Part of a campaign to curb deaths from traffic accidents
Part of a campaign to curb deaths from traffic accidents
Q COSTA RICA NEWS – “Que Dios lo guarde”, “que Dios lo proteja”, were the words of some Josefinos when they saw two men with a rolling casket in the middle of the downtown, in the area of the Melico Salazar Theatre and Parque Central, Monday morning.
Of course there really wasn’t a corpse in the casket and the men rolling it were not mourning anyone in particular, rather it was surprise traffic accident prevention campaign, to bring awareness of the high number of deaths on the country’s roads.
This is the third of a series of messages promoted by the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi) – Road Safety Council – and La Piedad Cemetery.
Weeks ago they paraded in a crashed vehicle, with the motto “You decided which you want to ride in”, with the additional message, “Control your speed, or you will end up like this”.
The goal is curb the number of traffic accident deaths that last year reached 451, not counting the accident victims who die in hospitals later.
Leading the deaths on the roads are motorcyclists (44%), followed by drivers and passengers in vehicles (27%), pedestrians (19%) and cyclists (8%).
2012 file photo of alleged Nicaraguan military incursion of Isla Calero
Q COSTA RICA NEWS / Casa Presidencial said on Monday it has filed a complaint against Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice at The Hague (ICJ) for establishing a military post on its territory, heightening the risk of renewed tensions between the two countries.
2012 file photo of alleged Nicaraguan military incursion of Isla Calero
Manuel Gonzalez, Costa Rica’s Foreign minister, said Nicaragua had occupied in November 2016 a beach, a virtually uninhabited area on Isla Calero, where both countries have a long standing border dispute, in northeastern Costa Rica.
“(Nicaragua) has installed a military post in a small strip of that Costa Rican territory. We took diplomatic steps … so that they would remove it, which did not happen,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
Nicaragua’s government has yet to respond.
This is the latest conflict between the countries. In court, Costa Rica keeps winning, Nicaragua refusing to pay for damages.
Costa Rica hopes to incorporate the latest complaint into another filed in 2014 which asked the ICJ to define the maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.
In December 2015, Costa Rica has also asked the court to define what compensation Nicaragua must pay after a separate ruling in December 2015 said that Nicaragua violated its neighbor’s territory by establishing a military presence between 2010 and 2013 in the wetland area known as Isla Portillos, he added.
Gonzalez said a ruling by the court is expected by the beginning of next year (2018).
Costa Rica estimates compensation to be some US$6.7 million. According to Gonzalez, despite a pledge by the Nicaragua’s president Daniel Ortega to abide by the court decision, compensation has not been negotiated between the two countries.
Though catastrophes are rare, many people who take international trips each year end up getting sick or injured.
Though catastrophes are rare, many people who take international trips each year end up getting sick or injured.
Q COSTA RICA TRAVEL (By Emily Sohn, Special to The Washington Post) One morning during a family trip to Costa Rica last winter, I paddled out to catch some waves while my 8-year-old took a surfing lesson close to shore.
The swell looked bigger than it had the day before, when I’d enjoyed a fun session on a rented longboard at the same spot near the small surf town of Nosara. With only a few days left before our flight home, I decided to brave the choppy conditions anyway.
Mistake.
My timing was off. On my first attempt of the day, I fell off the face of the wave into the churning rubble underneath.
When I finally surfaced, blood was flying. It continued to gush from my nose as I paddled frantically back to the beach, where a surfing instructor rushed me into his car and headed to the local clinic. I looked as if I had come from a crime scene. The receptionist took one look at me and said, “Surfando?”
Many of the millions of people who take international trips each year end up getting sick or injured, says Davidson Hamer, a global health expert at Boston University. In a recent survey of about 600 Boston-area travelers, he and colleagues found that health problems forced 25 percent to cancel or change travel plans. Seven percent reported visiting a clinic while traveling. One percent ended up in the hospital with serious medical problems.
Diarrhea and gastrointestinal issues are the most common causes of medical distress on the road, according to a 2013 study of data on more than 141,000 mostly American travelers. Using a database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study found that 8 percent reported getting sick enough to seek care while traveling or soon after they got home.
The doctor I saw in Nosara told me he treats enough surfing injuries each week that he has chosen to avoid the sport altogether.
“It’s relatively rare for a real catastrophe to happen that requires evacuation,” Hamer says. But accidents do occur, and people often fail to prepare for them, he adds. “I think the best we can do is try to get people to think more about this in advance.”
While it is impossible to predict everything that might happen, there are ways to reduce risks, says Albert Wu, an attending physician at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
He suggests investigating the hazards specific to your destination, including infectious diseases such as malaria and Zika. Travel information is available via websites of the CDC and the State Department, among other places. Some vaccines take a while to kick in, so start planning early.
“Wherever you are, you would ideally like to have a rough plan so that if there were some catastrophe, you wouldn’t be completely without access to any health care,” says Wu, who once treated his own injuries after landing a rented motorbike in a ditch on the Greek island of Santorini. “You should try to be pessimistic for a minute and think about what could go wrong and if you would be OK with that.”
Pre-trip research should also include some thought about how you’d pay for any care you may need. Many U.S. health insurance plans will reimburse medical bills acquired during travel, so be sure to check that your plan is among them. Some credit cards, employers, tour companies and membership organizations such as AAA and AARP also offer travel benefits including 24-hour medical-referral advice and discounts on supplemental travel insurance.
Supplemental policies can fill in the holes, says Tullia Marcolongo, executive director of the International Association of Medical Assistance to Travellers, a nonprofit that maintains a network of multilingual medical providers.
Among its services, IAMAT offers a guide to navigate the crowded marketplace of insurance options. Those policies can be confusing and often contain fine-print exemptions that might leave you uncovered or unreimbursed.
Before you buy any supplemental health coverage for a trip, verify that the insurer is licensed where you live so you can take legal action if your claim is denied. IAMAT also recommends investigating the company’s track record with consumer protection organizations and online forums to make sure that it really provides the services you think you’re paying for.
If calamity strikes, you can usually call your own doctor back home for advice, Wu says. U.S. embassies and consulates can also provide information and connect you with English-speaking doctors.
Hamer suggests searching in advance for a clinic that has been vetted and certified by the International Society for Travel Medicine or the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He also recommends enrolling in a service such as International SOS, which provides information and referrals in more than 200 countries. Prices vary; as an example, coverage for a weeklong trip to Costa Rica would cost me about $100.
Easy access to reliable advice would have been welcome after I got hurt in Costa Rica.
The clinic I was driven to didn’t have an X-ray machine. So after I got a shot of morphine there and a change of clothes, my husband loaded me and the kids into our rental car and drove for two hours over bumpy, rutted roads to the nearest hospital with an ear, nose and throat specialist. My nose was broken, the doctor told me in Spanish — a language in which I am proficient but not fluent. He would put me under general anesthesia the next day to fix it.
Since it was after hours, we were unable to reach my primary-care doctor or a specialist back home, but with emergency surgery in a foreign country suddenly on the table, we started communicating with physician friends in the United States, who suggested that I wait a week for the swelling to go down. That was exactly opposite of what the Costa Rican doctor had recommended.
My final decision emerged after a moment of serendipity: At a restaurant near the hospital where we had stopped for some food, we overheard the word “nurse” wafting out from a conversation at another table. It turned out the table was full of Costa Rican and American medical professionals who already had heard about my case. After talking with colleagues, they agreed that I should wait. With Advil to stave off the pain, I flew home as scheduled a few days later, with a broken nose and a story to tell.
I’m not the only one. In an informal survey of friends, I discovered a remarkable collection of tales that included bites from monkeys, rats and dogs in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ecuador. Most were treated locally and all required rabies shots.
One friend discovered she was allergic to mangoes when she broke out in hives in Tanzania. Local doctors had thought she had malaria. Another one developed appendicitis on a ship in international waters and had to be rescued by a Coast Guard vessel that raced her to Nova Scotia for emergency surgery.
That broken nose is not my only tale of hazardous travel. I was once stung by killer bees during an expedition in the Peruvian Amazon and took antihistamines while bracing for an allergic reaction that, thankfully, never came. That happened after another person on the trip had stepped on a venomous stingray. I watched helplessly as local guides dipped his swollen toe in scorching water steeped with a medicinal jungle plant.
Life is an adventure. Before my next trip, I’ll try harder to expect the unexpected as soon as I walk out the door.
Surrounding yourself by the province’s scenic beauty helps reduce stress. Pictured here is Llanos del Cortés waterfall.
Photo by James Lucas
Surrounding yourself by the province’s scenic beauty helps reduce stress. Pictured here is Llanos del Cortés waterfall. Photo by James Lucas
Q COSTA RICA LIVING (by Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo , Vozdeguanacaste) A healthy lifestyle in paradise: That’s what many Guanacaste visitors search for to relieve stress and recharge the batteries on unforgettable vacations.
Some go a step further and decide to move to the province to enjoy its famous pura vida lifestyle. But why is life more fulfilling in this part of the country?
The Voice of Guanacaste asked three health specialists about the benefits of this region that is such an appealing place to live: Arturo Guerrero, a general physician and yoga instructor, Gabriela Campos, a specialist in psychology, and Eugenio Farías, a medical specialist in acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. Following are the experts’ thoughts on the issue:
1. Healthy Food. Guanacastecans’ diets traditionally include corn-based items such as tortillas, rosquillas (small, donut-shaped biscuits), corn bread or corn rice. In addition, many people grow their own food.
“People live mostly by working hard in the countryside, going to bed and waking up early, and they have a healthy diet based on corn,” Guerrero said.
2. Climate. Warm Guanacaste daytime temperatures favor those who have bone or joint ailments. In addition, the sun’s heat produces positive hormonal effects. In other words, the brain segregates substances that favor good feelings.
“Solar energy has an effect at the hormonal level that causes people to feel and appear happy. Climate has a direct influence on emotions in terms of mood,” psychologist Campos Aguirre said.
