Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Source: Wikimedia Commons By Jose Antonio Vera and Jose Manuel Sanz Damascus, Dec 11 (EFE).- Full transcript of Agencia EFE's exclusive interview Thursday in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad: Question 1: Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your hospitality and for giving the Spanish News Agency EFE the opportunity to understand wha...

Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles, Dec 9 (EFE).- Spanish actor Antonio Banderas will pay $65,000 in monthly alimony to his ex-wife, fellow actor Melanie Griffith, as part of their divorce settlement, the TMZ Web site, which specializes in celebrity news, reported Wednesday. Banderas and Griffith split up in June 2014 after 18 years of marriage, claiming "irreconcilable differences." The sett...

Wikimedia Commons Rio de Janeiro, Dec 9 (EFE).- Two Brazilian brothers ages 17 and 20 were arrested Wednesday after dressing in typical Arab robes and saying they were going to detonate a fake bomb on a public bus in the town of Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul state, local media reported. In a video provided by one of the witnesses showing the moment when the two young men boarded the bus, on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OON2bZdqVzs...

Fontana was born in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, from a family of Italian origin. At just 13 years of age she made it to the finals of the 1996 Elite Model Look. The following year she moved from Brazil to Milan, Italy. In 1999, at the age of 16, she appeared in the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue. The shoot caused controversy, as Victoria's Secret stated that they would not use girls young...

Nestled in a location that is second to none, where the Gulf of Papagayo meets the sapphire blue waters of Culebra Bay, Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort captures the native spirit of Costa Rica. The breathtaking setting, a relaxing ocean with a mountainous background will make you feel like you belong in this lush natural setting. Source: papagayo.andaz.hyatt.com...

Wikimedia Commons By Carol Blair Vaughn Last week, President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos announced via Twitter that Colombia had found the Spanish galleon San Jose, which he called “the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity.” Legend holds that the San Jose was sunk on June 8, 1708, in the Caribbean Sea near Cartagena, Colombia, with a treasure on board ...

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...

Wikimedia Commons By Sara Gomez Armas Havana, Dec 7 (EFE).- "Papa," the U.S. film about the darkest years in the life of Ernest Hemingway that successfully skirted the longstanding embargo so it could be shot in Cuba, had its world premiere on the island that became his "true home," the legendary writer's granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway, who plays a part in the movie, said. "The film sho...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Dec 7 (EFE).- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, or IACHR, experts who examined the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School students in southern Mexico said Monday that a study done by a weather and satellite imagery center bolsters the theory that the missing students' bodies were not burned at the dump in Cocula. "The satellite images ...

Wikimedia Commons New York, Dec 7 (EFE).- Republican president hopeful Donald Trump on Monday called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" until U.S. authorities can "figure out what is going on," justifying the proposed Muslim entry ban by claiming that large segments of the world's Muslim population bear "great hatred" towards Americans. Trump's campaig...

Wikimedia Commons Baghdad, Dec 5 (EFE).- Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi demanded Saturday that Turkey withdraw its troops from Iraqi territory, the day after a first contingent of Turkish soldiers advanced toward the city of Mosul in the northern part of the country. Al-Abadi described as "a serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty" the entry of Turkish forces into Nineveh province, who...

Wikimedia Commons New York, Dec 6 (EFE).- A rare copy of The Beatles' "White Album" sold for a record $790,000 at an auction of items belonging to the band's former drummer, Ringo Starr, Julien's Auctions said. The record, a first edition of the British band's classic, was purchased by an anonymous buyer. Starr is donating part of the proceeds from the auction to a charity he founded. ...

Source: Wikimedia Madrid, Dec 5 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Real Madrid, which has endured two turbulent weeks, culminated by its elimination from the Copa del Rey tournament for use of an ineligible player, restored some order by routing Getafe 4-1 here Saturday. The team's troubles have included the legal woes of Karim Benzema but the striker shook off his troubles related to an alleged pl...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Caracas, Dec 4 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- A few incidents have been reported during the National Assembly elections Sunday in Venezuela, where some voters ate ballots and military personnel tried to enter election precincts, Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said. "They'r...

Wikimedia Commons London, Dec 6 (EFE).- The stabbings of three people at a London metro station are being investigated as a "terrorist act," the Metropolitan Police said Sunday. One of the three people stabbed on Saturday at the Leytonstone station on the east side of London is listed in serious condition. Investigators are looking at the possible terrorist connections of the assailant, ...

Wikimedia Commons The charity behind the popular Hollywood film Fly Away Home is giving birdwatchers and nature lovers an opportunity to win a special, two-week vacation in Costa Rica. Operation Migration is conducting a unique project to help the endangered North American whooping crane a safe migration flight from their summer home in Wisconsin to their wintering grounds in Florida. That'...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Dec 4 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- Magnate Donald Trump leads a new voter-preference poll of Republican presidential hopefuls by 20 percent over his closest rival, Sen. Ted Cruz. The new wave of support for Trump comes in the wake of the terror attack in San Bernardino, California, where 14 people died and dozens were injured. The CNN...

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 ...

"Eva Longoria at Imagine Cup 2011 11" by ImagineCup - Imagine Cup 2011. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons By Antoni Belchi Miami, Dec 4 (EFE).- U.S. actress of Mexican descent Eva Longoria admits she has sometimes felt rejected by the Latino community because she didn't speak Spanish "perfectly," so she had to improve her command of the language so she wouldn't feel "undervalue...

THE HAGUE, 4 December 2015. On Wednesday 16 December 2015, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgment in the joined cases concerning Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and the Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica). A...

