Costa Rica

COVID-19 antigen home tests indicating a positive result are photographed in New York, April 5, 2023.

Pandemic recovery will require much focus and attention, Dr. Atul Gawande says

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed about 7 million people worldwide, ravaging health care systems and economies. Dr. Atul Gawande, head of global health at the US Agency for International Development, spoke with The World's Carolyn Beeler about how pandemic recovery "will require as much focus and attention as it did when it first started."

Pandemic recovery will require much focus and attention, Dr. Atul Gawande says
Costa Rica's president

Son of Conti: Ransomware tries its hand at politics

Son of Conti: Ransomware tries its hand at politics
A babbling pup produces distinct syllables, visualized in this composite image.

Bat pups babble and bat moms use baby talk, hinting at the evolution of human language

Bat pups babble and bat moms use baby talk, hinting at the evolution of human language
In this file photo, then-Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the closing session of the US-China Climate Leaders Summit in Los Angeles, California, Sept. 16, 2015.

Paris agreement gets ‘new lease on life’ under Biden, climate advocates say

Paris agreement gets ‘new lease on life’ under Biden, climate advocates say
Health workers instruct a woman before taking a swab for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test.

IMF reassures COVID-19 support after hundreds of groups push back against belt-tightening measures

IMF reassures COVID-19 support after hundreds of groups push back against belt-tightening measures
A person holds a replica of a burning globe in the air with fake flames coming out of it.

‘The mother of all injustices is climate change,’ says former diplomat and climate change leader

Christiana Figueres, the founder of Global Optimism, believes that a determined, optimistic mindset is crucial in the struggle for climate justice.

‘The mother of all injustices is climate change,’ says former diplomat and climate change leader
A view of a beach with some surfers

Costa Rica is betting on 'staycations' to keep tourism afloat

Hoping to replace billions in lost revenue, Costa Rica is embarking on a marketing blitz geared toward locals.

Costa Rica is betting on 'staycations' to keep tourism afloat
Rainforest biotic pump

Rainforests are 'worth more alive than dead,' according to science — and economics

Earth’s rainforests are astonishingly biodiverse ecosystems that can drive the climates of faraway continents, but they’re disappearing in the name of the kind of economic development that values rainforests more when logged, mined, or turned into farmland. A new book argues that the world’s rainforests are most valuable when kept intact.

Rainforests are 'worth more alive than dead,' according to science — and economics
Diver with corals

Transplanting resilient corals may help them survive climate change

Warmer ocean temperatures, ocean acidification and poor water quality combine to make a toxic environment for most corals around the world. But some corals are actually thriving despite these challenges and scientists hope to propagate these resilient corals to give struggling reefs a leg up.

Transplanting resilient corals may help them survive climate change
a nicarguan migrant woman and her daughter in mexico

Violence drives increasing numbers of Nicaraguans to the US

With political violence a daily threat at home, Nicaraguans are fleeing to Costa Rica and, increasingly, the US.

Violence drives increasing numbers of Nicaraguans to the US
Activists dressed up as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale" are shown back lit from a low perspective.

The red cloak of 'The Handmaid's Tale' is becoming a symbol for reproductive rights

Author Margaret Atwood says “everyone seeing these groups of women know what they mean.”

The red cloak of 'The Handmaid's Tale' is becoming a symbol for reproductive rights
Bruno, 44, is an LGBT rights activist in San Jose, Costa Rica. Here, he sits in his childhood home.

An activist, an election and LGBTQ rights in Costa Rica

When an anti-LGBTQ candidate won the first round of presidential elections in Costa Rica, Vincenzo Bruno took to Facebook to denounce him.

An activist, an election and LGBTQ rights in Costa Rica
Latin America

Court: Latin American countries should legalize same-sex marriage

A number of Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, do not allow same-sex marriage. However, that trend is changing.

Court: Latin American countries should legalize same-sex marriage
Migrants on dock at Capurgana, Colombia

With Olympics over, Haitian workers are leaving Brazil for the US in big numbers

Haitians and other US-bound migrants are boarding boats from Colombia by the hundreds each day. Next stop: the Darien Gap, a jungle that's feared as much for the armed rebels and narcos as for the snakes and jaguars.

With Olympics over, Haitian workers are leaving Brazil for the US in big numbers
Cuban migrants say goodbye to their fellow compatriots in Costa Rica as they head to the airport for the first leg of their journey: a flight to El Salvador. Then they'll take a bus to the Guatemala-Mexico border and make their way to the US border.

Why six nations put their heads together and found a way to get nearly 8,000 stranded Cubans to the US

Five Central American nations and Mexico got together and figured out a plan to get nearly 8,000 stranded Cuban migrants from Costa Rica to the US border. That kind of laser-like focus on solutions just doesn't happen for other Central American migrants.

Why six nations put their heads together and found a way to get nearly 8,000 stranded Cubans to the US