3. Air Quality. Clean air that is breathed in much of Guanacaste positively influences the body’s balance. Farías said this “invisible ally” is crucial for longevity.
“The air quality of Guanacaste, which is isolated from large factories, is fundamental for achieving a balance in the body through the oxygen that you breathe. Good breathing added to a healthy diet and stable climate increases longevity,” the expert in traditional Chinese medicine said.
4. The Power of the Sea. Sea breezes also have a powerful effect on health for local residents. According to Campos, studies confirm that ocean saltwater has a purifying effect in the blood for people who have daily contact with the ocean, such as fishermen. This helps strengthen bones.
5. Natural Landscapes: Green landscapes that are common during the rainy season, and the incomparable scenic beauty of nature that envelops the province help Guanacastecans live a more peaceful life.
According to Eugenio Farías, living in harmony with nature helps create positive emotions. Maintaining a peaceful environment boosts health by reducing stress, lowering heart rates and improving quality of life.
Blue Zones
The Nicoya Peninsula stands out in terms of the number of local residents with the greatest longevity in the country. In 2007, U.S. researcher Dan Buettner named it one of the world’s five longevity hotspots, where residents live longer lives and enjoy a better quality of life.
Last March, Nicoyan council members agreed to promote the canton as a healthy destination, working with the organization Costa Rica Azul.
According to information from the organization, the health and wellness tourism industry generates $1.2 trillion annually, for which the province could market its blue zone and position itself as a world-class destination in this field.
“It’s important to transform the green tourism offering that is characteristic of Guanacaste into one of health and wellness through culture, cuisine, sports and sustainability,” said Costa Rica Azul founder Christian Rivera.
Article originally appeared on Vozdeguanacaste, and is republished here with permission.
The Municipality of Bagaces transformed Guayabo’s community hall into a storage facility for food and clothing for hurricane victims.
Photo by David Bolaños
The Municipality of Bagaces transformed Guayabo’s community hall into a storage facility for food and clothing for hurricane victims. Photo by David Bolaños
(Q COSTA RICA, by David Bolaños, Vozdeguanacaste) Mario Barboza wheels the last wheelbarrow full of mud from his home in Guayabo de Bagaces so that he can move back in after Hurricane Otto left his small hamlet nearly wiped out on Nov. 24.
It’s early December, and many people like 74-year-old Barboza, who have spent their days since the hurricane at the Fortuna Technical Professional High School, are beginning to recover their normal lives outside of emergency shelters.
Now, there is enough food in their homes or in temporary ones, but there aren’t enough spoons, and those are precisely the type of donations that are most needed.
Bagaces Deputy Mayor Emilce Díaz said her municipality has enough groceries for nearly 90 families who have requested aid after the emergency.
“The families have been supplied with food, but we still have to distribute pots, cups, spoons, … (and other) household furnishings. People don’t have utensils,” Díaz said.
Temporary Roof
In Guanacaste, Bagaces homes were hit hardest by the hurricane, with 65 damaged homes requiring the transfer of occupants to another region, as those homes are located in high-risk areas, according to the Housing Ministry (MIVAH). An additional 15 homes need repair, and one requires reconstruction.
The district affected most is Mogote, followed by Fortuna, Río Naranjo and Bagaces Centro.
As of this writing, 71 families have managed to temporarily rent other homes with financial assistance from the Mixed Institute for Social Aid (IMAS) for three months after subsidies are approved.
IMAS President Emilio Arias acknowledged that the aid hasn’t yet reached everyone who needs it.
“In some cases, people haven’t filed the documentation because it’s been difficult to find houses that are available to rent in the area,” Arias said.
Although IMAS has earmarked ₡138 million to cover the basic needs of 195 families in Bagaces (an average of ₡707,692 per family), and with that money families can buy anything from refrigerators to zinc roofing, the deputy mayor said obtaining basic furnishings for homes is a costly process and donations of eating and cooking utensils are badly needed.
According to the Economy Ministry, the minimum cost of basic home furnishings is ₡1 million.
Homes in the canton of La Cruz also were significantly damaged in terms of furnishings. There, IMAS provided ₡807 million in aid to 667 families. Families in a total of 862 homes in Guanacaste have requested this aid due to the hurricane.
What Happens After 3 Months?
After three months of temporary renting, hurricane victims should be able to resettle in homes that must be built by MIVAH, according to Deputy Mayor Díaz.
“There are cases where houses were located along rivers or in other high-risk areas, so MIVAH has to relocate the families to safer areas. In other cases, people have lost their homes but have their own property. If it’s suitable, they can request a housing subsidy,” Arias said.
MIVAH spokeswoman Daniela Ávila emphasized that the assessment of the canton is still preliminary.
“We’re in the process of corroborating information from the CNE (National Emergency Commission) about areas that should not be inhabited, so in some cases, repairs or reconstruction could become relocation,” Ávila said.
Article originally appeared on Vozdeguanacaste, and republished here with permission
(TODAY PANAMA) Most European Union (EU) visitor visas will no longer be accepted for entry into Panama under a new decree highlighting a general tightening of migration restrictions in Central America.
The sudden change in policy, reported in Panamanian media Saturday, comes a month after a similar step in neighbouring Costa Rica.
Both countries will continue to accept visitor visas issued by the United States, as well as those issued by Britain, which is outside the EU’s visa-free internal Schengen zone and which is due to soon leave the European Union entirely.
The moves however do not affect most European citizens, who are able to enter both Central American countries without visas for short stays. Americans can also visit visa-free.
Under the decree signed in Panama by President Juan Carlos Varela on December 28, a previous measure which allowed visitors with a multiple-entry EU visa to also use it to enter Panama was scrapped. EU residency was also insufficient to enter.
The new decree says tourists requiring a visa to Panama must have a Panamanian visa, or residency or a multiple-entry visa valid for more than a year from Australia, Britain, Canada or the United States.
Panama said the change was made to better focus resources and to boost checks on nationalities that have “the biggest incidence on the security index” in the country.
It was not clear if the policy change had been communicated in advance to EU embassies in Panama, a Latin American flight hub where many planes from Europe land.
In Costa Rica, the French embassy said neither it nor the EU diplomatic mission in the country had been notified ahead of a December 13 change of policy in that country getting rid of entry for holders of EU Schengen visas.
The tightening visa restrictions in both countries coincides with moves by the United States to tamp down on the flow of migrants through Central America and Mexico to its territory.
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama scrapped a decades-old policy that gave all Cuban migrants near-automatic entry.
The United States has also allocated $750 million in aid to violence-wracked northern Central American countries to improve security and conditions and thus reduce the flow of US-bound migrants.
On Friday, Obama will be succeeded by Donald Trump, whose campaigning included promises of curbing immigration into the United States.
AFP
Article originally appeared on Todaypanama.com, and is republished here with permission.
Democratic socialism for decades impoverished Venezuela until leftist radicals took over in 1999. (Ideas Babel)
Democratic socialism for decades impoverished Venezuela until leftist radicals took over in 1999. (Ideas Babel)
TODAY VENEZUELA / Contrary to many accounts, socialism did not arrive in Venezuela when the late Hugo Chávez took power in 1999. Actually, it had taken root in the country much earlier.
Venezuela has been governed by more or less moderate socialist parties <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_general_election,_1958″ target=”_blank”>since 1958</a>. These parties were founded by a generation of leaders whose political history dates back to 1928 and who took power for the first time <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Venezuelan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat” target=”_blank”>in 1945</a> through a coup.
They all attempted to implement socialism, understood as the direct or indirect control by the state over the means of production and bring strategic sectors under supervision in order to centrally plan the economy.
Both the military and civilians who have ruled Venezuela since 1945 have aspired to roll out one of many variants of socialism. We had moderate socialism until 1999, when Chávez entered the scene.
The variants had democratic socialism in common: they allowed for alternation through elections and imposed certain limits to the state’s control over the economy.
For decades, the crony mercantilist private sector became so extensive that some people thought it would give way to a market economy, thus overcoming the crisis of the 1990s. However, this was not the case.
In 1999, a group of radical revolutionaries, willing to take socialism to its very end, finally came to power with Hugo Chávez elected as president.
They had first tried to do so through a guerrilla. They then tried participating in elections for decades, but also failed. They even attempted a couple of military coups during the great crisis of the 1990s.
But the sum of former military coup perpetrators freely participating in politics, radical leftist politicians deeply resentful after decades of failures, and the crisis of legitimacy in a populist country that relied on high oil prices that were absent then, finally allowed them to reach power.
Unlike their predecessors, these Chavista revolutionaries were not willing to accept political alternation or economic restraint. They came after everything, as slowly or as quickly as circumstances allowed them to. They have never stopped aiming for total control since.
In just 17 years, they have wrought much more damage than their predecessors. This would not have been possible without the previous material and moral impoverishment brought upon by moderate socialism, in addition to its cultural hegemony that few dared to face.
<h2>The Long Way to Destruction</h2>
In the mid-twentieth century, Venezuela was an economically developed country with a stable democracy. In 1944, the purchasing power of the average Venezuelan was more than 10 times the current one.
By 1950, Venezuela boasted the continent’s second largest GDP per capita and seventh largest in the world. The wages of Venezuelan workers were higher than of most Western European ones, with exceptions such as Germany, Switzerland, or Luxembourg.
Wealth per capita and technological advance were among the best in the world. So how could Venezuela be in such a mess, you might ask. Because progress and prosperity are not irreversible.
In the 1940s there was barely any inflation in Venezuela. Public debt was insignificant, the bolívar was one of the world’s most stable currencies, and a mostly open economy grew annually at about 10 percent.
During the 1950s, interventionist laws increased and the economy lost its momentum. But getting a license for a small business was no problem. Government employees even went down to the stores and granted the permits in a single day, something that nowadays takes months or years. The economy at the time grew at about 6 percent per year.
