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Tuesday
21 January 2003
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Nine
deaths in a single day
Young and old, no one escaped death.
Nine deaths were registered between Sunday
night and Monday afternoon.
Four were murdered, one was run over by a
vehicle, two burned to death and one youth
drowned.
According to the Red Cross, who responds to
emergency calls along with the police and
fire department, there have occurred 65
deaths so far this year, 12 more than this
time last January.
It all started at about 8:45pm in Purral de
Goicoechea, where a man was shot to death in
a scuffle with another man, who ran from the
scene.
n hour later, en Fray Casiano, Puntarenas
the second death occurred resulting from a
street fight. A woman was shot in the thorax
when she tried to help her son in a scuffle
with another individual, who was apprehended
on the scene.
To end Sunday
night, en Nambi de Nicoya, Guanacaste, a man
was run over as he tried to cross the street
and didn't notice an oncoming car.
Monday continued with the tragedies, where
two elderly sisters died in their burning
home in La Trinidad de Moravia.
In Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, a man was
discovered dead in his home from a wound to
the neck. Then en San Felipe de Alajuelita a
young man was stabbed to death. He was found
in a ravine by several men, and had
apparantly bled to death.
Later in the day Monday, in El Coyol de
Alajuela. a teenager was electrocuted when
he apparently made contact with a high
voltage cable. The last death was reported
at 4:50pm, when a child drowned in a pool in
Atenas.
Immigration arrests
continue
According
to information released by Immigration
officials, another 11 people were detained
Saturday night in the fifth operative this
year.
The operation this time centered on night
(Strip) clubs and massage parlors. Those
arrested will be deported within the coming
days.
This operative is on the heels of the
previous a couple of days before when
a
total
of 33 illegals were arrested.
Most visitors to Costa Rica only need a
passport and pre-paid ticket out of Costa
Rica to enter. Citizens of the US, Canada
and most European countries are permitted a
stay of 90 days as tourists, while the rest
are only permitted a 30 day stay.
A visa is only required for a handful of
countries. Click
here to see if you need a visa to enter
Costa Rica.
An
international investigation criticizes Costa
Rica for the commercial sexual exploitation
of children
The report was released at the same
time in Costa Rica and in Thailand. Costa
Rica is one of the 120 countires
investigated by the ECPAT, an international
organization fighting against the commercial
sexual exploitatin of children.
It criticized
the fact that in Costa Rica, the
"coyotaje" or the trafficking of
people between borders is not punished.
Because, according to the experts, it
facilitates that many children of other
countries come to Costa Rica and are then
exploited sexually.
But also it
indicates the lack of legal rigor with
regard to the clients, because very few have
been jailed.
The main
recognition, is that Costa Rica is one of
the ten Latin American countries that count
on a program of fight against this
situation.
The report
recognizes the efforts of the Costa Rican
authorities to put behind bars the
exploiters, as well for the
investigations against the production of
pornographic material involving minors.
The report
also recognizes what it considers a change
of attitude in the country. This is due to
the fact the current government recognizes
the existence of the problem.
The report
already was put into the hands of the
Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, PANI.
Minister
of the Presidency Rina Contreras to continue
The designation of Rodrigo Aryan as
presidential adviser, apparently raised more
of a rumor and generated fears between some
members of the government.
For that reason president Abel Pacheco on
Monday defended and denied that this could
mean that any time soon the Minister of the
Presidency, Rina Contreras, would be
leaving. She will continue to be his right
hand person.
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Powell
urges council to fulfill duty in Iraq's weapons
inspection
US
Secretary of State Colin Powell said here Monday
that the world must rid itself of the cancer of
terrorism by using every tool of statecraft, for
as long as it took.
Speaking at the
United Nations Security Council ministerial
meeting on counter-terrorism, he said the
declaration adopted at the meeting indicated that
the war against terror has many fronts, from
stemming arms and drug trafficking, as well as the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
While expressing
hope for a peaceful solution to the issue of
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, he urged the
council not to shrink from its responsibility of
dealing with the regime bent on developing such
weapons when its members meet next week to
determine what to do. "Weapons of mass
destruction in the hands of terrorists was a
mortal danger to all," he added.
He called for
closer international cooperation in the fight
against terror and greater role of the United
Nations. "With the Council's adoption of
resolution 1373 (2002), the United Nations
fundamentally changed the way the international
community responded to terrorism by creating an
obligation for all Member States to work together
to stop it," he said.
