Costa Rica's national team and fans are ready for Russia in June. Photo Diez.hn
In preparation for their trip to Russia in June, Costa Rica’s national soccer team, La Selección or Sele, will test its readiness with friendlies in March against Scotland and Tunisia.
Costa Rica’s national team and fans are ready for Russia in June. Photo Diez.hn
The Ticos will visit Scotland on March 23 before taking on Tunisia on March 27 in Nice, France.
Costa Rica goes into those matches with big question marks about the level of key players, including defender Cristian Gamboa, who has hardly played this season for Scottish-league club Celtic; and Joel Campbell, a forward for La Liga side Real Betis who is recovering from a serious injury.
Other doubts hovering over the Ticos are recent poor performances by striker Johan Venegas and uncertainties surrounding the form of more than a half-dozen players in the United States’ and Canada’s top league, Major League Soccer, whose current season has just gotten started.
The friendlies also will provide a chance for Oscar Duarte to return to the national team after a long injury setback and Celso Borges.
Costa Rica has no concerns at goalkeeper, with Keylor Navas, who has proven himself to be among the best in the world. Navas is credited for leading the Ticos to the quarterfinal in the 2014 World Cup.
Costa Rica will play its first Group E match at the World Cup on June 17 against Serbia in Samara. Its last two round-robin matches will be against Brazil on June 22 in Saint Petersburg and against Switzerland on June 27 in Nizhny Novgorod.
In the foreground, Ramón Mendiola, from Fifco, when they presented the production plant to Vice President Ana Helena Chacón. Photo: Mayela López.
Costa Rica’s Florida Ice and Farm’s (Fifco) on Tuesday, March 6, inaugurated a new beer plant with a capacity to produce up to 74,000 cans of beer per hour, with an investment of US$15 million dollars.
In the foreground, Ramon Mendiola, Fifco CEO, during the inauguration of the new plant that was attended by Vice President Ana Helena Chacon. Photo: Mayela López.
The new facility will allow the national beer company – the Cervecercia de Costa Rica – company to increase its production capacity of beer and other alcoholic beverages by 40%.
Ramón Mendiola, CEO of Fifco, explained to La Nacion that “… The expansion will allow the company to meet national demand and export products to the Central American and United States market.”
Mendiola explained that the new state-of-the-art technology plant will allow the company to add 15 new jobs to the existing 6,441 employees.
In addition, the new plant reduces energy and water consumption and to meet Fifco’s objectives of being a carbon neutral company.
Among the new equipment, there is a pasteurizer that eliminates microorganisms from beer bottles and preserves the product for longer. Also, water consumption can be lowered by 60% through a temperature control and water recirculation.
Real-estate developers in Costa Rica are adjusting their offers in response to the growing traffic problems in the greater metropolitan area of San Jose (GAM), where commuters in the face hours each morning and afternoon moving to and from work.
The aim to is cut down commuting time by offering homes closer to the workplace and vice-versa, reports La República (in Spanish).
Currently, many spend up to two hours in the mornings to get to the workplace and then another two to get home. Their frustrations are clearly made known in the social media and real estate develops have taken notice.
For that, developers have begun to develop new office centers in areas closer to where potential employees live.
Each morning and afternoon more an estimate 300,000 commuters from different points of the Great Metropolitan Area (GAM) – center, east and west of the capital city, where most of the jobs are concentrated – commute to and from work, according to the Colliers real estate group.
According to Colliers, from Alajuela there are some 29,000 commuters, from Heredia 140,000, Cartago 65,000 and San Jose 95,000 contributing to the massive road congestion regardless if they use public transportation or their own vehicle, during morning and afternoon peak hours.
The curious thing is that the western sector of Escazú, Santa Ana and surroundings, where there is the greatest amount of corporate development, combined they hardly report 60,000 commuters.
According to the experts, the lack of planning is high, that is there are areas with few employees yet house a large number of work centers.
The west attracts a significant amount of talent from the other areas to ensure its daily operation. The relocation of the work centers (oficentros) closer to home would mean a great benefit for workers in terms of quality of life, and in reducing the traffic nightmare that is in the GAM.
International companies with operations in Costa Rica and in particular in the GAM have also taken notice and see being close to the talent as a bonus for their employees whose commuting would be minimal.
One such company, a European company in the medical instruments sector speaking to the Q confidentially, given they are in the midst of negotiating their starting an operation in Costa Rica, said the choice of location was influenced by the traffic conditions. In this case, the company is negotiating in Cartago, a location where there is plenty of talent for their sector and means little or no commuting.
In Costa Rican society moving to be closer to work is not an option.
Colombia’s Caracol television program Testigo Directo (Direct Witness) put the finger in the wound after interviewing months ago a coordinator of the mafia of that country, that indicated that Costa Rica is one of the paradises of the narco-traffickers.
#elventiladordelosnarcos alias “:Juan” (Twitter)
The journalists wondered what is becoming of the so-called Central America of Switzerland.
Costa Rica’s role in the drug trafficking world
In the following video titled El Ventilador de los Narcos, alias “Juan”, tells of Costa Rica’s role in drug trafficking and how much the drug traffickers invest in an export trip and in what they invest their profits, going through liquor and women. See also part 2 & part 3.
Costa Rica is ‘between the sword and the wall’ because of the microtraffic’ said the second report by Testigo Directo published Tuesday.
In an interview, Costa Rica’s Minister of Public Security, Gustavo Mata said he completely agreed with what was stated in the Caracol report.
The report also raises the issue that despite the growth of drug trafficking and the escalation of violence, the country is still holding back on the issue of fighting money laundering.
Another of the issues raised by the Colombian program is the penetration of the narco in Costa Rica’s public service, in particular, the police and the Judiciary. In the report, the director of the Orgainsmo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) confirms the increase in violence and how in Costa Rica the presence of drug lords has been increasing.
The following video titled “Narcotráfico: El mal que tiene a Costa Rica entre la espada y la pared – Testigo Directo HD” was posted on YouTube March 3, 2018.
Yet another video by Testigo Directo, posted on YouTube on Feb. 22, 2018, “Proceso de paz: momento clave para exportar droga a Centroamérica”, exposed is the social crisis that drug trafficking has begun to generate Costa Rica, “a Central American nation that, being a broker of Colombian and Mexican traffickers, is now a distributor”.
According to the Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas (IC) – the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs – there is an oversupply of narcotics in the country.
Mexico’s July 1 presidential elections appear to be the hottest of this century. Outgoing president, Enrique Peña Nieto, is the least popular on record, violence has reached a new peak, and the future of Nafta – a linchpin of the economy since 1994 — is in doubt, while many Mexicans are concerned about widespread corruption.
None of the three main presidential candidates has been elected by his respective party.
Leading in opinion polls is Andres Manuel López Obrador, 64, of the National Regeneration Movement – Morena.
This is Lopez’s third presidential campaign, and the first in which he is running for Morena, a party which he created.