The Venezuelan government continued to pass more statist laws in the 1960s. Moreover, it devalued the currency and imposed exchange controls that lasted several years. The constitutional right to private property was also suspended due to a temporary “emergency”. For decades, this suspension allowed the government to establish an economic central planning. In addition, they shut down imports to favor local industries.
The protected and subsidized sectors grew more slowly as the privileged ones amassed great wealth. This lead to absurd situations: businessmen prospered even with bankrupt companies and politicians obtained fortunes of unspeakable origin.
Nationalizations and large state companies in strategic sectors began. Venezuela’s economic growth stalled when the consequences of all these actions arose.
In the 1970s, the government nationalized the oil industry and the central bank. The steel, electricity, and telecommunications industries became state monopolies. The GDP per capita began to fall in the long term as well.
Thus came the final crisis of moderate socialism, which ushered in the current radical socialism. The latter transformed the growing poverty of that time into the overwhelming misery of today.
More and more Venezuelans are eating from the garbage, and children are starving.
From the deceptive oil boom of the 1970s to present, it only got worse. Most Venezuelans understand that every administration thereafter was worse than the previous one. Few admit that, with the only exception of the second Carlos Andrés Pérez one that tried to implement market reforms, they were more of the same.
More socialism in the economy caused more and more material and moral impoverishment. Maintaining that course would ultimately demand totalitarianism: Chavismo.
Now we have finally reached the dictatorship. It remains to be seen how stable it will be, and how long it will last.
Article originally appeared on Todayvenezuela.com, and is republished here with permission.
Vnezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Vice-President Tarek El Aissami
TODAY VENEZUELA (Prensa Latina) Venezuela’s executive vice president Tareck El Aissami said today the Government is ready to thwart any attempted coup d´etat, seeking to rule the country.
Vnezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and Vice-President Tarek El Aissami
El Aissami, interviewed by the program Jose Vicente Hoy broadcast by television Televen, said that the command against the coup, set up by the Government, seeks to ensure national peace to fight any threat and destabilizing attempt carried out by the extreme right-wing.
He also said that this defense mechanism is necessary because ‘we have a power kidnapped’: the National Assembly (AN).
He said at the AN there are calls every day to ignore the Government, so the command against the coup will be used to thwart any threat of coup, in order to be able to rule in the country.
El Aissami, who was until recently governor of Aragua, said he will never trade his principles, but he is willing to reach out the opposition seeking to foster dialogue and peace in the country.
El Aissami said that it is difficult to hold dialogue with people that do not recognize and comply with the agreements, ‘it is traumatic not to have an opposition that allows us to be a better Government,’ he said.
He said ‘we do not recognize Julio Borges as president of the National Assembly’, due to the contempt prevailing there.
Article originally appeared on Todayvenezuela.com, and is republished here with permission.
Costa Rica needs to define where it belongs in the world of global life.
Costa Rica needs to define where it belongs in the world of global life.
QBLOGS / Costa Rica (Pura Vida) is an enigma. It is caught or brought itself somewhere between capitalism and socialism and cannot define which slot feels the most comfortable so we have a continuum. confusing mixed salad.
Sometimes the government means well, but more than not, it is one grand premeditated, self-serving screw-up.
One of the many reasons is it has an insurmountable number of political groups and an insurmountable amount of worker unions that are mostly, if not all, “public” entities such as teachers, healthcare, police and even taxis, etc. (The list runs from the indigenous to the congress (Assembly).And then is the promise of unfulfilled optimism that helps to keep us here. A new road, a bridge, even serious studies of traffic patterns and finally the most important, health care.
All years and years of “do nothing but talk.”
It is that very tooth fairy optimism while at that same time looking for witches that keeps us afloat
.
For last two administrations, we have become the country of “We will.”
We will do, we intend to do that, for sure in the future: However, little gets completed and most projects simply die of old age.
However, we still cheerlead our leaders with hope and promise. (Well, not much promise)
Now, there is newer generation (Not by age) that is able to stand up and protest slogans of “Why Not.”
The trains are a year or so late, the new bus routes are only in discussion, taxes on whatever come down to is running for whatever office, despite the influx of money, healthcare remains miserable (Four days waiting in “emergency” for a bed), a brand new EBAIS clinic even with two emergency rooms, but no X-Ray machine. (Injure your hand or food it is down to Hospital San Juan de Dios for an x-ray and then back up to the Ebais for treatment.) And, we all pay a monthly fee for this.
I do not even have the courage to mention the roads. It is just too depressing. Right now, I see potholes filled with dirt, not even cheap asphalt.
Meanwhile, like we should, Costa Rica houses thousands of refugees who will compete with low-income Nicaraguans for those jobs neither a Tico nor Gringo will take. (A strong applause, please.)
Costa Rica needs to define where it belongs in the world of global life. This, “I am, or “I am not,” Just adds to our noble, normal confusion.
(Q24N via Insightcrime.org) A Supreme Court magistrate in Guatemala has allegedly pressured a judge handling her son’s case, leading the latter official to leave the country in an affair symbolic of Guatemala’s ongoing struggle against corruption and elite interference with anti-corruption efforts.
Judge Carlos Giovanni Ruano Pineda left Guatemala on January 12 after reportedly being pressured by a Supreme Court magistrate named Blanca Aída Stalling Dávila, Prensa Libre reported. Ruano was handling the corruption case against Stalling’s son.
According to the news outlet, the judge posted a picture of the airport on his Facebook page, commenting that “difficult decisions always involve risks.” Ruano reportedly told a colleague he was leaving the country after being “pressured.”
On January 11, the media outlet Guatevisión released an audio tape reportedly recorded by Ruano in the magistrate’s office, during which Stalling can be heard asking that her son be given alternative sentencing. Ruano had filed an official complaint against the magistrate the day before, on January 10, with a special anti-impunity prosecutor.
Stalling denied any wrongdoing on January 11, stating that she had indeed met with Ruano but that she had not asked any favors for her son, reported El Periódico.
The same day, the Attorney General’s Office and the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala – CICIG) publicly announced the launch of preliminary proceedings against Stalling for influence peddling. And on January 13, a government body composed of judges from Guatemala’s judiciary called for Stalling’s resignation.
The magistrate’s son, Otto Fernando Molina Stalling, is accused by the Attorney General’s Office and the CICIG of criminal association, influence peddling and having receiving bribes. His case has been linked to a larger corruption scandal that engulfed the country’s social security institution in 2015.
The accusations surrounding Blanca Stalling are symptomatic of the corruption that has plagued Guatemala’s judiciary, and this latest case shows the extent to which the country’s elite attempt to interfere in the justice system.
A significant number of the magistrate’s family members — including her brother, her-sister-in-law and her two sons — have been implicated in various corruption scandals that have rocked Guatemala recently, from the customs corruption ring known as “La Linea” that led to the downfall of President Otto Pérez Molina, to bribery in the judiciary and the previously mentioned social security corruption scandal.
Amid recent allegations that the 2014 selection process of the Supreme Court magistrates had been rigged, Blanca Stalling’s reported interference in her son’s case is also symbolic of recurrent and potent interference with the justice system by the country’s elite.
Article originally appeared on Insightcrime.org, and is republished here with permission.
A small fence separates densely populated Tijuana, Mexico, right, from the United States in the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector. Construction is underway to extend a secondary fence over the top of this hill and eventually to the Pacific Ocean.
(Q24N) Over three percent of the world population — 244 million — are international immigrants, and the immigrant population in the United States is approaching 50 million.
A small fence separates densely populated Tijuana, Mexico, right, from the United States in the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector. Construction is underway to extend a secondary fence over the top of this hill and eventually to the Pacific Ocean.
In our hemisphere, Mexico leads the way with 12 million immigrants in the US. They come from Honduras, the murder capital of the world, Guatemala and El Salvador placing fourth and fifth respectively in homicides. Thousands continue to flee violence and poverty from their homelands. In Cuba, since 1959, nearly 18 percent of the population has escaped that tragic island in search of freedom.
The motivations to leave one’s homeland are diverse, but essentially fall into an economic or political category, or both. Fundamentally, immigration expresses a desire for the liberty to improve one’s quality of life.
The politics of immigration are highly contested across Europe and North America, and whereas liberal democracies can be open and inclusive, they are often restrictive and exclusionary. More recently, in response to acts of international terrorism, immigration has become linked with national security concerns and the politics have become increasingly hostile to immigrants.
Typically, the immigration discussion takes place over subjects like, “a nation has the right to refuse entry to foreigners; immigrants erode a nation’s culture; immigrants lower wages and take jobs away from nationals; immigrants want to live on welfare programs; immigrants commit a disproportionate number of crimes; security and health requirements mandate immigration restrictions.”
In the United States, conservatives build their case against open immigration on these issues, and liberals argue for open immigration on grounds of compassion, America’s welcoming tradition and the socioeconomic contributions of immigrants. This is an intellectually sterile political debate that leaves unanswered a fundamental moral question: Do individuals have a right to immigrate?
From the perspective of classical liberalism, the answer is yes to open immigration, but clarification is necessary:
Open immigration is not equivalent to unmonitored immigration. It does not mean that anyone may enter the United States in any manner chosen, or at any location. Open immigration does not imply a right to welfare benefits or government services. It does not mean eligibility for citizenship.
Open immigration means only that individuals may enter the country at designated check points where objective screenings are conducted to protect the nation from diseases, enemies and criminality.
But most importantly, it means that immigration is an individual right. And precisely because the libertarian case for open immigration is grounded on individual rights, it is seldom evoked by American liberals who favor collectivist policies in conflict with individual rights.
As individuals, we desire freedom to think and act on our best judgment. We want to produce wealth, and use it as we see fit to build better lives for ourselves and our families. And, we have a natural right to act in accordance with our judgment provided we do not violate the rights of others.
The rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the right to act on our life requirements, the right to be free from coercive restrictions and the right to pursue our dreams. If our actions do not violate the rights of others, we are morally free to act. When immigrants chose to leave their homeland in search for a better life, they are acting on rational judgment.
