Cuban migrants were photographed in November outside the border control building in Penas Blancas, Costa Rica, after Nicaragua closed its borders to Cuban migrants. Nine Latin American governments on Monday charged that U.S. policy toward Cuban migrants has created a humanitarian crisis for the region. Esteban Felix AP
Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/nation-world/world/article98720042.html#storylink=cpy
Cuban migrants in November at the Peñas Blancas border after Nicaragua closed its borders to Cuban migrants. Photo Esteban Felix AP
Costa Rica has been joined on Monday by eight Latin American countries in calling on the United States to end its special treatment for Cuban migrants.
The Foreign Ministers of Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Costa RSica signed a letter, delivered by the Ecuadorean Foreign Minister to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, expressing their “deep concern” that U.S. policy toward Cuban migrants is creating a humanitarian crisis and encouraging “a disorderly, irregular and unsafe flow of Cubans.”
“Cuban citizens risk their lives, on a daily basis, seeking to reach the United States,” the letter says. “These people, often facing situations of extreme vulnerability, fall victim to mafias dedicated to people trafficking, sexual exploitation and collective assaults. This situation has generated a migratory crisis that is affecting our countries.”
U.S. State Department officials did not immediately comment.
The countries have been forced into attending the needs of more than 46,500 Cubans admitted to the United States without sivas in the first 10 months of the 2016 fiscal year. According to the Pew Research Center, the figure is record-breaking when compared to 43,000 in 2015 and just over 24,000 in 2014.Costa Rica in the past year found themselves in a migrant crisis when more than 8,000 Cuban migrants became stranded in the country after Nicaragua closed its borders to them. A regional negotitation resulted more than half air lifted (at the expense of each migrant) to Mexico, near the U.S. border, while te others are believed to have left the country by land, by way of ‘coyotes’ (smugglers).
Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel González said last week that the issue has cost the country millions of dollars it doesn’t have.
A bill containing measures to combat tax evasion is close to being endorsed by Costa Rica’s legislature, according to the country’s Ministry of Finance.
The proposals in the Bill are to remove existing legal loopholes used to avoid paying taxes. Among the proposals is a requirement that businesses providing services to the public accept payments via credit or debit cards. More taxpayers will be required to register with tax authorities.
The measures included in the bill are expected to increase revenue by 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The Finance Ministry said in February that the revenue lost to evasion and avoidance of the general sales tax and income tax in 2013 (the latest year for which data is available) amounted to about 8.2 percent of GDP, mainly due to general sales tax non compliance.
(QCOSTARICA) The variation in the (U.S.) dollar exchange rate is one of the instruments that Costa Ricans, especially entrepreneurs use to make their projections. Foreigners living in Costa Rica keep a close eye on the dollar exchange rate also.
Economists at Acobo Financial Group are forecasting that the Dollar exchange rate will remain close to 565 Colones by the end of the year.
The buy and sell today, as per the Central Bank (BCCR), is ¢546 and ¢558, respectively.
Luis Diego Herrera, analyst at Acobo, said that the highest levels of the exchange rate could affect the delay in the financial system, given the relative importance of dollar loans not generating income in the currency. In addition to this, is the estimate by the Central Bank of a lower inflow of foreign financing to the country and the consequent loss of Net International Reserves (NIR) makes it likely that the exchange rate will see upward pressure for the remainder of 2016.
Eduardo Lizano, economist and former president of the BCCR, said the current president of the BCCR, Olivier Castro, should let the exchange rate fluctuate according to the market so that people can weigh the risks and know to borrow in the same currency of their income to avoid being prejudiced against sudden movements.
The policy of the Central Bank is to maintain a review of the Programa Macroeconómico (macroeconomic program) – a managed float – “to avoid violent variations, that means it will continue to intervene in the foreign exchange market by selling dollars to prevent further increases.”
The Central Bank president said “they will intervene at the moment they see fit (…)”, assuring that “rules of engagement” will not be announced to prevent the ‘monopoly power’ by some operators that could influence the price of the dollar.
The New York Times has described Stone as a "renowned infighter" and a "seasoned practitioner of hard-edged politics."[5] During the 2004 presidential campaign, CBS News described Stone as a "veteran Republican strategist". In 2008, Daily Beast described him as a "self-admitted hit man for the GOP."
The New York Times has described Stone as a “renowned infighter” and a “seasoned practitioner of hard-edged politics.” During the 2004 presidential campaign, CBS News described Stone as a “veteran Republican strategist”. In 2008, Daily Beast described him as a “self-admitted hit man for the GOP.”(QCOSTARICA) Costa Rica may soon get a new ex-pat. Or maybe not. Donald Trump supporter Roger Stone says he would move to Costa Rica if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
“If Hillary wins, we’re done as a nation. We’ll be overrun by hordes of young Muslims, like Germany and France, raping, killing, violating, desecrating,” Stone said in an interview with the Financial Times.
“If Hillary wins, there will be widespread unrest, civil disobedience, badly divided government in which half the country believes she, her daughter, and her husband belong in prison. There’ll be no goodwill. No honeymoon. There will be systematic inspection of all of her actions because someone who has been a crook in the past will be a crook in the future. It will be sad. I’ll probably be forced to move to Costa Rica.”
Stone left Trump’s campaign last year, citing the controversies distracting attention away from the platform.
Stone is known for making controversial remarks. He was banned from CNN in February for tweeting sexist, racist comments about two of the network’s on-air personalities. He is also banned from MSNBC.
BTW, remember when Rush Limbaugh said he’d move to Costa Rica if Obamacare went into effect?
Singing in the rain in Costa Rica. Photo from Blueosa.com
Singing in the rain in Costa Rica. Photo from Blueosa.com
(QCOSTARICA) It had been forecast that the rainy season this year would be more intense due to the impact of La Niña phenomenon and the capital city, San Jose, would be one of the most affected.
However, as you may yourself have noticed it hasn’t been raining much. Not like it was expected or even supposed to.
According to the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – n
The La Niña has not been as strong as expected. Not yet, anyways. The worst months of the rainy season, that is the months with the greatest amount of rainfall, September and October, are ahead of us.
Let it rain. Though we arrived during the middle of the rainy season, our adventure in Costa Rica was scattered with both rain and sun, but never dipping below a comfortably warm temperature. Heavy downpours upon tin roofs harmonized with the crashing waves at nights and mid day showers danced within the day’s spotlight. Photo from Carlsbadcrawl.com
IMN weather specialist Daniel Poleo explained that, despite the low rainfall up to now, we should see the full effects of La Niña – that is intense rains – in the coming weeks.
The specialist says we should be prepared.
What is your take on the rainy season this year? Has it been raining in your area? How do you prepare for the heavy rains? Share your comments below or post to our official Facebook page.
A group of angry residents destroyed and set fire to the house of the alleged killer of the 8-year-old boy in Guacimo, Sunday night.
(QCOSTARICA) A group of really pissed of neighbours on Sunday destroyed and then set on fire the remains of the house where the alleged killer of an 8-year-old boy lived.
