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updated by 8:00 a.m. CST each day
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Festival of Lights
for a Night of Magic
Thousands
lined the streets of Paseo Colon and Avenida Segunda
last night to take in the splendour and festivities
of this annual event. The event started on time at
6pm and making it's way from the La Sabana to La
Plaza de La Democracia.
The
main road into San Jose from airport was blocked
about 4pm, re-directing traffic through streets
parallel to Paseo Colon, delaying frustrated
drivers. But all was worth it when the fireworks
started promptly at 6, the bands struck up the
music and the floats started to roll.
A good time was had by all, evidenced by the
smiles on the faces in the crowds. |
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A strong police
presence ensured public safety and security.
Nonetheless, 26 youths were arrested for
disturbances and from whom police confiscated knives
and several stolen cellular phones. The crowds booed
the youths as they were taken away by police.
This year's Festival was perhaps the best so far and
well organized. One television commentator made a
request to officials to find a way to have the
floats available for several days after the Festival
so that those who cannot attend or get close during
the parade can see the beautiful works.
Traditionally the floats are dismantled the same
night following the parade.
This year's best float winner went to Parque de
Diversiones, who display included acrobatic feats by
young gymnasts while riding the float.
Thousands
Evacuated Due to Floods
More than
2,500 people have been evacuated from Costa Rica's
Caribbean zone as four days of persistent rains
wiped out bridges and roads and left at least one
person dead and another missing, officials said.
The town of Matina, 163 kilometers (101 miles) east
of San Jose, was hardest hit, with many areas cut
off by collapsed roads and flooded highways,
government emergency operations chief Sigifredo
Perez said.
A boy drowned after falling into a drainage ditch on
Friday, according to Red Cross officials. Workers
for the aid organization discovered the child's body
on Saturday, but officials did not release his name
or age.
And a 55-year-old man was still missing after
falling into Matina's Chirripo River on Thursday.
The government has declared a state of emergency,
clearing the way for some five million dollars in
disaster aid to be redirected to the hardest-hit
areas.
Effort and Reward
Several women who are
the heads of their households in the fishing village
of Tarcoles, on the Costa Rican Pacific, have joined
efforts and now are enjoying income enough to, at
least, satisfy the basic needs of their families.
Among other activities, they embroider the logos of
area hotels on their towels, sell food to
construction workers, and recycle paper that they
collect.
The National Training Institute (INA in Spanish) has
provided them with courses that enable them to take
advantage of their skills and also of the tourist
industry in their region.
"We feel well doing these things. Now the hotels in
the area are giving us the chance to indirectly work
for them, and we look forward to keep on improving,"
said Eunice Paniagua, one of the Tarcoles women who
now have a decent chance of feeding their families.
Tax Evasion on Liquor
The police dismantled an
organization that smuggled liquor into Costa Rica,
but early estimates set at over $2.2 million the
amount of taxes not paid.
The police confiscated some 400 cases of scotch,
vodka, rum, tequila, and other imported liquors,
which the smugglers sold with a 40 percent discount
on the current prices in liquor stores and
supermarkets, therefore making the illegal goods
attractive to customers.
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US confirms capture
of Saddam Hussein
The United States
officially confirmed on Sunday that former Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein was arrested near his
hometown of Tikrit more than eight months after the
Saddam regime was toppled.
US civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer told a
press conference that Saddam was arrested at 8:30
P.M. (1730 GMT) Saturday. About 600 coalition troops
joined the operation.
The US forces also showed video of captured Saddam,
who was wearing a beard and undergoing a medical
examination. Saddam is "in good health" and without
injuries, a US spokesman told reporters.
The former Iraqi president had 750,000 US dollars in
cash on him, the spokesman said.
In Baghdad, Iraqis celebrated the capture of the
former leader Saddam Hussein with gunfire while the
fate of Saddam is not definitely known yet.
Continuous gunshots were heard over the
neighborhoods as reports poured into the city early
in the day that Saddam may have been caught after
the US-led coalition forces launched an overnight
operation in his hometown of Tikrit, 170 km north of
Baghdad.
Saddam's capture was firstly reported by Iran's
official news agency IRNA, which on Sunday morning
quoted Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as saying
that "Saddam Hussein was arrested in his hometown of
Tikrit."
Argentine
ex-president denies bribery allegations
Former Argentine
President Fernando de la Rua has denied the
allegations that during his presidential term,
legislators were bribed to approve a labor reform
law.
De la Rua was quoted by the Clarin Saturday daily as
saying that he was surprised over a statement made
by former Senate leader Mario Pontaquarto, who said
he himself paid bribes to legislators.
"Everything is absolutely false, at least what I
have read and heard. I don't know the statement of
Pontaquarto before the judge," said the
ex-president.
Pontaquarto appeared before judge Norberto Oyarbide
on Friday for several hours, in relation to the case
of the bribery in the Argentine Senate, after he
confessed in an interview with the magazine TXT that
he paid the bribes.
He said that in 2000, 5 million US dollars were paid
to several senators in order to guarantee the
approval of the labor reform law.
This version was confirmed by former Vice President
Carlos Alvarez, who told the press that there was an
"illicit association" in the Senate to pass laws, in
which members of the Justicialista Party and the
Civic Radical Union were involved.
Alvarez said De la Rua was "the top political leader
responsible for what happened."
The ex-president has denied his participation in the
negotiation on the law and said he was a victim of a
persecution since he resigned in December, 2001,
amidst a serious social and economic crisis.
Venezuela's oil
industry reports significant recovery
Venezuelan state-run
petroleum company PDVSA announced Saturday that its
export of crude oil and its by-products reached over
2.0 million barrels per day from January to
November, representing a substantial recovery amid
the country's economic recession.
The company said in a communique that its
foreign-sales volume demonstrates its capability to
ensure a reliable supply to its clients around the
world.
The PDVSA's daily petroleum exports stand at 2.066
million barrels, recovering from a record low of
250,000 barrels in the December 2002-January 2003
period after a 63-day national labor stoppage called
by the opposition to oust President Hugo Chavez.
The PDVSA said earlier this month that it had
secured substantial recovery in refining, gasoline
transportation and the normalization of the tanker
fleet. Its exports totaled 1,768 shipments in the
first 11 months, mostly sent to North America and
the Caribbean.
The oil company also said it had taken measures to
standardize its analytic procedures and ensure the
quality of its products.
The PDVSA recovery is expected to help boost the
economy of Venezuela, the fifth largest oil exporter
in the world and the only Andean country suffering
an economic downturn in 2003 with an estimated
contraction of 12 percent in the gross domestic
product (GDP).
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