López is referred to as a leftist, who would increase state power, but also as an old-school Mexican nationalist, who supports private enterprise, especially small entrepreneurs.
His election program does not mention re nationalizing the country’s oil-gas sector, which was opened to private investment by the Peña government, while López himself has a reputation for personal honesty.
Second in the polls is Ricardo Anaya, 38, the self-appointed candidate of the National Action Party (PAN), widely regarded as pro-business movement, which supports traditional family values.
At the same time, Anaya is running as part of an alliance with the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), on a social-welfare platform which includes proposals to double the minimum wage, and create a minimum guaranteed income for every citizen.
President Peña of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), personally appointed the candidate José Antonio Meade, who says that he is running an independent, and not as a member of the PRI, which according to polls is in last place.
A technocrat and party veteran, Meade sometimes has difficulties communicating with ordinary Mexicans.
But the PRI, a machine honed by seven consecutive decades of power, continues to be the main political presence — and informal employment exchange — throughout Mexico.
But the PRI, a machine honed by seven consecutive decades of power, continues to be the main political presence — and informal employment exchange — throughout Mexi
Even a horse-drawn carriage must meet the needs of the revolution (Photo montage by PanAm Post)
Anyone with a single shred of dignity would find it very difficult to live in Cuba. It is certainly revolting to hear Cuban leaders speak of the virtues of their healthcare system, and to know they sell this idea with great success.
Even a horse-drawn carriage must meet the needs of the revolution (Photo montage by PanAm Post)
These immoral rulers take advantage of the media to scrupulously wash their disgusting image that they then sell and export so successfully. I’ve been told many others want to emulate them in their countries, although I find that hard to believe.
Yet I will not talk today about the poor hygiene and lack of food in hospitals. Nor will I discuss the great shortage of medicines, the unreliability of medical equipment, or the discontent of professionals and workers in healthcare (due low wages and terrible working conditions.)
I won’t talk about the deficit of doctors due to the excessive exports of healthcare professionals— whose true purpose is to paint the dictators in a false image of philanthropy abroad.
The tyrant’s mayor export is socialism, and up to now, it’s biggest buyer has been Venezuela. They’ve spent more on Cuba than the Soviet Union did before collapsing under the inefficiency of the same centralized economy that the two Latin American regimes propose.
Central planning leads to absolute control. Every economic activity is in the state’s hands, and not being able to properly manage everything, basic services start to falter. By nature of being under control of the dictator, there is no one to hold accountable or complain to. Whomever tries to help is sanctioned.
Which is why I want to focus instead on the most basic of health services: the ambulance.
The ambulance service is known as the Integrated System of Medical Emergencies of Cuba, or SIUM. It is an insult to human dignity and intelligence to listen to Cuban dictators preach loudly and without hesitation that Cuba is a healthcare power when cases occur like in the video above.
In the “healthcare power” of Cuba, the inhabitants of Nitrogeno, a rural community located in the Camagüey province, do not have access to this basic emergency service.
Recently, a 90-year-old man had to be transferred in terrible health to the hospital in a horse-drawn cart, as the efforts made by relatives and neighbors to obtain SIUM services were unsuccessful.
The old man had to suffer for more than 2 km by impassable roads before arriving at the hospital, and—as if that was not enough to demonstrate the false humanism of the Cuban system— a well-intentioned neighbor, owner of the rustic transport, was given a fine for having used the precarious means of transportation for a purpose not authorized by the Castros.
That’s the way it is. And those that crave that their countries be like Cuba should know. Socialism demands that the means of production be collectively owned, so even a cart must serve the “interests of the revolution.”
Here, no form of solidarity is possible. Because the Government must verify, authorize and allow even the simplest help. In socialism, the annulment of private property extends to all private action.
Nothing is yours, not even your will. So if you dare to help another when the state fails, prepare for the consequences.
Fabricio Alvarado, candidate of National Restoration and Carlos Alvarado, of the Citizen Action Party, arrived punctually at the Infrastructure 2018 debate, organized by the Federated College of Engineers and Architects. Photo Jeffrey Zamora
Former Minister of Labor and Social Security, Carlos Alvarado and – no relation – Evangelical singer, Fabricio Alvarado are tied in the race to be Costa Rica’s next president.
Fabricio Alvarado (left) of the Partido Restauración Nacional and Carlos Alvarado (right) of the Partido Acción Ciudadana during a debate Monday night organized by the College of Engineers and Architects. Photo Jeffrey Zamora
According to a poll released Tuesday, 41% plan to vote for Carlos, while 39% would vote for Fabricio, in the second round voting that will take place on Sunday, April 1.
The Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) – University of Costa Rica – took in the response of 1,000 people interviewed by telephone between February 27 and 28. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Fabricio’s lead appeared to have shrunk in the last few weeks, according to other polls. The 43-year-old head of the Partido Restauracion Nacional (PRN) came out front in the February 4 voting, his position denouncing the court ruling same-sex couple marriage days ahead of the election put him in the spotlight with voters. But not enough to obtain the required 40% of the popular vote.
Fabricio’s rise in popularity was helped by his fierce opposition to gay marriage and the decline in the country’s two-party system that governed for decades.
The UCR poll also showed that 20% of voters are still undecided.
According to the Decree No. 37,370 of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) – Ministry of Public Works and Transportation – of October 26, 2012, a driver traveling with full occupancy, during restricted hours, in San Jose cannot be sanctioned for violation of the vehicular restriction.
That is, a driver behind the wheel of a vehicle restricted from transiting San Jose city on its day, Monday to Friday, between 6:00 ama nd 7:00 pm, will not be issued a traffic ticket if the vehicle has full occupancy.
Full occupancy, as defined by the MOPT on its website, is a vehicle say with a capacity of 5 (based on the Marchamo or circulation permit), there must be the driver and four passengers to be exempt from the fine.
A vehicle, say an SUV with a capacity of 7 or a minivan with a capacity of say 8 or 10 more, full occupancy then would be the driver and at least four passengers. A pick up, for example, with two passengers would be considered ‘full occupancy’.
However, this measure is little known by many drivers, despite the years the measure is in place.
The vehicular restriction applies on Mondays to vehicles with license plates ending 1 and 2; Tuesdays 3 and 4; Wednesdays 5 and 6; Thursdays 7 and 8; and Fridays 9 and 0.
Circulating on the ‘restricted‘ day if a driver travels alone or less than full the five is ¢¢22,187 colones plus costs.
Another little-known fact by many drivers is that rented vehicles or ‘rent a car’ as specified in the Decree – are not subject to the restrictions. A driver behind the wheel of a rented vehicle only has to show the traffic official (transito) the rental contract. A proviso here is, the driver must be named on the rental contract.
Also exempt from the vehicular restrictions are public transport vehicles such as taxis and buses, special transport vehicles authorized by the Consejo de Transporte Público for the transport of workers or students, vehicles operated by a disabled person (with proper sticker), emergency vehicles, motorcycles or scooters and cement truck while carrying a fresh load.
