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FTA: Costa Rica Drops Out
at Last Minute
The United
States and four Latin American nations reached
agreement on the establishment of a landmark
free-trade pact for the region, U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Zoellick and his counterparts
announced Wednesday.
"Step-by-step, country-by-country, region-by-region,
the United States is opening markets with top notch,
comprehensive FTAs (free trade agreements) that set
the standard," Zoellick said.
The deal, reached earlier in the day after a year of
negotiations, sets up a trading bloc with El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, known
as the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or
CAFTA.
Costa Rica, which had been part of the negotiations,
dropped out at the last minute Tuesday after it
objected to demands from U.S. negotiators on
insurance and telecommunications.
The agreement still requires approval from Congress,
and the Bush administration is hoping additional
negotiations with Costa Rica would allow for all
five countries to be a part of the deal when it is
formally adopted.
Under legislation approved last year by Congress,
lawmakers can approve or reject the deal, but not
change the terms.
"We hope and believe Costa Rica can join us soon,
but we also won't wait," Zoellick said. The
administration is also hoping to add the Dominican
Republic to the pact to build support from New York
lawmakers who represent large constituencies with
ties to that country.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who represents New
York's Harlem, was unimpressed.
"This so-called 'deal' appears to continue to
protect some farm sectors that already have high
protection, such as sugar, but does nothing for
American manufacturing workers or workers overseas,"
Rangel said in a joint statement with Rep. Sander
Levin, D-Mich.
Rangel and Levin noted that Costa Rica and the
Dominican Republic represent 43 percent of GDP of
the six countries and 52 percent of U.S. exports.
And Costa Rica alone represents 25 percent of the
GDP and 31 percent of U.S. exports of the original
five nations.
Costa Rica not to sign
Marco Ruiz, representative of theUnion of Private
Chambers and Companies (UCCAEP) of Costa Rica in the
free trade negotiations, gave an assurance Tuesday
that the country will not sign a free trade
agreement (FTA) with the United States this year.
The government and the private sector had agreed
that Costa Rica would not sign the FTA as planned on
Tuesday, because the United States lacked
"flexibility" on textile and agricultural issues, he
said.
Ruiz told the press in Washington that a new round
of talks would be held in January 2004.
He said the inflexibility of the United States on
some "sensitive" issues made the Costa Rican side,
headed by Foreign Trade Minister Alberto Trejos,
reject an agreement.
Last Call 2:00am
A proposal to
close all bars and the sale of liquor at 2am has
been put forth under a plan to regulate the sale and
alcoholic beverages.
Currently, there are many difference in closing
times. Some bars must close by midnight, while
others can close at 2am or 3am or 4am. While, others
with a ICT - Instituto Costarricense de Turismo -
license can stay open 24 hours.
The new proposal would limit the sale of alcoholic
beverages from 8am to 2am the following morning.
In addition, the proposal calls for all licenses to
be for a period of year, which then has to be
renewed, and prohibits the consumption of alcohol in
the public areas - like the streets which is a
common practice to sit back with a beer while
watching the seasonl parades.
'Tis the Season for illegal
Scams
The holiday season is a
time of giving, but giving in to scams is not right
in any season. Both U.S. and Costa Rican authorities
are warning people of being a victim of this type of
crime.
People get phone calls, letters and e-mails telling them they
won money and asking them to send money so they can
get their reward.
Another scam targets
U.S. men, with a woman caller asking him to send her
money so she can get a visa and come to the U.S.
and she will be his girlfriend or bride.
Others include the infamous Nigerian scam, in which
a person receives a letter or e-mail from a
purported government official stating he or she has
millions of dollars, needs to get it out of the
country and requires your bank account number to
stash it. A large fee is promised.
Other scams have to do with oil in a foreign
country. All ask the potential victim to send money.
There are Web sites listing the Nigerian scam,
Kaminski said. People from Nigeria are trying to get
U.S. citizens to send money.
If someone has to send in money because they won
something, it is not legitimate. People are being
asked to send money to Costa Rica, Great Britain,
Nigeria, Algeria and even Australia.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the top
10 online scams are: Internet auctions; Internet
access services; credit card fraud; international
modem dialing; web cramming; multilevel marketing
plans and pyramids; travel and vacations; business
opportunities; investments; and health care products
and services.
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FARC guerrillas
claim responsibility for store bombings
Members of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
claimed responsibility for the Tuesday bomb attacks
on chain stores in northern Colombia, the police
said on Wednesday.
A FARC group "claimed responsibility for the attacks
as the businesses had not paid them," the police
said.
The series of attacks, which left one dead and 74
injured in total, took place in two chain stores of
the Olimpica and Almacenes Vivero group, in the city
of Barranquilla, Atlantico state.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe condemned the
attacks on Wednesday.
Following the blasts, security measures were
strengthened in commercial areas of principal cities
throughout the country to prevent similar attacks.
The government of the Atlantico state offered a
reward of 7,141US dollars for information leading to
the capture of the attackers.
Mario Ramirez, the police chief of the Atlantico
state, said on Wednesday that three suspects had
been arrested by police. The police found arms and
grenades on them.
Colombia has suffered a four-decade-old civil war
involving government forces, leftist guerrillas and
far-right paramilitaries. The conflicts claim the
lives of about 3,500 people every year.
Jury delays decision
on WTC memorial design
The 13-member jury,
responsible for choosing the design for the World
Trade Center (WTC) memorial, has asked for
postponing the deadline for final selection until
January, a spokeswoman for the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation (LMDC) said Wednesday.
The spokeswoman said jury members are going over
technical issues on the eight designs. Originally
they were expected to make a decision by the end of
the year.
According to a recent poll, a majority of New
Yorkers said they had so far no clear favorite among
the final eight designs for theWTC memorial, though
many said they like some elements of each design.
The eight designs were released last month and are
currently on display to engender public input at the
Winter Garden, across the street from the ruined WTC
site.
LMDC chief Kevin Rampe said the winning design may
look different from other proposals, as the jury may
suggest some changes.
The LMDC is the agency overseeing the reconstruction
of the WTCsite.
Bush honors first
flight of Wright brothers
US President George W.
Bush marked Wednesday the 100th anniversary of the
Wright brothers' first powered plane flight, vowing
that the United States will continue to play a
leading role in aviation and space travel.
"By our skill and daring, America has excelled in
every area of aviation and space travel, and our
national commitment remains firm," Bush told an
audience gathered on Kill Devil Hills, North
Carolina, where Wilbur and Orville Wright made the
first successful sustained powered flight in a
heavier-than-air machine on Dec. 17, 1903.
"By our skill and daring, we will continue to lead
the world in flight," the President said.
The first flight of Wright brothers' Flyer lasted
just 12 seconds and covered about 120 feet (36
meters) but heralded the birth of the aviation and
space age.
"These past hundred years have brought supersonic
flights, frequent space travel, the exploration of
Mars, and the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which right now
is moving at 39,000 miles per hour toward the outer
edge of our solar system," Bush said at the
centennial celebration.
More than 168,000 flights now take off from
America's airports everyday and commercial aviation
makes 10 percent of US economy.
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