The new policy represents a major change to US immigration rules, with President Joe Biden telling migrants: "Do not just show up at the border."

The human rights defender Bianca Jagger continues her battle against the political repression of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua, where she was born. Several bishops and priests are incarcerated in Nicaragua, where the Catholic Church is suspected of supporting the opposition.

Cristiana Chamorro, who has been on house arrest since June 2021, was formally placed on trial for alleged money laundering other crimes. President Ortega's government has cracked down on many opposition figures.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is poised to win a fourth consecutive term in Sunday's presidential elections. But there's mounting pressure from the US and the EU who are using economic sanctions to promote change.

Nicaragua is "one of the worst dictatorships in the world" with its President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo preparing "fake elections" to stay in power, Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief says. He made the blunt criticism in a news conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers that discussed the situation in the Central American country, which is to hold general elections on November 7.

In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega has imprisoned all opposition candidates who were set to run in the November 7 presidential polls. Meanwhile, dozens of public figures, party heads and student leaders have been arrested for "treason to the country". Ortega's critics now have only two options: exile or prison. Many are fleeing to Costa Rica, which over the past three years has seen an influx of some 100,000 Nicaraguans. Our regional correspondents report.

Residents of Diriamba, 50km south of the Nicaraguan capital Managua, wear colourful costumes and dance in celebration of the town's patron saint San Sebastian. The festival takes place with fewer numbers than usual amid Covid-19, with most people wearing masks and some social distancing rules.

Each year the Right Livelihood Award Foundation in Stockholm honors people who toiled to improve our world. From a jailed lawyer in Iran to an activist in Belarus, we profile 2020's "Alternative Nobel Prizes."

The Washington Post reports that Nicaragua's president is missing in action, as health and rights workers deplore the country's "laissez-faire approach" to the deadl

More than 200 people have been killed in the unprecedented wave of unrest sweeping Nicaragua in recent months.

For the past month, Nicaragua has been hit by anti-government protests. The demos were sparked by unpopular social security reforms, but have now swelled into a broader nationwide revolt against President Daniel Ortega's 11-year rule.

A fire in Managua destroys part of the biggest market in Nicaragua, but no people were harmed thanks to the intervention or more than 2,000 firefighters, police, soldiers and collaborators, an official says.