Yet another fact that is not known much is the possibility to change the restricted day in the event there are two vehicles in the same household that are restricted on the same day. In that case, the rules allow for an application to the Viceministro de Transporte Terrestre y Seguridad Vial for a request to transfer the restriction to one of the vehicles to the following day.
While the concessionaire, the Chinese company China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), in charge of the work announced that it plans to subcontract a Costa Rican construction company for part of the project, the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) – Ministry of Public Works – states that it has not been notified.
The remaining stretch of the 107 kilometers of the Ruts 32 comprising the project in its entirety, between the junction of Rio Frio and Matina, will be built by CHEC.
La Nacion reports that “…Wang Lei Lei, Deputy General Manager of China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), clarified that the fact that they are looking for a local firm to take charge of that section does not mean that they will delegate the responsibility, nor that they will cede the supervision or management of the work.”
CHEC had planned to start the work this week with the felling of trees along the sides of the road. The project is planned to take 34 months, but representatives from the construction are blaming the “Costa Rican bureaucracy” for the delays
In a press release, the MOPT stated that “… CHEC has not yet officially communicated to the MOPT, through the Executing Unit, their intention to subcontract work to a Costa Rican construction company.”
The MOPT’s deputy minister of Infrastructure, Guiselle Alfaro Bogantes, added: “If this possibility exists, contractually speaking, it must be officially communicated to the Administration, because we have the responsibility of verifying whether the selected company complies technically, that is to say, has the capacity to take on the task.”
The treaty was signed two years after the killing of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres, who had protested against the construction of a dam. Photograph: Jorge Cabrera/Reuters
Officials from 24 Latin American and Caribbean states have signed a legally binding environmental rights pact containing measures to protect land defenders, almost two years to the day since environmental leader Berta Cáceres was killed in her home in Honduras.
The treaty was signed two years after the killing of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres, who had protested against the construction of a dam. Photograph: Jorge Cabrera/Reuters
Last year almost 200 nature protectors were killed across the world, 60% of them in Latin America. The new treaty obliges states to “guarantee a safe and enabling environment for persons, groups and organisations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters”.
It compels strong measures to protect national environmental defenders from threats or attack – and investigate and punish these whenever they occur. And it codifies the rights of environmental defenders “to life, personal integrity, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and free movement.”
The 2016 killing of Cáceres, a winner of the Goldman environmental prize, focused attention on the killings of environmental and land rights activists in the region. Her death was one of 14 such deaths recorded in Honduras that year in a collaboration between the Guardian and NGO Global Witness, making the country one of the deadliest in the world for environmental activists. In a sign of progress, though, the number of killings fell in 2017 and two days before the new pact was agreed, Honduran authorities arrested a former military intelligence officer for masterminding Cáceres’s killing.
Costa Rica’s president, Luis Guillermo Solís, described the treaty as “a turning point” in the fight against poverty, inequality and hate. “It is also crucial for the very survival of our species,” he said. “The right to a healthy environment is a human right.”
Carole Excell, the environmental democracy director of the World Resources Institute, described the new protocol as “a historic stand to safeguard the backbone of environmental protection”.
In Brazil, where 49 environmental defenders were killed in 2016, a statement by Fundação Grupo Esquel Brasil and the Article 19 campaign said: “A legally binding agreement is critical for us to protect our land and environmental defenders who will now have greater access to the rights enshrined in this convention.
“The treaty may help Brazil to reverse the trend of regressive environmental laws.”
The agreement is formally called the Latin American and Caribbean countries declaration on Principle 10 (LAC-P10). Emerging from the UN’s Rio+20 conference on sustainable development in 2012, it covers access to environmental information, justice and public participation in decision making.
“I cannot understate how critical it is for communities to have access to environmental information, like data on local water pollution or nearby mining concessions,” Excell said. “LAC-P10 is designed not only to protect environmental defenders, but also to make it easier for people to get information, participate in decision-making that will affect their lives and hold powerful interests to account.”
The treaty, which was stewarded by Chile, Costa Rica and Panama, also guarantees the right to a healthy environment and impels states to establish transparency bodies to monitor, report and oversee compliance with the new rules.
Costa Rica’s Comptroller General’s Office (Contraloria) has confirmed that Movistar (Telefonica) and Claro (America Movil) proceeded with the payment of US$24 million and US$19 million respectively to secure a total of 70MHz of additional spectrum.
The confirmation allows for completing the tender, in which the two companies were the only bidders in the July 2017 auction for seven blocks of spectrum in the 1800MHz and 1900/2100MHz bands.
Movistar was awarded two blocks in the 1800MHz band and two more in the 1900/2100MHz band while Claro won three blocks, one 1800MHz and two 1900/2100MHz.
The amount raised – US$43 million – will be allocated to the National Telecommunications Fund (Fonatel) which has pledged to use the funds to improve coverage in under-served regions.
The countdown is on. Today, Monday, marks 100 days until the 2018 World Cup begins in Russia.
All eyes will be on hosts Russia as they tackle Saudi Arabia in Moscow on June 14 in the first action of the 2018 World Cup.
The 2018 edition is quite different than the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with big names like Italy and Netherlands sitting out the Russia event. Also out are Chile, who made the finals in 1998, 2010 and 2014 and the United States, have been a part of the furniture at World Cup finals since 1990.
Could 2018 be Costa Rica’s year? An uninformal poll by the Q says maybe. And maybe not. Asking passerby in the Avenida (in downtown San Jose), one in two said La Seleccion (Costa Rica’s national team) would go farther this year than in 2014, maybe even to the title itself; while the other half said the national team won’t even pass the first round of play.
This is the third time the Ticos are in the big game.
The third time, something is attempted, luck is sure to result, as things that come in sets of three have often been associated with good luck
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced an expansion of pension fund and a delivery of additional food shopping cards to the population, the TeleSur reported.
Maduro announced 200,000 additional pensions and the delivery of 3 million cards, the TeleSur broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
The Venezuelan president said at a meeting with governors and mayors that the cards would allow the country’s citizens to continue receiving aid despite US and European economic sanctions.
The EU foreign ministers approved sanctions and arms embargo against Venezuela in November 2017, while Washington imposed economic sanctions in August 2017. External pressure exacerbates the grave economic crisis in the country.
The United States and the European Union repeatedly voiced their objections to Maduro’s plan to convene a new constituent assembly, an elected body that has the power to propose changes to the Constitution.
The election was held on July 31, preceded by protests of the opposition that saw the assembly as the government’s wish to consolidate its power.
U.S. Embassy Havana, June 2016. Photo by Rico, The Q Media
Staff at the US embassy in Cuba will be permanently reduced beginning next week in response to alleged sonic attacks on the mission’s employees, the US Department of State said in a press release on Friday.
U.S. Embassy Havana, June 2016. Photo by Rico, The Q Media
“The US embassy in Havana has operated under ordered departure status since September 29, 2017, due to health attacks affecting US embassy Havana employees. It will reach the maximum allowable days in departure status on March 4,” the release said. “On Monday, March 5, a new permanent staffing plan will take effect.”
