Archive for September 28th, 2009
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Honduras’ de facto authorities expelled a delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) that sought to enter into a dialogue to end the three-month-old standoff that has gripped the Central American country.
The move signaled a deepening of the crisis not just within Honduras, but between the country’s de facto government and the international community, which has tightened diplomatic and economic pressure on the nation since its military ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28.
Officials of the administration of de facto President Roberto Micheletti said Honduras was not expecting the visit.
They came by surprise, said Carlos López, Micheletti’s foreign minister. López said the OAS had been clearly warned not to arrive uninvited, (but) they did it anyway, he said, adding that it is within Honduras’ legal authority to deny entry to any visitor.
One member of the delegation, OAS Special Adviser John Biehl of Chile, was permitted to stay because, according to López, he was a close collaborator in the mediation in Costa Rica.
Within a week of the coup, the OAS suspended Honduras’ membership and the organization’s Secretary General José Miguel Insulza flew to the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa to persuade Micheletti to back down, but failed. The international community and Micheletti have remained stuck in a stalemate ever since.
In an additional act of resistance against international pressure, Micheletti’s administration on Sunday gave the Brazilian Embassy 10 days to decide what it will do with Zelaya, whom it has sheltered in its embassy since the deposed leader secretly re-entered into Honduras on Sept. 21.
López said it was Brazil that broke with the current government (of Honduras), adding that if no bilateral relations exist then evidently they have to divest themselves of the shield, and become a private office.
In response, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Brazil won’t accept an ultimatum from a coup government.
Meanwhile, the leading presidential candidates in Honduras’ upcoming elections have met with Zelaya and Micheletti separately, and reported back to Costa Rican President Oscar Arias on their talks. The candidates had visited San José earlier in the month to meet with Arias, who has served as mediator in the crisis.
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
Nearly two thousand people are infected with A(H1N1) in Nicaragua just four months after the first case was reported.
According to the Health Ministry (Minsa), 1,999 people were affected by this pandemic, 962 of them are cured, 9 died and 28 are receiving medical treatment.
According to Guillermo Gonzalez, head of Minsa, 48 percent of those infected are located in the capital (921) followed by Masaya with 224 cases, Esteli with 186 cases, Matagalpa with 118, Leon with 93, Carazo with 73 and Granada with 60 cases. These are city highly populated, which favors the dissemination of respiratory diseases.
The most vulnerable group is young people in the ages of 20 to 34 years, with 25 percent of those infected.
On the other hand, authorities intensify the fight against dengue fever outbreaks.
Health Minister stated that also there is circulating dengue virus 3 which brings about a higher risk of infection, especially to people that already has been infected with dengue classic virus. They may be affected with dengue hemorrhagic fever.
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
It turned out to be a relatively straight forward affair in the opener in Group E as Brazil overcame Costa Rica 5-0. Three goals before the interval and two after gave Brazil a wonderful platform from which to build for the rest of the tournament.
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
After many years it looked like the San Jose – Caldera new highway was going on schedule and be completed in February 2010. This much-awaited Autopista del Sol (The autopista, a concession highway where users pay a toll) that will dramatically cut travel time from the Central Valley to the central Pacific beaches. Since May, 2009, year Costa Ricans have experience delays, traffic chaos, and toll road hikes caused by this expansion.
But it looks like they will have to continue with more hardships – suddenly the Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo, Costa Rica’s nation’s environmental panel, court stopped construction on much of the new highway from Ciudad Colón to Orotina after many of the tolls booths had been open.
The environmental unit, the Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo, said Thursday it was concerned by the effects of construction was having on the Barva acquifer and the direct or indirect effects on about 20 rivers and streams west of Ciudad Colón. The main concern is the flow of sediment into the waterways. The contractor has been criticized.
And as expected, the contractor, Autopista del Sol S.A., immediately defended, since they started, much of the work they had done was being supervision by numerous government agencies, adding, the tribunal has failed to consider a number of documents the company has presented, including those that expressed concern of the flow of sediment into the waterways. Interesting …
And strangely enough, many Costa Ricans have criticized the contractor as being too delicate with the landscape, saying that some of the highway cuts were too steep. A lesser cut means moving less dirt, which means less costs to the contractor.
According to the Tribunal, the contractor has to come up with plan to removed the sedimentation that already has flowed into the waterways. And some sort of technique that will also prevent and/or slow the flow of water that might carry sediment into these waterways along other parts of the highway.
Regardless, the delay of this project will put others at risk, like the Atenas retention dam, not counting the fact it will continue to hurt the economy in the beach areas such as Jaco, Herradura, Manuel Antonio, Quepos and Puntarenas.
The highway is about 77 kilometers long with and estimated cost of $230 million USD.
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