San José, Costa Rica - Monday 12 July 2004

1.415.265 Hits in June!

 

Disaster! Brazil destroyed the Costa Rican national team 4-1 in yesterday's Copa America round, that saw Costa Rica eliminated.  The Ticos were made to pay dearly for missing chances, reminiscent of the last meeting between the pair at the 2002 World Cup. Click for larger image!

OPINION: Private Banks. Why do we use them and how should we be protected? Virtually all of us who live in Costa Rica need to have a bank account. Our choice is to open an account at one of the state banks, Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Popular or one of the many private banks.

Bishop of Cuidad Quesada To be Re-Investigated
The Public Ministry has decided to re-open the case against the Bishop of Cuidad Quesada (San Carlos), Angel San Casimiro, following reports these past weeks that on at least two occasions San Casimiro knew the whereabouts of father Enrique Vásquez Vargas, who is a fugitive from justice, accused of abuse of minors.

One Youth Dies in Playa Negra, Two Saved
Three English youths brushed with death with the sea in Limón on Saturday, two came out alive, the third wasn't as lucky. 

OIJ In Financial Crunch
The director of the OIJ - Organismo de Investigacion Judicial - Jorge Rojas, says that the financial crisis at the OIJ will place a lot of pressure on the police organization as it cuts back spending to stay alive. Rojas was quoted as saying, "the OIJ is like a car on it's last gallon of gasoline. At any moment the engine will stop running."

ICT Moves to New Building
The Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT) - Instituto Costarricense de Turismo - started it's move this weekend to it's new facilities located in La Uruca in the building that Coalición Costarricense de Iniciativas de Desarrollo (Cinde) had occupied until several months ago.

Banco ELCA's Sin: Lack of consolidation
Last week, the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF) intervened in the operation of the private Banco ELCA, basing it's decision that it found irregularities in lending and credit practices that placed the bank's solvency in jeopardy.

COPA AMERICA:
Ruthless Brazil Demolishes Costa Rica
Brazil produced a ruthless performance as they survived an early bout of pressure before beating Costa Rica 4-1 with an Adriano hat-trick on Sunday to qualify for the Copa America quarter-finals.

Chavez accuses US of funding opposition groups Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused a US government-funded nonprofit organization of providing 300,000 US dollars to opposition groups seeking to remove him from office. Former Mexican energy minister to run for president Former Mexican energy minister Felipe Calderon declared on Sunday that he would run for president in 2006. Colombia seizes 1.5 tons of cocaine The Colombian Navy has announced that it has seized 1.5 tons of cocaine and arrested two drug traffickers. International News from the New York Times

SPECIAL REPORTS Businessmen As An Alternative The absence of a development model marking the Costa Rica's route for the next few years and the necessity of counting on strong and responsible leadership have led representatives of the business community to create the Pro-Costa Rica Chamber of Entrepreneurs. Although the birth of this new group should not be considered an entirely new chapter in the recent Costa Rican history, for analyst Alvaro Montero Mejia, it represents a valuable opportunity. He would like to push Costa Rica ahead as a country in great need of a shakeup to awaken it from its lethargy.    THE TAKE: DON'T ASK “What is ecotourism?” The interesting thing about ecotourism is that very few people know how to answer that question. The large part of the problem is that ecotourism means different things to different people. To some, Pirates of the Caribbean might suit well for an ecotourist adventure. To others, eating tree bark while photographing squirrels is a much better alternative. “People, the fickle creatures that we are, went to all the trouble to build cities only later to find ourselves wanting to leave them.”

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