GUATEMALA: Controversy Dogs New Highway

Construction is expected to begin soon on a new highway across north-central Guatemala, the largest infrastructure project tackled so far by the government of Álvaro Colom.

GUATEMALA: Despite Flaws, Judge Selection Process Improved, Say NGOs

A new process aimed at making the selection of judges more transparent in Guatemala failed to block the appointment of several candidates who were questioned by civil society and a U.N.-sponsored commission set up to strengthen and purge the country's justice system.

GUATEMALA: Town that Suffered Military Terror Fights Reopening of Base

People in the town of Ixcán in northwestern Guatemala could relive the pain of the country's 36-year civil war if the army reopens a military base in the area, where more than 100 massacres of indigenous villagers were committed during the armed conflict.

GUATEMALA: Only 10 Agents to Fight Human Trafficking Nationwide

In spite of a new law against human trafficking in effect since March, little has been done in Guatemala to fight the trafficking of children, and child sex tourism has begun to flourish, experts warn.

GUATEMALA: Making the Judge Selection Process More Transparent

In Guatemala, where corruption is so notorious that a U.N.-sponsored commission against impunity was set up to strengthen and purge the country's justice system, a new process has been put in place to make the selection of judges more transparent.

GUATEMALA: Nine Arrested for Murder that Caused Political Turmoil

Nine suspects, including police officers and members of the military, have been arrested in Guatemala for the murder of prominent lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, who had accused President Álvaro Colom of his murder in a video broadcast after his death.

GUATEMALA: Malnutrition Killing Children Again

The deaths of 25 children from severe malnutrition this year in Guatemala, mainly in the eastern province of Jalapa, shows that the specter of hunger is still haunting the country, aggravated by the global economic crisis and drought.

GUATEMALA: Impunity, Corruption Drive Wave of Kidnappings

Byron Ranulfo Rustrián was just 12 years old. He loved playing football and was a good student. On Jul. 23, a group of youngsters he didn't know invited him to play a match and he agreed, but it was a trap: he was kidnapped and his body turned up five days later.

RIGHTS-GUATEMALA: One Arrest in Gender-Killing Epidemic

"Femicide," or gender-based murder, has reached epidemic proportions in Guatemala. But at least for Rosmery González - one of the more than 700 Guatemalan victims of this crime in 2008 - justice is finally being done with the arrest of her alleged killer earlier this month.

LABOUR-GUATEMALA: Domestics Finally Gain (Limited) Rights

"What really hurt was that they refused me my right to rest before and after I had my baby. Even when my contractions started, they wouldn't let me go to the hospital," said Mildred Díaz, a Guatemalan domestic employee, talking about the worst aspects of her job.

GUATEMALA: Conditions Not Ripe for Coup, Analysts Say

The overthrow of the government of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras revived fears of something similar happening in neighbouring Guatemala, although analysts, political leaders and social activists do not see it as likely.

ENVIRONMENT-GUATEMALA: Mines Bring No Benefits to Local People

The new draft law on mining before the Guatemalan parliament does not strictly regulate water use and environmental protection, does not provide for community consultation, and sets royalties payable to the state at too low a level, say environmental and social organisations.

GUATEMALA: Relentless Devastation of Mangroves

"This place used to be beautiful. It was truly a mangrove forest. When the shrimp farmers arrived, we lost 60 percent of it because of the logging," said Francisco Vásquez, manager of a hotel on the Pacific coast, in the southeastern Guatemalan department of Jutiapa.

Unstoppable Devastation of Guatemalan Mangroves

Guatemala's priceless mangroves are disappearing because efforts to slow the pace of deforestation have failed, warn environmentalists.

GUATEMALA: Population Growth Impacts Migration

Marco Tulio Guerra went to work as usual that morning at the meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. But his life was turned upside down when immigration agents swept into his workplace and arrested him along with another 388 foreign workers. Their crime: using false Social Security numbers.

GUATEMALA: Journalists in Jeopardy

Veteran television reporter Rolando Santiz was on his way to downtown Guatemala City on Apr. 1 when two gunmen on a motorcycle drove up alongside his car and killed him in a rain of gunfire. The photographer driving with him was wounded but miraculously survived.

GUATEMALA: Crisis Hits Local Governments in Pocketbook

Incomplete infrastructure works and development projects and dismissals of teachers and municipal employees are some of the consequences of the global economic crisis in rural Guatemala, due to the central government’s decision to cut the budget for the country’s 333 municipal administrations.

GUATEMALA: A Candle in the Darkness of Impunity

"The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) is our only hope for achieving justice, because it is not contaminated or compromised," Eduardo Rodas Marzano, the brother of murdered lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, told IPS.