Archive for August 6th, 2009
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Costa Rica’s Carlos Muñoz calls his chips at the Billabong ISA WSG
Despite a magnificent run by dark horse Venezuela, host country Costa Rica’s Carlos Muñoz called all his chips in today to vault into contention for a World Title at the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games fueled by Monster Energy.
With conditions ranging from blazing sunshine to pouring rain, and tides at both high and low extremes, the 16-year-old Muñoz managed to have an interference call in two consecutive heats – and still win both of them, a feat that in most cases is considered almost impossible.
“When you lose your leash 3 times, get two interference calls, and still take the highest scores, that’s beyond just great surfing” said former US Champion team member Jimmy Hogan, who now lives in Costa Rica. “That’s pure entertainment!”
The young Tico has brought huge crowds to their feat and electrified his teammates as he blazed through heats that eliminated WQS and ASP World Tour pros. Only a handful of other teams have qualified more than two team members into the next qualifying round and Muñoz’ performances are a big factor in keeping the Costa Ricans in the race. (more…)
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Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Three Costa Rican ministers resigned from their posts Wednesday so as to be named as deputy candidates for the ruling National Liberation Party in the general election next year.
Finance Minister Guillermo Zuliga, Labor Minister Francisco Morales and Justice Minister Viviana Martin quitted after a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in San Jose.
Meanwhile, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias swore in Jenny Phillips as finance minister, Alvaro Gonzalez as labor minister, and Hernando Paris as justice minister.
Arias thanked the three ministers for their work in the government for the past three and a half years.
“I thank you what you gave to Costa Rica … Thanks for the trust to the government and for serving Costa Rica as you did and I congratulate the new ministers,” he said.
Costa Rica will hold the general election in February 2010.
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Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Eleven people, including a retired NYPD officer and a reputed Genovese wiseguy, were indicted Wednesday for running a $13 million sports gambling ring.
The group processed bets through a “wire room” in Costa Rica reachable through a Web site or a toll-free number.
One of the defendants, Carmen Cicalese, 77, is a fugitive in Costa Rica.
“These are not victimless crimes,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “When it comes to illegal gambling in Queens County, all bets are off.”
The ring took action on baseball, basketball, hockey, and professional and college football. Bets ranged from $200 to $4,000.
Joseph Sofia, 63, who was an NYPD detective hunting career criminals until retiring on disability in 1989, allegedly collected the cash and gave gamblers access codes.
He and the other defendants face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on enterprise corruption and other charges.
The group’s bookmakers were identified by prosecutors as James Rossi, 49, an alleged Genovese associate, and Michael Mildenberger, 71.
Cops seized nearly $400,000 in cash in Long Island and North Carolina, four vehicles and thousands of pages of gambling records from the group.
“We haven’t had a chance to examine any of the evidence,” said lawyer Joseph Sorrentino, who represented Rossi and Mildenberger at their arraignment. “They can make any allegation they want, but the question is can they prove it?”
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Thursday, August 6th, 2009
OAS agrees to send delegation to Honduras
The Organization of American States agreed Wednesday to send a delegation to Honduras to try to persuade its interim government to negotiate with international mediators seeking the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said that the organization had not decided in Wednesday’s meeting who would represent the delegation. However, he was expected name up to five foreign ministers of member countries by Friday and hoped the delegation could travel next week to Honduras.
Mediators hope that interim President Roberto Micheletti can be pressured to accept a plan proposed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias under which Zelaya would return to power until new elections could be held.
Insulza said after the meeting that the delegation would back Arias’s plan.
“This delegation is a continuation of Oscar Arias’s work,” he said, speaking in Spanish.
Zelaya, who was whisked out of the country in a June 28 coup condemned worldwide, has said negotiations mediated by Arias last month floundered because of Micheletti’s refusal to consider his reinstatement.
Separately, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights announced Wednesday that it would send a delegation to Honduras from Aug. 17-21 to investigate alleged abuses during the coup.
The commission, an independent branch of the OAS, said that it sent a letter to Honduras’s interim government detailing its plans and that Honduras is required to allow the visit because it is a signatory of the American Convention on Human Rights.
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