Costa Rica information, activities and news
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 00:46:29 UTC
The depth of the earthquake was 210.3 km (130.7 miles)
The earthquake was about 55 km (35 miles) north east of Liberia, Costa Rica
Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep) closed the file on the request by Riteve SyA, the vehicular inspection service, for a 100% increase in its rates.
The request was made last November, turning into controversy, including the threat by the next government to not renew the Riteve contract.
Carolina Mora, speaking for the Aresep, said “following a analysis of the request and based on the criteria by the Procuraduría General de la República (Attorney General), the file was closed”.
However, this does not bar Riteve from submitting a new rquest, however, any such request has to be made by the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi) and not Riteve.
“Cosevi is the body responsible to regulate the cost of services provided by Riteve”, said Mora.
Costa Rica’s government has given permission for a $300 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan to help finance highway projects throughout the country, BNamericas reports. The funds will be used to finance work on the Interamericana Norte highway and to expand 10 bridges to four lanes on the highway between Barranca and Arizona cities.
The loan will also be used to complete several stretches of the San Carlos highway. The financing is the first portion of an $850 million loan, approved by IDB in September 2009.
The study reveals that ten infants less died in 2009 over 2008, giving Costa Rica the lowest infant mortality rate in the last 59 years.
Figures from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC) – census and statistics board – reveal that in 2009 there were 75.000 live births and only 663 deaths.
The reduction is being attributed to the purchase and use of special equipment in prenatal care, in addition to better trained medical personnel, especially in the care of premature babies.
The ministra de Salud, María Luisa Ávila, highlighted the positive impact of universal health care for pregnant women with good prenatal care.
Another encouraging factor is that 97 percent of births in the country now take place in hospitals. This allows for better attention of the mother and the newborn.
The ministra said that as part of the program they have been educating pregnant women to get more prenatal care, controlling pregnancies and promoting breast feeding and the immediate contact between mother and newborn.
The vice-ministra de Salud, Ana Morice, emphasized that there was also a reduction of deaths from communicable diseases like respiratory infections, diarrhea and meningitis.
Morice said that the reduction was due to vaccinations.
The infant mortality rate largely reflects the living conditions of the population and its stability is subject to the variability of various social factors.
Although gas eruptions at the Poás volcano northwest of San José soared on Monday morning, the park will remain open for now.
According to a bulletin from the National University’s Vulcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI), a cloud of sulfur sailed out of the crater, reaching a height of 500 meters and moving east.
Park guards described the sulfur smell as “very strong,” but said they did not see any falling solid sediment, such as ash or rock. They added that there were no signs of strong seismic shakes with the eruption.
Scientists with the OVSICORI said that these conditions are normal and that gas columns “will be common” at Poás. The increased temperature within the volcanic dome in the past few weeks – between 600 and 800 degrees Celsius – means more frequent gas eruptions, the OVSICORI said.
On Tuesday morning, winds carried the gases south toward tourist overlooks at Poás, but park rangers said the gas does not pose any threat to visitors and that the park will remain open.
Park guards and scientists will continue to monitor the volcano’s activity and could temporarily close the park if conditions become dangerous for visitors.
I was then transferred to San Sebastian Prison in
My public defender was at first very confident that I would win the Extradition and be set free. According to her, it was just a formality that I must go through and we must wait the formal filing of charges by the United States Embassy. She was certain that they would not file these charges in 60-day time period allotted by the courts in accordance with the Bi-lateral Extradition treaty between the
Late in the afternoon of day 60, the United States Embassy did file the formal charges. I decided that I would continue to fight the Extradition to the
It was at this time I decided to write my own appeal for a court decision I had not yet received. I feared that the court would decide against me and allow the
To my amazement, when I read the court decision, the Judge had taken my one conspiracy charge and made two charges out it to fit a similar charge of distribution of cocaine under the laws of
I decided it would be in my best interest to continue studying the law and I made arrangements to have the Costa Rican law books purchased for me and delivered to the prison so that I may study for my defense. I was doing a much better job than the attorney I had and my appeal had been accepted. This allowed me more time to study and submit another appeal. I am fluent in Spanish and this was of great assistance to me in my studies of the law and preparation of legal briefs. Through my studies, I also had studied the conventions that govern Extradition law and I was becoming very knowledgeable in law which related to Extradition, the Bi-Lateral Treaty, and the Constitution of Costa Rica.