There is little question that freedom of movement within a country is a basic human right, and there is no ethical argument to justify treating individuals differently just because they were born on the other side of a national boundary. Individual rights are not ours by virtue of our place of birth; individual rights are universal.
In contrast, nation-states are a relatively new (19th Century) European creation with limited jurisdiction circumscribed to within the borders of the nation-state. The restrictive movement policies of totalitarian nation-states violate the individual right of freedom of movement.
In the libertarian view, individuals who want to lawfully cross a border to pursue their happiness have a right to do so. Immigrants rightfully aspire to lives of freedom and happiness. Yet borders mean something.
A new report reveals just how dangerous Acapulco is. (La Verdad)
A new report reveals just how dangerous Acapulco is. (La Verdad)
(Q24N) Acapulco is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Mexico, but it is also the most violent municipality in the country, according to the National Security Commission (CNS).
The CNS has labeled 20 locations in Acapulco as dangerous, including the coastal tourist zone, but there are four especially dangerous areas due to their high level of homicide, vehicle theft and high concentration of firearms.
However, these levels of violence are not recent.
Last year, the Security, Justice and Peace Organization reported that Acapulco had the highest rate of violence among municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants — at 72.70 percent. In that year, the municipality surpassed Cuernavaca as the municipality with the highest violence.
The most dangerous places in Acapulco are Renaissance City, Progreso, Centro and El Coloso, the report said. The remaining residences also considered dangerous are: Emiliano Zapata, La Laja, Mangos Garden, Llano Largo, Magallanes, Bella Vista, Puerto Marqués, Tres Palos, Postal, Cuauhtémoc, La Venta, Hornos, Las Cruces and Garita de Juárez.
Though local authorities have reportedly tried hard to deny it, the CNS has identified the tourist area of Acapulco as having a high rate of homicide.
The organization also said that of the total number of inmates in Guerrero state prisons that have escaped, 42.1 percent lived in Acapulco, and only 20.5 percent had complete secondary education.
In 2016, 76.2 percent of the total number of homicides committed in Acapulco were by firearms; 9.3 percent of the victims were women; 55.8 percent of those were done by firearms. Of these, 35.2 percent ranged between 16 to 25 years old, and 20.5 percent of them between 36 and 46 years old.
Other municipalities in the state of Guerrero identified as being high risk were: Chilpancingo, Iguala, Eduardo Neri, Teloloapan, Chilapa de Álvarez, Jose Azueta, Taxto, Atoyac de Álvarez, Pungabarato and Coyuca de Benítez.
(Q24N) The government of Chile is working to expand its current Food Labeling Law, which has been in force for more than six months. Specifically, they are seeking to introduce new measures such as taxes on foods high in sugar, in order to incentivize healthy eating and encourage companies to increase the nutritional quality of their products.
Tito Pizarro, head of public policy at the Ministry of Health, said: “One of the issues that is being discussed today is how to generate taxes on foods that are high in sugars and fats. There is a government agreement to research and review the possibilities, in conjunction with the Health and Finance ministries, and during the first semester we anticipate publishing studies so that the authorities can make appropriate decisions.”
There are two options being discussed. One is to tax all foods with black seals, which warn consumers of their unhealthy nutritional content; according to media sources, in 2016, this constituted 3,052 different products. The other option is to begin by focusing only on products that are high in sugar.
In addition, healthy foods, which often have higher production costs, will be subsidized.
With respect to sugary drinks, they will now be taxed at 18%, a significant increase from the previous rate of 13%. Non-sugary drinks, on the other hand, will have their tax rate reduced from 12% to 10%.
Senator Guido Girardi indicated the government will closely monitor the tax changes, noting that, “There are studies that show that the best way to apply taxes is doing it to products with black label. I am in favor of a 20% tax on such products, while reducing taxes on fruits and vegetables, in order to encourage healthy eating.”
According to the School of Public Health of the University of Chile, after Mexico’s implementation of a similar plan, the country saw a 9% decrease in consumption of sugary beverages.
Karen Riedemann, vice president of the College of Nutritionists, said that “given the results we’ve seen globally, and in Mexico, this could be good public policy for Chile.” She added that the school is promoting a policy “to encourage the consumption of unpackaged foods, which are more natural.”
Q COSTA RICA – Leaving your car unattended for a few minutes, even in broad daylight, can result in a ruined vacation and nightmare. Such was the experience of Canadian indie rock musician, Rich Aucoin, last week when he had his rental car broken into while parked on a beach.
Photo from Exclaim.ca
“This has been such a fun trip marred by such a gutting experience,” he wrote on Facebook. “I love Costa Rica and encourage people to visit this sweet place, but don’t let your guard down.”
“After watching some baby turtles make their first steps into the ocean and warding off a few vultures from them, I was approached by a woman who looked like she was on a guided tour,” Aucoin tells Exclaim! “She broke away from the tour several minutes after arriving at the beach and said ‘Are you the car with the surfboards? You know you got robbed, right?’ I was running full-tilt to the car where I found the back window broken and all the luggage in the car stolen,” Aucoin told Exclaim.ca.
The report did not indicate where the incident occurred.
Of the most valuable items taken were the laptop and his passport. “Luckily, a pamphlet for an animal sanctuary happened to be covering my wallet, which made the next couple days of logistics easier.”
Aucoin made it back to Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) on January 13 — after the painstaking process of obtaining an emergency passport.
However, experience hasn’t dampened his sunny spirits. In fact, Aucoin hopes it was at least a thrill for those who robbed him.
“I realize how lucky I am, and even though this is a really bummer thing to have happened, I’ll move on and it’ll be OK. I’ve been enjoying the thought of that moment of excitement the thieves must have experienced when they opened my bag to find a laptop. I hope there were some high-fives and smiles.”
How can you avoid having your car broken into?
Lock you valuables in the trunk. If an SUV, a compartment in the back of the vehicle, ie. the spare time, the jack, etc. Most break-ins are theft of opportunity. If nothing valuable can be visibly seen, thieves may move on to the next.
Visible luggage is a sure sign you are tourist and in a rental car, and won’t be around for the trial if the thieves are ever caught. In an SUV, camouflage the luggage.
When getting out of the vehicle look around you, be aware of your situation. Don’t assume that because you are parked in a public area and with a lot of people around, your vehicle won’t be targeted.
Park in a paid lot whenever possible.
If you have your vehicle broken into, call police (911) and rental car company.
Most of the homes at the Expo Casa 2017 trade are located in carretera a Masaya, carretera Norte and Ciudad Sandino, among other locations.
TODAY NICARAGUA / The event to be held from February 17 to 19, will showcase 50 housing projects with prices of between US$20,000 and US$100,000, and it is expected that at least 500 homes will be sold.
The Housing Construction Chamber of Nicaragua (Cadur) is the organizer of the event, which will take place at the Crowne Plaza Convention Center in Managua.
Cadur says most of the homes at the Expo Casa 2017 trade are located in carretera a Masaya, carretera Norte and Ciudad Sandino, among other locations.
Hector Lacayo, President of Cadur, told Elnuevodiario.com.ni that it will include “… the participation of housing projects with costs ranging from US $20,000 to US $100,000, located on the road to Masaya, North Road and Ciudad Sandino among other places. The developers hope that with the recent approval of the increase in the ceiling price for social housing, more families will have access to housing.”
Q COSTA RICA – The following is a blog entry by the twenty students from California State University (CSU) Channel Islands are in the middle of a 10-day trip to Costa Rica.
The group arrived in Costa Rica on Sunday, January 8, 2017 and will be visiting areas such as Las Baulas National Park, the caves at Barra Honda, the Cloud Forest Reserve Monteverde, Arenal Volcano, Tamarindo and Sarapiqui.
From cr.esrm.zone – We were all excited for the day, anticipating the fun we would have in the tourist town of Tamarindo during our free day.
Fun doesn’t come for free though, so we still had fieldwork responsibilities before lunch. After taking a group picture in our matching tshirts, we split into groups to either survey the tourists or continue surveying the beach.
We then took a two hour bus ride (from the Liberia airport), which grave us front row seats to grazing cows, colorful housing, and green vegetation. Arriving at Playa Grande Surf Camp at 6pm, we were welcomed with our first warm delicious Costa Rican meal. Photo ESRM in Costa Rica.
To reward our hardwork throughout the week, we were allowed to stay in town to explore until 8pm! While we were in Tamarindo we talked with tourists and their experiences with crocodiles using a survey. Some of the questions asked included purpose of visit, previous knowledge of crocodiles, and opinions on crocodile area management.
Below, we have included an excerpt of CSUCI student Efrain Flores Guerrero’s experience surveying tourists regarding ecotourism issues:
“While walking to Tamarindo, I had to cross the estuary where locals had told me were infested with crocodiles. I saw a few myself swimming the estuary. Once crossed, I began to survey tourists that crossed my path. There were many tourists at the beaches, streets, and local eateries. My plan of attack was to survey randomly but was unsuccessful as the people I asked on the streets were non compliant with the surveys. I believe tourists thought I was trying to sell them local goods. Successful survey tourists on the other hand were quite nice and mainly came from the beach and restaurants. I met people from Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Colombia, and some parts of Canada, such as Calgary. Most were visiting to get out of the cold winter weather. Some were staying as few as 10 days but there were more that were staying for more than 2 weeks. It was astonishing to find out that even though all of them had visited Tamarindo before, only one was truly aware about the crocodiles in the estuary. To some, I had to explain that they were only 100 meters away from crocodile infested waters.”
Some of the students visiting Tamarindo enjoyed the town but saw the effects of extreme tourism within Costa Rica. The beaches were covered with bars, shops, and hotels. We had compared Tamarindo to Santa Cruz, the town we had visited earlier in the week which had been more culturally authentic, but found that Tamarindo catered more to tourists and wasn’t as authentic as imagined. Either way, it was still enjoyable to experience. In contrast, Playa Grande and Las Baulas National Park have done an excellent job of maintaining a natural beach setting with minimal developmental impacts. With Tamarindo so close by, we are grateful that Playa Grande has preserved the nature from ecotourist effects such as modern beach development.
