San José, Costa Rica - Tuesday 14 September 2004

1.234 Daily Average. Visits in August! Up 10%

Updated every day by 8:00AM Central Standard Time

The symbolic torch commemorating the 183rd Anniversary of Independence from Spain arrived at 10:00am yesterday morning at the northern border of Peñas Blancas. The torch was received by students of the area and the Ministro de Educación. The torch will be in San José tonight to coincide with the "desfile de faroles". [Foto: Ministerio de Educación] Click for larger image!

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

Fischel-Caja Saga Continues
The saga of diverted funds from the Caja Costarricense de Seguero Social (CCSS) or locally known as the "Caja" continues.

Pacheco Announces Cabinet Replacements
As expected, President Abel Pacheco, announced his cabinet replacements following a flurry of resignations thes past two weeks.

Gasoline Increases; Short Work Week Proposed To Save Fuel Consumption
The cost of gasoline hit the pumps this morning, a whopping 7% or 23 colones in the price of a litre of super gasoline.

Independence Day Tomorrow:
No Miniskirts & No Military Steps This Year
Tomorrow is a day of Independence in Costa Rica and festivities are being planned in every town and community. San José will see the largest display of parades along Paséo Colon and Avenida Segunda.

U.S. Says Costa Rica Will Be Removed From List 
If Costa Rica doesn't want its name listed as one of the coalition partners in Iraq - then the White House says it will oblige.

Help Sought to Pay the Price for Justice
Jeanette Stauffer refused to rest until her daughter's killers were brought to justice last year in Golfito, Costa Rica. Now she wants to make good on a promise she made to three persons who came forward to help her.

Did you Know?
Ever wonder what a priest of the Catholic Church earns? Earns you say?


BUSINESS:
Local Realtor Achieves National Recognition
Local realtor, Mercedes Castro, Co-Broker/Owner of RE/MAX First Realty has been awarded the coveted Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) Designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC) of the National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Unisys Selects Telefonica USA for Latin America Network
Telefonica USA, a subsidiary of the Telefonica, S.A. Group, a leading provider of global communications services for the North American and Caribbean regions, announced today that Unisys, a worldwide information technology services and solutions company, has selected the company for the connection of its new Latin America telecommunications network.

Fidel Castro Encourages People in Regions Hard-Hit by Ivan
A visit by Cuban President Fidel Castro has supplied tremendous encouragement to people in the westernmost town of Sandino; they are currently resisting the catastrophic force winds of Hurricane Ivan.

Road accident in Colombia kills six, injures two
A vehicle smuggling gasoline from Venezuela crashed and exploded in northeast Colombia early Monday, killing six people aboard, police said.

Argentina warns of possible armed clashes in Haiti
After expressing its worry over the crisis faced by Haiti, Argentinian Defense Prime Minister Jose Pampuro warned on the possibility of armed clashes in this country, local press said Monday.

Chile rejects negotiating border limits with Peru
Chile has rejected the petition of Peru for a revision of the maritime limits between the two countries and affirmed these borders are determined by international treaties in effect for over half a century.

International News from the New York Times
 

POLITICS-CUBA: Americas Think Tank Blasts Bush Commission Report  A 10-member international task force of prominent analysts and former diplomats has warned that recommendations by a special commission on the Bush administration's plans for Cuba, released last May, ”will poorly serve U.S. interests in Cuba and the wider region”. In an open letter to the commission's co-chair, Secretary of State Colin Powell, the task force of the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD), a Washington-based think tank, charged that the report places a greater emphasis on ending the rule of President Fidel Castro than on ensuring a ”peaceful” transition process, which has long been officially stated U.S. policy. ”The Commission's report refers to a 'peaceful transition' in some instances, but the 'expeditious end of the Castro dictatorship' is used to describe the central objective of the U.S. government,” according to the letter, which noted further that ”many sections of the report appear to anticipate violence”.

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