As I had been preparing everything in Spanish, the court assumed that I had had legal assistance of some sort. I then learned some very important things that directly related to my case. The first one was that my rights had been violated because all the documents I had received to date were in Spanish. Due to the fact that I am American and my native language is English, the court violated my rights by not having an interpreter present during the court proceedings and that the documents I had been receiving were not translated into English. I filed an appeal with the Tribunal Appeals Court which decided in my favor and had the Extradition proceedings suspended until an interpreter was appointed and all the documents were translated and prepared in the English language. This bought me time to prepare my case on appeal. I also learned that due to the fact that I was looking at a sentence of ten years to life, it was a violation of the Costa Rican Constitution.
Under Costa Rican law, there is a five-year statute of limitations to arrest and convict a person. My charges stemmed from a 1991 charge so I was protected under this law. It was at this time that I noticed that Article 16b of the Extradition Treaty was unconstitutional under the Costa Rican Constitution which states that once a person is extradited, the
Once again, I found myself without an attorney. It was at this time that I decided to file an appeal with the Supreme Court of Costa Rica. I filed the appeal stating that (1) the statute of limitations had lapsed; (2) the
I had to submit the argument two times. The first time, the Sala IV returned my argument, stating that the argument had merit but I lacked the proper stamps that must be submitted with a brief and that I must follow their established format. They asked me to rewrite the brief and resubmit it, at which time they would make their decision. In the meantime, all Extradition proceedings would be suspended, not only against me, but also against any other persons that may be awaiting Extradition to the
Legally, I had won on every point of the law and I was not extraditable. I needed only to wait for the ruling to be handed down that would set me free in
On May 9, 2001 my name was called in the
Written by: William Warren Freeman Jr.
The dreaded Matabuey, a snake so fearsome its name means “ox killer,” has a deadly bite that immobilizes its prey in minutes, making it the kind of creature generally to be avoided.
But far from steering clear of the legless lizards, researchers at the world leading Clodomiro Picado institute in Costa Rica are avidly cultivating them, along with hundreds of equally-venomous vipers.
Scientists raise the deadly reptiles to harvest their venom, the key ingredient in the massive quantities of life-saving antivenom produced by the institute each year from some 800 snakes.
Venom from the Matabuey and other pit-vipers, known in English as bushmasters, helps herpetologists produce the serum administered to snakebite victims around the world who would otherwise face certain death.
Poisonous snakes raised in this research facility about a dozen miles (20 kilometers) north of the Costa Rican capital San Jose are kept in meticulously labeled glass containers for the sole purpose of collecting their venom.
The poison is extracted from the snakes “three or four times a year,” said herpetologist Fabian Bonilla, who once survived the potentially lethal bite of a coral snake – another viper in the institute’s impressive collection.
For researchers in this subtropical country, where a host of venomous snakes flourish, the extraction of venom is so methodical that it has an almost ritualistic quality.
“The animal does not eat for two weeks before the extraction,” said Bonilla, explaining that many snakes also use venom to digest their prey and therefore the amount of poison they produce diminishes greatly after they have eaten.
“Afterwards, it needs time to de-stress and eat well,” since the extraction process “is very stressful for the animal,” he said.
The director of the institute, Yamileth Angulo, revealed that the use of horses is the crucial next step in the production process.
The animals are injected with small, nonlethal doses of venom for three successive months, producing antibodies in their blood.
A small amount of the horse’s blood is then removed and plasma is extracted containing the vital antibodies which, when injected into a snake bite victim, will neutralize its venom.
“When we see that the horse has responded well and has produced large quantities of antibodies we extract some of its blood – about eight liters of blood each day for three days from each horse,” Angulo said.