Some 150 residents of El Edén, in Guácimo in the province of Limón, near Guapiles, moved in on the house minutes after crime scene investigators of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) completed processing the residence.
Residents blocked the street to impede fire trucks, who reported the house engulfed in flames by the tine they could reach it
At first it was just a few angry neighbours taking out their frustrations on the belongings of 23 year-old Jordi Campos Mendoza, arrested Sunday morning for the alleged decapitation and genital mutilation of 8 year-old Kendall Martínez.
As the minutes passed, the crowd got larger and larger.
On Saturday, the body, without a head, of the young Martinez was found at the edge of the river some 300 metres from the Campos house. The head was found another 300 metres away. A neighbour made the gruesome discovery around 10:40pm.
Area residents acted within minutes the OIJ agents completed processing the crime scene
Area residents described Campos as a “dogradicto” (drug addict), thief and known for molesting young girls and boys in the area since he moved in some weeks ago.
The alleged killed was known to the family of the little boy, helping the family plant beans on the small lot only a block away.
Police arrested on Sunday morning 23 year-old Jordi Campos Mendoza, who is alleged to have decapitated the young boy
According to reports, Campos lured the little boy to his home, while the parents believed he was playing at the house of another neighbour.
But the hours passed and the little boy had not come home, his parents became worried.
It was 4:0opm when both parents went out looking for Kendall.
He was not at the house where he said he would be.
It was by now 6:30pm when one of the neighbours suggested they look for him at the Campos house, where they had seen him go in.
When no one answered the door, the father kicks it in.
Searching through the house he found blood and clothing. Police were called in and with the help of residents, they began the search for Kendall.
Sunday night. The 9-1-1 call came in at 7:40pm Sunday, the Fuerza Publica (police) reporting that a group of residents had blocked street access to impede police and fire trucks from reaching the house.
Leonel Jiménez Ramírez, chief of communications at the Bomberos (fire department), reported that the house was completely engulfed in flames by the time firefighters could reach it.
Alberto Aguilera Valadez , better known as Juan Gabriel has died at the age of 66. Reports from respected journalist Joaquín López-Dóriga confirm the death of the Mexican singer at his home in Santa Monica, California due to a heart attack. The legendary artist had just performed at a concert in Los Angeles at The Forum.
Juan Gabriel was born on January 7, 1950 on Cinco de Mayo street, now known as Juan Gabriel Street, in the small town of Parácuaro, Michoacán. He was the youngest of 10 siblings. At the age of 5, he was sent to boarding school where he met a teacher, Juan Contreras, who became his mentor and encouraged him to explore his musical talents. Juan Gabriel began writing songs and working on his voice. Eventually, he escaped boarding school when he was 15. Trying to pursue his dreams of making it in the music business, he traveled to different Mexican cities. Eventually, he began performing in local nightclubs and television using the stage name Adán Luna.
One of his first breakthroughs came when he finally got the opportunity to sing at the nightclub El Noa Noa, becoming a local sensation and gaining many fans within Ciudad Juárez. However, Juan Gabriel wasn’t happy with just being a local performer, so he left for Mexico City where he began working part-time for RCA, writing the chorus of songs for many established artists. After being denied by various recording companies, Juan Gabriel returned to Ciudad Juárez and signed his first performing contract at the Malibu nightclub, where he earned $20.00 a night.
At 19, Juan Gabriel returned to Mexico City and in 1971, at the age of 21, he signed a recording contract with RCA Records after officially changing his name to Juan Gabriel (Juan, in honor of Juan Contreras his teacher and mentor; and the surname of Gabriel, in honor of his own father). Over the next fifteen years, Juan Gabriel’s fame grew as he recorded 15 albums, sold over 20 million records and made his acting debut in 1975 in the film Nobleza Ranchera. He wrote and recorded over 1000 songs in a variety of music genres.
Juan Gabriel established himself as Mexico’s leading commercial singer-songwriter, penning in many diverse styles such as rancheras with mariachi, ballads, pop, rock, disco, with an incredible string of hits for himself and for leading Latin singers including Angélica María, Gualberto Castro, Aida Cuevas, Enriqueta Jiménez, Lucha Villa, Ana Gabriel, Lorenzo Antonio, and international stars José José, Luis Miguel and Rocío Dúrcal.
His work as an arranger, producer and songwriter throughout the subsequent decades brought him into contact with the leading Latin artists. In addition to recording numerous hits on his own, Juan Gabriel also produced albums for Dúrcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltrán and Paul Anka. In 1984, he released “Recuerdos, Vol. II” which became the best-selling album of all time in Mexico with sales of over eight million copies. He also scored what is considered by many of his fans to be his greatest hit, “Querida” (“My Dear”) which stayed at the top of the hits charts for over a year and it still played 30 years later.
Latin music has sure lost one of its greatest. Rest in peace Juan Gabriel. You will be missed.
(QCOSTARICA) Alien sightings (like in UFO) in Costa Rica are not new. One of the more recent is this year, an eye-witness report and photograph of a saucer-shaped UFO near the Irazú volcano, according to the world’s oldest and largest UFO phenomenon investigative body, Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).
It was at 11:06am on February 24, 2016 that the UFO sighting was made outside the Irazú national park. The weather was good, lots of sunlight and no clouds. “This volcano is 3,400 meters of altitude above sea level (11,260 feet) close to the biosphere, so we were above the clouds,” the witness stated. “Like when you fly on an airplane, the sky was really clear so at 11 a.m. on that altitude part of the sky was light black.”
This ship has a lot of similarities to the Friendship case craft in Rocca Pia, Italy says www.ufosightingsdaily.com.
Ufosightingsdaily.com‘s report of the same sighting said, “This UFO was seen over a Irazu Volcano in Costa Rica this week. It was probably exiting an underground base that is 4-5 km below the volcano. Aliens often chose high peaks and volcanos to make a base below, because of their secludedness and difficulty for humans to explore. Thus, the risk of them being seen is low.”
In September 2015, the Huffington Post reported, “Photographer Captures Strange Organic-Looking UFO Over Costa Rica”. In their report, the Huff said, “A photographer has captured what looks to be a weird almost organic-looking UFO in Costa Rica.”
UFO-hunters.com lists Costa Rica sightings and locations dating back to June 15, 1969 in Alajuelita (south side of San Jose), a sighting that lasted 5 hours, in this case a “formation”. The website also lists “disk” sightings that range from a flash to an hour. Click here for the sightings list.
Image from of UFO-Hunters.com sightings in Costa Rica dating back to 1969.
Considered one of the “best in the world photograph” of a UFO sighting is that taken by members of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) – National Geographic Institute, on September 4, 1971 at 8:25am.
In a report by Crhoy.com, at the time, the IGN was taking photographs for the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) to create a map to determine where the water would come from for the acquisition of land to develop the Arenal dam project.
That was when Sergio Loaiza, along with Juan Bravo and Francico Reyes, were flying in a Canadian made Areo-Commander model F680. Loaiza had a NRK 15-23 camera, weighing 100 lbs, on the floor of the airplane. On that day he was in charge of aerial photography.
