Seoul and Washington Wednesday began their annual joint military exercises amid heightened tension in the Korean peninsula owing to Pyongyang's latest missile tests and the alleged murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother. The first of these maneuvers, called Foal Eagle, which includes aerial, terrestrial and naval exercises, will continue until the end of April, announced the S...

Bread for the World responded to President Donald J. Trump’s first speech before a joint session of Congress last night. The following statement can be attributed to Rev. David Beckmann, president of the non-profit humanitarian group, Bread for the World: “President Trump and our new Congress have this week started to slash programs that help hungry people. Their actions don’t square with the lof...

The number of individual cellphone subscribers across the globe is set to surpass 5 billion by mid-2017, according to a report presented at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on Monday. The figures, compiled by the cellphone industry representative GSM Association, suggested that the global number of cellphone users would hit 5.7 billion people by 2020. "Mobile is a global platform that ...

Former President George W. Bush on Monday called for "answers" regarding Russia's alleged interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election won by Donald Trump. "I think we all need answers," the Republican former president said in an interview with NBC, the first he has granted since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. "I'm not sure the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, that that question nee...

Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, has announced the completion of its combination with Costa Rica-based Muñoz Global, making it the first global law firm to have a footprint across Central America. The combined firm will be known as Dentons Muñoz. The combination follows the launch of Dentons López Velarde in Mexico and Dentons Cardenas & Cardenas in Colombia last year. It marks the next...

Tegucigalpa, Feb. 25 — Honduras, Central America's leading coffee producer, is transforming the scenic farms where that crop is grown into a domestic and international tourist attraction. The Coffee Tourist Route, an initiative centered on several farms in the western provinces of La Paz, Intibuca, Lempira, Santa Barbara, Ocotepeque and Copan, is offering prospective tourists coffee tasting, ad...

Washington, DC, Feb 25: A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report assessing the terrorist threat posed by the citizens of the seven countries covered by President Donald Trump's travel ban has expressed doubt on the necessity of the order. The document, as reported by the Washington Post, was prepared at the request of the acting secretary for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis a...

Laura was only thirteen when she accomplished first place on Costa Rica models and designers National Convention. Three years later Laura was invited to travel to Oranjestad, Aruba to participate in a fashion context. Then came her participation on fashion shows in Manhattan Nueva York, Central America, Miami, Santander and Madrid Spain, cities that introduce Laura to the fashion world. Slim, ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9p4m4y2YBo...

Costa Rica’s President, Luis Guillermo Solís, published a video on his Facebook page, playing the piano and inviting the actress to visit the country. He goes on to describe what she can expect to find in this wonderful country. More info at: The President of Costa Rica, invites Emma Stone to visit “paradise” Thousands of dead fish wash ashore in Costa Rica’s Nicoya Gulf Concern grows as mor...

Costa Rica, literally “Rich Coast” is one of the world’s most beautiful tropical destinations. Flanked by both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Ocean, Costa Rica is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora. Amidst Mother Nature’s wonderland, you’ll find a rich culture dating back to pre-Columbian times and genuine Tico hospitality. If you’re looking for your own piece of paradise, Manuel Anton...

Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration released a five-part agenda last Monday outlining specific steps the new Administration can take to promote public safety. The group urged President Donald Trump to embrace policies that reduce incarceration rates while strengthening efforts to fight violent crime, after he issued several executive orders on crime in early February. In a...

Miami, Florida, Feb. 21 — The manatee population in Florida waters has jumped to 6,620 specimens, a new record for this species of marine mammal, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (FWC) reported Tuesday. The preliminary tally drawn up by a team of 15 FWC observers amounted to 3,488 live specimens on the east coast of the state and 3,132 in west coast waters, a figure that for the third...

The Donald Trump administration on Tuesday established new directives to strengthen U.S. immigration control, unveiling an aggressive plan that includes accelerating deportation procedures for undocumented migrants and hiring 15,000 new agents. "The surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vu...

New York, Feb. 20 — Thousands of people took to the streets Monday in New York and other U.S. cities to protest against President Donald Trump and reject his policies on the one-month anniversary of his inauguration. The New York demonstration was staged in front of the luxury hotel bearing Trump's name on Columbus Circle and extended along a number of streets all the way to Central Park. It...

An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter Scale hit the Panamanian capital on Monday causing hundreds of people to evacuate their offices and other tall buildings, but no injuries or material damage were reported. The director of the Geosciences Institute at the University of Panama, Luis Eduardo Camacho, confirmed the magnitude of the quake, saying that it caused a "strong vibration" that was fel...

American actress-filmmaker Angelina Jolie on Saturday will screen in Siem Reap the movie "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers," the first Hollywood movie on the Khmer Rouge genocide, shot completely in Khmer and in Cambodia. "I wanted to understand what my son's birth parents may have gone through. And I wanted to know him better and I wanted to know this country better,...

Costa Rica is home to two species of sloth, the brown-throated three-toed sloth and Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth. Black eye patches and “smiling” mouths distinguish Costa Rica’s docile three-toed sloths, while the larger two-toed variety have white-ringed faces, brown snouts and shaggy coats. Sloths are especially unique in that they spend nearly their entire lives hanging upside down in a tree; they...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmY4wnc1b_8...

  Esteban Castillo and Douglas Castillo are frequent faces in the main Costa Rican fashion shows, such as the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, since they appeared, their faces and bodies stir the country's fashion scene, with them, designers pose a game in the Walkway, thanks to the natural union that exists in both and the visual effect that can provoke in scene. They are linked to the age...

