Danish professor, Henrik Scharge, announced that his Geminoid-DK robot creation will visit Costa Rica on August 16 and 17, as part of the National Robotics Olympiad.
Geminoid-DK is a tele-operated Android in the geminoid series, it is made to appear as an exact copy of its master, Asc. Professor Henrik Scharfe of Aalborg University. Dr. Scharfe is also the principal investigator of the Geminoid-DK research project.
According to the website Geminoid-DK the robot is a teleoperated android and does not possess any intelligence of its own. The robot’s movement is restricted to the head and upper torso of the robot and executed by means of pneumatic actuators inside the robot. The robot is controlled by pre-programmed sequences of movements and by a system that relays movement of the operator to the robot and speech of the operator is transmitted to a speaker behind the robot.
Geminoid-DK is build and designed by Kokoro Inc., Tokyo with the design process supervised by Henrik Scharfe.
During a visit to Peru, Scharfe referred to the robot as “his alter ego.
The Geminoid-Dk will be in Costa Rica on August 16 and will be officially presented to the public on Saturday August 17, from 3pm to 5pm, at the Club Cariair in San Antonio de Belén.
The increased in the cost of mobile services announced by the Institutio Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) scheduled to take effect on August 1 hit a road block, the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel), the telecom regulator.
According to Sutel president, Maryelena Méndez, operators are to give the regulator one month notice of any pricing changes.
Méndez explained that users have the right to terminate their service contract without penalty if they do not accept the new conditions (prices and terms of service).
ICE announced on July 31 a price increase in text messaging and internet services for prepaid users, with prices taking effect the following day.
Notwithstanding the Sutel, ICE says it will continue to charge the new rates until the regulator renders a decision and suspends the increase.
ICE’s manager of client services, Jaime Palermo, said “we are not going to suspend the increase and will continue with the new rates announced on Wednesday”.
The major change that affects only pre-paid mobile services is the charge per minute to download files.
Despite the advice to leave pets at home, many romeros decided to take them for a walk, forcing the National Animal Health Service (Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal – Senasa) to attend 16 dogs during pilgrimage fro Thursday morning to Friday afternoon.
Of therse, one was unfortunate to have to be detained, abandonded and unable to walk, the rest of the animal attended to were able to complete the walk with their owners.
Animal Rescue say they found walking the side of the road, abandoned by its owne and with an injury to a leg.
Last year, Senaa said it had attended at least 40 animals abandonded during the pilgrimage.
After a meeting with the American-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce (Amcham), U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for the Western Hemisphere Walter Bastian confessed to being “fascinated by the subject of an inter-ocean canal in Nicaragua.
After the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry had said the proposed project was dead, a feasibility study is still in its preliminary stages. The canal would use the San Juan River that forms the border with Costa Rica as its waterway.
Bastian said he would talk with U.S. businessmen about the proposed canal. That ambitious Nicaraguan project would include a railroad line, an oil pipeline, two deep-water ports, two airfields and free trade zones beside passage for cargo ships larger than now can be accommodated by the Panama Canal at a cost of $40 billion.
Amcham president Diego Vargas told La Nacion, “Today 70% of the ocean traffic that goes through the Panama Canal moves from the east coast to the west coast of the United States. We’ve had communication with businessmen who are preparing (for use of the projected canal).”
Bastian cautioned that “it’s a very long range project with many decisions to take” the route, the ecologicial impact, I think for us, as with North American businesses, interest will be dominated by the subject of transparency, the contracts to be let but it’s an extremely interesting project.”
Costa Rican foreign policy opposes the construction of the canal on environmental grounds. Some companies have backed away from considering the construction because of this opposition.
The hitherto unknown Chinese company, HK Nicaraga Canal Development Investment Co. Ltd. (HKND Group) has been granted a sweeping concession for the design, development, engineering, financial agreements construction, property possession, operation and maintenance of the canal.
The political opposition in the deeply polarized Nicaragua charges that the company has no track record in construction. HK Group has promised that their feasibility study is being conducted by “international experts.”
Fourteen individuals with a history of sexual offences were barred from entering Costa Rica due to a warning system by the International Police (Interpol), allowing immigration officers to detect the foreigners before landing on Costa Rican soil.
Immediately, the foreigners were returned to their country of origin, said Freddy Montero Mora, viceministeo de Gobernación (deputy minister of the Interior).
Montero explained that immigration agents, accessing the Interpol database, were able to reject their entry into the country. The Interpol information database is maintained in Lyon, France, and can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
The deputy minister explained that when an immigration officer queries the database, the system will generate an alert, a sign that the individual has history with the international police agency.
Montero added that Costa Rica immigration has had access to the database since April 29, after signing an agreement with the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) as is in use at the Juan Santamaria (San José), the Daniel Oduber (Liberia) and Tobias Bolanos (Pavas) airports, as well at the land crossings at Peñas Blancas (Nicaragua), Paso Canoas (Panama) and Sixaola (Panama) and the ports of Puntarenas, Caldera and Limón.