Flying at 10,000 feet, the camera fired every 13 seconds.
No one realized anything strange in the photos taken. They were saved. It was later when IGN employees noticed the object, while doing a study to connect Lago De Cote and the Arenal lagoon, which also belonged to ICE.
Loaiza was in charge of reveiwing the photos, recounting that while enlarging the images and then examining the negative closely, they realized what had been photographed.
“At the time we were completely banned from talking about it, we could not tell anyone,” said Loaiza.
That same year, the photos were published in the Costa Rica media. A decade later, the photographs became part of the “Journal of Scientific Exploration“, which once again discarded the UFO sighting, considering them a photo montage.
Oscar Sierra, UFO researcher based in Costa rica, said the photographs were analyzed in the France and the U.S., where different bodies studied the case and determined it to be real.
According to Loaiza, the plane was piloted by Omar Arias, an experienced pilot, and the camera donated by Germany to the Instituto Geográfico (Geographic Institute). He also noted that the equipment used was special, to the point that if there had been a speck of dust between the lens and film, the equipment would not have worked.
“There was no possibility (of an error). There was no trick, we did not even realized it at the time”.
What’s your take on UFO’s? Have you seen one lately? Tell your story here. Use the comments section below or post to our official Facebook page.
(QBLOGS) Most foreigners arriving to live and acquire assets in Costa Rica will already have a valid Will drafted in their home jurisdiction, designed to cover the disposition of all of their world assets on their death. But if you are wondering when to write a will and how to efficiently plan your estate, you can consult an experienced estate planning attorney.
Such a Will may be recognized in Costa Rica to cover the disposition of assets acquired in Costa Rica, following the Probate of the Will in the home jurisdiction. Following Probate in the home jurisdiction, such a Will would have to translated into the Spanish language and submitted by way of an Application to the Costa Rica Court, through a process known as “Letters Rogatory”. Following this procedure, which would be similar to a second Probate process, the foreign Will would be valid to cover the disposition of the Costa Rica assets of the deceased.
A more practical, time-efficient and less costly approach to the disposition of the Costa Rica assets on death, is to have a Costa Rica “en situ” Will prepared, which covers the disposition of the Costa Rica assets and is specifically subordinated to the foreign Will for the disposition of all other assets located outside of Costa Rica.
This would allow for the Probate of the Costa Rica Will to be commenced immediately following the death of the Testator, shortening the time for the disposition of the Costa Rica assets and incurring less Attorney fees and court costs in the process.
For major assets, such as land and vehicles held in a Costa Rica Corporation, the most expeditious and cost effective manner to deal with the disposition of such assets on the death of the owner, is to appoint the heir(s), or the Executor of the foreign Will, as an active member of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rica Corporation, which is the registered owner of the assets(s), with the full power of sale on behalf of the Corporation.
This allows the appointed heir, or Executor to deal with the sale of the property immediately upon the death of the Corporate Shareholder, without the requirement for Probate. In this instance, the Corporate Shareholder would remain the owner of the Company Shares, allowing for a change of the Board of Directors at any time during their lifetime, should circumstances change.It must be remembered, that the heir, or Executor appointed as an active member of the Board of Directors, would also be legally able to sell, or encumber the property during the lifetime of the Shareholder owner, so obviously, care must be taken regarding the party so appointed. The real benefit in this scenario, is that Attorney and other Probate fees equal to between 6% and 12% of the Estate value may be completely avoided.
It is wise to commence these Estate Planning measures from the outset of acquiring assets in Costa Rica as a foreigner, to avoid the duplication of legal costs, to effect the necessary corporate changes at a later date.
San Jose in 1920. What is that? By 1924 the government faced the problem of too many cars on the roads
San Jose in 1920. What is that? By 1924 the government faced the problem of too many cars on the roads. Image from Taringa.net
(QCOSTARICA) For a solution to the traffic nightmare of the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) of San Jose, we only need look to the past, almost 100 years ago, at a time when the country faced a similar situation of too many cars on its roads.
Although it costs to believe it, 92 years ago, the government of Ricardo Jimenez Oreamuno was faced with the problem of traffic chaos.
Today, in 2016, men, women and children daily lose hours of their lives stuck in traffic to get to and from work, school or shopping. The traffic congestion today is not only during mornings and afternoons on weekdays, but is at any time of day or night and weekends. And everywhere in the Central Valley.
Blamed for most of the congestion problems is the lack of decision making making to curb the astronomical growth of vehicle imports, improve the road network and educate drivers and consumers, by the last several governments.
And as authorities fail to make decisions and find “effective” solutions to this overwhelming problem, things will only keep getting worse.
Back in 1924, 24 years after the first cars arrived in Costa Rica, the government of Ricardo Jimenez Oreamuno faced the similar problem of just too many cars on the roads.
Responding to the problem, the Jimenez administration, like other governments in the early years of automotive history, acted cunningly and with vision. They levied taxes on vehicles. The Jimenez government went a step further, taxing “excessive” use.
What Jimenez did back in 1924 was hit drivers where it hurt the most, their wallets.
By decree, the government of Don Ricardo (his second) enacted the curious taxation of distance travelled. Not a toll, but an actual tax on the number of kilometres travelled by each vehicle within their canton (district). “Each vehicle will be taxed per kilometre it travels within the limits of the respective canton, at the sum of three colones per quarter”.
By taxing each kilometre driven, many keep their cars at home.
In the case of doubt, the decree said the data by the Directorate General of Public Works, a forerunner to today’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works – MOPT), would be considered as definitive.
In this way, the wise forefathers slowed down the import of vehicles, not by limiting or heavily taxing the imports, but by reducing consumer use. By the way, the heavy tax on imported vehicles is one of today’s reason for the high sticker price.
Maybe today this little known model by former President Jimenez could not be applied to the letter. But the concept can: If more Costa Ricans used their cars less, we could reduce or even eliminate the nightmare lived by everyone in the country.
Of course, the less use, would require the need for a true mass transit system, like a real commuter train or car pooling, quickly come to mind.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,”George Santayana.
This week the Constitutional Court found in favour of the appeal by the Ministier of Justice, Cecelia Sanchez, against the most sold newspaper in Costa Rica, for its report claiming that the Minister was responsible for an inmate committing a rape after being given a conditional release.
In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for the prison system.
The newspaper alleged that Sanchez, as a high public official and head of Justice, was responsible for an inmate raping a young girl in San Ramon after being awarded a conditional release.
The full Court, in a judgement (11306-2016) drafted by Magistrate Fernando Castillo Víquez, unanimously agreed to order the Diario Extra to pay costs and damages.
In the judgement, the Court said that report “contains serious inaccuracies that are even slanderous, intended to induce the reader into error and by cause and effect attributing responsibility of the alleged crime committed by the inmate to the Minister.”
The newspaper report alleged that Sanchez, as a high public official and head of Justice was responsible for the events that occurred.