Hashoo Foundation. Flickr Commons By Baber Khan Kabul, Dec 4 (EFE).- At least 146,000 Afghan migrants have sought to reach Europe in the wake of the withdrawal of NATO troops in January and an accompanying rise in violence, many of whom have had to shell out up to $10,000 to people traffickers to fulfill their dream. Sabawoon Baqizowy, 16, is preparing to leave his home in the eastern pr...

Washington, Dec 3 (EFE).- U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Thursday that 16 more FIFA officials had been indicted for racketeering conspiracy and corruption, deepening the crisis affecting soccer's world governing body. In a 92-count indictment that was unsealed Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn and which supersedes an earlier 47-count indictment in May, 16 more current or form...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy4j9KeKc4I...

Gisele Caroline Bündchen born 20 July 1980 is a Brazilian fashion model, actress, and producer. She is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program. Since 2004, she has been the highest-paid model in the world, and as of 2007 was the 16th richest woman in the entertainment industry. In 2012 she placed first on the Forbes top-earning models list. As of 2014, she is list...

The only thing better than having a wedding in Costa Rica is staying after for the honeymoon. And half the fun is deciding where to stay. An abundance of romantic hotels dots the Costa Rican coastlines and mountainsides offering candlelit dining under the stars, oodles of private space, and decadent couples massages. And although there are plenty of big resorts that are popular with lovebirds. So...

Wikimedia Commons Santiago, Dec 3 (EFE).- A veterinarians' association and an oceanographer said a group of scientists who discovered more than 330 dead whales beached in southern Chile put public health at risk by concealing that information for more than five months. The scientists who made the find in June and reported it to Chilean authorities on Nov. 17 allegedly withheld the informati...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Dec 2 (EFE).- Mexico's Profepa federal environmental protection agency returned or seized 11,250 pine trees from the United States from Nov. 3 to Nov. 25 due to the presence of blight not previously detected in the country, officials said. Profepa inspectors banned sales of the trees under the Christmas Tree Importation Verification and Inspection Program for ...

Source: Facebook Culiacan, Mexico, Dec 1 (EFE).- The burned van found with two bodies inside in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa last month belonged to the two Australian surfers reported missing in the area, state officials said. The van was found on Nov. 21 in the city of Navolato and investigators suspect that the bodies found in the vehicle are those of Dean Lucas and Adam Russ...

By Carol Blair Vaughn Facebook Quizzes – what an entertaining and harmless way to spend an evening at home in Costa Rica, especially now that darkness falls sooner. A new quiz which went viral last week, “What Are Your Most Used Words on Facebook”, enticed 17.5 million people to try it out online, according to The Los Angeles Times. The app was created by a South Korean company named Vonvon,...

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...

Wikimedia Commons Leticia, Colombia, Nov 30 (EFE).- While world leaders seek to negotiate an agreement in Paris to deal with the threat posed by global warming, an Indian tribe living under the Amazon rainforest's vast green canopy remains skeptical about the COP21 summit in the French capital, saying that the damage caused to the planet cannot be reversed. The chief of the Huitoto people, ...

Source: UPR San Juan, Nov 22 (EFE).- Students and professors from the University of Puerto Rico, or UPR, made a Christmas tree using plastic bottles to draw attention to the need to recycle and protect the environment. The six-meter (20-foot) tree at the campus in Carolina, a San Juan suburb, will be decorated with 2,000 plastic bottles and the manger was constructed with shipping pallets, ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Caracas, Nov 28 (EFE).- Venezuela's Food Minister Carlos Osorio denied that the government's sale of food at rock-bottom prices beginning Saturday, a week before the legislative elections, could be considered an "election gimmick." Opposition candidates are passing the word "on social networks that this operation will last no longer than election day" on Dec. 6, wh...

Source: Flickr Commons Tegucigalpa, Nov 28 (EFE).- A nurse of the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, kidnapped last Nov. 25, was found murdered Saturday in a village near the Honduran capital, officials said. The body of nurse Henry Marcial Matamoros, 45, was buried in the mountain village of Yaguacire on the south side of Tegucigalpa, and was discovered by a group o...

Garcia Marquez. Source: Flickr Commons Bogota, Nov 27 (EFE).- Bolivian author Magela Baudoin won the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Spanish American Short Story Award on Friday for her collection "La composicion de la sal" (Salt's Composition), the jury in this capital said. The jury, whose decision was read by writer Conrado Zuluaga, hailed Baudoin's "great talent" and her "skill in telling storie...

Beach house in Costa Rica Although foreign house hunters have virtually no legal limitations when it come to buying property in Costa Rica, they are hardly exempt from the fees and costs associated with acquiring a home, a condo or a piece of land. In the great majority of cases, the buyer is expected to pay for these costs, which are far from being the highest in the region. A 2014 study p...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Caracas, Nov 26 (EFE).- An opposition leader was shot dead at a campaign event in central Venezuela attended by the wife of Leopoldo Lopez, a high-profile government opponent who is serving a lengthy prison sentence, heightening tensions heading into next month's legislative elections. Luis Manuel Diaz, secr...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Nov 26 (EFE).- Mexico's Profepa federal environmental protection agency has intensified its search for a Bengal tiger that escaped from a hunting ground a month ago in the southern state of Guerrero. The big cat is in an area known as El Potrerito, part of the Coyuca de Benitez municipality, the institution said Wednesday in a statement. Working in coordina...

San Juan, Nov 25 (EFE).- A Puerto Rican pilot decided to land his small plane in a grassy area next to a McDonald's in northern town of Hatillo to buy himself and his passenger a coffee, island authorities confirmed Wednesday. The Puerto Rican Police said that personnel with the Puerto Rico Joint Forces of Rapid Action, or FURA, were dispatched to the site on Tuesday afternoon thinking that an ...