Fun fact: Locals call Tamarindo “Tamagringo” due to the high number of tourists.
On average, 2.5 people die every day due to traffic accidents
TODAY NICARAGUA, Managua- A total of 31 people were killed in traffic accidents during the first 11 days of 2017, said vice-president of Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo.
Of the deceased, 22 were men and nine women (including 3 children).
On average, 2.5 people die every day due to traffic accidents
“I share with your this dramatic date…let us be more prudent so that we can avoid tragedies,” said Murillo,
In total, in the first eleven days of the year, the National Police report attending 1,124 traffic accidents.
Speeding and reckless driving are the major cause of the accidents.
Murillo added that President Daniel Ortega has directed the National Police to prepare a national prevention program.
Among the comments posted on the El Nuevo Diario, say “the tragedies will continue unless there is a real traffic police and not just collectors of money at every corner. There are no patrol’s, but rather a system of placing traffic cops at corners making up fines to collect money.”
On March 25, just one day after the end of a historic visit from US President Barack Obama, who was the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years, the Rolling Stones played Havana. Tens of thousands of Cubans poured into the Ciudad Deportiva stadium to cheer the cult British band’s first ever concert on Cuba.
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Evo forever?
In a constitutional referendum on February 24 the people of Bolivia voted decisively against a fourth term for President Evo Morales. The 57-year-old leader of the socialist MAS party, who has ruled Bolivia since 2006, acknowledged defeat. But since then he has announced his intention to stand again in 2019 despite the constitutional ban.
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Germany apologizes
At a meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on July 13, President Joachim Gauck apologized for the failure of German diplomats to intervene in Colonia Dignidad, a Bavarian-style agricultural community taken over by a German pedophile, Paul Schäfer, that served as a torture camp for the Chilean secret service during the Pinochet dictatorship. But there was no compensation for victims.
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The world comes to Rio
It was a festival of superlatives: Around 10,000 athletes and half a million spectators took part in the Olympic Games in Rio from August 5 to 21. The biggest sporting event in the world remained mercifully free of terrorist attacks, storms, epidemics and crime; but the IOC made negative headlines with yet another corruption scandal.
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Dilma Rousseff forced out
Not only was she the first woman president of Brazil, she was also the first woman president to be impeached. On August 31, the required two-thirds majority of the Brazilian senate voted for the 70-year-old Rousseff to be removed from office. Brazilian society is still divided over her impeachment.
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Colombia dares to make peace
A miracle comes true: After more than 50 years of civil war, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC rebels, Rodrigo Londono, signed a historic peace agreement in Havana on September 26. Seven million people were internally displaced as a result of the Colombian civil war, which also claimed more than 200,000 lives.
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The people say no
But in a referendum on October 2 the Colombian people voted by a narrow margin to reject the peace agreement. President Santos renegotiated with FARC and presented a new agreement, which was approved by the Colombian Congress on December 1. Santos was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts
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SOS Venezuela
Venezuela at the edge of the abyss: Hunger, poverty and fear are rife in the country with the biggest oil reserves in the world. Mismanagement and the fall in the price of crude oil have caused a serious economic crisis. There are shortages of basic foodstuffs, medicines and electricity. In 2016, inflation was already more than 700 percent. Anyone who can is leaving the country.
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Trump: No thanks!
The election of Donald Trump as the next US president has cast a shadow over Latin America’s relations with its northern neighbor. Here, in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez, a street artist has sprayed a nine-meter caricature of the US president-elect on a concrete wall at the Rio Bravo canal.
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Tragedy strikes
Disaster in Colombia: A plane belonging to Bolivian airline LaMia crashed on approach to Medellin after running out of fuel. Some 71 people died, including 19 players of Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense Real. The footballers were en route to a Copa Sudamericana final match. There was worldwide consternation over the tragedy. Chapecoense were later declared the winners of the tournament.
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Elections in Haiti
After numerous failed attempts, a Haitian election finally produced a result. On November 20 the majority (55.7 percent) of Haitians elected the 48-year-old banana plantation owner Jovenel Moise to be their head of state. But the turnout was shockingly low: Only 1.3 million of the 6.2 million Haitians eligible actually cast their ballots.
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Farewell to Fidel
The death of Fidel Castro on November 25 marked the end of a political era for Cuba. Revolutionary, head of government, president, and first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, “El Comandante” was a worldwide figurehead for the Left. His resistance to the United States and to the trade embargo imposed by Washington turned his socialist island into a symbol of the Cold War.
Red-eyed tree frog in Costa Rica. Photograph: Megan Lorenz/Rex Features
Eyes on the prize … sky walk over the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, in Costa Rica. Photograph: Alamy
Q COSTA RICA TRAVEL / If you are a UK resident, here is your chance to win a fantastic 16-night wildlife holiday for two to Costa Rica with Exodus Travels – and see the photos from the trip published in Guardian Travel.
The Competition is open to all photographers (both amateur and professional).
Guardian Travel’s monthly readers’ photography competition is an opportunity for you to share your journeys around the world, and for us to showcase your work in a monthly online gallery. UK residents and winners of each month’s competition will receive a £200 (US$245) voucher to be redeemed against an Exodus Travels holiday.
The overall 2017 winner will win a 16-night Discover Costa Rica holiday for two with Exodus Travels, worth £2,519pp (US$3,060). Included are 14 nights in eco-friendly lodges and hotels, travel by minibus – sometimes on dirt roads – and by boat, some meals, all transport and activities, plus flights from London.
Red-eyed tree frog in Costa Rica. Photograph: Megan Lorenz/Rex Features
The problem is not in the 20lb tanks used for BBQ's, but the larger tall cylinders with the clip-on valve pictured here.
Q COSTA RICA / It’s been four years since the tragedy claimed the lives of five people, from the explosion of a propane gas cylinder in a soda (restaurant). And four years later the country still does not have regulations governing the handling and sale of the gas cylinders.
Since then, there have been demands to guarantee greater security in the market. But the wait continues.
Last year, in 2016, the Cuerpo de Bomberos (fire department) attended to more than 4,100 emergencies involving some type of gas leak, leaving seventeen people injured.
And the leaks continue. In the first 11 days of this year, the Bomberos have already attended 86 emergencies.
The problem is not in the 20lb tanks used for BBQ’s, but the larger tall cylinders with the clip-on valve (pictured here) referred to as the “Central American type”, considered unsafe in the rest of the world.
In the middle of last year, the Ministry of Environment (MINAE) said it had the regulations that would control the marketplace ready, but, it is not yet in place.
What do we need? Another tragedy? One of bigger proportions?
The situation is disturbing because a majority of the kitchens in homes in Costa Rica use gas stoves, buying their propane gas in local supermarkets (pulperias), in containers that have seen better days. This is not the fault of the pulperias, but of the bottlers and distributors of the gas cylinders and their quasi monopoly on the industry.
In what was seen as a major step, back in the middle of 2013, the MINAE ordered bottlers of to change the valves as a condition of renewing their operating permits. These are valves referred to as the “Central American type”, considered unsafe in the rest of the world, yet they continue in use in Costa Rica.
In addition to the valve replacement, the gas companies were required to dispose of cylinders older than 10 years. Anyone who has purchased (exchanged an empty for a full) a gas cylinder lately will know that has not been the case either.
Q COSTA RICA (Internationaliving.com) I was sitting on our cantilevered terrace, listening to birdsong and the river flowing below me. I pondered the 11,000-foot-tall Volcano Irazú in the distance. From the top of the tallest volcano in the country, it’s possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day.
Suddenly there came a rapid-fire knock at the door. I knew something was different this morning—Costa Ricans rarely get worked up.
A neighbor, who knew I’d worked as a doctor in the U.S. before retiring to Costa Rica, wanted me to check his uncle, who was “having a problem.” I found an elderly fellow, surrounded by supportive family members, who was in pain and having a nosebleed. We loaded him in my car and drove the three miles to the nearest Caja—the nickname for the local public healthcare office.
Although the waiting room was occupied by folks waiting their turn, everyone generously ushered us to the front of the line. The old man was immediately assessed by the physician, received an ECG (to check for electrical problems with the heart), was stabilized, and later transported to a large hospital about 30 minutes away. There he was treated for his heart attack. I never saw it handled any faster when I was working in the U.S.
San José is home to world-class healthcare that won’t break the bank. iStock.com/Dmitry Chulov
When my partner and I left Texas for Costa Rica, many friends said, “Well sure, you’re not worried about medical care; you’re a doctor.” To tell the truth, that actually makes me much more critical of the medical care available in other countries. Unlike some foreign nations, Costa Rica has nothing to worry about; state-of-the-art services are available here in all branches of medicine and dentistry.
Costa Rica has both public and private healthcare sectors. Every town has its EBAIS (Caja) office where people from the neighborhood—expat residents as well as locals—can receive preventative and primary care. And there’s no pre-existing condition exclusion.
There are also private doctors and hospitals, just as you’re used to in North America.
For example, CIMA Hospital in San José has it all…intensive care, all the surgical specialties, and even dental treatments.
All at 30% to 70% cheaper than U.S. or Canadian prices. And it is Joint Commission International-certified. That’s the gold standard in healthcare—many U.S. hospitals fail to receive that accreditation. And it is the only hospital in Central America that is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
CIMA hospital, Escazu (San Jose), Costa Rica.
That’s not to say that public hospitals aren’t up to snuff.
Margaret Aliff, an expat who lives in the San José suburb of Escazú, tells this story: “I’ve had three ER [emergency room] experiences in Costa Rica: one at a private hospital and two at a public hospital. I would rate all ER experiences as very good, but I thought the public hospital was more thorough both times.”
Many expats use a combination of the two systems. Donald Martin, 73, had knee surgery in Georgia some time ago that is now failing him. He needs a series of injections in his knee. He saw his Caja doctor here in Costa Rica, who reviewed the records his orthopedist sent from Atlanta. He could have waited a few weeks for an appointment within the Caja system—about the same wait time for new patients to see a specialist in the U.S. But he preferred to be seen immediately and was referred to three nearby surgeons in the private sector.
