Archive for August 7th, 2009
Friday, August 7th, 2009
President Hugo Chavez warned that the US State Department has set in motion operations against the Venezuelan government trying to link it to drug trade.
Chavez affirmed that for several years some sources have been warning that the Pentagon tries to link it to drug trade to justify a military intervention of his country.
The president accused in a press conference in Miraflores Palace the cynicism of US democracy invading Iraq under the pretext that it harbored weapons of mass destruction. It just so happens, he explained, that there were no such weapons however the empire “fabricates excuses and continues to kill people in Iraq.”
He also recalled the actions of the US government dropping atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan 1945) and accused the United States embassy in Honduras that masterminded the military coup against the constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya, last June 28.
“Wherever the DEA (US Anti-drug Office), drug trade follows. Wherever imperialism goes, drug trade follows,” he emphasized.
The Venezuelan government has confiscated more than 30 tons of drugs during this semester in 2009 as well as 26 planes linked to drug trade, he explained.
He also qualified as blackmail the accusation of the Colombian government on alleged supply of Swedish weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – FARC – by Venezuela.
He insisted that “it is simple blackmail attempt against our protest over the installation of US military bases in that country.”
Venezuela has always had good will, good intentions towards Colombia; “however, this accusation of Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe” is a dirty and treacherous,” he emphasized.
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Friday, August 7th, 2009
Costa Rica is set to play against Honduras in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on Wednesday in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, while Costa Rica’s president, Oscar Arias, continues his efforts to mediate peace in that country.
The prez said that politics and soccer should be kept separate and he has no concerns of any ramifications stemming from the game.
“I am sure that you cannot mix soccer and the regrettable events in Honduras”, said Arias, who was asked by US State Secretary, Hilary Clinton, to mediate peace in Honduras.
However, the efforts by Arias to have both sides have not endorsed the “Acuerdo de San José” (San José Accord) that would end the political crisis in the Central American country.
Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was dumped on Costa Rica’s doorstep on June 28 when the Honduran military backed the coup d’etat led by Roberto Micheletti.
Since then, Zelaya has been attempting to garner international support for his return to office, his latest stop in Mexico where he was received by Mexican president, Felipe Calderón and given full presidential treatment.
Arias stressed that he expects Micheletti to ensure that “nothing abnormal” happens to Costa Rican players and fans who travel to Honduras for the game.
“Sports, soccer, unite societies,” Arias said.
He expressed the hope that “political problems will be set aside” for the game and is hoping the “Selección” (Costa Rican team) to win.
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Friday, August 7th, 2009
Costa Rica’s new immigration law provides for fines of up to $100 against undocumented residents for their “irregular” status and the issuance of sanctions against employers who hire them.
The law was adopted unanimously by the Congress on Tuesday and is expected to go into effect as soon as February 2010.
Both the increase in the number of immigrants, as well as alleged shortcomings of the old immigration law, led government officials to look at a series of changes they hope will improve security in Costa Rica and better facilitate immigration for foreigners looking to live here.
According to the Immigration Administration, there were nearly 284,000 permanent residents living in Costa Rica in 2007. Nicaragua, Colombia and the United States topped the list of countries with the greatest number of legal residents here, with 220,000, 11,652 and 9,000, respectively.
Among the changes in the law are tougher residency-through-marriage rules, a possibility for extending tourist visas and the opportunity to apply for residency from within Costa Rica.
Legislators say the reforms do not place increased burdens on foreigners. Instead, they say the new law will help stem human trafficking for illicit purposes and grant immigrants further protections under the law.
“This act … offers a window of opportunities which respect human rights and expedite the transit processes, permitting the country to be one of the most open and flexible in the world,” said Adrián Jiménez, institutional planning aide at the Immigration Administration.
“One of the greatest advances of this law is the establishment of a new immigration model that legalizes the process of integrating immigrants into the Social Security system and raises resources (through a residency renewal fee),” he added.
Foreigners will be required to pay $25 to renew their residencies. Those funds will be u sed to help cover their use of medical service s, education and other social services.
“This change will diminish the impact immigrants have on education and health programs, giving our social services more sustainability,” said Natalia Córdoba, legislative aide to one of the lead sponsors of the law, Olga Marta Corrales. “But it will also put immigrants into a position in which they can access these services.”
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Friday, August 7th, 2009
The state oil corporation, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), is said to have abruptly cancelled two shipments of crude oil, each of 280,000 barrels of light oil, to a refinery in Costa Rica. The refinery was then obliged to resort to the spot market, where it said it intended to seek alternative supplies.
A Caracas-based website, Petrofinanzas, reported that the shipments were contracted for delivery in August and September. The reason why PDVSA cancelled them in a thin market of reduced demand worldwide wasn’t clear.
The absence of an explanation from PDVSA – or, indeed, any public comment about the report prompted speculation that the decision was perhaps politically motivated. It was noted, for instance, that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez recently lambasted Costa Rican President Oscar Arias for his role in efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis in Honduras.
Chávez claimed that Arias – a Nobel Peace Prize winner – was merely following orders from the State Department in Washington in his unsuccessful effort to get the protagonists in the Honduran crisis to meet and talk. Chávez claimed that Arias’ action was “undignified” of a Latin American president.
Chávez, in turn, is accused of interfering in the Honduran crisis by siding with ousted elected President Manuel Zelaya, after initially being reported to have talked in unspecific terms of military action. Later, he clarified that he had no intention of intervening in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
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Friday, August 7th, 2009
The Costa Rican government has declared efforts to battle the AH1N1 flu virus a matter of “public interest” and ordered the nation’s medical facilities, both public and private, to treat patients free of charge, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
“This is one of the timely and rational measures the government has taken to safeguard the country’s socio-economic development, and a demonstration of commitment to those affected that will help reduce the impact of the disease,” the ministry said in a statement.
Health authorities also secured commitments from three of the country’s main private hospitals to not only treat patients free of charge but also send antiviral medicine from their pharmacies to other private facilities and small practitioners.
The medicine used to treat the virus in Costa Rica is oseltamivir, available only from the Health Ministry.
Treatment for the new virus should commence within the first 72 hours, as failure to do so could lead to complications resulting in hospitalization and even death, Health Minister Maria Luisa Avila said.
Costa Rica has reported 25 swine-flu deaths and 755 infections since the outbreak of the virus there in May, with most of the fatalities involving people already suffering from obesity, asthma, diabetes or chronic respiratory and heart conditions.
The disease has reached its peak in Costa Rica, according to health authorities, with the number of cases forecast to decline sharply over the next two weeks.
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