Honduran president taken to Costa Rica by force

October 5th, 2009 Costa Rican ex-president convicted of embezzlementSAN JOSE, Costa Rica — A Costa Rican court has found former President Rafael Calderon guilty of embezzlement and sentenced him to five years in prison. Calderon, who was president from 1990 to 1994, was accused of receiving at least $520,000 in 2004 from a Finnish government loan to Costa Rica's social security system.

October 5th, 2009 Costa Rican court: Ex-president embezzled fundsSAN JOSE, Costa Rica — A former Costa Rican president was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison Monday for embezzling funds from a Finnish loan intended for medical equipment for public hospitals. Rafael Calderon, who was president from 1990-1994, was accused of receiving $520,000 from a 2004 Finnish government loan to Costa Rica's social security system.

September 22nd, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras interim President Roberto Micheletti has decided to set up a commission to begin discussion on ending the political standoff in the country after Manuel Zelaya was ousted from presidency in a military coup in June. Micheletti said the team will include representatives of the civil society and foreign diplomats.

August 23rd, 2009 Honduran top court: Ousted president to face trialTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras' Supreme Court says ousted President Manuel Zelaya would face trial if he returns to the Central American country. The Honduran top court is giving its opinion on a plan to solve Honduras' political crisis after Zelaya was ousted in a coup.

August 18th, 2009 BRASILIA - Brazil and Mexico have called for the restoration of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya who was forced into exile in Costa Rica by the country's military. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon Monday demanded Zelaya's immediate return to power for restoration of democracy in Honduras.

July 27th, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - The Honduran government Sunday extended a curfew at the Honduran-Nicaraguan border in view of the volatile situation there. Thousands of supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya were waiting in El Paraiso, close to the Nicaraguan border, for the curfew to end, which was extended by 12 hours, so they can meet their leader at the border.

July 15th, 2009 GUATEMALA CITY - Ousted Honduran President Mel Zelaya has urged the people of his country to revolt against the "interim" government that took power after the June 28 military coup in Tegucigalpa. "Insurrection is a right of the people that is deposited in Article 3 of the constitution of Honduras, and the Hondurans should make their constitutional rights count," Zelaya said in a press conference Tuesday after talks with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom.

July 6th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Costa Rica has been named as the 'happiest place to live on Earth' in a new survey. It has also been named the most environmentally friendly country on the planet.

July 6th, 2009 MANAGUA - Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega Sunday denied an accusation from Honduras' post-coup government that Nicaraguan troops were massing on their shared border. "Brother Honduran soldiers, brother Honduran officials, I want to assure you, swearing before God and nation, that Nicaragua is not deploying troops towards Honduras and that we are not preparing any kind of attack on Honduran garrisons on the border," he told domestic radio.

June 29th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday expressed "deep concern" over the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the military. In a statement, Ban urged "the reinstatement of the democratically elected representatives of the country and full respect for human rights, including safeguards for the security of President Zelaya, members of his family and his government".

June 29th, 2009 TEGUCIGALPA - Honduran troops staged a coup against President Manuel Zelaya Sunday morning and evicted him to Costa Rica. Honduras' unicameral National Congress later Sunday agreed to remove Zelaya from office and designated Congress Speaker Roberto Micheletti as his successor.

June 28th, 2009 Soldiers arrest Honduran president, seize palaceTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Soldiers seized the national palace and sent President Manuel Zelaya into exile in Costa Rica early Sunday, hours before a highly disputed constitutional referendum. Zelaya called the action a coup and pledged to serve out the remaining five months of his term.

June 28th, 2009 Honduran president calls arrest a 'kidnapping'SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says soldiers rousted him out of bed, beat his body guards and arrested him in his pajamas in what he criticized as "a coup" and "a kidnapping." Zelaya told a local television station Sunday that he is at the airport in San Jose, capital of Costa Rica. He said he would not recognize any attempt to name a replacement for him following his detention earlier Sunday.

June 28th, 2009 Honduran president in Costa Rica after arrestSAN JOSE, Costa Rica — A high-ranking official says that Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is in Costa Rica following his detention by soldiers in his homeland. The official at the Costa Rican president's office was not authorized to be quoted by name.

June 28th, 2009 Clinton urges condemnation of Honduran actionWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the action taken against Honduras' president should be condemned by everyone. She says Honduras must embrace the principles of democracy and respect constitutional order.