The State Department explained that the embassy will continue to operate with the minimum personnel necessary to perform core diplomatic and consular functions, similar to the level of emergency staffing maintained during ordered departure.
“The embassy will operate as an unaccompanied post, defined as a post at which no family members are permitted to reside,” the release said.
Just In: State Dept. says US Embassy in Havana “will continue to operate with the minimum personnel necessary to perform core diplomatic and consular functions, similar to the level of emergency staffing maintained during ordered departure.”
The State Department noted that the health, safety and well-being of US government personnel and family members are of the greatest concern for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and were “a key factor in the decision to reduce the number of personnel assigned to Havana.”
The investigation into the sonic attacks is ongoing, but there are no definitive answers at present as to the attacks’ source or cause, the State Department said.
Cubans waiting outside the Colombian embassy in Havana this morning. Many are going to Bogota to seek a visa at the US embassy there now that US consular services in Havana are shut down for who knows how long. pic.twitter.com/2WK7t5h0xV
The statement refers to the November 2016 US announcement, claiming that their diplomatic staff in Havana had begun to experience symptoms and were subsequently treated for hearing loss, dizziness, balance problems and insomnia, all of which occurred after their exposure to alleged acoustic attacks.
Thus, the US State Department declared that at least 24 people working at the US Embassy in Havana were experiencing health effects caused by these purported attacks.
Responding to these claims, the Cuban Foreign Ministry has denied any Cuban involvement in the alleged attacks.
After this, Cuban Interior Ministry’s Lt. Col. Francisco Estrada Portales stated that the Cuban authorities had interviewed people living close to the US embassy and run necessary medical checks.
As a result of the Cuban probe, the authorities did not find any “acoustic” or other weapons, which could be potentially damaging to the health of the US diplomatic staff, even among those who resided very close to the building of the US diplomatic mission.
(Q MAGAZINE) The Israeli Wonder Woman star didn’t get an Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards, but she proably won the hearts of viewers, who hadn’t been in love with her already.
One of the most adorable moments during the ceremony occurred when Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker introduced himself to the former Miss Israel.
But Frances McDormand got her far more excited than the Star Wars legend: the 32-year old showered the Best Actress winner with affection at the Vanity Fair party after the ceremony.
Frances, who had delivered a powerful speech about diversity as she accepted her award, was genuinely happy to turn her attention to the stunning Gal as the two stars chatted away.
Brazilian mathematicians considering humanity’s chances of surviving a zombie uprising have calculated that to have any sort of shot, civilians would need help from a fairly large standing army.
Their estimates led them to a surprising conclusion.
According to the researchers’ standard model, which requires a minimum of 47 soldiers per 1,000 citizens for a country to survive if the dead were to rise, only North Korea, which has 47.4 military personnel per 1,000 residents, has any sort of chance of surviving a zombie outbreak.
Stressing that an ordinary human vs. zombie confrontation mostly simply leads to humanity’s annihilation, the mathematicians calculated that by adding the parameter of firearms’ trained military personnel to fight the undead, our chances improve. In fact, according to their analysis, “the initial amount of military personnel play a key [role in] our survival, even when the zombies are extremely aggressive” and have a “large [numerical] advantage.”
The researchers also modeled an alternative, ‘resistant humans’ scenario, finding that civilians who are not bolstered by the military may still have a good shot at beating back the zombies if they were properly trained.
On that basis, they concluded that “be it for North Korea or for other countries like the United States (4.2 active military per 1000) or Brazil (1.6 active military per 1000), the best strategy to save mankind suggested by our model is to invest in their own populace, making their standard humans more healthy and more capable to survive.” Accordingly, for ordinary people, the academics suggested watching one’s diet, engaging in sports and physical exercise, and taking courses in self-defense.
Admitting that their scenario is far-fetched and that zombies are fictional, the researchers nevertheless argued that “even if a zombie apocalypse turns out to be something that only happens in [the movies and video games], learning how to mathematically model this kind of scenario can be very useful, as we can observe relations like this in many other fields of research, such as economy, biology, and social behavior.”
Sounds like Brazilian mathematicians have just too much time on their hands, while Brazil has serious problems with crime, corruption and poverty.
Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various favelas, slums in the country’s metropolitan areas and remote upcountry regions that suffer with economic underdevelopment and below-par standards of living. In Rio de Janeiro, about a fifth of its population of six million live in several hundred favelas, situated on steep, neglected land largely beyond the control and services of city authorities.
The Ministry of Health warns about the discovery in the country of a false antibiotic commonly used to treat various infections.
The antibiotic Recophine 1 gram introduced to the country by a couple purchasing it directly from a doctor in Nicaragua, was found to be false after testing by the original lab in Switzerland
The Dirección de Regulación de Productos de Interés Sanitario, indicated that it is a false version of the drug Rocephin 1 gram. This was found after that on September 30, 2017, a pharmaceutical agent of a private pharmacy in Sarapiquí de Heredia, reported the existence of 10 bottles of Rocephin 1 gram with a different appearance to the labeling that is authorized in Costa Rica.
The bottles were taken to the pharmacy by a woman to be applied to her husband. She said that they had bought them in Nicaragua from a doctor directly at his office.
The medication was applied by the pharmacy but rather sent to Switzerland for an analysis by Roche, the pharma company that produces the original.
As explained by the Ministry of Health, the original medicine contains the active ingredient Ceftriaxone, sold under the trade name Rocephin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, which is used to treat a variety of infections caused by bacteria, this includes middle ear infections, endocarditis, meningitis, pneumonia, bone and joint infections, intra-abdominal infections, skin infections, urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, and pelvic inflammatory disease and which can be administered intravenous or intramuscular.
The analysis made by the Swizz experts issued on January 15 and confirmed that the bottles are fake. In addition to this, it was determined that they contain another ingredient (cefazolin) as well as unidentified contaminants in small concentrations.
The experts also commented that the labeling, the quality, and form of the “flip-off” cap are not equivalent to genuine Roche materials and bear the “525” lot and the expiration date “06/2020” that do not correspond to legitimate lots.
The concern of the Health authorities in Costa Rica is that a counterfeit medicine can put people’s lives at risk. In this case, the risk is greater because it is a contaminated drug and under no circumstances should it be used.
This is why the Ministry of Health recommends the purchase medications only in establishments that have a “Permiso Sanitario de Funcionamiento” (Health Operating Permit).
Cash detained during the OIJ raid. Photo Ministerio Publico
The Fiscalia (Prosecutor’s Office) in Corredores and the Office of Trafficking in Persons and the Illicit Trafficking of Migrants are asking for jail time for two women in the southern zone, for the trafficking of persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Cash detained during the OIJ raid. Photo Ministerio Publico
The women, who were identified by their last names Tapia Tapia and Moncrieffe Arrieta, were arrested Friday afternoon following a joint operation by the aforementioned offices and the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) trafficking unit.
