Worldfocus » Costa Rica

U.S. confers with deposed president of Honduras

Worldfocus — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:18:23 +0000

In Washington on Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the deposed president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. She announced that the president of Costa Rica will serve as a mediator in the Honduran political crisis, adding that both Zelaya and the man who replaced him, Roberto Micheletti, had agreed to the mediation. Clinton also called on all parties to refrain from further violence.

Christopher Sabatini, the senior director of policy at the Council of the Americas, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the political situation in Honduras and the role of the U.S.

(View full post to see video) On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the deposed president of Honduras and announced that Costa Rica will serve as a mediator in the Honduran political crisis. Christopher Sabatini of the Council of the Americas discusses the political situation in Honduras and the role of the U.S. http://worldfocus.org/files/2009/07/th_honduras_sabatini.jpg http://worldfocus.org/files/2009/07/th_honduras_sabatini.jpg

China extends interests to Latin America

Worldfocus — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:01:59 +0000

Two areas of great interest to China are Central and South America, and Chinese investments in that part of the world are rapidly expanding. Just this week, Chinese president Hu Jintao met with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to discuss new business ties.

Chris Sabatini, the senior director of policy at the Council of the Americas, discusses China’s interests in the Americas and what impact this could have on the U.S.

Chris Sabatini of the Council of the Americas discusses China’s interests in the Americas and what impact this could have on the U.S. /files/2008/11/th_china_sabatiniintv.jpg /files/2008/11/th_china_sabatiniintv.jpg

Countries pass torch to celebrate independence

Worldfocus — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:44:16 +0000

A crowd mills around at the largest independence day festival in Guatemala, in the city of Quetzaltenango.

On this day in 1821, five countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua — joined to declare independence from Spain. Led by Guatemala, the countries then briefly united with Mexico before again breaking off and forming the Central American Federation. The federation gradually dissolved after border disputes, and its member nations gained sovereignty.

Today, the five countries join together once more to celebrate the anniversary with festivals, parades, song and dance. A torch relay began on Sept. 14 in Guatemala, crossed the Pan American Highway and arrived in Costa Rica today.

“The Hansons in Guatemala” blog talks about the arrival of the torch yesterday and describes the celebrations in San Lucas.

“Inner Diablog” discusses the origins of the holiday and posts a video of Guatemalan fireworks.

“Gerry” links to a video of a parade and other festivities in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala.

“Hobson’s Happening’s” posts about misconceptions of Nicaraguan independence and features a video of young Nicaraguans parading.

“Eruptions at the Foot of the Volcano” posts about the evolution of Nicaraguan independence day and the liberty torch, complete with pictures.

A Canadian teacher in Nicaragua writes about her school’s festivities, and “Laurie” writes about celebrations in Honduras.

In the United States, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually beginning every September 15 to mark the anniversary of these countries’ independence.

A Hispanic Heritage Month event calendar also lists celebrations in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user erik2481 under a Creative Commons license.

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate the anniversary of their independence from Spain in 1821. /files/2008/09/th_centralamerica_guatemalaindependenceflickrusererik.jpg