San José, Costa Rica -   Sunday 03 October 2004

1.396 Daily Average Visits in September!

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

October is the worst month of the rainy season, as afternoon rain can become violent, with thunder and lightning storms, rivers and creeks swell forming temporary lakes. And it is not uncommon to look in the sky to see a black cloud looming, as this cloud yesterday hanging over downtown San José. Click for larger image!

insidenicaragua A new weekly feature published on Sundays, featuring a summary  of current news and events in Nicaragua.

ICE-ALCATEL SCANDAL:
Rodríguez Has No Immunity
According to an agreement signed in 1949 and still in effect today, former Costa Rican president, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, as new Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), he does not have immunity on acts that took place in Costa Rica.

ICE-ALCATEL SCANDAL:
Pacheco Speaks Out on ICE-Alcatel Scandal
Pacheco told reporters that Rodríguez should give explanations for his part in the ICE-Alcatel scandal.

ICE-ALCATEL SCANDAL:
Former Director the First to Spend Time in Jail
Former Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) director, Joaquín Alberto Fernández Alfaro, joins the list of those accused of corruption, is the firs to spend time in jail.

Costa Rica Best Social Indicators, IMF Report
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued it's latest report on Costa Rica, saying that despite improvements, the Costa Rican economy continues to face significant vulnerabilities.

Italian Coffee Giant Announces New Production Plan in Costa Rica
The Segrafredo Zanetti Group - world espresso leader with five million cups a day drunk worldwide - will on October 4th, open in Costa Rica, a new production plant of Beneficio La Eva and the export house Santa Laura Exportadora de Cafe' S.L.E.C.

insidenicaragua
Moderate earthquake rocks Nicaragua
A moderate earthquake shook the Pacific coast of Nicaragua early Friday, cracking a few walls and sending frightened residents running into the streets, but there were no reports of injuries.

Nicaragua confirms Al Qaeda operations in Central America
 International terror group Al Qaeda had operations recently in Central America, but does not pose an immediate threat to the region, Nicaragua's army commander Javier Carrion said Thursday.
 

Book with new revelations on JFK assassination published in Cuba
The book "1963, The Plot", which affirms US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and anti-Cuban groups have direct involvement in assassination of then US President John F. Kennedy, was published here Saturday.

Opposition party confident of winning Mexican presidential elections
Mexico's opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) said on Saturday it will win the 2006 presidential elections, local media reported Saturday.

Brazilian gov't probes into online trade of genetic samples
The Brazilian government has investigated the presumed sale of genetic samples of Brazilian Indians through the Internet, local press reported on Saturday.

International News from the New York Times
 

BOLIVIA: Tense Truce Between Coca Farmers and Army Coca farmers and their families are calmly but closely keeping an eye on the camps of soldiers sent to destroy their crops in the Isiboro Sécure nature reserve, in the central Bolivian department (state) of Cochabamba. A violent clash between the two groups on Monday left one farmer dead and 15 people wounded, including four soldiers. Coca is the raw material used to make cocaine, although the plant's leaves have been used by local indigenous communities for centuries for medicinal and other purposes. Lawmaker Evo Morales, the leader of Bolivia's coca growers, managed to get the government to agree to postpone the eradication of the coca crops for four days, and to pay compensation to the family of the campesino (peasant farmer) killed in the clashes. Nevertheless, he called for the resignation of Government Minister Saúl Lara.

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