After separating out the red blood cells from the plasma, the blood is reinjected into the horse.
“That way, we ensure that nothing bad happens to the animal,” explained Angulo.
Soon after being captured in the wild, the snakes are placed in quarantine and checked for parasites.
Once given a clean bill of health they are “milked” for their venom, and fed a diet corresponding to what they might have eaten in the wild – usually dead rodents or in the case of corals, smaller snakes.
But despite the fastidious care they receive at the center, their lives here are often short.
“Many die because they do not adapt quickly to captivity,” admitted biologist Aaron Gomez.
The institute, which operates under the aegis of the University of Costa Rica, manufactures 100,000 doses of snake antivenom, which is sold throughout the Americas as well as Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Taiwan.
Thanks to an agreement reached with the World Health Organization, it also provides the medicine to various African countries for the greatly discounted sum of about 20 dollars per dose “just to covers our costs,” Angulo said.
At market rate the life-saving antivenom can cost as much as 1,000 dollars per dose, he said.
Since each family of snake has its own antidote, the institute has an agreement with Liverpoool University in Britain, which also has a large collection of venomous snakes.
The British university sends it venom from some of the snakes in its collection, allowing the Costa Rican institute to create a broader array of snake antivenom.
Work on Costa Rica’s only open-pit gold mine remained stalled amid environmentalists’ renewed complaints that the small Canadian mine owner is threatening local plant and animal life.
A court ruled earlier this month that Infinito Gold Ltd (IG.V) could resume work at its Crucitas gold project near the border with Nicaragua after environmental challenges stopped construction on the property in October 2008.
But the victory for the company was brief, since new appeals by Costa Rican environmental groups mean Infinito can not move forward until the legal questions are resolved.
The groups claim clearing trees at the open pit mine will damage the delicate ecosystem around the site, which is home to endangered wildlife.
The company denies the claims but says they will respect the court’s decision and no work is currently being done at Crucitas, Andres Soto, a spokesman for Infinito in Costa Rica told Reuters on Monday.
There is no date set for a final ruling on the matter but if the court rules in the company’s favor, the mine will start producing gold around nine months later, Soto said.
Crucitas will be Costa Rica’s first major gold mine with a capacity to produce 85,000 ounces of gold annually. An investment of up to $66 million is required to start the mine with an indicated resource of 1.2 million ounces of gold, according to the company’s website.
Costa Rica is famed for its lush forests that cover half of its territory, but has minimal metallic mineral resources.
President Oscar Arias reversed a moratorium on open pit mining after taking office in 2006 and later declared the Crucitas project of “national interest,” angering environmentalists.
Laura Chinchilla, the country’s president-elect who will take office in May, is a protege of Arias but she has said she will not allow any new open-pit mine projects in the country.
The United States is releasing an additional $2.64 million in aid under the Merida Initiative to improve citizen safety in Costa Rica.
In an announcement made at the Foreign Ministry on Friday, U.S. Ambassador Anne Andrew said the additional money will be used to strengthen border controls, improve the justice system and fight criminal organizations.
“Today, with our signatures, we continue with our shared commitment to improve the security of our citizens in Costa Rica and in the United States,” Andrew said of the program that has thus far pumped $175 million into Central America – $9 million in Costa Rica this year alone.
The additional aid was accompanied by an announcement that the United States will change the initiative’s name to the Central American Regional Security Initiative, or CARSI.
“The name change reflects the fact that the State Department has noted that the needs of law enforcement may differ between Central American countries,” read a statement from the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry. “But they also share many of the same challenges, such as the use of their territory to transport drugs, money laundering and other illegal activities related to drugs.”
Meanwhile, President-elect Laura Chinchilla has been traveling through Central America, mustering support for a shared security initiative.
“We are at the point of initiating a series of security operations to put the brakes on drug trafficking and money laundering,” she said after a visit with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli. “This is the opportune moment to coordinate with our Panamanian counterparts because this fight can only be one if we do it together.”