“Attributing the act (rape) by another, is inaccurate, besides being in error, the news (report) suggests that the former inmate was given the benefit to commit the alleged crime,” says the judgement.
The Minister has insisted and now confirmed by the Constitutional Court, that the power to relocate inmates to a semi-institutional (half-way house) program is the sole responsibility of the National Institute fo Criminology (INC) and not the minister.
“There is a share of responsibility of the press when disseminating information that is inaccurate, biased and slanderous (…) especially when they direct attacks on public officials who are complying with the law,” said the Ministry of Justice in a “right to reply” sent to the newspaper, which was not published within the time established by law.
Minister Sanchez must not start a civil proceeding to enfore the judgement.
A report coordinated by expert Ángel Rangel, along with researchers from three Venezuelan universities, reveals that the population is vulnerable to the natural hazards to which Venezuela is exposed as a tropical country
The importance of having strong foundations at home has always been stressed. In Venezuela, however, many foundations are literally weak.
A report prepared by researchers from three Venezuelan universities and coordinated by Professor Ángel Rangel revealed that many Venezuelan homes are vulnerable to any type of natural hazard. The study found, among other things, that the lives of more than half of the Venezuelan population are at high risk if any major natural disaster takes place, and that 64% of dwellings have been built by dwellers, which implies that these homes fail to comply with construction safety standards.
These data are included in the Citizen Vulnerability to Natural Hazards section of the Survey on the Living Conditions in Venezuela 2015 (Encovi 2015), with the participation of researchers from the Andrés Bello Catholic University, the Central University of Venezuela, and the Simón Bolívar University. Research coordinator Ángel Rangel is the former national director of Civil Defense and President of the Citizen Solidarity Network foundation.
“Being a tropical country, Venezuela is exposed to floods, tsunamis, landslides, forest fires, storms, strong winds and heavy downpours, among others. In addition, as a result of the friction between two tectonic plates, a major system of faults has been formed, which is to blame for the country’s seismic activity,” the report states.
Despite warning against serious natural hazards, no preventive measures are implemented to minimize the impact these natural disasters might have. This is confirmed in the report, which shows, based on Venezuelans’ social factors, that 51% of citizens are highly vulnerable to natural hazards, while 5% are at a very high risk. Also, 38% of the population faces a medium risk. Only 6% of the Venezuelan population is relatively safe.
A somewhat high percentage (13%) of dwellings is located in communities officially declared as high-risk communities; however, families remain there. Also, 13% of families live near unstable ground. Moreover, 10% of homes are located in areas susceptible to landslides, and 16% are at risk of floods.
The construction of dwellings is probable the most vulnerable aspect. Besides the fact that 64% of dwellings are built by dwellers, 24% of homes have cracks in the masonry; 37% lacks structure, and the roofs of 37% of dwellings are made out of flimsy metal sheets, asphalt sheets or waste material.
Moreover, if dwellings get totally or partially destroyed or suffer major damages in the infrastructure, only 13% of families rely on an insurance policy.
Risks are natural, but disasters result from human negligence; hence, prevention and preparedness are the keys to avoid them.
Colombia, Chile and Ecuador Reign in the Latin America Green Awards
(Prensa Latina) Representatives of socio-environmental projects in Colombia, Chile and Ecuador today celebrate the awards won in most of the 10 categories in the Latin America Green Awards, held in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil.
The 10 winning works are part of the 30 best initiatives for environmental care in Latin America, evaluated by a jury between August 23rd and 25th.
Colombia received the most awards: three statuettes in the categories of water, emissions and solid waste management, followed by Chile with two in Biodiversity and Wildlife and Human Development, Social Inclusion and Reduction of Inequality and Ecuador with an equal number in Forests and Flora and Oceans.
Peru, Brazil and Costa Rica got awards in the sections of Urban Management, Production and Responsible Consumption, Sustainable Finance and Energy, respectively.
The award ceremony was held at the Hilton Colon Hotel of Guayaquil, is is also the home of the event.
As a special moment, the organizing committee decided to grant a special award to Colombian singer Carlos Vives, for his work in favor of environmental conservation.
Vives was chosen for this distinction, which was given for the first time, due to his concern about issues related to the protection of the planet and especially his Project ‘Tras la perla de América’, the President of the Organizing Committee of the Awards, Gustavo Manrique told Prensa Latina.
The initiative promotes the growth of the region of Santa Marta to help enhance sustainable development that implies access to drinking water, port development and the preservation of the Sierra Nevada.
In the third edition of the awards a total of 1407 projects of 513 cities in countries like Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Cuba, Curacao, El Salvador, Honduras, Canada, Spain and the United States were presented.
According to Manrique, the main achievements in the 2016 edition are to have gone from 109 inscriptions in 2013 to over 1,400 this year and from 21 cities to the current 513, representing 25 states.
Latin America Green is a platform that connects, exhibits and awards the best socio-environmental initiatives in the region, but we also include Spain, the United States and Canada for their relationship with the area, he said.
Finally, he thanked the institutions that collaborated with the contest for their support, including the United Nations, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Municipality of Guayaquil.
(Prensa Latina) Over 200.000 Hondurans were forced to flee in this Central American country last year due to violence, humanitarian agencies reported today.
In this context, representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Human Rights Commissioner in Honduras, regretted that many people are forced to leave their communities.
Many displaced people cross afterwards the borders of this territory and seek protection as refugees, said the UNHCR regional representative for Central America, Cuba and Mexico, Jose Xavier Samaniego.
Jose Xavier Samaniego said that in 2015 the UNHCR registered more than 110.000 asylum applications of citizens from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
In the case of Honduras, one of the most violent countries in the region, the homicide rate reaches an average of 60 deaths per 100.000 inhabitants, according to human rights organizations.
With the objective of reducing the violence rates, the leaders of the aforementioned countries recently signed an agreement to confront crime in the region, a phenomenon associated with the proliferation of gangs.
Panama is providing humanitarian care for the thousands of migrants stranded in the country
(Prensa Latina)A Security Ministry report revealed more than 9,000 illegal migrants have received humanitarian care in Panama in recent months, out of which 2,400 remain in the country today.
According to the Minister of Security, Alexis Bethancourt, the migrants were given food, medical care and protection, before being authorized to continue their journey to the United States.
During his speech yesterday at the National Assembly, the minister said that as a result of the flood of migrants reported since late 2015, the executive has constructed four hostels in the province of Darien, a jungle area bordering Colombia.
The director of the National Immigration Service Javier Carrillo explained that the 9,000 people who entered through this route are mostly Haitians coming from Ecuador and Brazil, ‘that pretended to be Africans for the fear of being deported.’
He said that according to intelligence reports, out of the 50,000 Haitians who immigrated to Brazil in 2010, following the earthquake that struck the Caribbean country, many have decided to leave the South American giant because of the economic situation.
Despite the closure of the south border crossing by Panama in March, the migrants enter through the communities of Laja Blanca and Peñitas, both in the middle of the jungle and which access the Panamerican highway, he pointed out.