The next day, he learned he could receive the same treatment he’d had in Georgia, but at a considerable saving. “Not only am I saving on time and airfare back to Georgia, but the cost of the injections is $400 here, as opposed to the $1,200 I was quoted there.”
While some U.S. insurance carriers won’t cover costs in Costa Rica unless it’s an emergency, many expats find that private insurance here is very reasonable. John and Lori Jowett have recently gotten their insurance through Blue Cross of Costa Rica. “For a premium of $462 per month, we have better coverage than we had in Florida, and at half the cost.” They also point out that, because healthcare is less expensive here, the $1 million policy here buys you closer to $3 to $5 million of care.
In addition, the country is finding new ways to help lower healthcare costs. I recently discovered a program called MediSmart. It works with Hospital Metropolitano, one of San José’s private hospitals. Essentially, a couple can get deeply discounted medical services at Metropolitano by paying a $17-a-month “retainer.” While normal office visits may run $40 to $50 (still a bargain, at one-third the U.S. cost), they’re reduced to $14 to $18 by paying the retainer. Other costs can show similar price breaks, like a CT scan for only $320, compared to $800 in Texas.
And expats aren’t the only ones who benefit from Costa Rica’s healthcare. Medical tourism is also growing rapidly. An estimated 40,000 people visit Costa Rica each year for some specific healthcare need.
When my fishing buddy, Kenneth Thomas, needed dental implants last winter, he drove past myriad dental offices in icy Fort Worth, Texas, and flew to sunny Costa Rica. He found he could save $15,000, even after paying for the airfare and his lodgings. Smiling a new perfect smile, Thomas reveals an added benefit: “I got to enjoy a few extra days in the paradise of beaches, as well as in some of the country’s numerous national parks. That will make you want to visit the dentist!”
Crocodiles gather at an estuary in Costa Rica, a spot that is also attracting curious humans, sometimes with tragic results. (Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CSUCI)
A large crocodile leaves the water in Costa Rica. CSU Channel Islands students are midway through their trip to the Central American country, where they are using a drone to count and map the reptiles’ locations.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CSUCI)
Q COSTA RICA (Anne Kallas, Vcstar.com) Twenty students from CSU Channel Islands are in the middle of a 10-day trip to Costa Rica, where they’re using a drone to count crocodiles and map the creatures’ exact locations.
It’s part of a larger project aimed at keeping the reptiles and humans at a safe distance from one other.
Led by professor Donald Rodriguez, the students are using the drone to count the saltwater crocodiles that have become so numerous at an estuary that they’re now a big attraction — with tragic results. According to Rodriguez, someone lost a leg to a crocodile recently.
The state-of-the-art technology being used on the study trip came from CSUCI associate professor Sean Anderson’s fleet of about 20 flying robots.
Anderson, who heads the school’s Ecological Restoration Lab, said the drone is being tested for the first time as a tool for researchers to count the dangerous reptiles.
“We’re wondering whether the robots can be more effective than one person looking essentially sideways at a river and estuary,” Anderson said. “From our work elsewhere, we’ve seen huge advantages from above with the rover looking down.”
The drone is an autonomous quadcopter powered by a lithium polymer battery. It has about 10 to 15 minutes of flight time, according to Rodriguez.
This is the second time Rodriguez has taken a group to Costa Rica to conduct ecological research. He said he formerly took students to Mexico to examine wildlife, but when conditions there became too dangerous because of crime and attacks on tourists, he turned his attention to Costa Rica.
This latest group that left Sunday is conducting research at Las Baulas National Marine Park, on the western side of Costa Rica. It’s a known habitat of the leatherback sea turtle, which is a protected species.
CSUCI geomorphologist Linda O’Hirok is also on the trip, Rodriguez said, looking at and documenting the sea turtles’ nesting area, which is facing encroachment from surfers and tourists.
Crocodiles gather at an estuary in Costa Rica, a spot that is also attracting curious humans, sometimes with tragic results. (Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CSUCI)
Rodriguez said that while the very small turtle population is holding steady, the saltwater crocodile population has exploded, thanks to fishermen who leave behind fish guts and other trash that entice the reptiles. The small strip of beach has also become a magnet for tourists who feed the crocodiles — a dangerous practice.
The students will go out on panga boats into the estuary where the crocodiles live and count them by hand and using the drone, which will fly a pattern over the river.
“With this robot, they may count, say, 10 crocodiles by flying overhead, instead of, say, eight that might get counted by someone standing on the side of the river,” Anderson said.
He said the goal is to eventually automate all wildlife counts.
“We will be able to do (the counting) more quickly if we automate,” he said. “And the computer would do detection of eyes and body shapes. There are all the big cost savings of using this, and there is much improved accuracy.”
In exchange for this trip, CSUCI will welcome a contingent from the University of Costa Rica later this year, Rodriguez said. The students will study the land and ecosystems on Santa Rosa Island.
“And they can go to protected areas in the Santa Monica Mountains, where we work with the Park Service there,” Rodriguez said. “The idea is that we could provide a kind of unique Mediterranean environment for them. And they’re providing a unique environment for us with tropical ecosystems.”
Rodriguez, the chairman of the Environmental Science and Resource Management Program at CSUCI, said his students tend to be interested in outdoor occupations such as being a park ranger or researcher.
“Our program is unique in that it combines what is traditional Earth science with resource management,” he said. “My background is in natural resource management of protected areas worldwide and in managing wildlife-human interactions, especially with human encroachment into dwindling habitats.”
The glorious golden sunset at Playa Potrero. Picture: Gary Burchett
Beers at sunset on Playa Potrero beach in Costa Rica, which is said to be the happiest place on earth. Picture: Gary Burchett
Q COSTA RICA (Gary Burchett, news.com.au) – THESE words come to you from the “happiest place on earth”.
In a stroke of good fortune, I am a new resident of a country that has edged out its 194 rivals to claim what could arguably be the most sought-after title the world over.
Further, this little haven of goodness and wellness has claimed this accolade three times in the past seven years.
Welcome to Costa Rica. Home to pristine rainforests and cloud forests, soaring volcanoes, world-class beach breaks, coffee that will appease the palate of the most discerning Sydney and Melbourne bean-hunter and those adorable two- and three-toed sloths.
So, back to that distinction of “happiest place on earth” for a moment. It’s quite a big claim and hefty shoes to fill. As a proud Australian I take it with a healthy dose of scepticism — what’s this tiny nation of 4.5 million souls got that the rest of the world hasn’t?
For one, its beaches — such as here at Playa Conchal at Guanacaste — aren’t too shabby. Picture: Gary BurchettSource:Supplied
For a start, most people I know need an atlas to locate its whereabouts. For the record: it’s south of Nicaragua to the north of Panama and about three-quarters the size of Tasmania.
The Happy Planet Index report, published by the New Economics Foundation, shuns economic measures of happiness and instead ranks countries by how much happiness they get from the amount of environmental resources used.
Happiness is calculated by measuring a country’s bliss in relation to the wellbeing, life expectancy and social inequality, and then dividing it by its ecological footprint.
Costa Rica’s wildlife is pretty excellent. Picture: Gary Burchett
Costa Rica has long been regarded for its crusading approach to sustainable living and in 2016 fulfilled the enviable milestone of deriving 98 per cent of its energy from renewable sources. This has been achieved in successive years, mind you.
Abolishing the military in 1948 has had a significant impact on the people and the way they engage in conflict resolution and generally view the world.
Instead of siphoning taxpayer dollars into munitions, the money is invested into education and health. With a literacy rate of 98 per cent — elementary education is free and mandatory — and a health system revered the world over, it’s a strategy that has had a profound effect on the Tico (nickname for Costa Ricans) population. They take enormous pride in being citizens of a country that has abolished its army.
Children proudly carry Costa Rican flags at independence day celebrations. Picture: Gary Burchett
Having meandered through Central America and its ‘highways’ (a loose term) extensively in 2016, there’s nothing more unsettling than arriving into a new town and being greeted with a pump action shotgun or surly band of militiamen.
You’ll find none of that here. As a result of Costa Rica’s commitment to peace, it finds itself in rare company as one of only ten nations globally completely free of conflict. Big tick in the happiness box right there!
And personally speaking, my two daughters are enrolled in La Paz Community School where peace practices form an essential part of their learning. It’s these examples that fuel optimism in an overtly turbulent age.
Gary’s daughters are two of the newest students at La Paz Community School. Picture: Gary Burchett
However, there’s a force of a different kind that provides a few clues as to why Ticos are so content with their lot. “Pura Vida”, anyone?
A bit like the Fijian “Bula!”, Pura Vida is more than an expression: it’s a state of being that goes a long way to defining this upbeat Central American nation.
Ask a Costa Rican how they are and they’ll typically reply “Pura Vida”. The English translation is “pure life” but to put a finger on the real context is tricky.
It’s a narrative for the country’s laid-back approach to living. It’s “hello”, “how are you?”, “see you later”, “so be it”; an assessment on one’s self and an affirmation for life in general.
Better still, it’s genuine, and typically said with overwhelming pride, forged from the bellies from some of the most contented people on this planet.
Costa Rica is famous for its sloths, such as this guy at Manual Antonio National Park. Picture: Gary Burchett
A few clicks down the road from where I live in the Guanacaste Province is the famed Nicoya Peninsula, one of only five listed “Blue Zones” in the world.
What’s a Blue Zone, you ask? It’s an area where people live longer than the rest of us.
This unique patch of the country has the world’s lowest rates of middle-age mortality and the second highest concentration of male centenarians.
So proud is Costa Rica of its elderly that every person who has a 100th birthday is featured on the national news. Pura Vida! The other four Blue Zones are Loma Linda in California; Ikaria, Greece; Sardinia, Italy and Okinawa, Japan.