Story by TT
The filming of a documentary that follows the daily lives of five women named Maria Rodriguez, the most common name in Costa Rica, tried to gather in San Jose over the weekend the greatest number of women with that name so they could meet each other and share the experience.
The film, called “Maria Rodriguez,” to be released in 13 Latin American countries and for which production began in March and will wrap up next week, intends “to portray the Costa Rican woman and society through the lives of five very different women,” Alonso Arias, one of the directors, said.
Arias said that despite having the same name, the five Marias in the documentary “are very different” in terms of age, socioeconomic class, ambitions and geographic location, though he preferred not so give details about the individual women until after the shooting is finished.
In doing research for the movie, he said, a strange coincidence came up with the discovery that Maria is the most common first name in Costa Rica and Rodriguez the most common last name.
In addition, the combined name of Maria Rodriguez is the most widespread in Costa Rica – 6,300 women in the country have that name.
The producers decided to invite everyone named Maria Rodriguez to a party Sunday in a park in San Jose as a tribute to the Costa Rican woman and to shoot a number of scenes for the documentary.
All the Maria Rodriguezes were able to get to know each other and enjoy the party with food, music and dancing.
The film, written and directed by Gustavo Loria and Alonso Arias, is being made as part of the Program for the Promotion of the Production and Televising of the Ibero-American Documentary, or DOCTV-IB, and will be shown beginning in October in 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries on state-run TV channels and those affiliated with DOCTV-IB.
The program is an initiative of the Brazilian government in which Ibero-American nations are taking part through the Audiovisual and Cinematographic Authorities Conference.
This month is the hottest April in the last 17 years, says the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN). But, we really didn’t need the IMN to tell us that, for the heat could be felt by everyone and without consulting a thermometer or looking up the weather reports.
Last Sunday the official recorded temperature in Liberia, Guanacaste, was 39.5 Celsius (103.1 Fahrenheit), according to the IMN.
In the Caribbean and the Central Valley the temperatures ranged between 30 Celsius and 33 Celsius, temperatures that have not been seen in more than a decade.
In San José, whose average temperature is 28 Celsius, the mercury has hit 30 at times.
There are many reasons for this, one being the effects of El Niño, others due to the lack of clouds and that the suns rays are hitting us perpendicular.
Not matter the reason, it is just plain and simply, hot.
Saturday, more than 300 volunteers took part in the second edition of the “clean up the Virilla river” program, collecting some 120.000 plastic bottles from the river that is being called the most polluted in Central America.
The buses filled with volunteers left at 6:30am, 20 minutes later they were at the Fuerza y Luz (light and power company) dam in Brasil de Santa Ana, where the work began.
Under the hot sun, volunteers scoured the banks of the river, filling plastic bags of plastic refuse that makes its way into the river strewn about in San José by thousands daily.
The river, at some points like near the Brasil dam, you don’t have move much to be able to fill bags on bags, as the refuse accumulates in piles.
The program is being promoted by local television station, Teletica and the Terra Nostra organization, which brings together volunteers and private business together once a month. Private individuals provide the labour force, while business provides the financial and other resources to get the job done.
Private businesses are urged to join the program.
For more information on the program and how you can go to www.teletica.com or www.terranostra-cr.org or call 2228-4317.
Procomer (export promotion agency from Costa Rica) declared that exports of pineapple from Costa Rica reached $572 million in 2009, a similar figure to 2008. However according to the guild of pineapple growers (CANAPEP) exports increased about 5%.
From 2000 to 2009 the area harvested with pineapples increased from 12500 to 40500 hectares, respectively. However, this impressive increase is not free of criticism. Environmentalists argue that natural reserves have been affected by settlers and advise further control of the increase in cultivated areas.
Benefits in the pineapple business have shown a motivation to people from other sectors to reconvert to production. However as authorities warn, there is also a logistic problem, sometimes the infrastructure is surpassed by the supply and costs to export increase. Growers have to think if they want really to take this risk,said authorities.
The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (immigration service) will not be charging the us$100 fine for living illegally in the country for at least another six months, explained the director, Mario Zamora.
