfere with the ability of worldwide Internet users to access content hosted outside of China," U.S. St...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles, May 7 (EFE).- Colombian actress Sofia Vergara on Thursday received her star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in a huge ceremony at which she was accompanied by her fiance, Joe Manganiello, her colleagues from "Modern Family" and her own family, including her son Manolo, who gave a short speech. Vergara, 42, became the first actress from her country to have ...

Wikimedia Commons Paris, May 6 (EFE).- The Brigitte Bardot Foundation on Wednesday called on the Spanish city of Cartagena to scrap a plan to trap and kill stray cats, urging officials to instead use the techniques employed in other cities to control feral cat populations. Christophe Marie, director of the foundation's animal protection office, sent a letter to Cartagena Mayor Pilar Barreir...

Source: Wikimedia Commons By Claudia Solis Miami, May 4 (EFE).- Drones and trained dogs could be the answer to stopping an invasive fungus from attacking avocado crops, an industry in South Florida that brings in more than $50 million a year and positions the region as the country's second largest supplier of the fruit. The redbay ambrosia beetle transmits the Raffaelea lauricola fungus ...

Wikimedia Commons Bogota, May 5 (EFE).- At least 53 underage girls were raped by U.S. military personnel and contractors based in Colombia, according to a report prepared as part of the ongoing peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group. The 800-page document is the work of 12 experts, six picked by the government and another six by the Revolutionary Armed Force...

Close up of a Marijuana plant flowering during the final stages of growth San Juan, May 4 (EFE).- A number of organizations celebrated Monday the decision of Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana derivatives, a measure that has been debated for almost two years by the island's legislature. The director of descriminalizacion.org, Rafael Torruell...