Protest March A Success,
Organizers Say
Tens of thousands of public
workers, students, teachers,
nurses and others opposed to the
Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC)
- the free trade agreement with
the United States marched in
Costa Rica's capital on Monday.
An estimated
25.000 people
took part in
yesterday's
protest march
against the TLC.
Organizers say
that the next
step is a
national strike
in their effort
to detail the
approval of the
trade agreement
with the United
States. |
Cost of International Calls May
Be Lower By End of Year, ICE
Says
Call the United States, Canada
and other countries could soon
be a lot cheaper, thanks to a
project by the Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad
(ICE) to reduce international
call rates. The new lower rates
could be a reality by the end of
this year.
Chávez
Will NOT Close Alunasa
In his regular program "Aló
Presidente", Venezuelan
president, Hugo Chávez, said
that he will not close the CVG
Alunasa plant in Costa Rica,
which closure had threatened the
employment of 400 people in the
small town of Esparza.
Security
Minister Warns Against Gun Crime
Costa Rica's viceministro de
Seguridad Pública, Gerardo
Lascarez, on Sunday warned
against the proliferation of
firearms in the nation, which
were used in around 5,000
robberies in 2006.
Cruiseliner Cancels Visits
The Carnival Cruise Line
announced yesterday that it was
cancelling visits to the port of
Limón following the increased
violence on tourists.
Costa Rica registers world's
highest banana production in
2006
Costa Rica harvested an average
of 2,524 boxes of bananas per
hectare in 2006, the highest
banana productivity in the
world, beating Colombia's 1,724
and Ecuador's 1,400, according
to data published in Monday's
Spanish language newspaper, La
Nacion .
Sandinista Government Focuses on
Energy
The Nicaraguan energy sector
that has undergone a serious
crisis with long and disrupted
blackouts, is one of the
Sandinista government main
priorities today.
Latin America, Caribbean Look at
EU Links
The European Union and Latin
America ad the Caribbean
Economic System (SELA) will
review the economic links in
this capital Monday at the half
way mark between the Vienna
bi-regional summits (2006) and
Lima (2008).
Guatemala to Analyze Police
Purge
The Guatemalan Security Cabinet
will meet this week to analyze
the National Civil Police (PNC)
purge, an issue currently
considered urgent in this
nation.
Pregnant Hondurans Consider
Suicide
Nearly half of pregnant
Hondurans under 17 think of
committing suicide and 24
percent have tried to kill
themselves at least once.
Raul
Castro: Cuban Army is
Outstanding
Raul Castro, Cuban First Vice
President and Minister of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces
(FAR), congratulated Cuba s
western Army for its successful
training and improvement in
mobilizing and deploying troops.
MEXICO/CENTRAL AMERICA:
Understanding the Maras
Understanding the world of youth
gangs in Central America and
Mexico is difficult. Some
studies assert that their power
is exaggerated and that they are
closely related to poverty,
others say poverty is not a
determining factor, and there
are also those who say the gangs
are dangerous organisations that
cut across national borders.
|
