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.

Panama City - Conservative Juan Carlos Varela took office as Panama's president Tuesday pledging to finish a troublesome canal expansion, stamp out corruption and get more people out of poverty.

Panama City - A Panamanian judge acquitted and ordered the immediate release of three North Koreans detained last year for trying to transport undeclared Cuban weapons through the Panama Canal.

Panama City - Police in Panama on Monday arrested a fugitive former opposition lawmaker from Ecuador who is wanted in his homeland for complicity to murder.Tito Galo Lara was taken into custody in the province of Veraguas, police spokeswoman Mara Rivera told AFP.

Halifax - A rarely-seen seahorse was observed and recorded by divers in waters off Nova Scotia. Scientists are excited about this sighting since the species is extremely rare in Canadian waters.

Panama City - Conservative Juan Carlos Varela called for a national unity government after winning Panama's presidential election Sunday, easily defeating President Ricardo Martinelli's hand-picked successor.

Panama City - Conservative Juan Carlos Varela, the vice president who broke politically with President Ricardo Martinelli, was officially declared Panama's next president Sunday.

Panama City - Voters in Panama went to the polls Sunday to elect a new president amid a seeming consensus in favor of the free market policies of outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli.

Panama City - Voters in Panama go to the polls Sunday to pick the country's next president, after a campaign that revealed few major policy differences among the top candidates.

Panama City - A North Korean ship that was stopped in Panama last year for carrying undeclared Cuban weaponry, was crossing the Panama Canal again on Wednesday after a clean inspection.

Panama City - Mexico and Panama signed a free-trade pact Thursday that could pave the way for the small Central American nation to join an alliance of Latin American partners turned toward Asia.

Panama City - President Ricardo Martinelli told Venezuela on Friday that its decision to break off ties with Panama should not serve as an excuse to renege on its debt exceeding $1 billion.Martinelli's warning came a day after Venezuela ordered the expulsion of Pana...

Panama City - President Ricardo Martinelli warned Venezuela Friday that its decision to break off relations with Panama should not be used as an excuse to renege on its more than $1 billion debt."I don't want to think that this is an excuse not to pay and that the V...

Panama City - The Venezuelan government ordered Panama's ambassador and three other diplomats at the mission to leave the country within 48 hours, a Panamanian official said Thursday, a day after Caracas broke ties with Panama City."We received a note from the forei...

Panama City - A row over $1.6 billion in cost overruns on construction to widen the Panama Canal has been resolved, the parties said Friday, ensuring completion of the massive project.The Panama Canal Authority and the consortium "Grupo Unidos por el Canal" (GUPC) a...

Panama City - A Spanish-led consortium resumed work to expand the Panama Canal, which handles five percent of global seaborne trade, after an acrimonious two-week stalemate over $1.6 billion in cost overruns.Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), which sent its workers b...

Panama City - Work to widen the Panama Canal will resume on Thursday, an official said, two weeks after the huge project was suspended over $1.6 billion in cost overruns.Canal administrator Jorge Quijano told AFP that the consortium involved, Grupo Unidos por el Can...

Panama City - Negotiations to end a row that has stopped work on the Panama Canal expansion have hit "serious disagreements," the canal administrator has said.Work has been suspended for two weeks, as the main contractor, the GUPC consortium led by Spanish group Sac...

Panama City - Panama has reached partial agreements with construction companies that halted work to expand the Panama Canal in a dispute over a huge cost overrun, its administrator said Wednesday.Agreements in principle have been reached on some issues although othe...

Panama City - Panama President Ricardo Martinelli blamed the Panama Canal's former administrator for the crisis surrounding its massive expansion project -- where work has been halted over a billion-dollar payment dispute.Martinelli said Alberto Aleman Zubieta was "...