In addition to the 14 “sexual predators“, the same system, says Montero, has resulted in the arrest of two Costa Ricans and two Nicaraguans with outstanding warrants. The same system also allowed Costa Rican immigration officials to reject Seldon Lady the former CIA agents wanted by Italy, on July 19.
Montero added that apart from sexual offenders, individuals with links to drug trafficking and money launderding can be detected and rejcted.
Gustavo Mata, deputy director of the OIJ, added that the system allows detection of possible entry of violent Central American gang members
Marcos Jiménez, Mayor de Nicoya Foto por Daniel Peraza / Photo by Daniel Peraza
Marcos Jiménez, Mayor de Nicoya Foto por Daniel Peraza / Photo by Daniel Peraza
By: Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo, VozdeGuanacaste.com – With categorical words, Marcos Jimenez, mayor of Nicoya, referred to his possible nomination as legislator for Guanacaste for the National Liberation Party (PLN) during the 2014-2018 term.
Jimenez plans to make his candidacy official, depending on the outcome of the PLN internal election in San Jose on August 25th when the party’s candidates for legislator for Guanacaste are defined.
Jimenez would resign his current position as mayor, and the current vice mayor, Adriana Rodriguez, would occupy the position instead.
At the same time, Juan Marin will also be in the race to fill a legislative seat after his resignation in late June as minister of decentralization.
Jimenez was optimistic facing elections within the party despite not having the support of President Laura Chinchilla. “Doña Laura has vetoed me; that’s my advantage,” he said.
He added the reason: “The public opinion is distrustful of the presidential work, nor does she have good recognition from Costa Ricans.”
Regarding his election rival, Juan Marin, the mayor said “I think he owes a debt to the country and especially to Guanacaste because as former minister he was not able to decentralize the country.”
The Voice tried to obtain the version of Juan Marin, but it was not possible to get ahold of him after several calls to his phone numbers.
Last April 12, Daniella was born after only five months gestation, weighing only 675 grams and only 32 centimeters long, an incredibly tiny creature with internal organs and veins still developing. A sign was placed on her crib, “No Viable,” warning nurses not to waste their time. The child was doomed.
The third day after birth, Daniela’s parents, Viviana Moreira, 20, and Evelio Jimenez, 31, had already said goodbye. In the past 12 years, only 62% (289) of the 623 babies born after only five months’ gestation survived. The the odds did not account for several guardian angels masquerading as nurses.
Nurse Kattia Ramos, chief of nurses in the newborn section, was just getting off her shift that Friday when she spied Daneila and her pitiful sign. “How can it be,” she remembers asking herself, “that she doesn’t have an intravenous feed or anything?”
But Daniella’s veins were so tiny that the 3 to 5 centimeter needles were so large that they soon broke through her tiny veins, leaving her black and blue inside her arms within three days. Moreover, with deficient immune system, she soon had infections.
But, on that fateful third day, another angel, nurse Guiselle Hernadez with 22 years of experience, came on duty at 10 p.m. and saw Daniela for the first time. At two in the morning, a nurse said to her, “What a shame about this baby! She hasn’t eaten anything since two o’clock this afternoon.”
Hernandez wasn’t about to see a patient die of hunger and grabbed a needle to see if she could find a vein. She made it the first try. “I always thought that God was using us as an instrument,” she told La Nacion.
But at day seven, more complications appeared and specialist Dr. Jorge Acuña was worried. “We started to treat her but it wasn’t easy,” he remembers, “It’s normal for babies to lose weight the first two weeks but her loss wasn’t normal. You estimate that babies lose 15% of birth weight but she lost 30% and weighed 434 grams.”
Losing 30 to 40 grams per day, her body appeared pale and emaciated. She faced 80 days in an incubator but began to gain weight, much to the relief of the staff. Today, after 107 days in the hospital, she weighs two kilos (almost five lbs.)
Daniela is restless and many times pulls the leads to the machines that still tether her to life from her body. She eats a great deal, as if trying to make up for lost time, and sleeps in her parents’ arms.
Against all prediction, Daniela does not suffer the complication that afflict many premature babies — no lesions in the brain or trouble with eyesight. Dr. Acuña foresees a normal development for her and only warns that she should beware of colds.
“Much of the strenghth that we required was inspired by La Negrita”, said presidenta Laura Chinchilla Thursday afternoon, referring to the “force” required by her administration to govern in difficult and completes times.
Chinchilla said that despite the problems, in many areas they “making the grade”.
The statements were offered by the Presidenta Thursday afternoon, shortly before beginning her annual pilgrimae to the Basilica de los Angeles.
Costa Rica’s Irazú volcano is a bit of a hothead. New findings suggest that deep, hot magma can set off an eruption quickly, shooting through a “highway from hell.” The findings provide researchers with an extra tool for detecting an oncoming volcanic disaster.
Compared to the geologic timescales most volcanoes operate on, Costa Rica’s volcano Irazú has something of a short fuse. A new study, led by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, suggests the 1960′s eruption of Costa Rica’s largest stratovolcano was triggered by magma rising from the mantle over a few short months, rather than thousands of years or more, as many scientists have thought.
The new findings suggest that deep, hot magma can set off an eruption quickly, potentially providing researchers with an extra tool for detecting an oncoming volcanic disaster.
