Brazilia - Russian President Vladimir Putin strongly criticized American foreign policy when quizzed by journalists at a press conference in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.

Managua - President Vladimir Putin made a surprise stop in Nicaragua after visiting Russia's Cold War ally Cuba, part of a tour to increase Moscow's influence in Latin America amid frayed ties with the West.

Managua - President Vladimir Putin made a surprise stop in Nicaragua after visiting Russia's Cold War ally Cuba, part of a tour to increase Moscow's influence in Latin America amid frayed ties with the West.

Miami - At first glance, an adult goliath grouper can appear intimidating. Equipped with a capacious Edward G. Robinson-esque lower jaw and weighing as much as 360 kg, or 793 pounds, encountering one while you're diving or snorkeling can give you pause.

Washington - Singing dirges for American power must be one of the most reused themes in international relations nowadays. And it’s not that surprising.

Ciudad Victoria - Soldiers freed 60 immigrants of various nationalities who were being held in a warehouse in Northeastern Mexico by an organized crime group, according to the news agency Proceso.

Managua - Nicaragua's president Saturday defended his country's right to strengthen its military with Russian help, seemingly backtracking on statements earlier in the week shrugging off suggestions of increased cooperation.

Managua - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reappeared in public after a 10-day absence that had sparked rumors he was sick or even dead.He did so at Managua airport as he received Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, arriving from the Vatican after a visit with Pope Fra...

Managua - It would be an engineering feat of gargantuan proportions -- a $40 billion Chinese-built canal across Nicaragua to boost the flow of ships between the Caribbean and the Pacific.Proponents point to jobs galore, a huge rise in GDP and other juicy benefit...

Managua - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Chinese tycoon Wang Jing said plans to start building a $40-billion canal across the Central American country were on track for late 2014.Wang Jing's Beijing Interoceanic Canal Investment Management Co.

A group of 18 Mexican nationals were repatriated from a Nicaraguan prison to finish their 18-year sentences after attempting to smuggle $9.2 million worth of drug money into the Central American nation under the guise of news reporters.

Penzance - The British composer George Lloyd was born in 1913. His opera "Iernin" has been performed this year for the first time since 1935.

Moscow - Contrary to earlier reports by the Russian media, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had not received travel documentation that would have allowed him to exit the transit bay at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

Washington continues to shirk its own responsibility in its mishandling of state secrets. Criticizing China for letting Snowden go is like blaming the fireman for the smoke detector without batteries.

Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua have offered Edward Snowden protection. Maduro says he will protect the NSA whistleblower from persecution by the empire. Ortega and Morales agreed to join the ranks of South American countries offering such protection.

Bob Sparling's class, Naked Yoga for Men, has been going in Boston, or Cambridge to be precise, for 13 years now. It's not a gimmick, Sparling says, being buck naked while making those stretches is helpful.

Escanaba - Reports have come in from Upper Michigan of a teenager who had not been seen in years. The parents allegedly locked the young boy in a make shift room, beat and sexually abused him and never allowed him out in public.

Caracas - A Venezuelan public television station developed a one-minute animated video in which the deceased Hugo Chavez is shown arriving in paradise where he is received by his grandmother and illustrious former Latin American leaders.

Eighteen individuals detained at the Honduran/Nicaraguan border and charged with money laundering and drug-related crimes have been found guilty and sentenced by a Nicaraguan judge.

Venezuelan politics is in uncharted territory these days, as Hugo Chavez faces his strongest opponent since 1998, when he leaped to power.