The police operation was carried out in a bar in Cuidad Neily the women used to house and offered the victims to customers. The press office of the Ministerio Publico (Public Prosecutor’s Office) said a total 12 victims were rescued during the raid, a mix of Colombian, Panamian and Dominican nationals.
Tapia and Moncrieffe, Dominican and Costa Rican respectively, manager the bar and allegedly offered the women to male customers, who paid ¢16,000 colones (US$28) for a 30-minute encounter. Taking the women out of the bar cost US$130.
In the raid, seized was cash allegedly paid for the illegal activity.
In Costa Rica, prostitution is not an illegal activity, but proxenetismo – pimping or pandering – is.
From Merck Manuals Student Stories, we get a first-hand account of the importance of being bilingual from a med student who had the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica and the benefit of knowing two or more languages.
Speaking more than one language fluently has some cognitive costs and many benefits. Photo Quinn Dombrowski, Flickr / Thewordpoint.com/
Here is Ashleigh Frialde’s story, originally from South Carolina, who before graduation, had the opportunity to spend a semester in Costa Rica, where she became fluent in Spanish.
“I had the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica back in Spring 2014. I became fluent in Spanish and completed 130 hours in a local medical clinic. Ever since I became interested in medicine, I knew that I wanted to become fluent in another language.
Knowing two or more languages can greatly benefit us as future physicians because of the increased patient population we would be able to reach. If you’re considering practicing medicine in the United States, you’d be at a great advantage to learn a second language because of the diversity and culture in this country.
One way to learn and maintain a second language would be to go to a country where you could immerse yourself in a different language. Being immersed and living in Costa Rica forced me to only speak Spanish, and taught me how to speak it ‘naturally’.
You can also look into study programs with universities on completing medical internships or clinical experience in another country, all while learning a new language as well. If you’re unable to relocate to another country even for just a few weeks, there are plenty of apps and website programs that are designed to teach you another language. There are also websites to pair you with a native speaker, so you can practice speaking to someone.”
But did you know that the benefits of being bilingual go much deeper than being able to ask where the bathroom is or ask for directions when you get lost in Costa Rica?
Recent research on bilingualism has found that speaking another language can improve your life in many ways. Being bilingual can provide new career opportunities, improve your personal life and even lead to better health.
The benefits of being bilingual are lifelong, but they seem especially important in old age. Cognitive flexibility—the ability to adapt to unfamiliar or unexpected circumstances—tends to decline as we age, but speaking a second language can block that decline or at least significantly delay it.
Research shows that bilingualism can improve cognition and delay dementia in older adults, particularly related to general intelligence and reading abilities.
Are bilinguals more intelligent?
Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century.
What does it do to a brain when you re bilingual?
The bilingual brain is used to handling two languages at the same time. This develops skills for functions such as inhibition (a cognitive mechanism that discards irrelevant stimuli), switching attention, and working memory. … Bilingual people also outperform monolingual people in spatial working memory tasks.
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There are numerous benefits to gain from speaking a second language, from professional and personal to health benefits.
Moreover, learning a foreign language is just fun!
San Jose Costa Rica. The candidate of the PAC, Carlos Alvarado, met with several sectors this afternoon, to commit and listen to proposals for the election in the second round. Photo: Diana Méndez.
In a meeting with representatives of various sectors, on Fridau, the presidential candidate of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), Carlos Alvarado, assured that international brands and companies would leave the country if hatred and intolerance prevailed after the presidential election in second round.
In San Jose, on Friday, March 2, the candidate of the PAC, Carlos Alvarado, met with several sectors, to commit and listen to proposals for the election in the second round. Photo: Diana Méndez, La Nacinn
The presidential candidate pointed out that, just by looking at the standards of certain international companies in terms of corporate social responsibility, for example, in terms of inclusiveness standards, it is enough to be alert.
Alvarado added that there are precedents in other countries and that this should be enough to worry about the possibility that if there is a government that, with its positions, generates manifestations of hatred or intolerance.
The PAC candidate was speaking to representatives of cultural, artistic, communal, trade union, commercial, tourism and agri-food sectors, as well as movements of women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, ecologists, academics and youth.
In his speech, Carlos Alvarado equated the dispute over the presidency between him and Fabricio Alvarado, of the Partido Restauración Nacional (PRN), with the 2016 elections in Great Britian that resulted in the Brexit (the decision of Great Britian to leave the European Union), and that of the referendum for peace in Colombia.
According to Alvarado, to avoid companies possibly leaving the country or abrupt changes in what the county offers them, is to assure them a Costa Rica “of the center”, “ideological”, and “progressive”.
“In this second round it is very important that all people who defend the rule of law, the separation of powers, democracy in Costa Rica, have an active role in the election process,” were the words for former presidential candidate for the Vamos party, Margarita Salas, who attended the event along with others such as María Amalia Revelo, executive of the Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur) and Gilberth Díaz, president of the Sindicato de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Educación Costarricense (SEC).
Costa Ricans go to the polls (in second round voting) on April 1 to elect a president between Carlos Alvarado and Fabricio Alvarado – no relation – after no candidate obtained the required 40% of the popular vote on February 4.
The new president will assume office, for a four-year term, at noon on May 8, 2018.
(Olive Branch) March 8 is International Women’s Day, a date that goes back to 1909 to commemorate women’s achievements. Although the date moved around the idea held as women in many countries sought to improve their lives.
In major cities of Europe and the United States women marched for the right to vote, to improve working con ditions, against hunger, and, as World War I approached, for peace.
In later years it became the date to commemorate 123 working women who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York in 1911. The women, mostly immigrants and poor, perished in flames because the factory owners locked the doors to prevent thefts. Concern for the women rated less than the price of a blouse.
Women all over the world have gained rights since that tragedy. But equality between men and women is still lagging. This disparity is obvious in certain third world countries where basics like health care and education are denied to girls and women, or where they are forced into child marriages and child bearing or killed by their families to save their honor. But look at the more advanced, and educated part of the world and count the number of women engaged in national and international decision making.
International Olympic Committee. Count the women.Meeting of CELAC, presidents and foreign ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean. Count the women.Peace Conference on the Middle East, 1916, even though United Resolution 1325calls for women in the peace process. Count the women.Meeting to negotiate peace in Venezuela. Count the women.Science meeting, Japan. Count the women.Nobel prize winners. Count the women.The Costa Rican ballot 2018. Count the women.
We women still have issues to resolve.
*Olive Branch is the collective name for members of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Costa Rican section. WILPF was founded in 1915 in the Hague to promote peace and the advancement of women. We’re still working on both. Contact us at peacewomen@gmail.com.
I know the road well. It is a long straightaway that runs parallel to the Liberia airport runway. In fact, I spent about 45 minutes a few days ago, on the same very spot, waiting out a protect by fishermen that had blocked the intersection entrance to the airport.