Which leads us to what makes Costa Rica such a sought after tourist destination: its natural wonders.
An extra friendly coatimundi poses for the camera at Monteverde. Picture: Gary Burchett
It boasts 11 conservation areas, 28 national parks, 58 wildlife refuges, 32 protected zones, 11 forest reserves, eight biological reserves and seven wildlife sanctuaries affording 25 per cent of the country protected status.
With only .03 per cent of the world’s landmass, Costa Rica is home to nearly six per cent of the planet’s biodiversity, with over 500,000 unique species of plant and wildlife. Impressive reading.
But it can’t be ignored that the “happiest place on earth” has some real issues to contend with. Nearly 20 per cent of the country lives in poverty and wages hover at an average of $4 to $5 an hour. Transport pollution and congestion in the capital San Jose is some of the worst in Latin America, Costa Rican roadways are the fourth most dangerous in the world and youth unemployment is at 25 per cent.
The glorious golden sunset at Playa Potrero. Picture: Gary Burchett
Though what’s remarkable about Ticos is that they’ll rarely invite you into the shortcomings they grapple with daily. There’s nothing a warm smile and a lighthearted conversation can’t fix. Optimism is a central maxim in these parts.
I think I can safely go out on a limb here and say that at the heart of our existence we express the desire to be happy. My barometer on this is simply gauged by the way I go about my daily business and the levels of contentment of those around me, from my inner sanctum to the random passers-by that intersect my life.
Am I living in the happiest place on earth? Can’t quantify that, but gee it feels good. Pura Vida one and all.
Gary Burchett spent 20 years working in radio and TV production in Sydney and London. He is travelling Latin America with his wife and two daughters who, for the time being, reside on the northern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in the Guanacaste Province. You can follow their adventures at udreamido.com.
COSTA RICA EXTRA (MANILA) – Miss Costa Rica and Miss Nicaragua arrived in the Phillipines Thursday, to take part in the 65th Miss Universe pageant that will be held on January 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Backstage at Miss Universe. #Day1. Via Facebook.
Costa Rica’s Carolina Rodriguez said she was excited to be in the Philippines. “It is my first time here. When the airplane landed, I was jumping like a little girl in the airplane. It was so much fun,” the Costa Rican beauty said.
Carolina was born on April 23, 1989, in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose (however, since his childhood he lives in the province of Alajuela) is a model, teacher and translator of the English language. In 2014 she failed to be crowned, nevertheless, during Miss Costa Rica 2016 managed to obtain the national crown.
From Manila:
An environmental advocate, Carolina leads efforts in planting trees and collecting non-organic residues from rivers in the country.
Carolina stands at an astounding height of 5’7”. She is mostly described as sweet, cheerful, and passionate.
Carolina at the San Jose (Juan Santamaria) airport, on her way to the Phillipines. (Facebook.)
Meanwhile, Nicaragua’s Marina Jacoby, born August 3, 1995 in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, said she is excited to finally be in the Philippines after a year of preparation for the pageant.
“I am so excited to be finally here. (After) one year of preparation and I am here in the Philippines. I have never been in Asia before. So, I am excited and I want everything to start right now,” she said.
Marina Jacoby – Miss Nicaragua 2016. Photo Erick Monterrosa
Jacoby is an actress and a model. She enjoys playing football (soccer) and considers herself as an honest, social & loyal person. In Nicaragua she leads initiatives to eradicate harassment, whether physical, verbal or cyber bullying . “Your best recipe for this type of attack has been to ignore them and turn the page.
”I want to make kids raise their self-esteem so they can develop their potential,” says the model.
Need a little inspiration to achieve your goals and be your best self in 2017? From Miss Universe Nicaragua 2016 Marina Jacoby: “A dream without acting on it is just an illusion.”
A boy wears the U.S. colours in Havana, Cuba, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
TODAY CUBA (Reuters) Cuban Jose Enrique Manreza, who sold his house and belongings to embark on a epic journey by plane, bus and on foot in pursuit of the American dream, is now stranded in a Mexican border town after Washington abruptly ended a lenient immigration policy.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday repealed a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the United States, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to U.S. policy.
The end of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached U.S. soil to stay, but returned any picked up at sea, took effect immediately.
“Imagine how I feel, after I spent six days and six nights running through rivers and jungles in the humidity,” said Manreza, at a migrant shelter in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, where he heard the news, along with 30 other Cubans.
Manreza estimated he had spent about $10,000 on his trip, including a flight to French Guiana, guides through South America and bribes to fend off aggressors who tried to abuse his daughter on the journey.
“I had to give them lots and lots of money, and now this happens,” said Manreza, who ran a soda warehouse in Havana before he left in December. He said he was deciding whether to return to Cuba, broke, or seek asylum in Mexico.
Anticipating the end of the policy, Cuban immigration has surged since the 2014 normalization, and Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said some 40,000 Cubans arrived in the United States in 2015 and about 54,000 in 2016.
Numbers have been lower in recent months, but Cubans en route in Panama said hundreds more were behind them in the treacherous jungles of the Darien.
“There are people with children, pregnant women, elderly people,” said Gabriel Alejandro Marín, part of a group of 50 in Panama City. “We have all sold everything for this.”
Thousands of Cubans gathered in Costa Rica and Panama last year as Central American countries struggled to cope with the influx. El Salvador on Thursday welcomed the new policy, saying all immigrants should be treated equally.
Honduras, a source of thousands of immigrants to the United States each year, despite no Cuban-style special treatment, said it was waiting to see if the policy led to fewer Cubans travelling. Mexico’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment.
Manreza said his wife, a nurse, was working in Venezuela as part of a Cuban oil-for-doctors programme. Obama also rolled back a “medical parole” programme dating back to 2006 that allowed Cuban doctors working in third countries to move to the United States simply by walking into a U.S. embassy.
“She cried when I called her,” Manreza said, without saying whether his wife had intended to defect under the programme.
van Diaz, 45, a health administrator said the decision had left him in shock.
“It’s taken the oxygen from me,” he said.
Diaz left Cuba three months ago with his wife. He said the dash for the United States had cost about $25,000 for him, his wife and Miami family members who sent money to support them.
“I’ve got $10 left in my pocket,” he said. “We are going to carry on. We don’t lose anything by going to the Laredo border. We must be able to do something. Otherwise, let them deport me back to Cuba.”
(Additional reporting by Elida Moreno in Panama City, Gustavo Palencia in Honduras and Nelson Renteria in El Salvador; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
TODAY CUBA (Prensa Latina) The government of Cuba considers a positive step forward in improving relations with the United States an agreement announced Thursday by President Barack Obama, with only one week left in his mandate, to secure regular, safe and orderly migration between the two countries.
Obama’s declaration does away with the so-called ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy that guaranteed any Cuban arriving in US territory, no matter how, to becoming a legal resident.
The executive order states that Cubans trying to get illegally into the U.S. and does not qualify for human aid will be subject to be returned according to the US laws.
By giving this step -the statement stresses- “We are treating Cuban immigrants in the same manner that We deal with immigrants from other countries.”
The document adds that the Cuban Government has agreed to accept the return of Cuban nationals (in U.S. soil) who has been ordered to return, just like it has accepted to receive immigrants intercepted at sea.
In a statement released Thursday night the Cuban Government highlights that this agreement also the parole admission program for Cuban health professionals that the United States applied in third nations to encourage them to illegally leave for the U.S.
The Cuban statement points out the agreement was reached after a year of negotiations based on mutual respect and the political will to strengthen bilateral relations and pave the ground for new understandings on diverse issues of common interest.
It should contribute – it adds – to normalizing migration relations which have been shadowed by aggressive policies of successive U.S. administrations that encouraged violence, irregular migration and human trafficking, causing the death of many innocent people.
The ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy was until now an encouragement to irregular migration, immigrant trafficking and irregular entries to the United States from third countries.
By automatically receiving them, U.S. authorities were granting them a preferential and unique treatment no citizen from other countries get, therefore it was also an incitement to illegal exits.
ara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members are escorted upon their arrival at the maximum security jail in Zacatecoluca, El Salvador, on Nov. 16. Jose Cabezas / Reuters
ara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members are escorted upon their arrival at the maximum security jail in Zacatecoluca, El Salvador, on Nov. 16. Jose Cabezas / Reuters
Q24N / NBC News – El Salvador, one of the world’s more dangerous countries, has recorded a rare day without a single homicide — a possible dividend of the recent truce between warring gangs.
There were no reported murders Wednesday, National Civil Police commissioner Howard Cotto told reporters.
The last time the country went a full day without any killings was Jan. 22, 2015, according to records kept by The Associated Press.
The murder rate fell by almost one-fifth last year, but El Salvador is still one of the world’s most violent countries with 81.2 murders per 100,000 residents and an average of 14.4 homicides a day.
That’s more than 10 times as bad as America’s deadliest city, St. Louis, which recorded 8.8 murders per 100,000 in 2014 according to FBI figures, and Chicago, which chalked up 6.3 per 100,000.
Watch the view from NBC News, “Why Children are Fleeing Central America”
The country’s 6.6 million citizens live in the shadow of powerful gangs — or “Maras” — involved in drug trafficking and extortion rackets.
A tough military counteroffensive, and measures to isolate organized criminals within the jail system, have dramatically reduced killings.
But the gangs also claim credit. The three main groups — the Mara Salvatrucha, Barrio 18 Revolucionarios and Barrio 18 Surenos — forged a nonaggression pact in March in order to convince the government that the crackdown was unnecessary.
President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a former guerrilla, took power in 2014 with the aim of confronting the gangs. Efforts were stepped up after a massacre last year in which gang members used guns and machetes to slaughter 11 people.
However, escalating violence has driven thousands northward to Mexico. In the first 9 months of 2016, Mexico received nearly 7,000 asylum requests — more than five times more than in 2013.
