Guatemala top court overturns genocide conviction

Guatemala's top court overturns ex-dictator's genocide conviction, orders trial to resume

• Ex-dictator denies Maya genocide order
• Ex-dictator to be tried for genocide
• Court sends genocide trial to new judge

Court sends genocide trial to new judge

Guatemala's highest court has ordered that the genocide trial against one of the country's former dictators be taken over by a judge who wants the proceedings to go back to square one.

• Ex-dictator to be tried for genocide

Mayan calendar only part of rich legacy

The most precise and sophisticated calendar ever created is only one of the legacies of the ancient Maya, who also left their mark on the arts, architecture and cooking, experts say.

• Mayas complain of ritual ban at temples
• Climate confirmed as cause of Maya collapse
• Countdown for end of Mayan calendar cycle

McAfee in legal bid to return to US

US anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee says he has filed motions with the Guatemalan government to avoid extradition to Belize, in hopes of being sent instead to the United States.

• McAfee wants to return to US
• Detained McAfee hospitalised in Guatemala
• Detained McAfee in hospital scare

Detained McAfee hospitalised in Guatemala

Software guru John McAfee, who is fighting deportation to Belize, has been rushed to the hospital in Guatemala after suffering two mild heart attacks, his lawyer says.

• John McAfee denied asylum in Guatamala
• John McAfee - increasingly bizarre tale
• McAfee arrested in Guatemala

Countdown for end of Mayan calendar cycle

From Mexico's Maya Riviera to ancient Guatemalan sites, the region foresees a tourism bonanza from the fateful 21 December date in the Mayan calendar, but indigenous groups are fed up with the myth.

• Maya demand an end to doomsday myth
• Earliest Maya calendar shows no end
• 15% believe end of world coming - poll

Earthquake off Guatemala kills dozens

A strong earthquake off the coast of Guatemala has killed at least 48 people and trapped others under rubble, crushing homes and cars, destroying roads and forcing evacuations.

• Guatemala volcano erupts, 1000s evacuated
• Quake hits El Salvador, Guatemala
• Quake sparks tsunami alert

US-led 'war on drugs' questioned at UN

The presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala have all called for a global debate of anti-narcotics laws at the UN, raising new questions about the wisdom of the, US-led "war on drugs".

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• Trafficker's mom begs Malaysia for mercy

Ex-top cop gets 70 years for war crimes

A Guatemalan court has sentenced a former police chief to 70 years in jail for ordering the kidnapping of a university student during the country's brutal civil war.

• Guatemalan gets 6 060 years for massacre

Earliest Maya calendar shows no end

The earliest known Mayan calendar has been found in an ancient house in Guatemala and it offers no hint that the world's end is imminent.

• 15% believe end of world coming - poll
• Study into Mayan glyphs
• Mild drought killed Maya civilisation - study

Ex-Guatemala general claims presidency

Retired general Otto Perez Molina has claimed victory in Guatemala's presidential run-off election, calling for unity in the desperately poor and violent Central American nation.

• 29 dead in Guatemala massacre
• Guatemala captures drug fugitive
• Guatemala president divorces for politics

Popular singer murdered

One of Latin America's most admired folk singers, Facundo Cabral, has died after three carloads of gunmen ambushed his car, prompting expressions of anguish from across the region.

• Italian guilty of ritualised murder
• Mom gets 5 years for killing sons
• Man, 84, jailed for roommate's murder

Syphilis experiment infected 1 300

An investigation has identified about 1 300 people who may have been involved in a 1940s US syphilis experiment, a few of whom may still be living.

Guatemala captures drug fugitive

Guatemalan police have arrested a 71-year-old suspected drug trafficker that the United States has sought for alleged ties to Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel.

• Mexican drug violence spills over to US
• Mexico troops charged after drug bust
• Mexico nabs alleged head of drug gang

Guatemalan leader: Divorce a sacrifice

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom says his decision to divorce his wife so she can run for president is a “real sacrifice” for the country.

• Guatemala president divorces for politics

Bus accident in Guatemala

Fourteen ex-paramilitaries have been killed and more than 50 of their colleagues have been injured when a bus plunged down a 50m deep ravine.

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Tropical storm wreaks havoc

Matthew has weakened to a tropical depression along the coast of Belize, dousing the southern part of the Central American nation and neighbouring Guatemala with rain that caused flooding in coastal areas.

• 7 dead as storm hits Central America
• Wild storm hits New York City
• Five dead in Haiti storm

Guatemala landslides 'national tragedy'

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has declared a "national tragedy" after landslides killed at least 36 people and left dozens still missing.

• Up to 100 feared dead in landslide
• Torrential rains kill 18 in Guatemala
• Storm wreaks havoc in C America

Torrential rains kill 18 in Guatemala

At least 18 people have died in Guatemala, including a dozen on a bus that was buried in a landslide, as heavy rains are lashing the Central American nation and southern Mexico.

• Storm could force US evacuations
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Storm may cost Guatemala R1bn

Rebuilding in Guatemala after a devastating tropical storm in May could cost up to $1bn, President Alvaro Colom says.

• Guatemala volcano blows
• Storm wreaks havoc in C America

Storm wreaks havoc in C America

The death toll in Central America from landslides and flooding triggered by the year's first tropical storm has surged to 99.

• Storm claims 12 lives

Bonfire festival curb over CO2

A centuries-old Christian festival in Guatemala is likely to be muted this year since the government has asked revelers not to light traditional bonfires to avoid carbon emissions.

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