This section of road is dark. There are no street lights. Great for speeding. Minutes before, a couple of kilometers to the site a car passed me and others in front at “todo dar” – full throttle – in the opposing lane. “What a turd,” was my immediate impression of this careless driver, who not only put his/her life at risk but everyone else on the road with him/her.
Moving along, the point where all the street ligthing ends, I see the brake lights of the car ahead of me and swerve as to avoid something on the road. I immediately slow down.
As I approach the point, I see nothing on the road surface, the corner of my eye catches the glimpse of the totally black animal that had crossed the median (yellow double line) standing still (or so it appeared) in the opposing lane. I could swear I saw a second on my right side.
My passenger, having arrived hours earlier at the San Jose airport, asked what was on the road. “A cow,” I calmly replied.
Animals on the road are nothing new in Guana(caste). A cow or horse, though not unusual, I had never come across at night.
My passengers and I continued to our destination, the Papagayo Peninsula.
On my return, headed back to Chepe (San Jose), I had mentally prepared myself to slow down in the event the “cow” was still wandering the road, hoping nothing had happened in the meantime. My thoughts were to call the traffic police or stop at the transito station a few kilometers away. The red flashing lights in the distance already told me what I soon confirmed had happened.
The SUV was laying on its top on the side of the road, people crowded in the area, some with flashlights, police and firemen and their vehicles and the “cow” on the side of the road.
No ambulance. Good. Or maybe not. It was not 2 am. Police waving cars to move on, ‘nothing to see here’. Yeah right.
Thanks to Guana Noticias I learned this morning, after waking from a few hours of sleep, of what had occurred. The victim had been lying under a white sheet waiting for the respective judicial process, the injured had already been taken to hospital. Hence no ambulances.
All the while redacting my report on the Q, my mind all the while regurgitating my moments with the cow, that I now had learned was actually a bull. And have not been able to shake off the thought, I could have been me. Not this time anyways,
On the dark stretch of road that runs parallel to the runway of the Liberia international airport in Guanacaste, a man lost his life when he crashed into a bull in the middle of the road, that also sent two passengers to hospital.
The crash occurred minutes after 1 am. The vehicle in which the three people traveled rolled several times, landing on the grass on the side of the road.
The dead man was identified as José María Arce Rivera (a passenger in the SUV) and whose body was located several meters from the vehicle; the two surviving passengers were taken tot he Dr. Enrique Baltodano hospital in Liberia.
The bull, totally black had wandered onto the road. At the point of the crash there is no lighting and though the speed limit is 60 km/h, vehicles tend to speed through the straight-away.
This is not the first time a vehicle has crashed into a roving animal on the road in Guanacaste. About a week ago, on the same road, a few kilometer from the airport in the Liberia city direction, a minivan (buseta) slammed into a horse in the area of the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), Cuidad Blanca campus. One person was injured in that crash.
In both cases, the animals did not survive the impact.
Other similar crashes have occurred in the main roads of Guanacaste, including the Ruta 1 or the Interamerican highway.
Minister of Finance and Vice President of the Republic, Helio Fallas, in the Committee on Finance Affairs of the Legislative Assembly. In the photo, In the photo, Fallas (right) explains the fiscal situation of the country while it is heard by the deputies of the National Liberation Party (PLN), Olivier Jiménez (left) and Rolando González. Photos: Mayela López
The Costa Rican Legislature has accepted a fast track bill that would transform the 13% sales tax into a Value Added Tax (VAT) and in addition a 4% rate on the purchase of packaging, wrapping and raw materials, among other things.
Archive photo of th eMinister of Finance and Vice President of the Republic, Helio Fallas.
The Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) – in Spanish – bill will open the door for the government to negotiate a US$800 million dollar, with soft conditions, with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
“If the VAT is approved, we immediately have to start working on two bills, one with the IDB and the other with the World Bank so that we can complement the budget support resources, but at interest rates in half of what it is. it’s paying now, ” said the Ministro de Hacienda (Minister of Finance) and the country’s vice-president, Helio Fallas, on Friday morning.
“The approval of the VAT opens a great opportunity, to have access to more concessional credit than we have now, at relatively low interest rates. I have recently spoken with the people of the IDB and they say that they are ready to start talking about it,” added the Minister.
The bill that could be approved by the Legislative Assembly also includes “… taxes on books in all their formats, air tickets, purchase of packaging and raw materials, as well as equipment and machinery (except if there is an express exoneration) and services for agricultural and agro-industrial production.”
The initiative also contemplates charging a 15% tax on capital gains. The 13% Value Added Tax would be levied on the other assets, with some exceptions and maintaining the exonerations in force.
La Nacion reports that “…The plan also proposes establishing a ceiling of ¢5.4 million colones on the salaries of public officials and the heads of state institutions.
All these measures are to face a deficit of the Central Government that this year is estimated to represent 7.1% of production, and a burden of debt that last year accounted for almost half of the country’s production.
Mediaset Spain has teamed up with Mexican DTH operator Sky to launch its CincoMas international channel in Costa Rica and Guatemala.
The broadcaster said its HD channel for Latin America operators is already available in Panama and Mexico, with the company hoping to extend the signal to other Central American countries such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras later this year.
“This launch keeps us on track to enter the main TV markets in Latin America,” said Yolanda Giordani, director of the international network. “Our signal continues joining the largest pan-American operators, delivering subscribers content that leads the audience in Spain.”
CincoMAS is Mediaset’s international commitment to bring its most successful programs and series to the Spanish-speaking community of the entire American continent. Argentina, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay, Canada, and very soon the United States, are some of the territories where CincoMAS is present, through their main cable, satellite and OTT operators.
CincoMAS provides a wide offer of TV contents, that brings together most successful series and miniseries from Telecinco; programs, TV factuals, daily magazines and Informativos Telecinco, broadcasted live twice a day.
Mediaset S.p.A., also known as Gruppo Mediaset in Italian, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. Founded in 1987 by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and still controlled today with a 38.6% stake by his family’s holding company Fininvest. In addition to its domestic television interests, Mediaset holds 50.1% of the Spanish broadcasting firm Mediaset España.
The Chinese construction firm, the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), is set to start work on the expansion of the Ruta 32, the San Jose – Limon artery, to improve its transport capacity and efficiency, and spur local economy in general.
However, the project would not be the sole responsibility of the Chinese company, as a Costa Rican construction company would take over about 35 kilometers of the road work between Matina and the city of Limón, while CHEC would stay with the section that runs from the crossing to Rio Frío, in Pococí, to Matina.
Wang Lei Lei, Deputy General Manager of (CHEC), clarified that when looking for a local firm to take charge of that section it does not mean that they will delegate the responsibility, nor that they will cede the supervision or the management of the work.
Lei was clear that the company doesn’t want it to be misinterpreted, that though that section is under subcontract, “it will be managed by CHEC, there will be a selection process”, He said.
The project will cost US$495 million dollars, will take 34 months to complete and use 500 national and 200 Chinese workers
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) stated that “the contract allows the CHEC company subcontracting, however, this must be formally notified in writing to the administration, which has not happened.”