“If we had had seismic instruments in the area at the time we could have seen these deep magmas coming,” said Philipp Ruprecht, a volcanologist at Lamont-Doherty. “We could have had an early warning of months, instead of days or weeks.”
The Irazú towers more than 10,000 feet and covers almost 200 square miles, erupting approximately every 20 years with varying degrees of damage. The 1963 eruption lasted two years, killing 20 people, and burying hundreds of homes in mud and ash. The most recent eruption, in 1994, did almost no damage.
On March 19, 1963, the Costa Rican volcano Irazu began an eruption lasting into 1965. San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, was daily covered by additional ash. More photos from LA Times
The stratovolcano is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is an area where oceanic crust is slowly sinking beneath the continents, producing some of the world’s most extreme volcanic activity. In the past, researchers believed that the mantle magma feeding these eruptions rose and lingered for long periods of time in a mixing chamber several miles below the volcano. In the case of Irazú, though, this magma may travel directly from the upper mantle, covering more than 20 miles in just a few months.
“There has to be a conduit from the mantle to the magma chamber,” said Terry Plank, the co-author of the new study, in a news release. “We like to call it the highway from hell.”
In order to learn a little bit more about this volcano, the researchers examined crystals of the mineral, olivine. These samples were found in the ashes of Irazú’s 1963 eruption. The crystals contained spikes of nickel. These particular spikes revealed that the erupted magma was so fresh that the nickel had not had a chance to diffuse. This showed that, in fact, it’s possible for magma to rise from the mantle to the surface extremely rapidly.
The findings could allow researchers to better predict volcanic eruptions. These forecasts are crucial for potentially saving lives. In fact, a mass evacuation in 2010 near Mount Merapi saved as many as 20,000 lives.
It’s likely that Irazú possesses a much shorter timespan for an eruption that both scientists and officials need to worry about. Seismographs could be placed along the flanks of volcanoes to help detect deep earthquakes, warning of an imminent eruption. For now, though, researchers and continuing to examine these volcanoes, discovering a little bit more about fast-rising magma.
Crystals of the mineral olivine provide the evidence for their findings. The crystals that separated from the ashes of Irazu’s 1963-1965 eruption were collected on a 2010 expedition to the volcano. Crystals are formed as the magma rising from the mantle cools. These crystals preserve the conditions in which they formed. Irazu’s crystals surprised the researchers by revealing spikes of nickel, a trace element found in the mantle. The presence of nickel in the crystals told the team some of the magma from Irazu was so fresh that the nickel had not had time to diffuse.
“The study provides one more piece of evidence that it’s possible to get magma from the mantle to the surface in very short order,” said John Pallister, who heads the US Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Disaster Assistance Program in Vancouver, Wash. “It tells us there’s a potentially shorter time span we need to worry about.”
Other large events have been linked to deep, fast-rising magma. For example, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in 1991, spewing so much gas and ash into the atmosphere that it cooled Earth’s climate. For weeks before the eruption, seismographs recorded hundreds of deep earthquakes that USGS geologist Randall White later attributed to magma rising from the mantle-crust boundary.
In another large event, a chain of eruptions at Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010 caused widespread flight cancellations across Europe. The eruptions also indicated some magma came from down deep. A 2012 study by University of Cambridge researcher Jon Tarasewicz examined small earthquakes set off by the eruptions, which suggested the magma in Eyjafjallajokull’s last two explosions originated 12 miles and 15 miles below the surface.
Before an eruption, volcanoes give off many warning signs. These signs include the cones bulging with magma, carbon dioxide and sulfur vent into the air, and enough heat is thrown off that satellites can detect their changing temperature. Tremors and other rumblings below ground can be detected by seismographs. In late October 2010, Indonesia’s Mount Merapi came to life, spurring officials to lead a mass evacuation credited with saving as many as 20,000 lives.
Predicting volcanic eruptions is not an exact science, however. It is unclear, even with more seismographs placed along the flanks of volcanoes to detect deep earthquakes, if scientists would be able to translate the rumblings into a projected eruption date. The biggest problem is many apparent warning signs do not lead to an eruption, putting officials in a bind over whether to evacuate nearby residents.
“[Several months] leaves a lot of room for error,” said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University who writes the “Eruptions” blog for Wired magazine. “In volcanic hazards you have very few shots to get people to leave.”
By looking for patterns between eruptions and the earthquakes that precede them, scientists may be able to narrow the window. The new study provides a real-world constraint for modeling how fast magma travels to the surface, as well. “If this interpretation is correct, you start having a speed limit that your models of magma transport have to catch,” said Tom Sisson, a USGS volcanologist based at Menlo Park, Calif.
In the ashes of arc volcanoes in Mexico, Siberia and the Cascades of the US Pacific Northwest, olivine minerals with nickel spikes similar to Irazu’s have been found, according to Lamont geochemist Susanne Straub. “It’s clearly not a local phenomenon,” she said.
The researchers are focusing their current efforts analyzing crystals from past volcanic eruptions in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Chile and Tonga. They are unsure, however, how many will bear Irazu’s fast-rising magma signature. “Some may be capable of producing highways from hell and some may not,” said Ruprecht.
