Archive for October 26th, 2009
Monday, October 26th, 2009
October is breast cancer aware month and all types of activities and events have been ongoing the last three weekends in various parts of San José and the country.
Today, October 25, is the latest installment of activities to bring awareness to breast cancer, with the walk “Carrera y Caminata por la vida” (Race and Walk for Life) sponsored by Avon.
The walk will begin on Paseo Colón and end at the Plaza de la Democracia, three kilometres, led by survivors of breast cancer.
In Costa Rica breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women with some 1.000 cases a year being detected.
Adolfo Ortiz, heading the Red Oncológica Nacional (National Cancer Network) said the mortality rate from breast cancer in Costa Rica is 12.6 to 100.000 women.
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Monday, October 26th, 2009
The area of Sabana Oeste will be in the dark Monday as the Compañia Nacioinal de Fuerza Y Luz (CNFL) will be turning off the electricity switch between 8am and 4pm.
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Monday, October 26th, 2009
After days of work stoppage at the port of Limón, the striking workers and La Junda De Administracion Portuaria y de Desarrollo economico de la Vertiented Altlantica (JAPDEVA) came to an agreement, ending the strike that paralyzed the docks.
The agreement late Friday followed two failed attempts to reach an accord.
A small group of workers estimated at around 50 of the 1.400 member union decided to take a strike action for more money.
Union leaders were quick to say that the strike was no sanctioned by them, but did not go against the workers movement.
By 1pm Saturday, the docks at the Limón and Moín were operating normally according to Francisco Jiménez, president of Japdeva.
The agreement to end the strike that began on Tuesday calls for each side to assume the consequences deriving from the situation.
Ronaldo Blear, head of the Sintrajap – the worker’s union – said the workers were happy with the deal and that the ports are now working normally and the police presence is gone.
The agreement calls for a 2.4% pay raise for the workers, which will begin to be paid this week and retroactive to July.
The strike place in jeopardy the cruise ship season as cruise ship operators had begun to make plans to skip Limón due to the strike. Earlier in the week a cruise ship with 1.900 passengers could not make dock due to the strike, causing irreparable damage to the local trade.
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Monday, October 26th, 2009
Intel Corporation, with headquarters in California, has a large presence in Costa Rica, where it strives to prepare local students for the high-tech job market.
The company, which makes integrated circuits for computing and communications industries worldwide, is the largest company in Costa Rica. It thus has a stake in seeing the country’s students educated to take leadership roles in the computer field. Through its support of an after-school computer club program, Intel helps youth in underserved areas access technology and become confident, motivated learners.
To help students with an aptitude for science and technology, Intel has worked with the ministries of education and science and the University of Costa Rica to create a national program of science fairs for elementary and secondary students. About 60 percent of the student population now participates in such fairs. Winners of the country’s national science fair can receive company support to go on to Intel’s International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest pre-college science competition, to share ideas and compete for scholarships. (more…)
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Monday, October 26th, 2009
The Costa Rica government announced that it is allocating $15 million for the reparation of 10 bridges, two days after a tragedy that took five lives and sparked a barrage of criticism against Public Works and Transportation Minister Karla Gonzalez.
The money will come from a $65 million World Bank loan approved this year for dealing with emergencies and which could be available to the Public Works and Transportation Ministry (MOPT) in the coming weeks, the office of the president said.
The country’s two leading newspapers launched Saturday strong criticism of Minister Gonzalez, seconded by members of the opposition who demanded her resignation due to the bad state of the bridge that collapsed last Thursday as a bus went over it.
The bus fell from the bridge, which dates back to the 1920s, into the Rio Grande de Tarcoles river in the rural village of Turrubares, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of San Jose, leaving five dead and 34 injured.
Some of the survivors told reporters that they heard a loud noise when the cables holding up the bridge broke and the next thing they knew the vehicle was in the water.
In its editorial Saturday, the daily La Nacion said that the bridge “collapsed under the weight, not of a bus, but of the fecklessness of a government incapable of setting priorities and taking care of even the most elemental security requirements.”
La Republica, also in its Saturday editorial, said that “this is a case in which a resignation should be considered” since “it isn’t possible to just turn the page and go on as before, when there are five people dead who would still be here if priority had been given to prevention, prudence, discipline and a heightened sense of responsibility.”
A report by the Japanese Cooperation Agency, which dates back to 2007, said that most of Costa Rica’s bridges were in bad condition due to the lack of maintenance and that at least 10 were in urgent need of repair.
The $15 million announced by the government Friday night will go chiefly to improving those 10 structures.
The inhabitants of Turrubares and the town council had asked on several occasions for the Public Works and Transportation Ministry to fix the wooden suspension bridge, but the authorities had never undertaken any repairs, according to reports in the local press.
The political opposition has called for the minister to resign. The Libertarian Movement Party, which in a communique blamed Gonzalez for “inefficiency in running the MOPT, accumulating an unpardonable string of mistakes.”
For its part, the Citizen Action Party asked President Oscar Arias in a communique to dismiss the minister “as being directly responsible for the fatal accident on the Rio Grande de Tarcoles river.”
Minister Gonzalez has defended herself, saying that approaching the bridge there is a sign banning heavy vehicles and apparently the structure was damaged the day before it fell by a truck that crashed into part of the bridge.
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Monday, October 26th, 2009
Joel Campbell rallied Costa Rica with a goal in the 35th-minute, giving the Ticos a 1-1 draw Sunday in their opening game at the Under-17 World Cup.
Campbell capitalized when a pair of defenders stumbled over one another and finished easily, negating an 19th-minute tally by Michael Built. Andrew Mine was able to hold the ball and feed Built, who finished from near the penalty spot.
Both sides had second-half opportunities but Costa Rica had significantly more possession and twice as many chances, outshooting New Zealand 21-9 in the match.
“I think that every first game in a World Cup is a good game,” Costa Rica coach Juan Diego Samuel said. “Without thinking of winning or losing all the players are very anxious. I think we did a good job. We had a good game, we could have won the game but we are satisfied with the tie.”
Costa Rica next plays on Wednesday against Turkey, which won its opener 1-0 over Burkina Faso.
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