The statement made by way of the MOPT press office says that the government agency “must verify the sub-contractor and its technical capacity”.
The China Harbour Engineering Company operates in more than 80 countries around the world.
The expansion of the 107 kilometers of the Ruta 32 is budgeted at US$495 million, of which US$395 million comes from Chinese government funding and the other US$100 million from Costa Rica government line of credit.
The expansion is required as the road connecting the capital city of San Jose with the Caribbean town of Limon, where two port terminals, Limon and Moin, together handle as much as 80% of all Costa Rican imports, and exports to the U.S. East Coast, Europe, and South America.
Despite its strategic role in trade, Ruta 32 has over the years fallen into disrepair, mostly due to the lack of maintenance and improvements by the MOPT and due to increasing passenger and cargo traffic between Limon and the capital.
Traffic along the two-lane road is easily disrupted by traffic accidents or other unforeseen events, such as landslides mostly through the Braulio Carrillo section of the road.
Of concern is the increased traffic the Ruta 32 will see when the mega port, the APM container terminal, opens in February 2019.
The revamped road will be a four-lane highway, with improved intersections and road safety features.
Intel had 2,200 positions in its facilities in Bethlehem in December 2017, of which 900 were in the research and development center, which includes the megalaboratory tests. (Photo Diana Méndez)
Intel, which maintains a research center and a mega laboratory in Costa Rica, initiated a series of dismissals this week, according to the company in a two-line statement.
The company warned, through its external press advisory, that it will not provide more details apart from the statement. Therefore, the total number of people impacted by this situation will not be specified.
Timothy Scott Hall, manager of Government Affairs and Public Relations of Intel Costa Rica, said that the dismissals respond to a global strategy and that they are looking for opportunities within the same company for those affected. Photo: Diana Méndez, La Nacion
The statement is attributed to the manager of Government Affairs and Public Relations of Intel Costa Rica, Timothy Scott Hall, and was disclosed as a reaction to publications of some media.
The document reads: “Changes in the workforce respond to the needs and priorities of the business as part of a global strategy, which is constantly being evaluated.”
Scott added in the statement, that they are currently focused on getting job opportunities within Intel for the people who impacted.
Although the company did not disclose the number of jobs to be cut, sources close to the Q say that some 200 employees are affected by the shutting down of its business units in the country, though it is not yet clear which unit(s) will be closed down.
From France, the Minister of Foreign Trade (Comex), Alexánder Mora, said that last Friday he had contact with Intel executives, but that he has no knowledge about these adjustments in the personnel, either on a global scale or of the impact in Costa Rica.
Intel established operations in Costa Rica in 1997, when the first stone of an assembly plant for high-tech products was laid. Its impact on exports began to grow and came to represent 20% of Costa Rican exports. At one point, Intel’s chip business accounted for nearly 6% of the country’s GDP.
Intel had 2,200 employees in its facilities in Belen, Heredia in December 2017, of which 900 were in the research and development center, which includes the mega laboratory tests. Photo Diana Méndez, El Financiero
In April 2014 it was officially known that the company would stop manufacturing in Costa Rica, but would maintain an R&D center and two information technology offices, providing a variety of IT support services to the company’s global operations.
That year, the company announced the layoff of 1,500 employees after the company shifted its Costa Rica-based microprocessor plant to Malaysia.
As of December 2017, Intel in Costa Rica employed 2,200, of which about 900 working for an R&D center, according to El Financiero.
Globally, Intel is struggling to re-balance its microprocessor business.
The Nicaragua tourism board (INTUR) will use the bright lights of New York City to roll out its new promotional campaign. ‘Nicaragua Te Quiero As Sos’ or ‘I like you just as you are’ is geared towards highlighting Nicaraguan culture in all facets – its land, its architecture and most importantly, its people.
View of volcán Concepción and Ometepe island in Nicaragua from the slope of volcán Maderas. Image by: Alvaro Faraco/Lonely Planet
‘It’s no secret that those who visit Nicaragua fall in love with the country’s rich authenticity and its welcoming people. Our aim is to make travelers feel like locals by connecting them with the true experiences that characterize our people, our culture, and our history,’ said INTUR’s co-director Anasha Campbell, during the presentation of the campaign via TravelPulse.
INTUR will use the iconic billboards of Times Square to entice the estimated 26 million tourists to also visit ‘The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes’.
Catedral de Granada, Nicaragua. Image by: Cadaveraphotography/500px
Showcasing its year-round fiestas, the historic architecture and its diverse environment ideal for ziplining, hiking or surfing, INTUR wants to give the true Nicaraguan experience.
The INTUR has also taken to social media using #ILikeYouJustAsYouAre to reach an even larger audience through a variety of beautiful landscapes and Nicaraguan cuisines.
Nicaragua is quietly becoming a major destination hot spot for tourists. There was an 18% increase in 2017 with close to two million visitors according to the Central Bank of Nicaragua.
Costa Rica aims to take over from Panama as the leader in tourism for business meetings and conventions, a sector valued at US$11 billion a year.
Minister of Tourism, Mauricio Ventura
Promotional campaigns, ambassadors that promote the country all over the world and the strengthening of the Convention Bureau are some of the main strategies that seek to wrest the leadership from Panama.
The Central America convention market is led by the ‘canaleros’ (Panamanians), but Costa Rica is looking to climb ten positions in the ranking of the International Association of Congresses and Conventions (ICCA).
To achieve this, the creation of the Centro Nacional de Convenciones (National Convention Center) was vital, which will open its doors on April 5 and will complement the work that the private sector has done to place the name of Costa Rica in this niche market.
“Costa Rica is late to the table compared to other countries, but it has a name, a well-received brand in the world: for 30 years it has positioned itself in the tourist market. Today is a leader in sustainable tourism recognized by the World Tourism Organization, with these credentials we formally enter the tourism of meetings,” said Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism.
The minister explained that it has been working for about two years on promotional campaigns and participation in specialized fairs, both in America and in Europe, to capture the market.
Last year at Feria Fiexpo, held in South America, Costa Rica received the most important award for its approach as an important player in convention tourism.
The creation of the Convention Tourism Ambassadors Program (Programa de Embajadores de Turismo de Reuniones) is a tactic that will place Costa Rica on the conventions map, according to Ventura. This program was launched last year and seeks to involve institutions and associations. Currently, there are more than 100 trained ambassadors.
“With the Convention Center, the convention tourism situation will change from meetings that were isolated efforts of some entrepreneurs to a national strategy, to a country effort,” said Ventura.
The minister was emphatic that the national plane does not aim to take away the convention market from hotels or other sites that host these events.
The first event following the April 5 inauguration is the Expotur that will be held on April 25.
The Centro Nacional de Convenciones is a 15,600 square meters (168,000 square feet) building on 10 hectares fronting on the Autopista General Cañas, across from Los Arcos, east of the Cariari Plaza, some 8 kilometers from the Juan Santamaria (San Jose) international airport. The investment totaled US$35 million dollars. It has a capacity of 4,600 people. It can be divided into 16 meeting halls.