It was recently highlighted that if South American nations do not stop entry into their territories, illegal migration will continue to affect Central America.
A migration officer checks the documents of Cuban migrants before they board a chartered flight in Panama City in May. U.S. officials are urging Latin American governments to stem the tide of Cubans who travel through South and Central America to reach the United States. Arnulfo Franco AP
Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/news/nation-world/world/article98110717.html#storylink=cpy
A migration officer checks the documents of Cuban migrants. U.S. officials are urging Latin American governments to stem the tide of Cubans who travel through South and Central America to reach the United States. Photo Arnulfo Franco AP
(QCOSTARICA) In Washington this week, Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister called on the United States to do away with the Cuban Adjustment Act, ending the special treatment of Cubans who travel through South and Central America to reach the U.S.
Manuel González said this week in the U.S capitol that the United States policy is largely responsible for the tens of thousands of Cuban migrants in Latin American countries.
The Minister added that Costa Rica and other transit countries, from Ecuador to Mexico, are paying the consequences of the U.S. policy that guarantees Cubans who reach the United States to remain there.
Now that the United States and Cuba have restored relations, Gonzalez questions the law that was put in place during the Cold War. “We don’t disregard the humanitarian perspective,” González said during an interview. “But this has cost us millions of dollars – and millions of dollars that we don’t have available. Our people are claiming how is it possible that you don’t invest in your own people and you spend millions of dollars on handling migrants?”
Earlier this year Costa Rica had to find a solution for the more 8,000 Cuban migrants stranded in the country, whose intent was to reach the U.S., but stopped from doing so months earlier, in November, when Nicaragua closed its border to them.
The Cuban migrants had travelled from Ecuador, when at the time it did not require a visa for Cubans to enter, then making their way through Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
After months of diplomatic negotiations with the other Central American countries and Mexico, the latter agreed to allow direct flights close to the U.S. border.
Since, Ecuador now requires Cubans to obtain visas prior to travel and Colombia this month began deporting the about 1,200 Cubans stranded there after Panama closed its borders to them.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than 46,500 Cubans were admitted to the United States without visas in the last 10 fiscal months; the number was 43,000 in 2015 and just over 24,000 in 2014.
While Cubans continue to risk losing everything to make the journey, U.S and Cuban officials continue their rhetoric: the U.S. continuing the welcome of Cubans fleeing the repressive Castro regime, while Cuban officials charge the United States is encouraging “illegal” and dangerous migration.
The first electrolinera, electric vehicle (EV) charging station, opened on Friday in Heredia
(QCOSTARICA) The first electric vehicle (EV) charging station opened in Heredia on Friday. The “electrolinera”, a portmanteau of two Spanish words “electrico” (electric) and “gasolinera” (gasoline station) is located in Cubujuqué de Heredia, one kilometre west of the Heredia fire station.
The station is operated by the Heredia power and light company, Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH), open from Monday to Friday, from 7:00am to 4:00pm, on a four to six month trial period.
Francisco Angulo, spokesperson for the ESPH said the station could be open longer hours depending on the demand.
The station offers EVs a “quick charge” that takes from 10 minutes to three hours, at a cost to users from ¢750 and ¢1,400.
In real-world driving range an EV can average about 160 km (100 mi) in a single charge. The 2017 Chevy Bolt, promises 320 km (200 miles) or more.
The 2017 Chevy Bolt, promise 320 km (200 miles) or more.
Angulo added that more electrolineras will be opened in Heredia in 2017, mentioning the Paseo de la Flores shopping centre and the Univesidad Nacional (UNA) as two possible locations.
Although it is the first in Heredia, it is the second electrolinera in the country. In May, the state power and light company, Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL), opened the first charging station in Los Anonos, Escazu. However, the Escazu station only offers trickle charges requiring between six and eight hours, for up to two vehicles at a time.
In San Carlos, the Coopelesca power and light company inaugurated last week a electrolinera, but is not open to the public.
(QCOSTARICA) Don’t fill up just yet, gasoline prices are coming down next week.
On Friday the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) approved a reduction in fuel prices of ¢24 colones for a litre of super; ¢22 for regular; and ¢5 for diesel.
When the change occurs at the pump in the coming days, the final price at the pump will be ¢566 for a litre of super (down from the current ¢590); ¢541 for regular (down from ¢563); and ¢443 from ¢448 for diesel.
The price change takes effect the day following the publication in the official government newsletter, La Gaceta, which must be not more than five working days from approval.
Gasoline prices in Costa Rica are regulated. The price at the pumps is the same all filling stations across the country.
(QCOSTARICA) The photo from Ventanas al Pasado Facebook page is in Barrio Otoya (often mistaken for Barrio Amon) is from 1938 (top and big) and 2016.
In the 2016 photo you can see the Calderon Guardia hospital in the far end, and the tree is still in the middle of the road. I think the street was much nicer then than now.
OPINION – They were on the way home from a religious gathering, mother sitting in the back seat, when at the bridge, daughter tells the hired driver to stop the car, quickly unbuckles, gets out and throws herself over the railing. This was on Thursday. The day before another woman had jumped off from the same bridge. The day before that a young man of 17 took his life falling from a 13 storey building.
Three people this week took their lives in terribly heartbreaking circumstances for their families and friends.
Two of the events, for being tied to families with money and/or the farandula (entertainment), were sensationalized by the ‘yellow journalism” media, including publishing gruesome photos; in one case an amateur video of the woman going over the bridge.
Is this really news?
The Ministry of Health on Friday asked the media in the country “to be responsible in its coverage” of suicides. “The management of information and its dissemination on the issue of suicide is addressed in conjunction with the Association of Journalists of Costa Rica, to create access mechanisms that promote ethical and responsible news coverage in the comprehensive approach of suicidal behavior,” said the statement.
The “Werther effect“, a popular term for an increase in suicides after a widely publicized suicide. It is also known as the “copycat effect” or “suicide contagion”, where the well-known suicide serves as a model, in the absence of protective factors, for the next suicide.
To prevent this type of suicide, media coverage of suicides should be discouraged. Copycat suicides are a real problem, but suicide experts generally agree that it’s not a question of whether media should cover suicide, but how it does so.
In each case there is pain. Anguish. What does it serve publicizing information that would cause further anguish the family and friends of the victim?
Nothing beats a great cup of Costa Rican coffee to get your day started. Now, a new study finds, you may be able to thank your genes for that long-lasting caffeine kick, to keep you perked up all day.
Scientists in Scotland have identified a gene that may play a role in how the body breaks down caffeine, according to the study — and variations in this gene may influence how much coffee a person drinks.
In people with a certain variation of a gene called PDSS2, caffeine is broken down in the body more slowly, according to the study, which was published today (Aug. 25) in the journal Scientific Reports. Slower breakdown means that the caffeine stays in the body longer, so a person doesn’t need to drink as much coffee to get the same effects, the researchers said. [10 Interesting Facts About Caffeine]
In the study, the researchers examined the DNA of more than 1,000 people in northern and southern Italy and more than 1,700 people in the Netherlands. Everyone in the study also filled out a questionnaire that included questions about how much coffee they drank each day.