The delay, Zamora said, is allowing illegal immigrant a grace period to legalize their situation.
The fine for overstaying a stay in Costa Rica is called for in article 33 of the Ley No. 8764 went into effect on March 1, 2010.
However, according to Zamora, who will be leaving the immigration service in two weeks, time is needed for the immigration service to draft regulations regarding the charging and mechanisms for collection of the fine.
“It is being revised and adjusted,” said the director.
Once the regulations are in place, Zamora explained that the payment of the fine can be made at any point of entry or exit to Costa Rica, that includes land crossing points, as well as airports.
The regulation calls for a barring of re-entry of any illegal person who does not pay the fine before leaving the country. The bar of re-entry will be up to three times the period of illegal stay in the country.
The new immigration law also forces foreigners who want to renew their work visa or residency to be voluntary contributors to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS). According to the CCSS, that regulation alone has seen as 63% increase in contributors in the past month or so.
Those foreigners are also required to provide a birth certificate notarized by the Costa Rican consulate in the country of origin (save for those countries who issue the certificates in Costa Rica) and a police record, as well as a guarantee deposit for the value of a flight out of Costa Rica to the country of origin.
The guarantee, according to Zamora, is to allow the foreigner to be deported in the event they commit a crime in Costa Rica.
However, the fine excludes foreigners who are in Costa Rica as refugees, according to Vanessa Leandro, legal advisor to the Alto Comisionado de la ONU para los Refugiados (Acnur) in Costa Rica.
The new immigration law also sanctions employers who hire illegals.
Article 177 of the new immigration law allow for a fine of up to 12 basic salaries of a class 1 office worker, which is currently between ¢443.000 and ¢2.6 million colones.
Director Zamora emphasized that the fine for employers is not being deferred and is applicable.
Costa Rica is becoming a popular destination for corporate and incentive travel. With its diverse climate and many ecological interests, it is a country that provides just the right atmosphere for growing and learning both on a personal and a professional level. Read on to discover the top reasons why you should book your next business retreat in Costa Rica.
You can travel to Costa Rica year round. Plan your retreat when it is most convenient for you and your business instead of trying to plan around a certain travel season. The warm temperate climate makes any time of the year a good time. There are two seasons in Costa Rica. High season runs from December through April, and will mean less rain to interfere with your activities. Even during the rainy season, the rain is sporadic and you should still be able to participate in all the varied activities.
Costa Rica is a safe environment for professional travel, no need to worry about the personal safety and well being of your employees or members. Many of the stories of crime and danger are fabricated by the press and media and should not deter you from traveling there. Guided transportation is always recommended however simply because road and weather conditions can make travel difficult for those unfamiliar with the area.
Another highlight of Costa Rica is that it was the very first country to formally abolish military forces. The constitution has forbidden a standing military since 1949. And unlike many of its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica has not had a civil war since.
There are two international airports serving Costa Rica, Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose and Liberia Airport in Guanacaste, which both offer direct flights from many major cities around the world. Transportation is provided from the airport to most major hotels and resorts. Flights to Costa Rica are economical and can actually be cheaper in some cases than flights to domestic locations.
The quality and service of the resorts and hotels is top notch while still very economical. Most resorts have meeting rooms and planning services to help you organize a productive, well run business conference. Other business accommodations include more rustic cabin retreats or you can even book a safari tent retreat!
Costa Rica has a special status as a business travel destination. Your corporate retreat is considered tax deductible if you are booking as a U.S. company.
There is a wide range of activities to participate in during off work hours. From simple sport fishing, golfing, surfing and just relaxing on warm sandy beaches to jungle tours, waterfall rappelling, and zip lining, it is all available here year round.
Costa Rica offers inspiring surroundings for letting all those creative juices flow! The tranquil beauty and luxurious scenery is sure to stimulate plenty of free thinking and renewed energy.
So, why not make Costa Rica your next corporate travel destination? Excellent accommodations and the warm tropical climate make it the perfect spot for year round business travel.