Powell urged all
members of the community of civilized nations to
do their part to eliminate terrorism, and to offer
support and assistance countries lacking the
necessary skills and resources to build their
national capabilities to combat terrorism. He
pledged that the United States would provide 10
million US dollars this year to help strengthen
measures in several countries aimed at denying
funds to terrorists.
30,000
British troops to be sent to Gulf
British
Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Monday that a
total of 30,000 British troops were to be deployed
to the Gulf in preparation for a possible war
against Iraq, The Sky News reported.
In an announcement
to the House of Commons, Hoon told law makers that
troops from the 7th Armored Brigade and 16th Air
Assault Brigade, with around 120 Challenger 2
battle tanks, were being placed on standby.
Earlier reports
said the troops would join thousands of British
and American troops and military equipment that
had already moved into the Gulf region, with an
aim of exerting more military pressure on Iraq to
disarm volunteeringly.
Reports said this
was the most significant step so far in the
British military build-up, which means British
armored troops would be stationed in Kuwait by
mid-February.
Britain, the
staunchest US ally on disarming Iraq, has already
sent to the Gulf a royal task force fleet
comprising 16 ships such as aircraft carriers and
a submarine in mid-January.
British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw said that war with Iraq
remained a last choice, but it was important to
keep up the pressure on Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein with a military build-up.
Parliamentary
elections held in Cuba
Cubans
went to the polls on Sunday to vote in an election
that will choose 609 deputies to the National
Assembly of People's Power and 1,199 to 14
provincial assemblies.
Fidel Castro,
president of the Council of State, joined local
voters in casting ballots on Sunday morning in the
eastern city of Santiago, state television showed.
Castro said his
country was in the process of perfecting its
socialism and democracy, which was well
illustrated by the current election. He also said
the election was democratic and transparent and
was the best ever in Cuba's history.
There were 8.23
million registered voters in the Caribbean state
and voters cast their ballots in 38,000 voting
stations in the election, which is held every five
years. Representatives to municipal assemblies
were elected in October last year.
The National
Assembly is the Cuba's highest organ of state
power.
Chinese,
Russian Foreign Ministers hold talks
Chinese
Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Russian
counterpart, Igor Ivanov, held talks here Monday
on issues of bilateral relations, tensions over
Iraq and the Korean Peninsula.
Speaking highly of
the positive trend of the China-Russia relations,
Tang said China is willing to work with Russia to
implement the China-Russia friendship treaty and
other agreements reached between leaders of the
two countries to push forward the bilateral ties.
Tang welcomed a planned visit to China by Ivanov
in February.
On the Iraq issue,
Tang stressed that continued efforts should be
made to seek a political resolution within the UN
framework andthe authority of the United Nations
be jointly defended. Tang also called for support
to UN weapons inspectors for a fair and objective
inspection.
Ivanov said Russia
shares a similar stance with China on the two
issues and it is willing to work with China to
push for the political solution of both issues.
Both of the
ministers were here to attend the UN Security
Council ministerial meeting, which ended on Monday
afternoon with a declaration calling for
intensified efforts in combating terrorism.
Argentine
gov't to negotiate with creditors over debt
payments
The
Argentine government, after signing a provisional
loan agreement with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), is set to negotiate with creditors
over debt payments of about 6 billion US dollars
before the end of January.
Argentine Economy
Minister Robert Lavagna said Friday it could take
up to two years to finalize talks with some
creditors who have not received debt payments
since Argentina defaulted on its loans in December
2001.
According to a
report released by the Argentine Economy Ministry,
there are about 6 billion US dollars of debt due
that have not been paid by the Argentine
government. The creditors include private
investors from Italy, Germany, Japan and the
United States.
President Eduardo
Duhalde on Friday hailed his country's loan
agreement with the IMF, calling it a crucial first
step toward improving Argentina's relationship
with the international financial community.
The IMF on Thursday
announced the provisional agreement that would
help the cash-strapped nation avoid a default on
its IMF obligations.
The Argentina-IMF
agreement came after Argentina threatened to
withhold a 1 billion dollars owed to the IMF,
raising the stakes in negotiations during which
the IMF officials repeatedly call on Duhalde to
take stronger steps to reform the economy. The
second largest economy in South America has been
mired in its worst financial crisis for more than
a year since it was forced to freeze bank
accounts, default on large parts of its foreign
debt of 141 billion dollars, and devalue its
currency.
The new loans are
expected to total around 6 billion dollars, enough
for Argentina to meet its debt payments to the IMF
and other multilateral lending institutions
through midyear. It will also give Duhalde's
government some financial breathing room
untilpresidential elections to be held on April
27.
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