If you are planning on making the “romeria” (pilgrimage) to Basilica de los Angeles in Cartago, this guide that can surely help making it a safe one.
Foremost we ask that you consult your doctor of your physical condition and keep in mind that this year the train is another option, in addition to buses, getting a ride back with friends (who went by car) or taxi to get back home.
Do not take your pet(s) with you. The walk may too much on them and there is the chance they may get hurt and lost.
The head of Disaster Prevention and Preparedness at the Red Cross, Carlos Herrera, provided some tips:
Wear cotton clothing to allow for better breathability
Wear phosporescent or brigtht colours will help to be seen by drivers, especially at night
Wear a hat and sunscreen protection when walking by day. The sun doesn’t have to be shining to give you a sunburn
Bring two pairs of shoes and several pairs of socks. Change socks when they become most
Do not go barefoot. Don’t break blisters to avoid discomfort and infections
Bring a jacket/coat, it gets cold in Cartago, especially at night
Bring an umbrella, good for shelter from the rain or sun
Load a backpack with basics like toilet paper and a flashlight
Carry your ID and an emergency contact
Carry your medications and take them
Make stops along the way. This is not a race
Stretch before starting out
Avoid travelling alone. If you do, tell family or friend
Avoid bringing children. If you do, never lose sight of them
Eat fruits, energy bars or snacks, foods high in potassium such as bananas
Drink plenty of fluids, avoid dehydration
There are Red Cross posts to provide first aid along the route from Curridabat (east side of San José) to the Basilica.
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla is expected to begin her pilgrimage to the Virgen de los Angeles around 1pm Thursday. She asks Costa Rican “to not lose faith”. The video are the Presidenta’s thoughts…
Starting tomorrow, the state telecom, Instituto Nacional de Electricidad (ICE) will be charging its customers more to use their mobile devices (cellular phones and tablets).
ICE today announced new rates for its Kölbi mobile services, raising its text messaging cost to ¢3 colones per each message sent. Multimedia messages (photos and videos) will cost from ¢6 to ¢50 colones per minute, depending on where the media is being uploaded.
Prepaid mobile services (internet) will not be charged per kilobyte (Kb) of download. The rate is ¢0.0085 per Kb. For postpaid mobile services, the new rates will take effect only on amounts of usage above the base service plans.
ICE argues that text messaging has been the same price for 20 years, and now it offers new features than when it started offering the service.
There is no change to the mobile (cell phone) calling rates.
The parroquia de San Diego, in Tres Rios, will be distributing Catholic Church propaganda against In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and anti-gay marriage to the faithful on their way to the Virgen de los Angeles, in Cartago.
The information campaign, titled “Yo camino”, will be manned by some 250 volunteers from the youth ministry to romeros on the “old road” to Cartago.
San Diego parish priest, Edgar Muñoz, explained that the “informative brochures” are about the importance of traditional marriage between a man and a woman and conception as the beginning of life.
Volunteers will be handing out brochures from 3pm to midnight, according to Muñoz.
The initiative has the support of the Movimiento Matrimonios en Victoria, Grupo X.T.O., Asociación por la Vida, Asociación de Bandas Católicas, the Ministerio Católico Paradosis and Radio Fides.
(Reuters) – Costa Rica scrapped limits on dollar loans on Wednesday as external headwinds and weaker harvests pushed the Banco Central de Costa Rica (Central Bank) to cut the country’s growth outlook sharply.
Central Bank President Rodrigo Bolaños cut the forecast for economic growth in 2013 to just 3%, which would be the weakest expansion since a 2009 recession. The forecast was 4% earlier this year.
Growth is seen at 3.7% in 2014.
The Ministerio de Hacienda (Finance Ministry) also revised its forecast for this year’s fiscal deficit to 5 percent of gross domestic product, from 4.8 percent earlier.
“Economic growth has been slower than expected and than last year, one, because we’ve had less external demand and two, because we’ve had some internal supply shocks that have hit exports, with things like the coffee rust affecting production and pineapple production growth being affected by limited land,” Bolaños told a news conference.
Limits on dollar loans, which had been due to run out in October, would be lifted immediately, he said. The move could potentially help to lift weak growth, although Bolaños said lending restrictions could be introduced again if needed.
Caps on lending were announced earlier this year in a bid to curb a credit boom driven partly by the gap between local and U.S. interest rates, along with capital controls on foreign investment, which are still before Congress.
Interest rates on loans in dollars are currently around 10.67 percent, while loans in colons are given with an interest rate of 16.72%. A similar boom in foreign currency lending in Eastern Europe left households struggling when local currencies depreciated and pushed up loan payments.
Costa Rica, a country of 4.5 million known for its beaches and high-quality coffee exports, plans a fiscal reform that seeks to scrap sales tax and replace it with a higher-rate value-added tax, in an attempt to trim the country’s fiscal deficit to a 2% target by 2018.
Although the prices of items range from ¢1.000 to ¢5.000 colones (US$2 to US$10), the large volumes handled by big chain stores make it a profitable business. Between 2007 – 2012, used clothing imports coming from the United States rose by 50%, 87% and 10% from Canada.Although the prices of items range from ¢1.000 to ¢5.000 colones (US$2 to US$10) or more, the large volumes handled by big chain stores make it a profitable business.
