San José, Costa Rica - Wednesday 25 August 2004

1.116 Unique Visitors Daily Average in July!  What's This? 

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

No Gasoline! The scene at many gasoline stations last night as the blockade by truckers since Monday morning stopped the regular flow of gasoline from the refinery. Click for larger image!

Costa Rica in Crisis
The general strike that began Monday morning continued into Tuesday, where truckers blocked major arteries around the country, with the intent of cutting off vitality to major centres, pressuring the government into conceding to their demands.

Gasoline Prices on the Increase
The Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) has asked for approval for another increase in gasoline prices. RECOPE says the increase is necessary to offset the increasing price of crude oil and has asked the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) to apply an automatic formula to set the price increase.

Survey Shows Majority Against Truckers
An informal survey conducted Insidecostarica.com yesterday, shows that the majority of "ticos" are against the blockades by the truckers.

Kerry Sister to Visit C.R.
Diana Kerry, sister of U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry, is scheduled to visit Costa Rica this Friday, August 27 and will remain in the country until the 29th.

Internet by Cellular Telephone Coming Soon
The internet is coming to cellular telephones in Costa Rica.

Did you Know?
There are people who consider the teachers as the Armed Forces of Costa Rica.

Police rule out presence of Al Qaeda in Nicaragua
Nicaraguan police on Tuesday ruled out the presence of Al Qaeda in this Central American country.

Colombian Peace Commission calls for dialogue with rebel group
The Colombian government's Peace Commission on Tuesday called for a dialogue between government negotiators and the country's largest rebel group after it rejected the government's hostage swap proposal.

Bomb blast in Colombia injures four children
A bomb went off near a rural school in the city of San Jose de Fragua, 450 kilometers from the capital Bogota, leaving four children wounded, local authorities said Tuesday.

Chavez's foes to create fund to probe referendum
The Project Venezuela party, part of Venezuela's opposition coalition, said Tuesday that it would create a fund to investigate possible frauds in the failed recall referendum to oust President Hugo Chavez. 

International News from the New York Times
 

SPECIAL REPORTS CUBA: Hurricane Charley Swept Away the Legend - and Village - of Cajío The statue of chief Cajío standing with arms crossed and head held high must face the sea to live up to its mission: protecting this fishing village in southern Cuba. The local community's livelihood has traditionally come from the sea. But so has death. "When the statue has been turned away from the sea, catastrophe has struck. That happened in 1926 and 1944, when the town was destroyed by tropical storms. The 1944 hurricane brought such a huge surge that the sea literally swept away the village," said Orlando Orihuela, a local historian. He also pointed out that in 1966, when a car crashed into the statue, knocking it down, a storm immediately hit the village, followed by a fire that burnt it down, to the very last house. "Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe not," Orihuela remarked to IPS.

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