WATCH: How Coffee is Decaffeinated
Among the Italians in the study, those who had a certain variation in their PDSS2 gene tended to drink less coffee, by about one cup a day, on average, than those who did not have the variation, the researchers found.
The reason might be that people with this gene variation break down caffeine more slowly, so the chemical stays longer in their bodies, and they tend to drink less, the researchers said.
Similarly, among the Dutch people in the study, those with that same gene variation also drank less coffee each day, on average, though the difference was not as large as the difference observed in the Italians, according to the study.
This discrepancy may be due to the fact that coffee-drinking styles vary in the two countries, the researchers added. In Italy, people typically drink small cups of espresso or mocha, whereas in the Netherlands, it is more common for people to drink filtered coffee. These differences in preparation result in different amounts of caffeine per cup. Indeed, the intake of caffeine per cup among the Dutch is almost three times higher than that of Italians, according to the study.
A barista puts the finishing touches on a rosetta design, a type of latte art. Credit: Christy Duggan / Counter Culture Coffee
The PDSS2 gene isn’t the only gene that’s been linked to caffeine consumption, however. Previous research has shown that other genes that code for enzymes that break down caffeine are also linked to how much coffee people drink, according to the study.
It’s possible that PDSS2 blocks the expression of these enzymes, the researchers wrote. By blocking the enzymes, the body doesn’t break down caffeine as efficiently, they wrote.
“The results of our study add to existing research suggesting that our drive to drink coffee may be embedded in our genes,” said Nicola Pirastu, a research fellow in statistical and quantitative traits genetics at the University of Edinburgh and the lead author of the study.
More research is still needed to understand the link between the genetic variation and coffee consumption, Pirastu said.
One of the researchers involved in the study works for the coffee company Illy; however, the company did not provide funding for the study.
There are currently 702 cases of Zika in the country, 60% are of women
There are currently 702 cases of Zika in the country, 60% are of women
(QCOSTARICA) The increased number of cases of Zika in the country has prompted renewed concerns by Ministry of Health officials, warning that the worst is yet to come.
“We are in the worst times of the year and the worst is yet to come,” warned Rodrigo Marin, coordinator of Vector control at the Ministry of Health, on the radio program Nuesta Voz.
The warning came a day after the latest numbers of Zika cases in the country. The official count is 702.
Marin added that in 62% of the homegrown cases in the country affect women. Another way of putting it, the virus transmitted by the mosquito Aedes Aegypti (which also spreads Chikungunya and Dengue), affects six out of 10 women.
The official is asking the population to take preventive measures, such as clearing stagnant water around their property, “We can’t wait until the water rises to our neck to take action,” said Marin.
The communities most affected are: Santa Cruz, Orotina, Garabito, Esparza and Limón.
So far, health authorities have fumigated this year more than 500,000 homes and eliminated 2 million breeding sites. However, the effort has not been enough, in addition to the Zika cases, some 13,000 cases of dengue have been reported.
“If we are not afraid to Zika, we will have problems,” said Marin.
Editor’s note: I have taken to at night to burning ground coffee in areas like my living room, bedroom and work space. The smoke from the coffee keeps all types of flying insects away for hours. See my post here.
Typical traffic congestion on the autopista General Cañas
Typical traffic congestion on the autopista General Cañas
(QCOSTARICA) A study by the Policia de Transito (Traffic Police) and the traffic engineering department of the Ministry of Transport (MOPT) could mean extending the area of vehicular restrictions of the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).
In two weeks, the analysis is expected to determine whether the weekday restrictions may be also applied to the Ruta 27, the General Cañas and the Florencio del Castillo.
The Minister of Transport, Carlos Villalta, said any expansion on the current restrictions will be based on the recommendation of the report.
The aim is to reduce congestion in the outskirts of the capital city, in places like Escazu, Santa Ana, Lindora, Belen and Heredia on the west (Ruta 27 and the General Cañas) and Curridabat and Tres Rios, for example, on the Florencio del Castillo.
Currently the vehicular restrictions are in an area bounded by the Circunvalacion (ring road) on the west, south and east and Tibas on the north.
Other measures currently applied by the Central Government is a staggered work schedule for many public service employees, a program that hasn’t gone over as expected.
(QLIVING) It’s the weekend. Skip the boring burger and hot dogs or a trip mall’s food court and host an Argentinean Asado. Even if you’re in Costa Rica (or wherever you might be), there’s no reason not to borrow this passion from Argentina.
The Matador Network reports, “the ARGENTINEAN ASADO is not just a barbecue. It is the nucleus of passion and everything important to Argentineans.
On weekends in Argentina, spending time with family and friends begins Sunday morning and lasts well into the evening. Argentineans gather in backyards, parks, country houses or anywhere they can host an open fire pit. It is the most important event in the weekend and no weekend is truly complete without it.”
“In Argentina the best food isn’t in a restaurant but at home with family and friends. The asado is an art and Argentineans know how to do it well,” writes Ayngelina Brogan.
What is an Asado
At its most basic an asado is a barbecue cooked over an open fire grill, called a parrilla. Authentically you need a brick parrilla or a grate over a wood fire. It’s not tough to build.
If you have the space to build a parilla designate someone to be the asador as one person is responsible for grilling the meat and this is a real commitment. The asado begins early in the day because the meat isn’t cooked over direct flame, but over hot embers.
What to Cook at an Argentinean Asado
Building a great fire to cook meat takes time. But that doesn’t mean you stand around and wait all day for the food. In fact there are several courses of things to eat before you actually eat:
Picadas are snacks that begin the day, a simple meat and cheese board that may also include pickles or bread.
Once the fire gets going it’s time for some food that can be quickly grilled while working on bigger pieces of meat:
Provoleta: An argentine provolone cheese drizzled with oil and herbs and lightly grilled. Mollejas: sweetbreads (thymus gland) tossed with a bit of lemon, chinchulin (small intestine) Choripan: pork sausage on a bun Morcilla: black pudding sausage Empanadas: with a number of fillings
Parillada Mixta – the Star of the Show
This is a mixed grill, the meat isn’t marinated or prepared beforehand other than seasoned before it goes on the grill. At an Argentinean asado there are many cuts of meat:
Bife ancho: rib-eye steak Bife de chorizo: without a bone this sirloin steak is popular at an asado Bife de Costilla: T-bone Bola de Lomo: sirloin tip Colita de Cuadril: tri-tip Cuadril: rump roast Entraña: skirt steak Lomo: tenderloin Pecho: brisket Tira de asado: short ribs cut in the English style are wildly popular in Argentina and no asado is complete without them. Vacio: flank steak
Side Dishes at an Argentinean Asado
Sides are simple with baguettes and buns chimichurri (check out our 60 second chimichurri recipe with video) and the simplest green salad of lettuce and tomato tossed with oil and salt.
Sliced beef barbecue steak with chimichurri sauce top view rustic metal background
What about Vegetarians?