Between 2007 – 2012, used clothing imports rose by 50% according to statistics by the Promotora de Comercio Exterior (Procomer). 87% came from the United States and 10% from Canada.
Last year alone, 21.7 million pounds of clothes came into the country.
“The profitability of the business becomes clearer when you take into account that a 20-foot container, with a capacity to transport up to 44,000 pounds of clothes, has an invoice value on average of between US$5000 and US$7.000, according to statistics from the Ministry of Finance . That same container holds 132,000 garments which could be marketed for as much as US$254,000 at weighted price “, reported Elfinancierocr.com.
“This business is like food. It will never go away because it involves goods that people will always need, even in times of crisis,” said Luis Rojas, co-owner of the American clothing importer Mavi.
This retail sector in Costa Rica comprises about 248 importers of second-hand clothes who are now looking at the middle class market.
Mahmood Berahimi, who operates 14 “Paca Loca” and 4 “Orange Blue” stores, employing some 400, says business is not as profitable as 10 years ago. With the opening of large chains and smaller competitors across the country, the business ceased to be an attractive activity.
“70% of what is show is not sold. In the end, many have to sell merchandise at rock bottom prices to get rid of inventory. The only way to survive now is for bigger stores and selling larger volumes”, explains Berahini.
His major competitor is Tiendas Sinaí, with 43 locations across the country, targeting the lower class Costa Ricans and Nicaraguan immigrants.
Other names in the used clothing stores are Boutique Cleveland, ByB, Mundo American, Best Choice, Renoavación and California, to name a few, that makes up an industry of 248 importers, according to the Ministerio de Hacienda (tax department).
For Rodolfo Molina, president of the Costa Rican Textile Chamber, these businesses compete unfairly with those who bring new clothes into the country and local manufacturers, as the law does not requires them to label their products with indications such as place of origin and manufacture, which means an additional cost for the other sectors.
Two months after the murder of biologist Jairo Mora Sandoval, police on Monday arrested seven people in eight raids in the Caribbean town of Limón and in Guapiles.
Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) agents were able to identify and arrest seven people they believe linked to the case early Monday monring, as well as confirm the seizure of important evidence in the case.
Several of the arrested are also linke to robberies in Limón and Guapiles, judicial officials said.
Jairo Mora’s body appeared lifeless on May 31 in Moín, a small beach community north of the town of Limón. An autopsy revealed that the biologist had died from asphyxiation after being hit in the neck.
The murder occurred while Mora was doing what he loved best, saving the turtles. Jairo was a 26-year-old biologist working to protect nesting sea turtles from poaching and other threats on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Authorties say he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by at least five armed criminals the day before his body was found. Four women – three Americans and a Spaniard – were also kidnapped but escaped uninjured.
More than 130,000 individuals from 150 nations have signed a petition at Costa Rican embassies and consulates calling for the arrest and conviction of those involved.
The petition calls on the Costa Rican government to commit police protection to beaches where poaching and narcotics trafficking pose a significant threat to the safety of sea turtles, conservationists and tourists. It also calls on the government to expedite the investigation and ensure Jairo’s killers are swiftly brought to justice.
A group of 20 women and their babies protesting in front of the Colegio Superio de Señoritas in San José after a 15 year old student was prohibited from nursing her infant during school hours. Photo, Jorge Castillo / La Nacion
Paula Esquivel y su bebé, Josué Castillo, fueron parte del grupo de 20 personas que protestó frente al Colegio Superior de Señoritas por la supuesta violación al derecho de una alumna a alimentar a su hijo | JORGE CASTILLO
Fifteen year old Leda Maria Sequeira says she was forced to quit school because authorities would allow her to breastfeed her baby during school hours. The grade nine student at the Colegio Superior de Señoritas, an all-girls school in downtown San José, told La Nacion her last day at school was on June 19 and she has not been back.
On Monday, her mother, Maribel Mathiew, participated along with another 20 women in a “mamatón” in front of the school to protest the violation of the rights of her daughter and grandson.
Valerie Espinoza, organizer of the protest, said “the principal refused and said the girl could, one hour before and one after, classes breastfeed her baby. The law says that it is the mother who chooses when to breastfeed the baby, not the institution. The child is only breastfed, baby formula is very expensive for the family”.
The Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP) – Ministry of Education – will be investigating the case headed by Rocío Solís, director of student rights.
Solís told the press that her office is evaluating the information provided her. “We are being very careful not to harm the child or the school”, said Solís.
The principal of the, Lisbeth Herrera Prado, has refused to talk to the press. The only word is by way of the school’s Facebook page, where Herrera explains the options given to the student.
“At no time was the young woman denied to nurse her child, provided it was in accordance with the provisions of the school, give the physical limitations of the infrastructure and not to place the child’s health at risk”, says Herrera. Prinicpal Herrera explained that in the last 11 years, the school has not had any similar problems.
According to Herrera, the school does not meet health conditions for breastfeeding a baby, among other things, the school is located in an area with high air pollution.