President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama wants to boost UAE sovereign wealth investment in real estate and infrastructure and presented proposals to funds this week while visiting Dubai, the leader said.
“We had a meeting with the main sovereign wealth funds here and we presented to them alternatives in infrastructure, energy and property, land, buildings, real estate assets,” Mr Varela said in an interview with The National on the sidelines of a Latin America forum in Dubai on Tuesday. “They own buildings in Paris, Milan. Panama is the capital of Latin America. Panama is appealing to the same kind of people who invest in Europe. It’s is a good country to have property in.”
The president said the meeting with the wealth funds, which he did not name individually, would be followed up by delegations from those funds on future visits to Panama. Many of these funds already have investments in South and Central America but there is room for further investment, especially in Panama which like Dubai is a hub for a wider region, Mr Varela said.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Panama has grown in recent years due to a series of incentives introduced for foreign investors in 2011 and the streamlining of regulations, according to research from Spanish bank Santander. Low tax and custom duty rates as a free trading zone make the country attractive, the bank said. FDI to Panama rose to $5.2 billion in 2016, a 15.9 per cent increase from 2015. The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index in 2017 ranked Panama 70 out of 190 countries.
President Varela said he had recently held similar presentations in Shanghai and New York but the meeting in Dubai is the first in the Middle East.
“Our country depends a lot on foreign investment,” he said. “Dubai has a lot of foreign investment in different countries, Europe and in the United States and we expect that it can also do so in our country and also they can use our country as a gateway to expand their presence in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean.”
Panama can also be used as a gateway for agricultural produce from South America to be exported to the Middle East, especially after direct flights from Dubai to Panama start. Wider body planes like the A380 and the ability of bigger ships to pass through the Panama Canal will also make it easier for South America to boost its exports, he added.
The president said that an improvement in global trade, greater efficiency and new routes will help boost the contribution of the canal from the current 5 per cent of GDP to 10 per cent. He noted that ships could now carry over 12,000 containers which is especially useful for shipping liquefied natural gas from the US to customers in Asia.
The fallout from the Panama Papers, a cache of files from law firm Mossack Fonseca that uncovered offshore companies and hidden financial dealings in 2016 was limited, said Mr Varela. The country’s banking sector hasn’t been hurt by the scandal, he said.
“We have passed many laws, many regulations,” Mr Varela said. “The problem of tax evasion was not a problem of Panama it was of other countries and the approach is to fix it and to solve it and to open the country to a debate and have a serious dialogue. The banking sector wasn’t hit at all and people have a lot of trust in our banking system.”
It’s 8:30 in the morning, and the birds are out in force in Tirimbina Reserve in Costa Rica’s northern lowlands. The early morning rain put a damper on their dawn activities, and now dozens of species are busy in the canopy reclaiming what is left of the morning.
Standing on the 110-meter-long suspension bridge, 35 meters above the forest floor, we are right in the midst of all the action. We watch the adorable white-fronted nun birds, as they snatch insects in flight and return to their perches with the legs and wings of their prey still sticking out of their bright red beaks.
We are so intent on the birds that I get a fright when, out of the corner of my eye, I see a large shape approaching us along the support cable of the bridge. I turn around, and my fright is replaced with amazement and disbelief — a soaking wet and shaggy Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth is steadily climbing across the bridge.
It weaves its way around the vertical cables of the bridge, and as it swings sideways, we see the reason for its extra shaggy look — there is a young baby clinging to its belly. And even with the extra weight of the baby, the sloth is making impressive progress along the bridge.
I am used to thinking of sloths as slow and lethargic animals. After all, they generally whiz around at the speed of 240 meters an hour.
Yet the sloth approaching us along the bridge is anything but slow. She expertly navigates the inconvenient terrain, determined to get to the forest on the other side of the bridge, despite the three of us standing in her way.
Without breaking her stride, she passes above our heads and soon reaches the other end of the bridge. Once she is level with the trees, she starts looking for a way to climb onto them, but there are only thin and wobbly lianas within her reach.
We are certain she will change her mind. There seems to be no way for such an ungainly animal to make this delicate crossing. But she proves us wrong. Without much hesitation, she grabs the closest liana, lifts herself up and with just a couple of movements she maneuvers herself onto the firm branches.
Once in the safety of the leafy canopy, she lets her young go for a little wander. She must need a rest after such an epic adventure.
It is hard to tell what disturbed her and inspired the risky and energy-demanding crossing in broad daylight, but judging by how wet her coat is we assume that she was in a hurry to get to a sunny spot to dry out and warm up.
What’s so special about sloths?
According to the Scientific American, sloths have the slowest metabolic rate of any animal on earth. Their diet of leaves and shoots is low in calories, and their digestion rate is the slowest among mammals. It can take a sloth up to a month to digest a meal. And since eating more is not the answer, sloths evolved to do less and to conserve as much energy as they can.
To accommodate their leisurely lifestyle, sloths developed a suite of extraordinary behavioral and physiological adaptations.
To begin with, they can regulate their body temperatures by about 5 degrees Celsius to match the temperature of their environment. So, instead of burning extra energy to keep themselves warm, sloths prefer to bask in the sun to warm up. This explains the speedy bridge crossing that we witnessed in Tirimbina.
Never moving far from their food supply, sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside-down in the forest canopy. They sleep, eat, mate, and give birth hanging upside down.
Over time their internal organs have shifted to accommodate the upside-down lifestyle. Even their hair is parted along the stomach and flows from belly to back to allow the rainwater to run off.
Sloths’ fur has special groves to house algae. Their sedentary lifestyle allows algae to grow, which gives their fur a greenish tint that helps them blend with their environment and avoid predators.
Apart from the algae, a sloth’s shaggy coat is home to an entire ecosystem of invertebrates, some of which are not found anywhere else. These peculiar friendships help sloths to appear quite unappetizing to the potential predators.
Unfortunately, no adaptations have prepared sloths for the ever-expanding human population and our impact on the environment. While not threatened with extinction, sloths fall victim to habitat loss across their range.
Lucky for sloths, Costa Rica values its biodiversity, with 25% of the country’s land set aside as protected areas to safeguard the wildlife from deforestation, logging, and poaching.
Costa Rica’s sloths and where to see them
There are two species of sloths in Costa Rica: Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, and the brown-throated three-toed sloth. The Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth is the rarer of the two. It is a nocturnal animal, and you will have the best chance of spotting it on a guided night walk in Tirimbina or Monteverde National Parks, or at La Selva Biological Station.
The brown-throated sloth is active during the day and one of the best places to see it is Manuel Antonio National Park. You could either take your chances of spotting it on your own or join a guided walk that departs regularly from the ticketing office.
QCostarica.com was not involved in the creation of the content. The article by Margarita Steinhardt was originally published on Matadornetwork.com. Read the original article.All the photos are the author’s.
