|
 |
|
325 Kilos of Cocaine Seized
In a spectacular operation in the Pacific Ocean, yesterday morning, the U.S.
Coastguard, with the help of Costa Rican officials, confiscated some
325 kilos of the reported 1.000 kilos of cocaine that was headed for the
North American market and captured in the operation were three of the five
Colombians.
The five men tried to get slip away from authorities when they learned that
a U.S helicopter was on their tail for several hours. The chase ended near
Mail Pais de Cóbano, Puntarenas, in the Nicoya Peninsula.
Mail Pais is near Montezuma and west of Playa Tambor.
In the chase that began in international waters, according to reports, shots
were fired and some 40 packets of drugs were thrown into the water. This
occurred some 60 miles off the Costa Rican coast.
Each packet is said to have contained 25 kilos of cocaine, for a total of
1.000 kilos. However, police were only able to retrieve 13 of the packers or
325 kilos.
The intent of the drug runners was to get close to the Costa Rican coast and
escape capture from the helicopter that was in pursuit. The five men divided
themselves into two groups once they reached shore. Three men were captured
by Costa Rican police some hours later.
Marcia Bosshardt, press agent for the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, told the
press that is another example of the co-operation between the U.S
authorities and local police. She added that it is a sign of what happens
when the two countries co-operate and with the same goal.
Rogelio Ramos, Minister of Public Security, told the press that is a typical
operation in the Pacific region.
U.S. Visa to Cost $300?
Looks like to be a bad rumour or just a misunderstanding. In the last few
days, travel agencies and talk on the street said that the visa to visit the
United States would cost $300, up from the current $100.
A U.S. embassy press agent assured insidecostarica.com by telephone, that
the rumours aren't true and there is no initiative or plan to raise the
tourist visa cost. The tourist visa still costs $100.
However, there is a proposal to increase the cost for immigrants who want to
put in order their status to work and live in the U.S.
The proposal calls for an increase of $55 for processing immigrant visas and
in some cases there will be an additional $20 charge, however, this does not
affect the those who want a tourist visa to travel to the U.S.
Danilovich Moving to Brazil
The White House, as posted on their
website, announced that the current U.S President
George W. Bush, intends to nominate John J. Danilovich, of California, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America
to the Federative Republic of Brazil.
He currently serves as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Costa
Rica since June 19, 2001.
Ambassador Danilovich previously served on the Board of Directors for
the Panama Canal Commission. He earned his bachelor's degree from
Stanford University and his master's degree from the University of
Southern California (London).
A replacement to Danilovich has not been announced.
|
 |
2004
Challenge Tour Set for Debut stops in Panama, Egypt
This year's European Challenge Tour will feature tournaments in Panama City
and Egypt for the first time.
The Panama Masters at the Summit Golf & Resort will launch the 2004 season
on Thursday while Egypt will stage an event at the Jolie Ville resort in
Sharm El Skeikh from April 22 to 25.
Apart from Panama and Egypt, the 2004 tour will also take in Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Zambia, Kenya, Spain, Italy, Denmark, France, Germany, Finland,
Austria, Britain, Russia, Switzerland and Sweden in a proposed 33-event
schedule.
The Kenya Open, to be played at the Karen Golf Club in Nairobi from March
18-21, returns to the schedule after a one-year absence, the Tour said on
Monday.
The season will end with the traditional Challenge Tour Grand Final at Golf
du Medoc in France from October 21-24, after which the leading 15 players in
the money list will graduate to the European Tour in 2005.
The Challenge Tour is effectively a breeding ground for the main European
Tour, offering regular tournament golf for players who have not yet gained
full or qualified playing privileges on the continent's flagship tour.
Costa Rica Inspires Artist
By DAVID PENCEK
Artist Deb McLaren of Mystic, Conneticut, who formerly lived in Norwich,
spent November in Costa Rica as a resident artist at the Julia and David
White Artists Colony.
While there, she worked on several projects, including capturing the
tropical landscape in pen and ink drawings and painting antique automobiles
in acrylics.
