San José, Costa Rica -   Friday 08 October 2004

1.396 Daily Average Visits in September!

Beauty contestants for the Miss Earth 2004 pageant pose at the poolside of a posh hotel following their presentation to the media Thursday, Oct. 7, at the financial district of Makati, east of Manila. Forty-eight beauties were presented to the press for the Oct. 24 coronation. Representing Costa Rica is Karlota Calderón Brenes. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) Click for larger image!

insidenicaragua A new weekly feature published on Sundays, featuring a summary  of current news and events in Nicaragua.

PRESIDENTIAL SCANDAL
Corruption Allegations Hit Boiling Point
Argentina Thursday urged the resignation of OAS Secretary General Miguel Angel Rodríguez, a former president of Costa Rica caught in a scandal, as authorities investigated the allegations against Rodríguez by his former Minister

PRESIDENTIAL SCANDAL
Costa Rica Needs to Clear Its Image
The new secretary-general of the Organization of American States and former Costa Rican president, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, is in a bind.

Finnish Company Admits Commission
For the first time since the scandal of the sale of medical equipment to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) broke out, the Finnish firm Instrumentarium confirmed a 22 percent payment as commission to the Corporación Fischel.

Parish Priest Accused of Abusing Young Children
A 14 year old girl and the mother of 7 year old, are accusing the priest at the San Francisco de Dos Ríos church and ex-sub-director o the Eco Católico, for "abusos dishonestos" - abuse of the two minors.

Police Rescue Four Young Girls
In a quick and decisive action, police rescued four young girls in the ciudadela La Carpio (west of San José), two of which were completely naked.

Ticos Stagger Under Inflation
According to the National Statistics and Census Institute, the Consumer Price Index corresponding to September increased 0.78 percent, taking inflation to 9.52 percent for this year, and to 13.78 percent in the last 12 months, the highest in the last seven years.

Drugpusher sought by US arrested in Colombia
Colombian police on Thursday arrested suspected drugpusher Gabriel Puerta who was related to a drug cartel in the southwest Valle del Cauca department.

Rainstorm kills two children in El Salvador
Two children were killed by torrential rains Thursday in south El Salvador and numerous inhabitants were forced to leave their homes, reports reaching here said.

Brazil urges to resolve crisis in Guinea-Bissau
Brazil urged the international community on Thursday to work together to defuse the military crisis in Guinea-Bissau.

International News from the New York Times
 

HEALTH: UNICEF Urges Greater Commitment to Reducing Child Mortality First, the good news: while nearly one in five children was dying before the age of five in the early 1960s, this figure had dropped to less than one in 12 by 2002. The bad news is that child mortality remains shockingly high in many developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, and that these states will have difficulty meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing child deaths by two-thirds come 2015. This information is contained in a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), ‘Progress for Children’, released Friday. The report is based on information gathered between 1990 and 2002, which UNICEF says is the latest year for which dependable facts and figures are available.

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