The Colegio Superior de Señoritas is located two blocks south of the Plaza de la Cultura in the hear of San José.
Bridge over the Virilla river, better known as the “Saprissa bridge”, has served as a springboard for the death of three men who decided jump over the edge this month alone.
The latest victim of a suicide is 26 year old Adrián Corrales León, of El Carmen, Goicoechea, who around 6pm Sunday, after finshing his work day, plunged off the bridge into the river below.
Rescue workers battled the darkness of night, strong winds and rain that fell in Tibás Sunday, searching for two hours before coming up empty handed. The search resumed at dailylight Monday, when after three hours they found the body of the waiter, that had traveled some 50 metres from the jump location.
Authorities are not clear on the motive that led Corrales to take his life, nor of the other two me who jumped from the same spot on the bridge. Theories include financial problems or problems in love.
As an expat considering Costa Rica for more than just a brief vacation, one of the most important considerations that you will undertake, is choosing the correct Attorney to represent your interests in purchasing real estate, entering into a lease agreement for commercial, or residential property, incorporating a company, obtaining Residency, and the like.
As Costa Rica, is a Civil Law (Napoleonic Law), rather than an English Common Law jurisdiction (Canada and the U.S.), as an expat seeking the services of an Attorney, there are two inquiries that you should undertake, one inquiry as to the Attorney’s licensing status with the Costa Rica College of Lawyers and the second inquiry as to the Attorney’s Notary Public licensing status with the Costa Rica National Direction of Notaries.
In Costa Rica, all Notaries are Attorneys, but not all Attorneys are Notaries.
The Notary Public requires additional legal training and qualification over that of an Attorney in a Civil Law jurisdiction, and they will be the party who most expats will require the services of, rather than those of an Attorney only. Only a Notary Public is qualified to transfer the title to a property, or vehicle, or incorporate a company in the National Registry. There are many more formal functions that only a Notary Public can perform in Costa Rica.
In order to determine if the Attorney you are inquiring about is properly licensed and authorized to discharge their legal functions by the two governing legal bodies, there are two web sites that ought be consulted: 1. The Costa Rica College of Lawyers (Colegio de Abogados) with web site: http://www.abogados.or.cr/ and 2. The National Direction of Notaries (Direccion Nacional de Notariado) at web site: http://consulta.dnn.go.cr/consultapublica/consultapublica.aspx
In the case of the College of Lawyers, the Home page will display a menu on the left with the selection: Consultar Agremiados. By clicking on this selection, a menu will be displayed where you can either enter the Attorneys registration number, or name and receive his, or her registration particulars. On clicking on the registration particulars, a further screen will appear indicating whether the particular Attorney is active, or suspended from practice.
If no particulars for an Attorney appear, the party is not licensed to practice law in Costa Rica. In the case of the National Direction of Notaries, the Home page will display a menu where the particular Notary’s name, or incorporation number can be inserted to determine their status, being either active, inactive, or suspended. If no information is displayed, the party is not licensed to act as a Notary Public in Costa Rica.
This is not a time-consuming process and it may well be the best inquiry that you make before hiring your Costa Rica Attorney.
To contact Attorney Rick Philps about hiring him as your Costa Rican Attorney, please use the following information: Lic. Rick Philps – Attorney at Law, Petersen & Philps, San Jose, Costa Rica Tel: 506-2288-4381, Ext. 102; Email: rphilps@plawcr.com Website: www.plawcr.com
MANAGUA (QNicaragua) – Nicaraguan sex workers have for the first time set up an office to assist in protection from abuse, violence and discrimination. The goal of opening a bureau in Managua “is to have a space where we as women share experiences, plan goals and claim rights,” Maria Davila, coordinator of the Red Nacional de Mujeres Trabajadoras Sexuales (Retrasex) – National Network of Women Sex Workers, said.
The new office is located in a Managua neighborhood, 200 metres from a Catholic church. The office still lacks furniture and is manned by Davila, along with an accountant and a psychologist.
Davila says the purpose of the office is not to promote prostitution but to meet the social needs of a sector of the population that suffers from discrimination.
Retrasex is part of a Latin American and Caribbean network of 1,000 affiliates. Davila estimates that at least 11,000 women are employed in sex work in Nicaragua.
Retrasex is fighting to change the vocabulary used by media and official institutions to describe its members, preferring the term “sex workers.” Davila added, that sex workers are usually identified as street walkers, but are also in the nightclubs (strip clubs) as dancers, escorts for tourists or friends with a lot of money.
The organization also seeks to influence social, health and education policy, as well as push for rights for its workers.
“People do not look at this (prostitution) as a job, but we are clear that it is a job because this solves economic problems in homes, although relatives often do not know what girls do to earn a living”, says Davila.
One recent achievement was gaining a seat on the government’s National Commission for AIDS Care or CONISIDA, where it will receive training to prevent the disease.
Retrasex also seeks to influence social, health and education policies, access to unionized housing, social security and labour claims for unfair dismissal.
Davila explained that there also agreements with the Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos (Office of Human Rights) to report to the authorities abuse from customers.