Argentines are known for their amazing beef not their amazing vegetable dishes. You can find grilled tomatoes, onions, and eggplant. Smashed potatoes are a great accompaniment and Argentines love cutting a red pepper in half and cooking an egg in it.
What to Drink at an Argentinean Asado
There are three drinks you’ll always find at an asado:
water
fernet and coke
red wine
Steak, red wine and the passion of Argentines, you can’t beat an asado.
Is there anything we missed that belongs in an argentinean asado please let us know in the comments below.
This article originally appeared on the Matador Network, with editing by the Q
All lucrative activities in Costa Rica must pay taxes
Image for illustrative purposes, via Starz from “The Girlfriend Experience”.
(QCOSTARICA) The business of “escorts” is common and lucrative in Costa Rica, varying people paying a woman or a man to accompany them to social activities or event and the covenant sometimes, not always, includes the payment for sex.
Contacts are made by phone, messaging applications, or other media leaving no trace, the transactions are always in cash, with the provider the service pocketing it. Some estimates, according to several polls by Crhoy.com, the “escorts” can earn up to US$1,000 per night, tax-free.
Not all escorts are prostitutes, while all prostitutes are “escorts”.
And that has gotten the attention of the tax man, the Ministry of Finance, who is looking to uncover these people avoiding to pay taxes.
Crhoycom reports that “…Being socially reprehensible activities, people who perform these actions do so hidden and often in different locations, receiving only cash,” said Fernando Rodriguez Deputy Minister of Revenue, who reported that they are people who handle large sums of cash.
According to Rodriguez, the escort business is not the only lucrative activity that is avoiding the taxman. In the country there are many “informal activities” that bypass the payment of taxes, such as self-employed professionals working from home or don’t have a need for a physical location.
All lucrative activities in Costa Rica must pay taxes
Their commonality is receiving payment in cash and with no paper trail. This includes professional like escorts, but can also be a repairman, fixing a refrigerator or washer, for example, offering a lower price in return for a cash payment. In the latter, some will even offer a warranty and a written receipt, but not in an ‘official receipt’, that is a receipt registered with Taxation under the “Facturas y Recibos Timbrados por Tributación Directa”.
The official explains that the only way they can identify some of the people who earn large sums of untaxed cash is when they decide to make a large purchase, such as a car or a house, and that information reaches the Tax Department.
Rodriguez said that it is for this reason, among others, proposals have been made to find ways to reduce the use of cash in the Costa Rican economy.
Experts say, that although all lucrative activities must pay taxes, the Ministry of Finance fails to uncover informal activities, leaving a gap, allowing for the avoidance of payment of taxes on earnings.
For 2021, the Central Bank expects a better performance from industries such as construction, as well as manufacturing.
In Costa Rica the index of activity in the construction sector has had 4 consecutive months of downturn
In Costa Rica the index of activity in the construction sector has had 4 consecutive months of downturn, and now faces the threat of new financial rules which will make access to credit more costly.
The construction sector’s main concern is the impact that interest rates will have on the new standards which financial institutions will need to comply with. They are predicting an increase in credit costs primarily because of the new rules already in force and which determine that for institutions that lend money, “… The minimum percentage level of the countercyclical estimate required is 0.33%. Each entity must register on a monthly basis expenditure equivalent to a minimum of 7% of its profits, until it reaches an optimum level defined by the Sugef. ”
This would raise interest rates by about 0.2% according to an estimation Bernando gave to Elfinancierocr.com Alfaro, assistant manager of credit risk at the National Bank.
“… Meanwhile, the generic portfolio quality estimation will produce an increase of 50 basis points (0.5%) and, finally, the estimate for unhedged debts in dollars that do not generate foreign currency, will raise rates in dollars by 150 basis points (1, 5%). If this forecast is realized, loans will become more expensive, meaning that quotes in colones and dollars will also rise affecting not only the construction sector but all sectors.”
The expected rise in bank credit comes at a bad time for the construction sector. In the second quarter of 2016 construction designed for private use, measured by the physical progress of the works under construction, recorded an annual fall of 17.3%. See “Construction in Costa Rica: Figures for 2nd Quarter”
Smaller units are trend in today's real estate development in Costa Rica
Smaller units are trend in today’s real estate development in Costa Rica
The Costa Rica real estate market has begun to respond to demands for minimal sizes in houses and condominiums.
Apartments measuring 40 square metres (430 square feet) for singles or small families with starting prices of US$65,000 are making up a large part of the real estate supply, a move by developments to build larger and high costing units.
The shift of developers has to been to aim at the lower middle class segment of the market.
More than half of the households in the country are made of not more than 3 people
According to Minister of Housing, Rosendo Pujol, “…The ‘magic number’ that the market is offering is US$65,000. The Housing chief says that about two years ago developers started to turn their eyes towards the lower middle segment of the population. Developers tend to produce projects for people with more wealth (…). Now they understand that the market has other features, especially now that we are talking about high-rise housing. ”
The change in shift by developers is in response to the constant demand of the middle class for not finding affordable housing in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), willing to accept small spaces, of not more than 65 m2 (700 sq. ft) for lower prices.
These are typically single people or family units of not more than 3 people. Studies by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) indicate that 816,562 of the 1.4 million households in the country are between one and three persons.
The small units can be found in horizontal and vertical developments.
(QCOSTARICA) Of three mobile operators in the country, Claro’s 4G service of Costa Rica reaches well over double the speed of its competitors in the most populated areas of the country, according to data from telecommunications regulator Sutel.
The mobile network quality assessment conducted by the Sutel in the second half of 2015 revealed that Claro’s (America Movil) 4G service offered an average download speed of 13.4 Mbps, compared to the 5.9 Mbps reached by state-owned operator Kolbi (ICE) and Movistar’s (Telefonica) 5.8 Mbps.
Claro also led the 3G rankings, with a top average speed of 3.6 Mbps, ahead of Movistar’s 2.6 Mbps and Kolbi’s 1.2 Mbps.
However, in terms of coverage, Kolbi led the ranking, reaching 88.7% of the population, compared to Claro’s 70.6% and Movistar’s 45.6%.
Nicaragua president Daniel Ortega (L) and Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) on August 23, 2016. In the brackground is a photo of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro
(TODAY NICARAGUA) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday in Nicaragua his country is interested in participating in the proposed, currently run under the control of a Chinese company.
The diplomat, touring Latin America, said relations between Iran and Nicaragua “are excellent”.
“I am accompanied by delegation of representatives of the private and state sector. From the private sector, they are here in order to participate in the grand canal project,” said Javad according to the official translator.
The construction of the waterway project, three times larger than that of the Panama canal and at a cost of US$50 billion dollars was given in concession to the Chinese company HKND, which expects to complete the work by 2020.
However, the start of construction that was to have taken place two years, was postponed to the end of 2016.
Nicaraguan government spokeswoman and vice-presidential candidate, Rosario Murillo, said cabinet members demonstrated to the Iranian delegation the investment opportunities in the canal and other areas of the country.