“We Are Not Afghanistan”. El Salvador’s murder rate—roughly the current death rate in war-torn Syria—is creating a humanitarian crisis. The country’s murder rate is spiraling out of control—and displacing tens of thousands in the process. Opensocietyfoundations.org
“We had to leave,” said Teresa, a mother of three from El Salvador who fled with her children in October and is now living at a shelter for asylum-seeking families in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border.
She declined to give her name, fearing for her security. “We left home as if we were just going for a walk not to raise any suspicion,” she said.
Her son, Juan, 15, was walking to school one morning in El Salvador when two men on a motorcycle sped by and fatally shot another boy on the street in front of him. As a witness to a gang murder, Juan was now in the firing line. “They said I had to be part of their gang,” Juan told Reuters.
To maintain control, gang members extort money at gunpoint, rape women and girls, murder, and force children to join their ranks, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.
“It’s a refugee crisis. The situation in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala is critical,” Paola Bolognesi, head of UNHCR’s field office in Tapachula, told Reuters last year.
“People don’t have an option but to flee criminal gangs who exert very strong pressure on communities. We are seeing entire families of up to 20 people fleeing to save their lives.”
More than 8,000 Cuban migrants have entered Costa Rica on their trek north, to their final destination, the U.S.
Q COSTA RICA – Costa Rica applauded the end of the United States policy that allowed Cubans a near-automatic entry to the U.S. to Cubans who set foot on American soil, regardless of their visa status.
More than 8,000 Cuban migrants have entered Costa Rica on their trek north, to their final destination, the U.S.
According to the government, the U.S. policy encouraged the illegal flow of Cuban migrants, triggering the migratory crisis in Costa Rica and Central America, that began in November 2015 and continues today with Nicaragua closing its borders to migrants.
“This policy also promotes the trafficking of people networks in the region, putting the integrity of migrants at risk,” Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
In April last year, Costa Rica asked U.S. President Barack Obama to repeal the policy.
But, it wasn’t until yesterday, Thursday, January 12, 2017 that the U.S. change its policy, with the announcement by Obama within days of leaving office.
Despite Obama’s announcement, the Cuban Adjustment Act, which establishes accelerated procedures to grant Cuban citizens residence in the U.S., remains in effect.
That is, Cubans who enter the United States legally and with any visa can benefit from an expedited process to obtain residency, but those who do not have a visa will be returned to their country.
Why Cubans pass through Costa Rica. Renedering by La Nacion
9.3% Of All Deaths In Costa Rica Related to Cigarette Smoking: Ministry of Health
Q COSTA RICA / The collection of tax on Tobacco does not cover even one-third of the annual cost of Social Security (Seguro Social) to treat diseases such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, stroke Vascular (LCA) and cancer, from the consumption of cigarettes.
This is revealed in the research by the Institute of Clinical and Sanitary Effectiveness (IECS) of Argentina and the Ministry of Health, with the participation of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS).
The study was also carried out simultaneously in Ecuador, Honduras, Paraguay and Uruguay and shows that the direct expenditure for cigarette consumption in health systems is very high.
According to the research, in Costa Rica smoking generates an annual direct cost of ¢129 billion colones (US$230 million dollars), equivalent to 0.47% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 4.8% Annual public health expenditure.
The tax collection for the sale of cigarettes is around ¢33.7 billion annually; a value that scarcely covers less than 30% of the direct costs caused by the cigarette in the health system.
The study proposes that if cigarette prices were increased, one of the most effective measures to combat tobacco consumption, it was shown that in all countries, the increase in price would result in enormous health benefits, avoiding a large number of deaths, heart attacks and stroke.
For example, an increase of only 10% in the price of cigarettes could prevent 340 deaths, 1,369 heart disease, 145 new cancers in a year, and eliminate 157 cardiovascular accidents in ten years.
In ten years, resources could be generated for ¢55.729 million colones, a figure derived from savings in health expenses and the increase in tax collection, according to the report.
In this way, the study concludes that the increase in tobacco taxes is one of the most effective measures to combat consumption, reduce disability and prevent deaths.
Smoking is responsible for a significant number of deaths: 9.3% of all deaths occurring in Costa Rica. It is estimated that 1,747 deaths per year could be avoided, accounting for 21% of all deaths from pathologies associated with smoking in a year in Costa Rica.
The most frequent diseases attributable to tobacco are: heart disease, stroke, COPD, pneumonia and cancer (mainly lung cancer). Many deaths are also due to passive smoking.
The years of life lost as a result of smoking are on average 6 years of life in smokers and in about 3 years of life for former smokers.
The information from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Paraguay and Uruguay was made public on November 24 in the framework of a webinar in which health authorities from all the countries involved participated. The IECS had analyzed and disseminated last year and during the first half of 2016 the situation other Latin American countries (Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Colombia).
hand washing and the habit of covering the mouth and nose with the forearm when sneezing and coughing.
Immunization, hand washing and the habit of covering the mouth and nose with the forearm when sneezing and coughing, are the best practices against the seasonal viruses
Q COSTA RICA NEWS – A total of 112 people died in Costa Rica in 2016 as a result of respiratory viruses, mainly AH1N1, according to the latest epidemiological bulletin of the Minister de Salud (Ministry of Health).
The bulletin reads that more than half (54%) of the deaths were from the AH1N1 virus, followed by the respiratory syncytial (18%), AH3N2 (15%) and 13% died by other types of influences.
In addition, 92% of people who died from respiratory viruses had risk factors because 22% were older than 65, 19% were cardiac patients, and 18% had chronic respiratory diseases.
Thirty-five percent had two associated risk factors and seven percent had four factors, while 17% of the deceased had no risk factor.
Of the total deaths, 73% were not immunized against influenza, says the report.
The Ministry of Health insists that people classified in risk groups (young children, elderly, diabetic, hypertensive, pregnant and those suffering from a disease that lowers their defenses) should avoid going to massive events or public places, such as the Palmares Festival that kicked off on Thursday.
Health officials stress that the main practice is hand washing and the habit of covering the mouth and nose with the forearm when sneezing and coughing.
Many Cuban migrants feel US President Barack Obam turned his back on them.Much of the anger is directed at him personally.
TODAY CUBA / President Barack Obama, on Thursday, one week before his mandate ends, issued a statement on ending the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, saying, “By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries.”
“Obama has screwed all Cubans,” Yadiel Cruz, a Cuban in Panama bitterly told AFP Thursday upon learning the US president has suddenly made it tougher for migrants like him to get into the United States.
Much of the anger was directed personally at President Barack Obama for announcement, with immediate effect, a policy that had given near-automatic entry to the U.S. to Cubans who set foot on American soil, regardless of their visa status.
Such was the case last year for thousands of Cubans stranded in Costa Rica (after Nicaragua closed its borders to them) making their way from Cuba via Ecuador that did not require Cubans a visa (Ecuador has since reinstated the visa requirement) through Colombia’s Darien Gap — an inhospitable, swampy, snake-infested stretch of jungle dividing Panama from Colombia – with the intent of an overland trek through Central America to Mexico and a U.S. border.
Their ordeal included running into a gauntlet of thieving police, gangs and money-sucking people-smugglers along the way.
The 33-year-old told AFP up what many of his Cuban compatriots’ feeling of sadness and anger, as they digested the news in a shelter in Panama’s capital. But, he declared, “for me, I’m not going back.”
Now, like those who attempted to cross by water, they could face deportation back to Cuba unless they convince U.S. officials they were afraid of being persecuted or had valid humanitarian reasons to be allowed to enter.
“We feel sadness because we are all coming with a dream that comes from pain, hunger and a lot of work to get this far,” said Lorena Pena, a woman four months pregnant who left Cuba with her husband and four-year-old daughter.
Obama, she said, “screwed up, because what he’s done is hurt us — so he really isn’t as good as everyone says.”
For the tens of thousands of Cuban migrants, the “Wet foot, Dry foot” meant that many of them felt they were on their way to a new life in America, once they reached the border, through a 1966 law, the Cuban Adjustment Act, that offered Cubans a fast-track to U.S. residency and legal employment.
The number of Cuban migrants spiked in 2015 and 2016, after Washington and Havana agreed to a thaw in their long hostile relations. Many of those fleeing feared exactly what came to pass Thursday: the closed door to the U.S.
Since 20015, the wave of Cubans, along with a decision by Nicaragua to close its border to them, created a backlog in Panama and Costa Rica that prompted both countries last year to try to shut out arriving Cubans.
But while numbers have dropped, the flow hasn’t ceased.
“We are thousands of Cubans who have crossed through the middle of the jungle, rivers and dangers,” Yanisel Wilson, a 20-year-old who crossed through the Darien gap two days earlier, told AFP.
The surprise move was made days ahead of Donald Trump, known for his anti-immigration stance, taking office. The news rattled nerves, sparked frustration and evoked tears among the Cuban migrants, at the Caritas charity in the Ancon neighborhood of Panama City, and whose fate is now not known.
Their destination hasn’t changed. But now the reception and easy access they had hoped for is less likely.
“I’m going to wait a few days to watch the news and see what gets decided. Here we will wait for Donald Trump to take over and see if he will help us,” Wilson said.
“Where can we go?” Julio Hernandez. “We can’t go back, nor go on. It’s like we’re in a stranded boat and don’t know what to do.”
Q COSTA RICA – The Costa Rica Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (SENASA) – National Animal Health Service – announced it’s plan to implement traceability of pigs.
The process includes registration and updating information on substinence, small, medium and large pig farms in the country.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG)
As part of the implementation of the Control System for Mobilization and Traceability of pigs from the beginning of this year 2017, the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) at the Ministry of Agriculture, is carrying out, in regional offices, registration and updating of information of existing pig farms in the country (subsistence / backyard, small, medium and large) in the Integrated Registration System for Agricultural Establishments (SIREA by its initials in Spanish), with registration of establishments composing the first stage established in the implementation of the traceability system for the pig sector.
“These actions form part of the information that our country needs to be internationally recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as a country “free of classical swine fever disease” which is of great importance in terms of health and the commercial aspect, said Bernardo Jaen, General director of SENASA.
