Central America

Nicaragua bishop who criticized govt charged with conspiracy

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) — A Nicaraguan bishop who has been a sharp critic of the government of President Daniel Ortega and who has been under house arrest since August was charged Tuesday with conspiracy and propagation of false news, a judicial body reported. Bishop Rolando Álvarez, 56, was charged with “crimes of conspiracy to undermine national integrity and propagation of false news through information and communication technologies to the detriment of the Nicaraguan state and […]

Guatemala volcano eruption eases after forcing airport closure

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — One of the most active volcanoes in Central America erupted over the weekend, spewing lava and ash and forcing Guatemalan authorities to briefly close the country’s largest airport before activity eased on Sunday. The volcano named Fuego — Spanish for fire — rumbled into activity overnight Saturday into Sunday, with molten rock oozing down its slopes and ash belching two kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky. Winds carried […]

Twitter prank spurs unexpected scrutiny of insulin prices

Washington, United States (AFP) – A Twitter imposter cost a US pharmaceutical giant billions of dollars, but the viral prank triggered another unexpected crisis — a new wave of scrutiny of the high cost of its insulin. Authentic-looking fake accounts proliferated last week after Twitter rolled out a paid verification service, the latest in a string of chaotic developments since Elon Musk’s blockbuster $44 billion buyout of the influential platform. Among the victims was drugmaker Eli […]

Why go back to the Moon?

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – On September 12, 1962, then US president John F. Kennedy informed the public of his plan to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. It was the height of the Cold War and America needed a big victory to demonstrate its space superiority after the Soviet Union had launched the first satellite and put the first man in orbit. “We choose to go to the Moon,” […]

URGENT: 6.0 magnitude earthquake shakes El Salvador: government

#Earthquake 71 km SW of San Salvador (El Salvador) 8 min ago (local time 22:26:13). Colored dots represent local shaking & damage level reported by eyeswitnesses. Share your experience via: 📱https://t.co/LBaVNedgF9 🌐https://t.co/ZwmMqSJ2Gu pic.twitter.com/0MyIUUY9RV — EMSC (@LastQuake) November 4, 2022 San Salvador, El Salvador | AFP | A 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook El Salvador on Thursday night, with no initial reports of casualties or material damage, Salvadoran authorities said. The tremor was registered at 10:26 pm […]

Hurricane Julia slams Nicaragua, menaces Central America

BLUEFIELDS, Nicaragua (AFP) — Hurricane Julia raked across Nicaragua Sunday, lashing the country with winds and heavy rain and bringing potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides to much of Central America and southern Mexico. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour when the storm made landfall near the Laguna de Perlas area at 0715 GMT, the country’s weather agency said. By midday, the fifth Atlantic hurricane of the season had […]

Bus plunges into Costa Rican ravine, killing at least nine

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AFP) — At least nine people were killed and four left missing when a bus and two other vehicles plunged into a ravine in a mountainous part of Costa Rica, the Red Cross reported Sunday. The bus, car and motorcycle slid into the 75-meter-deep (245-foot) ravine on Saturday when heavy rain caused a landslide at the El Hundimiento mountain pass, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital San Jose. […]

Tropical Storm Bonnie becomes hurricane, kills 3 in Central America

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — Tropical Storm Bonnie was upgraded to a category one hurricane on Sunday as it swept towards Mexico after killing three people in El Salvador and Nicaragua, the US National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, the third of the season off Mexico’s coast, is carrying maximum sustained winds of 80 miles (125 kilometers) per hour “with higher gusts,” the NHC said, citing satellite images. “The core of Bonnie is expected […]

World needs food system ‘transformation’ to tackle climate: expert

by Kelly MACNAMARA Food is fundamental to the efforts to tackle climate change, according to a scientist who has spent decades tracing the interactions between global warming and what we eat. Cynthia Rosenzweig, head of the Climate Impacts Group at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, was Thursday awarded the prestigious World Food Prize for her research. That includes stark warnings about the potential effect climate change will have on food. Her comments to AFP […]

Honduran judge grants extradition of ex-president Hernandez to US

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) – A judge in Honduras on Wednesday granted the extradition of former president Juan Orlando Hernandez to the United States where he is wanted for alleged drug trafficking, the Central American country’s Supreme Court of Justice said on Twitter. A judge “decided to accept the request for extradition presented by the Court of the Southern District of New York against ex-president of the republic Juan Orlando Hernandez Alvarado,” the court said. The […]

Guatemala hit by 6.2-magnitude earthquake

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck western Guatemala early Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the quake, which had a depth of 84 kilometers (52 miles), was just under 100 kilometers southwest of the capital, Guatemala City. The Central American country is in a risk zone for earthquakes, located at a meeting point of three tectonic plates. © Agence France-Presse

New Honduras president tests positive for Covid

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — Xiomara Castro, who last month became the first woman to win the presidency of Honduras, said Sunday that she was infected with Covid-19 but will continue working remotely. “The result of the PCR (test) yesterday (Saturday) was negative, today’s is positive,” the 62-year-old president, who replaced Juan Orlando Hernandez, announced on her Twitter account. “According to the tests it is mild. With the blessing of the Creator of the universe, I […]