Wikimedia Commons Quito, Dec 11 (EFE).- Ecuador and Sweden have signed an agreement that will enable Swedish prosecutors to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London, the Andean nation said Friday. Negotiations began in June and the agreement was reached on Thursday, Ecuador's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that it will enter into force "in the c...

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...

As officials in Costa Rica work on a “Plan C” to allow stranded Cuban migrants to reach their desired destination in the United States, desperation is being felt across the various shelters in the northern region of the country. Nearly 5,000 stranded Cubans are currently sheltered in Costa Rica; their situation has been exacerbated by the actions of the government of Nicaragua against them. Whe...

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...

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...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After a decade-long commodity super cycle, the 2016 growth outlook for Latin America remains subdued as external and domestic risks persist, says Fitch Ratings in a new special report. Against this backdrop, Fitch expects little upward sovereign rating movement in the region in 2016. To the contrary, negative rating pressures could increase if countries are unable to adj...

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 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...

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, ...

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 ...

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...

Star Breeze Seattle, WA (PRWEB) December 04, 2015 - Today, Windstar Cruises announces a new program for guests traveling on Costa Rica & Panama Canal itineraries. The Canal Celebration, a deckside festival, invites guests to experience the sights and sounds of the Panama Canal while enjoying amenities and activities that highlight the Panamanian culture. New for 2015/16, Windstar guests...

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...

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release - A new round of migration talks was held between the delegations of Cuba and the United States, which were headed by Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, Director General of the United States Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Edward Alex Lee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. During the meeting, both Parties r...

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...

ISIS fighters in Iraq. Source: Wikimedia Commons NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In an interview with NBC News, Giovanni Gambino, son of a key figure in the Gambino crime syndicate, describes the historical reality that led to the birth of the Sicilian Mafia – and how its modern elements are at work today protecting New York City neighborhoods from Middle Eastern terrorists. In the wak...

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...

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...

Source: Red Cross of Costa Rica United Nations Country Team Costa Rica News Release - The National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Care Costa Rica (CNE in its Spanish acronym) reported 400 Cuban migrants in Peñas Blancas border facility and 1,320 migrants in 7 shelters. Highlights follow: As of 19 November at 12pm, the government reported that the situation was under control a...

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 ...

Source: MSP WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson for information about the threat of ISIS members entering the United States through the porous southwest border. Recent news reports have highlighted concerns about Sy...

Source; Google Maps Lima, Nov 24 (EFE).- An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale on Tuesday struck the mutual border area between Peru, Brazil and Bolivia but there have been no reports as yet of any injuries or material damage. The powerful quake occurred at 5:44 p.m. and had its epicenter in the Madre de Dios Amazon region, 83 km (51 mi.) south of the town of Esperanza some 90 km...

Wikimedia Commons Mexico City, Nov 23 (EFE).- Dozens of residences at a luxury development in Mexico City's Santa Fe neighborhood, including former Miss Universe Alicia Machado's home, are on the edge of an abyss after landslides that have led to criticism of unregulated development in the capital. Santa Fe, a neighborhood in the borough of Cuajimalpa, is a newly developed area in the south...

Havana, Nov 23 (EFE).- Cuban authorities are providing "effective cooperation" to provide a "quick, adequate solution" to the plight of more than 2,000 Cuban emigrants who have been stranded for over a week in Costa Rica on the Nicaraguan border, Cuba's official media said Monday. The migrants ended up in Costa Rica after setting out from Cuba "with the intention of emigrating to the U.S., enco...

Source: Pixabay Commons Mexico City, Nov 23 (EFE).- The Federal District Attorney's Office, working with federal law enforcement personnel, arrested three men and a woman, and 17 victims of sexual exploitation were rescued in Mexico City, officials said. The victims, all adult women, were forced to provide sexual services at the Desexxx3 bar in the Mexico City borough of Centro, the DA's of...

Wikimedia Commons Rio de Janeiro, Nov 22 (EFE).- Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes on Sunday formally handed over a newly-constructed golf course, one of the most controversial projects in the preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, to the Olympic Organizing Committee. The 18-hole course covering about a square kilometer (a little over 1/3 square mile) was taken over by the organizing ...

Wikimedia Commons Toronto, Nov 23 (EFE).- The Canadian government's plan to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees in the coming weeks is to be open only to women, children and families, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported Monday. Single males are excluded based on security concerns, according to the CBC network. Details of the plan will be revealed Sunday by Prime Minister Justin Trud...

Twitter photo by Brussels resident Tobias Troll Brussels, Nov 21 (EFE).- Belgium's capital was effectively placed on lockdown on Saturday - with metro lines, shopping malls and museums shuttered and concerts and other events canceled - after authorities raised their terror alert to the highest level due to the risk of "imminent" attacks. The country's crisis center announced early Saturday ...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Nov 19 (EFE).- More Mexicans are returning to their homeland than are emigrating to the United States, with a net outflow from this country of 140,000 between 2009 and 2014, according to a report released on Thursday. The report, prepared by the Pew Research Center, says that more Mexican immigrants have returned to Mexico from the U.S. than have migrated here ...

"Pedro-Pablo-Kuczynski" by Robertovillani - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons Lima, Nov 16 (EFE).- Peruvian presidential candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski announced that he has given up his U.S. citizenship as the right thing to do before the 2016 elections. Kuczynski, a former economy minister, said Sunday night on the television news program "Cuarto Poder" that he has taken ...

Supporters of President Maduro rally in Caracas EFE/AGENCIA VENEZOLANA DE NOTICIAS/ Caracas, Nov 19 (EFE).- The Venezuelan government on Thursday delivered a protest note to the United States after the publication of documents showing that the National Security Agency spied on employees of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. The note was delivered to the charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embass...

El Dorado airport in Bogota. Wikimedia Commons Bogota, Nov 19 (EFE).- One of the people being investigated for having participated in last week's terrorist attacks in Paris left Bogota in July and traveled to the French capital after bribing officials to let him leave the country, a source in the immigration agency told EFE. The suspect, identified as Syrian national Al Sakhadi Seham, made ...

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Peña Nieto By Helen Cook Manila, Nov 18 (EFE).- Philippine social-networking sites have been awash with praise for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who have caused a stir here among a segment of the female population since arriving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Only minutes after they...

"Paris Shootings - The day after (22593744177)" by Maya-Anaïs Yataghène. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons Washington, Nov 18 (EFE).- The alleged mastermind behind the jihadist terrorist attacks in Paris last week died in the massive police operation undertaken Wednesday in the French capital, The Washington Post reported. The daily, citing two top European intelligence officials, said t...