Miami, April 8 - Miami is entering a new real estate "boom", fed mainly by the investments of Latin Americans which have transformed the face of the city and, with its luxury homes, become one of its greatest draws.

Miami and its surroundings, according to the latest report on the luxury real estate market by Christie's, in 2012 burst into the group of the world's main markets of this type, thanks to the general recovery in demand and low prices.

St. Petersburg, March 7 - The adoption of at least 33 children from orphanages in Russia's St. Petersburg city are still in limbo two months after American families were barred from adopting Russian children, a top official said.

The 33 children, including 12 with special needs, had already met their American parents-to-be before the law came into force, city ombudswoman Svetlana Agapitova said.

It remains unclear whether all of those adoptions will now have to be cancelled, she said.

"We are waiting for the education and science ministry's decision. They should explain how the Dima Yakovlev bill will work," Agapitova said.

Miami, Dec 19 - US authorities are looking for a man who was photographed off the Florida coast riding on the back of a female sperm whale, an endangered species.

The marine mammal, which is distinguished from other types of whale by its enormous head, was found dead Tuesday on a beach north of Miami. Federal authorities are investigating the causes of its death.

The sperm whale, 9 meters long and weighing 30 tonnes, was still alive when the man, as yet unidentified, was photographed last Sunday sitting on its back. The pictures also show another swimmer trying to climb up on it.

Tampa, Florida, Aug 30 - Mitt Romney's running mate Paul Ryan has accepted the Republican vice-presidential nomination, saying time is running out to solve America's fiscal problems, but they can do it if elected in November.

"We will not duck the tough issues -- we will lead," Ryan, 42, said in his prime-time acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida Wednesday night.

"... The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us -- all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this."

Tampa (Florida), Aug 29 - Craig Romney, the youngest son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said here Tuesday that his father is not the out-of-touch figure painted by his opponents, but a "man of faith, a family man" who seeks to strengthen the American dream.

"It's obviously hard to listen to someone criticize your father but I know what kind of person my father is... he's a man of integrity, of character, he's a man of faith, a family man, and the reason why he's in this campaign is because he wants to help," 31-year-old Craig Romney told EFE.

Orlando (Florida), Aug 9 - A Puerto Rican scientist will be in charge of creating the menu for the first manned mission to Mars.

Yajaira Sierra Sastre, a 35-year-old native of Arroyo, Puerto Rico, was selected from among a group of 700 scientists to be part of the six-member crew of the HI-SEAS, or Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, mission, which NASA will undertake in 2013.

Her task will be to find the best way to keep the astronauts well fed and prevent them from getting bored with the menu during the Mars mission scheduled for 2030 and calculated to last some 2 1/2 years.

Miami, April 20 - A Jewish family who this week recovered a 16th century painting stolen by the Nazis during World War II announced Thursday that they are putting the piece up for sale.

After months of litigation, the heirs of Federico Gentili di Giuseppe Wednesday recovered the painting entitled "Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged By A Rascal", which they had lost track of when part of the family fled Paris to escape the Nazis and the rest died in concentration camps.

To recover the painting, they had to meet US authorities, who confiscated the work taking advantage of the fact that the painting was among more than 50 pieces on loan from the Pinacoteca di Brera museum in Milan, Italy, to the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee, Florida.

Miami, Feb 7 - The firm that salvaged $500 million in gold and silver coins from the bottom of the Atlantic in May 2007 asked the US Supreme Court Monday to issue an emergency stay against an order compelling the company to hand over the treasure to Spain.

Madrid's interests will not suffer if the handover is delayed for "a few more months" to give the Supreme Court time to consider the case, Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. said in a brief seen by EFE.

Florida, Feb 2 : Republican presidential front-runnner Mitt Romney has been criticized by conservatives for remarking that he''s "not concerned about the very poor".

Democrats are sure to seize on Romney's comment as Romney inches closer to the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney appeared on CNN this morning and reiterated a point he''s often made on the campaign trail -- that he''s more concerned with the middle class than the very rich or very poor.

"I''m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair , I''ll fix it," he said.

Florida (US), Jan 26 : Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich has erased the double-digit lead his GOP rival Mitt Romney once held in Florida, leaving the two candidates in a dead heat in the latest poll out of the Sunshine state.

According to CBS News, Romney leads with 36 percent among likely Republican primary voters in the new Quinnipiac poll, while Gingrich earns 34 percent.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum garnered 13 percent support while Rep. Ron Paul won 10 percent.

The poll, conducted January 19-23, has a margin of error of four points. (ANI)

Tampa (Florida US), Jan. 24 : Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney is reportedly fighting desperately to stabilise his US presidential campaign.

The move to save his campaign comes after two new polls showed him trailing former speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich by up to 10 points in Florida, the next Republican primary voting state.

Last night, a Rasmussen poll put Gingrich on 41 per cent and Romney on 32 percent, while Insider Advantage, which has tended to overstate Gingrich''s support, placed the former speaker on 34.4 per cent and Romney on 25.6 per cent.

Miami, Sep 29 - A Florida woman accused of having lured a teenager to a house where a group beat him to death says that she is a vampire.

"Since I was like, 12 ... I know this is going to be crazy, but I believe that I'm a vampire. Part of a vampire and part of a werewolf," 18-year-old Stephanie Pistey said in an interview with WJHG television in Panama City.

Apparently, Pistey confirmed to police that the five people - including herself - involved in the July murder of Jacob Hendershot, 16, near the panhandle city, were members of a vampire cult.

Miami, Aug 31 - Two Texas residents have been indicted for selling jaguar pelts illegally imported into the US from Mexico, authorities said.

Elias Garcia Garcia, 52, and Maria Angela Plancarte, 52, both of La Feria, Texas, "face charges related to the interstate sale of jaguar skins illegally entered into the United States from Mexico, in violation of the Endangered Species Act", US Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.

The two allegedly offered to sell the pelts to potential customers in person in Texas and by electronic means to those living elsewhere, and they made several trips to South Florida.

Florida (US), Aug. 25 : A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Communist hunter who snared Che Guevara in a South American jungle more than 40 years ago, has won a 2.8 billion dollar settlement from the Cuban government that tortured him and drove his father to suicide.

Gustavo Villoldo, 72, is unlikely to ever collect the money because Cuba does not recognize US court rulings and has only about 200 million dollars in assets frozen in America.

Cape Canaveral (Florida), July 8 : The coming end of the space shuttle era will take away the jobs of 24,000 people who hope to be able to find work in the private sector and keep the economy in this part of Florida's Atlantic coast alive.

NASA is continuing with the countdown for the Friday launch of the shuttle Atlantis on the programme's last space mission, if weather conditions do not force a delay.

On what is called the Space Coast, tourists have begun arriving for the launch, but their emotion and excitement contrast with the shadow of uncertainty hanging over the thousands of NASA workers who soon will lose their jobs.