Restrictions on the Catholic Church have been intensified, as the government extended the prohibition to traditional "Posadas" and living Nativity scenes held in the streets

The UN tribunal has rejected Nicaragua's request to order Germany to suspend aid to Israel, ruling 15 to 1 against issuing such an order

Nicaragua is facing frozen relations with Brazil as President Lula da Silva suspends ties upon government's resistance to releasing imprisoned Catholic priests; Lula expressed dissatisfaction with Ortega's failure to respond to his calls for their release

Nicaragua's government sentenced 11 Christian leaders to 12-15 years in prison and fined them US$880 million for "money laundering" charges after they organized public prayer gatherings deemed threatening by the Sandinista regime

A specialized Nuclear Medicine Center for cancer treatment and professional training in the field will be built in Managua with Russian support