Between 2011 and 2012 seven sex workers were murdered in Nicaragua.
Prostitution is illegal in Nicaragua but authorities often turn a blind eye to it.
By Julia Rios, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
– See more at: http://qnicaragua.com/2013/07/30/nicaragua-sex-workers-open-office-to-defend-rights/#sthash.xE0ptMBD.dpuf
Students protest principal forbidding student from breastfeeding her baby in school. Photo: La Nacion
A group of young mothers, this morning, protested with a “mamatón” in front of the Colegio Superior de Señoritas (all girls college), in San José after the director of that school forbade one of the students to breastfeed her baby.
Students protest principal forbidding student from breastfeeding her baby in school. Photo: La Nacion
Lisbet Herrera, director of the school, aruged in a letter to the mother of the 15 year old student, that the schoolgirl was not authorized to breastfeed her three month infant inside the school and should do so before coming to class.
Maribel Matthiew told La Nacion, “my idea was to be allowed to breastfeed my baby at least once a day. But they told me it was prohibitied inside the institution”.
Valerie Espinoza, organizer of the breastfeeding protest, told the press that the school also forbade the girl from pumping breastmilk every three hours because the school did not have the infrastructure necessary.
According to Espinoza, the school director’s action contradicts national legislation that protects the rights to breastfeed, citing several acts: the Política Nacional de Lactancia Materna, Ley de lactancia materna, Código de la niñez y Adolescencia and a directive by Ministerio de Educación Pública.
Rocio Solís, director of the Contraloría de Derechos Estudiantiles del Ministerio de Educación Pública ( MEP) – Director of Student Rights Comptroller of the Ministry of Public Education – said the Costa Rican educational system is very respectul of the law assuring breastfeeding.
Using the free Payoneer Debit card and a free Virtual US Bank Account to withdraw funds on PayPal is an ideal option for getting paid in Costa Rica.
You’ve been hard at work in Costa Rica making money online, getting paid for goods and services. And now how do you get paid in Costa Rica? If you have a US bank account and US verified address, simple. Apply for a PayPal debit card that can be used at your local ATM.
But, what if you are not a US citizen, don’t have a US bank account or a US verified address? In Costa Rica, PayPal offers you the option of opening a business account with the Banco Nacional and getting money transferred to your Costa Rican bank account.
In addition, you can add you Payoneer debit card to your PayPal account.
Here are the steps. If you are skeptical feel free to call Payoneer and PayPal and verify for yourself.
1. You need to open a Payoneer account, set up the US Payment service and get a Payoneer debit card. Opening an account is free and all done online. You do not need a US bank account.
2. Before you can add your Payoneer bank account to PayPal you will have to call Payoneer to get a US verified address. You cannot change the country in your Payoneer account Your Payoneer account will always be tied to your Costa Rica address. When calling Payoneer explain that you are setting up the link with PayPal and you will be sent a verified US address. The Bank Routing Number and Bank Account Number is already in your Payoneer account if you have set up the US Payment Service.
3. Go to your PayPal account, add a bank using the verified Payoneer address. Successfully submitted, PayPal will send an email to confirm that the bank transfer process will usually be completed in 2-5 business days. In this process, Paypal will the make two small deposits to your Payoneer bank account and your must confirm the deposit information you can then complete the verification process before you can transfer funds from PayPal to your Payoneer account. With the accout funded you can now use your Payoneer debit card at any ATM.
One, there are fees and time delays associated with bank transfers and they take days.
Two, the PayPal – Payoneer relationship is one way, that is you can move funds from PayPal to Payoneer, but not the other way.
As with any electronic system take care in reviewing your online transactions.
If and when you can get a PayPal debit card
The foregoing IS ONLY ADVICE based my personal experience with using PayPal and Payoneer. If you have any questions please contact PayPal and/or Payoneer directly.
A curious cargo airlift operation recently took place at the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), in the northern province of Guanacaste. According to a news report by Alvaro Sanchez from online news daily CRHoy, nearly 24 tons of cocaine were loaded onto a United States Air Force transport aircraft.
US drug plane. Photo CRHoy.com
he destination of the controversial payload? Miami, a city that once held the infamous title of “Cocaine Capital of the World.”
The public affairs office of the Organization of Judicial Investigations (OIJ in Spanish) in Costa Rica explained to CRHoy that the 23 tons and 780 kilograms of powder cocaine hydrochloride were the result of two years of interdiction work by the National Coast Guard Service, the OIJ, the Border Police, and Fuerza Publica (the national police force in Costa Rica). This does not include seizures made by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy as part of the Joint Patrol Agreement between Costa Rica and the U.S.
Too Much of That Snow White The OIJ further explained that Costa Rica does not have the capacity or resources to destroy such a colossal amount of nose candy, which is the reason for requesting assistance from the U.S. military to take away almost 24 tons of what is often referred to as “the champagne of drugs.” Costa Rica is considered a bridge between the cocaine producing countries of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru for further traffic up to Mexico and ultimately the top consumer nation: The United States.