Mohammad visited the Congress, where he was welcomed by members of ruling Sandinistas (Frente Sandinista), and planned further talks with President Daniel Ortega before leaving for Ecuador, according to Murillo.
Iran and Nicaragua narrowed diplomatic relations after Ortega’s return to power in 2007. The two countries maintained relations of cooperation during the Sandinista revolution in the 1980s.
(Prensa Latina) In tone with the recession affecting today the Argentinean economy, unemployment rose to 9.3 percent in the second quarter of 2016, meaning that one million 165 thousand citizens are jobless at the end of June.
The amounts were reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec), which admitted the manufacturing sector is one of the worst hit by retraction and particularly the small and medium enterprises.
The news portal El Destape web says by the numbers of Indec, it can be calculated that one million 688 thousand Argentineans were left unemployed from the end of September 2015 to the end of June, 2016.
The report coincides with the estimates of private consultants, including EcoLatina which calculates the loss of workplaces will rise to 12 percent by the end of this year.
After knowing the labor data, the Secretary General of the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (tradeunion), Hugo Yasky, said on Tuesday to the CSN network that ‘when employment goes down, so do the salaries’.
‘There are some who say the Government needs two digits of unemployment so trade unions bow their heads. This is not by chance, the high unemployment rates go hand in hand with tghius government’s policies’, he warned.
Yasky, favoring that all trade unión federations summon a general strike, he believes ‘if we workers do not defend employment and demand a social policies agenda and the protection of the small Enterprise, the situation will get worse’.
(Q24N) he Government of Panama rejected today the remarks of the Department of Financial Services of New York (NYDES), of the United States, as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering.
The Minister of Economy and Finances Dulcidio De la Guardia told reporters he received an official communique of the U.S. Treasury Department or the State of New York, rejecting the remark.
In a document revealing a sanction of 180 million dollars to Taiwan’s Mega International Commercial Bank, for not complying with U.S. norms regarding capital laundering, the regulator referred to certain suspicious activities that involve a subsidiary of the Asian Bank in Panama.
NYDES affirmed the isthmus ‘has historically been recognized as a high-risk juruisdiction for money laundering, and only this year was announced that Panama was not object to a monitoring process by the Group of Financial Activity (GAFI)’.
De la Guardia explained that ‘opening a bank account in this account is very complicated, a great deal of information is requested. But it is easy to hit a fallen tree. That is what is happening’, lamented the official.
‘If the Bank of New York did not comply with the requirements, that is a responsibility of the regulator of New York, the same as it is a responsibiliuty of the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) that banks in Panama comply with the norm’, he argued.
Last Monday, the superintendent Ricardo Fernandez informed that an investigation was opened in Panama on the Taiwan entity, after the sanction imposed by NYDES.
The information offered by the New York regulator identifies a relation between the bank information and the revelations of Panama lawfirm Mossack Fonseca, known as Panama Papers, although the U.S. ambassador in this capital, John Feeley, denied such a relation, according to daily La Estrella.
Andres Fernandez, expert in financial issues, assured the newspaper that ‘there are regulations pending in the United States for years and, after the Panama Papers scandal, a new regulatory framework was casually approved in its final form’.
Political analysts suspiciously see these actions that attempt against the economy of the country and, for the second time, comes from a U.S. government institution.
‘After the debacle and bankruptcy of the French Channel there has not been a dismantlement, suffocation and destruction process of a comercial conglomerate in Panama like the Waked Case’, denounced the Bayano newspaper in its digital edition.
It referred to the form in which the French enterprise that started the Panama Canal was forced to sell its assets to the U.S. government, at lower prices than its true value, and the recent inclusion iun the Clinton List of the Waked family empire, whose owner is forced to rid himself from its assets, under an extraterritorial sanction.
Meg Pearson in Costa Rica with her husband. (Lilian Critchlow Noa's Art Inc)
Scores of city-dwelling Canadians daydream about ditching it all for a quieter, simpler country life. In an ongoing series, The Globe and Mail talks to ex-urbanites who actually got out of town – for good.
Meg Pearson in Costa Rica with her husband. (Lilian Critchlow Noa’s Art Inc)
I grew up in a small town called Exeter, Ont. All through my youth I suffered from serious problems with body image and developed anorexia and bulimia in my teens. My dream going up was, I want to move to Toronto and take the subway to work. As luck would have it, I got an internship in Toronto at Global TV after I graduated from college.
They offered me a job when I finished the internship. I was 21. I ended up bouncing around the television industry for about a decade in Toronto. But that whole time, I was really good at my job and I started making more money and moving into bigger apartments, but I was still feeling pretty crappy about myself. I was feeling the void of whatever was missing in my life.
In 11 years in Toronto I moved 13 times. Something was wrong. I never felt at home. I never felt grounded. I went bankrupt in December, 2009. I had racked up a lot of debt in my teens and 20s. The following February I found out my dad was going to die. He was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
I kind of had a breakdown. I quit my job and took some time off. My ex-fiancée took me to Florida for a week to spend with my parents. They vacationed in Florida every March. The day we got back he decided we should take a trip to Costa Rica.
The minute I got off the plane my whole being was like, “This is home.” I had never felt at home anywhere at that point in my life. I knew, this is where I’m supposed to be. It was really peaceful and calming for me.
That was in March, 2010. My fiancée and I called off our engagement in July. Then my father was diagnosed with ALS that October. I lost my father the following May. At his funeral, the funeral director read a poem called The Dash. It’s essentially about who cares about when people are born and when they die. The numbers that are written on their gravestones? What matters is that dash between the numbers because that’s your life, you have to live your dash.
That’s when I decided I needed to make a drastic change. What do I love to do? I love to cook, I love to eat raw food and I love to do yoga. So why don’t I get a career where I can do that? Once I made that decision, everything kind of fell into place.
I ended up getting a yoga teacher’s certification. I did a culinary nutritionist’s course. I came back to Costa Rica and there was a place looking for a yoga teacher and raw-food instructor. That was in 2013. I sold everything, spent the summer in Canada getting rid of my belongings, and I’ve been down here ever since.
I met my husband on a Facebook page that was started by expats down here. He’s Costa Rican. He’s a chef and a baker.
We just moved to Playa Guiones in July. It’s an international surf and yoga destination. This is where I do most of my work. I’m a private chef and a retreat caterer. We’re literally a 20-second walk from the beach.
We live on the second floor of a Cuban-style local Costa Rican’s home. It’s very rustic. When I was in Toronto I couldn’t stand having a daddy long-legs spider in my apartment. Now I see scorpions and I don’t think twice.
![The New York Times has described Stone as a "renowned infighter" and a "seasoned practitioner of hard-edged politics."[5] During the 2004 presidential campaign, CBS News described Stone as a "veteran Republican strategist". In 2008, Daily Beast described him as a "self-admitted hit man for the GOP."](https://i0.wp.com/qcostarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/sfl-donald-trump-fires-roger-stone-20150808.jpg?ssl=1)
