News stories by Danilo Valladares, page 10

'He would punch my head all the time, pull my hair, smack and kick me. And he would make me wear long sleeves to hide the bruises; even on my wedding day I had a black and blue mark on my arm,' Heidi Velásquez told IPS in Guatemala.

Spiralling violence against Central American migrants in Mexico has prompted legal reforms, diplomatic actions, and the creation of new mechanisms to protect citizens in this region.

The disasters caused by torrential rains in South America have set off alarm bells in Central America, whose extreme vulnerability was made all too clear over the last few years when it was slammed by hurricanes Mitch and Stan and tropical storm Agatha.

The rise in prices of corn, beans and other staple foods, driven up by damages to crops caused by extreme weather events, is making it even harder for the poor to afford a basic diet in Guatemala, which has the highest rate of child malnutrition in Latin America.

'I'm really scared for my four kids, who take the bus to school,' said an anguished Alma Valenzuela after a youth gang attacked a passenger bus in the Guatemalan capital, killing nine people, including three children.

A new law that will allow Guatemalan courts to seize goods and assets obtained through illegal activities, including drug trafficking and corruption, is being hailed as the new hope in fighting organised crime.

Guatemala, it seems, is trying out a new image. As of this month, women are at the helm of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Comptroller General's Office, winning their posts on merit, in what local activists are calling an important step in women's access to political power -- though 'there is a long way to go.'

With the exception of Costa Rica, Central America does not have diplomatic relations with China, but business executives are taking the place of ambassadors and promoting closer ties with the Asian giant, hoping to cash in on its rapid economic growth.

With accusations now being levelled against the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the effort to clean up corruption in this Central American nation has become a legal knot that will be difficult to untangle.

Nearly three years into President Álvaro Colom's presidency, Guatemala's indigenous people have seen little improvement in their lives -- and they represent approximately half the country's population.