To understand the irony of such a massive quantity of marching powder being flown from Costa Rica to Miami, one only needs to screen the award-winning 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys. To really stoke the fire of conspiracy theory with regard to U.S. military aircraft being used to transport yeyo, it pays to read Dark Alliance, a masterpiece of investigative journalism by the late Gary Webb, published by the San Jose Mercury News; it is all about the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its role in funding the Contras in Nicaragua by transporting cocaine to Los Angeles during one of the longest proxy battles of the Cold War.
In the last few years, law enforcement in Costa Rica has considerably stepped up its drug interdiction efforts. So far this year, the National Coast Guard Service seized 4.6 tons of cocaine just in the Caribbean region. As a result, law enforcement officials in Costa Rica ended up with too much coke and no means to destroy it, which requires special incinerators that burn at 816 Celsius (1,500 Fahrenheit). These incinerators feature multiple chambers that filter out the hazardous fumes and leave nothing but carbon dioxide.
Mystery Aircraft? Transporting almost 24 tons of the devil’s dandruff from different areas of Costa Rica to Liberia was, according to the OIJ, an unusual task that involved members of the Ministry of Public Safety, the Superior Council of the Republic, the Third Chamber of Justice, the Presidency of the Courts, and a judge that will apparently fly with the blow to ensure that it reaches its destination safely. Once in Miami, the Consul General of Costa Rica will continue the chain of custody and make certain that the massive stash is indeed destroyed.
The CRHoy news article mentioned that the OIJ stated that the aircraft that picked up the tons of flake belongs to the U.S. Air Force, and journalist Alvaro Sanchez copied reported 7708 AMC as the tail code, which is a bit puzzling because it does not conform -at least upon cursory investigation- to the system used by that military branch. If we assume that AMC stands for Air Mobility Command, perhaps Mr. Sanchez missed the name of the base that the aircraft belongs to, which should have been lettered on the tail; but, the number should have five digits.
The Costa Rica Star invites military veterans, subject matter experts and aviation buffs to leave comments properly identifying this mystery aircraft. CRHoy published a grainy photograph which shows what looks like a C-17 Globemaster on the LIR runway with tons of cocaine in the foreground, but we would like your assistance in determining the aircraft and the unit or base it is assigned to.
The real mystery of this aircraft, however, is whether it had the proper authorization to be in Costa Rica. The OIJ says yes, but legislator Carmen Munoz is not so sure. She questioned this matter during an open session at the National Assembly and was met with silence because not a single legislator recalls seeing such a request come through the docket. Legislator Munoz wants answers about the circumstances under which this U.S. military cargo aircraft landed in Costa Rica and who authorized it. The legislative permit in question is a Constitutional matter, and it is specially sensitive since Costa Rica abolished its military more than six decades ago; the country can’t afford to have foreign military forces (or paramilitaries) running around unchecked -it would be an affront to her sovereignty.
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– See more at: http://news.co.cr/snow-job-u-s-air-force-flies-cocaine-from-costa-rica-to-miami/23936/#sthash.Tw44OAZY.dpuf
(Prensa Latina) If we want a real change in Costa Rica, a swing to the left is inevitable, said legislator and presidential candidate for the Frente Amplio (FA), Jose Maria Villalta. This change must feed on the best leftwing traditions of Costa Rica and, at the same time, belong to social movements in order to become part of those new struggles, he said.
The fact is that our people is tired of rightwing governments that keep on favoring only the rich, affirmed Villalta.
We have to take the streets and fight for those who have their rights violated, as that is the way to boost a more participative democracy, so people does not limit themselves to vote for the same people every four years, he commented.
Ours would be a government with no fear to express itself, and we would not rely on repressing people, nor would we fear to speak with the people and for that, he stressed, we need popular support.
In a country where abstentionism exceeds 30 percent for more than a decade, to attract those who abstain is one of our greatest challenges, assured the candidate.
Six months before the next general elections, the deputy has faced criticism from the government for supposedly “mobilizing people to take advantage of elections” in social spaces, said Communications Minister, Carlos Roverssi.
Costa Rican paraplegic athlete Laurens Molina was training Thursday for two events remaining this year as he has for the past 20 years just north of La Sabana Park when a car hit him in his special bicycle wheeled aluminum cart which he “runs” races for physically handicapped persons.
The crash fractured both wrists and effectively knocked him out of the Chicago event Oct. 13. But Molina says he hopes to compete in the New York Marathon at the end of the year after a Friday surgery by Olympic athletic orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Erick Solano.
He was rushed to nearby San Juan de Dios Hospital immediately after the accident when X-rays were taken of his wrists. Surgery was performed in the private Clinica Catolica hospital Friday. “The break I have is complicated,” Molina explained toLa Nacion, “but with the insertion of some screws recuperation will be more rapid.”
Dr. Solano said Molina could recover by encasing his wrists in casts but recuperation will be faster and less painful with surgery. “His hands are also his feet,” explained the surgeon, underscoring the advantage of speed. His racing cart uses his arms and hands on wheelchair main wheels for power.
Molina was training on the highway when a car hit him on the right side while it was backing out of a parking lot. At the hospital his wrists were encased in temporary casts to keep the bones stable. As an athlete, Molina’s physical condition is superb so his recuperation is expected to be rapid.
