Former Real star Mesut Özil hangs up his boots

(FILE) - Mesut Oezil arrives press conference before his signing ceremony for Fenerbahce in Istanbul, Turkey, 27 January 2021 (re-issued 22 March 2023). EFE/EPA/SEDAT SUNA

Madrid, Mar 22 (EFE).- Former Real Madrid and Arsenal attacking midfielder Mesut Özil announced his retirement from football on Wednesday at the age of 34. In a post on his Twitter account, the former German international, who was a key part of Die Mannschaft’s 2014 World Cup winning squad, said that “in recent weeks and … Read more

Virginia inmates caught at pancake house after escape using toothbrush

An IHOP restaurant in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, USA 11 August 2017. EFE-EPA FILE/CJ GUNTHER

Washington, Mar 21 (EFE).- Two prisoners in the town of Newport News, Virginia, escaped from jail by digging out with a modified toothbrush and scaling a wall before being captured at a pancake joint, city authorities said Tuesday. John M. Garza and Arley V. Nemo were apparently discovered missing during a routine head count on … Read more

The challenge of talking about menstruation without taboos in Bolivia

Sex education instructor Mariana Soriano shown on March 12, 2023, in La Paz, Bolivia, discussing the menstrual cycle at a workshop put on by Project Yawar to educate women about their bodies. EFE/Stringer

By Yolanda Salazar La Paz, Mar 20 (EFE).- Project Yawar, meaning “blood” in Aymara, seeks to eliminate lack of knowledge, inequality and the taboo on menstruation in Bolivia with workshops for women with different physical realities and social backgrounds to help “achieve menstrual dignity.” “I know women who at age 27 or 30 don’t know … Read more

Darien jungle: A nightmare of death, rape for migrants

Migrants wait in the Panamanian town of Bajo Chiquito, from where they will be transported to the Panamanian government's Immigration Reception Station in Meteti, Panama, on March 11, 2023. EFE/ Bienvenido Velasco

By Moncho Torres Bajo Chiquito, Panama, Mar 20 (EFE).- Having just come through the Darien jungle, they are exhausted, dragging their feet, sweaty, desperate for water. “Terrible, terrible, it was the worst,” they gasp. They are migrants who can’t believe that after their several-day trek they have managed to get through the nightmare of death, … Read more

Endangered black rhinos thriving in Czech zoo thanks to devoted caretakers

A keeper feeds white rhinos inside enclosure at the Safari Park in Dvur Kralove nad Labem, Czech Republic, 14 March 2023 (issued 17 March 2023). EFE/EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK

Prague, Mar 17 (EFE).- A group of dedicated and affectionate caretakers is successfully breeding endangered black rhinos at a Czech zoo to save the animals from extinction. Last year half of all the world’s newborn black rhinos were welcomed at the Dvur Kralove Czech Zoo, located 150 kilometers east of Prague. The latest addition to … Read more

The many guises of Saddam’s former luxury palace

The American University- Baghdad, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2023 EFE/ Carles Grau Sivera

By Carles Grau Sivera Baghdad, Mar 17 (EFE).- Built on an idyllic artificial lake by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s, Baghdad’s Al Faw Palace complex has since served as one of the main US military bases during the invasion and then a jail for the dictator before his execution. Now, perhaps ironically, it hosts the … Read more

The heavy toll of Saddam’s downfall, still fresh in Iraqi minds

Yasser, who was held in US custody for one year after the invasion, speaks with Efe in Baghdad, Iraq on March 11, 2023. EFE/Carles Grau Sivera

By Carles Grau Sivera Baghdad (EFE).- When Abu Hasan Ali saw American troops enter Baghdad in April 2003, he thought Saddam Hussein’s tyranny would be over within 24 hours and Iraq would be free. But the bombing of the Iraqi capital by the United States military pulverized his left arm and his hopes for a … Read more

Bones found in South Australia belong to huge eagle that hunted kangaroos

An undated handout photo shows lead author Dr Ellen Mather holding the femur of a wedge-tailed eagle (left) and Dynatoaetus gaffae (right) for comparison. EFE/HANDOUT/Tania Bawden

Sydney, Australia, Mar 16 (EFE).- The remains of a raptor discovered in South Australia are that of a giant extinct eagle with a three-meter wingspan and talons large enough to hunt kangaroos, an academic report said Thursday. Flinders University fossil hunters pieced together its story after new research of fossil cave remains found in South … Read more

‘Russia now spying on an industrial scale’

US ex-intelligence officer Chris Costa, executive director of the International Spy Museum in Washington DC, is interviewed by Efe on 7 March 2023. EFE/Octavio Guzman

By Susana Samhan Washington (EFE).- Although Russians have spent decades spying on the United States, their espionage activity has recently intensified and reached unprecedented levels, a former US intelligence officer told Efe. Chris Costa, executive director of the International Spy Museum in Washington DC, explained that Russia’s spying apparatus has been in place since the … Read more

Real Madrid dispatch Liverpool

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (R) celebrates with teammate Vinicius Jr . after scoring against Liverpool during the Champions League round of 16 second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on 15 March 2023. EFE/Rodrigo Jimenez

Sports Desk, Mar 15 (EFE).- Neither of Wednesday’s Champions League round-of-16 second legs produced any surprises, as Real Madrid topped Liverpool 1-0 to win 6-2 on aggregate and Napoli dominated Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 for a 5-0 triumph. While the Blancos are in pursuit of a record-extending 15th Champions League title, this will be Napoli’s first … Read more

Iraq’s children of war: shelling, death and chaos

Ali, 29, hand paints temporary tattoos on Al Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, Iraq, 15 March 2023. EFE/Carles Grau Sivera

By Carlos Grau Sivera Baghdad (EFE).- Twenty years after the United States’ invasion of Iraq, most young people share traumatic memories of deafening explosions, corpses littering Baghdad streets and living in fear they would never see their parents again. “The invasion left the country full of orphans. These young people now can’t even remember their … Read more