Washington, DC, Feb. 16 — U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated a former member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to be labor secretary, an announcement that comes a day after his previous nominee withdrew his name from consideration amid controversy. If confirmed by the Senate, Alexander Acosta, a son of Cuban immigrants, would be the first Hispanic in the president's Cabi...

Today, Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, John Conyers, Jr., Eliot L. Engel, Bennie G. Thompson, Adam Smith, and Adam Schiff, Ranking Members of the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, Armed Services, and Intelligence, sent a letter to White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn, II raising grave concerns and requesting information about reports that...

Washington, Feb. 14 — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday eliminated a rule approved during the Barack Obama administration that required energy firms to make public their payments to foreign governments, one of the many Democratic regulations that the Republicans want to ax. Trump signed a bill pushed by Republican congressional leaders repealing a regulation finalized last year by the Securi...

Far away from their nerve-wracking days as a spectacle for the public, some 50 chimpanzees live together in Sorocaba, a small Brazilian town repurposed as a refuge for big primates recovering from a traumatic life in zoos and circuses. High up a cement tower, a 20-year-old chimpanzee named Dolores jumps compulsively, claps her hands and screams incessantly, even as her fellow chimps regard her wi...

(BARVA, HEREDIA) Experience your own tropical utopia at Casa Metta - a peaceful, gated estate with spectacular views in Barva, Heredia! Nestled between the mountains and the ocean, the property is lined with hundred year-old cypress trees and rich tropical vegetation punctuated with boldly colored flowers. This beautiful private escape is perfect for a boutique bed and breakfast, a permaculture...

Los Angeles, Feb. 13 — Emergency repair work on the damage to the Oroville dam in Northern California, and the storms that in the coming days could aggravate the situation are keeping the roughly 200,000 people who have been evacuated due to flooding danger on tenterhooks. Authorities Monday held a press conference in Oroville, located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of San Francisco...

Rio de Janeiro, Feb. 9 — A protest Thursday against a proposal to privatize the Rio de Janeiro state water company shut down the center of Brazil's tourist mecca, leading to injuries, arrests, and damage to property. Demonstrators clashed with police in streets near the seat of the state legislature, where lawmakers were scheduled to debate the bill authorizing the sale of the Cedae utility. ...

https://vimeo.com/167922159...

Rio Tarcoles runs by the Carara National Park and is famous for its large American Crocodiles. Those seeking adrenaline pumping excitement with be thrilled by the crocodile tours offered at the mudflats of Tarcoles. You can either observe the crocodiles from the Tarcoles River Bridge or take a croc tour. The fascinating crocodile safari takes you through the river by boat and bilingual guides show...

Carolina experienced an early success in her teenage years as the face of AVON, she became a constant in Runways, TV Commercials and Catalogues. She represented Costa Rica in Beauty Pageants, walked the runways of Miami Fashion Week and work closely with swimwear and fashion designers. She has lived in Miami and in London, where her career flourish featuring the face of campaigns like Nike,...

Washington, DC, Feb. 9 — Federal appellate judges on Thursday decided unanimously to uphold an injunction issued by a lower court last week blocking President Donald Trump's executive order to temporarily bar residents of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. This is the 45th president's first major legal challenge, and his first major blow, after signing numerous execu...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados; Feb. 8 -- The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region's tourism development agency, and Airbnb, whose community marketplace provides access to millions of unique accommodations, today signed a landmark agreement to develop a set of policy principles and recommendations on the sharing economy for Caribbean governments and other stakeholders. Under the agreement, si...

Sydney, Australia, Feb. 6 — Over 4,400 people reported cases of child sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic Church in Australia between 1980 and 2015, according to a report released on Monday at the beginning of a new round of hearings by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission, which is responsible for investigating the extent...

Experts from seven Mesoamerican countries who work with unaccompanied migrant children transiting the region have taken part in a regional training organized by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Costa Rica. Central America and Mexico see large numbers of migrants moving from rural areas to cities, as well as large numbers of people migrating to other countries looking for ne...

Secretary General António Guterres urged the United States not to scale back its support for the United Nations, saying that any move to defund or disengage from the world body would pave the way for other nations to fill in the void, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires made available to EFE on Monday. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Guterres said he hoped to send a messa...

The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, Feb. 7 to determine the immediate future of the immigration ban implemented by the U.S. president, which has been blocked by a federal judge. Government attorneys presented their arguments on Monday to the San Francisco-based tribunal, which will now decide whether to reinstate the travel ban on all refugees and on ...

Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that the Donald Trump administration is "evaluating" whether or not it will continue to maintain the nuclear agreement with Iran and five great powers, a pact the new president harshly criticized during his election campaign. "Well, we're evaluating that as we speak," Pence told ABC News in a Sunday interview in response to a question about whether the Trump ...

Madrid, Feb 5 — A United States appeals court on Sunday, Feb. 5 rejected a request by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to reinstate a travel ban on entry to the U.S. for citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. This means the nationwide halt on the ban continues to be in effect for all the affected countries. The Washington State Attorney General's Office said in a Twitter po...

The Agriculture Department has removed animal welfare inspection reports, enforcement records and other information about the treatment of animals from its website, citing privacy and other laws.  Tanya Espinosa, a spokeswoman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the information was removed from the site around 11 a.m. Friday. She would not say if the removal was temporary ...

"Mexico will pay for the wall" "No we won't" "It will cost 8 billion"  "No it will cost 20 billion"  "Make it out of concrete" "No make it out of precast plank"  "It's all too much we need to get the cost down", HURRY! The Pastillon, a German comedy/spoof site that tapped into IKEA’s design methods to help President Trump hit the ground running on his executive order of the border wall. The pe...