McLaren said going to Costa Rica was her first residency. "It cleared out
all the distractions," she said. "It cleared my head so I could really focus
on my art work and goals for the next year. I put together a marketing plan
on how I wanted to get my work shown to more of the general public."
The small group of artists who took up residency in Costa Rica lived about
10 minutes from the town of Ciudad Colon, McLaren said. "It's a different
lifestyle there. It's a much slower lifestyle," McLaren said. "That helped
with my work. When I got back to America, I said 'Yes, I remember this
pace.'"
Showing her work: McLaren has been busy showing her work in various places.
In March, she'll have her work shown at Oobah's Cafe and Rasminko Books,
both in Willimantic, Conneticut. In May, she'll exhibit at the Renaissance
Gallery near Pittsburgh. She'll also have work shown in the Legislative
Office Building in Hartford.
"Those four weeks in Costa Rica were a shot in the arm to me," McLaren said.
"It was really amazing."
|
 |
|
Mexico bans US poultry imports from Delaware
Mexico announced on Monday it banned imports of poultry, its
products and byproducts from Delaware, the United States, after authorities
discovered avian influenza (AI), or bird flu, on a farm there on Thursday.
The Agricultural Ministry pointed out in a communiqué that since 2002 Mexico
has not imported poultry or poultry products from eight US states, namely
North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Texas,
California and Connecticut, due to bird flu concerns. Delaware is the most
recent addition to the list.
The ban applies to live poultry, eggs and any other products that can be
produced from poultry parts, the communiqué said.
An official of the Mexican ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity
that Mexico informed the United States on Friday its decision to stop
imports from Delaware after the confirmation of bird flu there. He added
that the move was temporary and could be lifted if authorities in Delaware
prove that the flu threat has been contained.
Authorities of Delaware ordered on Friday the destruction of 12,000 poultry
after their infection was confirmed. The Agricultural Secretary of the
state, Michael Scuse, said that the flu strain that hit them, known as H7,
is different from the H5N1 virus that is affecting humans in Asia and added
that it is not a threat to people's health.
The Mexican Ministry stated that North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia and Texas have applied sanitary measures that
allowed them to efficiently control bird flu, even though Mexico has not yet
lifted the ban.
Poland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea have imposed an overall
ban on US poultry imports while Hong Kong, like Mexico, has only banned the
import of live birds and poultry from Delaware.
Experts
rule out possibility of bird flu entering Mexico
Mexican experts have ruled out the possibility of bird flu
entering the country as it does not import poultry from the affected areas.
Mexico only buys poultry from the United States and Chile, which are free of
the disease, Alvaro Garcia, an expert from the Center for Biological and
Agricultural Sciences of the Guadalajara University, told the press Monday.
The avian flu has affected nine Asian countries, killing 19 people, most of
them in Vietnam and Thailand. Some 50 million chickens and ducks have also
been slaughtered in Asia in an effort to check the disease.
Garcia said sanitary controls are the biggest challenge in poultry
production and trade.
Colombian president rejects prisoner swap with guerrillas
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday strongly rejected a
humanitarian swap between the kidnapped people and imprisoned guerrillas and
demanded instead an end to hostilities for resuming negotiations with the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the local radio RCN reported.
"The government's decision is to defeat terrorism, by good or bad means.
They (FARC) are terrorists. We do not refuse to negotiate, but only after
the cease of hostilities," said the Colombian leader in Brussels during his
tour of three European countries.
He also said the Colombian government "will be generous with the
demobilized," but it cannot be so easily talking about a swap.
"I ask the international community to urge the FARC to release hostages.
Colombia's aim is zero terrorism," he pointed out.
Uribe said reaching a humanitarian agreement on an exchange of prisoners
would be like accepting the conditions of the FARC.
The FARC, the oldest and largest guerrilla group in Colombia that operates
nationwide, sought to strike a deal with the government to swap 80 kidnapped
politicians, officials and law-enforcement personnel for nearly 500
imprisoned guerrillas.
Colombia has been ravaged by a four-decade civil war between the government,
leftist guerrillas and paramilitary groups, killing at least 3,500 people a
year, mostly civilians.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
